Digestion: Is Your Tummy 100%?

Health is Like Money

Staying healthy and well is often considered a gift.  Health is a lot like money.  Having lots of money doesn't necessarily make you happy.  However, having no money can certainly add to the stresses of life.  Similarly, good health doesn't make you happy in itself.  But being sick can often make being happy more difficult. Therefore, it is no surprise that most of us strive to be healthy and to be financially comfortable.  They say "knowledge is power".  I certainly think that knowledge about your health is the most powerful way of ensuring good health.  So read on and learn and enjoy!

What is The Single Most Important Thing For My Health?

The core of good health is the gut (gastrointestinal system).  The function of the gut affects the body in many ways, including:

• absorption of nutrients, which is required for good health;
• providing local protection against hostile invaders (bugs and toxins), which keeps you safe;
• directing a lot of our immune systems throughout the body to alert our army to protect us.

Isn't The Brain More Important?

Yeah but, no but ... !  There is no doubt that the brain is important to our health.  However, the gut is actually like a second brain. The gut is the second biggest network of nerves, so proper gut function affects proper brain function.  Also brain function influences stomach function.  Most people will experience getting "butterflies in their stomach" when they are nervous or upset. This is evidence of the gut-brain connection.

What Your Doctor May Not Notice ...

Impaired digestion occurs quite commonly, but is only seldom picked up by doctors.  There are some common causes of maldigestion including coeliac disease, lactose intolerance, Giardia infections and Crohn's disease.  These often cause very bad problems with digestion and so are diagnosed quite easily.

However, there are other causes of maldigestion that are not so easily picked up.  But they are MORE COMMON.  Unfortunately, this is where it gets a little more scientific so bear with me.

The Most Common Causes of Maldigestion

The most frequent causes of ill health is maldigestion.  And the most frequent cause of maldigestion is reduced release of a neuropeptide called Gastrin.  When gastrin is reduced, you get reduced stomach acid produced.  This causes:

• * Decreased protein digestion;
• * Decreased mineral acidification (less calcium, magnesium etc absorption);
• * Decreased release of other gastroenteric neuropeptides;
• * Decreased gallbladder function;
• * Decreased pancreas function.

Say What?

Well done if you are still reading after all that jargon.  All those terms above mean:

• * Impaired protein digestion and absorption, which means slower metabolism,less muscle and impaired brain function;
• * Impaired fat digestion and absorption, which could lead to heart disease;
• * Reduced absorption of minerals, which could lead to loss of energy, loss of bone, muscle cramping, an impaired immune system, in fact just about any process in the body will be affected to some degree;
• * Increased CD4-T cell (immune cell) activation causing inflammation. This may manifest as asthma, eczema, arthritis, heart disease, or any inflammatory condition;
• * Increased reactivity to food - causing local bowel issues such as diarrhoea, constipation, bloating, wind, etc.

But wait, there is more!  However, at the risk of boring you, lets just say that with maldigestion the viscious spiral of ill health and aging starts to speed up.

How do I Avoid Maldigestion?

Diet and lifestyle factors are important to maintaining good digestion.  A diet too high in carbohydrates, especially high glycemic index carbohydrates like bakery products, potatoes and soft drinks to name a few, will cause a change in gastroenteric neuropeptide balance.  For example, increased insulin (a risk for diabetes) and reduced gastrin (described above) occur.

Stress can also disrupt digestion.  Sometimes, if we have food senstivities to healthy foods, then these too can often cause maldigestion.

We are here to help

Wow, this stuff is quite complex.  Want some help to see how this relates to you?

Are you someone who wants to understand their health and take control of their  health?

Martin is offering a special deal where he is offering a Nutricheck Analysis followed by a 20 minute consultation for only $27 (total value $140). This Nutricheck Analysis will reveal if you have any underlying changes that might make you more prone to developing poor health in the future.

Are you someone who wants to maintain good health as you get older?

Martin is pretty booked out and there are only a few spaces allocated to this special offer health analysis.  The analysis costs $27 and you get a health report (including a graph) and its GUARANTEED to help you understand your health or your money back. So there is nothing to lose.

Book now to reserve your spot.

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Getting the 'Flu in Perspective:

Influenza can certainly knock you for a six.  In fact, if you are elderly or frail then a dose of influenze can even be fatal.  And maybe that is why we all seem to get a little bit worried about new influenza strains such as "Swine Flu". However, new strains of influenza are not a new phenomenon.  Particularly virulent strains tend to emerge every 10 to 50 years and can sweep the world infecting up to 40% of the population in a single year.  History shows us that these pandemics die out just as quickly.  Why is that?

You Versus The Virus - an Epic "Tom and Jerry" Saga:

The reason that viral pandemics die out is that as fast as these viruses move, our own immune system adapts and adjusts to compensate.  The war between humans and viruses is sort of like a "Tom and Jerry" story, with each player continually trying to outdo the other.

Each time a new strain of virus emerges, our immune system industriously takes in the viral particles, processes them, and produces antibodies and immune cells capable of eliminating this new threat.  This specific immune response takes a few days to muster, which explains why in a healthy immune response we experience the typical symptoms of the illness before rapidly recovering.

In other words, a healthy immune system is THE BEST strategy against viral pandemics.

Boosting Your Immunity

It seems logical that the best way to beat a virus is to have a strong healthy immune system. There are some herbs and nutrients that have shown immune boosting properties. Immune boosting herbs include andrographis, elderberry, echinacea, olive leaf.  Nutrients that are vital to ensure a healthy immune system include zinc, vitamin C, selenium, vitamin D.  It is interesting that new research is showing that vitamin D is vital for a healthy immune system - not just preventing colds and flu but also for reducing the risk of cancer!  Many of these herbs have anti-viral properties too.  This means that they may the virus weaker and you stronger - perfect!

For those of you who like to know the gory details, these herbs and nutrients work in a number of ways, including:

• Boosting natural killer cell activity.
• Stimulating the production of T helper 1 cytokines.
• Increasing the number of white blood cells (neutrophils and granulocytes).
• Increasing the production of B lymphocytes and NK lymphocytes.
• Increasing the number of macrophages and phagocytes.

What about the Kids?

Most children experience more infections and allergies than adults. This is because a childs immune system is still in a development phase.  In fact, being exposed to a wide variety of infections, and successfully fighting them off is essential to the development of a child's immune system. 

Many modern cough and cold preparations are not recommended for children under 6 years of age.  But as we have mentioned above, suppressing symptoms is not always the best treatment plan.  Supporting the immune system with key nutrients and herbs is a good choice. Ask us what herbs and nutrients are best for your kids.

In a study of children enrolled in daycare, probiotic supplementation has been shown to be particularly effective in reducing the risk of fever, cough, runny nose and use of antibiotics.

What else is good for my Immune System?

Your immune system responds to a variety of environmental and physiological factors, including phytochemicals in fruit and vegetables, exercise, sunshine (vitamin D) and laughter.

We are here to help

Do You want a healthy immune system this winter?

Are you someone who wants to understand their health and take control of their  health?

Martin is offering a special deal where he is offering a Nutricheck Analysis followed by a 20 minute consultation for only $27 (total value $140). This Nutricheck Analysis will reveal if you have any underlying changes that might make you more prone to developing poor health in the future.

Are you someone who wants to maintain good health as you get older?

Martin is pretty booked out and there are only a few spaces allocated to this special offer health analysis.  The analysis costs $27 and you get a health report (including a graph) and its GUARANTEED to help you understand your health or your money back. So there is nothing to lose.

Book now to reserve your spot.

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Coronary heart disease can often be prevented and there are many things that you can do to keep your heart healthy.  This section aims to give you information on how making changes to your lifestyle can help to protect your heart and reduce your risk of developing certain heart conditions.

Even if you have coronary heart disease or have had a heart attack there are many things you can do to keep

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