Gut Health: part 1
“All disease begins in the gut” Hippocrates of Kos, the father of modern medicine:
The use of antibiotics in the treatment of animals is widespread, and they are used in Australia as a growth promoter in chicken, pigs and cattle.
When you add antibiotic use in animals to those we are prescribed to take by the health industry, its no wonder our gut microbial balance suffers. Taking a course of broad-spectrum antibiotics can take weeks, months or years for our gut to recover from. Many essential gut microbes are accidently killed off through overuse of antibiotics plus having a diet rich in highly processed foods.
One way to counter the use of antibiotics is to increase your intake of probiotics. This should be done through advice from your doctor, nutritionist or naturopath. For example you might be advised to avoid them if you are pregnant or if you have a faulty immune system.
Fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kimchi and kombucha are rich sources of probiotics and have been around for thousands of years feeding our gut health and promoting gut microbe diversity. They are also simple to make at home.
