Antibiotics are a group of medications that are used to treat bacterial infections. There are several different kinds of antibiotics, including penicillins, fluoroquinolones, and tetracyclines, and they all have different mechanisms of action.
Whilst antibiotics are amazing medicines that we absolutely need to help tackle bacterial infections, they aren’t without their side effects. The most well-known side effects of antibiotics are poor gut health and exacerbation of nasty digestive symptoms.
We will get into why these medications can disrupt your gut further in the article, but first, let’s talk more about what antibiotics are and how they work to protect the body from harmful bacteria.
Keep reading until the end of the article, as we have got some helpful tips for healing your gut after taking a course of antibiotics, including the best natural remedies, supplements, and lifestyle changes.
What Are Antibiotics?
An antibiotic is a medication that can kill bacteria or significantly slow down their growth. The very first antibiotic medication was called salvarsan, and it came about in 1900. In 1928, Alexander Fleming accidentally discovered penicillin, which accelerated the development of antibiotics as modern-day treatments.
There are six main types of antibiotics:
- Penicillins, such as penicillin or amoxicillin
- Aminoglycosides, such as streptomycin or gentamicin
- Cephalosporins, such as cephalexin or cefadroxil
- Fluoroquinolones, such as ciprofloxacin or levofloxacin
- Tetracyclines, such as doxycycline or lymecycline
- Macrolides, such as erythromycin or clarithromycin
Each one works in a slightly different way to destroy bacteria (bactericidal agent) or stop their growth and replication (bacteriostatic agent). Some prevent bacterial DNA synthesis. Others punch a hole in the bacterial cell walls, causing water to move into the cells and the bacteria to swell until they burst (ouch, those poor bacteria!).
How Do Antibiotics Affect the Gut?
Taking a course of antibiotics can lead to several different side effects, including nausea, vomiting, headache, fever, stomach pains, and lower abdominal cramps. These medications can cause digestive symptoms because they negatively impact the gut microbiome.
In a healthy individual who isn’t currently taking any antibiotics or hasn’t recently finished a course of antibiotic medications, the gut microbiome comprises a fine balance between beneficial bacteria, viruses, and fungi. However, if they take a course of antibiotics to clear an unwanted bacterial infection somewhere in the body, these antibiotics will also kill off some of the beneficial probiotic bacteria in the gut.
The broad-spectrum antibiotics are particularly bad for this because, as the name suggests, they kill a broad spectrum of bacteria, including some of the species that form your gut microbiome.
A reduction in the number of probiotic gut bacteria can lead to digestive symptoms, such as bloating, gas, abdominal discomfort, and constipation. It can also impact nutrient production and absorption, as the gut microbiome aids in these processes.
The exact way that antibiotics affect the gut depends on the type of antibiotic treatment you’re taking, the time you’re taking the course and the number of courses you take. Several courses of higher doses of antibiotics that are taken over a long period of time have the largest and most negative impact on the gut, so it could take you much longer to heal your gut after this.
Existing health conditions can also impact the severity of side effects associated with antibiotics. If you already have a chronic digestive disorder, you might find that antibiotics worsen your symptoms and affect you moreso than they do somebody who doesn’t have any pre-existing digestive issues.
There is some research to suggest that antibiotics cause inflammation in the gut, increasing the risk of inflammatory digestive disorders like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and potentially reducing nutrient absorption. Due to their inflammatory effects, antibiotics can also worsen conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune inflammatory conditions.
How to Heal Your Gut After Taking Antibiotics?
Thankfully, all is not lost, and your gut microbiome won’t be permanently destroyed after completing a course of antibiotics. Your gut microbiome will most likely ‘repair’ itself over time after you stop taking the antibiotics, but if you want to speed things up and improve your gut health as quickly as possible, there are things you can do.
Below, we have covered some of the quickest and most effective ways to heal your gut after taking a course of antibiotic medications.
Take a daily probiotic supplement
Probiotics are beneficial species of bacteria that reside naturally in your colon in their trillions.
Probiotic bacteria perform lots of essential functions like vitamin production and fermentation of dietary fibre, both of which are crucial aspects of digestion. They even play a role in the immune system, helping to keep harmful pathogens from entering the bloodstream through the gut wall.
When you take antibiotics, some of the probiotic bacteria in your gut get destroyed, and this can negatively impact digestion and lead to poor gut health. Whilst your cut microbiome will rebalance and the probiotic bacteria will thrive once again without any intervention, taking a probiotic supplement will make this process much quicker.
A probiotic supplement, like our trusty supplement here at Wild Dose, A Dose For Bloating, will boost the levels of probiotic bacteria in your gut quickly. It contains two billion probiotic bacteria, seven different digestive enzymes, and seven unique plant extracts, which combine to create a gut-healing, bloat-busting remedy.
Taking just one capsule of A Dose For Bloating each day can be enough to rebalance your gut microbiome within just a few weeks of stopping your antibiotics. In turn, you can ensure great gut health and avoid any nasty digestive symptoms following your treatment.
Eat a healthy, fibre-rich diet
Fibre is a dietary component that is abundant in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, legumes, nuts, and seeds (basically anything that comes from plants). Both soluble and insoluble fibre are prebiotics that fuel the bacteria in your gut microbiome.
The probiotic bacteria in your gut break down ingested dietary fibre via a process called fermentation, allowing them to thrive. A healthy, well-fuelled gut microbiome is able to perform its functions properly and support healthy digestion.
By increasing your fibre intake after taking antibiotics, you can ensure that your gut microbiome is healthy and diverse and heal your gut quickly. Eating lots of fibre will also help to relieve constipation naturally.
High-fibre foods are easy to incorporate into your diet. Here are some helpful ideas to get you started:
- Oat and fruit smoothie
- Acai bowl with nut butter and fresh, chopped fruit
- Vegetable stir fry made with whole wheat noodles
- Bowl of wheat-based cereal with milk
- Greek yoghurt with granola, mixed chopped nuts, and flaxseeds
- Chia seed pudding
- Three-bean chilli with rice
- Quinoa salad
- Wheat bran banana muffins
Avoid Eating Highly Processed Foods
Foods that have gone through extensive processing, such as takeaways, ready meals, and pre-packaged snacks, are packed full of saturated fat, salt, and sugar.
These components can lead to bloating, gas, and general digestive discomfort. They can also disrupt the gut microbiome and kill off some of the probiotic bacteria in your colon, leading to poor digestive health and function.
Avoiding processed foods can prevent future disruption to your microbiome and allow it to heal after you’ve taken a course of antibiotics. Instead of choosing highly processed foods, create meals from scratch at home with healthy ingredients or choose snacks made with natural ingredients.
Of course, avoiding these high-calorie, high-fat foods will also make maintaining a healthy weight easier. Since obesity is closely linked with poor gut health, being a healthy weight can support your recovery after you’ve overcome a bacterial infection.
Exercise regularly
Exercise can be a great way to alleviate bloating, constipation, and gas by promoting a healthier gut microbiome and keeping things moving efficiently through your gastrointestinal tract. It can also support your gut’s recovery post-antibiotic treatment.
Exercise can improve the diversity of the gut microbiome, promoting quicker healing after antibiotics and creating a stronger immune barrier in the gut to reduce the risk of further bacterial infections. This goes for any form of exercise, so no matter what your favourite form of exercise is, you can experience the amazing benefits of getting your body moving!
