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Drugs - Nutrient Interactions
by Dave Foreman
Just as we may have Drug-Drug interactions, there
are Drug-Nutrient reactions. The potential for
interaction(s) is always looked on as a negative, but
in Natural Medicine, more often than not they can
be positive. After reading that sentence many
people shake their head in disbelief and think I
have lost my mind. I am here to tell you that, as a
Pharmacist and a Natural Medicine expert, I
haven't. In this and following newsletters, I will
introduce you to strategies for how you can improve
current treatment programs by incorporating
nutritional supplements.
The first interaction (a positive one) that I wanted to
cover may have the biggest impact on your health:
antibiotics and probiotics. We all understand what
an antibiotic is, but only a few may know what a
probiotic is. In short, probiotics are friendly,
life-promoting bacteria found primarily in the small
and large intestine. Their primary functions are to:
• Assist in the production and absorption of
nutrients into the bloodstream
• Form a barrier against harmful bacteria that
can cause diarrhea
• Manufacture food for your intestinal cells so
they can function optimally
• Help prevent harmful bacteria from
causing damage
• Prevent symptoms caused by the use of
antibiotics, which can destroy the majority of
the friendly bacteria in the intestinal tract
So where is the interaction?
When we take an antibiotic, it doesn't discriminate
between probiotic (good) and pathogenic (bad)
bacteria-it simply kills all the bacteria in its path.
By killing off the good bacteria found in the digestive
tract, the body becomes vulnerable to other
potentially harmful effects, many of which are worse
than the original infection. Most people
acknowledge that diarrhea is a major side effect
from antibiotic use, but aren't aware that taking a
probiotic during and for a week or two after
antibiotic use can prevent this from ever happening.
This is just one example of the benefits of using a probiotic during antibiotic use. Here is a short list
of other probiotic uses:
• Enhanced immune function
• Improved cardiovascular health
• Protection against food poisoning
• Improvement in digestion and digestive tract
disorder
• Improved skin appearance
• Decreased food allergies
Just one course of antibiotic therapy may open the
body up to severe health problems. Since probiotics
don't grow back quickly in the body unless we
supplement with a well balanced probiotic formula,
the body may end up weak and depleted. Just
imagine what might be happening to those who
use antibiotics on a regular basis. Scary.
I think it is necessary to have ALL people who are
receiving antibiotics take a well balanced probiotic
formula. When looking for a probiotic, choose one
with multiple strains (types) of beneficial bacteria.
You can even find probiotics for infants, children
and seniors.
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