While antibiotics have saved millions of lives over the years, the excessive use of these medications is negatively impacting your gut bacteria.

Antibiotics work by blocking vital processes in bacteria that either kill the bacteria or stop them from multiplying. Unfortunately, antibiotics cannot differentiate between the "bad" bacteria that may be causing a bacterial infection and the “good” bacteria that belong in your gut. Instead, antibiotics come through like a tsunami, destroying everything in their path.

When antibiotics kill the bacteria that belong in your gut, it disrupts the delicate ecosystem, creating bacterial imbalance. When the number of beneficial bacteria in your gut falls, it leaves you susceptible to the overgrowth of other organisms, like yeast. When yeast starts to multiply, it can damage the lining of your intestinal walls, leading to what’s known as leaky gut.