Good Morning All, my question for today is about being on antibiotics. I have been on some sortof antibiotic for the last three weeks. first it was for an infection from a burn, now yesterday I had to go to the doctor with Strep throat so here we go again with the antibiotics. My weight loss has come to a stall and I was wondering if the antibiotics have anything to do with this?? I have been told that they can just wanted to know what y'all thought about this. Also with taking so many I have ther added fear of getting a yeast infection which I can live without. Look forward to some input on this. Thanks Joan

Hi Joan! I have a pretty extensive list of medications that can either trigger an insulin response or increase insulin resistance, but I don't see any antibiotics listed here. That's not to say they won't...I don't know. But I do think that any illness can alter your body's response to insulin, because it is a stress to your system. As bad as we hate to have to take antibiotics, sometimes they are a necessary evil. As far as the yeast infection is concerned, of course yogurt with live cultures is the best prevention, but there is nothing LC about yogurt. I would suggest that you find a reputable natural food store and ask for a probiotic ( like acidophilus/bifidus). These are capsules, usually, or tablets (sometimes in a liquid, but beware of what they use to make the liquid palatable!) that contain the needed flora that the antibioitics have killed off. They're not terribly expensive and can sure prevent a very uncomfortable yeast infection! Hope this helps, and I hope you feel better right away!!

Antibiotics won't affect your weight one way or the other .. although they may cause some diarrhea, which would mean you could become dehydrated a bit ... so a good idea to keep the water intake up.

However ... an infection itself WILL screw up your metabolism. The bacteria (and viruses too) cause the blood sugar to be elevated and consequently insulin levels will be higher too. If you were eating a regular high-carb diet, you'd likely gain weight ... FAT weight, due to the insulin. But with low-carbing, you can prevent this by keeping a close eye on carbs, and keeping the blood sugar stable. It's worth noting that bacteria THRIVE on sugar, so there's further incentive to stick closely to your LC plan.

The acidophilus is a good idea Try to take on an empty stomach, and at bedtime.

Hope you're feeling better soon

Doreen

Thank you both, great information and I will put it to good use. I will be checking out the health food store again. You know it never occurred to me that sugar and yeast went hand in hand, DUH, Thanks again for the input. I learn so much when I ask questions. Joan