Tips on Having a Healthy Tummy

Ok...here goes...this will be another long post...Blogging is a great way to lecture your children about their health without ever 'saying' a word. :):)

Today the story is on why you should be taking probiotics...

First off, a probiotic is the beneficial bacteria that your gut needs to function properly.  Ever heard of yogurt....yep, that's what healthy bacteria is. The downside to eating yogurt that is purchased from the store is that by the time you actually eat it most of the beneficial bacteria have died and if you are eating flavored varities you are also dealing with the sugar issue.  However, you can make your own healthy yogurt at home and get many health benefits.

 You can also purchase probiotics in capsule or powdered form from any health food store. So why should you take probiotics daily (even beneficial for the kiddos).Below are just a few reasons why...

Probiotics can reduce fat.
Maintains a healthy body weight.
Trillions of bacteria live in your gut...good and bad...What you want to do is maintain your intestinal system so that the good are always knocking out the bad and overtaking them.

Before I go on about probiotics, it is also important to remember that the body requires enough fiber to push the toxins out...fiber supplements such as chia seeds (my favorite) ground flaxseed, psyllium seed (I use this one occasionally... comes from India so if you are going to use psyllium make sure it is organic (I have read several articles on what happens to psyllium if it is not organic.) There is a brand called Fiber Harmony which is organic...comes in different flavors as well...It is in powder form. When starting a new fiber, remember to go slow so that your body has time to adjust or else you can become very miserable.

Also, because our diets in America are not always the best and often times processed, refined, or cooked adding a digestive enzyme to each meal is very beneficial.  Your body requires enzymes to digest your food...if it doesn't have the proper amount of enzymes you will end up with clumps of food circulating throughout your body.  From all the trainings that i have received from going to seminars and listening to lectures tell me that if your food doesn't digest...those undigested food particles enter into your bloodstream and then become toxins which lead to inflammation in the body, weight gain, and certain health ailments. There are many out there to choose from.  Two brands that I am familiar with because we sell them where I work are Essential Enzymes from a company called Source Naturals and also another company called Enzymedica.  I prefer the Enzymedica enzymes as they seem to be a little more potent and comprehensive in the enzymes that they supply...but they are also more expensive.  I believe Source Naturals are very beneficial if you are not dealing with any serious health problems.....Look for these enzymes on the bottles...lipase which digests fat, protease which digests protein, lactase which digests milk products, cellulase which digests carbs, amylase which digests sugars. These are the basics....with many products containing several other digestive enzymes.

Now back to the probiotics and you thought I had forgotten all about what is was I was writing about. :)

The word probiotics comes from the Greek language meaning "for life"...so what does that tell you about the word "antitbiotics". Also, a little FYI...the more you use probiotics, the healthier you will become and probably require less use of antibiotics throughout your lifetime.  If you ever find that you do need to take antibiotics...they will completely eliminate most of your beneficial bacteria in your gut so it is important to remember after a round of antibiotics to hit the probiotics 'hard and heavy'. Also, using antibiotics and probiotics at the same time, cancel each other out....so if you want to continue taking the probios the same time you are taking the antibiotics...take them 2 t0 3 hours apart from each other.

Did you know that...80% of your immune system lives in your gastrointestinal tract
500 different species of bacteria live inside of you
About 100 trillion bacteria live inside of you ...that is more than TEN TIMES the number of Cells you have in your whole body.
The weight of these bacteria is about two to three pounds.
As stated earlier, some of these bacteria are good...some are not...ideal balance would be 85% good and 15% 'other'

Before you were born, your GI tract was sterile.  The moment after your birth, colonization of bacteria began in your gut.  The first bacteria to settle in were the immune building ones from breast milk, increasing your level of health. In a sense, we spend the rest of our lives "trashing" our digestion with the bad stuff...bad diets and poor lifestyle choices that cause the wrong type of flora "bacteria" to flourish in our gut.  So why not give your body the break it deserves and start giving it some of the good stuff to help it in its battle to keep you healthy.

There are many, many, many probiotics that you can purchase and you will see names like bifidobacterium lactis, lactobacillus acidophilus, lactobacillus casei, lactobacillus plantarum and the list goes on. 

I would give you a few recommendations..(A) make sure it is enteric coated or says that it can survive passing through the stomach acid...as the acid in our stomachs kills the good bacteria and then nothing reaches the large and small intestines where you need it. (B) choose one that has at least three strains in it so that it is capable of functioning both in the small and large intestine. (C) Sometimes a probiotic product will say that it also contains FOS which helps with the colonization of the bacteria.(D) look for high numbers of the amount of probiotics the product contains...so seeing a product that contains 'billions' of bacteria is not a bad thing. (E) Also,remember that each time you open your bottle, some of the bacteria will die...this is normal and to be expected...that is why so many products contain 'the billions' so always remember to close the bottle tightly and immediately after you are done taking your supplement.  (F) Today, you can purchase many probiotics that are shelf stable and need no refrigeration...Two brands that I would recommend but I know there are MANY good ones out there are KYODOPHILUS from Kyolic and PRO-BIO from Enzymedica.

Just for good measure, here is a small listing of what probiotics can do for you other than what I mentioned before

Supports production of B vitamins...especially folic acid, biotin and Vitamin K.
Promotes mineral absorption.
Supports your protein and carbohydrate digestion.
Helps your metabolism breakdown toxins in body.
Helps maintain appropriate bowel transit time.
Helps to balance colon pH balance
Helps to keep your blood pressure in the healthy range.
Improves immunity.
Help promote gum and oral health.  (Just for my teeth, I purchase a tablet form and I chew a few every day to prevent tooth decay)

So that is it for today...As always, I hope this was beneficial to you and remember that I only do this because I LOVE YOU lots and lots and lots. :):)