Don't take sweets while on antibiotics

Alexander Fleming’s discovery of penicillin 98 years ago paved the way for what was described as an “antibiotic revolution”.

Many previously untreatable bacterial infections finally met their match – at least until some germs started developing resistance in recent years.

But taking antibiotics has often meant side effects such as nausea and diarrhoea, as well as damage to beneficial gut bacteria.

To limit the fallout, medical researchers are now advising patients to avoid sweets for the prescribed duration, after a five-year study showed sugar could “exacerbate antibiotic-induced microbiome disruption”.

“Our research supports emerging evidence that avoiding sugary foods during antibiotic treatment may protect the microbiome,” said study corresponding author Dr Marcel van den Brink, who is also the chief physician executive at City of Hope, a Los Angeles-based cancer research centre in the United States.