Do Antibiotics Cause Alzheimer’s?!
There’s no doubt that antibiotics can be lifesaving.
But here’s a scary truth… these so called “miracle drugs” might be hiding a darker side. Sure, they combat infections, but they can also come with some serious downsides.
One of the biggest problems is that they kill beneficial gut bacteria, leading to dysbiosis (a disrupted microbiome) and various potential health issues.
But the picture just got worse.
Because now, a shocking new study has revealed that antibiotics could also pave the way for the development of Alzheimer’s.
The problem with antibiotics is that they’re an equal opportunity killer.
Yes, they kill the bad bacteria that’s making you sick. However, they can also knock off the ones that help keep you healthy.
This can lead to an imbalanced gut microbiome, causing gastrointestinal issues like diarrhea, bloating, and cramping.
However, an explosion of studies also shows that dysbiosis is associated with conditions like type 2 diabetes, depression, psoriasis, and fatigue.
Now, a new animal study has tied antibiotics to Alzheimer’s because of that same harmful impact on the gut.
Researchers found that after a course of antibiotics, a type of harmful bacteria called Klebsiella pneumoniae overgrew in the gut.
It then entered the bloodstream and traveled to the brain. Once there, it led to neuroinflammation, which is known to contribute to Alzheimer’s.
K. pneumoniae is notorious for developing antibiotic resistance and causing infections in hospitalized patients. And hospital acquired infections are known to increase the risk of future cognitive issues.
That’s the bad news.
The good news is that this study also showed that K. pneumoniae was more likely to take hold in those with imbalanced gut microbiomes.
So, while you can’t always avoid antibiotics (or the hospital, for that matter), you CAN combat the overgrowth of bad bacteria by supplying your gut with good bacteria in the form of probiotics.
You can get probiotics through foods like kefir and yogurt or a quality probiotic supplement.
P.S. This powerful belly solution could help BEAT antibiotic resistance
SOURCE:
Park, G., Kadyan, S., Hochuli, N., Salazar, G., Laitano, O., Chakrabarty, P., Efron, P. A., Zafar, M. A., Wilber, A., & Nagpal, R. (2024). An Enteric Bacterial Infection Triggers Neuroinflammation and Neurobehavioral Impairment in 3xTg-AD Transgenic Mice. The Journal of Infectious Diseases, 230 (Supplement_2), S95-S108.
