How Antibiotics Affect Your Gut Health

When you look at the impact of antibiotics on overall human health, it’s a success story. Antibiotics, medications that stop disease by killing harmful bacteria, save millions of lives every year.

“Antibiotics work well when it comes to treating infections, but there is collateral damage,” says David Kerman, M.D., a gastroenterologist and the chief medical director of UHealth Doral Medical Center.

“The gut microbiome — bacteria, viruses and fungi in our intestines — essentially gets wiped out. That normal flora helps maintain homeostasis and balance throughout the body. When it happens, people don’t feel well.”

The good news, however, is that the impact on your digestive flora is usually temporary.

In most cases, it will grow back and restore its proper working order over the course of a few months after the course of antibiotics is complete.

Some people, however, particularly those with compromised immunity or who must take antibiotics frequently, run a risk of a common complication known as antibiotic-associated diarrhea.

According to the Mayo Clinic, antibiotic-associated diarrhea is quite common, occurring in about one out of every five people who take antibiotics. Most of the time, the symptoms are mild, clear up after a few days and don’t require any treatment.

However, some forms of antibiotic-associated diarrhea are caused by a dangerous, antibiotic-resistant bacteria called Clostridioidum difficile, sometimes known as C-diff.

C-diff can cause more serious symptoms such as:

• fever
• abdominal pain
• cramping
• dehydration
• severe diarrhea

“Clostridioidum difficile tends to flourish when there’s nothing else around, so if it occurs, it becomes the dominant organism after antibiotic use,” says Dr. Kerman. “It’s also notoriously difficult to treat. It forms a spore and becomes resistant to the body’s normal defense mechanisms.”  This is why a C. difficile infection may require you to stop taking antibiotics or changing antibiotics.

Eat a balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, and lean protein.

Despite the potential of C-diff, Dr. Kerman says antibiotics are far too valuable (and lifesaving) for people to turn away from them. The answer, he says, is for doctors and medical centers to be more judicious in prescribing them — and for people to prepare their gut during and after antibiotic use to help gut flora grow back.

Eating a balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, and lean protein sources is critical to preserve your gut health. Foods like yogurt, pickled vegetables, high-fiber fruits, and veggies are all indicated as being beneficial for restoring the balance of your gut.

Dr. Kerman says probiotics can have some value, but he advises checking with your doctor about which ones may be effective before trying them on your own. “Some over-the-counter probiotics may help, but they can contain other substances that could potentially be harmful.”

Facilities like UHealth Doral Medical Center, where Dr. Kerman serves as medical director, have committees that review and help ensure responsible and judicious use of antibiotics in their medical centers.

Wyatt Myers is a contributor for UHealth’s news service.

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Tags: Antibiotic resistance, Dr. David Kerman, Gut health tips, Microbiome diversity, UHealthDoral