How to Protect Yourself and Your Children from the Health Hazards
Associated with Medical and Agricultural Antibiotics
January 10, 2013
Story at-a-glance
Antibiotic-resistant disease is a major threat to public health, and
the primary cause for this man-made epidemic is the widespread
misuse of antibiotics—both in medicine and agriculture
Recent research shows children whose mothers took antibiotics during
their pregnancy were more likely to develop asthma. Children
predisposed to asthma were twice as likely to develop asthma if
their mother used antibiotics during the third trimester, compared
to those whose mother did not use antibiotics
A baby gets his or her first "inoculation" of gut flora from the
mother’s birth canal during childbirth, which is why a mother’s use
of antibiotics during pregnancy may predispose the child to asthma
and a variety of other ailments, including neurological dysfunction
and autoimmune disorders
One chicken farmer has demonstrated that even large-scale animal
farming can manage without routine administration of antibiotic
drugs by using an herbal remedy of oregano oil and cinnamon instead
You can help yourself and your community by using antibiotics only
when absolutely necessary and by purchasing organic, antibiotic-free
meats and other foods. Natural compounds with antibiotic/antiviral
activity include oil of oregano, garlic, and Echinacea, which you
can try before resorting to drugs
By Dr. Mercola
The issue of antibiotic overuse, both in medicine and food
production, and the subsequent threats to human health, has been
featured in a number of recent news articles.
According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and
Control (ECDC), antibiotic resistance is a major threat to
public health, worldwide, and the primary cause for this
man-made epidemic is the widespread misuse of antibiotics.
For example, data from the ECDC1
shows a significant rise of resistance to multiple antibiotics
in Klebsiella pneumoniae and E. coli in just
the last four years alone, affecting more than one-third of the
EU. According to a recent report by Medical News Today:2
"In several of the member states, between 25 and over
60 percent of K pneumoniae from bloodstream infections show
combined resistance to multiple antibiotics...
The ECDC data shows that consumption of carbapenems,
a major class of last-line antibiotics, went up
significantly in EU/EEA countries between 2007 and 2010. The
report suggests this is most likely due to increasing
multidrug resistance in Gram-negative infections, such as
pneumonia or bloodstream infections, which are often treated
with carbapenems."
In an effort to raise awareness, the UK has issued an
informational leaflet3
on the judicious use of antibiotics, urging patients to not
ask their doctors for an antibiotic to treat symptoms of cold
and flu, as antibiotics do not work on infections
caused by viruses — they only work on bacterial infections.
Antibiotics During Pregnancy Linked to Asthma in Kids
Antibiotic-resistant disease is not the only danger
associated with the misuse of these drugs. Excessive exposure to
antibiotics also takes a heavy toll on your gastrointestinal
health, which can predispose you to virtually any
disease. Abnormal gut flora may actually be a major contributing
factor to the rise in a wide variety of childhood diseases and
ailments.
For example, recent research4
from Denmark shows that children whose mothers took antibiotics
during their pregnancy were more likely to develop asthma,
compared to those whose mother did not take antibiotics. Taking
other risk factors into account, the researchers estimated that
children exposed to antibiotics were 17 percent more likely to
be hospitalized for asthma before the age of five.
Children who were already predisposed to asthma (due to their
mother having the condition) were twice as likely to
develop asthma if their mother used antibiotics during the third
trimester, compared to those whose mother did not use
antibiotics.
While the study cannot tell us whether the asthma was the
result of the antibiotic or the infection itself, the increased
asthma risk found does support the theory that probiotics —
beneficial bacteria residing in your gut, which are decimated by
antibiotics — play a role in the development of asthma.
Co-author Dr. Hans Bisgaard told Reuters Health:5
"We speculate that mothers' use of antibiotics
changes the balance of natural bacteria, which is
transmitted to the newborn, and that such unbalanced
bacteria in early life impact on the immune maturation in
the newborn."
Indeed, one of the most important prerequisites for your
newborn is establishing a healthy gastrointestinal tract.
Regardless of age, your gut is your first line of defense in
terms of immunity.
The baby gets his or her first "inoculation" of gut flora
from the mother's birth canal during childbirth, which is why a
mother's use of antibiotics during pregnancy can predispose the
child to asthma and a variety of other ailments, as the
antibiotic severely disrupts the natural microflora — in the
mother's bowels and vagina.
It's important to understand that if mother's flora
is abnormal, her baby's flora will also be abnormal, as whatever
organisms live in her vagina end up coating her baby's body and
lining his or her intestinal tract.
Antibiotic Use May Predispose Your Baby to GAPS
The introduction of unfriendly flora can predispose your baby
to
GAPS (Gut and Psychology Syndrome, and also Gut
and Physiology Syndrome). GAPS can have very damaging
long-term effects on a child's health, both neurologically and
physiologically. Besides an increased risk of asthma and other
allergies, it can also increase his or her risk of learning
and/or behavioral disabilities, mood disorders, gastrointestinal
problems, and autoimmune disorders.
GAPS may even have profound implications for the autism
epidemic. Rates of childhood autism are staggering, now 50 times
higher in some areas than three decades ago. Not surprisingly,
there is a matching epidemic of GAPS.
Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride is a neurologist and
neurosurgeon who has devoted years of her career to studying
this phenomenon, and how to treat and prevent it. She's
convinced that abnormal gut flora is at the heart of the
problem, and that the solution to stem the rise in autistic
spectrum disabilities lies in "healing and sealing" the child's
gut. As a result of her groundbreaking research, she has
developed a very effective nutritional protocol for doing just
that. To learn more, please review my previous article
How a Physician Cured Her Son's Autism.
The Importance of Probiotic Foods
The widespread deterioration of people's gut health can be
traced back to the change in our modern diet. Historically,
people have regularly consumed a wide variety of fermented
foods, which are naturally high in the beneficial bacteria
necessary for optimal gut health. Fermented foods are therefore
a mainstay of the
GAPS diet. Ideally, you'll want to include a variety of
cultured foods and beverages in your diet, as each food will
inoculate your gut with a variety of different microorganisms.
Fermented foods you can easily make at home include:
Fermented vegetables
Chutneys
Condiments, such as salsa and mayonnaise
Cultured dairy, such as yoghurt, kefir, and sour cream
Fish, such as mackerel and Swedish gravlax
The beneficial bacteria in these foods are also potent
detoxifiers, capable of drawing out a wide range of toxins and
heavy metals. According to Dr. McBride, the GAPS Nutritional
Protocol restores the detoxification system in about 90 percent
of people, and the fermented/cultured foods are instrumental in
this self-healing process. You don't need to consume huge
amounts either. Just a quarter to a half a cup of fermented
vegetables or cultured food such as raw yoghurt, per day, is
sufficient. Kombucha, a fermented drink, is another great
addition to your diet.
The key is variety. The greater the variety of fermented and
cultured foods you include in your diet, the better, as each
food will inoculate your gut with a variety of different
microorganisms. Also remember to always reseed your gut with
probiotics whenever you're using an antibiotic, either by
consuming fermented foods, or taking a high quality probiotics
supplement.
In the following interview, Caroline Barringer, a Nutritional
Therapy Practitioner (NTP), and an expert in the preparation of
the foods prescribed in Dr. Campbell-McBride's GAPS nutritional
program, discusses the process of fermenting your own
vegetables.
It's actually easier than you might think, and it can save
you a lot of money. It's unusual to find a probiotic supplement
containing more than 10 billion colony-forming units. But when
my team actually tested fermented vegetables produced by
probiotic starter cultures, they had 10 trillion
colony-forming units of bacteria. Literally, one serving of
fermented vegetables was equal to an entire bottle of a high
potency probiotic! So clearly, you're far better off using
fermented foods.
If you fear the culturing process might lead to some horrific
pathogenic infection, please read Caroline's article "Taking the
Mystery out of Culturing Your Own Superfoods,"6
where she lays such fears to rest. Educating yourself about the
process will help alleviate concerns about eating fermented
foods, which are very much "alive."
Are Antibiotics Really Necessary in Food Production?
As mentioned earlier, antibiotic overuse occurs not just in
medicine, but also in food production. In fact, agricultural
uses account for about 80 percent of all antibiotic use
in the US,7
so it's a MAJOR source of human antibiotic consumption. Animals
are often fed antibiotics at low doses for disease prevention
and growth promotion, and those antibiotics are transferred to
you via meat, and even via the manure used as crop fertilizer.
Protecting your gut health and reducing the spread of
antibiotic-resistant bacteria are significant reasons for making
sure you're only eating grass-fed, organically-raised meats and
animal products.
Example of Typical CAFO Hen House
In a related news story, one farmer demonstrates that even
large-scale animal farming can manage without routine
administration of antibiotic drugs. Chicken farmer Scott
Sechler, owner of Bell & Evans, tells the New York Times8
how an old-fashioned herbal remedy to keep his flocks healthy:
"Off and on over the last three years or so, his
chickens have been eating a specially milled diet laced with
oregano oil and a touch of cinnamon. Mr. Sechler swears by
the concoction as a way to fight off bacterial diseases that
plague meat and poultry producers without resorting to
antibiotics, which some experts say can be detrimental to
the humans who eat the meat.
Products at Bell & Evans, based in this town about 30
miles east of Harrisburg, have long been free of
antibiotics, contributing to the company's financial success
as consumers have demanded purer foods.But Mr.
Sechler said that nothing he had used as a substitute in the
past worked as well as oregano oil. 'I have worried a bit
about how I'm going to sound talking about this,' he said.
'But I really do think we're on to something here.'"
Interestingly, the oregano product Mr. Sechler uses has been
tested against four drugs made by Bayer, comparing its ability
to control diarrhea in piglets caused by E.coli. The oregano
product, sold under the name By-O-Reg Plus, outperformed all
four Bayer products.
"'Strange but true!' Dr. Lucio Nisoli, the Bayer
product manager, wrote in his report on the trial. 'Compared
to the various anti-infectives, with Ropadiar I have
obtained much more effective and quicker results.
Furthermore, piglets treated with Ropadiar look much more
healthy and were not so dehydrated and wasted,'" the
New York Times writes.9
Many Natural Compounds have Antibiotic Activity, Without the
Side Effects
You can help yourself and your community by using antibiotics
only when absolutely necessary and by purchasing
organic, antibiotic-free meats and other foods. Even though the
problem of antibiotic-resistance needs to be stemmed through
public policy on a nationwide level, the more people who get
involved on a personal level to stop unnecessary antibiotic use
the better...If you live in the United States and want to get
involved on a national level, Food Democracy Now! has created a
petition against the overuse of antibiotics in livestock
production.10
If you care about this issue, I suggest you use this petition to
make your voice heard.
Also, to bring us back to where we began, please make sure to
avoid unnecessary use of antibiotics during pregnancy. Not every
bacterial infection needs to be treated with a drug. First, as
an all-around preventive measure, you'll want to make sure your
vitamin D level is optimized year-round, especially during
pregnancy, along with
vitamin K2. But there are also a number of natural compounds
that act as broad-based antibiotics/anti-virals that you can try
first, such as:
Oreganol (oil of oregano)
Garlic
Echinacea
Manuka honey (for topical application)
Hurry — Deadline to Join New Project to Learn About YOUR Gut
Bacteria is Fast Approaching
Lastly, I'd like to remind you about what I believe is one of
the most important natural health projects of this century —
The American Gut Project,11
which I recently discussed in greater detail. The project, which
is open to the public, will allow participants to learn more
about their gut — which microbes inhabit your intestines, and
how they might be affecting your health.
But hurry — the deadline to participate is February 2.
It's an extremely ambitious project seeking to identify the
parameters for the ideal gut bacteria, and how diet affects it.
I am personally participating in this project, and I'm very
excited to see what consuming several ounces of fermented
vegetables nearly every day has done to my bowel flora. Jeff
Leach, an anthropologist and now graduate student at the London
School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and a co-founder of the
Project recently told Prevention Magazine:12
"We hope to enter the national conversation about
what you should eat. Our question is this: From the
perspective of your gut microbiome, which may be linked to
many acute and chronic diseases, what diet should you
follow?"