Antibiotics and other toxic drugs can devastate vital intestinal bacteria. Here’s what you can do to replenish that 80 percent of your immune function (1 min. 51 sec. video)

Below is a link to blog post by Dr. Michael Klaper on how to test probiotics for viability (i.e. live bacteria) and how to take them for maximum effectiveness:

http://doctorklaper.com/answers/answers06/

The vital good bacteria lining the intestinal walls  

Under ideal conditions our intestines are lined with billions of good bacteria that help to break down waste and act as protectors against harmful things that would otherwise get into our bodies through the gut lining. Dr. Michael Greger (nutritionfacts.org) has written that this immune supporting function makes it amount to the equivalent of a whole separate immune system organ. One source I read wrote that it amounts to about 80 percent of the total bodily immune function.

Problems can occur when we’re given antibiotics (or other powerful toxic agents such as chemo drugs) that can kill many of these good bacteria. My reading has led me to conclude that a compromised immune system may have contributed to the establishment, growth and invasion of my wife’s cancer. I’m taking no chances so I try to help her replenish these good bacteria between chemo sessions (a bit harder now because she’s given an infusion pump that she must wear for five days at a time) as best I can.

Probiotics to the rescue!

Probiotics are encapsulated good bacteria that you can buy at most health food stores and consume to repopulate a gut that in which the good bacteria has been devastated by antibiotics or other toxic drugs. In the above video, Dr. Greger talks about the best way to take probiotics each time to ensure that the most bacteria survive the harsh stomach environment and make it into the intestines.

Above is also a link to a blog post by Dr. Michael Klaper, in which he gives some additional helpful information on how to test if the probiotic product you’re taking contains live bacteria (some probiotics contain dead bacteria and are of course worthless to anyone and a waste of money) and more suggestions on how to best take probiotics to ensure maximum effectiveness.