Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
Photo by Christopher Campbell on Unsplash Are you spending time browsing the vitamin aisle, trying to figure out which Probiotic will work best for your personal health and wellness needs? There are dozens of choices, and while all of them promise to support healthy digestion, …
Photo on Katy Belcher on Unsplash Let’s face it – talking about your gut may not be that interesting. But it’s important that you understand just how much your gut impacts your overall health. Everything from hormone regulation to a healthy weight is impacted by …
There’s a reason why aloe vera is now a major ingredient in numerous skin and hair care products, and it’s not just because it’s great for that sunburn! Aloe’s use can be traced back about 6,000 years to Ancient Egypt, where it had a variety of uses, including the treatment of wounds and for hair loss.
Aloe vera contains many vitamins, essential amino acids, minerals like copper and zinc, plant steroids and fatty acids. Today, the gel of the aloe vera plant is most commonly used for the skin, while aloe vera supplementation is used to get the benefits of the plant from the inside, out.
The juice of the Aloe leaf is a natural way to enhance your oral health, especially for your teeth and gums. When compared to common chemicals found in many mouthwashes, aloe vera has been shown to reduce gingival plaque and bleeding gums. According to the Journal of Pharmacy & BioAllied Sciences, aloe vera is effective in controlling bacteria that causes cavities and does not contain abrasives found in most toothpastes.
Aloe vera is commonly used in hair care products to soothe the scalp and to repair damaged hair cells. It is also used in many conditioners and hair treatment masks to tame frizz. Because it has the ability to increase blood circulation, aloe may also promote hair growth, as you may start to see hair breakage and loss slow down.
Aloe vera gel extracted from the aloe vera plant is commonly known as a multitasker for our skin. It is great for providing moisture, healing burns, soothing and calming inflammation like rashes and eczema. In a study published in the journal The Annals of Dermatology, 30 women over the age of 45 applied a topical application of the aloe gel to their skin that increased collagen production and improved the skin’s elasticity over a 90-day period.
Found under the skin of the aloe leaf is latex – a sticky, yellow residue – that actually had been used to provide digestive benefits, especially for constipation. This is due to the latex having a strong laxative effect.
Fiber can be found in vegetables, fruits, beans and whole grains. And it’s important. Its job is to bulk up the stool and retain water. Bacteria then helps to digest the fiber, producing healthy ingredients for the colon and promoting healthy bowel movements. Without enough …
If you are like many others, you think grabbing yogurt is both delicious and beneficial; of course its organic and contains live and active probiotic cultures. But how beneficial are these cultures? And how much do you need? Heres what reports are saying. What are …
Bacteria is commonly thought of as negative. There are plenty of harmful bacteria that can lead to a number of risks when it comes to the bacteria inside of your body. But with harmful bacteria comes beneficial bacteria called Probiotics.
Probiotics are friendly bacteria that make up the microbiome in your gut or digestive tract and are the key to good health, especially to good digestion and regularity. Bacteria, though naturally present in the body, accounts for two pounds of bio-mass in your intestines, which need a balance of beneficial bacteria to promote good health.
Levels of probiotics decrease with age and can also be affected by other factors, including a poor diet and obesity. As the levels of probiotics decrease, problematic bacteria in the gut thrive, which can lead to digestive problems like bloating and gas.
There are many reasons why your doctor or certified nutritionist would recommend taking a probiotic supplement. Supplements come in various forms and there are plenty of different brands and ingredients to choose from. A nutrionist/doctor will be able to recommend which probiotic is best for you..
Probiotics may be beneficial for you if –
Antibiotics were created to eradicate bacterial infections, but they can cause damage and interrupt the balance between good and bad bacteria in your gut. Symptoms of this imbalance include diarrhea and gas. Taking probiotics during the course of your antibiotics can help replenish the good bacteria and help reduce some of the side effects. Talk to your healthcare provider before starting any medication or a supplement protocol.
According to a report in the April 2002 issue of Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics, researchers analyzed the results of 34 studies and concluded that the use of probiotics during antibiotic therapy resulted in a 50% lower risk of developing Antibiotic-Associate Diarrhea (AAD) compared to those taking a placebo, in both children and adult data from the study.
In a 2013 study published in the British Journal of Nutrition, researchers found that probiotic supplementation over a 24 week period showed significantly higher weight loss than those who took a placebo. In the double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized trial of obese men and women, each subject consumed either two capsules of probiotics or a placebo. Each group was submitted to moderate energy restriction for the first 12 weeks, followed by 12 weeks of weight maintenance. After 24 weeks, a significant treatment between sex interactions was observed. The mean weight loss in women in the probiotic group was significantly higher than that in women in the placebo group.
Probiotics, especially the Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium species, have been shown in numerous clinical trials to support healthy digestion. When your gut bacteria is balanced and healthy, it keeps your entire digestive system working as it should. This allows for healthy digestion and absorption of foods (carbohydrates, fats and proteins), maintaining acidity of the colon and normalizing bowel movements, eliminates issues with gas, and supports the ability to digest dairy products.
According to the American Academy of Dermatology, emerging research is finding that the benefits of probiotics may extend beyond the digestive tract and into the skin. “In fact”, the website reports, “skin prone to acne or rosacea has shown improvement with daily probiotic use, giving dermatologists reason to consider supplementing traditional acne therapy with a dose of this beneficial bacteria.”
Whitney P. Bowe, MD, FAAD, a board certified dermatologist and clinical assistant professor of dermatology at Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai Medical Center, reports that oral probiotics – sold as dietary supplements containing Lactobacilli and/or Bifidobacterium – could influence skin conditions by affecting what is known as the “Gut-Brain-Skin Axis”. Here’s how it works, according to Bowe – stress in combination with processed foods that lack fiber can slow digestion, which changes the type and number of bacteria that live in the gut into unhealthy bacteria. Eventually, the gut lining becomes leaky and toxins are released into the bloodstream, causing inflammation throughout the body, including flare ups of acne or rosacea.
According to the University of Colorado’s department of Urogynecology, one area where probiotics have been studies is in women with recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs), which occurs due to the transmission of pathogens (bacteria) from the rectum and/or vagina to the urethra or bladder. According to a randomized, controlled trial (published to the universities website) involving treatment of UTIs with Lactobacillus probiotics, there was a 73% reduction in episodes of recurrent UTI compared with the previous year. The control group had six UTIs per patient per year vs. 1.3 UTIs per patient per year after intravaginal administration of probiotics.