Buggernauts and the drugs that breed them Don't let the "dread-bugs" bite It's been a while since I touched on the overuse of antibiotics. In the past (for the last 40 years, actually), I've recommended against the widespread prescription of antibiotics in all but truly appropriate or acute cases. Why? Because their overuse contributes to the acceleration of mutations that can cause bacteria to become drug-resistant… In other words, administering antibiotics willy-nilly can give rise to killer "superbugs" that no antibiotic can kill. It's easy to understand how this happens, if you think about it. Let's say some over-protective mom takes her kid to the hospital for antibiotics every time he gets a sniffle. Voila, the drugs knock out the vast bulk of the harmful bacteria in his body and cures the infection. End of story, right? Not quite. A few of these microbes survive the treatment because they are more genetically mutable (able to change quickly) than their brethren. They literally re-design themselves to be able to endure the drugs. Then, when the now-cured kid passes on some of those residual bacteria to another child, they multiply and form an infection which is slightly more antibiotic-proof than the first child's. When this process happens a hundred times in a row, the end result is an infection that's immune to existing medicines. That's why an increasing number of people are getting hospitalized for intensive IV antibiotic treatment, and the reason why hospital-borne infections (more common than you'd even believe) can be so deadly: They're already immune to most drugs. This is not to mention the fact that antibiotics kill not only invading bacteria, but may also penetrate your acidic stomach to eliminate some of the billions of existing "good" bacteria in your lower intestines that actually protect you against infections. Not ideal. But enough of this background - there's news to report… According to a team of researchers (including one from Princeton University and another from the University of Maryland), some new evidence shows that the use of antibiotics in livestock may also increase the drug-resistance of bacteria that infects humans. Although a single study does not "proof" make, this finding does make a basic kind of sense.
On most conventional farms (but not ALL farms, as you'll see in a minute), cows, chickens, pigs and other animals are routinely given antibiotic drugs as a preventive measure. Like in human hospitals, where antibiotics are chronically over-administered by doctors fearing malpractice lawsuits, this same practice on farms creates a climate which forces the mutation of bacteria into stronger, more resistant forms. So naturally, the bacterial infections these drugs are administered to block get stronger over time… And since the world is not a perfect place - and since even the best-run farms, butchers, and grocers sometimes allow contaminated products to reach consumers' hands - some of these farm-reared drug-resistant microbes could inevitably find their way into our homes and bodies to sicken us. There are things you can do to protect yourself, however. Cooking meat thoroughly, maintaining a clean kitchen and sanitary food preparation area, and buying irradiated meat where available can help cut down on infection risk. There's another way, too. Keep reading… **************************************************** Back to nature - and to nutrition Even though I'm not entirely in lock-step with the strict no-pesticide stance which defines "organic" agriculture (they could be using outlawed DDT perfectly safely), I do endorse organic farming's moratorium on the use of antibiotics except in cases of acute illness of livestock. Although meat from these farms consistently costs 10-15% more than meat from conventionally farmed sources, I believe it's worth the extra money, and not just for the avoidance of bacteria. Some evidence indicates that organically-farmed meats (especially if they're grass-fed) and other products may be better for you than what typical high-yield farming methods produce. Case in point: According to a recent BBCNews report, at least one study suggests that milk from organically farmed cows is richer in vitamin E, Omega fatty acids, beta-carotene and other antioxidant compounds - all of which, in addition to making you generally more healthy, actually contribute to a resistance to disease. Now if only we could get the government to allow organic farming of super-nutritious RAW milk, then we'd really be onto something… (Nearly) manic about things organic, William Campbell Douglass II, MD | 
