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Bacteria—Friend or Foe?
by Lorna Vanderhaeghe
Our illogical fear of bacteria is putting the human race at risk for “superbugs” that will be able to survive no matter what agent we use to try to destroy them. Dr. Stuart Levy at Tufts University in Boston says that “not only will people have to stop over-using and abusing antibiotic prescriptions but they should also stop buying antibacterial soaps and detergents.” Our quest to annihilate all bacteria is just plain dangerous.
Bacteria are the oldest forms of life on earth. We need certain types of bacteria to survive. People cannot digest food without several kinds of bacteria that live in the intestine. Levy says “We should be kind to bacteria. They are our friends.”
Antibacterial Agents Create Superbugs
We must understand that bacteria are necessary and by using antibacterial agents we are helping to create super-bacteria that will be immune to even the strongest antibiotics. Antibacterial agents are now added to dishwashing and laundry detergents and hand soaps; plastic toys for infants and even highchair trays have these antibacterial agents incorporated into the plastics. Products containing antibacterial agents are currently a big marketing ploy used by companies trying to find a new reason for people to buy their products. Levy’s laboratory at Tufts found that E.coli bacteria can develop resistance to Triclosan, one of the common antibacterial ingredients in store-bought soaps. Triclosan works by acting on a single gene to kill the E.coli bacteria. Researchers also found that tuberculosis has a similar gene and they believe that it is possible that an overuse of Triclosan could lead to a new antibiotic-resistant strain of tuberculosis. Creams and ointments, along with soaps, are now loaded with antibacterial agents; even these should be used cautiously as bacteria may incorporate these into their genetic makeup, allowing resistance to develop.
Antibiotic-resistant Bacteria
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are a scary problem. We now have penicillin-resistant gonorrhea to super strains of staphylococcus that cannot be killed by vancomycin, the most powerful antibiotic available. There are four strains of pneumonia that are also resistant to vancomycin. Sick people are dying of bacterial infections because none of the hundreds of antibiotics are working for them. Unless serious action is implemented, the world is headed for an era of drug-resistant superbugs in which children could die from bacterial infections and we are not talking science fiction, says Dr. David Scheifele of the infectious disease division at the British Columbia Children’s Hospital.
Dr. Scheifele and colleagues found that penicillin-resistant bacteria are evident in one in eight children with pneumococcal infections at hospitals across Canada. Pneumococcal infections cause pneumonia, blood infections and meningitis in about a half million Canadian children per year. Life-threatening forms of pneumococcal bacteria are found in about 300 children a year and of those, one in eight is now resistant to penicillin. Once seen as a panacea drug, penicillin is rapidly losing its ability to fight certain bacteria. Vancomycin, the antibiotic that carried the most clout, is also becoming less effective and staph bacteria have devised a method to resist it. The reality is that we no longer have effective treatments for common bacteria. We must realize that we are mostly at fault for this.
Antibiotic Overuse Dangerous
Because of our overuse and misuse of antibiotics, these once thought to be miracle drugs are becoming less effective. Most people do not understand that antibiotics only work against bacteria. Everyone has experienced the cold that seems to never end, where you just feel so ill that you have to seek medical care because you think you need an antibiotic. We go to our physician, s/he takes a throat swab and sends it to the local lab for evaluation. Then the doctor writes you a prescription for an antibiotic. But STOP, shouldn’t we find out first before we fill that prescription if it is a bacterial infection? It could be a stubborn virus causing you to feel so bad and then that antibiotic won’t work anyway. Antibiotics do not work against viruses, only bacteria. Physicians, in their quest to keep patients happy, contribute to the overuse of antibiotics by continuing to prescribe antibiotics even when they are not sure it is a bacterial infection. Antibiotics should be viewed as serious medications and only prescribed as a last resort.
Follow Directions
Second, misuse of antibiotics, which includes not completing a course of therapy, has allowed bacteria the opportunity to mutate and become resistant to future treatment. Moreover, flushing leftover antibiotics down the drain or allowing them to go to the landfill contribute to our antibiotic-resistant bacteria problem. Worse yet is saving the antibiotic to treat undiagnosed illnesses at a later date that may not be bacterial in origin.
Domestic animals are fed large quantities of antibiotics to keep them healthy in their unnatural environments. We then eat these antibiotics when we consume the animal product. Beef, poultry and farm-grown fish are laden with antibiotic residues. Farmers must search for safer ways to encourage animal growth and health. In the meantime, we should request organically-fed and raised animals from our local marketplace.
Good Old Soap and Water
Good hygiene, especially washing your hands often and for at least one minute, is the most effective method of controlling the spread of bacteria. There may not be an antibiotic that works for every bacterium. We must change our way of thinking and realize that we should be relying on our immune system to battle the bacteria the way it was designed to do.
Enhancing immune function makes sense. The immune system is our internal army battling bacteria before they have a chance to create a massive infection that requires antibiotics. If our immune system is working well, it will be effective at destroying bacteria and other invaders. Professor Patrick Bouic showed in several studies how effective plant sterols and sterolins are at repairing the immune system so that bacteria are recognized as soon as they enter the body and are subsequently destroyed. Plant sterols and sterolins increase the activity of our macrophages, natural killer and T-helper cells—the immune system cells that are important for killing bacteria.
Why wait until you have a bacterial infection? Optimize your immune system so you won’t get sick in the first place. We have this powerful curing machine called the immune system hardwired into the body. Let’s get it operating at peak performance by taking plant sterols and sterolins.
Lorna Vanderhaeghe is a woman’s health expert who has been writing on the subject of nutritional medicine for over 25 years. She has a Master of Health Studies and a degree in Biochemistry. The author of eight books, Lorna has been educating people on how to combine the best of mainstream medicine with scientifically-backed nutrients and diet changes to achieve optimal wellness. She has a monthly newsletter and her website is www.hormonehelp.com
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