Healthy Living
Antibiotics - Probiotics
By David Perlmutter, MD, FACN
Everyone is familiar with antibiotics. In the strict sense, the term antibiotics refers to a substance which is "against life". But we generally use the term to refer to a class of pharmaceutical agents designed to destroy disease causing bacteria. Without question, antibiotics are being grossly overused in modern society. They are prescribed for individuals suffering from colds (for which they are essentially useless), overused in children with ear infections (which typically improve without treatment), and are provided to cattle to increase their growth. In fact, it has been estimated that approximately 75% of the antibiotics produced in this country end up on the farm where they increase the yield of beef, pork, and poultry.
While so much attention is paid to the use (and misuse) of antibiotics, we are just beginning to learn about the profoundly important therapeutic benefit of probiotics (for life). While antibiotics destroy bacteria, the term probiotics describes a group of nutritional supplements designed to enhance the growth of certain bacteria, specifically within the colon. But why would we want to increase the growth of these bacteria? To answer this question, it is important to understand that the human colon contains at least 400 different species of bacteria whose total number far exceeds the number of cells in the entire human body. Many of these bacteria are harmful, and, given the opportunity, could rapidly cause severe disease. Fortunately, however, the growth of these potentially harmful bacteria is kept in check by several species of healthful bacteria, which perform a variety of important functions. Aside from preventing overgrowth of harmful bacteria, the healthful bacteria enhance immune function, assist in digestion, and help to maintain a healthful mucosal lining of the colon. Various factors can reduce the level of healthful gut organisms and thus increase the possibility of illness. On the top of the list areantibiotics. Modern wide-spectrum antibiotics are extremely powerful and can really take their toll on the important healthful-gut bacterial leading to overgrowth not only of more dangerous bacteria but also various yeast organisms which normally reside in the gut. Other factors affecting healthful gut bacteria include dietary change, aging, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and even stress.
Fortunately, we are now able to obtain nutritional supplements designed to rejuvenate and enhance the level of important friendly gut bacteria. When buying a probiotic supplement, several important considerations need to be made. First, look for a product in which the bacteria are derived from human strains as opposed to those derived from animals. Next, the preparation should be designed to allow the bacteria to safely pass through the stomach acid and remain viable within the intestine. Third, make sure to pick a product that has a proven track record with respect to providing adequate amounts of living bacteria. The product literature should confirm that at least 100 million to 1 billion live bacteria can be provided by a typical dosage.
While many probiotic products appear on the health food store shelves, the product we recommend is Kyo-DophilusO manufactured by the Wakunaga Company, makers of Kyolic garlic. Kyo-Dophilus is a unique formulation of the three most important healthful bacteria: L. Acidophilus,B. Bifidum and B- Longum. Each capsule provides 1.5 billion living bacteria, formulated to withstand stomach acid in a sugar and dairy-free preparation. Another important and certainly convenient feature of Kyo-Dophilus is that it does not require refrigeration to maintain the viability of the bacteria. Probiotics have become a cornerstone in our treatment protocols for a variety of medical conditions caused by dysbiosis (inappropriate balance of gut organisms). We use KyoDophilus in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, chronic fatigue illnesses, fibromyalgia, and autoimmune diseases.