We live in a world of metaphorical weeds, nuisances that grow in our yards and in our bodies, causing problems. Outside, we may chase dandelion seeds that seem impossible to eradicate when you aren’t willing to poison your family with weed killers. Inside our bodies, we turn to antibiotics to rid ourselves of pneumonias, UTI’s, and more but at this level antibiotics are just not enough. Research from 2021 reminds us of the critical role our immune system plays in full recovery that must go beyond just choosing the right antibiotic.
Living in a fallen world of weeds and nasty bacteria, sometimes antibiotics are necessary, but many probably grant too much credit to the antibiotics which knock out their pneumonia symptoms Rather than killing 100% of the bacteria that are causing an infection, they usually knock off 99 to 99.9% of the problem bacteria. Now, don’t get me wrong, when our immune system is clearly outnumbered by a building infection, this 99% efficacy can be life-saving and allow the immune system to catch up.
At the onset of the battle, these antibiotics can restore function and save lives, so it makes sense to use them, even if we wouldn’t under most circumstances. As the numbers fall and the bacteria turn to more guerilla warfare tactics, hiding in tissues, the antibiotic’s efficacy wanes. At this point in the clean up, our immune systems must finish the work. Our immune cells must look into all the nooks and crannies of our cells and tissues to kill every last bacteria that it can.
The reason that people with AIDS from the HIV virus keep getting sick is that their immune systems cannot clear out that last 0.001% of original bacteria, giving the pathogens another opportunity to multiply in its billions after the antibiotic is stopped. Our immune system at this point in the process has a challenge to face, as the focus article points out. As inflammation lessens after the infection is losing the battle, the immune system slows down and does not always finish the job.
Here is where functional medicine steps in, asking to be heard. The researchers mention the need for methods to stimulate the immune system to finish the bacterial eradication. Functional medicine and natural medicine has been doing this in a variety of ways for centuries. Our SFM Immune Prepper course goes into extensive details on how we can support the nutrients of our metabolism and augment the immune system with various herbals. Not only can we do this during an infection or its recovery phase, we should be optimizing our immune nutritional support 100% of the time. Find out more here at https://www.sfmempoweron.com/. At the very least get a free Immune PDF Booklet with the basics even if you don’t watch the entire program.
In the meantime, if you want to live a healthier more abundant life, you can’t just depend on another antibiotic to save your day like superman. Take a little time to nurture the inner immune powers God gave you.
Original Article:
Jiagui Li, Beatrice Claudi, Joseph Fanous, Natalia Chicherova, Francesca Romana Cianfanelli, Robert A. A. Campbell, Dirk Bumann. Tissue compartmentalization enables Salmonella persistence during chemotherapy. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2021; 118 (51): e2113951118 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2113951118
Thanks to Science Daily:
University of Basel. “An enemy within: Pathogens hide in tissue.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 13 December 2021. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/12/211213181554.htm>. Accessed 4/24/24.
Sanctuary Functional Medicine, under the direction of Dr Eric Potter, IFMCP MD, provides functional medicine services to Nashville, Middle Tennessee and beyond. We frequently treat patients from Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Ohio, Indiana, and more... offering the hope of healthier more abundant lives to those with chronic illness.
