What Are Antibiotics?

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Gloria Borger: What are antibiotics and how do they work? She asks gastroenterologist Dr. Balsa-Witz to help her answer all of these questions. He says the word "antibiotic" was used even before penicillin was invented or commercially available. In its original form, it meant compounds produced by microbes to kill other microbes.

Episode #271. Have you ever wondered just how much of an effect antibiotics have on your health? Gastroenterologist and gut health expert Dr Will Bulsiewicz returns to the show in this episode, breaking down how antibiotics impact our microbiome and the steps you can take to protect and restore your gut health before, during, and after taking them.

Specifically, we discuss:

Intro (00:00)
What are antibiotics? (03:01)
Efficacy, prescription, and 'antibiotic scar' (08:26)
The healthy gut microbiome (15:58)
Effects of antibiotics to gut the microbiome (21:32)
Clostridioides difficile (28:30)
Do you really need antibiotics? (31:04)
High-fibre diet (39:44)
Sprouts, lentils, and fermented foods (43:25)
Prebiotics and prebiotic supplements (46:30)
Probiotics and microbiome recovery after antibiotics (58:06)
Who may benefit from taking probiotics? (1:05:00)
Foods to limit to avoid dysbiosis (1:07:45)
Why do antibiotics cause yeast infections? Do probiotics help? (1:09:35)
Antibiotics and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) (1:11:04)
Lifestyle changes to boost microbiome recovery after taking antibiotics (1:13:49)
Outro (1:18:56)

Connect with Dr Will Bulsiewicz on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok. Discover more resources and Dr B’s books on his website, theplantfedgut.com, and learn more about supplementation at 38tera.com. Listen to Dr B’s past appearances on The Proof here.

My team and I have also put together a PDF of resources for this episode, helping you better understand the science behind this conversation. Download it at theproof.com/drb.

Optimise your health with InsideTracker’s biomarker analysis. Get exclusive access to InsideTracker’s new ApoB test, and a significant discount at insidetracker.com/simon.

Enjoy, friends.

Simon

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Simon Hill, MSc, BSc (Hons)

Creator of theproof.com and host of The Proof with Simon Hill

Author of The Proof is in the Plants

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