Antibiotics can be tough on the gut

Advice to help you protect your intestinal health

Antibiotics are necessary to help ward off certain types of bacterial infection, but they also do a number on your intestines and your gut microbiota, the tiny microscopic helpers living in your intestines.

"Antibiotics not only alter the gut microbiota, they alter your intestinal health," said Gail Cresci, PhD, an intestinal health expert at Cleveland Clinic.

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Different mechanisms in our intestines help our bodies absorb water and electrolytes, which can be negatively altered by antibiotics.

How antibiotics work

Antibiotics are often prescribed by physicians to treat illnesses caused by bacteria including strep throat, certain types of ear infections, and sinus infections.

Antibiotics will not help an illness caused by a virus including a cold or the flu.

They work by killing off bad bacteria in the gastrointestinal or urinary tracts that cause illness.

Unfortunately, antibiotics also kill off the good bacteria that help to keep us healthy. Antibiotics also can cause gastrointestinal issues, infectious diarrhea and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and some research has shown that probiotics can help ease these side effects.

Some research has shown that probiotics can help offset these issues by restoring the good bacteria, which is lost with antibiotics.

Probiotics, which sometimes are called good bacteria, are found naturally in some foods, as well as in over-the-counter supplements in the form of pills, powder or liquids. Probiotic supplements may help replenish and enrich your gut microbiota.

Taking a probiotic in advance of taking antibiotics may help keep your intestinal health normal.

Foods to avoid when taking antibiotics

Within a week or so after finishing antibiotics, your intestinal health will likely return to normal as long as you're eating a diet high in fiber and plant-based foods, which gut microbes flourish on.

You'll also want to avoid foods high in fat and sugar – gut microbes don't prefer either.

"Eating a healthy diet while taking antibiotics helps keep the blend of bacteria healthy," said Cresci.