Organic Lifestyle Magazine

Can You Take Probiotics While Taking Antibiotics or Chemotherapy?

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Antibiotics are designed to kill bacteria. Probiotics are beneficial bacteria. Doctors, concerned that probiotics can weaken the effectiveness of antibiotics, have sometimes warned patients not to take probiotics while on an antibiotic regimen or while on chemotherapy.

But now the mainstream medical opinion has shifted. With conventional researchers and doctors developing a deeper understanding of the importance of gut bacteria and the role it plays in our immune system, many doctors now recommend taking probiotics during antibiotic and chemo regimens. Apparently, the probiotics do not significantly affect the drugs if taken two or three hours after the drugs are administered (some say to wait two hours, some say three). In fact, studies have shown that probiotics can even increase the success rate of these treatments while potentially alleviating diarrhea and other side effects.

Probiotics are typically transient. Most do not colonize well, if at all, and the ones that are more likely to won’t colonize at all under antibiotic use or chemotherapy. But even if a probiotic can’t colonize effectively, with continued administration, it’s presence can keep pathogenic organisms from proliferating without disrupting existing beneficial gut bacteria.

So how do we protect or rebuild a healthy gut microbiome? The best way to get a healthy bacterial ecosystem to develop in the gut is to eat large salads like this one every day. Antifungal supplements (like SF722) and beneficial mushrooms can also help keep the gut flora healthy and ward off infections. But no supplement compares to eating right. Doing the right supplement with a healthy diet is great, but if money is too tight to do both, put that money towards the right diet.

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Michael Edwards

Michael Edwards

Owner at Organic Lifestyle Magazine
Michael Edwards is the founder, owner, editor-in-chief, and janitor for Organic Lifestyle Magazine. At age 17, Michael weighed more than 360 pounds. He suffered from allergies, frequent bouts of illness, and chronic, debilitating insomnia. Conventional medicine wasn’t working. While he restored his health through alternative medicine he studied natural health and became immersed in it.

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Michael Edwards
Michael Edwards