Antibiotics Destroy Memories?

Even in my earliest days of practicing medicine, I was never a big fan of prescribing antibiotics – except, of course, in cases of extreme or life-threatening infections. Because even back then, I was concerned about the damage these drugs could cause to your gut. That’s because trillions of microscopic bacteria – some that protect against certain diseases and some that can cause disease – live in your microbiome and exist in a delicate balance with each other. The problem is that antibiotics can’t distinguish between so-called “good” bacteria and the “bad” ones causing the infection. These drugs kill everything they touch. You see, this microbiome of bacteria and other microbes is essential to almost every aspect of your health – from your immune system and how much energy you have to the absorption of nutrients and even your vulnerability to depression. Now a study by epidemiologists at Harvard Medical School reveals a crucial link between your gut’s reaction to antibiotics – especially when taken during midlife and older – and a dramatic decline in cognitive ability as you age. This makes sense because your gut microflora acts like a biochemical telegraph system that sends messages along your vagus nerve directly to your brain. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not against antibiotics, per se. Since the rollout of penicillin in the 1940s, and the other antibiotics that followed, these drugs have saved hundreds of millions of lives in the fight against d...
Source: Al Sears, MD Natural Remedies - Category: Complementary Medicine Authors: Tags: Anti-Aging Source Type: news