If I See Just One More “Kill” Protocol, I’m Going to Scream.

Okay, maybe not literally out loud. But definitely in my head.

Because if I had a dollar for every time I saw a practitioner jump to a kill protocol the moment someone mentions GI Map, Candida, or “bad gut bugs,” I could retire early and live off of the finest coconut kefir and kimchi.

I don’t chase single microbes like I’m in some parasite-themed episode of Whack-a-Mole. That approach might feel satisfying in the short term – throw a bunch of antimicrobials at a test result and hope to get a good outcome – but it’s rarely what the gut actually needs to shift and rebalance long-term. To get those sustainable results. 

Instead, I focus on rebuilding the overall terrain – the internal environment of the gut. This provides the body with the tools to keep its own environment in check. And stay that way. Just like in those little self-sufficient sealed terrariums that can last for decades. 

Because it turns out that when you give the body the basics of what it’s missing – the right foods and nutrients; broad microbial diversity; rest and nervous system support – you’ll see that you don’t actually need a “microbial most-wanted” list.…your body just needs a healing environment where health can grow and thrive and rebalance itself. And stay that way. 

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“Kill First” Rarely Works Long-Term.

A few days ago, I saw a post in one of my functional medicine practitioner groups that made me physically shudder. A well-meaning practitioner couldn’t figure out why her client – after multiple rounds of antimicrobials – was now not only dealing with the recurrent Candida infections that caused the multiple rounds of antimicrobials to begin with, but also with some new overgrowths as well. 

She was SO frustrated. And so was her client. 

But the explanation for what went wrong – this revolving door of worsening infections – was staring me in the face: The client’s terrain was never addressed or repaired. The internal ecosystem stayed the same, the environment and food stayed the same, and so the microbes were temporarily knocked down and then just regrew back to how they originally were. Over, and over, and over again. 

When we bulldoze the gut with antimicrobials – especially without supporting the existing good bacteria and rebuilding it from where it was lacking – we leave it vulnerable to exactly the kind of cycling and worsening relapse she was seeing.

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I don’t default to simplified kill protocols. I don’t reach for antimicrobials just because a GI test flashes red on a report indicating an overgrowth of something.

Here’s how I approach things differently:

• I assess. Thoroughly. I look at microbial balance, diet and nutrient status, pH, detox pathways, nervous system function, stress, toxins, and more.
• I support the ecosystem, not just attack the intruders. We rebuild, and rebuild some more. 
• I test, observe, and respond conservatively, working collaboratively with my clients.
• And when I do use antimicrobials, they’re targeted, short-term, and only one part of a bigger picture, working towards a larger goal.

Because feeling better long-term requires building up and reshaping the gut – not just tearing it down.