What is in common to all three forms of infection – bacterial, viral and fungal, is that they are caused by invading parasitic microorganisms. In other words, microorganisms that use the host – human body – to feed and multiply, without giving anything back. In fact, their over-proliferation damages the host.
Aside from parasitic microorganisms, there are larger forms of parasitic organisms either inhabiting the body – like intestinal parasites, from protozoa (animal-like microorganisms that hunt and swallow their food) to intestinal worms – or external blood suckers, like mosquitoes, lice, ticks or leeches. Not seldom these relatively large parasitic organisms are carriers of pathogenic microorganisms causing serious and life-threatening infections (lime disease, malaria, West Nile encephalitis/meningitis, etc.).
Most infectious diseases are easy to diagnose, and are usually treated successfully with antibiotics. However, the emerging problem is increasing number of antibiotic-resistant strains of microorganisms, mainly resulting from the overuse of antibiotics in both, human health care and in animals commercially grown for food. The more extensive use of antibiotics, the wider breeding ground for new, antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains.
This wasn’t hard to predict. As far back as early 1960’s, Rachel Carson (Silent Spring) was trying to bring attention to many negative effects of the overuse of pesticides, one of them being creating resistant insect strains. Somehow, a direct parallel escaped organized medicine when it comes to the (over)use of antibiotics.
The war against pathogenic microorganisms we can’t win – at best we can stay one step ahead. New antibiotics containing more than a single bacterial toxin are being developed as we speak. These will be more efficient initially but, after a while – just as it’s happened with the first generation of antibiotics – new superbugs will emerge, more resistant and more dangerous than ever!
Luckily, other options are open. One is the use of selective viruses which would only attack harmful bacteria. The other is to target bacterial DNA directly; either way, it will likely be up to molecular/genetic medicine to spare the humanity from devastating epidemics in the near future.
As always – and especially considering increasingly inefficient antibiotic treatments – your best bet is still to take good care of your health in general, and health of your immune system in particular. Thus good digestion, quality nutrition and lowering your toxic exposure become even more important. Also, avoiding foods of animal origin where the animals are routinely given antibiotics – and that is almost always the case with animals grown in confined spaces – significantly reduces your chances of being infected with antibiotic-resistant strains.
Healthy digestive tract is a must for efficient immune and
detox system, as well as for your health in general.
To assess its state of health – as well as possible hidden bacterial and fungal infections – you need to use appropriate lab tests.
Poor diet and compromised gut health is most often what causes your body defenses to weaken, making your body an easy pray to infectious microorganisms. You may have them temporarily suppressed with antibiotic treatments, but they will keep coming back as long as you don’t address and correct this core problem.
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