Preparedness Reasons to Reduce Antibiotic Use

The common reasons for reducing antibiotic use are so often raised in the media that we probably know all of them by now:

• First is the valid concern for the increasing resistance of bacteria to antibiotics due to our overuse and improper use and the bacteria community’s amazing ability to mutate. 
• There is the very real problem of developing Clostridium difficile colitis after using some antibiotics.
• My personal favorite, yeast infections that arise when the good bacteria are also wiped out by antibiotics, and the bad fungi normally kept in check by the good bacteria get out of control.
• Next are the less common side effects of nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea that may occur when using antibiotics.
• And then there is the rare but very real risk of life-threatening allergies.

Lately we’ve been blessed to have all kinds of media outlets not only emphasizing the need to curtail antibiotic use in general, but now they are also sharing with us that often antibiotics aren’t needed for things like ear and sinus infections.  Of course, we already know that.  We’ve already covered articles here on ear and sinus infections and that precious antibiotics don’t have to be used managing these illnesses.  Even strep throat will eventually pass.  The vast majority will clear up without antibiotic intervention. 

We may know that the above infections will resolve without antibiotic use, but when we’re in pain, or worse, when our little children are in pain, like with an excruciating ear infection or strep throat, emotion may rule the day and we may give in.  I know I would want to do whatever’s possible to alleviate Sweet Pea’s pain. 

So becoming aware of a few other reasons to avoid unnecessary antibiotic use might benefit us.  I am a little surprised that I haven’t heard more about any of the following reasons to curtail antibiotic use, and I am still pondering on why this is. 

Antibiotic use—not abuse, but normal use to treat critical illnesses—has been implicated in the following:

• Kidney stones, especially in children[1] [2] [3]
• Liver damage[4] [5] [6]
• Increased risk of cancer[7] [8] [9]
• Increased risk of inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis, especially in those over the age of 40 years[10] [11] [12]

So with the above increased risks associated with antibiotic use in mind, and knowing that the day is coming when we will not be able to re-stock our antibiotic supply, perhaps we can approach antibiotic treatment of illnesses a little differently.  If I know my little granddaughter has an ear infection, even if it is causing her extreme pain, instead of immediately reaching for the amoxicillin, maybe I can keep in mind that the ear infection will resolve without antibiotics and use a home remedy instead.  Maybe, just maybe (as she is crying), I can remember that a kidney stone as a result of antibiotic use will be a lot harder to diagnose in a child, a lot more painful than the ear infection, and a lot harder to treat. 

As I’ve noted before, these things aren’t Skittles, even if some of them are pretty inexpensive and we can afford to stockpile a good supply.  This article is in no way meant to raise alarm about using antibiotics.  After all, antibiotics as a whole are crediting with saving millions of lives in the past several decades, and we store them so that we may preserve the lives of our loved ones and prevent them from dying from what we now consider trivial illnesses or injuries.  However, we all probably need to give them a lot more respect than we currently do and perhaps need a little encouragement to save them for when they are truly needed.  I know I do.

Links to related posts:

Toddler TEOTWAWKI—Ear Infections in a Collapsed Society

Strep Throat—Are Antibiotics Really Needed?  

Kidney Stones—They Just Feel Like the End of the World  

Antibiotic Chart to Guide Acquisition 

Acquiring Antibiotics

Pain Relief Is for Those Who Prepare 

---

[1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31145705/

[2] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29748329/

[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6186560/

[4] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18955056/

[5] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24388027/

[6] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26208237/

[7] https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ijc.23622

[8] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31416208/

[9] https://ecancer.org/en/journal/article/1106-antibiotics-cancer-risk-and-oncologic-treatment-efficacy-a-practical-review-of-the-literature

[10] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36623926/

[11] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32818437/

[12] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36528284/

Good Eats at the TEOTWAWKI Café—Buttermilk Pie

Every once in a while I run across a Depression-era recipe that piques my curiosity and gives me an excuse to play in the kitchen and torment the kids.  We all need to do that once in a while. 

Anyway, I found this recipe at Hillbilly Kitchen for something called a Buttermilk Pie.  I’d never heard of such a thing, and as I was looking at it I noticed a bunch of other Youtubes for other buttermilk pie recipes and I gathered it was popular in the South.  I just knew it was going to be a food storage-friendly dish, and the author has over 300 comments on it.  I only read the first 30 or so, all positive, so I was hoping it would be as good as the Water Pie and Lemon/Vinegar Pies that we tried out two years ago. 

Here’s the recipe from Hillbilly Kitchen.  And I actually made two pies—for the first I followed the recipe exactly.  For the second, I substituted coconut oil for the butter. 

Buttermilk Pie

1 ½ cups sugar  

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk (whole fat, if possible)

½ cup melted butter/coconut oil

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 9” deep dish pie crust (It doesn’t look like this pie needs a deep dish crust, but it expands a bit as it bakes and may overflow if you don’t use a deep dish crust.)

Preheat oven to 400°F. 

In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, flour, and salt.  Whisk in the remaining ingredients, (except for the pie crust, of course) making sure to incorporate all the sugar.  You don’t want any sugar or flour lumps.  Pour filling into pie crust and bake 50-60 minutes, until set.  Let sit at least 15-20 minutes before serving.  Serve warm or cold.  Refrigerate leftovers.

Note.  This pie gets really brown, and may look a bit unappetizing, though they say it doesn’t taste burnt.    If you want to avoid that, make an aluminum foil tent and leave it on top of the pie for 30 minutes, then remove so that the pie will brown some (and not stick to the aluminum foil). 

To make an aluminum foil tent:  Take a square of foil, fold it in half lengthwise and unfold, repeat with the width and unfold, and then do the same with both diagonals.  You’ll have a tent that will cover the pie without resting on the pie.)

If you want to dress it up, make some caramel syrup and drizzle it on the plate, place the pie slice on it, and then add a spritz of whipping cream and drizzle more caramel syrup on top.

Reviews:  In contrast to all the lavish praise on the Youtube for this recipe, Aaron, Becky, and I all thought it tasted a bit egg-y.  Maybe it’s an acquired taste kind of thing, and as we aren’t from the South we won’t ever acquire it.  But it was ok.  It’s not like it made us gag.  However, if I’m going for something low-budget and Depression-era, I’ll stick with Water Pie.  Cheaper, faster, tastier.  Oh, and I couldn't tell any difference between the pie made with butter and the one made with coconut oil.

Links to related posts:

More Depression Baking—Water Pie  

Lemon/Vinegar Pie 

Caramel Syrup  

References:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XG4CVUYcLE&t=108s

 

Prepping for Lactose Intolerance: Diagnosing and Managing It When Things Fall Apart

I got to thinking about the issue of lactose intolerance because my father-in-law has problems with it and wondered what we would do if my husband developed the same condition.  I didn’t think it would be addressed in any of the off-grid medical references, and I was right about that.  After all, it’s not really a life-or-death issue.  And the general answer for such an inconvenience is just to avoid milk.  Right?

Well, not quite.

It’s not just as simple as not drinking any milk.  What about cheese? What about the beneficial probiotics found in yogurt and which are especially helpful when taking a course of antibiotics?  What about calcium?  We in the US get most of our calcium from dairy products.  What about milk used in baking and cooking?  If a person develops a serious lactose intolerance, how does s/he compensate for the loss of nutrients?  (Studies have shown that people with lactose intolerance are at greater risk for osteoporosis and bone fractures.[1])  What about the powdered milk stored for that person and all the menu items planned around it?

So before proceeding any further, what exactly is lactose intolerance?

Lactose intolerance is the inability of the body to digest lactose, a sugar occurring in milk and many other dairy products. 

Diagnosing

The classic symptoms of lactose intolerance include:

• Abdominal pain
• Diarrhea
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Gas
• Bloating[2]

However, these symptoms are common to many other illnesses.  What distinguishes lactose intolerance, and is thus a big clue that the person is indeed suffering from lactose intolerance, is that the symptoms appear within 30 minutes to 2 hours after consuming foods high in lactose.  Unfortunately, conclusive tests—the lactose tolerance blood test and a hydrogen breath test won’t likely be available with a collapsed medical system.  A less conclusive DIY test is to have the patient drink two glasses of milk without eating or drinking anything else.  Ask the patient how he feels in two hours.[3]  If he has any of the above symptoms, lactose intolerance is a pretty good guess. 

However, even if lactose intolerance is suspected as the reason for the patient’s discomfort, keeping a food journal for a couple of days will be invaluable.  The patient will need to record everything he eats and drinks and the amounts and time as well as how he feels after eating those foods.[4]  It may well be that the patient can still consume moderate amounts of lactose with meals.[5]  In other words, he will not have to completely avoid milk and other dairy products.

There are several types of lactose intolerance.

Congenital lactose intolerance (congenital alactasia) occurs in infants who cannot digest breast milk or formula.  It is an extremely rare condition, affecting less than 1 in 60,000 newborns.[6]  Symptoms include severe diarrhea which will lead to weight loss and serious dehydration if afflicted infants are not switched to a lactose-free formula.[7] 

Developmental lactase deficiency sometimes occurs in infants born prematurely, usually before 34 weeks of gestation.  It is usually short-lived and ends when the intestinal mucosa becomes fully developed.[8]

Primary lactose intolerance manifests by the time this group of people reaches adulthood.  They start life off being able to digest milk properly but as these children age and replace milk with other foods, the amount of lactase produced diminishes significantly.  It affects a startling 65-70% of adults worldwide.[9]  People with lactose intolerance who consume dairy products may experience abdominal pain, bloating, flatulence, diarrhea, and/or nausea beginning 30 minutes to 2 hours after consuming the dairy products.[10]

Secondary lactose intolerance arises when the small intestine decreases lactase production after an illness, injury, or surgery affecting the small intestine.    Diseases affecting the small intestine and associated with secondary lactose intolerance include celiac, Crohn’s, irritable bowel syndrome, bacterial overgrowth, and intestinal infections.  Managing the cause of secondary lactose intolerance may resolve the condition and it may take weeks to months before the patient returns to normal.

Risk factors for lactose intolerance

• Family history
  
• Increasing age
• Ethnicity East Asian, West African, Native American, Greek, Italian, Arab, Jewish[11] [12]
• Premature birth
• Diseases affecting the small intestine
• Certain cancer treatments[13] [14]

Managing

• Cut back on lactose consumption, while still drinking milk.  There are several lactose-free powdered milk choices on Amazon.
• Consume dairy products with meals to slow digestion of the lactose and dilute the effects.[15] (“The solution to pollution is dilution.”)
• Lactase enzyme supplement pills help a great many people.  Of course, they would need to be stocked in advance. 
• Consume lactose regularly.  One study found that lactose-intolerant young women who consumed lactose daily for three weeks were eventually able to tolerate it.[16]  This is because the bacteria in the large intestine will adapt to what they are being fed.[17]
• Beware of fillers.  Lactose is a common filler for many medications and nutritional supplements.[18]
• Many people with lactose intolerance can still consume dairy products to varying degrees without experiencing adverse symptoms.  So these people may still be able to happily eat foods made with powdered milk.

Frequently those with lactose intolerance are not able to drink fresh milk, but digesting cheese or yogurt doesn’t present any noticeable problems.[19] Dairy foods with low levels of lactose that may often be consumed in moderation by the lactose-intolerant include:

• Butter
• Buttermilk
• Aged/hard cheeses (Parmesan, Swiss, cheddar)[20]
• Yogurt (Make sure it’s real yogurt—that it contains the active yogurt cultures.  Frozen yogurt doesn’t count—it’s more like ice milk than yogurt.)[21]
• Kefir
• Heavy cream
• Whey protein powders[22]
• Dark chocolate[23]
• Cottage cheese[24]

Links to related posts:

Rice Based Baby Formula

How to Make Yogurt 

---

[1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14753735/

[2] https://news.umiamihealth.org/en/can-you-suddenly-develop-lactose-intolerance/

[3] https://www.prevention.com/health/a20429112/9-tips-for-living-with-lactose-intolerance/

[4] https://news.umiamihealth.org/en/can-you-suddenly-develop-lactose-intolerance/

[5] https://www.prevention.com/health/a20429112/9-tips-for-living-with-lactose-intolerance/

[6] https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/condition/lactose-intolerance/#statistics

[7] https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/condition/lactose-intolerance/#statistics

[8] https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/can-you-develop-lactose-intolerance#causes

[9] https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/condition/lactose-intolerance/#statistics

[10] https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/condition/lactose-intolerance/#statistics

[11] https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/condition/lactose-intolerance/#statistics

[12] https://www.prevention.com/health/a20429112/9-tips-for-living-with-lactose-intolerance/

[13] https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/lactose-intolerance/symptoms-causes/syc-20374232

[14] https://news.umiamihealth.org/en/can-you-suddenly-develop-lactose-intolerance/

[15] https://news.umiamihealth.org/en/can-you-suddenly-develop-lactose-intolerance/

[16] https://www.prevention.com/health/a20429112/9-tips-for-living-with-lactose-intolerance/

[17] https://www.prevention.com/health/a20429112/9-tips-for-living-with-lactose-intolerance/

[18] https://www.prevention.com/health/a20429112/9-tips-for-living-with-lactose-intolerance/

[19] https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/condition/lactose-intolerance/#statistics

[20] https://www.webmd.com/diet/foods-high-in-lactose

[21] https://www.prevention.com/health/a20429112/9-tips-for-living-with-lactose-intolerance/

[22] https://news.umiamihealth.org/en/can-you-suddenly-develop-lactose-intolerance/

[23] https://www.webmd.com/diet/foods-high-in-lactose

[24] https://www.webmd.com/diet/foods-high-in-lactose