Leveling the Playing Field – Resolving Antibiotic Resistance

Leveling

In our newest book – currently in the works – antibiotic resistance is one of today’s major challenges, for which we propose an answer.

In medicine, the current standard of care involves testing to identify the organism, and then administering a specific combination of antibiotics that have shown some promise in resolving the infection. There are other alternative possibilities, but standard of care rules.

It has worked fairly well….that is until recently when a woman in Las Vegas became infected with a subspecies of Klebsiella pneumonia that is known to be resistant to virtually all antibiotics. Not having an answer, the woman died from her infection. Certainly, her death has served to spur the entire health industry into making a new commitment to resolving the issue of antibiotic resistance.

Our suggestion involves “leveling the playing field”:

When bacteria come into our body, they are simply looking for a good place to raise a family. So, (with some exception), what they are looking for is an environment that is wet, warm, rich in energy-producing nutrients, lower in oxygen than earth’s atmosphere, and slightly acidic.

Once the bacterial sensors determine these requirements are met, the microbe genetically expresses a receptor for our iron.

It is our iron that is absolutely necessary for the bacteria to replicate and infect. Microbes don’t bring their own iron, because iron is highly toxic when exposed to an oxygen tension typical of healthy people. Such exposure runs the risk of killing the bacteria before they ever have the opportunity to infect. Thus, they choose to qualify us first. If a healthfully alkaline environment is detected, they simply don’t bother expressing their iron receptor. Instead, they wait to confirm that our cells are bathed in acid stress and low oxygen tension…giving them a high degree of certainty that by expressing their iron receptor they can safely replicate and infect us. So, by reassuring that our own iron stores are tightly bound – not in the free, unbound state – we can build a solid barrier to any further infection.

For medicine, standard of care does not include a comprehensive measure of free iron, nor a standard way to bind free iron. Neither does it routinely attempt to improve aerobic metabolism other than to administer oxygen, or to monitor physiological pH, or adjust acid/base homeostasis (all the steps a health model-based practitioner would routinely do for every client, not just those with a known antibiotic resistant microbe). Too, the medical standard of care does not consider the role played in the life of hospitalized patients by IV infusions of dextrose 5% in water (commonly called D5W). Such infusions will drive infections.

A viable option (upgrade?) to standard of care would be to employ steps to counter the conditions bacteria prefer. By doing so – rather than allowing bacteria to thrive in optimum conditions for them – the heroic status of antibiotics could again become the norm. Doctors who follow the health model approach often tell us they’ve never encountered an infection that couldn’t be resolved (given enough time). For – by minimizing the availability of glucose, improving aerobic needs, addressing both physiologic and acid/base homeostasis, and providing a mixture of iron-binding proteins – they begin to see effectiveness returning to most all of their favorite antibiotic regimens. As a bonus, steps taken to bind iron help to prevent metastatic cancer, as cancer does not metastasize without the help of iron.

Our forthcoming book, while including a more in-depth look at how medicine can again see the miracle return to its antibiotic drugs, also teaches a new perspective on how a heath facilitator may help an immune-compromised person win. To help that person we will be asking that doctors put aside their outdated “treat-the-data/treat-the-disease” approach, and replace it with a support-the-body approach. For the doctor and clinical nutritionist alike, for whom patient or client outcome is the sole consideration, employing the health model-based approach can not only save lives, it can also bolster the bottom line. A win-win for everyone.

Keep watching here for our next blog as the book develops. The plan is to provide you with a steady diet of news bites that are, like you, always Designed2Win

Designed2Win

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