If you’d like to…

Why is it Important to Support Your Gastrointestinal System?

When your gut is not in good health, it will struggle to get rid of toxins (like endotoxin, believed to be a key factor in premature aging ^[1]) and substances that are left over from metabolic processes (metabolic waste) that must be excreted because they cannot be used by our bodies.

What Impacts the Health of Your Gut?

Digestive symptoms such as diarrhea, constipation, bloating, excess gas, abdominal pain, acid reflux and more can develop, but poor gut health can cause inflammation throughout the body, leading to a myriad of different health issues.

In fact, ancient traditional modalities of health and healing, like Ayurvedic Medicine, actually believed that ‘all’ ill health had its origins in the gut.

The gut is also known as an “extension of the brain” because its walls are lined with a system of neurons that help to govern the function of the gastrointestinal tract, which is known as the intrinsic or enteric nervous system.

Again, this was known for thousands of years by Ancient Easters systems like Taoism, the origin of Acupuncture and Chi Kung, who often referred to the gut as the ‘second brain’.

Poor gut health has also been linked to the development of autoimmune disorders.

There are many things that can damage the health of your gut, such as:

• Genetic Factors (see Genetic Insights for more info on how your genetics may increase the likelihood of having gut issues.)
  
• Poor diet, including excess sugar and processed foods
  
• Nutritional Deficiencies
  
• Eating in a stressed state, usually leading to eating too quickly and not chewing your food enough

• Dehydration
  
• GastroIntestinal Dysbiosis, especially SIBO where too many bacteria grow in the small intestine (they are mainly meant to be in the large intestine, even ‘good’ bacteria can cause issues if too many are in the small intestine.)
  
• Food intolerances (although these maybe a symptom of gut issues, rather than cause)
  
• Frequent Antibiotics
  
• Alcohol (along with any other downsides, alcohol kills all bacteria, good and bad, on contact, similar to an antibiotic, which is why it’s used as a disinfectant.)
  
• Lack of exercise
  
• Smoking
  
• Lack of or Poor Quality Sleep
  
• Chronic Stress
  

Can You Test The Bacteria in Your Gut?

Because your gut microbiome is so important to your overall health ^[2], it’s important to understand what’s going on, and how your gut is balanced.

Microbiome tests can be conducted by your physician or at home. Although some tests use blood or saliva, the most comprehensive microbiome tests will require a stool sample.

Your stool sample will be sent to a laboratory to be tested where they will analyze the balance of microbes in your gastrointestinal system.

This will help you and your doctor understand if there is an imbalance of microbes that is causing problems to your overall health.

We recommend the Biomesight test for giving a very detailed and accurate picture at a very affordable price.

The Top 8 Ways to Improve Your Gut Health:

Here’s the top 8 changes you can make to your lifestyle to help support and improve your gastrointestinal health:

1. Eat a clean, diverse organic diet full of nutrient dense foods. Processed (especially fast) foods cause harm to your gut microbiome ^[3].
   
   Be sure to include prebiotic foods (a type of fiber that isn’t digested) ^[4] such as oats, bananas, chicory and asparagus, because they inhibit the growth of certain types of good bacteria. Note: prebiotic foods can make issues worse IF you have too many bacteria in the small intestine. If you suspect this is the case, get the advice of a professional who specializes in gut health.

2. Eat in a relaxed state, where you will naturally eat slower and chew your food properly. Being in a stressed state is sometimes necessary, but while you are in a stressed state, digestion slows down significantly, and you produce much less of the digestive juices you need to sanitize and process your food, like saliva, stomach acid and bile. You’ll also tend to eat more quickly and not chew enough.

   So make sure you calm down before you start eating, even if it’s just taking a few deep breaths. This is where the tradition of saying grace comes from: even if you have no religious leanings, you may want to consider it as a way of refocusing your mind to be in a less stressed state, which will help you digest better!

   And once you’re relaxed, it will be easier to chew your food enough, sometimes as much as 30 times before swallowing, which helps your body to more easily digest the food and absorb as many nutrients as possible ^[5].
   
   

3. Find out if you’re intolerant to certain foods. Eating foods you're intolerant to will affect your digestive health, resulting in bloating, gas, diarrhea and more ^[6]. Speak to your physician to organize a skin prick or blood test.
   Another way to narrow down your intolerances is to record the foods you’ve eaten - be sure to write down how these foods make you feel. Only change one or two things at a time, so that you can easily identify any changes.

   If you suspect a food, many recommend an elimination diet, where you remove the suspected food for around a week, and then introduce it again, seeing if you notice any symptoms when you add it back into your diet.
    

4. Limit alcohol consumption. Alcohol can induce changes to the microbiome in the gastrointestinal tract, (due to its ability to kill bacteria, but not kill and often feed yeasts such as candida) which can lead to increased oxidative stress amongst other problems ^[7].
   
   
5. Reduce your stress. Chronic Stress can seriously affect your guts microbiome composition ^[8].
   
   Occasional Stress is healthy, but ongoing stress is not. If you struggle to relax, there are many ways to lower your stress levels, such as meditation. You can also try supplementing with our Serenity Anti-Stress Support or 5 HTP products.
   
6. Improve your sleep. Poor sleep and sleep deprivation can affect your microbiome diversity ^[9]. Our Sleep Aid Plus can also help, and read the page for more info on how to Sleep better naturally.
   
   

7. Drink more water and stay hydrated. This is another way to encourage microbiome diversity ^[10], and staying hydrated is essential to your overall health, as well as reducing the likelihood of constipation.

8. Take a probiotic full of live “good” bacteria that can help to boost your gut microbiome:

Probiotic Ingredients That Can Increase the Health of Your Gut

Lactobacillus acidophilus. Often referred to as L. acidophilus, lactobacillus acidophilus is a variety of bacteria that can be found in the intestines which is essential for human health ^[11].

Bifidobacterium lactis. Another type of bacteria that can be found in the gut, B.lactis or B. animalis as it is sometimes referred to, helped to prevent cases of acute diarrhea in infants ^[12].

Lactobacillus plantarum. Found mainly in fermented plant foods such as pickles, L. plantarum has been shown to have anti-inflammatory, blood sugar regulatory, anti-weight gain and antioxidant properties. Studies have shown L. plantarum to reduce the incidence of abdominal pain, loose stools and diarrhea associated with antibiotics ^[13].

Fructooligosaccharide. Found in foods such as garlic, onion and blue agave and sometimes referred to as FOS - fructooligosaccharide are prebiotic (compounds in foods that help the growth and activity of microorganisms that are beneficial) and can provide some protection against food-related illnesses such as salmonella ^[14].

Introducing Feel Younger® Probiotic 40 Billion with Maktrek® Bi-Pass Technology

We understand that it’s not always easy, nor practical to implement a variety of lifestyle changes - especially all at once.

We’d advise that you make as many of the changes listed further up this page as possible, but to do so 1 or 2 at a time, make sure they stick and then move onto more.

In the meantime, you can support your body with essential good bacteria it needs to maintain a healthy gut microbiome.

By combining these bacteria into an easy to swallow capsule with Maktrek Bi-Pass Technology, we’ve taken the stress out of using probiotics that can’t efficiently and effectively deliver the bacteria to where it needs to be.

Here at Feel younger, we believe in providing strong doses at reasonable prices. Our Probiotic capsules provide a strong and healthy dose of billions of live bacteria, and will cost you no more than $35, with discounts available on multiple bottle and subscription purchases.

How Do You Take Feel Younger® Probiotic 40 Billion with Maktrek® Bi-Pass Technology?

Take two capsules once a day.

DO NOT exceed two capsules a day.

Any Cautions?

Although rare, some people may experience bloating, gas or constipation when taking probiotics.

ALWAYS consult a healthcare professional before taking any new supplements.

Scientific References