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4 non-antibiotic drugs wrecking your gut
Antibiotics are the enemy of gut health, because they indiscriminately kill the bacteria in your gut.
That means even the good guys… the bacteria strains that support your immune system, help you absorb nutrients, aid digestion and help you get rid of toxins.
That’s why it’s a good idea to keep your antibiotic intake to a minimum.
But what about the other drugs in your medicine cabinet? Do they wreak havoc on your gut too?
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Your gut on drugs
Since non-antibiotic drugs are designed to impact human cells not bacterial cells, you might not think they’d touch your gut bacteria. But they do…
In fact, a recent study from researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory shows that prescription drugs of all types stop the growth of healthy gut bacteria. These researchers tested the impact of 1,000 different drugs on 40 different bacteria found in the human gut and about a quarter of them impacted at least one strain of gut bacteria.
“The number of unrelated drugs that hit gut microbes as collateral damage was surprising,” said study researcher Peer Bork. “Especially since we show that the actual number is likely to be even higher.”
Researchers found that drugs in every drug class messed with gut bacteria, but some were worse than others…
The top gut-offending drugs
#1 Proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs). These heartburn drugs are already tied to a long list of side effects, like kidney disease and an increased heart attack risk. But based on this latest study they also directly impact your microbiome, change the pH in your gut and influence which bacterial strains call your gut home.
#2 Calcium channel blockers. These blood-pressure drugs block calcium from entering your heart cells and blood vessel walls. Apparently, they also block the growth of certain bacteria in your gut.
#3 Synthetic hormones. Hormone-altering drugs were some of the strongest bacteria-killers in this study. Although that’s not all that surprising, considering hormonal drugs like the infertility drug clomiphene, progesterone and estrogen have all been shown to kill bacteria in previous studies.
#4 Antipsychotics. Antipsychotics had a surpassingly strong effect on healthy gut bacteria. Nearly all subclasses of antipsychotics killed common gut bacteria.
This study was performed in a laboratory, not on actual people. But chances are, these drugs all reduce healthy microbial diversity in your gut. They’re far from the only drugs you have to worry about though. Others drugs that impacted gut microbes included nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, anti-diabetes drugs, immunosuppressive drugs, antihistamines, painkillers, anti-clotting drugs and more.
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There’s more to the story…
Researchers made a few other fascinating conclusions from this study… like the fact that both drug side effects and drug effectiveness may be a direct result of a drug’s impact on your microbiome. In the case of antipsychotics, for example, researchers think that altering the microbiome may be the very way these drugs curb the symptoms of psychosis.
They also concluded that other drugs besides antibiotics could contribute to antibiotic resistance.
“This is scary considering that we take many non-antibiotic drugs in our life, often for long periods,” said study researcher Nassos Typas. “Still, not all drugs will impact gut bacteria and not all resistance will be common.”
So if you’re taking prescription drugs, beware of the microbial consequences. And at the very least, practice other habits that keep your microbiome healthy…
Eat fruits, vegetables, fiber and fermented foods. Exercise daily. And keep your stress levels down. All of these simple habits could counteract some of the damage done by those gut-harming prescriptions.
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Sources:
- Commonly used drugs affect gut bacteria — MedicalXpress. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
- Maier, et al. “Extensive impact of non-antibiotic drugs on human gut bacteria.” — Nature, 2018.
- Non-antibiotic drugs promote antibiotic resistance — The Economist. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
- Calcium channel blockers — Mayo Clinic. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
By Jenny Smiechowski
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