March 6, 2024 • 25 mins
I recently had an experience in which I had to take an antibiotic. Those of you who have been following my Defiant Health podcast discussions, or have been reading my thousands of blog posts on DrDavisInfiniteHealth.com, or my books, especially my latest Super Gut book, know that I advocate for absolutely minimizing our reliance on antibiotics, as they are extremely destructive to the microbiome. Antibiotics disrupt microbial composition of the gastrointestinal tract, the airway, the sinuses, reproductive organs, urinary tract, and other body parts with serious potential long-term consequences.
Well, I had a failed root canal and crown put in more than 30 years ago. It recently failed and I had the tooth extracted, following by insertion of an implant. Because the periodontist had to drill into the jawbone and insert an anchor for the implant, he prescribed an antibiotic to prevent osteomyelitis, or infection of the jawbone that can be catastrophic. I therefore spent weeks dreading this process as, in past, I’ve had some nasty experiences with antibiotics: GI distress, abdominal discomfort, skin rashes. But I was especially dreading the awful insomnia that I feared I’d experience with loss of the L. reuteri that I had been supplementing for several years that converted me from a severe chronic insomniac to a deep sleeper.
To my great surprise, I experienced none of these effects and I wanted to share with you why and how I believe I, and my listeners who have engaged similar strategies, avoided these effects from antibiotics. It’s my n of one experience, along with some of my listeners, so it’s proof of nothing. But, because these concepts are evolving rapidly with very little formal evidence, it’s worth at least being aware and even trying some of these strategies.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
I recently had a personal experience in which I
had to take an antibiotic.
Those of you who have beenfollowing my Defiant Health
podcast discussions or have beenreading my thousands of blog
posts on drdavisinfinethelkcomor, of course, my books,
especially my latest super gutbook, know that I advocate for
absolutely minimizing ourreliance on antibiotics, as they
(00:31):
are extremely destructive tothe microbiome.
Antibiotics disrupt microbialcomposition of the
gastrointestinal tract, theairway, sinuses, reproductive
organs, urinary tract and otherbody parts, with serious long
term potential consequences.
Well, I had a failed root canaland crown that had been put in
(00:53):
more than 30 years ago.
It failed and I had the toothextracted, followed by insertion
of an implant.
Because the periodontist had todrill into the jawbone and
insert an anchor for the implant, he prescribed an antibiotic to
prevent osteomyelitis orinfection of the jawbone.
That can be catastrophic, oftenrequiring prolonged courses of
(01:15):
intravenous antibiotics and evensurgical resection of the
jawbone.
I therefore spent weeksdreading this process.
As in past, I've had some nastyexperiences with antibiotics
gastrointestinal distress,abdominal discomfort, skin
rashes but I was especiallydreading the awful insomnia that
I feared I'd experience againwith loss of the lactobacillus
(01:38):
rhodii that I'd beensupplementing for several years.
That converted me from a severe, chronic insomnia to a deep
sleep.
Recall that lactobacillusrhodii is very susceptible to
common antibiotics, in this caseto amoxicillin I was taking.
To my great surprise, Iexperienced none of these
effects, and I wanted to sharewith you why and how.
(01:58):
I believe that I and some of mylisteners who have engaged
similar strategies avoided theseeffects from antibiotics.
It's my end of one experience,along with some of my listeners,
so it's proof of nothing.
But because these concepts areevolving rapidly with very
little formal evidence, it'sworth at least being aware and
(02:19):
even trying some of these benignbut potentially very helpful
strategies.
I'd like to also tell you aboutDefiant Health's sponsors Paleo
Valley and Biodiquest.
Paleo Valley is our preferredsource for many excellent foods,
such as fermented beef, porkand chicken sticks sourced from
organic pastured animals, bonebroth, protein and delicious low
(02:41):
carb superfood bars.
Biodiquest is my preferredsource of quality probiotics
crafted by academicmicrobiologist Dr Raul Keno,
probiotics created withattention to collaborative
metabolic effects among microbes, the only probiotics available
with this built in feature.
(03:03):
So, as I mentioned in theopening comments, I dreaded
having to take an antibiotic, inthis case a Moxicillin.
I dreaded it for weeks ahead oftime because I remember what it
felt like in past to take anantibiotic Gastrointestinal
distress, loose bowels,abdominal pain but the thing I
feared most was a return of theinsomnia that is, I was a
chronic insomniac, alwaysstruggling to fall asleep,
(03:26):
always struggling to stay asleep, often resorting to such things
as melatonin or tryptophan orother age to try to just get a
little bit of solid sleep.
With the addition oflactobacillus rotarii as the
yogurt, recall that we useextended fermentation in the
presence of prebiotic fibers andby flow cytometry we count a
number of microbes in a half cupserving and we get about 300
(03:49):
billion per half cup serving.
And that packs a wallop ofhealth benefits, such as
smoother skin, a restoration ofyouthful muscle, increased
libido, deeper sleep, alloxytocin effects that include
increased generosity, reductionin social anxiety, accepting
other people's opinions, etc.
So spectacular effects.
(04:10):
But for me, the one clearlyperceived effect that I
experienced was deep sleep,typically eight hours or so of
solid, uninterrupted sleep.
I was fearful that when I tookthe antibiotic because
lactobacillus rotarii is verysusceptible to common
antibiotics, includingmoxacillin I was fearful that
I'd spend a couple of weeks notbeing able to sleep and becoming
(04:33):
miserable again.
Well, none of that happened.
I did not have any GI distress,no bloating, no insomnia.
I slept straight through everyday and it struck me I continued
all the strategies I had beenengaged in, including continuing
to consume the lactobacillusrotarii yogurt.
Now it struck me that this wasconsistent with the original
(04:54):
study evidence that came fromMIT, massachusetts Institute of
Technology, where they actuallytook lactobacillus rotarii and
killed it.
They used mechanical blender athigh speed that disrupts the
cells of this microbe and thenadminister it to mice and all
the effects that they saw withlive microbes live intact
microbes were preserved with thedead microbes, including the
(05:17):
provocation of oxytocin.
So even though a moxacillin waslikely killing off the rotarii
in my gut, I was stillexperiencing what is
presumptively an oxytocin effect, that is, deep sleep, as well
as the other effects.
So it was the first time everthat I took an antibiotic and
experienced no adverse effectswhatsoever.
(05:38):
Now many of my followers havedone the same and they likewise
experienced no symptoms orminimal symptoms.
So what are we doing thatpresumptively may be protecting
us from the massive disruptionsthat ordinarily occur when you
take an antibiotic?
Well, all of us are consumingfermented foods.
That is, we ferment vegetablesin our kitchen counters, like
(06:01):
cucumbers or tomatoes or onionsand garlic that yield delicious
mixtures of fermented vegetables.
Some of us also rely oncommercial fermented vegetables
like sauerkraut, fermentedsauerkraut, kimchi, kefir and
other things other foods.
Well, these fermented foods aresources of microbes such as
(06:21):
leuconostoc mesenteroides andpediococcus pentasatius and
lactobacillus plantarum.
These are microbes that, forthe most part, do not take up
residence in the GI tract, butjust pass through.
There are some exceptions, likelactobacillus plantarum can
indeed take up residence, butmany of the other fermenting
microbes don't are incapable oftaking up residence.
(06:42):
So how can they provide abenefit?
Well, these microbes arebelieved to feed other important
microbes that are crucial foryour microbiome.
So the death of thosefermenting microbes, or some
metabolite they produce, nourishbeneficial species.
These are species likefecalobacterium or acromancia or
other lactobacillus species,bifidobacteria species, and
(07:05):
these are extremely important.
Among their functions is tosuppress the proliferation of
pathogens such as clostridiumdifficile, which is a feared
complication of an antibiotic.
But having lots and lots ofthose beneficial microbes
suppresses the overproliferation of clostridium
difficile.
That can be a very dangerousoutcome, a very dangerous
(07:26):
consequence of taking antibiotic.
So having these beneficialmicrobes also allows them to
produce a metabolite calledbutyrate or butyric acid, and
butyric acid heals theintestinal lining and is also
absorbed into your body andmediates all sorts of wonderful
beneficial effects that includesuch things as reduced blood
(07:46):
sugar, reduced insulinresistance, reduced
triglycerides, reduced fattyliver, deeper sleep, vivid
dreams, etc.
So by getting those fermentedfoods, you are cultivating
microbial diversity ofbeneficial microbes and
beneficial metabolites such asbutyric acid or butyrate.
(08:07):
Now I was also fermentingyogurts using the microbes
lactobacillus rhodii and for methe sleep was the telltale
cyanide I was getting it andlactobacillus gasari.
Those two are very importantkeystone species, that is,
they're foundational.
If you have those two organismswhich you were supposed to have
from birth, given to you byyour mom by passage of the birth
(08:29):
canal or breastfeeding orcontact with her, well, maybe
your mom received antibiotics ormaybe you received antibiotics
over the years that wiped outboth of those very important
microbes.
Restoration of those twomicrobes completely alters the
composition of yourgastrointestinal microbiome
because of a number of reasons,but one of the most important
reasons is both of those specieslactobacillus rhodii,
(08:51):
lactobacillus gasari colonizethe small intestine where they
produce bacteria.
Bacterias are naturalantibiotics effective against
fecal microbes, or what we callgram negative enterics.
Why is that important?
Well, at least 50 percent atleast 50 percent of the US
population has allowed overproliferation of fecal microbes,
(09:15):
gram negative enterics, in thecolon that have then ascended
into the small intestine.
And this is how microbes in theGI tract can be experienced body
wide, because those effects areexported by their release, the
microbial release, of somethingcalled endotoxin, and when it
gets into the bloodstream it'scalled endotoxemia.
So small intestine colonization, what we call small intestinal
(09:39):
bacterial overgrowth with fecalmicrobes.
Those microbes live and die,they release their endotoxin
which then enters thebloodstream, the small
intestines, very permeable bydesign because that's where you
absorb nutrients like vitamins,minerals and amino acids and
fatty acids.
So the microbial breakdownproducts endotoxin enters the
(09:59):
bloodstream, endotoxemia.
And that's how microbes can beexperienced as a brain effect,
like dementia or depression orParkinson's disease, or can be
experienced in the skin asrosacea or psoriasis or eczema,
or can be experienced in theheart as coronary disease or
atrial fibrillation, or could beexperienced in the joints and
(10:21):
muscle as fibromyalgia orrheumatoid arthritis.
In other words, understandingthis process, that small
intestinal colonization withfecal microbes that shed their
endotoxin that in turn entersthe bloodstream and exports
these effects all throughout thebody, gives you a deeper
understanding of disease.
You can also appreciate thatgiving you something like
(10:42):
aspirin or a pain medication forfibromyalgia or a blood sugar
reducing medication for type 2diabetes is not a solution.
It's a band aid.
What we're doing is getting atthe root cause, and the root
cause is disruption of themicrobiome, but specifically
overpopulation of the smallintestine with fecal microbes.
(11:03):
And restoration of two microbesthat you likely lost because
they're very susceptible toantibiotics Lactobacillus rhodii
, lactobacillus gastri gives youcontrol back over your small
intestine and the speciescolonizing that segment of your
gut.
Another strategy that I wasfollowing, as well as many of
the listeners who follow myideas, is I was making what I
(11:27):
call saccharomyces bulardiisparkling juices, and all that
means is we take commercialpreparation.
It's called a probiotic, butit's probably really a prebiotic
, but nonetheless it's acommercial product called
florastore, and I'll put thesenames in the show notes.
You can buy this at Target, atMeyer, at Walgreens, wal-mart.
(11:47):
It's pretty widely available.
It's called florastore.
It is a fungus calledsaccharomyces bulardii.
It's a very close relative ofsaccharomyces cerevisiae, which
is the fungus used to makesourdough, bread, make bread,
rice and also to make beer, theyeast.
That said, the fungus itself isbenign, doesn't share any of
the effects of wheat, which is,of course, a terrible thing to
(12:10):
have in your diet, but thefungus is very benign and it's
been shown that it's probablythe most important thing you can
do to preserve your GImicrobiome during a course of
antibiotics.
But as often happens when youbuy commercial probiotics
because it's very expensive topurchase microbes from a
manufacturer most retailers putvery small numbers of microbes
(12:33):
in their probiotic products, andso what we do is we ferment
them, sometimes as yogurt, inthis case as a sparkling juice.
I say sparkling because thesaccharomyces species produces a
lot of effervescence carbondioxide.
So all you need to do get acapsule of florastore, empty it
into, open the capsule, empty itinto any volume of juice.
(12:54):
The more pulpy the better.
Just be sure there's nopreservatives in it, no sodium
benzoate, no potassium sorbate.
All you want is juice.
That's it.
No added sugar, just juice, andgive it about 60 hours.
I keep my home at roomtemperature at 70 degrees and it
takes about 60 hours sitting onmy kitchen counter at room
(13:16):
temperature for it to fermentand nearly all the sugar is gone
.
You can measure it, of course,but it's just.
You can just use your tongueand taste it.
It should be minimally sweet ornot sweet at all.
You may have to alter the time.
Some people get a good resultas early as 48 hours.
Some people have to add a fewmore hours beyond 60 hours.
But give enough time.
(13:37):
Taste it.
You want to have minimal to nosweetness.
Now when you cap it, you want toagitate it very lightly at
first but then loosen the cap.
That's very important becauseyou're going to see the thing
bubbling at about 24 hours.
That's the carbon dioxide beingproduced.
You may even have to vent itoccasionally because if you
don't, the container can explode.
(13:58):
You know what that'd happen ifit'll make a mess.
You can also go to a brewingstore, a beer brewing store, and
you can get vent caps Veryexpensive.
These are one-way valves thatrelease gas when it accumulates.
But either way, you want tomake sure you don't keep that
gas under pressure.
Let it vent by some means.
Give it 60 hours or so a littleless if you have a warmer house
(14:20):
or warmer environment in yourpart of the world and then drink
a quarter to half cup severaltimes a day when you're taking
an antibiotic, maybe a quarterto half cup once or twice a day
when you're not takingantibiotic.
This has spectacular effects.
You know what it's delicious.
I made, for instance, mostrecently, cranberry sparkling
(14:40):
juice.
It tastes like cranberry sodaIf you use apple cider not apple
juice apple cider, because thepulpier the better, you'll get
apple soda.
I often make a mango juice,sparkling juice, and it's
delicious.
So, juice floristore, give it60 hours or so on your kitchen
counter, be sure to vent, andyou're going to have very
(15:02):
delicious sparkling juice.
That is very helpful, one of themost important things you can
do while you're taking anantibiotic and, of course, in
the aftermath after taking anantibiotic.
I like to do this chronicallybecause it's such an important
strategy.
It's not quite clear how itworks, but the working theory is
that Saccharomyces blardii doesnot take up residence it's a
(15:23):
fungus but when it dies it shedscomponents of its cell walls.
That feeds beneficial bacteria,some of those same species I
mentioned before, likefecalobacterium acrimansia, the
ones that produce butyrate andexert all those beneficial
effects on both your intestinallining as well as on the rest of
your body.
Now let me pause for a momentto tell you something about
(15:44):
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(17:49):
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(18:12):
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(18:33):
So I've talked about includinglots and lots of fermented food
several times per day in yourroutine, especially during an
course of antibiotics.
About making the saccharomyces,bulardi, ice, sparkling juices
delicious waste and joy of fruitsoda.
But there are some otherstrategies worth knowing about.
One of the Defiant Healthsponsors, that Biodicuest, has a
(18:56):
product called antibioticantidote that not tested yet in
clinical trials but put togetherfor its metabolite sharing
effects that may amplify effectsin protecting you against
antibiotic speculative.
It's a new product, but just beaware that there's something
called antibiotic antidote thatyou have access to from
Biodicuest.
There's also a microbe calledlactobacillus ramnosis GG strain
(19:19):
.
It's important to recognize theGG strain.
Only choose that strain becausethat's the only strain of
lactobacillus ramnosis that hasbeen shown that, when taken
concurrently with yourantibiotic, prevents that awful
complication.
Clostridium difficileenterocolytus or C diff.
We say C diff is awful.
It involves violent, terriblediarrhea, bloody diarrhea.
(19:43):
It does extensive damage toyour gastrointestinal tract.
It requires treatment withseveral concurrent antibiotics
and these antibiotics areincreasingly failing to get rid
of the infection.
That's why they're turning nowto fecal transplant.
But it's a terriblecomplication.
Well, lactobacillus ramnosis GGstrain has been shown to reduce
(20:03):
the likelihood of developingthat awful complication, so
that's worth knowing about.
You can get that commercially.
There are a number of productsthat contain that microbe,
including the culturel productand several others, so it's
widely available.
Now I can't say that this nextstrategy played a role in
keeping me from having anycomplications or perceived
(20:23):
adverse effects of theantibiotic, but it's worth
knowing about.
I have a friend who is afunctional dentist in Oklahoma
City, oklahoma, dr Debbie Osment, and she told me a story about
every year she goes to Peru, tothe Highlands of Peru, where she
volunteers her services forfree to the Peruvians who often
don't have access to any sort ofdental care, and she told me
(20:46):
that some people would ridetheir donkeys for as much as a
day, or even two days, just tosee the American dentist, and
she said she'd spend her dayspulling teeth pulling cavities',
diseased teeth because thesepeople chewed sugarcane and
thereby had extravagant dentaldecay.
She also noticed that everyonce in a while someone would
(21:08):
show up with a full mouth ofhealthy teeth and she'd ask them
do you chew sugarcane?
And they'd say yes, I do.
And she asked them what are youdoing differently from
everybody else?
And she says that every lastone of them told her that they
used a twig to clean betweentheir teeth after eating
sugarcane.
Now she speculates that theeffect preservation of dental
(21:31):
health was because this actionof putting a stick between your
teeth broke up the bacterialbiofilm that allows unhealthy
species to sequester and causetooth decay.
So of course, in our worldyou're not going to use a twig,
but you might use one of thosepicks that you buy, the plastic
picks, or a toothpick or justdental floss, and that's a
(21:53):
wonderful way to preserve oralhealth.
Now I can only speculate thatthat may have also added to not
having a complication in the jawof an infection.
I can't say that it has aneffect on the GI microbiome.
Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't, I don't know.
But at least I think itencourages healthy oral flora
and discouragesoverproliferation of potential
(22:16):
oral pathogens such asstreptococcus mutans or poor
pheromones gingivalis, which, bythe way, is suspected to be a
contributor to Alzheimer'sdementia, because you can
retrieve that microbe from thebrains of people who have
dementia.
Anyway, so if you are facing acourse of antibiotics, first of
all question whether it's trulynecessary.
(22:37):
Don't take antibiotics, ofcourse, for a viral illness, for
a viral upper respiratoryinfection, for instance, but as
I experience, there are timeswhen you must take it.
In my case, I did not want torisk having jaw osteomyelitis, a
very dreaded complication.
Or maybe you have an out ofcontrol urinary tract infection
that is ascended to your kidneys.
Of course you have to take anantibiotic.
(22:57):
Or maybe you have pneumococcalpneumonia, which can be very
dangerous.
You have to take an antibiotic.
So if you face that sort of asituation, consider lots of
fermented foods kefir, kimchi,yogurts, fermented vegetables
and this can be very expensive.
Just conduct it on your ownkitchen counter.
Just be sure that thevegetables you buy or, even
(23:18):
better, grow yourself, but makesure they're organic, don't have
pesticides and herbicides anddon't have any sort of coating,
like the wax coatings, forinstance, they often put on
cucumbers or other coatings ontomatoes, because that will
prevent fermentation fromoccurring.
If you don't know how toferment vegetables, see my Super
Gut book, but there's manyother resources outside of my
(23:38):
books that show you how toferment.
It's a lot of fun, it's tastyand it's inexpensive.
So lots and lots of fermentedfoods at least several servings
per day during a course ofantibiotics.
Be aware that lactobacillusrhodorii, lactobacillus gasri
you can ferment as yogurt orother foods.
If you don't like to use dairy,we use coconut milk, but that
requires several additionalsteps.
(23:59):
All those recipes are in mySuper Gut book, also in my
DRdafusInfiniteHealthcom blog,so I try to make that very
available to you.
Exactly where to source themicrobes, how to ferment it, how
to get these super-duper highnumbers using extended
fermentation.
Saccharomyceblortii sparklingjuices.
That recipe is also in my blog.
(24:21):
That recipe is not in the SuperGut book because it's something
that came after I wrote thebook, but the recipe in the blog
and also in myDRdafusInfiniteHealthcom inner
circle recipe collection, but Ialso just gave it to you A
capsule fluorostore any juicethat has no preservatives, the
pulpier the better.
Let it sit in your counter forabout 60 hours, just make sure
(24:43):
you vent it.
And then be aware of antibioticantidote from biodequest and
also be aware of lactobacillusramnosus GG.
That is the only microbe that'sbeen shown to prevent or reduce
the likelihood of C diffendocrinitis, and of all things
you do for preservation ofdental health and oral
microbiome.
Make sure you disrupt themicrobiome biofilm by whatever
(25:06):
means it could be.
A toothpick could be one ofthose.
Plastic picks could be flossing.
Now, if you learned somethingfrom this episode of the Defiant
Health Podcast, I invite you tosubscribe to your favorite
podcast directory.
Post a review.
Post a comment.
Help build this community oflike-minded people who want to
be empowered in their own healthand be as free as possible of
(25:26):
the healthcare system.
Thanks for listening.
I recently had a personal experience in which I
had to take an antibiotic.
Those of you who have beenfollowing my Defiant Health
podcast discussions or have beenreading my thousands of blog
posts on drdavisinfinethelkcomor, of course, my books,
especially my latest super gutbook, know that I advocate for
absolutely minimizing ourreliance on antibiotics, as they
(00:31):
are extremely destructive tothe microbiome.
Antibiotics disrupt microbialcomposition of the
gastrointestinal tract, theairway, sinuses, reproductive
organs, urinary tract and otherbody parts, with serious long
term potential consequences.
Well, I had a failed root canaland crown that had been put in
(00:53):
more than 30 years ago.
It failed and I had the toothextracted, followed by insertion
of an implant.
Because the periodontist had todrill into the jawbone and
insert an anchor for the implant, he prescribed an antibiotic to
prevent osteomyelitis orinfection of the jawbone.
That can be catastrophic, oftenrequiring prolonged courses of
(01:15):
intravenous antibiotics and evensurgical resection of the
jawbone.
I therefore spent weeksdreading this process.
As in past, I've had some nastyexperiences with antibiotics
gastrointestinal distress,abdominal discomfort, skin
rashes but I was especiallydreading the awful insomnia that
I feared I'd experience againwith loss of the lactobacillus
(01:38):
rhodii that I'd beensupplementing for several years.
That converted me from a severe, chronic insomnia to a deep
sleep.
Recall that lactobacillusrhodii is very susceptible to
common antibiotics, in this caseto amoxicillin I was taking.
To my great surprise, Iexperienced none of these
effects, and I wanted to sharewith you why and how.
(01:58):
I believe that I and some of mylisteners who have engaged
similar strategies avoided theseeffects from antibiotics.
It's my end of one experience,along with some of my listeners,
so it's proof of nothing.
But because these concepts areevolving rapidly with very
little formal evidence, it'sworth at least being aware and
(02:19):
even trying some of these benignbut potentially very helpful
strategies.
I'd like to also tell you aboutDefiant Health's sponsors Paleo
Valley and Biodiquest.
Paleo Valley is our preferredsource for many excellent foods,
such as fermented beef, porkand chicken sticks sourced from
organic pastured animals, bonebroth, protein and delicious low
(02:41):
carb superfood bars.
Biodiquest is my preferredsource of quality probiotics
crafted by academicmicrobiologist Dr Raul Keno,
probiotics created withattention to collaborative
metabolic effects among microbes, the only probiotics available
with this built in feature.
(03:03):
So, as I mentioned in theopening comments, I dreaded
having to take an antibiotic, inthis case a Moxicillin.
I dreaded it for weeks ahead oftime because I remember what it
felt like in past to take anantibiotic Gastrointestinal
distress, loose bowels,abdominal pain but the thing I
feared most was a return of theinsomnia that is, I was a
chronic insomniac, alwaysstruggling to fall asleep,
(03:26):
always struggling to stay asleep, often resorting to such things
as melatonin or tryptophan orother age to try to just get a
little bit of solid sleep.
With the addition oflactobacillus rotarii as the
yogurt, recall that we useextended fermentation in the
presence of prebiotic fibers andby flow cytometry we count a
number of microbes in a half cupserving and we get about 300
(03:49):
billion per half cup serving.
And that packs a wallop ofhealth benefits, such as
smoother skin, a restoration ofyouthful muscle, increased
libido, deeper sleep, alloxytocin effects that include
increased generosity, reductionin social anxiety, accepting
other people's opinions, etc.
So spectacular effects.
(04:10):
But for me, the one clearlyperceived effect that I
experienced was deep sleep,typically eight hours or so of
solid, uninterrupted sleep.
I was fearful that when I tookthe antibiotic because
lactobacillus rotarii is verysusceptible to common
antibiotics, includingmoxacillin I was fearful that
I'd spend a couple of weeks notbeing able to sleep and becoming
(04:33):
miserable again.
Well, none of that happened.
I did not have any GI distress,no bloating, no insomnia.
I slept straight through everyday and it struck me I continued
all the strategies I had beenengaged in, including continuing
to consume the lactobacillusrotarii yogurt.
Now it struck me that this wasconsistent with the original
(04:54):
study evidence that came fromMIT, massachusetts Institute of
Technology, where they actuallytook lactobacillus rotarii and
killed it.
They used mechanical blender athigh speed that disrupts the
cells of this microbe and thenadminister it to mice and all
the effects that they saw withlive microbes live intact
microbes were preserved with thedead microbes, including the
(05:17):
provocation of oxytocin.
So even though a moxacillin waslikely killing off the rotarii
in my gut, I was stillexperiencing what is
presumptively an oxytocin effect, that is, deep sleep, as well
as the other effects.
So it was the first time everthat I took an antibiotic and
experienced no adverse effectswhatsoever.
(05:38):
Now many of my followers havedone the same and they likewise
experienced no symptoms orminimal symptoms.
So what are we doing thatpresumptively may be protecting
us from the massive disruptionsthat ordinarily occur when you
take an antibiotic?
Well, all of us are consumingfermented foods.
That is, we ferment vegetablesin our kitchen counters, like
(06:01):
cucumbers or tomatoes or onionsand garlic that yield delicious
mixtures of fermented vegetables.
Some of us also rely oncommercial fermented vegetables
like sauerkraut, fermentedsauerkraut, kimchi, kefir and
other things other foods.
Well, these fermented foods aresources of microbes such as
(06:21):
leuconostoc mesenteroides andpediococcus pentasatius and
lactobacillus plantarum.
These are microbes that, forthe most part, do not take up
residence in the GI tract, butjust pass through.
There are some exceptions, likelactobacillus plantarum can
indeed take up residence, butmany of the other fermenting
microbes don't are incapable oftaking up residence.
(06:42):
So how can they provide abenefit?
Well, these microbes arebelieved to feed other important
microbes that are crucial foryour microbiome.
So the death of thosefermenting microbes, or some
metabolite they produce, nourishbeneficial species.
These are species likefecalobacterium or acromancia or
other lactobacillus species,bifidobacteria species, and
(07:05):
these are extremely important.
Among their functions is tosuppress the proliferation of
pathogens such as clostridiumdifficile, which is a feared
complication of an antibiotic.
But having lots and lots ofthose beneficial microbes
suppresses the overproliferation of clostridium
difficile.
That can be a very dangerousoutcome, a very dangerous
(07:26):
consequence of taking antibiotic.
So having these beneficialmicrobes also allows them to
produce a metabolite calledbutyrate or butyric acid, and
butyric acid heals theintestinal lining and is also
absorbed into your body andmediates all sorts of wonderful
beneficial effects that includesuch things as reduced blood
(07:46):
sugar, reduced insulinresistance, reduced
triglycerides, reduced fattyliver, deeper sleep, vivid
dreams, etc.
So by getting those fermentedfoods, you are cultivating
microbial diversity ofbeneficial microbes and
beneficial metabolites such asbutyric acid or butyrate.
(08:07):
Now I was also fermentingyogurts using the microbes
lactobacillus rhodii and for methe sleep was the telltale
cyanide I was getting it andlactobacillus gasari.
Those two are very importantkeystone species, that is,
they're foundational.
If you have those two organismswhich you were supposed to have
from birth, given to you byyour mom by passage of the birth
(08:29):
canal or breastfeeding orcontact with her, well, maybe
your mom received antibiotics ormaybe you received antibiotics
over the years that wiped outboth of those very important
microbes.
Restoration of those twomicrobes completely alters the
composition of yourgastrointestinal microbiome
because of a number of reasons,but one of the most important
reasons is both of those specieslactobacillus rhodii,
(08:51):
lactobacillus gasari colonizethe small intestine where they
produce bacteria.
Bacterias are naturalantibiotics effective against
fecal microbes, or what we callgram negative enterics.
Why is that important?
Well, at least 50 percent atleast 50 percent of the US
population has allowed overproliferation of fecal microbes,
(09:15):
gram negative enterics, in thecolon that have then ascended
into the small intestine.
And this is how microbes in theGI tract can be experienced body
wide, because those effects areexported by their release, the
microbial release, of somethingcalled endotoxin, and when it
gets into the bloodstream it'scalled endotoxemia.
So small intestine colonization, what we call small intestinal
(09:39):
bacterial overgrowth with fecalmicrobes.
Those microbes live and die,they release their endotoxin
which then enters thebloodstream, the small
intestines, very permeable bydesign because that's where you
absorb nutrients like vitamins,minerals and amino acids and
fatty acids.
So the microbial breakdownproducts endotoxin enters the
(09:59):
bloodstream, endotoxemia.
And that's how microbes can beexperienced as a brain effect,
like dementia or depression orParkinson's disease, or can be
experienced in the skin asrosacea or psoriasis or eczema,
or can be experienced in theheart as coronary disease or
atrial fibrillation, or could beexperienced in the joints and
(10:21):
muscle as fibromyalgia orrheumatoid arthritis.
In other words, understandingthis process, that small
intestinal colonization withfecal microbes that shed their
endotoxin that in turn entersthe bloodstream and exports
these effects all throughout thebody, gives you a deeper
understanding of disease.
You can also appreciate thatgiving you something like
(10:42):
aspirin or a pain medication forfibromyalgia or a blood sugar
reducing medication for type 2diabetes is not a solution.
It's a band aid.
What we're doing is getting atthe root cause, and the root
cause is disruption of themicrobiome, but specifically
overpopulation of the smallintestine with fecal microbes.
(11:03):
And restoration of two microbesthat you likely lost because
they're very susceptible toantibiotics Lactobacillus rhodii
, lactobacillus gastri gives youcontrol back over your small
intestine and the speciescolonizing that segment of your
gut.
Another strategy that I wasfollowing, as well as many of
the listeners who follow myideas, is I was making what I
(11:27):
call saccharomyces bulardiisparkling juices, and all that
means is we take commercialpreparation.
It's called a probiotic, butit's probably really a prebiotic
, but nonetheless it's acommercial product called
florastore, and I'll put thesenames in the show notes.
You can buy this at Target, atMeyer, at Walgreens, wal-mart.
(11:47):
It's pretty widely available.
It's called florastore.
It is a fungus calledsaccharomyces bulardii.
It's a very close relative ofsaccharomyces cerevisiae, which
is the fungus used to makesourdough, bread, make bread,
rice and also to make beer, theyeast.
That said, the fungus itself isbenign, doesn't share any of
the effects of wheat, which is,of course, a terrible thing to
(12:10):
have in your diet, but thefungus is very benign and it's
been shown that it's probablythe most important thing you can
do to preserve your GImicrobiome during a course of
antibiotics.
But as often happens when youbuy commercial probiotics
because it's very expensive topurchase microbes from a
manufacturer most retailers putvery small numbers of microbes
(12:33):
in their probiotic products, andso what we do is we ferment
them, sometimes as yogurt, inthis case as a sparkling juice.
I say sparkling because thesaccharomyces species produces a
lot of effervescence carbondioxide.
So all you need to do get acapsule of florastore, empty it
into, open the capsule, empty itinto any volume of juice.
(12:54):
The more pulpy the better.
Just be sure there's nopreservatives in it, no sodium
benzoate, no potassium sorbate.
All you want is juice.
That's it.
No added sugar, just juice, andgive it about 60 hours.
I keep my home at roomtemperature at 70 degrees and it
takes about 60 hours sitting onmy kitchen counter at room
(13:16):
temperature for it to fermentand nearly all the sugar is gone
.
You can measure it, of course,but it's just.
You can just use your tongueand taste it.
It should be minimally sweet ornot sweet at all.
You may have to alter the time.
Some people get a good resultas early as 48 hours.
Some people have to add a fewmore hours beyond 60 hours.
But give enough time.
(13:37):
Taste it.
You want to have minimal to nosweetness.
Now when you cap it, you want toagitate it very lightly at
first but then loosen the cap.
That's very important becauseyou're going to see the thing
bubbling at about 24 hours.
That's the carbon dioxide beingproduced.
You may even have to vent itoccasionally because if you
don't, the container can explode.
(13:58):
You know what that'd happen ifit'll make a mess.
You can also go to a brewingstore, a beer brewing store, and
you can get vent caps Veryexpensive.
These are one-way valves thatrelease gas when it accumulates.
But either way, you want tomake sure you don't keep that
gas under pressure.
Let it vent by some means.
Give it 60 hours or so a littleless if you have a warmer house
(14:20):
or warmer environment in yourpart of the world and then drink
a quarter to half cup severaltimes a day when you're taking
an antibiotic, maybe a quarterto half cup once or twice a day
when you're not takingantibiotic.
This has spectacular effects.
You know what it's delicious.
I made, for instance, mostrecently, cranberry sparkling
(14:40):
juice.
It tastes like cranberry sodaIf you use apple cider not apple
juice apple cider, because thepulpier the better, you'll get
apple soda.
I often make a mango juice,sparkling juice, and it's
delicious.
So, juice floristore, give it60 hours or so on your kitchen
counter, be sure to vent, andyou're going to have very
(15:02):
delicious sparkling juice.
That is very helpful, one of themost important things you can
do while you're taking anantibiotic and, of course, in
the aftermath after taking anantibiotic.
I like to do this chronicallybecause it's such an important
strategy.
It's not quite clear how itworks, but the working theory is
that Saccharomyces blardii doesnot take up residence it's a
(15:23):
fungus but when it dies it shedscomponents of its cell walls.
That feeds beneficial bacteria,some of those same species I
mentioned before, likefecalobacterium acrimansia, the
ones that produce butyrate andexert all those beneficial
effects on both your intestinallining as well as on the rest of
your body.
Now let me pause for a momentto tell you something about
(15:44):
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(18:33):
So I've talked about includinglots and lots of fermented food
several times per day in yourroutine, especially during an
course of antibiotics.
About making the saccharomyces,bulardi, ice, sparkling juices
delicious waste and joy of fruitsoda.
But there are some otherstrategies worth knowing about.
One of the Defiant Healthsponsors, that Biodicuest, has a
(18:56):
product called antibioticantidote that not tested yet in
clinical trials but put togetherfor its metabolite sharing
effects that may amplify effectsin protecting you against
antibiotic speculative.
It's a new product, but just beaware that there's something
called antibiotic antidote thatyou have access to from
Biodicuest.
There's also a microbe calledlactobacillus ramnosis GG strain
(19:19):
.
It's important to recognize theGG strain.
Only choose that strain becausethat's the only strain of
lactobacillus ramnosis that hasbeen shown that, when taken
concurrently with yourantibiotic, prevents that awful
complication.
Clostridium difficileenterocolytus or C diff.
We say C diff is awful.
It involves violent, terriblediarrhea, bloody diarrhea.
(19:43):
It does extensive damage toyour gastrointestinal tract.
It requires treatment withseveral concurrent antibiotics
and these antibiotics areincreasingly failing to get rid
of the infection.
That's why they're turning nowto fecal transplant.
But it's a terriblecomplication.
Well, lactobacillus ramnosis GGstrain has been shown to reduce
(20:03):
the likelihood of developingthat awful complication, so
that's worth knowing about.
You can get that commercially.
There are a number of productsthat contain that microbe,
including the culturel productand several others, so it's
widely available.
Now I can't say that this nextstrategy played a role in
keeping me from having anycomplications or perceived
(20:23):
adverse effects of theantibiotic, but it's worth
knowing about.
I have a friend who is afunctional dentist in Oklahoma
City, oklahoma, dr Debbie Osment, and she told me a story about
every year she goes to Peru, tothe Highlands of Peru, where she
volunteers her services forfree to the Peruvians who often
don't have access to any sort ofdental care, and she told me
(20:46):
that some people would ridetheir donkeys for as much as a
day, or even two days, just tosee the American dentist, and
she said she'd spend her dayspulling teeth pulling cavities',
diseased teeth because thesepeople chewed sugarcane and
thereby had extravagant dentaldecay.
She also noticed that everyonce in a while someone would
(21:08):
show up with a full mouth ofhealthy teeth and she'd ask them
do you chew sugarcane?
And they'd say yes, I do.
And she asked them what are youdoing differently from
everybody else?
And she says that every lastone of them told her that they
used a twig to clean betweentheir teeth after eating
sugarcane.
Now she speculates that theeffect preservation of dental
(21:31):
health was because this actionof putting a stick between your
teeth broke up the bacterialbiofilm that allows unhealthy
species to sequester and causetooth decay.
So of course, in our worldyou're not going to use a twig,
but you might use one of thosepicks that you buy, the plastic
picks, or a toothpick or justdental floss, and that's a
(21:53):
wonderful way to preserve oralhealth.
Now I can only speculate thatthat may have also added to not
having a complication in the jawof an infection.
I can't say that it has aneffect on the GI microbiome.
Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't, I don't know.
But at least I think itencourages healthy oral flora
and discouragesoverproliferation of potential
(22:16):
oral pathogens such asstreptococcus mutans or poor
pheromones gingivalis, which, bythe way, is suspected to be a
contributor to Alzheimer'sdementia, because you can
retrieve that microbe from thebrains of people who have
dementia.
Anyway, so if you are facing acourse of antibiotics, first of
all question whether it's trulynecessary.
(22:37):
Don't take antibiotics, ofcourse, for a viral illness, for
a viral upper respiratoryinfection, for instance, but as
I experience, there are timeswhen you must take it.
In my case, I did not want torisk having jaw osteomyelitis, a
very dreaded complication.
Or maybe you have an out ofcontrol urinary tract infection
that is ascended to your kidneys.
Of course you have to take anantibiotic.
(22:57):
Or maybe you have pneumococcalpneumonia, which can be very
dangerous.
You have to take an antibiotic.
So if you face that sort of asituation, consider lots of
fermented foods kefir, kimchi,yogurts, fermented vegetables
and this can be very expensive.
Just conduct it on your ownkitchen counter.
Just be sure that thevegetables you buy or, even
(23:18):
better, grow yourself, but makesure they're organic, don't have
pesticides and herbicides anddon't have any sort of coating,
like the wax coatings, forinstance, they often put on
cucumbers or other coatings ontomatoes, because that will
prevent fermentation fromoccurring.
If you don't know how toferment vegetables, see my Super
Gut book, but there's manyother resources outside of my
(23:38):
books that show you how toferment.
It's a lot of fun, it's tastyand it's inexpensive.
So lots and lots of fermentedfoods at least several servings
per day during a course ofantibiotics.
Be aware that lactobacillusrhodorii, lactobacillus gasri
you can ferment as yogurt orother foods.
If you don't like to use dairy,we use coconut milk, but that
requires several additionalsteps.
(23:59):
All those recipes are in mySuper Gut book, also in my
DRdafusInfiniteHealthcom blog,so I try to make that very
available to you.
Exactly where to source themicrobes, how to ferment it, how
to get these super-duper highnumbers using extended
fermentation.
Saccharomyceblortii sparklingjuices.
That recipe is also in my blog.
(24:21):
That recipe is not in the SuperGut book because it's something
that came after I wrote thebook, but the recipe in the blog
and also in myDRdafusInfiniteHealthcom inner
circle recipe collection, but Ialso just gave it to you A
capsule fluorostore any juicethat has no preservatives, the
pulpier the better.
Let it sit in your counter forabout 60 hours, just make sure
(24:43):
you vent it.
And then be aware of antibioticantidote from biodequest and
also be aware of lactobacillusramnosus GG.
That is the only microbe that'sbeen shown to prevent or reduce
the likelihood of C diffendocrinitis, and of all things
you do for preservation ofdental health and oral
microbiome.
Make sure you disrupt themicrobiome biofilm by whatever
(25:06):
means it could be.
A toothpick could be one ofthose.
Plastic picks could be flossing.
Now, if you learned somethingfrom this episode of the Defiant
Health Podcast, I invite you tosubscribe to your favorite
podcast directory.
Post a review.
Post a comment.
Help build this community oflike-minded people who want to
be empowered in their own healthand be as free as possible of
(25:26):
the healthcare system.
Thanks for listening.
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