Don't Take Probiotic Supplements - Until You Have Read This

You may well have heard the word 'probiotic' bandied around a lot lately in popular
advertising and marketing campaigns! When you notice something like this
happening you need to be aware of a couple of important things - that is why this
article could save you time, frustration and money...

Doctors have stated that is probable that ALL people over the age of 65 living in
countries like the US and the UK should regularly take a probiotic supplement
product to boost the function of their digestive system. It seems that the eating
patterns, and other bad habits common to western societies can decimate the
'internal bacteria' we NEED in our gut in order to obtain all the nutrition we should be
getting from our food.

Dog Food For Sensitive Stomachs

Major food companies - especially makers of yoghurt-type products have not been
slow to see the marketing potential for new ranges containing so-called 'good
bacteria'. You may ask - why has this been popular within this food sector?

It is now clear that the some of the most effective, and most resilient, 'good bacteria'
are the members of the Lactobacillus 'family'. There are 13 strains of Lactobacillus
which can all aid better digestive processes when present in your gut in an
appropriate concentration. Lactobacillus are also the strains of bacteria that are used
to ferment milk and create products such as yoghurt.

Some people have experienced benefits from regularly consuming the small, and not
inexpensive, yoghurt style drinks that have been launched onto the market. It seems
that some of the benefits may be psychological as much as anything - but for some
there may genuinely be enough of a boost to their digestive 'flora' (as the good
bacteria are sometimes referred to - it is the same root from which the word 'flower'
comes in English) to make them feel as if their system is working better.

In general, however, it may be that there is hardly enough of a 'dose' of probiotic
bacteria to help the majority of people substantially. The jury is still open on this to
some extent - because thorough experimental work has been limited.

You may well find that if you are suffering from the many, varied symptoms that can
signify that you have an impaired digestive process - you will fare better taking a
proper probiotic product with a guaranteed high count of appropriate 'good bacteria'.
Such products are available - usually in a powdered form - that can be blended with
juices, or even just with water, and should be taken daily to 'maintain' a healthy
balance of bacteria in your digestive system.

What you must look out for, though, if you are to avoid wasting your money on
ineffective products - is that the probiotic product you choose contains the range of
Lactobacillus bacteria. There are other 'good bacteria' but this genus (or family) is the
strongest and can get through the acidity of your stomach, and past other 'chemical
challenges' in your diet (such as alcohol, and caffeine!) to get into the intestines
where they are needed.

It is a sad fact that when we lived as primitive creatures, and for many millennia,
whilst we ate fresh foods that we hunted and farmed in an organic and natural way,
our diets supported our bacterial needs. Nowadays, with so many processed foods
and chemicals in our environment our digestive systems have become badly
impaired. This can ultimately lead to a wide range of health problems - form just
feeling listless, and lacking in energy right through to setting the scene for serious
diseases such as cancer to establish itself.

For this reason it may well be that choosing to use a reliable and high quality
probiotic supplement could be the best thing you could do to support your health.
This is especially so as you get older. However you must satisfy yourself that the
product you buy contains the best bacterial sources and is produced by a reliable
company. Otherwise you could simply be wasting your money and getting no real
benefit in the long term.

Don't Take Probiotic Supplements - Until You Have Read This

Dog Food For Sensitive Stomachs

Supplement Scheduling - When & How To Take All Your distinct Supplements

How do you outline out when to take all your dissimilar supplements - especially when some of them need to be consumed on an empty stomach? And what do you do if some of your supplements are not compatible with each other? Read on for some guidelines, tips, and a real-life example.

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Here are some tips to help you outline out your supplement schedule:

Sensitive Stomachs

Take the supplements that are absorbed the fastest, first. If a substance does not specify that it needs to be consumed on an empty stomach, then it's probably okay to take it together with other substances. If a herb is recommended to be taken on an empty stomach, is it because the empty stomach is a pre-requisite for adequate absorption - because food interferes with its absorption? Or, is it because it's a substance that needs to have a clear face to apply it's healing properties? Supplements like slick elm, aloe vera juice, and marshmallow root fit into the latter type and therefore can surely be taken together - since they're all trying to perform the same thing. When a supplement says "take on an empty stomach", that means 20 minutes before food, or 2 hours after food.

Now that you know the basic guidelines, sometimes you still need to experiment a bit to find the best agenda to perform maximum potency and effectiveness from your supplements. Let's take a look at an example, so you can see how this plays out in real life.

Supplements for Colitis

Krista suffers from colitis, so she needs to take the following products to repopulate her gut with good bacteria, relieve gas, bloating and diarrhea, eliminate heartburn, and heal the mucosal lining of her intestines:

Probiotics (beneficial bacteria for the Gi tract - empty stomach for the powders - 3x/day) Psyllium husk powder (for diarrhea operate 2x/day) Deglycyrrhizinated Licorice (Dgl) - before or after a meal for heartburn relief L-Glutamine (empty stomach for diarrhea operate - 3x/day) N-Acetyl Glucosamine (Nag) - empty stomach for intestinal heal - 3x/day Slippery Elm (empty stomach for healing mucosal lining of intestines 3x/day) Aloe vera juice (empty stomach for healing intestinal mucosal lining) Multimineral & Multivitamin (3x/day for whole-body condition and replace nutrients lost through malabsorption and fecal loss)

Krista's question is that she doesn't know which ones she can take together, how far apart they need to be taken from each other, or how to fit them all in nearby mealtimes. Since she's taking a lot of supplements - and many of them three times a day - you can surely see why she's so confused.

She's especially confused since the probiotics state on the bottle that any herbs should be taken at least 2 hours apart from the probiotics - since many herbs have antibacterial operation and thus will kill the good bacteria in the probiotics.

Experimenting With Your Supplement Schedule

First of all, Krista needs to keep in mind that even our food can include natural antibacterials (like garlic, onions, etc.) and Natren has had to set a time limit that applies to a wide collection of substances at all strengths/potencies. For example, if you're taking Wild Oregano Oil or Olive Leaf extract, then you undoubtedly cannot consume the probiotics sooner than 2 hours, as you'd be wasting your money. However, other supplements (and foods) are far less potent against bacteria. Therefore, she may be okay to implement one of the following supplement schedules.

The main dissimilarity between the two schedules below is whether she wants to take her probiotics before every meal, or whether she would like to take just one large dose before bed. This is where the experimentation comes in. Her body will undoubtedly prefer, and do best on, one or the other. She will have to test each of them for a week at a time and see which agenda benefits her body the most.

Schedule #1

Before a meal:

take the Probiotics in powder form wait 20 minutes, then take the Nag, L-Glutamine, slick elm and Psyllium (these supplements can be taken together because, although they all wish an empty stomach, they are compatible with each other), then eat, and take the Multivitamin/Multimineral with your food after the meal take the Dgl (deglycyrrhizinated licorice)

Before bed:

take the Probiotics in powder form wait 20 minutes, then take the Aloe vera juice

Or

Schedule #2

Before each meal:

take the Nag, L-Glutamine, Aloe vera juice, slick elm and Psyllium (these supplements can be taken together because, although they all wish an empty stomach, they are compatible with each other) wait 15 minutes, then eat, and take the Multivitamin/Multimineral with your food after the meal take the Dgl (or in this case, you can also take it before the meal, if you prefer, since you're not interesting the probiotics at this time)

Before bed:
Take 1 - 2 teaspoons of each Probiotic powder

Krista will need to experiment with both schedules and see which one gives her best results. The probiotics may work best for her in multiple doses and may not be affected much by the other substances, or, they may work best taken on their own in a large dose. Again, the only way to find out is to test and experiment.

The infer habitancy need to experiment with their supplements is because everyone's body and condition (or pathology) are different. Some habitancy are very sensitive and responsive to positive herbal medicines and not to others. And some habitancy need aggressive supplementation no matter which herb it is, whilst others are very sensitive to all supplements.

When you're dealing with a supplement like high-potency probiotics, for example, some people's bodies sass most comfortably when they're taken in powder form on an empty stomach. And other bodies prefer controlled-release capsule probiotics taken with food. Again, the only way to find out is to experiment.

You'll also get a 'gut feeling' as to which supplements you should take and when. Our own body wisdom trumps any manufacturer's study sheet, so undoubtedly follow your intuition first. If you're skilled at listening to your gut, or following your intuition, you can ask your body directly when and how it wants the supplement. whether place your hand over your gut, whilst retention the herb in your other hand, and ask. Or, place the palm of your hand above the herb and wait for guidance. This is how some medicine women/men receive plant wisdom. They naturally hold their hand above the plant and the knowledge flows into them about how to put in order the plant, which parts to use and how to take it.

If you're not quite at that level of fluency with your body wisdom, then in the meantime, follow the supplement scheduling tips above, integrate it with your own intuition, and experiment.

Supplement Scheduling - When & How To Take All Your distinct Supplements

Sensitive Stomachs