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Should You Take Probiotics if You Must Take Antibiotics? -- Mercola Article

Wayne

Senior Member
Messages
4,298
Location
Ashland, Oregon
I thought the following linked article was quite thought provoking (not provocative). I was a bit skeptical after first seeing the title, but the introduction (below) made a lot of sense. Looks like a must read for somebody taking or considering taking antibiotics.

P.S. -- I've come to believe iodine is something very important to consider when taking antibiotics. Antibiotics often leads to fungal overgrowth, and my understanding is iodine is known to be a very effective anti-fungal treatment, I think especially candida.

Should You Take Probiotics if You Must Take Antibiotics?

STORY AT-A-GLANCE
  • Recent research casts doubt on the standard recommendation to reseed your gut with probiotics after taking a course of antibiotics, finding Lactobacillus bacteria actually inhibits the recovery of your gut microbiome
  • Spore-based probiotics do not contain any live Bacillus strains, only its spores, which means antibiotics cannot kill them. Sporebiotics may therefore be able to reestablish your gut microbiome more effectively than regular probiotics when taken in conjunction with antibiotics
  • There’s only a 20 percent correlation between the microbiome of the gut and that of stool. Hence, stool samples cannot accurately assess the composition of your gut microbiome
  • When you take an oral probiotic, the effect is transient, but still provides benefits by up- and downregulating hundreds of genes, many of which are related to immune system function
  • Your gut microbiome tends to be rather resistant to change; commensal bacteria inhibit colonization of added probiotics. Some people have a “permissive microbiome,” meaning they’re more likely to accept colonization of new bacteria, whereas others have more resistant microbiomes
 

perchance dreamer

Senior Member
Messages
1,688
Interesting, @Wayne. My PA recommended a product called MegaSporeBiotic when I was having digestive problems. I had an odd experience with it.

I took one in the morning (they recommend taking it with food), and it gave me some really good energy. However, that night, I could not sleep. The same thing happened when I tried it again in a few days.

Maybe it's just me. I have this problem a lot: Almost anything that gives me energy interferes with my sleep.

I believe this brand is sold only through health-care providers. I may try it again sometime, but I'll do 1/2 a capsule instead.

Jarrow and NeuroBiologix probiotics both help my lower digestive tract (I alternate the two), but I've never gotten energy from any probiotic other than the MegaSporeBiotic.

https://microbiomelabs.com/products/megasporebiotic/#ataglance