Umm...Can We Talk About Guts?

Gut Health...What is it and Why is it Important

“A kick in the gut” is an idiom for a severe blow to one’s body or spirit. Even though the idiom refers to an emotional happenstance, having a gut that isn’t functioning properly causing ill health can be a blow to your spirit as well.

The gut, or your gastrointestinal tract, starts at your mouth and ends at the back passage. It is also referred to as your digestive tract, and the purpose is to begin the process of digestion, break down food, and then help your body absorb the necessary nutrients needed for health and vitality.

What is bad gut health?

Some symptoms of poor gut health, according to Harvard Medical School, include:

• Heartburn

• Peptic ulcer

• Diverticular disease

• Irritable bowel syndrome

• Gallstones

• Constipation

• Diarrhea

Clearly, many of us need to improve our digestive health. The Melaleuca Wellness Guide tells us that beneficial bacteria help us digest food, regulate hormones, produce vitamins, and enhance vitamin and mineral absorption.

Since both health-benefiting bacteria and harmful bacteria reside in our digestive tract, adding probiotics helps to crowd out harmful bacteria and, oddly enough, produce natural antibiotics which inhibit the growth of harmful bacteria throughout the GI tract.

A greater understanding of how probiotics function has revealed that what we eat feeds our microbiota, or community of bacteria, that reside in our digestive tract. The foods we eat can either nourish or disturb the balance of good bacteria. An imbalance in our gut bacteria can contribute to an array of illnesses.

Prebiotics & Probiotics?

We all know about probiotics - added bacteria to add to or counteract lack of bacteria in your stomach.

The probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus, in particular, was found useful for intestinal problems and may help with weight loss.

Why do we take added bacteria?

Food processing kills bacteria in order to extend the shelf life of many food products. Traditional sources of bacteria found in pastuerised milk and many processed foods is not available in most modern diets. Ultra household cleanliness (many spray-on disinfectants) also inhibit the availability of good bacteria.

Melaleuca's Florify contains 10 billion colony units from 4 different Lactobacillus strains and 3 different Bifidobacterium strains. Since probiotics are not permanently established in our digestive tract, Florify needs to be taken every day. Florify also contains the prebiotic, fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS), that boost the growth of probiotics in the GI tract. (ask your Chemist what shelf-lines contain prebiotics)

Editors Note: FOS, or Oligo for short is a patented process, invented for Melaleuca to improve the absorption of supplements. We all know the common problem that the available proportion of many vitamins and minerals can be very low. Oligo increases the absorption of minerals and protects antioxidant vitamins, and your body, from disease-causing free radicals.

The Microbiome and Fibre - prebiotics

Great discoveries are being made about the human microbiome (the collection, including genes and environment of micro-organisms, that live in and on us). Understanding the microbiome is so important that in 2007 the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) launched the Human Microbiome Project. Searching the words "human microbiome" at PubMed delivers over 22,400 results.

There is no doubt that diet can affect our health, either for the good or the bad. Now, as it turns out, the foods we eat change our gut microbiota. Research is showing that plant-based foods are not only good for our health but they also help maintain a more diverse microbiota.

The Western diet rich in saturated fats, salt, and sugar, and low in fiber, fruits, whole grains, and vegetables is linked to the actual loss of some beneficial microbial species. Scientists are recommending that we increase our dietary fiber to help restore gut microbes that may be protective for our immune and metabolic health.

A diet that includes an abundance and variety of fruits, vegetables, and beans provides a variety of fibers that nourish a greater variety of gut microbes.

Melaleuca FibreWise contains twelve grams of fibre from seven natural sources including inulin and probiotics. it is an excellent source of added dietary fibre.

Enzymes

Digestive enzymes are proteins produced by our body to help us break down our food into nutrients that we can use. For many years enzymes have been taken to aid digestion. Some people have difficulty digesting certain foods like dairy or beans, and regularly take digestive enzymes to avoid gas and bloating. Good Zymes (not available in Australia) contains eighteen different digestive enzymes to help digest not only dairy and beans but also proteins, carbohydrates, fats, starches, and fibre.

Digestive health is so important that there is an entire chapter devoted to digestive health in The Melaleuca Wellness Guide. (Ed: We highly recommend this book. It has hundreds of excellent tips.)

Our body is maintained and nourished not just by the food we eat, but by the food we can digest. Each meal and snack is an opportunity to help maintain our health and contribute to our immune system.

~ Richard M. Barry

(Please read our disclaimer)

Reprinted from The Melaleuca Wellness Guide letter

A big hug, 'til next time,

Cheryl

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And if you don't believe me, read the testimonials........

My son living across the country from us was diagnosed with MRSA. When I did some research I found out that the digestive tract had to be functioning to perfection to aid in recovery. That's all the information I needed to order him FLORIFY! After just 1 week of him taking the Florify, he was noticing marked improvements!! And after 3 weeks the open sores were all scabbed over! THANK YOU MELALEUCA FOR THESE AND ALL OF YOUR GREAT PRODUCTS!

~ Mickey

My husband used to eat antacids throughout the day like they were candy. He started taking Florify and within a few weeks, he only needed the antacids when he ate highly spiced or acid food. As I got older, I started having trouble with gas. Florify cut the problem down by about 90%. The high fiber Attain Bars and FiberWise Bars also help to keep me regular.

~ Jane

Digestive issues...OH YES!! I was diagnosed with celiac disease in 2014, and prior to that, I knew I had gluten intolerance. Bloating, gas and overall wasstomach discomfort were a way of life for me...not pleasant!! Starting with Florify, a probiotic that is part of my everyday routine (as part of the Peak Performance line of AMAZING vitamins!) and now Good Zymes...can these products BE any better?! I love that many of the Melaleuca products are gluten-free, especially FiberWise, the Protein Bars and the GC Control shakes! Even the skin care products!! Thank you Melaleuca!!

~ Lynne

All my life I have had IBS, and really drugs did not work and vegetables did not help... my bowels had a mind of their own. Then I started taking FiberWise, and I was amazed at how consistently bowels would empty completely. Then I started to take Florify, and wow, the energy I had because my stomach was doing its job effectively.... and no pain anymore. I have my two sons on these products and they are finding the same results. Now we are all waiting at our mailboxes for the Good Zymes!

~ Patricia

I love the Florify probiotic! I am lactose intolerant and have been taking Florify for about 2 years now, along with the Nutrition Pack, and I no longer have to take a Lactaid pill every time I think something contains dairy. Love Florify!

~Sharon

I have always suffered from a nervous stomach, gas, and lots of discomfort. I started taking Florify, continued with my busy life, and one day I realized I was not having the issues I used to have. I highly recommend taking Florify.

~ Maria

I have been using Florify for 3 months now and it's the best probiotic I have ever used. I've had bouts of bloating and cramping since I had my kids a few years ago. I have used many different probiotics on the market. I usually have to take several a day, but with Melaleuca's Florify I only take one a day and feel so much better now!

~ Wendie

My son had a bad yeast problem while still in diapers. He got some better after he was potty trained, but it didn't totally clear up. I started giving him Florify, and it cleared up quickly! There was a virus going around that was pretty bad, so I put Florify into my two little boys' sippy cups, and guess what!?!? One of them complained about a little bellyache, but that was it! Children all around them got it. Thank you for such wonderful products, Melaleuca!!!

~ Geneva

Probiotics are so essential for intestinal health! Last winter, we traveled for a month to Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia. We already take the Peak Performance each day, which includes Florify, but for 2 weeks prior to leaving on our trip, and also during our trip, we took an extra Florify each morning. We were the only couple in our group that didn't get sick from the food and water changes in our diet! I might also add that I depend on the Florify and also a daily scoop of FiberWise to keep my Crohn's disease under control. I haven't had a problem with Crohn's now for several years. I really depend on these Melaleuca products!

~ Joanne

Probably one of my favorite supplements is the Florify probiotic. Whether I have an upset stomach, feel a fever coming on, or my child has an ear infection or sluggish digestion, we reach for Florify. I believe in this stuff so much that I've helped people overcome things like the stomach bug and weight loss. The recommendations are endless. I have given it to my dog when I suspected a urinary tract infection. I have also given to my toddler when he had horrible ear infections. I'd pull apart the capsule, and put into a tablespoon of yogurt. I applied the Melaleuca oil mixture around his ear and the next day he was good as new. If I want to avoid getting sick from the people I'm around, I make sure my family never misses a day of Florify.

~ Heidi

I call Florify the miracle pill when it comes to sorting out my son's health. He had become the fussiest eater telling me that he couldn't have eggs, milk, or bread-based products without getting a sore gut. He went to the doctor, and the specialist had all sorts of tests that revealed nothing, and still, he complained and lost a lot of weight. Cooking something different for him in a family of nine was a challenge. I eventually persuaded him to try the Florify, and even bought it for him, and after a few weeks, he tried to eat the foods he used to avoid and found that he could enjoy them once again without feeling sick. He takes back all he said about pills and is enjoying being a normal person eating what everyone else does. I fully recommend taking Florify, even if you are healthy, as a cleanser-balancer to your inside health, and definitely if you do have a problem. The difference in my son's well-being was well worth the cost of a few bottles of Florify!

~ Stelle

Joined Melaleuca last August. My first order included Vitality 4, which has Florify in it. Started taking it, and very soon noticed a huge improvement in a Colitis-like issue I'd been plagued with for over a year, which had caused unintentional weight loss. Because of this my doctor recommended a Colonoscopy. This didn't give answers but ruled out anything serious. If I'd known about Melaleuca sooner I could have saved a lot of money on that Colonoscopy! I'm so thankful that I was introduced to Melaleuca.

~ Geri

Florify changed my life! I've been a customer with Melaleuca for eight years. Prior to that, I experienced digestive discomfort since college days that seemed to become worse every year. I had such a long list of foods I couldn't eat in order to try to avoid very unpleasant bouts in the bathroom. Once I started to take Florify, I noticed within a few days I wasn't having the bad symptoms that would send me running to the bathroom. Then, after two months of using Florify with no bad digestive episodes, I decided to eat something I hadn't eaten in 25 years...fried chicken. I'm embarrassed to admit that I stayed at the fast-food restaurant for two hours after, just in case I needed the bathroom. Well...I was fine! It still brings tears to my eyes when I think of how Florify has freed me from the fear of eating certain foods, and the after effects I would experience. Thank you Melaleuca and Florify.

~ Nancy