If You’ve Ever Taken Antibiotics, You MUST Read This…

Depending on the doctor you go see, you may or may not be given antibiotics to fight off an infection. Some give antiobiotics for almost everything, though others realize the importance of not over-exposing the body to so many antibiotics and only give them when it’s completely necessary.

Antibiotics kill or slow the growth of bacteria. They are drugs and are among the most frequently prescribed in modern medicine.

Antibiotics can cause some side effects like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and fungal infections… and that’s what I want to talk about here.

The issue here is the slowing or killing off of bacteria. Your entire digestive system relies on bacteria to breakdown and digest your food. There is good bacteria throughout your small and large intestines that is supposed to be there at all times. However, when taking antibiotics, they can’t choose which bacteria they fight off and which they leave. You can lose all your good bacteria, or even just enough, so the bad bacteria can take over.

Have you ever heard of Candida? It’s an overgrowth of yeast in your entire system! And it’s the same thing that can cause vaginal yeast infections. (if you can’t seem to get rid of yeast infections or have them recurring, you could have a candida issue)

Candida can happen when you don’t have a good ratio between good bacteria and bad. If that’s knocked out of balance by antibiotics, yeast has the opportunity to take over and flourish in that environment. There is not enough, if any, good bacteria to keep it in check.

This could also cause digestive issues, which could lead to malabsorption issues. And if you aren’t getting all the nutrients you need, your body will react in all sorts of ways (I believe this is part of my daughter’s issue since she had Celiac and we didn’t know it… but in her case, it’s the small villi hairs of the small intestine not working properly that has caused some malabsorption… we will discuss Celiac and gluten-intolerance later in this series).

So, how do you add good bacteria back into your system once you have had antibiotics? You need prebiotics (promote friendly bacteria) and probiotics (small organisms that help maintain the natural balance of microflora in the intestines). These are available in capsule form, but also in foods, as well. There is healthy, good bacteria in yogurt that would be good to eat while TAKING antibiotics, if they are necessary, to try to keep them all from being killed off in the process of using the meds. Also, both prebiotics and probiotics are in Shakeology, a meal replacement shake full of protein and superfoods from around the planet (one of the best things you can put in your body!). Check out this video about it: “See What Doctors Are Saying About Shakeology”

Your good bacteria does a lot for you and if it’s not properly maintained, it can affect a WHOLE lot of other functions in your body. So, load up!!!



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If You’ve Ever Taken Antibiotics, You MUST Read This…

Eat Without Pain

When you have issues with your stomach or intestines, usually you just want that pain to go away, no matter what the cost. And in talking with people, I realize that each of us is at a different place in our lives, our resources, and to what extent we want to get better or be the healthiest we can be. It’s time we all eat without pain!

In my life, I am forced to take things to more of an extreme than the average Joe because of the health concerns in my family. With a mom, one sister, myself, and my kids ~ one of which was just diagnosed Celiac ~ all with gluten sensitivity, there is a good chance we could have, at some point, ALL been diagnosed Celiac since that’s the way it tends to work in families. However, we have taken it upon ourselves to make wise decisions regarding the foods we put in our bodies, diagnosis or not, to avoid pain, bloating, and potentially worse diseases than Celiac by choosing to eat the correct foods for our digestive system.

I know some of the things I share with you here may seem extreme, but for some people, it’s not extreme, it’s relief! If I can help the majority out there by suggesting the extreme, I know most will be able to take the information, apply what will work for them in their situation, with their health issues and resources available, and be healthier for choosing to feed their body differently, whether that means a change of foods they are eating or how they eat them.

Today, I want to talk about HOW you eat foods. There are some main principles for “pain-free eating” found in Sherry Brescia’s book, Great Taste No Pain. Her basic principles are:

1) Eat fruit on an empty stomach
This is actually hard to do since you have to wait for other foods to digest and let the fruit digest before eating other foods. However, you may notice a huge improvement by doing this. This is suggested since fruits are made up of water and natural sugars. So it doesn’t take much effort to digest them. But when you eat fruit with other types of foods (carbs, protein, etc.), the fruit has to hang out in the stomach longer for the other foods to be broken down and digested, causing the fruit to ferment and putrefy. This can lead to stomach aches, gas, bloating, diarrhea, and cramps. So, next time you mix fruit with something, listen to your body and pay attention to the signals it gives you. If you have one or more of the symptoms listed above, consider eating fruit by itself. And please, continue to eat fruit no matter what it’s mixed with!

2) Eat as much high-water content food (fresh fruits & veggies) as possible
The old saying goes “you are what you eat” but maybe now it should be changed to “eat what you are.” Check out these percentages of how much water is in our bodies:
Lean muscle tissue = 75% water
Blood = 90% water
Bone = 22% water
Saliva = 95% water
Lymph = 94% water
Lungs and brain = 80% water

Fascinating how much water we are made up from! Adding more water to our systems through our diets will naturally help keep our bodies healthy and functioning properly. Also, most fresh fruits and veggies are alkaline, which helps you achieve and maintain an alkaline pH. (this is critical in avoiding diseases… read my previous post regarding this and see below)

3) Properly combine your foods
There is a whole, WHOLE lot to write on this subject, so for now, I will give you just the basics (buy Sherry’s book to get more info). Fresh (non-starchy) vegetables, largely comprised of water, are a more “neutral” food and pass through the stomach quickly with little or no digestive enzymes necessary. Starchy foods require an alkaline digestive enzyme, which starts in the mouth, continues in the stomach, progressing to the small intestine. Protein foods are digested by acid, meaning they are mainly digested by the hydrochloric acid and pepsin in the stomach.

Here, I must insert a direct quote from her book. Check this out…
“It’s estimated that nearly 30% of Americans take antacids on a regular basis. That means nearly 1/3 of people in this country have to take stomach medicine frequently; many need it every time they eat! Isn’t it obvious that there is something terribly wrong with this picture? The human body was designed to digest food with no problem. It is not supposed to be in pain simply from eating!”

4) Avoid animal products and processed foods
I think this one speaks for itself. Regarding animal products, take a look at your teeth. You don’t have fangs and they are more squared off, meaning you were designed to eat more like the veggie & brush-eating animals, not like a tiger who eats meat. Occasionally, meat is good for you, but not all the time. You need b12 from animal products, along with it being a great source of protein. But most Americans eat WAY too much meat all the time. As for processed foods, what in them is living? What would give your body life? They may be tailored to your sweet tooth, but there is nothing of nutritional substance in them.

5) Maintain an alkaline pH
7.35 is ideal. However, you don’t have to worry about taking your pH balance, as long as you are getting enough fruits and vegetables in your diet. Disease can thrive in an acidic environment, but it just cannot in an alkaline body. Meats, also, produce acid, so it’s another good reason to pay attention to how much you are ingesting. I typically do only meat once a day with dinner. However, I get a bit of protein with most meals, either through nuts, legumes, yogurt, Shakeology, oatmeal, beans, etc. There are plenty of non-meat protein sources out there for that to be your justification for eating that much meat.

Try new foods. Expand your palate. You’d be surprised how your tastebuds change to prefer the healthier foods! You may not live by all these principles, but they are certainly a good point of reference and give you lots of ideas of what you can change in your own life to make you feel better, your body run more efficiently, and feel great!

You have now been given tools! Now, what are you going to do with them?

Shoot me a comment! I’d love to know if you plan on implementing any or all of these or if you already have, how has it benefited you? There are plenty of other people that need to hear YOUR story.

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Eat Without Pain