. . . they do permanent damage and are devastating our health We have more bacteria and other microflora in our bodies than we have cells, and our health is totally dependent upon them. Yet antibiotics devastate these populations and, in the process, devastate our health. I've been talking about this for the past 25 years. Now an establishment doctor, Martin J. Blaser, MD, Chairman of the Department of Medicine at NYU School of Medicine, has come to similar conclusions. In a news making commentary in the journal Nature, Blaser states that although concerns about antibiotics have been centered on bacterial resistance, there is a much worse problem in the "permanent changes to our protective flora." He has urged the medical community to curtail use of broad-spectrum antibiotics which kill both good and bad bacteria, citing findings that some of the beneficial bacteria may never recover, and that this may lead to increases in infections and other diseases, specifically obesity, alle…

You probably associate getting enough fiber—the non-digestible “roughage” we get from plant foods—with good elimination. You may also know that fiber helps maintain a healthy weight by filling you up so you eat fewer calories, or even that fiber helps to maintain good cholesterol levels. But how can eating fiber strengthen your immunity? The answer is that fiber nourishes the trillions of beneficial bacteria (probiotics) that live in our intestines, where they are a crucial part of our immune systems. Anywhere from 60-80% of immune system activity takes place in the intestines, where probiotics attack pathogens with powerful antimicrobial substances. These substances are often as powerful as the strongest antibiotic medications, but they don’t kill off good gut bacteria as is done by antibiotic drugs. According to Rachel Begun, MS, RDN, quoted in a recent issue of Environmental Nutrition, various aspects of modern life have altered gut microflora, damaging immunity and leading to s…