Q: I have been on anti-biotics for various infections and every time I go on them I get stomach problems and feel I am worse off. What can I do to prevent the adverse effects of antibiotic usage?

A: Over-utilzation of antibiotics is at a national high. We are defeating ourselves by using antibiotics for most common colds and basic infections, many times when they are viral in origin.

The problem with antibiotics is that they don’t have a special mission to kill just the invading bacterial organisms. Antibiotics kill all bacteria in their path, especially essential bacteria of the stomach lining as in your case. Over 150 million Americans will get a prescription for antibiotics this year. Besides breeding superbugs that will eventually make antibiotics inert by as early as 2005, based on some experts’ estimates, antibiotics kill the friendly bugs that live symbiotically within you.

Our bodies house some 400 species of friendly bacteria, or "probiotics". They cling to the walls of our stomachs and intestines. Friendly flora aid digestion, ward off pathogens and help us process folic acid and other critical nutrients. When the complex balance of microbes is jilted by stress, alcohol, antibiotics or poor nutrition, the consequences can be most unpleasant, ranging from stomachaches to vaginal infections, vitamin deficiencies and chronic inflammation. Fortunately, a little fine tuning can keep your system humming.

We are not born with probiotics; they come from our environment. Babies encounter their first friendly microbes in breast milk. This is just one imperative reason we encourage our pregnant moms to nurse. Other sources of probiotics include yogurt, tofu (cultured milk) and miso (fermented soybeans). And because these microbes thrive on non-digested sugars called fructoligiosaccharides ("pro-biotics"), foods such as onions asparagus, tomatoes, garlic, artichokes, honey and bananas can all help the bacteria thrive.

Scientists have long suspended a link between these microbes and overall health. Russian bacteriologist Ele Metchnokoff won a Noble Prize in the early 1900’s for linking yogurt consumption to longevity. Drs. Sherwood Gorbach and Barry Goldoin of Tufts University discovered lactobacillus, the bacteria used in majority today’s research.

Besides crowding out harmful bacteria, friendly flora maintain the acidic environment needed to control them, even releasing hydrogen peroxide to ward off wayward bugs. With less pathogens in our internal environment, the immune system is less likely to get overwhelmed. Studies show healthy bacteria word off bladder infections, vaginal infections, and even sexually transmitted diseases. Hospitalized infants, those given formula enriched with bifidoacteria (the bacteria found in breast milk) are less likely to develop infectious diarrhea.

Supplements of lactobacllus and probiotics are available through health food stores. Studies have shown that taking these supplements for 2 weeks prior to a typhoid vaccine exhibited a stronger immune response in those patients. More research proves that lactobacillus can lower the risk of respiratory infection in children.

Eat yogurt and probiotic foods and or take your probiotic supplements. Should you find yourself in need of more antibiotics in the future, do not take them at the same meal or they will negate each other.

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