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I know, it is a corny title, but it is true. Without these two ingredients, you would be in serious trouble with your health and digestion. In fact your survival would be in jeopardy.
This is our final installment of the 4 facets of digestive health. We have been following the work of Brenda Watson N.D. in regard to her program called the H.O.P.E. formula as seen on Public Television.
Where H stands for High Fiber, O= Omega – 3 oils, P = Probiotics and E = Enzymes.
What Is The Meaning Of Probiotics?
Probiotics are the beneficial bacteria that live in your digestive tract. Literally translated, the word probiotic means “FOR LIFE”. Which of course is the opposite of antibiotic, which means “AGAINST LIFE”.
Maintaining a healthy balance of probiotics is critical to your good health, and not only your digestive health. The two most common probiotics are Lactobacillus, which make up the majority of the probiotics living in your small intestine, and Bifidobacteria, the most prevalent probiotic living in your large intestine.
Ok, But Why Do We Need These Critters In Us?
The benefits of having the right balance of these organisms in our digestive system are multifold. Without them the basic processes of breaking down our food and assisting in elimination would not take place.
The Main Benefits Include:
Maintains healthy colon cells*
Promotes healthy immunity *
Promotes regularity*
Promotes detoxification of intestinal toxins*
Manufactures digestive enzymes which help you digest food*
Makes use of nutrients, such as fiber, that would otherwise pass through the body
undigested*
Creates an unfriendly environment for potentially harmful bacteria and yeast*
The Ying and Yang Of Bacteria.
Like everything in life, there is a balance. The same is true for the bacteria or “flora” balance in your intestines. As you know, there are bacteria out there that are extremely hazardous to your health especially if they are allowed to grow out of control.
Such bacteria are present throughout the world, including our own body. Therefore it is extremely important to maintain proper balance of “good” to “bad” bacteria in our system. A healthy bacterial balance is 80% good to 20% bad bacteria. If bad bacteria increase past 20%, your health can suffer.
So What Happens To Me If I AM “Out Of Balance”?
The consequences of too little probiotics can include diarrhea, constipation, excessive gas, yeast overgrowth, vaginal yeast infections, weakened immune system, lactose intolerance, poor digestion, complex carbohydrate intolerance and even skin disruptions.
Because 70% of our immune system lies in the digestive tract, the lack of adequate amounts of probiotics can result in many problems related to low immunity.
What Is The Best Way To Maintain The Proper Balance?
While Vitamin C is measured in milligrams or grams, probiotics are measure in units called “live cultures” or “live cells”. There is no exact formula, (like many aspects of nutrition), however, in her work, Brenda Watson recommends that adults should take 6-15 billion live cultures per day, and those over 50 should take 30-50 billion live cultures per day. For critical needs, 50 billion or more is recommended.
Unfortunately, as we age, the number of our good bacteria decline if not supported. Thus it is very important to maintain our balance as we age. The use of antibiotics is another factor. Antibiotics wipe out all bacteria. So even the good bacteria are killed at a rate of 8 good bacteria to 2 bad bacteria. Therefore it is extremely important to supplement good bacteria during this time; otherwise you risk the loss of proper balance.
It Is Easy To Say, But Just How Do You Maintain The Right Probiotic Balance?
By eating a diet rich in fermented dairy and vegetable foods, such as yogurt, kefir, and sauerkraut, will provide good bacteria. In our earlier discussion on fiber, we discussed the fact that good bacteria love to consume soluble fiber, thus allowing them to multiply, so including this in your diet is also important.
Lastly, take a BALANCED probiotic supplement. This is extremely important as we age. The right balance is a probiotic supplement high in both Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli.
3 Considerations for Choosing the Right Probiotic Supplement
1. Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus Balance
The two most prevalent probiotics in your digestive system are Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus. Bifidobacterium, which is the most prevalent probiotic in your large intestine, and Lactobacillus are the most prevalent in the small intestine.
Unfortunately, most probiotic supplements are high in Lactobacilli and low in Bifidobacteria. Make sure you choose a probiotic supplement that is high in both. This insures that the probiotic needs of the large and small intestine are both supported.
2. Age Specific
Research has proven that as we age, the probiotic population in our intestines decreases. Therefore, it is important to increase our probiotic intake by choosing an age specific supplement.
3. Proper Delivery Mechanism
Make sure that the probiotic you choose is either enteric coated or delivered through Bio-Tract tableting. Both of these methods insure that the probiotics have the extra assistance needed to pass through the stomach enabling them to reach the small and large intestine where they are best utilized.
The 4th And Last Component In The H.O.P.E. Formula Are Digestive Enzymes.
Enzymes Help Us “Unpack” Our Food
Enzymes are protein-based substances that are essential for every function in the human body, including good digestion. In the digestive system, enzymes are the key to breaking down the foods we eat into the nutrients that feed our bodies.
Enzymes break down foods by breaking apart the bonds that hold the nutrients together. Once the bonds are broken, tiny molecules can pass into the bloodstream where they are used as energy.
If you do not have enough enzymes, the digestion of your food suffers, along with your digestive tract and overall health. Getting enough enzymes is one of the most important parts of the H.O.P.E. Formula.
We Actually Come With Our Own Set Of Enzymes!
Your body produces enzymes and, normally enzymes are present in raw food to assist with digestion. However, many foods are depleted of their natural enzymes through cooking and processing and, as we age, our enzyme production decreases.
Without the essential enzymes needed for proper digestion, the body may not be able to efficiently break down those foods into the absorbable nutrients. We would therefore not receive much benefit from the food that we eat. This would indeed jeopardize our existence.
How Would I Know if I Do Not Have Enough Enzymes?
For starters, you notice that you have poor digestion. Poor digestion is experienced in a variety of ways including bloating, heartburn, gas, and fatigue after eating. If you experience this, it is likely that you have too few enzymes to properly digest the food you are eating.
How Do I Choose The Correct Enzyme Supplement?
l. Choose a Properly Balanced Enzyme
A good digestive enzyme formula will contain a variety of enzymes to help digest every type of nutrient type we eat in our food including fats, starches, dairy, plant, vegetable material (cellulose) and sugar. Specific enzymes that are designed to break that nutrient down digest each nutrient type best. For example, dairy products require the enzyme lactase to break it down, while protein requires protease to break it down.
2. Choose a Plant Based Enzyme
The ideal digestive enzyme supplement would be plant-based. Such enzymes are already activated as they enter the system and therefore start to work in the stomach, and continue to function throughout the body with a broad pH range from 2 to 14.
PH range is the acid level required to break a particular nutrient type down. For example, dairy breaks down in a pH range of 6.0 – 8.0. A balanced plant based enzyme provides the proper pH range you need.
When digestion is incomplete, plant enzymes act like “Pac man” breaking down and cleaning up undigested food in the digestive tract. Plant enzymes are the best choice for indigestion or as a preventive measure to ensure complete digestion.
I hope this series has been enlightening for you. The subject of health is complex. Digestion is just one aspect of one’s overall health. We have just scratched the surface here, however if you just follow these basic recommendations, you are likely to improve your overall health dramatically.
Brian D. Allard, D.C.
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