Antibiotics are avoided by those who have an holistic approach to health as they not only destroy bad bacteria but the good bacteria in our gut too. Good gut bacteria is needed for gut health which is the root of immune health and so many other things! Don’t believe me? Here is some science from Dr Chris Kresser on the high price of antibiotic use on our gut.

But, in acute situations, antibiotics are lifesaving. Recently, I experienced first-hand how antibiotics can be the ‘good’ guys! See my post Lessons from Hospital for more detail about that. But I also learned how to best look after your gut and gut lining while taking a course of antibiotics.

While on antibiotics

As those antibiotics deal with infection, they are also devastating your gut microbiome. While I was taking antibiotics, I was also doing my best to counter this with a gut-loving program. This program is easy for anyone to follow. It consisted of:

• Taking a multi-strain probiotic supplement (aim for above 4 strains of bacteria at least, but above 10 is better if you can) at least two hours after taking the antibiotic. To decipher a good probiotic, check out Dr Axe’s post on Choosing the Best Probiotic Supplements. Since I was taking the antibiotic morning, noon and evening (4+hrs apart), I decided to take the probiotic before bed as that was the start of the longest gap between antibiotic doses and gave it the best chance of success. The one I found (really urgently at my local health food store in the UK) has 16 strains of bacteria and 50 billion CFU – it was Garden of Life’s Microbiome Formula Once Daily Women’s, but there are many others in the Garden of Life range that you may be able to find (this suggestion is not sponsored).
• Taking a saccharomyces boulardii supplement, as this is a probiotic but also a yeast that does not get destroyed by antibiotics! This supplement is on my usual daily repertoire but is a useful introduction for anyone.
• Plenty of fermented foods for even more strains of probiotic bacteria. I ate these as snacks through the day between doses of antibiotics as well as in the evening before bed. As these are cheaper than the fancy probiotic supplement, I could justify eating them through the day despite any goodness being destroyed hours later.
• Plenty of bone broth, collagen and/or gelatine to protect the gut lining as much as possible, all throughout the day. The latter two are tasteless and can be mixed into soups, coffee, other drinks, or made into gummies, but make sure you buy a high quality product like the ones from Great Lakes (this is the UK store but they have other websites and sell them on eBay and Amazon too) (again, not sponsored).
• Avoiding all inflammatory foods. If you are on an elimination protocol like me and have successfully reintroduced foods, I avoided them too. For those not on a protocol, even if you don’t think you react to foods, I highly recommend avoiding all gluten, dairy and sugar, as these are the most prevalent gut irritants and your compromised gut may not appreciate it.
• Avoiding sugar. It’s worth saying twice, as it is purely toxic and inflammatory. It also feeds damaging yeast such as Candida, which your gut will be more vulnerable to in its weakened state. Watch out for hidden sugar in breakfast cereal, alcohol, fruit, juice, sauces, etc. and stick to fresh unprocessed foods.
• Drinking plenty of water, herbal tea and coconut water.

Fortunately, unlike some, I didn’t have any immediate side-effects to taking the antibiotics. I put this down to:

1. Consuming gelatine or collagen in my smoothies every weekday, which meant my gut lining was well-protected. I highly recommend adding this to your diet.
2. Taking a saccharomyces boulardii supplement every day as part of my usual supplements, which meant there was plenty of probiotic yeast already in there. Again, I highly recommend taking an SB supplement if you have autoimmune and/or gut issues.
3. Having a generally intact stomach lining as I haven’t had any food reactions or symptoms of a leaky gut for months.

After antibiotics

Now that my course of antibiotics is over, I’m still doing my best to love my gut! To do this involves simply:

• All the above, plus
• Eating any other probiotic foods you can find. The more variety the better, as it hopefully means more strains being reintroduced to your gut.
• Loading up on pre-biotic rich plant food! I had to google these, so here are 19 quick examples by Healthline.

And after that?

Look after your gut! The true impacts of having a healthy gut are amazing, from healing autoimmune issues to reducing hay fever and allergies. Caring for your gut health should be a life-long priority. This starts with:

• Eating nutritious foods with prebiotics and probiotics, and avoiding inflammatory foods
• Reducing stress
• Sleeping enough (7+ hrs at least, but up to 9hrs if you can!)
• Doing some physical activity regularly

Sounds like a pretty good recipe for healthy living anyway, doesn’t it?

To take it up a notch, consider taking a probiotic supplement or at least saccharomyces boulardii on a regular basis. Also, introduce bone broth, collagen and/or gelatine to your regular routine too.

Delayed Symptoms

Unfortunately, despite my best efforts, I did have delayed symptoms from the antibiotics but also from the stress of the whole situation. These consisted of general tiredness for weeks, hormonal disruption (which I commonly experience from stress) and a flare up of acne (for me, this is a sign of stress and/or liver issues).

I should have rested more during my recovery and taken extra care for longer than I did. Stress was being caused by other factors as well, but it took about two months before these symptoms finally dissipated!

Good luck taking care of your gut while on antibiotics!

Resources

Most of this advice is based on the Paleo Mom’s post Recovery from Antibiotics. Other resources to look at include:

• How to Restore Gut Flora after Taking Antibiotics by Courtney Sperlazza, MPH, on the Bulletproof blog
• Five Ways to Heal your Gut after Taking Antibiotics by Aimee McNew on the PaleoHacks blog
• How Antibiotics Wreak Havoc on your Gut by Amy Myers MD