Probiotic supplements can influence your overall health in many ways. Probiotics, better known as good bacteria, help counter the body’s lack of gut flora. Most people view bacteria as harmful, disease-causing microorganisms that attack the body when in fact, probiotics do a great job at fighting infectious, harmful bacteria.

Many of us lack healthy amounts of gut flora required for optimal digestive health. These good bacteria need to be replenished and are a nutrient that the body regularly needs. Very few foods offer a natural source of probiotics. Those that do are fermented foods such as yogurt, soy drinks and miso. However, most of these foods do not contain therapeutic doses of probiotics.

When the body lacks the good bacteria needed to digest efficiently and effectively, other body systems are affected. Most noticeably affected might be the immune system. Digestive stress or improper digestion withholds essential nutrients from the life-sustaining immune system. Furthermore, probiotics play a role in fighting off harmful bacteria.

Thus the importance of probiotic supplements. These supplements are safe and easy to take if you find a healthy, substantial source of probiotics. Nature’s Sunshine has a variety of probiotic supplements. Its most popular probiotic product is Probiotic Eleven. Try probiotic supplements today for relief from intestinal stress and an overall feeling of improved health.

Digestive enzymes enable food’s incredible journey through the body—giving us strength and energy to recharge and live a healthy life. Digestive enzymes act as catalysts as they break down food and make it possible for the body to absorb nutrients and eliminate waste. Although the digestive system is a powerful one, it’s also very delicate. Taking care of your digestive tract by keeping it clean and providing what it needs plays a major role in the body’s overall health.

Many fruits and vegetables contain digestive enzymes. Such enzymes are also beneficial for breaking down proteins and meats. As discussed in Finding Health with Digestive Enzymes, today’s diet lacks many of the food-derived digestive enzymes the body needs. This is because cooking, freezing, processing, canning and other food preparation methods kill or significantly deteriorate the strength of food enzymes. 

Once food is broken down, it passes through the small intestine where the body separates the nutrients from the waste. In many cases, the small intestine suffers from toxic build-up, diminishing the effectiveness of nutrient absorption. Finding a natural colon detoxifier can help recharge your digestive system and relieve it from harmful build-up. CleanStart, one of our best-selling natural body cleanse products, contains nine botanicals that pull toxins from the intestine walls and allow for healthy waste removal.

When the digestive tract lacks necessary digestive enzymes and harbors toxic build-up, the abdomen feels uncomfortable, stressed and bloated. If you suffer from occasional digestive disturbances, consider your diet. Are you providing your body the necessary food enzymes for healthy digestion? Could your digestive tract suffer from toxic build-up? Try taking one or two capsules of our digestive enzyme supplements (Food Enzymes or Proactazyme) with each meal, clean your digestive tract with a healthy, natural colon cleanse (CleanStart) and notice the difference!

What are enzymes? They are said to be the “powerhouse” of every cell in the body. Intertwined with nearly every system in the body, digestive enzymes determine how effectively the body breaks down food. The body can’t function without them.

We are born with some digestive enzymes. However, these alone cannot sufficiently break down all of the food that we eat. The body can produce and replenish enzymes; but still it needs more from outside sources. Natural, raw foods have enzymes in them that are designed to break down the food. These are the same molecules that make fruit ripen and then eventually rot. However, today’s food preparation processes can kill these enzymes, making digestion difficult on the body. If you cook, freeze, dry or can your food, you’ll most likely kill the enzymes your body needs for healthy digestion.

As most of today’s diets include some form of processed food, it’s likely that you have an insufficient level of digestive enzymes. This causes stress on the digestive system, which can lead to indigestion, heartburn, bloating and more. Moreover, digestive stress can affect how many nutrients your body is able to absorb. Often, those with symptoms of digestive stress have a weakened immune system.

Since it’s nearly impossible to maintain a diet of just raw, natural foods, it’s important to supply your body with the essential digestive enzymes it needs. It’s easy to do so with a safe, healthful digestive enzyme supplement that will help you feel better as you find greater health.

The benefits of a natural body cleanse reach beyond ridding the body of harmful toxins—they allow for a better life. With the stress of each day weighing on our shoulders, we’d all like to feel more energized. However, our bodies are constantly bombarded with toxic chemicals in the air we breathe and the food we eat. Naturally, our bodies can’t keep themselves completely clean of toxins and consequently that toxic waste builds up. Participating in a natural whole body cleanse helps relieve the body of the toxic build-up and maximize health.

Each body system is closely connected—digestive, circulatory, muscular, immune, respiratory, nervous, etc. At the beginning of these close connections is the digestive system, where the body first extracts essential nutrients needed for survival. Coincidentally, the digestive system is where much of the body’s harmful toxic build-up occurs.

Toxic build-up in the digestive system could actually be robbing your body of many of the vitamins and nutrients you provide it. As a result, you may feel fatigued, experience restless sleep, a weakened immune system, irregular digestion or unnecessary weight gain—and the list goes on.

Occasionally clearing the body of toxic build-up can positively affect every system in the body. With improved digestion and ability to absorb nutrients you can tackle the stress of life with a more enthusiastic, energetic approach.

Learn more about the benefits of a whole body cleanse and check out Nature’s Sunshine’s natural body cleanse products today!

In November, Nature's Sunshine asked its Facebook fans to submit an allergy-free recipe. The following recipe was submitted by the winner, Carrie Burgan, who won one month's worth of several digestion supplements. Congratulations Carrie!

Ingredients:
3 c plus 3 T gluten free puffed cereal (rice, millet, etc.)
3 T flax seed
4-5 T dried berries or other dried fruit, chopped coarsely
1/4 T sea salt
1/4 c seeds or nuts (optional, but if omitted add extra fruit)
1/4 c plus 3 T brown rice syrup
1 T oil (your preference)
3 T gluten-free flour

Cooking Directions:
1) Place cereal into a large mixing bowl.
2) Using low heat, warm oil and syrup.
3) Add all ingredients (minus cereal) to oil and syrup mixture and quickly stir.
4) Add mixture to cereal and quickly stir, coating all cereal grains.
5) Put into lightly oiled 9x9 pan, patting evenly.
6) Refrigerate 2 hours, then slice into bars
7) Eat! Then wrap leftovers individually.

Yield approximately 16 bars

The average American has a fast-paced lifestyle ruled by a host of unhealthy habits.  Most disregard regular exercise, don’t sleep enough, and work too much.  Even if you don’t fall victim to one of these poor health habits, you probably eat many meals on the go. And any of these things can leave you victim to the pains of digestive stress.

As far as disease prevention is concerned, nutrition is one of the most influential factors—but somehow it’s also one of the most commonly ignored.  All too often, people starve their bodies of proper nutrition by paving the road for poor digestion as they consume unhealthy foods and live a fast-paced, chaotic lifestyle. 

In order to maximize your body’s ability to get proper nutrients from healthy food choices, your digestive health has to be in order.  The digestive tract is where our bodies absorb vitamins and minerals and other nutrients necessary for survival.  As we choose to eat heavily processed foods that lack the nutrition we need, we inflict our bodies with dietary stress. 

Stress on the digestive system can also increase if we eat too quickly, have irregular eating habits, or don’t exercise.  So it’s important to develop healthy habits that ensure regular digestion.

Beyond that, there are certain nutrients that the body requires for healthy digestion.  For example, enzymes are proteins that contribute to the breakdown of food.  If you fail to consume adequate enzymes, the stress level of the digestive tract increases, resulting in bloating, indigestion, heartburn or even constipation.

Probiotics are another important contributor to proper digestion.  These are actually healthy bacteria that the body requires in order to extract nutrients from certain foods, including, milk, yogurt and cheese.  Considering the health habits of today, most people don’t receive the recommended amount of these nutrients on a daily basis. 

Now you can see it’s important for people to either consider finding supplements that can help support digestion or spend more time preparing meals full of these nutrients.  Better yet, doing both of these things will ensure maximum digestive health so your body can absorb nutrients, increase disease prevention, and just feel good.