Monday, September 8, 2014

Antibiotics and Antibiotic Resistance

The antibiotic era is not confined to modern day. Tetracycline, an antibiotic first isolated from Actinobacteria in the dirt, is a cheap antibiotic that has been used to treat pneumonia, acne, and other infections.  It was first discovered in the 1940’s and by the 1950’s, tetracycline-resistant bacteria had quickly emerged.[7] Ironically, tetracycline has been isolated from the bones of ancient skeletons from Sudan dating back to the year 350 AD and late Roman period skeletons from ancient Egypt. The tetracycline in these instances is presumed to have been introduced by the diet or through the use of botanical herbs or healing soils used as medicine, but no trace of tetracycline resistance has been found in these areas after thousands of years of consumption[8].


Antibiotics have been with man since the first human drew a breath. Before drugs and pharmaceuticals, early humans had access to natural antibiotics. The red sands of Jordan have historically been used to treat infections and, in fact, many antibiotic producing bacteria isolated from these soils have been tasked to provide antibiotics for the pharmaceutical industry over the years.  One such group of these antibiotics is actinomycin and scientists in 1964 were trying to uncover the mechanisms seen in resistance to effects:[9]

“The genetic nature of the resistance to actinomycin was demonstrated by means of transformation. Resistant strains appeared to have almost completely lost their transformability, as well as the tendency to autolyze.”

In addition to natural antibiotics that we ingested in food or therapeutic dirt, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has used natural antibiotics for centuries without a hint of resistance to their effects.  A potent anti-malarial drug, qinghaosu (or artemisinin), was isolated from the TCM plant artemisia in the 1970s. Artemisia has been used for centuries to treat many microbial illnesses, yet in 2013 an urgent request has been sent throughout the scientific community to develop markers for spreading the halt of artemisinin resistance in areas where the anti-malarial has been heavily used, and lacking such a solution, malaria may once again become a significant threat to life in these areas[10]:

“Plasmodium falciparum resistance to artemisinin derivatives in southeast Asia threatens malaria control and elimination activities worldwide. To monitor the spread of artemisinin resistance, a molecular marker is urgently needed.”
 
The reason why these amazing, life-saving antibiotics are failing to have a lasting effect is because, as they say, “it’s not nice to fool Mother Nature.” We are using a discrete signalling molecule with a 4 billion year history to sanitize ourselves. It is literally the case of using an atomic bomb to slap a mosquito. Now we are losing the capability to use these unnatural killers and we’ve changed the DNA of microbes in such a way that the ancient, natural antimicrobials may no longer be effective, either.

Special thanks to Dr. Grace Liu, PHARMD, from Animal Pharm for contributions to this article.


[7] "Tetracycline Antibiotics: Mode of Action, Applications ..." 2009. 2 May. 2014 <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC99026/>
[8] Aminov, RI. "A Brief History of the Antibiotic Era: Lessons Learned and ..." 2010. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3109405/>
[9] Polsinelli, M. "mechanism of resistance to actinomycin in bacillus subtilis." 1964. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC277453/>
[10] Ariey, F. "A molecular marker of artemisinin-resistant Plasmodium ..." 2013. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24352242>

28 comments:

  1. Well now, if microbes have always had the ability to adapt, and the ancient remeiies kept on working, I see no need to believe they won't work in the future. Man's problem is that we insist on tinkering, isolating what we see as the active ingredients. If we learn to use whole plants again, as what herbalists of old knew as "simples", we might do all right.

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  2. The real dangers with antibiotic resistance is that hospitals all harbor super-bugs that can't be fought or an antibiotic resistant super-bug gets into the general population and is difficult to stop (like Malaria).

    For the average, healthy person, it's no big deal--until you are hospitalized and come down with C-diff or something that they can't treat except with ever increasingly harsh treatments leaving your immune system in shambles.

    Natural antibiotics are tiny molecules that smell bad. Pharmaceutical antibiotics are syringes filled with these molecules.

    Think of the warning a skunk gives off...can be smelled for miles. Now get a bucket of pure liquid skunk scent and dump it on someone...big difference!

    The smell alone is enough to make you avoid the skunk, but a bucketful of his pure scent dumped on you would likely burn or kill you.

    Same as a rattlesnakes characteristic rattle to warn you away vs. his bite. People in rattlesnake country 'evolved' into wearing protective boots, but we never evolve away from being mortified by the sound of a rattling rattle snake!

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  3. I'm looking forward to the rest of this Monday series, Tim. I hope you offer us some possible solutions, too!

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  4. Tim,

    On the note of antibiotics--a little off base BUT- before when my stomach failed, I had taken amoxicillin ( and mold/yeast) and I can say it contributed to giving me crohns/ ulcer colitis...(I feel the cause) and gave me a yeast problem which then gave me gluten intoerance, milk and then starch I have found that due to my genes HLA DQ a very bad choice for me. Not to mention it taking away all my lacto and bifido bacterias.. to allow it free rain.....

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    1. Big Eddie! (or is it Fast Eddie?)

      Don't you wish you would have been doing gut tests like uBiome your whole life? I have a feeling that one day, gut testing will just be par for the course. Can you imagine a world where everyone has a 'poop bank' filled with their own healthy doo-doo? It would be like the Windows 7 Restore Function. Antibiotics would be no problem as long as we had a way to get our gut flora back to a pre-antibiotic state.

      Thanks for stopping by, you are welcome to write as much of your crazy stuff you like here! I love reading everything you write, no matter how long and incomprehensible it may be...I know it's just fat thumbs and an iPhone!

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    2. i was hoping pills of all the beneficial strains would be available in a few years.

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    3. TIm,

      I think your right on gut testing....this will be the wave of the future .( also L@@K up OAT testing(great plans lab) I think that(gut testing) along with OAT(a urine test) is the way to go. Here is a sample --look at it http://www.healthlinkpartners.com/testkits/images/test-pdf/Organic%20Acid%20Test.pdf I also think vaccines will change -- and antibiotics.... If you know your genes / bacteria makeup many of these cookie cutter vaccines may actually be hurting you. Many antibiotics are actually giving you MORE issues. I ve now realized I DO NOT DO well with - yeast /mold based antibiotics ---and I say due to my HLA DQ genes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HLA-DQ2 in investigating I am HLA DQ 2.5 plus ( 1 gene) see the hla da ( gluten genes link) my crohns and ulcer colitis was activated from amoxicillin. I think in the future , vaccines and antibiotics will be limited to your stool and gene makeup.. not some cookie cutter factory process we get now ( which doesnt seem to work) from what Ive found in my self..... amoxicillin may accelerate gut issues for those with many gluten genes.

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    4. Tim

      I just ordered my ubiome, so far im cured from my diseases(crohns, colitis, gluten intolerance, milk problem and starch issue) ...I am also going to do the AMgut ordering this week. Im doing similar stuff--- to prove some points-- in its not medicine helping me its bacteria and lowering yeast. If you could do the OAT test that would be very cool... it shows many markers , KETONES , fatty acid oxidation , nutrients, yeast , bacteria , krebs cycle oxalates neurotransmitters metabolites

      ***THIS WOULD BE COOL TO SHOW WHATS HAPPENING WITH RS..
      note cheap-299.00

      People like JIMMY MOORE ..it would be nice to see his, he talks about ketones and oxidation be nice to see his( KETONE & FATTY ACID OXIDATION) markers in his urine. If there to high then its not going so well. this place tests 8 makers for this. For him he just checks his ketones on a ketone strip. This OAT has many markers

      It would be cool for you to do and talk about.. and an experiment . **on that note RS , I have been adding in PLANTAIN CHIPS in the morning about 10 -12 slowly adding in some starch - after not having it for 2.5 years .. I can now randomly eat a bake potato as well - no joint pain or feeling strange as I did in the past. Been chatting with Gemma

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    5. edward,
      did you have to resort to the GAPS diet or SCD?

      for myself i'm wondering if there is physical damage that needs to be healed because if i eat uncooked vegetables like radishes or carrots it causes problems right away even though theres not much sugar or starch readily available. cooked carrots are ok for me and cooked sweet potatoes are very good so im wondering if the gut reinjures itself with the peristaltic action (if thats correct) on highly fibrous foods like raw carrots and other raw vegetables. my guess is the cooked sweet potatoes just kind of disintegrate so are easily pushed along without reinjuring.

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    6. Anonymous,

      I did some strange things , an unorthodox methods... to fix myself ( i did the complete opposite of what GI's docs etc said to do. My self I look at bacteria and yeast and how to fix my self. Like TIM says maybe the future will be POO testing( in a better way) I used AMgut, GREATPLANS LAB- labs OAT & COMP stool , ENTEROLAB, ELISA/ ACT biotechnologies, GENE testing, IBD GI panel, and IBD EXPANDED GI PANEL.... many will say this is crazy or over kill, or even many are not proven tests. For me all together and laid out on a table, I saw it,. LOW bacteria, HIGH yeast, leaking gut, Gluten genes, food proteins/sugars = similar milk, grains soy to yeast. Weak gut lining , (ended up with problems to gluten, milk soy and starch) all food sources... starch is food for good bacteria, but also BAD things.. YEAST , the milk proteins & sugars looked like yeast, same with gluten HWP1 protein and soy. I investigated oxalate acid , calcium - food etc For me what worked first was I felt is was so out of balance of yeast and bad bacteria from --past bad food choices, partying and then GI;s tossing antibiotics at me. I felt I had to GUT the house --leave the framing per say. Just a shell, I started LC , many have success with LC, but you see you cant stay that way- because in the long run your food and yeast will switch to eating fats etc. Your not feeding your bugs with FOOD---just fat ????The success these people are having is there REMOVING SUGAR( they dont see it---there so focused on FAT) and using fat as fuel over sugar, which removes some nasty bugs... eating this way gave my gut time to heal. while also stripping it down. I then started heavy probiotics and oxalate FOODs( but ones that were low in starch) building my gut back up. I used glutamine , zinc carnosine, for me I found a connection with inulin and lining--eating good amounts of onions garlic and asparagus. I found that to much sugar, to many gut problems. While trying to fix... Sugar could be digested as lactose, fruit, starch, grains etc . I started tracking my sugar intake...www.myfitnespal.com There nothing wrong with eating any of those RS etc but if your getting to much its not good(if you have a problem with your gut). Just my opinion. the first thing people do when they say there eating healthy is eat a shit load of fruit...... not the answer. As Tim has shown countless times , he eats tons of mixture of FIBER, VEGGIES and RS when you chip into it. I say its the OXALATEs that are key. Potatos have a good amount of oxalate acid. I worked first on getting my food source HIgh in oxalates ..but countering the effects with B6 to minimize the effect. ( to many oxaltes and your toast.. When you look at cancer they say eat greens to prevent.(high in oxalates) when they give you Chemo --say good bye to your oxalates. I think TIM has gotten to the point that all the veggies ,inulin and fiber are working for him... and his RS is super food for his bugs.

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    7. Me its taken me 2.5 years to get where I am, I feel I have a super gut now compared to before.. Due to stripping down my flora and reorganizing it. I know today (im 41) Im nothing like I was gut wise from age 1 to 38 and can prove this. We read are gene makeup is very small compared to bacteria. Im a big believer now in epigenetics. I dont harp on my genes, Because my mother and several family members had heart disease, crohns, colits, type 2 doesnt mean I will get and die from this. Influencing your gut bugs and shifting the balancing can determine and change out come. I am high in gluten genes I also have , several type 2 genes. My stomach failed and gluten , and milk become a serious problem. For me I personally figured out this role in ME. Today, I could care less about gluten... I can now enjoy a six pack on the weekend if I choose.. I dont regularly eat gluten , big can now dive in to a PIZZA pie if I choose. I have figured out what keeps those genes OFF for me to counter them. Me I have lost my docs and also laugh at them.
      From my long experience Anonymous,I feel the gut does re injure it self.... but as TIM points out , GRACE and others because 1) your missing bacteria. 2) yeast is high- 3) foods similar to yeast =milk, gluten, soy cause damage as there similar to yeast--- 4)the lining doesnt work correctly oxalate acid and calcium function is lost. / say confused
      FOR me I now eat tons of RAW veggies peppers, cucumbers, and cooked things ...nuts... I was told I was NUTS by my GI at first.. But now nothing effects my gut. Im slowing diving in to RS( it has been a long journey to get to this point) , because in the past I could not tolerate it. Which to me was because I was high in yeast and high in some bad bacteria. Who were able to muscle out the bacteria to eat it.
      Cooking your veggies,, lowers the oxalate acid... maybe also breaks down the sugar??? Leaving you with more of the fiber . I don’t know. Have you looked into other testing. When you look at GAPS and SCD.. you ll see SCD is high in OXALATES but then they want you to eat LACTOSE free yogurt. I began First eating, LC, then SCD then PALEO, then my own mix... nuts /paleo / with / limiting RS. A slow process I say helped swing me into a normal range. All these diets limit some aspect of something. But there all similar you’re eating real food. Some excel in some others fail, because there not all correct. It depends on what you’re screwed up in BACTERIA or YEAST. If you look you deep, GOOGLE.. key factors in autism, gut diseases, auto immune diseases are ------- LOW bacteria, YEAST problems, OXALATE ACID and CALCIUM.. Finding the harmony and problem not so easy.

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    8. Hey, Eddie - If you ever want to sit down and write this all out on a real keyboard I will gladly put it up as a blog post and try to get a bunch of people to read it, then you can work with them in the comments.

      I can see your thoughts are becoming more organized and readable, a bit of formatting and an outline would make your story really come alive. Maybe then you wouldn't have to lurk in comments and regurgitate the whole story over and over...I know what that's like!

      I know there are tons of people struggling with what you went through and it must be killing you trying to convince people what steps they can take to help themselves.

      Just a thought.

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    9. TIm,

      I ve been emailing Gemma with some of my thoughts....shes going to organize some of it and see what you have to say

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    10. i would like to see this protocol as a blog post too. i've done quite a few similar things - glutamine, zinc carnosine and high oxalate foods like spinach, turnip greens, mustards greens etc but i'm nowhere near being healed yet. Guess its gonna take a while to permanently change habits.

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    11. I did many similar things ---but also FOCUSED on yeast ---while bringing up all those bacteria..... for me it was a fist fight---- yeast vs bacteria.... who could eat the food first. starch, veggies ,fruit Not going to lie--- no easy task because to start i was starch milk and gluten intolerant... slow moving and time... Ive been able to eat some starch again and eat some PIZZZZZA and beer

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    12. Yikes Eddy! Because of dental abscess, I had amoxicillin and clindamicyn and some others. When I was in jail, the bastards were too cheap to give me dental care so I was given mega-doses of clindamicyn every day for 2 months straight. Yeah, the penicillin was utterly unaffective. They tried megadoses of that for a week or two. Does this mean I'm doomed to Crohn's? Is it time for an FMT, no matter what the cost? I don't have Crohn's yet, but 2 months of clindamycin is almost a guarantee of C. Difficile; I'm just surprised I don't have the bloody stool, diarrhea and other symptoms associated with it. Perhaps a big guy in the sky was looking out for me? Wonder what good bacteria I still have left.

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    13. HI Eddie,

      Thx for all of your deep insights and thoughts!

      I'd love if you could watch my AHS. I'm making my arguments more airtight and would your critique!

      http://drbganimalpharm.blogspot.com/2014/08/ahs14-my-talk-is-up-re-savaging-gut.html

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  5. I have one word - phage viruses, well, two words that is. Don't want to steal your thunder so I'll limit it to that.
    Anne

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  6. Tim, here's why you're the smartest guy on the net. All my bookmarks, close to a hundred, are all done in lower case with caps only on the first letters. (normal) Yours is the only bookmarked website done in "all caps", thereby making it extremely easy when I'm scrolling the long list. So simple, just like your discovery of PS.
    I think your excellent gut bugs are giving you an unfair advantage. ;)

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    1. My aim is to make everyone who reads this just as smart as me, or even just a bit smarter, lol. I have to give lots and lots of credit to my mentors, I haven't been operating in a vacuum. They know who they are.

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  7. Any posts on gardening coming up, Tim? i'm wondering what kind of yields people are getting on sweet potatoes and also i see that tiger nuts aka chufa seed is available on Amazon in 5, 10, 25 etc lb lots for pretty cheap to feed turkeys or whatever other animals would eat them. Wondering if these would be worthwhile to grow or not enough return for the time and effort spent.

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    1. I have a ton of gardening posts in my head. Getting ready to dig my potatoes, maybe I'll take some pics and post them. I can't grow sweet potatoes, too short a season.

      I planted a kilo of tiger nuts from one of the seed companies, they grew well and have a few tubers, but nothing like it showed in the picture, lol. I think, again, too short a growing season and lack of darkness effects plants like that that are grown in hot climates. I doubt I'll even get half a kilo of tiger nuts. Fun experiment, though. Be careful, they are classified as noxious weed and will take over in some areas!

      I think any time you plant and dig in the garden, it's time well spent.

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  8. I say Yo! Tim
    What type of oil do you use in your “Oil Pulling”?

    BTW: Every time I hear the word 'Resistant Starch' I think of the catalyst..Tim Steele.
    You have launched this experiment upon many people, who are mainly finding it helpful with improving their health. The idea and protocol was unheard of until you screamed it out aloud.
    Now we have many respected health bloggers/writers heralding its benefits and unfortunately not linking your name. But, I am sure many people will give you the credit. I for one.
    michael goroncy

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    1. Hey, Michael! How ya been? For oil pulling I use 100% sesame oil, it seems to be the traditionally used oil, and works well for me. Next time i go to the dentist, I'll get copies of my pre- and post-oli pulling records and do a blog post.

      I love doing it. 15-20 minutes every night before dinner and before wife gets home from work. Sort of my meditation time. I don;t think timing is horribly important, but a time with no interruptions (phone, door, family) is.

      I tried coconut oil, but hate the texture. I tried sunflower oil and didn't think it ever emulsified as good as sesame.

      On the RS...it's very rewarding to see articles and blogs talking about it as if it's 'always been.' I don't care about recognition, but it did take a lot of work getting the word out.

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  9. Even before Fleming was experimenting with his molds stable boys of the french military already knew the trick. They kept the saddles in dark wet places so molds were growing. They told a military docter that the scrapes of the cavaliers would heal much quicker.

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  10. hey Tim, did you compare your pre and post pulling records yet? curious minds want to know if oil pulling is worth it!

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    1. I have a scheduled cleaning on 30 Dec. I will get copies and scan them and do a whole post on oil pulling...how's that?

      Disclaimer: I usually forget my dental appointment and they have to call and chew me out and re-schedule, but I will try my best!

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