Ugh! I injured my middle finger a few weeks ago. It hurt and was uncomfortable, but what really upset me was the course of antibiotics I was prescribed and the ibuprofen helped me to sleep. I needed a strategy to attend to my gut and my liver after taking these medications.
Here’s my plan that I followed to get my microbiome back in balance and to cleanse my liver of toxins:
Three days before the last dose of the antibiotic, I cut out all sugar and high starch vegetables including fruits, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and squash and all grains including rice. I also avoided alcohol, fried foods, gluten, dairy, and corn (which I don’t eat anyway).
I started taking a multi-strain, high dose probiotic (doctors might be willing to give you a prescription for it) for the next 2 weeks.
I increased my liver-loving, vegetables, including asparagus, avocados and bitter foods including radicchio, mustard greens and arugula. In addition, I also increased my consumption of dandelion root tea (Teechino brand has a whole line of dandelion root teas).
A week after I’d finished the antibiotic, I added more prebiotic foods to my diet, as well. The probiotics were replanting the healthy flora in my gut. The prebiotics, which have a high inulin content, would help the good bacteria to colonize and flourish. Some of these prebiotic - inulin rich foods - include bananas, chicory, jicama, raw onions, leeks, asparagus, Jerusalem artichokes and flax seeds. I didn’t eat the bananas because I was avoiding sugar. I did add roasted chicory root to carob powder and stevia to make an ersatz hot chocolate. I snacked on jicama and added it to salads. I treated myself to organic asparagus to support both my liver and my gut. In addition to the chicory/carob drink, my other sweet treat was unsweetened coconut yogurt (probiotic) with stevia, chicory, and ground flax seeds.
Three weeks out, my finger is healing swiftly, my digestion and elimination have returned to their normal state and my immune function is strong. Happily, I am no longer presenting a continual "flipping of the bird" to the general public. Phew!