Antibiotics Increase Breast Cancer Risk

It may sound strange but there is a new mega-study showing that antibiotics may cause an increased risk of breast cancer. This wasn't a small, isolated situation either, it involved studies with over 13,000 cases from several major medical databases. The bottom line: those who used antibiotics had a 17%+ greater chance of being diagnosed with breast cancer.

The research was published in last month's Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety. One of the possible explanations for the effect is that antibiotics reduce the body's immune system and compromise its ability to fight off cancer.

It's probably no surprise that the medical industry is telling everyone not to overreact to this study, even after cautioning against the overuse of antibiotics for many years.

If anyone needed another reason to begin using complementary and alternative medicine, here it is.

Superbugs

The inevitable is happening. A new gene coming from India makes common germs into superbugs, or germs that are immune to antibiotics. Called NDM-1, the new gene has already shown up in three states and in Canada involving three different types of bacteria. In every case the patient has either received surgery or visited India.

After decades of overuse of antibiotics it's not a surprise that Mother Nature would find a way to adapt. The surprise is that this new gene seems capable of using different mechanisms to enable a bacteria to use it to deflect all types of antibiotics.

It would make sense to boost your natural immune system instead of relying strictly on antibiotics.