Should You Take an Antibiotic?

Concomitant with those tubes was the ever-present bottle of pink, bubblegum flavored amoxicillin. I remember actually liking the taste, which made me look forward to taking my medicine.

Antibiotics undoubtedly save lives. Penicillin ranks among the most important discoveries in the history of humanity; without its discovery and the subsequent development of this entire class of drugs, countless lives over the past seventy or eighty years would have ended prematurely. Simple germs that were once able to bloom into uncontrollable, fatal infections are able to be annihilated with a simple pill or series of pills. Without these drugs, the world would be a much more dangerous place.

Antibiotics are so commonplace that few people bat an eye at being prescribed one for even the most minimal infection. Many people walking into a doctor’s office seeking some sort of relief from whatever drove them there in the first place walk out with prescriptions for antibiotics when they aren’t even suffering from a bacterial infection – the very infections that antibiotics combat. Doctors prescribe them so wantonly that it makes one wonder why they simply aren’t sold over the counter. It is precisely this over-prescribing that has led to the rise of anti-biotic resistant strains of bacteria, such as methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. It is for this reason that even the mainstream medical community has started becoming critical of the wanton use of antibiotics.

But is there an even darker side?

Anyone familiar with Doug’s work know that antibiotics are mycotoxins, which are poisonous byproducts produced by fungi. The very first compound discovered by Alexander Fleming that would eventually pave the way for the first antibiotics – penicillin – was discovered in a petri dish that had been colonized by the penicillium mold. Sure, some antibiotics that are available today are synthetic compounds, but even synthetic antibiotics are designed to emulate mycotoxins. There is a good deal of literature linking mycotoxins to health problems in humans, from the very minor to the very serious. Some mycotoxins, such as aflatoxin, are known carcinogens. Doug has written a number of books linking mycotoxins and parasitic fungi to health problems, and he has developed a program designed to limit exposure to such substances. Critical in this program is the avoidance of antibiotics, which are mycotoxins.

So, the question remains; should you take an antibiotic? If you are very sick, and your doctor recommends that you take an antibiotic, the answer is a resounding ABSOLUTELY! Only your doctor can tell you when it is appropriate to take an antibiotic. But, as in any situation, it is best to be educated. Before running to the doctor for the slightest sniffle, why not try to let your immune system fight off the infection in a natural way? And if your doctor does prescribe you an antibiotic, maybe ask him or her if you could wait a while, watch what you eat, drink plenty of fresh water and rest as much as possible before beginning an antibiotic regimen. You might be surprised how well adapted your body is to fighting off infection without the aid of potentially dangerous drugs.