• "Intestinal colonization with commensal bacteria is critical for the establishment of oral tolerance." -Weiner 1997
• "...commensals (good bacteria) act as an important non-specific antigenic stimulus for the maturation of GALT." Cebra et al., 1998
• Probiotics increased IgA antibody responses in several different studies
Another Reason NOT to take antibiotics
Antibiotics were considered miracle drugs when they were discovered, and since that time they have saved hundreds of thousands of lives.
But nothing comes without a price.

The price that we are paying for our overuse of antibiotics for the past century is the development of bad bacteria that are resistant to most of the current antibiotics.
Pathogenic organisms like
MRSA,
C Difficile Infection and Tuberculosis are examples of deadly drug resistant organisms that have developed in recent years.
Another unintended consequence of using antibiotics even sparingly is that they kill off our native intestinal flora along with bad bacteria that make us sick. And when we kill off the good bacteria, it leaves room for other organisms to settle on the spaces that have been left and contribute to conditions such as C Difficile Infection and Intestinal Candida Symptoms. Like a weird game of musical chairs, microorganisms that can harm our health are free to settle in their place.
Often, there are no obvious detrimental effects to the body after taking antibiotics, but there are complex dynamics occurring in the gut that we are only starting to learn about and have definitely NOT learned to appreciate.
Entire cities living in our belly??
Most people are probably aware that there are good bacteria that live in our gut. But most don't have any idea that there are also bad bacteria, neutral bacteria, fungi and viruses that all live together. There is truly an amazingly complex and intelligent ecosystem that lives inside of us, totally without us being aware of it.
The bacteria and fungi that live in our gut actually form cooperative communities that collectively create structures for specific functions. The name for these collective structures, no matter what form they take, is 'biofilms'. And biofilms are crucial factors in our health - and in our illnesses.
These complex 3-dimensional structures can take the form of pillars, mushrooms and channels and they perform specific functions such as preventing invasion by other bacterial species or routing specific nutrients to the bacteria inside.
Biofilms are not such exotic creatures either. We are intimately familiar with them every day in the forms of plaque and tartar on our teeth! Good bacteria as well as bad bacteria and fungi form biofilms. These slimy cities act in coordinated ways performing biologic warfare while competing for space and nutrients against their competitors. They also have developed complex defenses against
Environmental Toxins
and medications, such as antibiotics.
"Bacteria really like to grow in communities,
covered in slime,"
biofilm expert J. William Costerton
Biofilms have been implicated in the formation of antibiotic resistant organisms such as
MRSA,
and the C Difficile Infection mentioned earlier.
Yeast Infection in the gut
Other
Antibiotic Side Effects are that they randomly kill off good bacteria along with the bad bacteria, leaving room for organisms like yeasts (that are unaffected by antibiotics) to take over their space and form their own biofilms.
The medical literature shows little evidence of the existence of Intestinal Candida in the gut, but there are a growing number of medical practitioners - western and alternative - who believe that Candida infection contributes to many chronic illnesses such as the a href="http://www.easy-immune-health.com/early-symptoms-of-fibromyalgia.html">Symptoms of Fibromyalgia. These practitioners are actively treating yeast overgrowth gut infections based on the patient's history and presenting symptoms alone.
This condition has been called Chronic Systemic Candidiasis, Chronic Unresponsive Candida Overgrowth or Intestinal Candida Symptoms by different researchers and physicians.
Too little evidence for probiotics?
Probiotics are used extensively in these treatments. In fact many good bacteria are able to form their OWN biofilms, and species such as Lactobacillis Acidophilus and Saccromyces Cerevisiae (a type of 'good' yeast) have both been shown to inhibit the biofilms of bad bacteria!
Western medical doctors still claim that there is too little evidence to start recommending probiotics on a regular basis. But studies have shown that probiotics have benefits for:
• Reduction of infection rates in abdominal, pancreatic and transplant surgeries
• Prevention and treatment of eczema in children
• Decreasing and even eliminating the H Pylori Bacteria from the stomach
• Mild to moderately severe ulcerative colitis
• Infectious diarrhea and Antibiotic Side Effects
• Reducing the recurrence of urinary tract and vaginal infections in women
Even though these good bacteria have shown good results in studies on many illnesses probiotics may act in many different subtle ways that positively affect the immune system and general health in ways that we have yet to understand.
When people in almost every country in the world have used good bacteria and yeasts and knew the Benefits of Sauerkraut and other foods to improve general health since before the written word, it's a good bet that they are right. I predict that the future of medicine will go back to using simple proven remedies, like probiotics, to treat and to heal the many chronic illnesses that plague our society.
You don't have to wait until medical science 'proves' alternative medicine right or wrong on this subject. Kefir milk, yogurt, sauerkraut and other fermented foods are excellent and tasty additions to your diet that you can find in most health food stores (make sure that they are NOT pasteurized as that kills the good bacteria) or Learn to Make Kefir Milk yourself at home.
Probiotics are not a magic bullet that eliminates chronic illnesses. But in many cases, the immune system and digestive system can be improved in subtle ways that may make a big difference in your health over the long run. Next, find out the effects that a 'Leaky Gut' can have on your digestive tract- AND your entire body....
Next--->
Leaky Gut Syndrome
Resources for Good Bacteria