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What Foods Should You Eat After Taking Antibiotics?

What are antibiotics? Antibiotics are supplements that defend against bacterial infections. They work by stopping the infection and preventing it from spreading.

Surprisingly, they can cause side effects such as damaging the liver and diarrhea. Here, in this article, we will guide you through the foods that you should consume after taking antibiotics.

list of foods to eat after antibiotics

There are different types of antibiotics. Some are broad-spectrum, which means they act on a wide range of disease-causing bacteria and other antibiotics kill a certain species of bacteria.

Antibiotics are very effective in treating serious infections, yet they come with some serious side effects. For instance, it can damage your liver and can have negative effects on the trillions of healthy bacteria and other microbes living in your intestines. These bacteria that reside in your intestines are the gut microbiota.

Having antibiotics for one week can change the makeup of the gut microbiota for up to a year. The use of antibiotics in early life has been shown to increase the risk of obesity and weight gain.

Consumption of antibiotics also changes the types of bacteria living in the intestines which can cause diarrhea.

Read on to know the list of foods to eat after taking antibiotics.

1. Yogurt
2. Garlic
3. Almonds
4. High-fibre Foods
5. Sauerkraut
6. Red Wine
7. Cocoa

1. Yogurt

Yogurt tops the list of probiotic foods and is certainly one of the best foods to eat after taking antibiotics. Milk is transformed into yogurt through the process of fermentation that uses live probiotic bacteria. They also contain a number of healthy bacterial species, such as Lactobacilli, which helps to restore the gut microbiota to a healthy state. So, eating yogurt after taking antibiotics can improve gut health.

2. Garlic

Garlic is another prebiotic food that you can eat after a course of antibiotics. Prebiotics are non-digestible carbs that aid probiotic bacteria to grow and flourish in your digestive system. Prebiotics act as a food source for probiotics. The recommendation for prebiotic food ranges from 4 to 8 grams and this is enough for supporting digestive health. Three large garlic cloves provide about 2 grams of prebiotics.

3. Almonds

A group of scientists found that ground almonds significantly increased the levels of certain beneficial gut bacteria. A noted study also found that almonds can help fight off viral infections such as the common cold and flu. Even after the almonds are digested in the gut, there was still an increase in the ability of the body to fight viruses.

4. High-fibre Foods

Fibre is unable to be digested by the body, but it can be digested by your gut bacteria, which helps stimulate their growth. Fibrous foods may help restore the healthy gut bacteria after a course of antibiotics. Incorporate high-fibre foods like whole grains, nuts, lentils, beans, seeds, bananas, berries, peas, and broccoli after taking an antibiotic. These foods will also reduce the growth of harmful bacteria.

5. Sauerkraut

Sauerkraut is a finely cut cabbage that has been fermented in its own juice by various lactic acid bacteria. According to a noted study, raw sauerkraut can contain more than 13 different species of probiotic bacteria. These healthy gut-friendly bacteria can help you diversify your intestinal flora.

6. Red Wine

Red wine contains antioxidant polyphenols which are unable to be digested by the human cells but can only be digested by the healthy gut bacteria. A study found that drinking red wine polyphenol extracts for at least four weeks could significantly increase the amount of healthy Bifidobacteria in the intestines and lower blood pressure and blood cholesterol.

7. Cocoa

Cocoa is another food that can be eaten after taking antibiotics. It contains antioxidant polyphenols that have beneficial prebiotic effects on the gut microbiota. Many studies have shown that cocoa polyphenols also increase the healthy bacteria like Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria in the gut and reduce some unhealthy bacteria like Clostridia and others.

Some foods that should be avoided while taking antibiotics are acidic foods, alcohol, overripe fruits, and fruits containing calcium and iron.

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Story first published: Wednesday, June 27, 2018, 9:51 [IST]
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