How to avoid side effects of antibiotics?

There is no other country that uses more antibiotics than ours. In other countries, antibiotics are given only with a doctor's prescription at medical shops. But in our country, people buy and use antibiotics without any doctor's prescription. People use antibiotics for colds, coughs, fevers, injuries, and any other infections in the body.

As you use antibiotics very frequently, your body gets used to them. You'll reach a point where antibiotics will not work on your body. For example, sometimes the insects and worms in agricultural fields are not killed even after spraying pesticides. 

This happens when the worms and insects develop resistance against the pesticides.

Similarly, human bodies are also developing antibiotic resistance, making antibiotics ineffective. The World Health Organization has issued a statement about this issue. They stated that there are only three to four antibiotics that are effective worldwide. People are already reaching a stage where antibiotics no longer work on their bodies.

Hence, the WHO advises against frequent use of antibiotics as it leads to greater antibiotic resistance. They warn against using antibiotics even for minor illnesses to avoid this risk. In order to reduce the antibiotic resistance and to ensure even lower doses of antibiotics remain effective, while also preventing any side effects, we need to make antibiotics work well and prevent antibiotic resistance.

A new research has shown that eating fiber-rich foods can help achieve these goals. I want to explain this research thoroughly so you can understand.

In 2018, the University of Wisconsin in Madison, USA, conducted this research. They studied 600 people for whom antibiotics were no longer effective. They tested antibiotic resistance by collecting samples of mucus from the nose, as well as stool, urine, phlegm, and other mucus.

They collected these samples separately and checked if the antibiotics were effective. The bacteria that cause infection is not dying with the treatment of antibiotics. Therefore, they confirmed that these people had developed antibiotic resistance. They conducted further studies to prove that eating fiber-rich food can reduce antibiotic resistance.

For the research, they provided 600 people with a high-fiber diet for a few months. We all need 40 to 55 grams of fiber daily. On average, most people do not even consume 10 to 15 grams of fiber each day. The 600 participants were given food containing 40 to 55 grams of fiber every day.

After a few months, bodily fluid samples, such as mucus from the nose and throat, stool, and urine, were treated with market-available antibiotics. They observed that just a small dose of antibiotics was sufficient to kill the bacteria. Before consuming a high-fiber diet, the same dose of antibiotics did not kill the bacteria.

This was due to the bacteria's resistance to antibiotics.

After eating fiber-rich food, a small dose of antibiotics was effective in killing bacteria, confirming that fiber food reduces antibiotic resistance. They proved that, a lower dose of antibiotics will work for people who consume high-fiber foods, They also provided a scientific analysis of how fiber-rich food helps combat antibiotic resistance.

Our gut contains both good and bad bacteria, there are 5000 types different types of bacteria. When you eat fiber-rich food, it doesn't digest quickly, so it remains in the intestines for some time. The good bacteria ferment the fiber and feed on it, allowing them to grow in number.

When you don't eat fiber-rich food, the good bacteria do not increase. For people who eat low-fiber food, the bad bacteria will increase in the gut. Just as vacant land gets occupied by squatters, the bad bacterial colonies will grow in the intestines. When you have a lot of bad bacteria and few good bacteria, antibiotics do not work effectively.

There is a reason why antibiotics does not work due to the increase of bad bacteria.

The genes in the bad bacteria spread information on how to resist antibiotics. To all the neighboring bacteria in the intestines. The same information will be passed to the other bacteria in the body through bad bacteria genes. So, they will also develop resistance to the antibiotics.

Another important side effect is that for the people who use more antibiotics the bad bacteria in the intestines will reduce. Intestines act like border security force for the body. When the layers of intestines contain good bacteria, it is like the body has good protection.

It will provide good protection by preventing harmful microbes, toxins, and free radicals to enter the body. If there is good immunity in the intestines, the wrong information will not spread to the bacteria in the body. When the bad bacteria increase, as the linings of intestines become thin and weak, they cross the intestines and enter the body.

The antibiotics spread the resistance in the entire body. It spreads the genes and the information, which doesn't let the antibiotics and medicines work in the body. The third reason is, due to not consuming fiber food, good bacteria do not produce short chain fatty acids. If short chain fatty acids are not formed, inflammation increases.

These fatty acids help control inflammation in the body. 

Short chain fatty acids also help control the entry of microbes, toxins, and free radicals into the body. Short chain fatty acids like propionate and butyrate are not formed without fiber-rich food. It is also proven that antibiotic resistance increases due to a lack of short chain fatty acids.

For medicines to be useful during emergencies it is good to consume fiber-rich food for better intestine conditions and a stronger immune system. We don't need to suggest eating fiber-rich food because most natural foods are already high in fiber. However, when we refine these foods, the fibers are lost.

Due to polishing, foods like white rice, white semolina, maida, refined semolina, and white sugar become refines and zero-fiber foods. Many people consume animal foods, which are also zero-fiber foods. Eating food without fiber causes many of these problems.

High fiber foods include unpolished grains, unpolished semolina, and seeds. Eat more millets, which have more fiber than rice, and eat more curries and leafy vegetables. Eat fruits like sweet lime, oranges, and pomegranates along with the pulp. Eating fiber-rich and natural foods keeps the intestines healthy.

Conclusion:

This way, you won't develop antibiotic resistance, and antibiotics will work well in your body. I suggest that the side effects of antibiotics can be reduced by the nutrients and antioxidants present in these foods.

(Also Read - What happens when the acid level in the stomach is high?)