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Writer's pictureElieke Kearns, PhD, RD

Antibiotics + Probiotics

Our household has been hit with a few bad illnesses the last few weeks…it really is Fall! My doctor prescribed a round of antibiotics 💊 which helped by directly killing the bacteria and/or preventing them from replicating and reproducing over time.


Truly, I was so grateful for modern medicine 🏥…but in addition to helping me feel better, antibiotics also disturb the natural balance of "good" 👍 and "bad" 👎 bacteria in the intestinal tract, which can cause the "bad" bacteria to multiply beyond their normal numbers. ❌❌❌

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This imbalance, or sometimes called “dysbiosis,” can lead to digestive discomfort. 💩Turns out that it’s so common, that there is even a medical term for it “antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD)” which occurs in about 20 percent of people who take antibiotics.¹ 😣 some studies suggest this number is much, much higher.³

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Research shows that there are certain probiotic 🦠 types that you can take to help minimize the digestive discomfort. But it’s not as simple as just eating yogurt or kimchi or picking up any supplement that has probiotics in it. 🤯 Probiotics are complicated, it really matters which type of probiotic you use and how much you take. If you’re looking to take a probiotic alongside your antibiotic, here are two probiotic names that may actually help, look for either of these names on the ingredient list: 🦠 Saccharomyces boulardii² or 🦠 Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG.³

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👩‍⚕️ Remember, always consult your healthcare professional to determine if probiotics are right for you. Choose strains that have been extensively studied and supported by scientific evidence, and take them at those amounts.📚🔬⁣


1) DOI: 10.2217/17460913.3.5.563

2) DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.324.7350.1361

3) DOI: 10.1111/apt.13404


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