Pre-Probiotic

When losing weight, the bacteria in the gut play a very important role. The health of the trillions of bugs in our gut (which outnumber your cells 10 to 1) is one of the biggest things that impacts our wellbeing. We have to learn how to tend the flora of our internal gardens (our gut) by being selective of what we eat and how we live. We must feed the good bugs and avoid gut-busting habits – like eating too much sugar and starch, or consuming too much alcohol, or allowing stress to wreak havoc.

What are prebiotics? They're essentially compounds that feed the friendly bacteria in the gut. They are largely fermentable carbohydrates – meaning us humans cannot digest them. Prebiotics help nourish gut bacteria so they can better thrive.

Inulin is a type of soluble fiber found in many plants. It is a "fructan" - meaning that it is made up of chains of fructose molecules that are linked together in a way that cannot be digested by your small intestine. Instead, it travels to the lower gut, where it functions as a prebiotic, or food source for the beneficial bacteria that live there. Your gut bacteria convert inulin into short-chain fatty acids, which nourish colon cells and provide various other health benefits.

What are probiotics? If you go to Webster’s Dictionary, the word Probiotic means “For Life.” On the other hand, almost everyone knows of its opposite, Anti-Biotic, “Against Life”. Probiotics are the good beneficial bacteria that compose and make up your intestinal wall called the mucosa membrane or mucosa lining. We need this protective shield to defend us from the onslaught of bad bacteria, undigested foods and stomach acids. Did you know that your body was designed to have about three pounds of “friendly bacteria” in your intestines at all times? These “friendly bacteria,” known as flora, live to control the over 400 harmful bacteria that bombard your body. It’s commonly referred to as your “second immune system.” Health professionals often recommend probiotics in multiple strains in supplement form to patients on antibiotics in an attempt to repopulate the colon with desirable bacteria after the course of antibiotics has wiped out both beneficial and undesirable bacteria.

Diets and lifestyles high in fats and sugars, carbonated drinks, alcohol, emotional or physical stress, anti-acids or the worst- ANTIBIOTICS, will cause significant depletion or even completely destroy your beneficial flora or mucosa lining, leaving you defenseless against all of the harmful bacteria in your body.

Antibiotics do not know the difference between friendly and harmful bacteria, and therefore kill them both. Anyone who uses antibiotics has significantly depleted their Flora supply. You might say, “I don’t take antibiotics.” Well, virtually every meat producer in America injects their animals with antibiotics, and those antibiotics are passed on to you! If you eat meat, you take antibiotics. Pharmaceutical antibiotics kill both good and bad bacteria. This upsets the intestinal balance and may cause disorders like IBS and Crohn’s disease.

There is something else for which you should always be on the alert and watch. When choosing a probiotic supplement, make sure that it is from a stabilized source. This means it can survive the stomach. This also means that many of the probiotics sold today cannot withstand even room temperatures. They need to be refrigerated so that the live culture bacteria are not destroyed. Ask yourself– If my probiotic cannot survive room temperature, how will it ever survive the hot acidic conditions of the stomach and intestines?

Aspen Clinic’s Pre-Probiotic provides Prebiotic inulin from chicory root which nourishes and provides a food source for gut bacteria which stimulates the growth of beneficial bacteria. In addition, a multi strain 20 Billion CFU (Colony Forming Units) Probiotic with a combination of 9 different species of good bacteria to restore the proper balance of flora in the intestinal tract, improve digestion, improve mental health, boost the immune system, reduce allergies, and aid the body in excretion of fats. This formula has stabilized probiotics that can not only withstand room temperatures, but can also pass through the bile salts and acidic conditions of your digestive system without being destroyed. They arrive on location to quickly replenish the mucosa lining and support your immune system. Regardless of how many strains or billions of units of probiotics are found in a supplement, unless it was manufactured to survive the intestines, the effectiveness of that product is greatly diminished.