As featured in BODY+SOUL

I often describe our digestive system as our own little internal rainforest. The health of our rainforest depends on a few things: the soil quality, the types/variety of plants growing, pollution levels, an optimal climate and ensuring that any unwanted pests are kept out!

The plants in this story represent our microbiome; the thousands of bugs that call our gut home. These bugs play a variety of roles helping to maintain health and wellness. Sometimes the arrival of unwanted ‘pests’ can result in the administration of antibiotics. All antibiotics change the landscape of our rainforest. The degree of change depends on the type and dosage of the antibiotic you take and can range from a few plants being heavily pruned through to the equivalent of a bulldozer wiping out large parts of our rainforest. The time it takes for our plants to grow back and for health to be restored can be anywhere from 4 weeks through to several years; it gets more complicated if you are on a prolonged course (e.g. for some skin conditions like acne) or multiple courses, one after the other.

Naturopathically, we generally try to encourage people to avoid antibiotics as much as possible by building and supporting immune function, maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle, adopting good nutritional practices and resting if you are unwell. Sometimes though, antibiotics are still needed. Here are my top 3 tips to support your ‘rainforest’ if you have to take antibiotics:

1. Maintain your soil quality

A healthy gut lining (your ‘soil’) is key to ensuring that your bugs have a healthy place to regenerate after antibiotic consumption. Bone broth is an effective and powerful way to help support your gut function. Aim to consume at least 1 mugful per day while you are taking antibiotics and for a week or two after.

2. Optimise your climate

Everything that flows through your digestive system alters the climate of your rainforest. Our diet is without a doubt, one of the biggest influencers. Aim to consume foods rich in prebiotics to help prevent ‘climate change’ and give your bugs enough food. Vegetables, especially things like asparagus, Brussel sprouts, leeks, Jerusalem artichokes and garlic are useful inclusions as are slippery elm powder and aloe vera juice. Fermented foods like yoghurt, kefir and sauerkraut are also good to include.

3. Fertilise!

It’s a good idea to take a course of probiotics (in addition to the above) once you have completed your antibiotic therapy or throughout if you are on antibiotics continuously. These are best taken with food, about 2 hours away from the antibiotic to help protect the bacteria to ensure they make it down into the lower parts of your digestive tract.

Protecting against thrush

Thrush is a common (and unfortunate) side effect of antibiotic therapy. It is presents due to the overgrowth of Candida albicans, a yeast that proliferates in your body when the balance of bacteria is disturbed by antibiotics. Some natural antifungals that can help get thrush under control include herbal preparations of Pau D’arco, Golden Seal, Garlic and Grapeseed extract. It’s also important to reduce your sugar intake as sugar fuels the growth of the Candida. If you’re prone to getting thrush, have a chat to your naturopath or doctor as it can signify some deeper health issues like blood sugar irregularities, hormonal imbalances or immune system disorders.