I’ve often seen the health of patients change dramatically after they take a round of antibiotics. These new health challenges can run from incessant fatigue to bowel problems to weight gain. Who would have ever believed that antibiotics might help you to grow fat? Farmers have known it for years. And now, a new study says it’s true.
Farmers have known for decades that they can fatten up their animals with antibiotics. That’s why your meat has loads of antibiotics in it. (And it’s likely laced with antibiotic-resistant bugs as well). The majority of antibiotics sold in America today go to livestock, which might fatten them by as much as 15%.
One study looked at 11,500 babies born in the UK during the early 1990s. A stunning 30% of these took antibiotics within the first half year of life. The researchers found that these babies were more likely to become overweight as toddlers. However, the researchers couldn’t say definitively that the antibiotics were the cause.
This new study does that. It found that antibiotics make young mice fatter by changing the mix of bacteria in their gut. To get to the core of the problem, New York University School of Medicine researchers gave mice low doses of the drugs for seven weeks after birth. The mice taking the drugs had their body fat increase from 2-4% and their weight increased as well, compared to the control group.
The team found that the drugs killed off some bacteria while another group of bacteria flourished. These bugs were better at extracting calories from intestinal contents that would otherwise be destined for elimination. The bacteria switched on genes involved with making and storing more fat. The result was fatter rodents with gut bacteria more similar to the bacterial flora of obese animals.
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I’ve often wondered about people who said that they just couldn’t lose weight no matter how much they cut down on eating. Perhaps modern medicine is the reason. These drugs have gummed up their guts, possibly priming them for obesity.
Action to take: Avoid antibiotics when not absolutely necessary, the chemicals ignorant doctors and evil Pharma have handed out like water. If you have a history of weight gain following antibiotic exposure, see an integrative physician who might be able to assist you in reprogramming your gut flora.
Probiotics (like Advanced Probiotic Formula or Prothera’s Theradophilus) can begin a gradual replacement of the more “efficient” fat-extracting bacteria to what you should have. But, you’ll still need to give the normal bugs an edge over the fat-loving bugs by moving your diet away from what the fat loving bugs like to eat to more veggies and fruits.
But that’s not all you can do. Exercise, of course, is important. And on Friday, I’ll show you another way to combat obesity.
Yours for better health and medical freedom,
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