Guest: Till Schenk | His story: With probiotics to the Ironman

Till Schenk - adventure cyclist, sports commentator, event presenter. But Till didn't talk about his last adventure in our podcast, but rather about his very long story of suffering.
At the time of his high school graduation, he became ill with Pfeiffer's glandular fever , caused by the Epstein-Barr virus . Due to incorrect or even missing treatments, this illness continued to bother him 10 years later. For years, Till struggled with a weak immune system, was low on energy, often had headaches and constantly had gastrointestinal problems such as diarrhea. When a doctor recommended that he come to terms with how he felt, he wanted to prove otherwise.
With a doctor and her know-how on nutrition, he changed his diet and cleaned up his intestines with the help of probiotics . His motivation was: the Ironman South Africa 4 years later.

Pfeiffer's glandular fever - the connection between viral infections and our intestinal health

All viral infections have a strong influence on our microbiological colonization. This is often noticeable in the fact that something changes in digestive performance during or after the illness. Scientific studies have shown that a viral infection leads to a massive proliferation of toxin-producing bacteria.
Some bacterial secretions are toxic. Toxins are toxins that the body wants to get rid of as quickly as possible by drawing water into the large intestine. This causes the problem of diarrhea, but uses this to flush out itself and the toxins.
If you catch a viral infection, you should definitely support your intestines and your microbiome and help rebuild them! An imbalance in the microbiota, also known as dysbiosis, can lead to food intolerances and many other problems.

Antibiotics and their consequences

Antibiotics can be used for bacterial infections, but they have no effect on viruses. A broad-spectrum antibiotic is usually prescribed, which does not specifically fight “bad” bacteria, but rather everything that gets in its way. Even “good” bacteria, of which we have a lot in our bodies and which are fundamental to our system, are not spared.
So when you consider that Pfeiffer's glandular fever is a viral infection that antibiotics cannot do anything against, you can only imagine what it can do to the body. The drama begins.
Til Schenk knows it all too well because he was prescribed 5 courses of antibiotics. His microbiome was consequently ruined and could only be brought back into balance with the help of Simone Kumhofer and the OMNi-BiOTiC team. Because the body's own antibiotics can take months or years to compensate.
Our tip : If you are prescribed an antibiotic, always take a probiotic too!

The right form of treatment

Using a microbiome analysis , the number, type and activity of the bacteria present in the intestinal mucosa can be determined. Since 80% of the immune system is located in the intestine, it can be determined which form of therapy is the most successful.
Even if the microbiome cannot be built overnight, a microbiome analysis can be the beginning of a carefree life.

Would you like to see Till Schenk live? Then stop by the Apfelland Triathlon at Stubenbergsee from May 26th to 28th, 2023! See you there? Here you can sign up!

Did you know,..

..that there is also a suitable podcast for many blog posts?
Your hosts are Simone Kumhofer (sports and nutrition scientist, professional triathlete and expert in intestinal health and the microbiome) and Chris Nindl (triathlete, former cyclist and organizer of the APFELLAND TRIATHLON )
Take a listen! - Click here for the podcast!