For our #TuesdayTip this week, we're sharing a super informative article from Dr. John Brimhall of Brimhall Wellness. A healthy gut is a POWERFUL asset to your overall wellness! Read on!
Protect Yourself from the Misuse and Abuse of Antibiotics
We live in a time where the good, hard work of vaccines are coming undone, bacteria is becoming unstoppable, no new antibiotics are being produced and infectious disease is more dangerous than it should be. Right now we are in the middle of a major infectious disease epidemic that will soon be unstoppable if we don’t take individual control and act now.
According to statistics from the Center of Disease Control (CDC), millions are experiencing a lower quality of life due to this epidemic, on top of the millions dying. The last decade has seen its share of lectures and articles warning people about this; however, most people don’t realize how serious it is or what causes it.
In 1968, infectious disease wasn’t even in the top 10 causes of death in the U.S. Now, 1 in 4 deaths across the entire globe is from infectious disease. Measles was all but eliminated 20 years ago but now 2019 is projected to be the worst year since then with 1,244 confirmed cases by Sep. 5. This is a rate the United States hasn’t seen since around 1990.
Anti-Vaxxers Aren’t the Only Scapegoats
As tempting as it is to blame a few for everyone’s suffering, the truth is that everyone can contribute to the growth or elimination of infectious disease. If anything, this should be encouraging. You don’t have to wait and hope someone else’s decision doesn’t affect you negatively. You can take steps to protect you and your loved ones.
Antibiotic Abuse - This is a biggie. You may know of someone who had an infection and a normal dose of antibiotics either didn’t work well, or not at all. All too frequently it takes an almost lethal dose to get rid of infectious bacteria. Maybe you know of someone who died because said bacteria couldn’t be stopped.
Antibiotic discovery and use is not the problem within itself. They have saved countless lives over the years. It is their abuse that is the problem. This situation has been created by both the uneducated public and, sadly, doctors. Widespread overuse is getting worse with each passing year, and now we have supergerms to deal with.
Nightmare bacteria rise from strains that survived an assault from antibiotics. Whatever doesn’t kill them only makes them stronger. Now, they require stronger, more potent antibiotics to kill them. This adaptive phenomenon is called protective assimilation.
Doctors are using extremely high doses of antibiotics on people today that were used only on elephants 30 years ago. Even the inventor of antibiotics, Alexander Fleming, cautioned us against their overuse from the beginning. And now that warning is just a part of history. 80-90% of all infections are resistant to all known antibiotics.
The problem with antibiotics is not just the creation of supergerms. They also kill immune- building friendly bacteria, also known as probiotics. Since antibiotics destroy all types of bacteria they encounter, they leave behind a literal wasteland of vacant tissues and nutritionally hurting organs. These devastated sites are now open to be colonized by ANY new bacteria, be it probiotic or pathogenic.
New infectious diseases can be created from this process. It is critically important to make sure the empty spaces are filled with friendly bacteria. A normal, healthy adult is supposed to have about 3 lbs. of healthy flora in their gut at all times. They are critical to fighting off infections and disease. They serve as a natural antibiotic and strengthen our immune system.
Antacids & Acid Blockers - People take acid reducers to help with stomach discomfort and heartburn caused by indigestion. The problem is these pains are not caused by antacid drug deficiencies. Indigestion stems from the non-digestion of food.
Said drugs work by either neutralizing stomach acid (antacids) or by blocking acid production altogether (acid blockers). The acid in question is called hydrochloric acid, or HCL. HCL serves two critical functions, both of them vital to stopping the rising problem of infectious disease.
When this happens, you weaken your gut and immune system, making you prone to illness. Instead, you want to help your body complete the digestion process and load your gut full of friendly bacteria.
Poor Diet - Our food choices are either creating an environment for healthy bacteria to survive OR a cozy home for pathogenic bacteria to flourish and cause disease. Whether or not this scenario is created is entirely up to you.
Many poor food choices do two things:
- Create an environment primed for infectious bacteria, and
- Acidic foods like sugar, alcohol, coffee, tea, and antibiotic-pumped meats exacerbate the problem by kicking good bacteria out of their homes.
You might think it’s as simple as making necessary dietary changes. Just switch from all the harmful stuff to foods full of friendly bacteria. The bad bacteria dies and the good bacteria thrives.
In essence, it is that simple. However, here in America in particular, we have an uphill battle. We are one of only a handful of countries whose citizens are missing foods packed with probiotics as part of their regular diet. On top of that, far too many products touting a hefty dose of probiotics come loaded with sugar, rendering them ineffective.
Become Infectious Diseases’ Worst Nightmare
Infectious disease has risen from obscurity to the second leading cause of death in the world, all without the public taking serious notice. Even the bomb drop from the CDC warning us that we’re losing the battle against supergerms hasn’t galvanized the public into action.
The unchecked use of antibiotics is creating a wasteland inside our bodies, destroying probiotic bacteria, which is known as our second immune system. Antacids and acid blockers stop HCL, one of your body’s first lines of defense, allowing billions of pathogenic bacteria to take over while stopping you from properly digesting food.
Together antibiotics and antacids/acid blockers create the ideal environment for bad bacteria to settle down and multiply. On top of all this, our poor food choices further destroy good bacteria whilst feeding the other. Here are four ways to win the war against infectious disease:
- Use antibiotics correctly and sparingly
- Take digestive enzymes instead of antacids and acid blockers
- Make eating well a priority
- Supplement with stabilized probiotics at least every three months
We have helped many of our patients to support their digestive systems naturally, and we’ve seen many heal and recover from the side effects of poor dietary choices and chronic antacid use such as GERD, heartburn, hiatal hernia issues, and more! If you are confused about where to start, we are here to help! Dr. Townsend can recommend quality brands of probiotics and digestive enzymes that have helped so many of our patients. Contact us today to get started and improve your body safely and naturally.