Probiotics and gut health
Dear Donovan,
I was recently on a heavy dose of antibiotics which I believe totally eroded my stomach lining. Since I stopped I have had heartburn, indigestion, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and loss of appetite. This has been going on over two weeks. I was advised by a friend to take probiotics to help combat the effects, which I have started to do. What else would you suggest? Since I started the probiotics I feel somewhat better, but I think I still have a long way to go. Are there any foods I should be eating? I’m very lethargic and can’t tolerate any citrus, soda or sweet things. My doctor has ruled out any other underlying health conditions.
Like most other medicines, antibiotics have the ability to cause side effects. The most common side effects of almost all antibiotics are stomach problems. This includes diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting and even loss of appetite. These side effects can happen mainly because antibiotics for some reason can cause the gut (intestinal wall) to become inflamed. In addition, antibiotics are not specific in the bacteria they destroy. Therefore, they may disturb the balance of good (harmless) to bad (harmful) bacteria. This may lead to the intestines being less effective in absorbing water and nutrients from the food we eat. This can result in diarrhoea and vomiting and even loss of appetite.
In your case, the best way to treat your problem is to get the healing of the gut lining and then reintroduce some beneficial bacteria to the intestine. In starting the healing process, it is very important to avoid a diet of processed and refined foods. All effort must be made to eat simple and nutritional foods. This is because the stomach lining is in a state of disrepair. Alkaline fruits, soups, vegetables and vegetable juices, especially green juice, will help to soothe and heal the lining of the gut. In addition, foods rich in minerals and the amino acid glutamine have been shown to be helpful.
In the process of healing the gut wall, foods such as chicken broth has been shown to be helpful. Studies have shown that there is a significant link between glutamine and the repair of the lining of the gut.
The next step is to reintroduce beneficial bacteria to the gut. For this process, eating fermented foods can be helpful. Foods like home-made raw sour cream, yoghurt and buttermilk can introduce living vital probiotics into the digestive system. In addition, taking therapeutic grade probiotics can provide high quality probiotics which can aid in the introduction of good bacteria into the gut.
Several studies have shown that these probiotics improve the general health and well-being of the gut over time. In addition, managing your stress levels could also be helpful over time.
Good luck.
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