Antibiotics | Do They Damage Your Immune System?

Over the counter antibiotics have become so commonplace in our medical system that many people don’t think twice when they hear the word. However, if you take a look deeper into the meaning of the word “antibiotic”, some concern arises. ‘Anti’ literally means against and ‘biotic’ means life. So why would ANY person, when sick, consider taking something that is against life?

I understand that the original idea behind antibiotics is based on the germ theory. Meaning a germ has made you sick, hence you want to kill that germ and theoretically return to health. However, in the case of antibiotics we are finding that they not only kill the germ, but actually kill and suppress our own immune system and our own ability to deal with germs and disease in general.

How Antibiotics are Harming Your Immune System

A major side effect of antibiotics is that they act non-discriminately against both bad and good bacteria. So, every time you take a course of them, you are actually killing your own good bacteria and therefore weakening your own immune system. Amazingly, our gut is responsible for a whopping 80% of the health of our immune system.

In fact, the gut micro-biome has recently been labelled as an organ! New profound research is showing that our own gut bacteria is our leading defence against germs, sickness, flu, viruses and many other different things. Long term use of antibiotics leads you into a downward spiral where by killing your own gut bacteria, your body’s natural defences are weakened.

The New Paradigm of Natural Antibiotics

Luckily we are moving into a new paradigm where instead of attacking the germs, we are supporting life. We’re moving away from antibiotics and into probiotics which literally means pro-life. Sounds so much better, doesn’t it!

Many people are familiar with probiotics in supplement form and you probably know by now I’m very much against ANY type of supplements – even probiotics. There’s good reason for this though because there is a natural way our body produces probiotics. When we eat fresh fruit, the fermentation process of digestion actually creates certain levels of probiotics. Fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kimchi and kombucha are full of probiotics.

It’s also good to get some prebiotics in your diet as these are a food source to feed and sustain your good bacteria. Onions and garlic are good examples. In fact, garlic is also natures super antibiotic killing up to 99.9% viruses and bad bacteria! Simply eating a variety of whole foods in their natural form supports this probiotic gut biome that prevents disease.

In times of sickness you can boost your immune system by consuming extra quantities of these natural antibiotic and probiotic rich foods. If you can’t handle raw garlic alone, try mashing it up and mixing with sauerkraut. This will provide you with plenty of probiotics and will help build the immune system and most likely knock out the germs or viruses you’re dealing with.

Super Boost Your Immune System

Recent studies from University of California showed that 3 days of fasting completely regenerates and restarts the immune system! The old way of going about things with pharmaceutical drugs and trying to fight and poison yourself during the process of trying to get better needs to go away and be replaced by the new science (yet ancient practice) of fasting. Every animal on the planet fasts when it gets sick.

Fasting literally is natures ultimate way to heal.

Prevention is ALWAYS better than cure. Eat a diet of fresh whole foods every day including a regular intake of fermented probiotic foods and you’ll build your immune system to a level where it can defend on its own better than ever before. Do things that support your immune system rather than attack and suppress it.

Stay healthy!

Thanks for reading!