Hi.  If you have found this blog, then you are seeking the best probiotic.  I can understand your wanting to find the best.  Most people do not realize the importance of having a healthy digestive system.  If you are considering what is the best probiotic, then you also need to understand what the purpose is for a probiotic so you can realize how, in my humble opinion, the company that I am an affiliate with has the best probiotic.  For those of you that are just finding out about probiotics, let me explain what it is.  Probiotics are the healthy, or “friendly” bacteria that live in the intestinal tract. They support good health by limiting the growth of harmful bacteria, promoting good digestion and helping increase resistance to infection.

Did you know there are more bacteria cells in our digestive system than all other cells in the human body? There are 300 to 400 families of microbes in the digestive system at any given moment in time. Most live in the acid-to-neutral pH of the Small Intestines and the rest live in the alkaline pH of the Large Intestines. The majority of the microbes are probiotics – “pro” means “in favor of” and “biotic” means “life.” Others are called commensal because they do no harm, but also don’t provide any known benefit. Finally, there are always ‘bad’ bacteria in the digestive system. These are neutralized by acids, enzymes, immune complexes and probiotics.

If our digestive system is working as designed, we will have a good appetite, sweet-smelling breath, abundant energy and daily elimination of waste. When our digestive system works well we feel on top of the world!

If our digestive system is not working optimally, we will have bizarre appetite. This is often characterized by no desire for breakfast and a ravenous, insatiable appetite in the evening. We may even awaken in the middle of the night feeling as if we need to eat and yet never being satisfied with normal foods. When our digestive system is “broken” we will develop food allergies, gas, bloating, indigestion and excess stomach acid. If our DS malfunctions we will have constipation or alternating diarrhea and constipation. Plus we will have abdominal pain.

As time progresses and our digestive system becomes more imbalanced, we may experience chronic mouth inflammation (leading to sores), stomach issues (leading to GERD (gastroesophegal reflux disease), ulcers, indigestion and problems with the small intestines, pancreas, liver, gall bladder and colon. Because “bad” bacteria and yeast multiply in an unhealthy digestive system, we may start to experience chronic infections that migrate to our kidneys, bladder and reproductive systems. Chronic infections also trigger autoimmune attacks on healthy organs.

Wow!  So you can definitely see why it’s important to have a healthy digestive system.  And if you are seeking an answer on what is the best probiotic, I know you must realize that and are concerned about taking the right one.

If you look at the picture to your right, on the left hand side is what you want your intestines to look like and on the right hand side if you are not taking a probiotic and and have a typical American diet, more than likely that’s what your intestines might look like.  Why?  Well, if you are asking what is the best probiotic, I am assuming you know why but since I have learned at an early age not to assume, let me explain a little more and then I can answer your question on what is the best probiotic.

In your intestines, you have the good guys and the bad guys.  That’s the good bacteria and the bad bacteria.  Usually your body can handle a small percentage of bad bacteria.  The good guys keep them in check.  But your good guys can be destroyed by many different reasons from too much antibiotic use, too much alcohol, over consumption of sugars and other refined carbohydrates, too much stress, eating foods with pesticides, herbicides, antibiotic residues.  Well, you get the idea.  So you need to repopulate your gut with the good so you can bring your body back to a balanced state.

Now you can get some probiotic (I like to think of them as healthy bacteria) from food, such as yogurt and there are some foods that have added probiotics but you want to make sure you have the right strains and it’s of high quality.  Also many probiotics do not make it past your stomach acid.

Another consideration when choosing the best probiotic is also considering prebiotics.  What are prebiotics?  Prebiotics are a food source for probiotics, helping stimulate growth and proliferation.  We want the probiotics to grow and “create colonies”.  Happy and plentiful probiotics means a healthy gut.    I know, I know.  I too have a problem of thinking of something creating colonies in my gut, but it’s a good thing.  Especially when you think of the alternative and that’s having the bad bacteria take over.

Also digestive enzymes are very important.  Let’s say your gut is overrun with bad bacteria.  How do you get rid of the bad bacteria?  Digestive enzymes are important because they begin the healing process by removing toxic proteins and discouraging bad bacteria and yeast from breeding. And they help digest your food for more energy. Enzymes eradicate the bad bacteria by making the environment a certain PH that the bad bacteria doesn’t like.  Therefore, it stops breeding and then dies a natural death.

So if you are asking what is the best probiotic, you real question is how do I balance my digestion system.  To balance your digestion system, what you want to do is what’s called the “weed, seed and feed” program”.

1. Weed out all the toxins, like bad bacteria, parasites, fungus and yeast with enzymes and herbs
2. Seed the digestive system with beneficial bacteria (probiotics)
3. Feed the healthy bacteria with prebiotics so the probiotics can have better colonization and a long healthy life.

Is there a product that accomplishes all 3?  Yes, FloraVita.  A new product that has just been released by TriVita.  All of TriVita’s products are high quality, unique, and backed by their 10 Foundational Values.  To read more about their 10 Foundational Values, you can go HERE.

What makes TriVita’s product so unique?

First of all, it’s powerpacked with four classes of nutrients for complete digestive health:

• The HardiStrain® Probiotic Blend – delivers a potent 10 billion CFU, including 10 different friendly bacteria strains.
• Prebiotic Blend – this growth-stimulating prebiotic blend helps probiotics multiply and also soothes and boosts the defense function of the digestive system.
• Digestive Enzyme Blend – offers a suite of enzymes that break down carbohydrates, proteins and fats to help your body achieve complete digestion.
• Digestive Defense Blend – contains milk thistle and dandelion root to help soothe an inflamed and irritated digestive system. Dandelion root works with the Lipase enzyme as it thins the bile from the liver and gall bladder. Bile helps Lipase to digest fat. Bile also discourages bad bacteria and yeast from breeding. Milk thistle helps reduce the autoimmune impact from an imbalanced DS, reduces cramps, pain and bloating.
• PLUS, targeted release DRcaps™ for maximum effectiveness and no refrigeration required!

TriVita has tested FloraVita ensuring it does not dissolve in your stomach acid.  Also, with 4 products in one, you are getting the most benefit.  Prebiotics lay the groundwork for probiotics, as prebiotic fibers help probiotic bacteria establish colonies but providing a food source. Probiotics also have a marvelous impact on the rest of the body and brain as they coordinate the immune system of the digestive system. Prebiotics and probiotics work together to improve digestion and elimination.  And and TriVita uses a dry-preservation technology to ensure viability and targted release capsule technology that is acid resistent for maximum effectiveness.  And it’s shelf-stable with no refrigeration required.

I love working for a company that produces products that help people on their wellness journey.  So if you are asking, what is the best probiotic, Try TriVita’s new product FloraVita today and I’ll send you a bottle of Nopalea which is a great companion to FloraVita as it also helps to detoxify your body.  When you place your order, as long as you have a phone number or email provided, I will contact you and send you your bottle of Nopalea.

Click HERE to find out more about FloraVita

Click HERE to find out more about Nopalea

And TriVita also has a wellness center where you can research on many of the health challenges you or your loved ones may be facing.  To visit TriVita’s wellness center, you can click HERE.

Wishing you the best in health and wellness!

Kathy

Katherine Smith

It’s that time of the year again.  Yes, you may be thinking holidays and seeing friends and family and eating good food and you would be correct.  And in fact, the next blog I will be writing will focus on how not to overeat during this time.  But in this post I will be focusing on a more important topic . . . cold remedies.

Did you know that according to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Americans suffer 1 billion colds annually?    Will you be one of them or are you already and found this blog because you were searching on cold remedies?  If you knew how to reduce your chances, would you take the steps?  If so, then continue reading and I will share with you great timely information on cold remedies as well as how not to get one in the first place.

First, let’s focus on how not to get the cold so you don’t have to worry about any cold remedies.  A cold is a minor infection of the throat and nose. Although colds are usually mild, they are the leading cause of doctor visits and job and school absenteeism. More than 200 different viruses are known to cause symptoms of a cold, although rhinoviruses and coronaviruses cause the majority of colds. Cold symptoms usually last about 1-2 weeks but if you take advantage of the cold remedies that I suggest hear, it could make your life a little easier during that time.

As much as I hope you do not get a cold because I know how miserable that is, after I share with you some ways of preventing a cold, I will share with you some cold remedies because the odds are against you on not getting one because colds are extremely contagious. A cold is transmitted by droplets of fluid that contain the cold virus. These droplets become airborne when an infected person sneezes, coughs or speaks. You contaminate yourself by inhaling these droplets or touching a surface that the viruses have landed on and then touching your eyes or nose.  So that office buddy of yours who thinks they are so dedicated that they come into work with a cold – tell them to stay home and get better (in a nice way), and of course share with them the cold remedies recommended here.

To prevent getting a cold, take these simple precautions:

• Avoid close contact with people who have a cold – To the extent possible, avoid crowds, and try not to shake hands with people who obviously have a cold or flu.
• Wash your hands often – The largest contributor to infection by a trigger virus is unwashed hands. Equally as important as washing your hands is making sure they are completely dry. Then, use the disposable towel to open the door out of the washroom. Many ugly microbes lurk on door handles — usually from people who have not properly washed and dried their hands.
• Do not touch your nose, eyes or mouth. This will help you avoid infecting yourself with germs you may have picked up.
• Disinfect surfaces that are shared by many people. For instance, the telephone brings you within kissing distance of hundreds or even thousands of people. Who knows what their hygiene habits were? In a typical day we may be exposed to germs from as many as 150 countries or more!

Seems simple enough, right?  Another way to prevent colds is to build up your system with the 10 Essentials for Health and Wellness.  Click HERE to watch the video that explains more about these important essentials.

Now let’s say that despite your best efforts, you do come down with a cold.  Here are some suggested cold remedies.  The first important one is to make sure you have a cold, not the flu.  Antibiotics will not cure a cold. In fact, you cannot cure a cold. But, certain things can help you reduce your discomfort. Some of these cold remedies seem pretty basic but don’t ignore them.  These include:

• Drink at least eight glasses of water and juice a day. This will help keep you hydrated.
• Avoid alcohol and caffeine. These promote dehydration.
• Avoid smoke. It irritates an already sore throat and intensifies a cough.
• Get plenty of rest.
• Use a humidifier – an electric device that puts moisture into the air.

Another important factor when considering cold remedies or even preventing a cold is to consider how much stress you have in your life.  Chronic stress is like slow poison.  Current research shows that stress can suppress your immune system, perhaps opening the door to a number of infectious diseases. There is particularly compelling evidence linking stress to colds and the flu. Although we are continually exposed to such trigger viruses, our immune system normally neutralizes their impact. But when a person is under emotional distress, these defenses can fail.

Your immune system may begin to overreact or not react in time to stop an infection when you are under stress. The source of the stress really does not matter. For instance, time pressure and an injury may seem like entirely different stresses to your mind but they are treated exactly the same way by your body.

So to prevent a cold or great info for cold remedies are adaptogens.  Did you know that adaptogens build a strong defense against stress? Certain adaptogens such as Eleutherococcus have been proven to shorten the frequency, intensity and duration of trigger viruses that cause colds.  Now those are great cold remedies.  Where can you get Adaptogens?  See below for my recommendation.

What about vitamins?  Are they a good part of cold remedies?  Can vitamins shorten infections?
Vitamin C and Echinacea are favorites for protecting against and even treating rhino virus infections. Russell Jaffe, MD, former director of the National Institutes of Health, recommends a loading dose of Vitamin C: one teaspoon of Vitamin C crystals every 15 minutes until you “flush.” By this, he means a complete bowel evacuation. After the flush, he recommends a daily serving of Vitamin C (for one month) that is equivalent to 75% of the amount it took you to flush.

More cold remedies include Echinacea, which is used in a similar way. Significant medical research from Germany suggests that an hourly dose of Echinacea will reduce symptoms and shorten the duration of a virus infection.  So that’s another one to consider for cold remedies.  Taking a gram of Echinacea every hour for three days may even “abort” an infection that has already begun. Continue taking Echinacea three times daily for up to two weeks afterward to prevent a relapse.

When considering cold remedies, know that if you become infected, aggressive nutrition can restore balance to your immune system. Adaptogens and traditional remedies such as Vitamin C and Echinacea may shorten the course of an infection and provide quick relief.

So to recap, to take Control of Your Health

* Wash your hands every few hours and dry them thoroughly.
* Aggressively apply the 10 Essentials; most especially, get your sleep.
* Take a healthy foundation of nutrients:
o A multiple vitamin and mineral supplement
o An Omega-3 fatty acid supplement
o Sublingual Vitamin B-12
o Stress-busting adaptogens
* Use traditional remedies:
o Echinacea hourly for three days, then three times daily for two more weeks
o Vitamin C flush — 75% of “flush” amount daily for one month

I hope these suggestions for cold remedies have been helpful and even more important the suggestions to prevent colds.  And for any friend or co-worker that you come into close contact with who has a cold, of course, keep your distance <smile>, but let them know about these cold remedies.

Wishing you the best in health and wellness!

Kathy

What is Homocysteine?  Homocysteine (HCY) is a tool used by your body to modify protein. Specifically, homocysteine carves up the amino acid methionine into smaller amino acids. Each of these amino acids has important functions. The “leftovers” from this construction project are not thrown away. Instead, your body recombines the debris back into methionine again.

Methionine is the protein that serves as the foundation for all other proteins. It’s like concrete: You can build a small cottage or a large skyscraper on the same concrete foundation. You can build brain cells, heart cells, bone cells, and healthy cells for your entire body on the protein methionine. Homocysteine is responsible for crafting that foundation. While homocysteine is an excellent tool for your body, too much of it can be fatal.

That’s why many people are concerned about their homocysteine levels and what many people may not realize is, it’s in the genes.  There is a common gene defect among people in North America. It is called an MTHFR defect. It allows homocysteine to escape into the bloodstream and literally shred your arteries, causing a stroke; tangle your brain cells causing Alzheimer’s disease; shatter your bones causing osteoporosis; and inflame your heart, causing a heart attack.

Another common genetic defect is MTHFD. It allows homocysteine to run amok inside your cells. This can lead to cell mutations and even cancer.

So what if you check your homocysteine levels and you find out it may be a problem.  Is there a solution?  Supplemental nutrition is very effective in most cases. TriVita’s HCY Guard® was designed specifically for high HCY. One study on TriVita’s HCY Guard found that HCY levels could be reduced by 35% in just 6 weeks!

In fact, if people have a problem with their homocysteine levels, they may not realize it can be caused by genetics but it can also be caused by poor nutrition. When a person has an active genetic defect they require intense nutrition to offset the imbalance caused by the gene mutation.

Vital amines such as the Riboflavin family of B vitamins combine with antioxidants to help reduce the activity of cellular homocysteine. One study found that the specific antioxidant ECGC (the antioxidant found in green tea) stopped the trigger DNMT (an enzyme) from releasing homocysteine inside the cell. People consuming large amounts of ECGC have reduced DNMT and have fewer cases of cancer.

So are you at risk?  Is there a way to tell if you have one of these common disease risks? Yes; one way is to have a genetic test performed. This is usually done by drawing enough blood to collect DNA and submitting this to one of only a few labs in North America that can perform genetic testing. A second way is to have your homocysteine levels tested. This can be performed by most medical laboratories. Ask your doctor to do this test with your annual physical.

Another consideration when checking your homocysteine levels is to look at your own family tree. Does any “first-degree” relative (father, mother, brother, or sister) have any of the conditions attributed to homocysteine? If so, you likely have the gene defect. Does a “second-degree” relative (grandparents, aunts, uncles, or cousins) have any of the conditions attributed to homocysteine? If so, you may have the gene defect as well.

Did you know nutrient deficiencies can mimic a genetic defect by failing to provide the minimum amount of vital amines necessary to prevent elevated homocysteine? A poor diet, illness, pregnancy, aging, and stress can place you at risk for elevated HCY. Children and adults with asthma and irritable bowel syndrome are at high risk for elevated HCY.

So if you have your homocysteine levels checked and find that you need to lower it, you need to take this seriously.

High HCY in your blood is linked to serious illness. Helping your body reduce high HCY may greatly reduce your risk for serious illness. So what can you do?  Here are several things you can do to help:

* Eat fruits and vegetables high in antioxidants – 5 servings daily for children, 7 servings for women, and 9 servings for men.
* Reduce your stress load.
* Get at least 30 minutes of vigorous activity every day.
* Supplement your diet with nutrients such as TriVita’s HCY Guard and Energy Now!.
* Defeat stress by nurturing your spirit with healthy relationships and a healthy sense of purpose.

Remember, genes are not fate; you have as much control over your genes (through nutrients and nurturing) as they have over you. Build a healthy foundation for your future by balancing your homocysteine.

Take Control of Your Health

Be sure to have your homocysteine levels tested if:

• You have a family history of:

• • Heart disease
  • Stroke
  • Alzheimer’s disease
  • Osteoporosis
  • Cancer

• You experience gastric disturbances, breathing difficulties, or kidney issues
• You are over 50
• You are pregnant
• You are experiencing high stress levels
• You eat a poor diet
• You don’t exercise regularly

If you’re interested in high quality nutritional supplements like the ones mentioned on my blog, you can to go to: www.havingplenty.com.

And if you’re interested in being involved in a Wellness Opportunity, take a look at www.roadmaptowishes.com.

Wishing you much health and wellness

Kathy

Katherine Smith
TriVita Independent Affiliate Member 13158176