In recent years,antibioticAbuse is one of the most serious problems. For example, people may take antibiotics for a cold, but colds are mostly caused by viruses, and antibiotics are not effective. Because the only function of antibiotics is to kill bacteria, such as Salmonella, which causes gastroenteritis. Or some people are superstitious about taking powerful medicines, hoping to “relieve the disease”, and take too strong antibiotics.
Over-relianceantibioticTo increase bacterial resistance, when taking antibiotics,Gut bacteriaare also destroyed by antibiotics, which may lead to systemicinflamedand other diseases.Therefore, in addition to not taking antibiotics indiscriminately, it is necessary to improveGut bacteriaResilience to reduce the risk of infection and reduce the chance of using antibiotics.
What happens in the gut when antibiotics get into the body?
Healthy gut bacteria have many benefits relative to the human body. There are many good bacteria in the gut, which can improve gut health, enhance immune response, prevent allergies, lower blood cholesterol and prevent cancer.[1]
When people take antibiotics, the antibiotics that enter the body not only kill the target bacteria, but also the bacteria that were originally in the gut.
ProbioticsCai Yingjie, an expert and chair professor of National Yangming Jiaotong University, pointed out that unless some intestinal bacteria are resistant to drugs, antibiotics can kill intestinal bacteria indiscriminately. “. Because the probiotics that people eat must be free of drug resistance, the bacteria with drug resistance cannot be used as probiotic strains.
Also because of the characteristics of antibiotics, after people take the medicine for a period of time, the bad bacteria with drug resistance will especially stay and the number will increase, such as Clostridium difficile (Clostridium difficile).
Clostridium difficile is one of the normal flora in the human intestinal tract, and it is not easy to cause disease due to the competition and repression of other intestinal bacteria. However, the use of antibiotics reduces other normal flora in the gut, allowing Clostridium difficile to multiply and cause disease. Symptoms include diarrhea, abdominal distension, abdominal pain, fever, nausea, anorexia, and in a few severe cases, colitis, toxic megacolon, intestinal perforation, and even death may occur.[2][3]
Collapsed gut bacteria can causeleaky gut,whole bodyinflamed
When the gut microbiome is dysregulated by antibiotics, inflammatory types of bad bacteria, such as gram-negative bacteria, increase.
These bad bacteria will release more inflammatory substances and toxins, which will inflame the intestines and causeleaky gut. Toxins and bad bacteria in the intestines have the opportunity to enter the blood circulation and cause systemic inflammation throughout the body.
Cai Yingjie pointed out that these bacteria can be circulated throughout the body through the blood, and if the bad bacteria run into the myocardium, it will cause myocarditis. In addition, the blood-brain barrier in the brain provides protection, and it is not easy for bacteria to enter the brain, but small molecules of toxins and inflammatory substances may pass through this barrier. He pointed out that this may increase the risk of dementia, Parkinson’s disease.
If the misuse of antibiotics leads to an imbalance of intestinal bacteria, it may also greatly increase the mortality rate of myocardial infarction. A study published in the medical journal Circulation in 2019 found that mice who underwent myocardial infarction-simulating surgery were significantly more likely to die after they were cleared of intestinal bacteria with antibiotics, and most of them died of a ruptured heart.[4]
The researchers believe that the main cause of myocardial infarction death is the lack of short-chain fatty acids. Short-chain fatty acids are metabolites of good gut bacteria that maintain immune cell function. During myocardial infarction, a large number of necrotic cells are produced, which in turn induces an immune response in the body to repair to maintain the structural stability of the heart. However, without short-chain fatty acids metabolized by good gut bacteria, the repair function of the immune system will be affected, increasing the risk of death.
A 2021 Rutgers University study shows that when antibiotics disrupt the gut microbiome, adults are at increased risk of metabolic and oncological diseases, including diabetes, kidney stones, and colorectal cancer.[5]
Doing so improves gut bacteria resilience and reduces antibiotic use
Taking antibiotics will definitely damage the intestinal bacteria, and the degree of damage is related to the dose. The lower the dose, the less the impact. However, when it is usually necessary to take antibiotics for treatment, the dose taken is definitely not too low, and a full course of treatment must be taken to ensure that this course of treatment can kill the bad bacteria. Especially now that the bacteria are getting more and more powerful, and the antibiotics used are getting stronger and stronger.
Therefore, the fundamental approach is to reduce the chance of using antibiotics.
Under normal circumstances, the number of bad bacteria entering the body from the outside is very small, and the normal bacteria in the body will reject it and kill these bad bacteria. If it can’t be rejected, people will get sick and finally need to take antibiotics to kill bacteria.
This rejection process reflects a person’s “gut bacteria resilience”. Cai Yingjie said, “I often emphasize the toughness of gut bacteria. The gut bacteria are resilient and can easily resist external pressure.” These pressures include external virus and bacterial attacks, poor diet and living habits, mental stress and so on.
Resilience is the process by which individuals adapt to and recover from adverse conditions. Intestinal bacteria have good toughness and resistance, are less likely to be infected, and are more able to stay away from external threats.
The way to improve the resilience of gut bacteria lies in the diversity and complementarity of gut bacteria. Cai Yingjie explained that the richer the species of good gut bacteria, the better. One more species of bacteria can naturally achieve complementary effects.
A study published by The University of Texas in 2018 mentioned that a diverse diet rich in fiber, especially foods containing prebiotics such as inulin (chicory fiber), was associated with the diversity of gut bacteria. related.Inulin is a water-soluble fiber that can be obtained from natural foods such as garlic, burdock, asparagus, leeks, wheat, onions, and artichokes。[6]
A varied diet also avoids nutritional imbalances, as micronutrient deficiencies can also affect the composition of gut bacteria. A 2021 review pointed out that if the diet lacksNutrients such as vitamin A, zinc, iron or folic acid, will destroy the intestinal flora. Deficiency of vitamin A had the greatest effect on altering the bacterial phase composition, resulting in an increase in Bacteroides vulgaris. Zinc helps maintain the integrity of the intestinal barrier.[7]
Also, limit alcohol consumption. Consuming large amounts of alcohol not only disrupts the integrity of the gut immune barrier and increases the risk of leaky gut, it also damages the gut microbiome and promotes toxin production.
Finally, supplement the different functionsProbioticsIt can directly enrich the bacteria and play their respective roles.For example, supplementLactobacillus helveticus ns8, Lactobacillus salivarius UBL S22, Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium infantis 35624helps reduce inflammation.[8]
ReplenishLactobacillus rhamnosus R0011 and Lactobacillus helveticus R0052, and Lactobacillus paracasei NCC2461can reduce intestinal leakage caused by inflammation.
Of course, people who are taking antibiotics should not stop taking them. To avoid developing resistance and to repair damaged gut microbiota, there are several methods:
1. Take antibiotics usually to avoid minor infections. But when taking antibiotics, accept a full course of treatment to avoid the development of drug-resistant bacteria. Because stopping the drug without authorization will make the bad bacteria in the body “kill the grass without eradicating the roots, and grow again in the spring breeze”, and become resistant to antibiotics, resulting in the need to increase the dose of drugs in the future.
2. When taking antibiotics, double the supplementation of probiotics, but there should be a 2-hour interval between taking the medicine to avoid the killing of probiotics. After the treatment, probiotics should be continuously supplemented to accelerate the normalization of the intestinal tract.
3. In intestinal health care, diet is the most important. It is recommended to eat foods that are beneficial to intestinal bacteria for a long time, such as fruits and vegetables, and fermented foods such as yogurt (yogurt).
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Responsible editor: Li Qingfeng