Have you heard of Bifidobacteria?

Have you heard of Bifidobacteria? You should have done. Bifidobacteria are friends of yours...(o: They are some of the little beneficial microbes that live in your gut. They are sometimes referred to as Probiotics.

You've heard of Antibiotics I am sure. Now when we take antibiotics in order to treat an infection, as well as dealing with the baddie bacteria that are responsible for the infection, antibiotics unfortunately tend to kill off some of the friendly microbes like Bifidobacteria. This can lead to gut problems and many other problems, including thrush/candida and BV/bacterial vaginitis/bacterial vaginosis. And the harmful bacteria in the gut thrive and digestion is compromised. The immune system gets damaged and your risk of developing cancer increases.

But never fear! - Send Bifidobacteria to the rescue! - An easy way to increase the friendly bacteria in your gut and decrease the harmful bacteria, is to eat Probiotic dairy yogurt. - The best sort of probiotic yogurt to look for is that made from full fat milk that has come from cows that eat grass in the fields, not those poor cows that live in overcrowded, dark, unhealthy barns and eat pesticide-treated grains and are given antibiotics because of the poor hygiene. And you should avoid yogurt that has added sugar, because sugar feeds the baddie bacteria that cause those yeast infections like thrush. And you should also make sure the yogurt is organic. Personally I eat Probiotic Yeo Valley natural yogurt usually. It's delicious and it's good for your health. But it is not the only good probiotic wholemilk yogurt. - Why not try all the ones you can find? - Give your gut a treat! - Buy it some probiotic yogurt! - You can read more about Bifidobacteria and the ways it benefits our health by reading this Wikipedia article.

Many painful, crippling adverse effects from taking Levaquin or other Fluoroquinolone antibiotics

Johnson and Johnson has to pay damages to a victim. See Pharmalot.com item. - Be sure to read the Comments from other victims beneath the report. Doctors know too little about the dangers of the drugs they prescribe. Too many lives are being destroyed by pharmaceutical drugs.

Don't become part of the statistics. Avoid prescription drugs if you can.

Did you know that there are many pharmaceutical drugs that deplete the body of nutrients?

If you take or intend to take prescription drugs you may find it's a good idea to check out which nutrients you may need to supplement while taking the medication.

My first encounter with this sort of nutrient depletion was when I was taking isoniazid for TB when I was a teenager. I suffered greatly from insomnia but did not know why. It was not until many years later that I discovered that it was because of vitamin B6 depletion. B6 is also known as pyridoxine. If I had known at the time, and if I had been able to take supplements of pyridoxine at the time, I would have been saved from those dreadful sleepless years and from the anaemia that is also caused by lack of this vitamin.

Statins, so widely and notoriously over-prescribed, cause the body to be depleted of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), so if you are taking them you may like to consider taking tablets of CoQ10 so as to reduce some of the harm the statins may be causing you.

Steroid drugs such as prednisone have been shown to deplete the body of calcium, magnesium, folic acid, potassium, selenium, vitamin C, and vitamin D.

Antibiotics deplete the body of several nutrients as well as adversely affecting the balance of the gut flora. Thiazide diuretics (water tablets) such as Bendrofluazide (aka Bendroflumethiazide or lots of other names) remove some potassium and magnesium from the body. The resultant shortage of potassium and magnesium may well cause you night cramps. Often all you need to do about the shortage of potassium is to make sure you eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables and your doctor will usually tell you about this and suggest eating bananas for extra potassium.

Depletion of nutrients could affect you in many ways and may well result in lower energy levels and lowered immunity to infection. So check it out. You may find it's a case for nutritional supplements to the rescue!

Risk of Tamiflu-Resistant Viruses?

I think the development of drug resistance in pathogens began to be noticed in the 1950s, and tuberculosis, for instance, could no longer be treated with only one antibiotic drug and so multiple drug therapy became the norm for this illness. Unfortunately, as doctors came more and more to rely on antibiotics to deal with infectious diseases, many of them became recklessly profligate in prescribing them, even for very minor illnesses and even for viral infections for which antibiotics are useless. They usually claimed and continue to claim that patients 'demand' them and that they are forced to accede to their demands but that is clearly nonsense.

Thus it is that very serious illnesses now are often difficult to treat because they are resistant to the 'usual' broad spectrum antibiotics, and drug companies try to come up with new drugs that can be used instead - until the medical profession by its cavalier prescribing habits makes the new drugs also ineffective because the microbes have developed resistance to them too.

This seems very likely to happen with Tamiflu, don't you think? - Or am I wrong? - It's being given out in the UK for the small proportion of genuine swine flu and larger proportion of self-diagnosed sniffles and coughs, and possibly an even larger proportion to opportunists who have reported non-existent symptoms in order to stock up on the Tamiflu or take it on holiday with them or whatever, because of the over-hyped and ludicrous telephone reporting system that in practice allows many people who do not have flu to get the Tamiflu. - Who decided on this system? - The drug company that makes Tamiflu? - Or somebody in the government who is in the pocket of the drug company? - Or just some half-wits in the Department of Health who either don't know or don't care either about the huge cost to the taxpayer/NHS of these millions of drug doses or that Tamiflu-resistant pathogens are likely to develop?

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One of the many health benefits of cutting down on salt is that it boosts your immune system.

And one of the many harmful consequences of dieting/slimming is that it lowers your resistance to infection.

Top 11 compounds in US drinking water

This blogpost, including the Comment section, is cut and pasted from the Dr Rath Foundation newsletter.

A comprehensive survey of the drinking water for more than 28 million Americans has detected the widespread but low-level presence of pharmaceuticals and hormonally active chemicals.
Read article at newscientist.com
Comment: The drugs found include beta-blockers; drugs used to treat bipolar disorder; anti-cholesterol drugs; tranquilisers; painkiller and anti-inflammatory drugs; anticonvulsants; antibiotics; and others. Similar findings have been made in other countries. In the UK, for example, powerful cancer and psychiatric drugs have been found in tap water, leading doctors to express concern about exposing pregnant women to drugs that could harm an unborn child. For further information about how pharmaceutical drugs contaminate drinking water, click here.

Excellent news about the herb, Oregano, as a possible future agent in the fight to eradicate the superbug, MRSA.

Oregano could help eradicate MRSA superbug
article in the Telegraph

Extract:

"Scientists have discovered that the herb, commonly used in cooking, could eradicate the deadly infection from hospital wards.

A team at the University of the West of England in Bristol, working with partners in India, found that tiny quantities of carvacrol, a naturally occurring compound in oregano, is a more effective antimicrobial agent than 18 pharmaceutical drugs it was compared against.

The discovery could lead to a new defence in the fight against hospital infection.

Carvacrol has been found to contain potent anti-fungal and antibacterial properties with a range of medicinal uses.

It can sterilise septic water, kill giardia, treat fungal infections such as candida and rivals pharmaceutical antibiotics such as streptomycin and penicillin in its ability to eliminate microbes.

Research into the medicinal properties of oregano has been led by Biolaya Organics, a company that specialises in the conservation and sustainable production of Himalayan medicinal herbs.

Set up by British environmentalist Ben Heron in 2007, the award-winning company works with villagers to encourage sustainable methods of farming in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Oregano grows in abundance in the region's high alpine valleys.

Biolaya is now working to publish its research in a scientific journal and find partners to develop oregano oil-based soaps and sprays.

Preliminary research into the oil found that tiny doses are capable of wiping out fungi and bacteria, including MRSA. Researchers found that the oil still works at boiling temperature, meaning it could be used for disinfecting hospital sheets. Its vapour is equally effective and could be turned into an antibacterial spray.

Mr Heron said: "Himalayan oregano oil kills MRSA at dilution's of less than 1 to 1000 and the antimicrobial properties, unlike most conventional antibacterial agents, are not affected by heat treatment."

A fit teenager, Shaun Jones, died when he suffered a suspected allergic reaction after taking acne medication for the first time, it has emerged.

Talented rugby player dies after 'reaction to acne medication'
Article in the Telegraph

Extract:

"An inquest into the death of talented rugby player Shaun Jones, 14, of Rhydyfelin, Pontypridd, south Wales, has been opened and adjourned.

Shaun's father Graeme Jones said: "He was popular with the girls and had a couple of spots, so the doctor gave him some antibiotic acne tablets. A lot of his friends are taking them.

"It was the first time he'd taken them and he developed breathing difficulties. We called 999 and he went to hospital – but it was too late. The doctors couldn't save him.""

What a tragedy for a 14 year old to lose his life in this way! - And, in my opinion, how deplorable! - We read that he had "a couple of spots" and that "a lot of his friends" are taking the tablets. - To prescribe antibiotic tablets for "a couple of spots"! - We repeatedly read that the prescribing of antibiotics should be restricted because of increasing problems of bacteria becoming resistant to antibiotics and then there is nothing with which to treat more serious infections. - In my opinion, if Shaun was indeed treated with antibiotics for "a couple of spots", he shouldn't have been. And if it is correct that "a lot of his friends" are too, then this is reprehensible, reckless prescribing.

You may say to me that acne can cause great emotional distress, especially to young people, and I would agree with you. - But I also have an effective, completely safe, drug-free therapy to recommend for reducing acne. Avoid eating salt and salty food. - This does work.

See Sodium in foods

Associated health conditions

European Regulators To Limit Antibiotics

The European Medicines Agency recommends restricting the use of antibiotics based on moxifloxacin because of the potential risk of liver damage, and also wants strengthened warnings.
Read article at pharmalot.com

Hospitals across the country are helping to fuel the rise of superbugs like MRSA and C Difficile by overprescribing antibiotics.

Hospital antibiotics 'fuelling superbugs'

Extract from the Telegraph:

"GPs are already being urged not to hand out the drugs for coughs and colds but many hospital doctors also overuse the medication, Prof Mark Wilcox, of Leeds University, said.

Prof Wilcox, an expert on the control of hospital acquired infections, will tell a conference on intensive care medicine in London next week that part of the problem is that the health service does not know what antibiotics hospitals prescribe."

Antibiotics for sinus infections do not work.

Doctors should cut down on antibiotic prescriptions for a common infection because the drugs do not work, researchers say. Around 90% of people with sinusitis in the UK are prescribed antibiotics. But an analysis of nine trials published in The Lancet shows the drugs make no difference even if the patient has been ill for more than seven days.
Read article at BBC News (UK)

Food Commission warns about additives in children's medicines

Warning on additives in children's medicines

Extracts from the Telegraph:

"Additives linked to hyperactivity in children are still used as ingredients in some medicines used by youngsters, a report out today warns.

The Food Commission found that 28 of 70 medicines suitable for under-12s contained one or more of the additives."

"The seven E numbers included in the report were part of a Food Standards Agency study carried out by Southampton University.

Its research found that 17 paracetamol products contained one or more of the additives.

Four medicated throat syrups, two ibuprofen products and five brands of two different antibiotics also contained at least one of the seven E numbers each."

Antibiotics are being over-prescribed again...

Take now, pay later - Guardian

Extract:

"Recent research led by Dr Andrew Hayward, a senior lecturer in infectious disease epidemiology at University College London, found that, despite official guidelines, GPs are prescribing too many antibiotics for common infections. His survey, published in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, showed that antibiotic prescription varied widely according to the condition, with 44% of upper respiratory tract infections (coughs and colds), 64% of sore throats over 80% of chest infections and sinusitis receiving prescriptions for antibiotics.

"The majority of simple coughs, colds and sore throats are viral, and those that are bacterial only benefit a little from antibiotics because they will get better anyway. GPs are prescribing more antibiotics than necessary for these conditions," Hayward says."


Lose weight and improve your health by eating less salt! Go on! - Try it! - You will feel so much better! - How to Lose weight!

See my website http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/.html
(The site does not sell anything and has no banners or sponsors or adverts - just helpful information.)

Read my Mensa article on Obesity and the Salt Connection

See Sodium in foods and

Associated health conditions and

http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/story.html - my 'political' page

http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/socio.html - social and economic considerations

I can be contacted via my website if you need my further help. My help is free.

Exposure to low doses of tea tree oil causes pathogens like MRSA, E-coli and salmonella to become more resistant to antibiotics: University of Ulster

Scientists: Tea tree oil users risk superbug infections

Extract:

"Tea tree oil, commonly found in beauty and health products, could raise users' chances of contracting superbug infections, it has emerged.

Repeated exposure to low doses of the oil causes pathogens such as MRSA, Ecoli and salmonella to become more resistant to antibiotics, according to research from the University of Ulster."