Antibiotics are a crucial defense against bacterial infections, but they can also disrupt the delicate balance of your gut microbiome and cause unpleasant side effects. Understanding the impact of antibiotics on your body and making informed dietary choices during and after treatment can help minimize these side effects and support your overall health. This article explains what you should and shouldn’t eat during and after antibiotics to optimize your recovery and gut health.
How Antibiotics Work
Antibiotics are medications that disrupt the normal function of bacteria in certain infections, such as strep throat, bacterial pneumonia, and urinary tract infections. Antibiotics are a type of medicine used to treat bacterial infections. They work by stopping the infection or preventing it from spreading. Antibiotics can come in pills, liquids, ointments, creams, or injectables. There are many different types of antibiotics. Some are broad-spectrum, meaning they act on a wide range of disease-causing bacteria. Others are designed to kill certain species of bacteria.
The Impact of Antibiotics on Your Gut
Antibiotics are very effective in treating serious infections. However, excessive use of antibiotics can cause liver damage. One study showed that antibiotics are one of the drugs that cause the most liver damage. In addition to killing disease-causing bacteria, antibiotics also kill healthy bacteria. Antibiotics can have a negative impact on trillions of bacteria in the gut. Taking too many antibiotics can dramatically change the number and types of bacteria in the gut microbiome, especially in infants and young children.
Just one week of antibiotic use can alter the makeup of the gut microbiome for up to a year. Changes to the gut microbiome caused by excessive antibiotic use in early life can also increase the risk of weight gain and obesity. Furthermore, overuse of antibiotics can lead to antibiotic resistance, making the drugs ineffective in killing disease-causing bacteria. Finally, by changing the types of bacteria that live in the gut, antibiotics can cause intestinal side effects, the most prominent of which is diarrhea.
Foods to Embrace During and After Antibiotics
To mitigate the adverse effects of antibiotics and promote gut health, consider incorporating these foods into your diet:
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1. Probiotics: Replenishing the Good Bacteria
Taking probiotics after antibiotics may help support your digestion and reduce side effects, including diarrhea. Taking antibiotics can alter the gut microbiota, which can lead to antibiotic-associated diarrhea, especially in children. That’s where probiotics may be able to help. Probiotics are live, healthy bacteria that can help restore the balance of your gut microbiome.
However, given that probiotics are usually bacteria themselves, they can also be killed by antibiotics if taken together. So if you’re taking these simultaneously, some doctors recommend waiting 4-6 hours after taking a dose of an antibiotic before taking probiotics. You can typically take probiotics at the same time as antibiotics, although some healthcare professionals recommend waiting a few hours in between doses. Ask your doctor whether they recommend probiotics with your antibiotic treatment. If you take probiotics after antibiotics, it is better to take probiotics that contain a mixture of different probiotics, rather than just one type of probiotic.
2. Fermented Foods: A Natural Source of Probiotics
Certain foods can also help restore the gut microbiota after damage caused by antibiotics. Fermented foods are produced by microbes and include yogurt, cheese, sauerkraut, kombucha and kimchi, among others. These foods contain a number of healthy bacterial species, such as Lactobacilli, which can help restore the gut microbiota to a healthy state after antibiotics. Therefore, eating fermented foods may help improve gut health after taking antibiotics.
Research indicates that individuals who consume yogurt or fermented milk tend to have higher levels of Lactobacilli in their gut and lower levels of harmful bacteria like Enterobacteria and Bilophila wadsworthia. Additionally, kimchi and fermented soy milk are good for digestive health and promote the growth of beneficial bacteria, such as Bifidobacteria. Thus, incorporating fermented foods into your diet may enhance gut health after taking antibiotics. Some research has shown that consuming plain yogurt or probiotic supplements can help reduce diarrhea in individuals undergoing antibiotic therapy.
3. High-Fiber Foods: Fueling the Good Bacteria
Fiber can’t be digested by your body, but it can be digested by your gut bacteria, which helps stimulate their growth. As a result, high fiber foods may help restore healthy gut bacteria after a course of antibiotics. In fact, research from 2022 found that consuming soluble fiber daily may help reduce ARGs in your gut. That said, it’s best to eat high fiber foods after you finish your antibiotic course because fiber can reduce antibiotic absorption. Fiber-rich foods include: Whole grains (porridge, whole grain bread, brown rice), nuts, sprouts, lentils, berries, broccoli, peas, bananas, and artichokes.
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Studies have shown that foods containing fiber not only stimulate the growth of healthy bacteria in the gut but also help reduce the growth of some harmful bacteria. However, fiber can slow the time it takes for the stomach to empty, which may delay the absorption of medications. Therefore, it is advisable to temporarily avoid foods rich in fiber during antibiotic treatment and focus on consuming them after completing the course of antibiotics.
4. Prebiotic Foods: Nourishing the Gut Ecosystem
Unlike probiotics, which are live microbes, prebiotics are foods that feed the good bacteria in your gut. However, other foods are not high in fiber but act as prebiotics by helping the growth of healthy bacteria like Bifidobacteria. For example, red wine contains antioxidant polyphenols, which are not digested by human cells but are digested by gut bacteria. Similarly, cocoa contains antioxidant polyphenols that have beneficial prebiotic effects on the gut microbiota.
Thus, eating prebiotic foods after antibiotics may help the growth of beneficial gut bacteria that have been damaged by antibiotics. One study found that consuming red wine polyphenol extract for four weeks significantly increased the levels of healthy Bifidobacteria in the gut, which in turn helped reduce blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Several studies have demonstrated that cocoa polyphenols can increase the populations of Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus in the gut while decreasing the presence of harmful bacteria, such as Clostridia.
5. Foods High in Vitamin K
Antibiotics fight all kinds of bacteria, even those that help the body. Antibiotics destroy bacteria that produce vitamin K, which the body needs to clot the blood. To reduce the impact of antibiotics on vitamin K levels, people can eat: kalespinachturnip greenscollardsSwiss chardparsleymustard greensBrussels sprouts
Foods to Avoid During Antibiotic Treatment
While many foods are beneficial during and after antibiotics, some should be avoided. For example, you should avoid eating grapefruit or drinking grapefruit juice because this can prevent the body from breaking down medications properly. Research shows that grapefruit juice can also affect the effectiveness of some antibiotics.
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Foods supplemented with calcium, such as calcium-fortified orange juice, as well as calcium supplements, can decrease the absorption of some antibiotics. Calcium supplements can also interfere with the absorption of certain antibiotics, such as ciprofloxacin (Cipro) and gatifloxacin. However, foods that contain calcium, like yogurt, do not have this inhibitory effect. Therefore, it is best to avoid high doses of calcium during antibiotic treatment while still enjoying calcium-rich foods like yogurt in moderation.
You should avoid both the fruit and the juice of this sour citrus product. Some studies show that excess calcium interferes with absorption. For some patients (especially women) antibiotic usage may lead to candida (yeast) infections. Avoid foods high in sugar and yeast to avoid feeding the candida organism.
Alcohol
It is sensible to avoid alcohol while taking any medication. In most cases, moderate drinking will not interfere with antibiotics, but it may worsen the side effects. Mixing alcohol and antibiotics can lead to a host of unpleasant side effects. A doctor will advise a person not to drink any alcohol if they are taking one of the following antibiotics: Metronidazole: This can treat gastrointestinal tract infections, dental infections, vaginal infections, infected leg ulcers, and pressure sores. Tinidazole: This also treats dental infections, vaginal infections, infected leg ulcers, and pressure sores and clears bacteria called Helicobacter pylori from the gut.
Drinking alcohol while on one of these antibiotics can cause a serious reaction and the following symptoms: nauseaabdominal painhot flashesa fast or irregular heartbeatheadachesdizzinessdrowsiness People should avoid alcohol for a further 48 hours after finishing a course of metronidazole and for 72 hours after finishing a course of tinidazole.
General Tips for Taking Antibiotics
- Follow the prescription exactly: This includes taking it with or without food, as directed.
- Finish the full course: Even if you start to feel better soon after the first few doses, be sure to finish the full course as prescribed.
- Watch for side effects and allergic reactions: Tell your health care provider about all the medications, supplements, or herbal remedies you are taking.
- Don't save or share any doses of the antibiotic.
- Consult Your Doctor: If you experience persistent symptoms of diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea, or fever, it's important to contact your health care provider.
- Never double up on antibiotic doses, especially if you miss a dose, unless specifically directed. Taking more won’t make you feel better faster.
- Women should be especially cautious when taking antibiotics. Antibiotics also reduce the effectiveness of birth control.
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