One Year Antibiotic Free! – The Organic Life

• Farmacology Home > Blog > One Year Antibiotic Free! One Year Antibiotic Free! Tweet I am 28 years old, and this month marks the first consecutive 12 months of my life that I have not taken an antibiotic. It’s sad that this is something I feel I should be congratulated on, but the truth is it took a lot of work. Maybe that’s because since I was a child, I’ve taken antibiotics for everything from ear infections to bronchitis to several gut parasites (I travel a lot). As a child, I lived at the doctor’s office. A slew of common colds paralleled ongoing once-yearly asthmatic bronchitis, sin us infections and a couple of strep throats for good measure, and I’m pretty sure I’ve been pumped full of more meds than a factory farm chicken. You might think as I grew up and married a farmer, Austin, and moved to the West Coast, my antibiotic habit would have subsided. Yet, just last year, I convinced my skeptical doctor that I needed antibiotics for an ongoing cough. She reluctantly gave them to me, telling me I should first wait three more days. I took them immediately, feeling guilty when I came across this article less than a week later. At that moment I decided that I was done with antibiotics…for at least a year. It’s not that I didn’t know better. I did, but I wasn’t sure I could be well without them. I wondered, could it be possible to be healthy through lifestyle alone? Considering that I had never gone 365 days without taking antibiotics in the past, the possibility of going cold turkey for just one year seemed like a medical coup. I can now report, one year in, that I feel happier and healthier than I ever have. Of course, at least once a month I begin to wonder whether I’m on the verge of getting sick and begin to self-medicate with endless cups of Echinacea tea and few rounds of Zicam lozenges, but generally, I feel good. Healthy. Maybe even immune to some strains of the common cold (!!!!). I love food, and for the first time in my life, I see it not just for its delicious quality but also for its strength as pre-medicine, fortifying, and entrenching in me an immunological strength I’ve never previously experienced. I know I’m in the unique position that nearly 100% of the produce I eat comes from within a 2-mile radius and is just hours old from being picked on a small-scale vegetable farm (Paul’s Produce). And as Austin cooks up seasonal collards and quinoa, I wonder if this is what health tastes like. I recently found out that I’m not alone in my personal search for (intestinal) health and wish to echo here the five tenets put forth by Daphne Miller in her latest book Farmacology: What Innovative Family Farming Can Teach Us About Health and Healing that can serve as a outline for anyone looking for better health. It’s worth mentioning that Miller is a Western-trained MD, not just some blabbering filmmaker. Allie is a pseudonym for one of her patients. Step 1: Invest in Farm-Fresh “Yes, it was an investment, but Allie quickly realized that she’d been spending just as much money on frozen dinners, takeout meals, energy bars, and supplements.” -Of course, buying an organic tomato from Whole Foods in January is going to be expensive. Buying that same tomato from a local farm in August when they have thousands will be reasonable, if not cheap. Ask your farmers for “seconds” (slightly bruised or over ripe) or see if you can buy in bulk if money is tight. Step 2: Eat for Biodiversity “Allie set out to save her vegetable-loving microbiota from extinction. She realized that a diverse diet meant a diverse microbiota, so she exchanged her energy bars for a variety of primitive grains…She also began to let the seasonal herbs, fruits, and vegetables from the farm dictate what she put on the table.” -A farm diet is by its very nature diverse. Committing to shopping at a farmers market or joining a CSA will dictate this diverse diet. Of course, eating different foods means being open to trying new things, but there is a recipe for everything and your local farmers may have some of the best ones. Step 3: Eat Dirt and Bugs “I also mentioned to Allie that while her stomach pains and other digestive issues might improve by taking probiotics or bacteria in pill form, emerging data show that some bacterial supplements offer little benefit… Fermented foods, on the other hand, can offer an excellent alternative as this source of bacteria is often more biodiverse and more aligned with our health needs.” -We need to move away from the image of aesthetically “perfect” food. Sometimes the “ugly” parts of our food – the rough outer skin of carrots and the pest-nibbled leaves of kale offer the most benefit to our microbiome. Step 4: Don’t Kill Your Good Bacteria “Of course, there are times when a drug is necessary, but Allie now realized that some of her doctors had been way too cavalier about prescribing these powerful medications, especially for long-term use.” -This is important, and I’d like to echo that there is a time and place for steroids and antibiotics. I am fortunate that I don’t have a chronic illness that requires their ongoing use. If you are like me, however, and have overused them for non-necessary purposes, it’s not too late to get off the train. Step 5: Engage in Farm Love “…After spending some time farming in the Bronx, I would come to understand how farming can serve not only as a way of building community but also as an antidepressant.” I strongly believe that you do not have to become a farmer in order to reap the benefits of farming. Start by shopping locally and eating locally. Then spend some time outside, either in your backyard or at a park. If you’re really interested, ask if your local farmers if they take volunteers or do work-trades. Leave a Reply Leave a Reply Cancel reply You must be logged in to post a comment. Buy the Film Now! DVD
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