Gut Week Is Upon Us

Not a week goes by these days without it being ‘special’ and this week is no exception. We are now halfway through this year’s National Gut Week which began on Monday. To stay healthy you do have to ‘Love Your Gut’ and take good care of your digestive health.

The gut is not only where we digest our food, it is home to 70% of the body’s immunity and where different types of bacteria interact and essential vitamins and minerals from the diet are absorbed into the bloodstream. If your gut is unhealthy, then a wide range of health problems can result such as regular colds and flu, eczema or acne, and low energy levels.

I have mentioned the importance of probioitics before, and usually in a preventive way to protect you while away from home and subject to the stress of unfamiliar diet and surroundings, but it is certainly something to focus on for all round health throughout the year – not just at holiday time. One key way to look after your gut is to ensure that you have a healthy balance of friendly bacteria (probiotics) over bad bacteria (pathogens) and there are several ways to do that.

Obviously a healthier lifestyle creates favourable conditions for good bacteria to survive in the gut and that is basically trying not to keep stress to a minimum, cut out sugar and foods containing additives and preservatives as they can unbalance your system. Also certain medications, particularly antibiotics, also kill off the body’s probiotics and so disrupt the intestinal bacterial balance. Furthermore, stress will naturally diminish one’s levels of good bacteria, so make sure you put your feet up from time to time!

We unfortunately do not produce our own probiotics in the body, just like vitamin C, and it is almost impossible to avoid some of the factors which can have a negative effect on your natural microflora as previously mentioned. However, what you can do is to top up your body’s levels of good bacteria with a natural probiotic supplement.

So what kind of supplement is best?
You may already be taking a probiotic-containing yoghurt but yoghurts only hold one type of probiotic bacteria and have a short shelf-life. Capsules and sachets can contain multiple varieties of freeze-dried probiotic bacteria but these bacteria take hours to activate under rehydration. Symprove contains four varieties of natural live activated bacteria and, as a water-based drink, it passes quickly through the stomach to the lower intestine without triggering digestion and the good bacteria begin to multiply within 20 minutes. It is lactose-free and does not contain any artificial colours, flavours or sweeteners. It has a pleasant taste of mango and passionfruit and you store it in the fridge where it will keep for up to 5 months. It is used by people with wide-ranging digestive and bowel related problems, and it goes to work within minutes of being swallowed.

If you can’t find Symprove in your local health store then visit the website at www.symprove.com to order, or find a stockiest near you.

How Probiotic Barley Can Improve Your Health

In order to be fully healthy you need to pay attention to your digestive system and that means paying attention to your diet. As very few of us — and I certainly include myself here — have a perfect diet all, or even some, of the time then helping your body with a course of probiotics can make a huge difference to your health.

There are certainly plenty of varieties of probiotics available from pills, powders and capsules to flavoured drinks and most of these contain freeze dried bacteria. Unfortunately, this process deactivates the bacteria and can damage or kill many of these delicate microorganisms. When looking for probiotic supplements always go for a live version and one I have just tried is Symprove which contains four varieties of live, activated probiotic bacteria.

It comes from barley and you drink it on an empty stomach and of course is free from lactose, artificial sweeteners colours or flavours so is a good supplement for those who are lactose intolerant or have allergies. To be honest, I didn’t find the taste particularly pleasant and is slightly sharp so I downed mine in fruit juice which helped with the taste. Because the probiotic bacteria are active in the drink they go to work within 20 minutes (unlike freeze-dried products which can take several hours to start multiplying) and its liquid form means it does not trigger the same release of stomach acid as other products do as you digest them. Each small serving gives you over 10 billion live, activated probiotic bacteria which will help to rebalance your digestive system, which is the foundation of good health.

Personally, I always take probiotics before and during any period away from home where a strange environment, and exposure to a greater number of health hazards, can make you more predisposed to illness such as when you are away on holiday. People have also reported that probiotics are very helpful for those who suffer from IBS, IBD, and other gastrointestinal conditions. If you want to know more, or where to buy Symprove, visit their website at www.symprove.com