Minimize The Harm Of Antibiotics
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It’s Q&A Day at 10almonds!
Have a question or a request? We love to hear from you!
In cases where we’ve already covered something, we might link to what we wrote before, but will always be happy to revisit any of our topics again in the future too—there’s always more to say!
As ever: if the question/request can be answered briefly, we’ll do it here in our Q&A Thursday edition. If not, we’ll make a main feature of it shortly afterwards!
So, no question/request too big or small 😎
❝Am booked in for a hip replacement, and of course the doc wants to give antibiotics around the surgery, but I know that’s very bad. That being said, I’d also like to not die of sepsis, so is there any way to get the best of both worlds?❞
Not dying of sepsis is also one of our favorite things to do! Indeed, sometimes antibiotics are a necessary evil.
Let’s quickly recap for everyone why antibiotics really mustn’t be used unnecessarily.
- What most people know about: it creates antibiotic resistance, and thus helps breed dangerous pathogenic superbugs, à la MRSA et al. That’s a problem for everyone, including the person who took the antibiotics.
- What most people don’t know about: because it’s a “scorched earth” tactic that kills most bacteria, friend and foe alike, the problem isn’t just that it devastates your gut microbiome by killing helpful bacteria, it’s also about a secondary consequence of that, which is that it leaves the coast clear for pathogenic fungi which aren’t touched by antibiotics at all, being an entirely different kind of life.
Consider for a moment how bad that is: you just went scorched earth on your gut, killing everything good or bad… Apart from the fungus that likes to put its roots through your intestinal wall, make holes there, and interface with your nervous system, and is usually kept in check and stopped from doing that by friendly bacteria.
You wiped out the friendly bacteria that normally hold it back, and now the completely unbothered fungus is alone in there wondering “Did something happen? Oh well, free lunch!”
See for example: Candida albicans as a commensal and opportunistic pathogen in the intestine
And for that matter: Candida albicans-Induced Epithelial Damage Mediates Translocation through Intestinal Barriers
(That’s scientist-speak for “Candida puts holes in your intestines, and stuff can then go through those holes”)
And that’s just C. albicans, never mind things like C. diff. that can just outright kill you easily. This one’s not a fungus, it’s a spore-forming bacterium, but it’s also untroubled by antibiotics so it enjoys a similar launch into overgrowth when you kill its competitors.
For more details, see Four Ways Antibiotics Can Kill You
Now, how to minimize/mitigate that
First of all, of course, avoid antibiotics unless you really need them. Hip surgery is indeed a case of “really need them”.
By the way, in the US, most antibiotic resistance comes not from the direct use of antibiotics in humans, but from the heavy use of antibiotics in the farming of non-human animals (including fish, but cows and pigs are the biggest hosts) that are then eaten by humans, so that’s one more reason to skip the meat, too.
However, people do often errantly take antibiotics for things that antibiotics can’t really help with (e.g. most respiratory tract infections), so please consult with your doctor and only take them if they advise it’s truly necessary.
Secondly, IV is better than oral, unless your doctor has a very good reason to prescribe oral (e.g. “there is a pathogenic bacterial overgrowth in your gastrointestinal tract and we are going to kill it”), because:
- better distribution through your circulation anyway
- less impact on your gut than putting it directly into your gut (who would have guessed that?)
Thirdly, less is better than more, in the sense of: there’s normally a course of antibiotics, and for perioperative prophylactic purposes (i.e. what will be the case for your hip surgery), two or three days of IV is likely to be sufficient to avoid infection, and allows for a much better rebound of healthy gut bacteria than if you take seven days of antibiotics, for example:
❝The effect of antibiotics on gut microbiota is produced after antibiotics treatments over one week.
The recovery of gut microbiota to the state of pre-antibiotics may require over two weeks of antibiotics withdrawal.❞
Read in full: Assessment of the impact of intravenous antibiotics treatment on gut microbiota in patients ← this paper used data from heart surgeries, but the principle for your gut health is exactly the same
Lastly, prepare your gut in advance. By this we mean: the healthier your gut microbiome is when you go in, the more chance there is of a healthy rebound when you come out.
So, prioritize your gut health in the weeks (ideally, months, you really can’t start too early) before your surgery, and maximize your beneficial microbiota diversity, such as by:
- enjoying plenty of fiber (prebiotics)
- enjoying fermented foods (e.g. kimchi, sauerkraut, kefir, etc)
- taking probiotic supplements (but see the link below for how to not waste these by sabotaging them)
A lot of people do make certain common mistakes when taking probiotics, so here’s how to avoid those mistakes: Stop Sabotaging Your Gut
Want to learn more?
Here’s an in-depth guide to avoiding many all-too-popular contaminants of foods, including antibiotics:
Healthy Living in a Contaminated World – by Dr. Donald Hoernschemeyer
And, on a side-note, you might also like to check out:
Good luck with your surgery!
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What should I eat (and avoid) while breastfeeding? How does my diet affect baby’s milk?
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Many people are familiar with the saying that a woman is “eating for two” during pregnancy. Although this is an exaggeration, nutritional needs do certainly increase during pregnancy to support the growing baby.
But what’s perhaps less known is that energy needs are actually even slightly higher during breastfeeding than during pregnancy.
Human breastmilk is a dynamic liquid and its composition (including carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins and minerals) varies over the entire breastfeeding period, and even between feeds.
It can change depending on what mum is eating, environmental factors, and what the baby needs, through a biofeedback system (sometimes called “baby backwash”). For example, if a baby is starting to get sick, breastmilk will adjust to include more leukocytes, immune cells that fight infection.
So what should breastfeeding women be eating? And how does a mother’s diet influence the nutritional makeup of her milk?
Natalia Lebedinskaia/Getty Images Nutritional needs increase during breastfeeding
Fully breastfeeding mums can produce around 800 millilitres of milk a day in the first six months after birth, which has an energy content of roughly 3 kilojoules per gram.
Even factoring in using up excess fat stored during pregnancy, mums still need on average an extra 2,000 kilojoules to support milk production. This is roughly equivalent to adding a cheese sandwich, a handful of nuts and a banana on top of normal dietary intake.
Interestingly, requirements don’t drop off after the baby starts solids. In the second six months, milk production is thought to drop to an average of 600ml per day, as babies start to eat solid foods. But because maternal fat stores deplete by this stage, additional energy requirements remain similar.
Some nutrients are particularly important during breastfeeding, including protein, calcium, iron, iodine and vitamins.
For example, compared with a non-pregnant, non-breastfeeding woman, protein requirements increase by almost half when breastfeeding (from 0.75 grams to 1.1 grams per kg of body weight per day).
Meanwhile, iodine requirements almost double (from 150 micrograms per day to 270 micrograms per day). Iodine is important for thyroid function, and can impact baby’s growth and brain development.
It’s important women who are breastfeeding eat a variety of foods, including:
- high-protein foods (meat, fish, eggs, nuts, seeds, soy-based protein such as tofu and tempeh, legumes such as chickpeas, baked beans and lentils)
- dairy foods or alternatives (for dairy alternatives, check calcium is included)
- whole grains
- fruits and vegetables.
While making all that milk, drinking more water also becomes extremely important. Thirst is a good guide, but around 2.5 litres per day is generally recommended, or more if it’s hot or with exercise.
Is there anything I shouldn’t be eating?
What a mum consumes can pass into her breastmilk. For example, in one study, babies whose mothers drank small amounts of carrot juice while breastfeeding were more accepting of cereal flavoured with carrot juice compared with a control group of babies whose mothers drank water.
It’s therefore important to limit alcohol and caffeine, which can also pass though to the baby. No alcohol is the safest choice, but if you’re planning to have a drink, tools such as the Feed Safe app can be used to estimate when your breastmilk should be free of alcohol.
Up to 200mg of caffeine per day (equivalent to roughly a cup of brewed coffee, an energy or cola drink, or four cups of tea) is considered safe for breastfeeding.
Breastfeeding mums don’t need to take any particular foods out of their diet to prevent allergies in their baby. In fact, experts believe babies exposed to common allergens via breast milk could be less likely to develop allergies to these foods, however we need more research into this question.
Although relatively uncommon, babies can be allergic or intolerant to certain aspects of their mothers’ diet when breastfeeding. They may react in the form of colic or wind, reflux, mucus or blood in their poo, eczema or rash, or appear to be in pain.
In these cases, mum’s diet may need adjustment. The most common culprits include cows’ milk (the protein, not the lactose component), soy and egg.
It’s recommended to remove suspected foods from the diet for a minimum of three weeks. This should ideally be done with supervision from an Accredited Practising Dietitian who specialises in allergy, to ensure the mother’s nutritional needs continue to be met.
4 tips for breastfeeding mums
- it’s a good idea to get a blood test to check your vitamin D and iron levels – these can be depleted over pregnancy and are important for breastfeeding. If your levels are low, you can discuss options with your doctor
- iodine requirements are so much higher in breastfeeding that an iodine supplement of 150 micrograms a day is recommended to support infant growth and neurodevelopment
- have a variety of nutritious snacks that can be eaten with one hand for those late-night feeds, such as peeled boiled eggs, a peanut butter sandwich on wholegrain bread, or avocado and cheese on a rice cake. My personal favourite is homemade rocky road with dark chocolate, nuts, seeds and dried fruit
- keep a drink bottle with water nearby when breastfeeding.
The author’s home-made rocky road, which she gives as a gift to friends with new babies. Therese O’Sullivan/Author provided If you’re considering a gift for a family with a new baby, remember new parents’ personal needs often take a back seat when bub arrives, including eating well. Consider a hearty frozen meal, muffins with oats and nuts, a nice stainless steel water bottle, gourmet trail mix or even some homemade rocky road.
Therese O’Sullivan, Associate Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics, Edith Cowan University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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The Longevity Formula – by James Smart
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This book is, notwithstanding the title, less a formula and more a long list of actionable things one can do to improve one’s healthy longevity, which list is then summarized at the end in a chapter entitled “101 science-backed methods for increasing your lifespan and achieving long-term wellness”.
We see the usual items of understanding what causes/promotes aging, and thus how to fight that with diet, exercise, rest, and healthy habits in general (e.g. fasting, hot/cold therapy, vagus nerve stimulation, breathing exercises, etc), as well as medical practices (e.g. allergy testing, stem cell injection, blood glucose monitoring, etc), plus complementary therapies that have at least some scientific backing.
The style is a little “salesy” despite not actually selling anything beyond ideas, but it’s all sound advice. There are short-form in-line citations, there’s a full bibliography at the back.
Bottom line: if you’d like a lot of healthy longevity tips packed into a 200-page book, this is it.
Click here to check out The Longevity Formula, and optimize your healthy lifespan!
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CBD Against Diabetes!
10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.
It’s Q&A Day at 10almonds!
Have a question or a request? We love to hear from you!
In cases where we’ve already covered something, we might link to what we wrote before, but will always be happy to revisit any of our topics again in the future too—there’s always more to say!
As ever: if the question/request can be answered briefly, we’ll do it here in our Q&A Thursday edition. If not, we’ll make a main feature of it shortly afterwards!
So, no question/request too big or small
❝CBD for diabetes! I’ve taken CBD for body pain. Did no good. Didn’t pay attention as to diabetes. I’m type 1 for 62 years. Any ideas?❞
Thanks for asking! First up, for reference, here’s our previous main feature on the topic of CBD:
CBD Oil: What Does The Science Say?
There, we touched on CBD’s effects re diabetes:
in mice / in vitro / in humans
In summary, according to the above studies, it…
- lowered incidence of diabetes in non-obese diabetic mice. By this they mean that pancreatic function improved (reduced insulitis and reduced inflammatory Th1-associated cytokine production). Obviously this has strong implications for Type 1 Diabetes in humans—but so far, just that, implications (because you are not a mouse).
- attenuated high glucose-induced endothelial cell inflammatory response and barrier disruption. Again, this is promising, but it was an in vitro study in very controlled lab conditions, and sometimes “what happens in the Petri dish, stays in the Petri dish”—in order words, these results may or may not translate to actual living humans.
- Improved insulin response ← is the main take-away that we got from reading through their numerical results, since there was no convenient conclusion given. Superficially, this may be of more interest to those with type 2 diabetes, but then again, if you have T1D and then acquire insulin resistance on top of that, you stand a good chance of dying on account of your exogenous insulin no longer working. In the case of T2D, “the pancreas will provide” (more or less), T1D, not so much.
So, what else is there out there?
The American Diabetes Association does not give a glowing review:
❝There’s a lot of hype surrounding CBD oil and diabetes. There is no noticeable effect on blood glucose (blood sugar) or insulin levels in people with type 2 diabetes. Researchers continue to study the effects of CBD on diabetes in animal studies. ❞
~ American Diabetes Association
Source: ADA | CBD & Diabetes
Of course, that’s type 2, but most research out there is for type 2, or else have been in vitro or rodent studies (and not many of those, at that).
Here’s a relatively more recent study that echoes the results of the previous mouse study we mentioned; it found:
❝CBD-treated non-obese diabetic mice developed T1D later and showed significantly reduced leukocyte activation and increased FCD in the pancreatic microcirculation.
Conclusions: Experimental CBD treatment reduced markers of inflammation in the microcirculation of the pancreas studied by intravital microscopy. ❞
~ Dr. Christian Lehmann et al.
Read more: Experimental cannabidiol treatment reduces early pancreatic inflammation in type 1 diabetes
…and here’s a 2020 study (so, more recent again) that was this time rats, and/but still more promising, insofar as it was with rats that had full-blown T1D already:
Read in full: Two-weeks treatment with cannabidiol improves biophysical and behavioral deficits associated with experimental type-1 diabetes
Finally, a paper in July 2023 (so, since our previous article about CBD), looked at the benefits of CBD against diabetes-related complications (so, applicable to most people with any kind of diabetes), and concluded:
❝CBDis of great value in the treatment of diabetes and its complications. CBD can improve pancreatic islet function, reduce pancreatic inflammation and improve insulin resistance. For diabetic complications, CBD not only has a preventive effect but also has a therapeutic value for existing diabetic complications and improves the function of target organs❞
…before continuing:
❝However, the safety and effectiveness of CBD are still needed to prove. It should be acknowledged that the clinical application of CBD in the treatment of diabetes and its complications has a long way to go.
The dissecting of the pharmacology and therapeutic role of CBD in diabetes would guide the future development of CBD-based therapeutics for treating diabetes and diabetic complications❞
~ Ibid.
Now, the first part of that is standard ass-covering, and the second part of that is standard “please fund more studies please”. Nevertheless, we must also not fail to take heed—little is guaranteed, especially when it comes to an area of research where the science is still very young.
In summary…
It seems well worth a try, and with ostensibly nothing to lose except the financial cost of the CBD.
If you do, you might want to keep careful track of a) your usual diabetes metrics (blood sugar levels before and after meals, insulin taken), and b) when you took CBD, what dose, etc, so you can do some citizen science here.
Lastly: please remember our standard disclaimer; we are not doctors, let alone your doctors, so please do check with your endocrinologist before undertaking any such changes!
Want to read more?
You might like our previous main feature:
How To Prevent And Reverse Type 2 Diabetes ← obviously this will not prevent or reverse Type 1 Diabetes, but avoiding insulin resistance is good in any case!
If you’re not diabetic and you’ve perhaps been confused throughout this article, then firstly thank you for your patience, and secondly you might like this quick primer:
The Sweet Truth About Diabetes: Debunking Diabetes Myths! ← this gives a simplified but fair overview of types 1 & 2
(for space, we didn’t cover the much less common types 3 & 4; perhaps another time we will)
Meanwhile, take care!
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4 Exercises To Finally Fix Your Lower Back Pain
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Alisa Szyman, mobility coach, shows us how to ease things up:
Gently does it (but actually do it)
Fun fact: persistent lower back pain is often caused by compensation patterns rather than ongoing injury, with the lower back becoming overworked when other regions fail to contribute effectively.
For this reason, it’s good to give the overworked areas relief, and “balance out” the use of muscles to stop the same few muscles from doing all the work.
Some weaknesses to pay attention to (we’ll mention the exercises in passing, and then detail them properly in a moment):
- Tight hip flexors: prolonged sitting and frequent use of heeled footwear may shorten your hip flexors, contributing to anterior pelvic tilt and increased lower-back arching; a self-test is to stand sideways to a mirror and look for an exaggerated arch and a protruding abdomen; the recommended exercise is a kneeling hip flexor stretch performed with a strong glute squeeze to encourage hip-flexor relaxation.
- Weak core: reduced activation of the deep abdominal muscles, particularly the transverse abdominis, can leave your lower back providing the lion’s share of the stabilization; here the recommendation is pelvic tilts to activate your deep core and glutes, followed by bird dogs to improve spinal stability during movement.
- Weak glutes: prolonged sitting will tend to reduce glute activation (or more prosaically, leads to “dead butt syndrome”), causing your lower back to compensate; a glute bridge can help identify this if you feel the effort mainly in your lower back rather than your glutes; the recommended progression is glute bridges, then marching or single-leg variations.
- Upper-back stiffness: limited thoracic-spine rotation can force your lower back to compensate during twisting movements; a self-test is to sit with your arms crossed and assess whether you can comfortably rotate beyond approximately 45 degrees each way; the recommended exercise is the thoracic windmill, which improves upper-back mobility while minimizing lower-back movement.
As for how to do those exercises in their most useful-for-this form,
- Kneeling hip flexor stretch: kneel with one knee on the floor, keep your torso upright, squeeze your rearmost glute firmly, gently drive your hip forwards, hold for 5 seconds, then relax.
- Pelvic tilt with bird dog progression: lie on your back with your knees bent, flatten your lower back into the floor, squeeze your glutes, brace your core, hold for 5 seconds, then relax; progress to bird dogs by starting on all fours, bracing your core, and extending the opposite arm and leg while keeping your lower back neutral.
- Glute bridge: squeeze your glutes, tuck your pelvis in slightly, raise your hips, pause briefly, then lower yourself back down slowly; progress to marching or single-leg variations as your control improves.
- Thoracic windmill: lie on your side with your knees bent and stacked one on top of the other, extend your arms in front of you, then sweep your top arm in a large arc while rotating through your upper back and opening your chest, keeping your knees together and your lower back as still as you reasonably can.
For more on all of this plus visual demonstrations, enjoy:
Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!
Want to learn more?
You might also like:
For a much deeper understanding of treating back pain, here’s a great book that we reviewed a little while back:
Treat Your Own Back – by Robin McKenzie ← he’s a physiotherapist and not a doctor, and/but with 40 years of practice to his name and 33 letters after his name (CNZM OBE FCSP (Hon) FNZSP (Hon) Dip MDT Dip MT), he seems to know his stuff. His work is very well-respected, and almost any English-speaking physiotherapist will have read his books.
Take care!
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Pineapple vs Strawberries – Which is Healthier?
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Our Verdict
When comparing pineapple to strawberries, we picked the pineapple.
Why?
It was close, and both have their strong merits!
In terms of macros, pineapple has more carbs (while still having a low glycemic index), and they’re about equal on everything else, making pineapple the “more food per food” option here. So we could call this a small first-round win for pineapple.
In the category of vitamins, pineapple has more of vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, and B7, while strawberries have more of vitamins E and K, yielding a 7:2 win to pineapple here.
Looking at minerals, pineapple has more copper and manganese, while strawberries have more phosphorus and selenium, for a 2:2 tie in this round.
In other considerations, pineapple has bromelain, which is unique to it and has many beneficial properties (see the “learn more” section below), while strawberries (like most berries) have a lot more polyphenols. So, we’re calling this round a tie.
Adding up the sections makes for an overall win for pineapple, but strawberries are great too, so by all means enjoy either or both, as diversity is best!
Want to learn more?
You might like:
Enjoy!
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Dates vs Grapes – Which is Healthier?
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Our Verdict
When comparing dates to grapes, we picked the dates.
Why?
It’s not close:
In terms of macros, dates have 4x the carbs and/but 8x the fiber, making for the lower glycemic index. Also, for what it’s worth, they have nearly 4x the protein, but probably nobody is eating either of these fruits for the protein. In any case, it’s an easy and clear win for dates in the category of macros.
In the category of vitamins, dates have more of vitamins B2, B3, B5, B6, B9, and choline, while grapes have more of vitamins B1, C, E, and K, making for a 6:4 win for dates.
When it comes to minerals, it’s more one-sided: dates have more calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, and zinc, while grapes have more manganese. An easy win for dates here.
Of course, enjoy either or both (diversity is good), but if you’re looking for nutrient density, dates are where it’s at.
Want to learn more?
You might like:
Can We Drink To Good Health? ← while there are polyphenols such as resveratrol in red wine that per se would boost heart health, there’s so little per glass that you may need 100–1000 glasses per day to get the dosage that provides benefits in mouse studies.
If you’re not a mouse, you might even need more than that!
To this end, many people prefer resveratrol supplementation ← link is to an example product on Amazon, but there are plenty more so feel free to shop around 😎
Enjoy!
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