Your Good Health

Our Best Flora Source Multi-Probiotic Offer Yet!

Will you take Flora Source for the rest of your life? Click on the video below to find out why millions have tried Flora Source® Multi-Probiotic®!

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Just 2 capsules per day help alleviate:*

• Diarrhea
• Constipation
• Gas & Bloating
• Digestive Irregularity

Over 100 Million...and Counting!

How popular are nutritional supplements? The National Center for Health Statistics reports that 40% of the US population takes dietary supplements regularly (that's over 100 million of us).¹ What's more, many supplement users are choosing probiotic and enzyme supplements.

Probiotics have earned a lot of attention in recent years thanks to celebrity doctor endorsements and a real need for supplements that support our bodies’ natural processes.

Digestion, of course, is a complex process. But there are key points along the digestive tract that should not be undervalued:                 

                      Digestive Key Point #1 - Nutrient breakdown in the stomach and small intestine

              Digestive Key Point #2 - The bacterial balance in the intestines.                   

Don’t Let Digestion Slow You Down
Well-formulated digestive enzyme supplements contain a variety of the enzymes needed for effective digestion. As we age, our natural store of digestive enzymes can become depleted. A supplement, when taken with food, helps boost enzyme levels in the stomach (and small intestine) to aid nutrient breakdown and absorption.*

Nutri-Health digestive enzyme supplements are formulated with 15 enzymes that help assist nutrient digestion in the stomach, and 3 enteric coated enzymes that survive stomach acid to assist digestion in the small intestine.*

Balance Starts Within
As your inner ear is responsible for equilibrium, which translates to physical balance in space, your inner intestinal microflora balance translates to digestive and overall health.

Probiotics support your intestinal microflora balance, helping to alleviate occasional diarrhea, constipation, gas, bloating and irregularity, and also helping to crowd out non-beneficial microorganisms.* A balanced microflora population is important for good health.

Probiotic and Enzyme Supplements
If you’re looking to support both nutrient breakdown and a healthy microflora balance for optimal health, check out Nutri-Health’s all-in-one Flora Zyme® Digestive Aid with 5 probiotic strains and a proprietary blend of 18 vegetarian digestive enzymes.

¹ The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/National Center for Health Statistics in an Advance Data report, 2004

More to Eye Health than Carrots? Lutein & Zeaxanthin for Your Eyes

Carrots are good for your eyes, aren’t they? Carrots are high in beta carotene (the organic compound that makes them orange), which the body absorbs as vitamin A. Vitamin A is important in maintaining health of the retina, the light sensitive area at the back of the eye.

Your Macula and Eye Health
However, there is a specific area of the retina that plays an essential role in healthy vision called the macula. The macula is responsible for central vision and contains the highest concentration of photo receptor cells in the eye.

Specific antioxidants absorbed into the eye help fight oxidative stress and filter blue light. And, out of all the antioxidants out there, only two are absorbed into the macula, lutein and zeaxanthin. These two antioxidants play a key role in fighting free radical damage, helping you maintain healthy levels of macular pigment, and supporting in the eye and long-term healthy vision.

Quick Carotenoid Facts:¹
600 – the number of naturally occurring carotenoids in nature
22 – the number of these carotenoids you can actually absorb
2 – the number of carotenoids absorbed into the macula of the eye (lutein and zeaxanthin)

Eye Health Antioxidants Made Simple
Xanthalin™ Eye Health contains both FloraGLO Lutein, a uniquely processed crystalline form of this nutrient, and ZeaGold Zeaxanthin to promote optimum macular health. Xanthalin also features a B-Vitamin complex plus added nutrients for optimum cellular health.

Support eye health at the center of the retina, in the macula, for long-term healthy vision now and as you age.

¹ How FloraGlo Lutein Benefits Your Health. July, 2010. http://www.floraglolutein.com/benefits.cfm

Probiotics and Your Immune System

If you’ve taken probiotics, or know someone who has, you may have heard of the immune system benefits of these “beneficial flora” as well as the digestive benefits. Now, most of us do not associate the digestive system with immune health, but it turns out the two are definitely connected.

Do You Feel Exposed?
Maybe you’re like me and you’ve never thought too much about your intestinal lining. And why should you? It’s in there, it does its job, seems to be functioning fine.

But your intestinal lining is actually one of your body’s main “hot spots” of activity. Scientists think of the intestines as “external” organs because they, along with the rest of the gastrointestinal tract, are constantly exposed to the external world through what we ingest.

And because the intestines are exposed, they have built up one heck of a defense system.

The Miracle in Your Gut
The intestinal lining helps prevent absorption of the many potentially harmful organisms we are exposed to daily. It’s like Homeland Security – we’ll never know what the intestines prevent from getting into the body, and we probably don’t want to.

Your intestines are lined with a mucus barrier packed with immune cells and hundreds of types of friendly flora. Your trillions-strong friendly flora colony supports essential immune cells and, because organisms will always compete for space and resources, it also helps “crowd out” the less-desirables coming through.

Friendly Flora and Probiotics 
Okay, great. Your intestines are full of friendly flora that help keep you well. Or are they? It turns out friendly flora have some enemies of their own, namely a poor diet, stress, certain medications, and even the natural aging process.

This is where probiotics come in. Probiotics are beneficial flora that support the natural friendly flora in your intestines, helping to keep your balance strong. Probiotics, like your natural microflora, come in many strain types. Some types prefer the small intestine, and others the large intestine. And some probiotic types “stick around” longer than other types, making a multi-probiotic with multiple strains a good choice for supporting your friendly flora.

Nutrition on TV - What Can it Mean for Your Health?

I did what many of you may have done last night. I went home after work, collapsed on the couch and flicked on the TV before rallying to make dinner. It was just before primetime and the food commercials were in heavy rotation.

I sat and watched images of pizza, the latest fast food concoction, and snack foods – so many snack foods! – flood the commercial spots. I was reminded of an article I’d read the day before, published this June by the American Dietetic Association’s Journal. The article detailed cross-sectional research done over 84 hours of primetime TV and 12 hours of Saturday morning TV, analyzing the nutritional content of the advertised foods as a whole.

The results were nauseating.

The Breakdown
If you were to purchase and consume only the foods advertised during these most watched TV broadcast times, you would ingest 2,560% of your recommended allowance of sugars and 2,080% of your daily recommended fat. And you would be way over on your daily protein, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium.

The sad part is you’d only get 40% of the recommended daily servings for vegetables, 32% for dairy, and 27% for fruit.

Now, who would follow this kind of nutritional advice, you ask? I can’t answer that one, but according to a 2006 USA Today article,the average American household now contains more television sets that it does people. Oh, and the same article reported these TV’s are on an average of 8 hours a day.

We continue to battle an obesity epidemic in the US. And obesity does not simply mean excess weight; it can mean an inadequate intake of essential nutrients. The irony of this is that essential nutrients such as calcium may actually help people maintain a healthy weight.* And primetime food ads?...maybe not so much.

Needless to say, I switched off the TV and cooked something from scratch.

The Secrets of Personal Health Nutrition - You Decide

We posted an article a while back on revolutionary personalized health nutrition programs based on your genetics, within the health field known as nutrigenomics.

Personalized nutrition programs based on an individual’s specific needs have generated some interest in the press, but apparently not so much interest with consumers Professor Mike Gibney, Director of University College Dublin’s Institute of Food and Health, told NutraIngredients.com.

“So far, the focus of personalised nutrition has been on genetics – and it hasn’t worked,” said Professor Gibney.¹

What Would You Choose?
It makes sense that many of us can’t really connect with a genetic approach to health nutrition. After all, mapping the human genome still sounds like a highly scientific undertaking and not like something that really applies to our daily lives. Yet.

Gibney and his associates are beginning a research project that involves 2,000 people to find out more about how the public would like to obtain personalized nutrition information. These people will be assigned to three groups:

• Genetic group: determining individual nutrition plans based on genetic profiles.

• Online group: participants use an online service to input detailed information on lifestyle, diet, etc. to determine an individual nutrition plan.

• Pin-prick group: a tiny pin-prick blood sample will be used to determine individual’s nutrition needs.

So, which of the three options would you choose to determine your personalized health nutrition plan? Have you tried any of the three? Tell us using the comment field below!

¹ EC funds project to examine personalised nutrition. NutraIngredients.com. 7 Jul 2010

Herbal Detox and Health Nutrition - Power Partners

We can all get stuck in a rut, right? This applies to our digestive health as much as to our daily habits. Maybe you’ve been changing your eating habits slowly over time, and realize one day you’re in a digestive rut (sluggish bowels, noticeably poor digestion, occasional gas, constipation, and bloating). Maybe you’re due for a “cleansing.”

I like to think of digestive cleansing as pulling myself out of a digestive rut and getting back on track – a little like pressing the “reset” button.

Herbal Detox
There are many herbal detox supplements and diets out there. You want to find one that works well with your body and that offers a natural energy boost (the last thing you want while detoxing is depleted energy). Experiment, and if you choose an herbal detox supplement, find one that is set up as a program – i.e. 7-day cleanse, 10-day cleanse – but that you can adjust as needed.

Remember: you’re in control of your detox program, not the people who wrote the “suggested use” on the box.

Also, talk with your holistic doctor or health care practitioner to learn more about what you can expect while cleansing. It’s very important to eat well and stay hydrated during this time. Consider cutting out sugars, alcohol, dairy, and processed foods. Eat as raw and “whole food” as you can.

Learn more about Detoxicor Natural Cleanse with Red Ginseng for healthy energy!

Health Nutrition
Health nutrition has come a long way since the days of “an apple a day.” There are more options than ever for a healthy lifestyle from fortified foods to next-generation supplements and personalized nutrition programs.

An herbal detox is a great addition to your nutrition program to help reset digestion and get you back on track!

Super Supplements Deals: Bone Health – With Vitamin D3!

Bone health has never been more important for healthy aging. We hear a lot about calcium, and now vitamin D3 for essential calcium absorption support and cellular health. But these are just a two of the nutrients that support bone health.

• Magnesium supports healthy bones, healthy muscles and nerves, and a healthy immune system. More than half the body’s magnesium is stored in the bones, the other half in tissues and organs. If you don’t get an adequate amount of magnesium through diet, your body draws on these stores to keep mineral levels in the blood at healthy levels.*

• Isoflavones also support healthy bones. These nutrients are isolated from soy products, and are rich phytochemicals that support overall health in many ways including cardiovascular and hormone support.*

For a limited time, you can get all these nutrients – calcium, vitamin D3, magnesium and isoflavones – in one powerful bone health supplement, Flex-CID Bone Health, at a drastically reduced price of just $25 for three bottles.

That’s a 3 month supply of vital bone health nutrients for just $25! And there’s no limit per order so you can stock up.

B Vitamins, Seniors, and Added Benefits

I recently started taking B Vitamins, and boy they’re not kidding with the “energy boost” benefit in these guys! I’ve heard a lot about the benefits of B Vitamins for hair and nail health, but after looking more closely at the “benefits of the B’s,” I saw they were critical to supporting the health of the energy centers in our cells, the mitochondria.*

And the benefits of B Vitamins may extend beyond energy support to mood support as well. In a recent study published online ahead of print in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers noted that increased intake of Vitamins B6 and B12 correlated with a healthier mood in seniors.¹

More data is needed to establish a causative relationship, but, for me, energy levels and mood tend to go hand in hand.

Nutri-Health recently launched a clinically formulated eye-health product, Xanthalin, that is packed with B Vitamins. The product formula is based on a clinical study featuring specific B Vitamins and eye health antioxidants, and their affect on macular health (central vision).* Xanthalin supports healthy eyes, yes, but one of my favorite things about well-formulated supplements are the unexpected benefits, like a welcome energy boost!

It’s good to know the profile of all the nutrients in your supplements. Nutri-Health publishes an Active Ingredient Glossary on the website so you can read more about what those nutrients do.

For more on B Vitamins, visit this blog article and this one too!

¹ Skarupski, K.A et al. Am Jnl Clin Nutr. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.2010.29413

Nutrient Rich, No-Bloating Foods

Ever feel like certain “healthy” foods cause bloating and gas? Maybe you’re making a step toward including all those nutrient happy foods in your diet and you feel nothing but … well, bloated.

Certain foods do cause bloating, that’s no secret. But, there are plenty of healthy options out there packed with vitamins, polyphenols, and nutrients that help you feel great without the bloat. Before we go into the list, here are a few tips to avoid bloating when you eat:

• Do not eat fiber packed fruits by themselves. Foods such as grapes, apples and pears are full of fiber – so they’re good for you – but eaten alone they can cause bloating

• Eat smaller meals and slow down. Large meals and quick eating cause the upper section of the stomach to fill quickly. When all this food moves in a mass through the digestive system, you can feel bloated.

• Try a probiotic supplement to help alleviate gas and bloating*

Nutri-Tastic, No Bloating Foods
Of course, these foods vary from person to person. Here are our top picks for nutrient rich foods that won’t encourage bloating:

1. Avocado: packed with vitamins K, B6, C, and potassium.

2. Fish: from salmon to scallops and shrimp, seafood is an excellent source of essential minerals and fatty acids.

3. Mushrooms: full of vitamins that are well retained during cooking, mushrooms make a great addition to any meal.

4. Potatoes: loaded (the nutrient value, that is, not the potato itself) with vitamin C, B6, potassium and minerals, baked potatoes are a healthy, no-bloat option.

5. Lean beef: gone are the days when beef was bad. In addition to protein, lean beef (free range is best) packs in vitamin B12, zinc, selenium and other B vitamins for a healthy, sink-your-teeth-into-it meal.