DIGESTIVE HEALTH
The Digestive Health Regimen from Isotonix® is designed to promote good bowel health, which is essential since the vast majority of nutrients are digested and absorbed through the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The digestive health regimen starts with Isotonix® Digestive Enzymes with Probiotics, which provides essential enzymes and good bacteria to optimize absorption of nutrients from the food we eat. The NutriClean® brand is a complete package, with unique formulas and cutting edge products and ingredients designed to target all aspects of the GI tract. From cleansing and detoxifying the colon to providing friendly bacteria in the gut, there’s a NutriClean product for every need. And finally, Ultimate Aloe products – available in liquid and powder – support a healthy digestive tract and immune system.
A TALE OF TWO BRAINS
HOW YOUR SECOND BRAIN IS KEY TO UNDERSTANDING MANY CHRONIC ILLNESSES
By Dr. David Hartz, DC, founder and director of the North Florida Spine and Wellness Institute in Tallahassee, Florida.
Not many people realize they have two brains. Yes, you read that right. And your second brain may have more to do with your health that you ever imagined. We tend to think of our brain as the command center from which all physiological functions stem. But there is another intelligence in your body that you may not realize... and its importance to your health may be the key you're looking for when searching for the cause of chronic illness and even mental health issues.
"If you see a thirty something man with gray hair, or a forty year old woman with bolding head, or a fifty year old stroke victim in a coffin, or a sixty-five year old grandpa with shaking hands, or a seventy year old grandma with dementia — look no further than inside their compromised guts."
~ Gut Sense: How to Restore Intestinal Flora and What Happens If You Don't
The "second brain" or belly brain is much different from the brain in our heads. While our cranial brain performs complex cognitive functions, allowing us to process information, apply knowledge, and change preferences, our belly brain is intuitive and receives signals and messages regarding our bodies and the environment that it sends back to our cranial brain and vice versa.
Understanding the belly brain and its functions is often the answer to helping people who are plagued with many problems that are often dismissed by traditional medical practitioners. Your belly brain, known to scientists as the enteric nervous system, is connected to your cranial brain by the vagus nerve. The same brain-regulating chemicals found in your cranial brain have also been found in your belly brain -- including hormones and neurotransmitters. It's estimated that one hundred million neurotransmitters line the length of the gut, approximately the same number found in the cranial brain. (Dr. Gershon, Scientific American: Think Twice)
The belly brain also produces dopamine and 95% of the chemical serotonin in our bodies. Without adequate levels of these two "feel-good" chemicals, we may experience depression, insomnia and other emotional distress. Be glad for these symptoms as they are warning signals—alerts--that tell you plainly to "Listen to me! Pay attention to my gut!"
Our belly brain influences not just mood, but is key to understanding many of our disease processes as well. It's easy to see why, when you realize that approximately 70% of our immune system is located in our digestive tract. Taking care of both your brains will serve you well in many areas of health.
As Americans, we spend more than any other nation in the world on healthcare. You would think that for this price tag we would be the healthiest people on the planet. Yet we are among the sickest population. Prescription drug use for gastrointestinal and mental conditions is at an all-time high, yet too many people are still suffering and walking around in a drug-induced haze.
Maybe it's time to look to the cause of the problem rather than simply treating the symptoms. Popping a pill to ease your discomfort may be the easy way out, but it's wreaking havoc with your health. If you don't address the cause of your discomfort, the problem will only get worse until it definitely has your attention. By taking care of our two brains, we can greatly influence the quality of our health.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: By Dr. David Hartz, DC, founder and director of the North Florida Spine and Wellness Institute in Tallahassee, Florida, a natural health care provider in the north Florida area for over 35 years. His reputation for innovative and scientifically based technologies has attracted thousands of patients from all over the Southeast.His emphasis on education has helped patients take control of their health, often for the first time in their lives.Credits:Dr. David Hartz, DC, GreenMedInfo, where this was originally featured.
HOW TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
The human body contains over 10 times more microbes in the intestinal biome than human cells, although the entire microbiome only weighs about 200 grams. According to Wikipedia a microbiome is "the ecological community of commensal, symbiotic, and pathogenic microorganisms that literally share our body space”. These microbes are made up of more than 500 different species. To achieve a healthy body, a good environment must be produced for healthy, helpful microbes to live in.
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Whenever possible eat organic food
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Avoid poultry and meat that have antibiotics because the antibiotics alter the flora in your intestines.
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Use homeopathic solutions whenever possible. Antibiotics don’t just kill the bad bacteria but the good bacteria as well; leaving your body defenseless against the overgrowth of bad bacteria.
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Adopt a low-glycemic diet. Eat complex carbohydrates and avoid simple carbohydrates like sugar, pasta, rice and grains because they feed the bad flora. The human body was not designed to sustain a high carbohydrate diet.
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Avoid processed foods, preservatives, flavor enhancers, MSG, genetically modified foods and anything that is chemically modified because they are toxins that irritate the gut.
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Eat more fermented foods such as sauerkraut, fermented relish, and Kombucha. Eating these foods will help populate the inner ecosystem with good bacteria.
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Avoid Gluten; as it is becoming an increasing problem in our society. Ninety-nine percent of the wheat consumed is a hybrid developed back in 1970 by Norman Borlaug. This wheat contains 14 new strains of gluten. More and more people are becoming gluten sensitive or intolerant.
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Detox at least twice a year to cleanse your body from toxins and remove waist from your digestive tract.
HOW THE DIGESTIVE HEALTH KIT BENEFITS YOU
In today’s world of processed and fast foods, you are what you eat. The body must work harder against preservatives and fat content to break down food, absorb nutrients and get rid of waste. The digestive system is also part of primary immune defense, making up 70% of the body’s immune system.
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Supports a healthy digestive tract
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Supports a strong immune system
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Provides beneficial bacteria to promote the absorption of nutrients
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Provides enzymes and good bacteria that promote the absorption of nutrients
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Supports a healthy digestive tract
The ultimate digestive health roadmap depends on a combination of optimal bacterial balance and maximum nutrient absorption. To follow that path, we've compiled some of our most popular digestive health supplements into the Digestive Health Kit.
These supplements for digestive health work synergistically to support digestive comfort, regularity, immune function, proper nutrient absorption, and promote the balance of good bacteria in the gut.
Isotonix Digestive Enzymes with Probiotics utilizes a formula of patented ingredients that replenish essential digestive enzymes and probiotics to help maintain a healthy digestive system. NutriClean Probiotics is a digestive health product containing 10 carefully-selected probiotic strains, each with a unique role to help your body maintain bacterial balance and ultimate digestive health. Finally, Ultimate Aloe - a digestive health supplement derived from whole leaf aloe - aids in supplying critical enzymes and removing the undesirable components such as aloin and emodin that may cause digestive discomfort.
