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Antibiotics and Health: How They Affect Your Well-Being

August 23, 2018

Dr. Marc Bony, DC

At the Marc Bony Chiropractic Center, we explore the impact of antibiotics on your natural health and how they can affect your microbiome. Discover why maintaining a microbial balance is vital to your well-being.

How many times have you hesitated to take antibiotics because you weren't sure how necessary they were or what impact they might have on your health?

How do antibiotics affect the microbiome, and why is it so important for our health?

Your body's microbiome—that is, the colonies of various microbes that reside in your gut and in other parts inside or on your body—is as unique to you as your fingerprint, and can be rapidly altered based on factors such as diet, lifestyle, and exposure to toxins and antibiotics.

There are approximately 1,000 different species of bacteria living in your body, and these bacteria actually outnumber your body’s cells by a ratio of 10 to 1. But that’s not all. It also harbors viruses (bacteriophages), and they, in turn, outnumber the bacteria by a ratio of 10 to 1.

So your body is not only home to 100 billion bacteria, but it also harbors about a quadrillion viruses. All of these organisms perform multiple functions, and they need to be properly balanced and cared for to maintain good health.

Strictly speaking, there are no "good" or "bad" bacteria. Potentially harmful microbes only become dangerous once they begin to gain a significant foothold, outcompeting the more beneficial microbes.

This also means that living in a sterile environment is by no means ideal, since health-promoting microbes are adversely affected along with potentially harmful bacteria when we wage war on bacteria using hand sanitizers and antibiotics as our main weapons.

Fifteen years ago, it was predicted that the Human Genome Project (HGP) would enable modern medicine to make a breakthrough in genetic therapies for virtually any disease known to man—experts were certain that health and disease were regulated by genetic predisposition.

To everyone's surprise, the HGP discovered that genetics alone accounts for about 10 % of human diseases.The remaining 90 % was induced by environmental factors, such as nutrients, toxins, or thoughts and emotions.

In recent years, we have come to realize that the microbiome is one of the environmental factors that regulate gene expression by activating or deactivating genes depending on which microbes are present.

Children who are exposed to antibiotics during the first three years of their lives may be at increased risk of obesity.

In studies, mice that receive antibiotics as infants become 25 % heavier and have 60 % more body fat than adult control mice.

Before taking any medication, consider your diet, whether you are exposed to environmental pollution, whether you come into contact with toxic substances, etc., and always take steps to protect your health with other natural remedies such as chiropractic and other healthier options for you.