Do Antibiotics Really Weaken Your Immunity? Here's How to Support Your Immune System after Taking These Drugs

While antibiotics do their job of slowing the growth of harmful bacteria, they may also mess with the right kind. The antibiotic-induced alterations can stay for months and end up affecting immunity. Read on to know more.

Antibiotics (Photo Credits: File Image)

You must have heard that unnecessary or too much use of over-the-counter drugs can disrupt our gut health. Although these drugs can heal a lot of ailments, when you misuse them, they can also disrupt the health of the microbiome and imbalance of gut bacteria. So while antibiotics do their job of slowing the growth of harmful bacteria, they may also mess with the right kind. The antibiotic-induced alterations can stay for months and end up affecting immunity. Read on to know more.

How Does Your Gut Health Affect Immunity?

About 70 to 80% of our immune strength comes the gut, which means that the immune system and the gut are in constant communication. Anything that alters the healthy state of the stomach can impact its function. Over intake of antibiotics can kill off a vast width of the microbiome.  Higher Antibiotics Use May Raise Parkinson’s Disease Risk.

How to Support Your Immunity After Taking Antibiotics?

Take a probiotic supplement: A probiotic supplement can improve gut health and aid in replenishing the good bacteria. Also, ensure that your diet is rich in healthy prebiotic and probiotic like fermented foods and yoghurt after you finish the course of antibiotics. Food and Antibiotic Resistance: Should You Be Concerned About Eating Meat, Vegetables?

Limit your intake of processed foods: Processed foods can take a toll on gut health. Swap your processed savouries or chips with healthy snacks, fruits, and vegetables that will help enhance your gut health. 

Stay active: Exercising will support your gut microbiome to improve your overall health. Moderate exercise can help reduce stress, which in turn can have a positive impact on your gut health. Add yoga, strength training, Pilates or a brisk walk to your daily routine to restore a balanced gut microbiome. From Fever Medications to Antibiotics, 10 Common Medicines That Can Have Dangerous Side Effects When Mixed With Alcohol!

Bottomline

If you are suffering from UTI, strep throat or other infections, you will generally get relief with antibiotics in about a week. Therefore, always complete the course and make sure the infection is gone before you can work on healing your gut. 

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 04, 2020 01:16 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).

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