{"id":997,"date":"2011-11-09T10:33:37","date_gmt":"2011-11-09T15:33:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/beyondgorgeous\/?p=997"},"modified":"2011-11-09T10:33:37","modified_gmt":"2011-11-09T15:33:37","slug":"is-your-medicine-making-you-fat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondgorgeous\/2011\/11\/is-your-medicine-making-you-fat.html","title":{"rendered":"Is Your Medicine Making You Fat?"},"content":{"rendered":"

What\u2019s causing your weight gain?\u00a0 You might have picked up the culprit at your pharmacy.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u00a0Antibiotics are wonder drugs that have changed the face of medicine and saved countless lives over the past 70 years or so.\u00a0 However, no drugs can be used without long-term consequences.\u00a0 Scientists are discovering an unexpected side effect of antibiotic use.<\/p>\n

Antibiotics kill bacteria — which is a good thing when you are afflicted with bad bacteria that is causing you infection and illness.\u00a0 Unfortunately, they are not \u201csmart bombs\u201d that know to seek out and kill only the bad guys.\u00a0 They kill bacteria, period.\u00a0 That includes the crucial bacteria in your digestive system.<\/p>\n

Dr. Martin Blaser of New York University Langone Medical Center has studied the effects of antibiotics for Helicobactor pylori on the gut bacteria.\u00a0 He says the antibiotics interfere with the hunger hormone, ghrelin, and the counterpart fullness hormone, leptin.\u00a0 Mice given antibiotics got fatter than untreated mice, even though they were fed the same diet.<\/p>\n

This is bad news for America\u2019s kids, considering that the average child will receive 10 to 20 courses of antibiotics before his 18th birthday.\u00a0 Hmmm. And the number of obese kids has tripled over the last years.\u00a0 Wonder if there is a connection?<\/p>\n

Changes in gut bacteria have also been linked to risk factors for allergies, asthma and diabetes.<\/p>\n

So should you give your child antibiotics?\u00a0 Should you take them yourself? If a\u00a0 life-threatening infection is involved, the answer is an unquestioning \u201cyes.\u201d\u00a0 Many doctors, unfortunately, tend to prescribe antibiotics on a just-in-case basis.\u00a0 If your immune system is working right, you don\u2019t need them.\u00a0 Your body knows how to attack the bad bacteria and get rid of the intruders all by itself.\u00a0 Many of the annoying and unpleasant symptoms of illness are signs of your body doing just that.\u00a0 The fever is you may experience is your body burning off the viruses and bacteria.\u00a0 Diarrhea is flushing them out of your system.\u00a0 A drippy nose means the bad guys are on the run.<\/p>\n

Give your body a chance to get over an illness by itself first, taking care to get plenty of rest, liquids, and good supplements.\u00a0 If you can\u2019t shake it and your ailment keeps getting worse, then it is time to call out the heavy artillery and take the antibiotics.<\/p>\n

And if you do have to take them, you can help stop some of the damage by making sure you replace the gut bacteria with pre and probiotics.\u00a0 Eating Greek yogurt might help with that, but taking good supplements is a more sure course.<\/p>\n

Sometimes it seems that everything has a side effect and tends to put on the pounds. What you don\u2019t know CAN hurt you, though, so we will do our best to keep you posted on the latest studies.<\/p>\n

Eating to live and living for Christ,<\/p>\n

Susan Jordan Brown<\/p>\n

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What\u2019s causing your weight gain?\u00a0 You might have picked up the culprit at your pharmacy. \u00a0Antibiotics are wonder drugs that have changed the face of medicine and saved countless lives over the past 70 years or so.\u00a0 However, no drugs can be used without long-term consequences.\u00a0 Scientists are discovering an unexpected side effect of antibiotic…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":423,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[275,210,276],"class_list":["post-997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-helpful-tips","tag-antibiotics","tag-obesity","tag-weight-gain"],"yoast_head":"\nIs Your Medicine Making You Fat? - Beyond Gorgeous<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondgorgeous\/2011\/11\/is-your-medicine-making-you-fat.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Is Your Medicine Making You Fat? 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