My reading and research has shifted from the emotional side of chronic illness to the "why" of chronic illness. There are about 133,000,000 Americans with chronic medical conditions! Autism, allergies, ADHD, and asthma among children are increasing at alarming rates. Most of us intuitively feel that diet has something to do with all this. In fact, most newly diagnosed lupus patients who call the Lupus Foundation ask me if they can "go natural" and not take medication. My response is that it is not "natural" for your immune system to turn against you, and the cure is not simply natural either, take the medication. But I also encourage them to make lifestyle changes. Stress, toxins, lifestyle and diet all contribute to overall health. Those of us with chronic conditions have to be even more vigilant if we want to have the best level of health.
This brings me to antibiotics. Scientists tell us about super bugs that are antibiotic resistant. Antibiotics are frequently prescribed, not because the patient has a bacterial infection, but because the patient wants the doctor to give them something and the doctor complies. Sometimes antibiotics are life saving. No matter what, when we take antibiotics, the good bacteria that live in our gut are killed off along with the bad. We can replenish them by eating yogurt and drinking Kefir.
No one would take antibiotics on a daily basis for life. But wait! Most of us do! Farmed fish and animals are given antibiotics even if they are not sick. The farming conditions are so unsanitary that this is the only way to make sure the valuable "crop" doesn't get sick and die! If you eat meat, you are eating antibiotics. Antibiotics are in our eggs and milk. And if that's not enough, antibiotics are in our water! Check out the Environmental Working Group report on tap water http://www.ewg.org/tap-water/welcome.
When I tell people about antibiotics in drinking water their first reaction is that people may flush unused antibiotics down the toilet. Yes, that happens. But the antibiotics that we take and those that farm animals take are not fully metabolized. Some of the antibiotic passes as waste and enters the water table. They are not filtered out as the water trickles down. Many people say, "I drink bottled water, not a problem." Not true! Where do they think the bottled water comes from? In fact, tap water is checked and regulated, bottled water is not!
Why does it matter if we are consuming antibiotics in everything from our morning tea and omelette to that healthy salmon steak for dinner? We are destroying the healthy bacteria that live in our gut. 70% of our immune system is in our gut. We are making our immune system unbalanced which can result in allergies, autoimmunity (23.5 million Americans), and cancer.
What can we do? Clearly it is impossible to eliminate all the antibiotics that find their way into our bodies, but we can reduce the body burden. If you must eat animal products, choose those that are raised without antibiotics. More and more major markets are carrying these options. Add some organic yogurt to your diet and you have taken one big step to better health.
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