Antibiotics Kill Your Body's Good Bacteria Too

[Guest guest]

Antibiotics Kill Your Body's Good Bacteria, Too, Leading to Serious

Health Risks

 

 

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

 

The information that follows is a two-part article taken directly

from Doug Kaufmann and Dave Holland, MD's new book, " The Fungus Link,

Volume 2. " Inside this follow-up to the Fungus Link, published in

2000, you'll not only learn about the dangers of antibiotics. You'll

also learn about the ins and outs of natural and prescriptive

antifungals. Additionally, Doug and Dave share with you the role

fungi and their mycotoxins play in what are unfortunately everyday

diseases such as prostatitis, ear-nose-throat disorders, weight

problems (including obesity and anorexia), autoimmune diseases,

hormonal disorders, neurologic diseases, hair loss, and eye problems.

 

To preorder this or any of Doug Kaufmann's books, you can call Doug's

office at 972-772-0990, M-F 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Central.

 

You can also get books in person and learn about the role of fungi

and mycotoxins in cancer and diabetes as Doug and Dave talk with you

live at their next interactive seminar in Ft. Worth, TX, June 28th at

Pantego Bible Church, 8001 Anderson Blvd. Ft. Worth, TX 76120. Click

here for directions. You can register for the seminar by also calling

the office or visiting the website.

 

 

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by Doug Kaufmann

 

" It is ironic that this humbled fungus, hailed as a benefactor of

mankind, may by its very success prove to be a deciding factor in the

decline of the present civilization. "

 

-Dr. John I. Pitt, The Genus Penicillum, Academic Press, 1979

 

Simply put, antibiotics are poisons that are used to kill. Only

licensed physicians can prescribe them. The drugs are used to kill

bacteria. Certainly, many people have benefited from using them.

However, if bacteria were the only organisms that antibiotics killed,

much of this book would be unnecessary. In fact, I con­tend that

poisons that kill small organisms in small doses -- organism-specific

varieties notwithstanding -- can also kill big organisms, when they

are taken in big doses. You, my friend, are a big organism.

 

We've talked about the link between fungus and human disease. This

chapter addresses the possibility that antibiotics may help fungi to

proliferate within the human body.

 

As an adult human, you have three to four pounds of beneficial

bacteria and yeast living within your intestines. These microbes

compete for nutrients from the food you eat. Usually, the strength in

numbers beneficial bacteria enjoy both keeps the ever-present yeasts

in check and causes them to produce nutrients such as the B vitamins.

 

However, every time you swallow antibiotics, you kill the beneficial

bacteria within your intestines. When you do so, you upset the

delicate balance of your intestinal terrain. Yeasts grow unchecked

into large colonies and take over, in a condition called dysbiosis.

 

Yeasts are opportunistic organisms. This means that, as the

intestinal bacteria die, yeasts thrive, especially when their dietary

needs are met. They can use their tendrils, or hyphae, to literally

poke holes through the lining of your intestinal wall. This results

in a syndrome called leaky gut. Yeasts are not the only possible

cause of this syndrome. Some scientists have linked non-steroidal,

anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) such as naproxen and ibuprofen to

the problem. Given their ability to alter intestinal terrain,

antibiotics also likely contribute to leaky gut syndrome.

 

In addition to possibly causing leaky gut syndrome, I believe that

parasitic yeasts can also cause you to change what you eat in that

they encourage you to binge on carbohydrates including pasta, bread,

sugar, potatoes, etc. So, it should come as no surprise that weight

gain counts as one of the telltale signs of antibiotic damage and

subsequent yeast overgrowth.

 

By altering the normal terrain of the intestines, antibiotics can

also make food allergies more likely. An array of intestinal

disorders can ensue, as well. Sadly, most doctors claim ignorance

concerning their patients' intestinal disorders rather than admit

that the drugs they themselves prescribed actually caused the

disorders to begin with.

 

Tons of antibiotics are fed to American livestock on a daily basis,

purportedly to proof them against bacteria. This practice not only

possibly contributes to antibiotic resistance in humans -- many

experts feel weight gain, and not disease prevention, is the real

reason antibiotics are so widely used. Fat cattle sell for more than

thin cattle. That's all very well, but imagine what the antibiotics

thereby possibly present in dairy products could be doing to our

children's health.

 

Back in the 1950s, two researchers in Albany, New York, worked to

develop an antimicrobial drug from a substance produced by a soil-

based fungus. Although the nystatin they discovered is technically a

mycotoxin, it works wonders an intestinal antifungal. This as yet

revolutionary drug stops the yeast overgrowth caused by all other

antibiotics and is 100 percent safe to use. In addition, nystatin

works with no side effects, though it can cause a pseudo sickness

that patients often confuse with side effects.

 

Also in the 1950s, scientists used mice to grade the relative

toxicity of 340 antibiotics (Dr. William S. Spector, The Handbook of

Toxicity, 1957). The researchers based their rankings on the amount

of a given antibiotic required to kill half of the lab mice injected

with it. I relate this story only to ask you, before 1957, how did

scientists decide what would serve as prescriptive doses for these

very same antibiotics when used in humans?

 

I'll assume that the same toxicity scale remains in place today. If

it does, and if a given dose of penicillin will kill 50 percent of

mice injected, it stands to reason that a much larger dose, or

perhaps repetitive doses extended over 40 years, might prove fatal to

a human. I don't know if larger doses are in fact administered to

people. And, the 40-year scenario has its problems. But you have to

admit, it's certainly food for thought.

 

The time span between when patients take rounds of antibiotics and

when they die interests me. That's because I believe that few people

really die of heart disease and diabetes. In actuality, antibiotics

are responsible for deaths attributed to these diseases, because

these drugs are what caused people to develop the diseases to begin

with. And yet, incredibly, death certificates usually state the

probable cause of death without mentioning whether the deceased had a

history of taking antibiotics.

 

Remember, antibiotics are dangerous mycotoxins -- fungal metabolites.

Just as importantly, medical experts have written articles

maintaining that these drugs kill people. But, other experts insist

on remaining sceptical as to the problem, even though these same

experts readily recognize the link between weakened immune systems

and death.

 

According to the 2001 Allergy and Asthma Report, the first

immunodeficiency syndrome was identified in 1952. This document tells

us that since that time, " more than 95 immune syndromes have been

identified, with new conditions coming to light every day. " The

report goes on to say that research indicates that " increased

antibiotic use in human infancy may be associated with increased risk

of developing allergies. "

 

Max Planck won the 1918 Nobel Prize in Physics. He once weighed in as

to why science is slow to change even in the presence of overwhelming

evidence that it should do so.

 

" A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents

and making them see the light, " Planck said, " but rather because its

opponents eventually die and a new generation grows up that is

familiar with the ideas from the beginning. "

 

That a new generation will grow up knowing of the dangers inherent in

taking antibiotics is a good thing. That doctors will continue

randomly prescribing fungal toxins should teach us the importance of

knowing medical facts before blindly accepting any prescription.

Please study the antimicrobial benefits and the immune system

stimulants that nature provides. Know also that, in some instances,

antibiotics may become necessary.

 

If you reach the point where no alternatives exist, I recommend that

you ask your doctor to prescribe nystatin simultaneously with the

antibiotic (see Dr. Holland's article). Also, keep in mind the post-

antibiotic importance of restoring the intestinal terrain with plain

yogurt and probiotics. If you experience bloating, belching, gas,

constipation, diarrhea, GERD, or other intestinal problems,

probiotics can play an important role in restoring your intestinal

terrain.

 

 

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Antibiotics -- to Take or Not to Take?

by David A. Holland, M.D.

 

I looked up antibiotics in Harrison's Textbook of Internal Medicine.

The listing referred me to " antimicrobials. " This caused me to

realize how much more accurately the second term describes these

substances, given the broad-spectrum nature of a lot of them.

 

I must confess that, as a doctor, I do prescribe " antimicrobials. "

Perhaps I prescribe more antifungals and nonprescription remedies

than the usual doctor, but I do prescribe antibiotics, as well.

Perhaps even more horrifying, considering Doug's articles condemning

them, is that I've taken them myself! In fact, in these times it's a

rare individual who goes through life without ingesting those little

pills. So, three questions have become important -- when should you

take antibiotics, when should you refrain, and what will you do when

you've already taken them?

 

Alexander Fleming, by the grace of God, brought us a mixed blessing

in 1928 with his accidental discovery of penicillin produced by, of

all things, a fungus. Medicine's interest treating people for

exposure to fungi dropped dramatically in succeeding years, until the

microbes were only thought important insofar as their ability to

produce increasingly diverse varieties of antibiotics.

 

Interest in fighting bacteria proliferated like a flesh-eating Strep

infection, fueling the race to discover ever more antibiotics.

Pharmaceutical salespeople invaded doctors' offices and hospitals,

intent on convincing physicians their antibiotic was better than the

others. These salespeople supported their pitches with studies,

graphs, charts and convincing stats, while often failing to mention

that their research had been funded by their own companies. The

possible conflict of interest was, and remains, enormous.

 

I have no quarrel with such salespeople. They're regular men and

women like you and me, just trying to make a living. However, when

human lives are involved, funding research to prove that your own

product is better than the competition's is just plain wrong. The

advantage is obvious, and the danger that a great deal of objectivity

could be lost is only all too real.

 

I believe that an impartial, third party should be assigned to

perform such research, funded by a mandatory " ante " from all

pharmaceutical compan­ies involved in producing a given category of

drug. Of course, that will be the day! In case the above scenario

never happens, we would do well to take with several grains of salt

the unregulated information that companies provide about their own

products.

 

Perhaps you are wondering about the use -- and abuse -- of

antibiotics in general. Let me give you an example. One of the most

common diagnoses given at a doctor's office is the upper respiratory

infection (URI). It accounts for up to 70 percent of all antibiotics

dispensed (Annals of Internal Medicine. American College of

Physicians. American Society of Internal Medicine. March 20, 2001).

 

However, according to Dr. Carol Kauffman, most URIs are not caused by

the bacteria that antibiotics are designed to fight. Rather, Kauffman

says, they are caused by fungi. So, unless a secondary, bacterial

infection presents itself -- and even then, the rules change -- most

URIs do not require the use of antibiotics.

 

Regarding ear infections, in one study, children administered

antibiotics for acute otitis media suffered double the rate of

adverse effects compared to children in the study who took placebos

(Clinical Evidence. 2000). The difference in outcome for those

children in the study who took antibiotics compared to those who do

not was almost negligible. Some scientists counter that children who

take antibiotics run lower risks of secondary ear infections such as

meningitis or mastoiditis (infection of the angular bone located

behind your ear).

 

Of course, the landscape is complicated by noncompliance. The portion

of people who take their antibiotics as prescribed has been estimated

at anywhere between 8 to 68 percent. So it's difficult to say just

how effective antibiotics actually are.

 

Now, say my daughter were to get sick for 10 days, miserable with a

high fever and screaming ear pain. Say our doctor said her ear canal

checked out as angry red. Am I going to have my daughter take the

prescription? Probably so. We cared for a young woman at the hospital

where I worked who was literally at her death bed with overwhelming

Streptococcal -- bacterial -- pneumonia. One of her lungs was

saturated with the infection, which had also spread throughout her

bloodstream.

 

I went on to my next rotation thinking that was the last I would hear

of that patient. However, I later spoke with her attending physician.

He told me she walked out of that hospital, completely cured. So,

antibiotics save lives, but it's not exactly a common occurrence.

Certainly, most of you out there suffering from the common cold are

not near death, so you should think twice about taking antibiotics.

 

The non-synthetic antibiotics are fungal by-products called

mycotoxins. Penicillin is perhaps the best example. In other words,

mycotoxins kill off fungi's competitors, allowing fungi to grab up

all of the nutrients for themselves. Alexander Fleming himself

observed this in action, and it later led him to develop penicillin.

When a mold -- molds are fungi -- contaminated a bacteria colony upon

which Fleming was performing an experiment, the invader cleared the

area around it of all bacteria. When Fleming investigated, It turned

out that the fungus had produced a substance he would later call

penicillin, killing the bacteria in residence.

 

Just because they kill bacteria, you may be thinking, doesn't mean

that some, many or especially all of the mycotoxins used as

antibiotics are necessarily harmful to human beings. A. V. Costantini

in effect counters this idea when he speaks of the work of two

scientists by the name of Bernstein and Ross. Costantini says that

the men found that two or more months of treatment with penicillin

and other antibiotics contributed to what they saw as

a " significantly increased risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in humans

(Costantini, A. V. Fungalbionics. 1998). "

 

How many people, children included, have undergone dose after dose of

antibiotics for recurring infections? Doug and I believe that these

relatively small doses taken over long periods of time are actually

harming us in similar, incremental fashion, later showing up as

cancer, diabetes, vasculitis or other diseases.

 

We take antibiotics when we are sick, when our immune systems weaken.

The mycotoxins pharmacies dispense for use as antibiotics only

exacerbate the problem, because the lion's share of these substances

have been shown to be immunosuppressants (CAST Report No. 116.

November 1989.). Not only are they capable of hamstringing our immune

systems, they also destroy the friendly bacteria that guard our

intestines.

 

These friendly bacteria include Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidus

and Bulgaricus, supplements for which can be found in any health food

store's refrigerated section. They protect us against pathogens such

as Salmonella, yeast, cholera, and the bad E. coli. They are so

potent that, prior a trip abroad, to protect yourself from traveler's

diarrhea you'd do better to skip the usual antibiotics and instead

take acidophilus supplements.

 

Unfortunately, these good flora are so vulnerable to antibiotics

that, in mice, a " single injection of streptomycin can eradicate the

protective effect of the normal flora. (Mandell. Principles and

Practice of Infectious Diseases. 2000.) " And, once gone, these

friendly bacteria are replaced by hostile bacteria such as

Pseudomonas, Clostridium, and Klebsiella, and by Candida yeast, a

powerful member of the fungi family.

 

So, we have the good and the bad regarding our chemical friends known

as antibiotics. They can " save the day " at times, but they have

ruined them at others -- just ask any woman with a yeast infection or

look at any baby who suffers from thrush. You should know that, even

should you just say " no " when your doctor moves to prescribe

antibiotics for you, theoretically speaking you may still be taking

them with every bite of steak and pork you eat.

 

That's because more antibiotics per pound are used on livestock than

in human medicine. How much of those antibiotics are passed on is

difficult to determine, but the mere possibility of this kind of

thing is certainly a worry.

 

Our goal in this book is to educate you and to help you make informed

decisions. Some final, simple tips follow:

 

An ounce of prevention.... Exercise, eat intelligently and take a few

supplements. Avoid alcohol, smoking, and recreational drugs. Get some

rest once in a while. Pray.

 

Despite our best efforts, most of us will get sick at some point and

decide to go see a doctor. If you are a stubborn, married man, your

wife will likely make the appointment for you.

 

Ask Questions. If your doctor diagnoses you with an upper respiratory

infection, sore throat (in which the strep test is negative),

bronchitis, sinusitis, or ear infection, and you wonder if you really

need an antibiotic, make a point of asking her about it. A lot of

physicians would be pleasantly surprised that one of their patients

would even consider trying to recuperate without antibiotics. Ask if

you can treat your condition symptomatically and come back or call in

a couple of days if you are not better.

 

If your questions annoy your doctor, then get another doctor. After

all, you pay the bills, either directly or out of your paycheck in

the form of insurance, and you deserve adequate treatment. On the

other hand, if you feel you, in fact, do need an antibiotic and your

doctor disagrees, try to work a deal in which she will prescribe an

antibiotic for you if you don't feel better in a couple of days. I

learned an important lesson about this kind of disagreement during

college, on a visit to the infirmary. The doctor there refused to

give me an antibiotic for a URI I'd come down with. I had to suppress

my anger at what I saw as arrogance on his part, but lo and behold,

he was right. I got better without the pills I'd been sure I'd

needed. I think a lot of people tend to underestimate their bodies'

healing abilities, in much the same way as I did. That's just one

reason why doctors are oftentimes in a better position to make the

call as to whether or not to prescribe.

 

Take an objective look at yourself and your life-style. If you keep

coming down with the same thing, do some research and a little

thinking. Do you drink a lot of soda? Do you smoke? Are you taking

antibiotic after antibiotic and now have a secondary yeast or fungal

infection? How is your spiritual life? Your stress level? The point

is, myriad factors contribute to " wellness. "

 

As far as chronic sinus infections go, Johns Hopkins researchers are

now saying most such conditions are caused by a fungus. So, if you do

have chronic sinusitis, stop taking antibiotics, get on an antifungal

diet, and ask your doctor for antifungal medications. If your doctor

refuses, visit a health food store for natural, off-the-shelf

antifungals such as olive leaf extract, garlic, and Caprylic acid.

 

Once you improve, make sure you go back and let your doctor know how

things worked out. Chances are she is neither experienced nor

comfortable with prescribing antifungal medication. Your story may

convince her to do her own research, the first step to changing her

treatment philosophy.

 

It shouldn't be too difficult to convince your doctor to let you try

a prescription of nystatin. As one of the better gut antifungals,

nystatin is also remarkably safe and free of side-effects.

 

If you've decided to go ahead and take an antibiotic:

 

Get the facts. Ask your doctor how many days you must take the

antibiotic and if you, in fact, do need the latest, most powerful one

on the market. Simple urinary tract infections are now treated with

only three days of antibiotics. Sinus infections, bronchitis, and ear

infections in children over two years of age can be treated with as

few as five days of antibiotics, new or old, generic or name brand.

This may not be possible, however, if you have other medical

conditions or if you smoke.

 

Build trust. Commit to the full course of the antibiotic unless you

experience significant side effects or an allergic reaction. You

sought medical advice and agreed to the prescription. You will build

trust with your doctor if you work as a team. This trust will be very

important once you see number 3 below.

 

Take an antifungal with the antibiotic. For example, you could ask

your doctor for a prescription of nystatin to take during the course

of your antibiotic. Many dermatologists do this when prescribing long-

term antibiotic courses for acne. I suggest adults take two tablets

twice a day -- 1 cc of suspension twice a day for children -- to

prevent yeast overgrowth in your intestines. Most cases of upset

stomach or diarrhea that kick in a few days of beginning a round of

antibiotics can be cured with a single dose of the drug. Diarrhea

after a two-week round of antibiotics is likely caused by a different

bug altogether -- be sure to bring that to your doctor's attention.

 

I should tell you that, in my clinical practice years, many of my

patients made great strides against acne through taking nystatin and

a change in diet alone, without the antibiotics.

 

Supplement your intake. Take an antioxidant supplement, one which

includes vitamin E, zinc, selenium, vitamin C, and vitamin A, among

others. According to A.V. Costantini, all antioxidants are

antifungal. (Costantini. 1998.)

 

Keep your bowels moving. If antibiotics kill off your friendly,

intestinal bacteria, once you cease taking antibiotics you'll run a

higher risk of infection by other, more hostile bacteria. These

bacteria will be quick to find and exploit pockets of debris that

could be collecting and putrefying in your intestines if you happen

to become constipated. So, be sure to keep your digestive tract as

clear as possible until you can repopulate it with friendly bacteria.

Psyllium hulls fiber from your local health food store is the best,

bulk fiber to use, as long as you don't have a history of intestinal

obstruction. Psyllium not only relieves constipation. It also slows

diarrhea by absorbing excess water.

 

Replace the good bacteria in your intestines. Supplement with an

acidophilus supplement for a few weeks following any course of

antibiotics. Do not take these simultaneously with your antibiotic,

or you will simply end up with a lot of very dead, albeit still

friendly bacteria in your intestines. At the very most, take

acidophilus supplements either in between antibiotic doses or after

you have completely finished your prescription.

 

Look back at why you became ill to begin with. I once suffered from

strep throat after indulging in half a box of chocolates. That should

have come as no surprise. Who wouldn't be crippled by that amount of

garbage? More than likely, you have your own experience regarding

similar binges. My point is, diet plays at least as much a role as

actual exposure to germs as to whether we get sick -- when we are

healthy and eating correctly, our bodies are amazingly resistant to

infection.

 

One, last note: Please ignore advertisements that recommend guzzling

orange juice for the vitamin C it contains. A big dose of sugar is

what you'd actually be getting. I have heard more than a few patients

note that once they felt they were coming down with something, they

immediately began downing glass after glass of orange juice, only to

get even sicker. They concluded that they must not have caught the

illness in time, which couldn't have been any further from the truth.

 

The truth is, they simply fueled the fire of their infections with

lots of sugar, all because they trusted a corporation's advertisement

to educate them about proper healing strategies. If you want that

much vitamin C, you will be perfectly fine taking it in the 1,000 mg

pill form a few times a day. As far as fluid requirements are

concerned, your body is 70 percent water -- and that is exactly what

it needs!

 

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