Antibiotics

[PoptartPoptart]

I read somewhere that because antibiotics kill all bacteria in the body (good and bad) that you should take a probiotic to replace the good bacteria. Does anyone know if this is true and should I wait until after the antibiotic course is finished or start giving the probiotic alongside the antibiotics? Thanks

They're a con:

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8305918.stm

There is a difference between taking probiotics at normal times and during or after antibiotic treatment.
This is more related to what you asked. www.m.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/news/20120508/probiotics-reduce-antibiotic-diarrhea

A couple of links. film

ted talk

NHS

Sorry for multiple posts but I lost my original reply while flicking back and forth attempting to copy links.

I don't think it is at all as simple as 'probiotics are a con'.

I think gut bacteria are important and if they get out of balance they can cause problems. My son, aged 1 year, had high level of potentially harmful bacteria, but one commonly found in the gut. Antibiotic treatment helped and he grew visibly in the weeks following treatment. Antibiotics kill bacteria, good and bad and I think in some people, the repopulation process is not always optimal. This is an area of research that is fascinating to me, I think we will see more insights in the coming years of how bacteria is colonised, what the impact of bacteria is on the immune system and what to do when things go wrong. Natural sources like Kombucha, Kefir and fermented foods like sauerkraut seem to be a good source. Nourishing Traditions is a good text to read.