FYI: This Is How Long It Takes Your Gut To Recover From Antibiotics

Let's make this very clear: We are not anti-antibiotics around here. They are a necessary part of our reality, and a lifesaving one at that.

That being said, antibiotics can wreak a special sort of havoc on your gut health. They kill every single bacteria in their wake—not just the ones causing your strep throat, skin infection, or pneumonia but even the beneficial bugs—which can lead to less microbial diversity and digestive issues. 

As Pedre declares on the mindbodygreen podcast, "It takes six months for your gut microbiome to recover from a five-day Z-pak. "For five days of Cipro [aka, Ciprofloxacin], which is very commonly prescribed to women for urinary tract infections, it takes the gut 12 months." And we're talking just five days of antibiotics!

Now, we repeat: Sometimes taking antibiotics is absolutely necessary, and we would never recommend ignoring your doctor's orders. But it's important to think about the gut health implications of consistent rounds and especially longer courses. 

Fermented foods are created through fermentation (duh), in which components of foods, like the natural sugars, are broken down by yeast and bacteria and result in food chock-full of probiotics (aka, the good bugs). Some examples include kombucha, kimchi, sauerkraut (Pedre's personal favorite), miso, and yogurt, plus others. 

While we recommend getting enough fiber into your diet, you might want to start with fermented foods if you have an inflamed gut. Pedre references a study2 in which researchers measured microbial diversity in folks who ate five to eight servings of fiber per day, versus those who ate 6 cups of fermented foods per day. 

"What [they found] is that a high-fermented-foods diet increased microbial diversity in that group and lowered 19 inflammatory markers," he explains. The fiber-rich group did see positive effects on microbial function and immune response, but it's interesting that the fermented foods had such a significant effect on inflammation. 

Fermented foods are naturally chock-full of probiotics, but if you want to introduce even more healthy gut bugs, you might want to consider a probiotic supplement, too. See, probiotic supplements contain beneficial bacteria that can help reinoculate the gut after antibiotics have killed off some of the good bugs.

"I'm a big believer in taking probiotic-type things that can help protect the gut and the gut microbiome," says Pedre. "I will usually have someone take a probiotic post [antibiotics]."

According to Pedre, "The right combination of vegetables" can help get your gut back on track. Namely, vegetables rich in polyphenols, which can feed certain bacteria3 and reduce gut inflammation.