Four Natural Supplements for ‘Super’ Health by Scott Coombe
You probably don't think about your gut very often but this may make you start-- the bacteria in your bowels outnumber the cells in your body by a factor of 10 to one. This gut flora has incredible power over your immune system, which, of course, is your body's natural defense system that keeps you healthy. In other words, the health of your body is largely tied into the health of your gut, and it's hard to have one be healthy if the other is not. Here are four amazing products!!
High Fiber
Fiber not only promotes health, it also help reduce the risk for some chronic diseases. For instance, fiber prevents constipation, hemorrhoids and diverticulosis. Fiber is also linked to prevent some cancers especially colon and breast cancer. In addition, fiber may help lower the LDL cholesterol (the Bad cholesterol) and the total cholesterol therefore reducing the risk of heart disease.
Furthermore, fiber can help lower blood sugar therefore help better manage diabetes.
Omega - 3
Over 2,000 scientific studies have demonstrated the wide range of problems
associated with Omega-3 deficiencies. The American diet is almost devoid of
Omega 3's, except for certain types of fish.
In fact, researchers believe that about 60% of Americans are deficient in Omega-
3 fatty acids, and about 20% have so little that test methods cannot even detect
any in their blood.
The human brain is more than 60% structural fat, just as your muscles are made of protein and your bones are made of calcium. But it's not just any fat that our brains are made of. It has to be certain types of fats, and we no longer eat these types of fats like we used to.
Worse, we eat man-made trans-fats and excessive amounts of saturated fats and vegetable oils high in Omega-6 fatty acids, all of which interfere which our body's attempt to utilize the tiny amount of Omega-3 fats that it gets.
Other parts of our bodies also need Omega-3 fatty acids. Symptoms of fatty acid deficiency include a variety of skin problems such as eczema, thick patches of skin, and cracked heels.
Probiotics
One of the reasons why your gut has so much power has to do with the 100 trillion bacteria--about three pounds worth--that line your intestinal tract. This is an extremely complex living system that aggressively protects your body from outside offenders.
However, if you are eating as many sugars as the typical American (about 175 pounds per year) then you are feeding the "bad" bacteria, which are more likely to cause disease than promote health, rather than promoting the "good" bacteria that help protect you from disease. Exposure to chemicals will also contribute to this disruption in your gut microflora, and over time the imbalance will lead to illness.
A large part of the influence of the "bad" bacteria is on the intestinal lining (mucosal barrier) that is over 300 square meters, or about the size of a tennis court.
Beneficial bacteria in your gut can help to boost the immune system, prevent allergic inflammation and food allergy, clear up eczema in children and heal the intestines from a variety of ailments.
Fortunately, you can influence the composition of the good and bad bacteria in your gut by optimizing your diet and supplementing it with a high-quality probiotic, or good bacteria. As written in a report in the October 2003 American Journal of
Clinical Nutrition, "probiotics can act as partners of the defense system of the intestine."
The typical American diet is so full of sugar and grains that nearly everyone can benefit from probiotics.
Digestive Enzymes
Enzymes are needed for the digestive system to work. They are necessary to break down food particles so they can be utilized for energy. The human body makes approximately 22 different digestive enzymes which are capable of digesting carbohydrates, protein and fats. Raw vegetables and raw fruit are rich sources of enzymes.
While all raw foods contain enzymes, the most powerful enzyme-rich food is sprouted seeds, grains, and legumes. Sprouting increases the enzyme content in these foods enormously.
Lack of digestive enzymes can be a factor in food allergies. Symptoms of digestive enzymes depletion are bloating, belching, gas, bowel disorders, abdominal cramping, heartburn and food allergies.
All of us loose our ability to produce concentrated digestive enzymes as we grow older. In cases where age is a factor, or where lack of digestive enzymes causes food allergies, supplementation may be helpful. You may also want to explore food combining.
Please be very careful when selecting supplementation from local stores. The supplement industry is unregulated and full of bad quality products. For more information about these items, please send us a message. We can be reached via the ‘contact us’ button to the above. We would be happy to recommend our favorite products that we use.