Nutrition Corner: Antibiotic Detox

If you took antibiotics earlier this winter or anytime recently, now is a good time to cleanse and restore your body back into balance. Antibiotics, as you may know, kill off bacteria in your system, which is how they help us get rid of illnesses. The downside is they also destroy the good bacteria in your system that helps fight off infections. The result is that after antibiotic use your immunity might be reduced, making you prone to new infections. That’s why we recommend doing an antibiotic detox after any antibiotic use. The idea of such a detox is to increase your intake of foods that contain the most probiotics.

Top foods for putting good bacteria back into your system include:

CULTURED VEGETABLES (Sauerkraut and Kimchi): Raw or unpasteurized will provide the most benefits.

YOGURT: This Is probably the most popular probiotic food that many of us eat, but most yogurt brands tend to have way too much sugar. If they have been pasteurized, this process kills off most of the good bacteria as well. Choose plain yogurts with the least amount of sugar. Also look for yogurts that have the Live & Active Cultures seal. I prefer sheep or goat yogurt over cow’s milk yogurt. Give them a try.

KEFIR: Kefir is similar to yogurt but because it’s fermented with yeast and more bacteria, it has higher probiotic content.

GARLIC: This is actually a prebiotic. You can think of this as the “food” for probiotics. It helps probiotics grow. Consume it raw, cooked or in capsules.

JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES (sunchokes): Another great prebiotic food, loaded with B vitamins and vitamin C.

NATTO: A traditional Japanese food made from fermented soybeans. Besides being packed full of probiotics, natto also contains an anti-inflammatory enzyme.

MISO: A traditional Japanese food made from fermented soybeans or other beans, commonly used in soups and other dishes. A warm bowl of miso soup for a meal or snack every day is great after a round of antibiotics.