I had NEVER EVEN HEARD OF the term Probiotics up until 2012. Now, it's something I have read about, taken myself, and absolutely LOVE to talk about!
Everywhere we turn we are reading articles, seeing television specials, and hearing people speak about PROBIOTICS! WHAT IS ALL THE HYPE? Is it really that important?
Well, actually probiotics are life-changing, and yes,they are THAT important.
I'll start this blog with a little story.
If you were to ask my family how to describe me, I'm sure their first few words would be "loving, kind, sweet, creative" soon followed by "convicted, speaks her mind, stubborn, passionate". Growing up, my parents (well my mom) would ask me to clean my room, and I had to fight this inner brat that just didn't see the point in cleaning my room. While I've always had a good sense of what is right and wrong and would often times "follow the rules", the other side of me has always been a bit stubborn and only wanted to do things in my life because I truly understood the purpose and was convicted about how effective it is. i.e., at a young age, I didn't understand the purpose of cleaning my room if it was going to get dirty the next day, so I just wouldn't do it. NOW, being an adult and married, I TOTALLY understand why my mom wanted me to clean my room everyday (or maybe a few times a week :) ). It instills a sense of discipline, it allows me to think of someone other than myself and contribute to the family, it helps me take ownership in helping make our family home a beautiful one, and it's just downright NICE to have a clean home!
The reason I share this little story is because I had this similar experience when entering into the world of health and especially, PROBIOTICS. I would say about 10 years ago, my mom got VERY interested in the world of health. She was talking to me about multivitamins, raw milk, superfoods, Vitamin B12, and several things that honestly at the time I just WAS NOT INTERESTED IN. I was young, healthy (or so I thought), and didn't see the point of taking these supplements when I felt 80% or better most of the time. And so... I continued on my merry way... Eating packaged granola bars, drinking my Starbucks coffee, and not thinking twice about what I was putting in my mouth.
SUDDENLY, out of nowhere, this blue-eyed, energetic, clear skinned, 20 year old started noticing some differences. I suddenly started breaking out (which I've always been fortunate to have very clear skin), I lacked energy, I was pale, I got terrible headaches, and just overall didn't feel good. Side not: things in my personal life, such as deaths in my family, were contributing to my lack of energy and stress, BUT my gut told me it was more than that; I just knew deep down that this was not the way God intended for a 20 year old to feel. I knew I had to figure out what was the root cause of all these new found problems in my life.
So, what did I start doing? I started my research. I started finding people in my life with energy and light in their eyes, and I wanted to figure out what it was that got them there! While there is more than one factor that contributes to this, I found one common factor, they all believed health was VERY important. I still wasn't ENTIRELY convinced that diet was what was making me feel bad, but I had my mom's voice in the back of my head telling me how important this health stuff was, and I was encountering people that spoke of how important it was, so I figured I might as well try.
The sad thing was I THOUGHT I knew a lot about health, I "tried" to eat healthy... (stay away from lots of fried food, only eat fast food occasionally, and drink diet soda... If only I knew then what I know NOW about diet soda.... its DEADLY...)
So, this time around I learned about TRUE health. Over the course of 2-3 years, I learned as much as I could, including the importance of eating organic protein, veggies, and limiting alcohol and caffeine consumption. I learned about raw milk. I learned about superfoods, such as wheatgrass and spirulina. But more than ANY OF THIS, I learned how our digestive system works, how our stomach breaks down food, and what aids our stomach in effectively processing our food to use for energy.
Each of us has over 1,000 different types of bacteria that live in our digestive tracts. This bacteria allows us to break down the food we put in our bodies, absorb the nutrients which give us energy , and also helps form our immune systems. Our bodies were intended to digest organic whole foods, grown naturally from the ground. Unfortunately, our food is no longer grown this way. Our cows and chickens are pumped with unnatural hormones and we ingest these unnatural hormones, creating chaos in our gut. Our wheat has so much more gluten and preservatives, and because it's not grown in it's natural state, our bodies DO NOT know how to digest it! As a result, our bodies spend endless hours trying to digest whatever it is we have eaten, and because our bodies spend all its time digesting these processed, unnatural foods, it leaves very little energy for anything else.
And after an extended period of time, our bodies take a toll.
We begin to have a range of issues, abdominal pain, cramps, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, infection, fatigue, headaches, inability to focus, and so much more, all because our bodies are using ALL ITS ENERGY to break down these processed foods.
And this was what happened to me. After a year or so of feeling this way, I was determined to find an answer. I tried several things, including juice fasts, getting rid of gluten and processed dairy, and incorporating more veggies in my diet, I began to feel tremendously better. And the better I felt, the more research I wanted to do about how to become the healthiest version of myself. While eating healthy was a huge part of my transformation, I believe that probiotics were another crucial aspect.
I bet every person reading this has had more than one meal that's been processed or is filled with preservatives, whether it be eating out at Panera or simply buying groceries that are not organic (YES... buying vegetables that are not organic is not as healthy as you think). As a result, WITHOUT US INTENDING TO, we have damaged our gut. With every processed meal we eat, we kill off crucial bacteria. With EVERY Starbucks we drink, we consume processed milk that damages our stomach. And after weeks, months, and years of consuming processed food, we have lost the strands of bacteria that allow us to effectively process food and use it for energy. And EVEN IF we begin to eat healthy, organic food, our stomachs are so damaged that we need to go through a process of healing to get rid of the years of build up in our systems before being able to effectively process anything. That's where probiotics come in.
Probiotics are live bacteria that aid our stomach in digesting food. The more probiotics we take, the more "good" bacteria we put back into our bodies. Between the processed food, toxins, and antibiotics we have taken, we have lost a lot of this good bacteria, and it is crucial to undue the damage that has been done to our systems , and a huge way to do this is with probiotics.
Probiotics not only help aid our stomachs in digesting food, but it does so much more! As I said earlier, these strands of bacteria in our gut help with several functions of our body including digesting food but also with our immunity. Therefore, taking probiotics helps aid our digestive tract as well as boosts our immunity. It's unbelievable what probiotics can do to help improve our health.
What else do probiotics do?
-They can help prevent urinary tract infections, which are caused by bad bacteria invading our urinary tract.
-They can help with allergies, by boosting the immune system (This is especially important for pregnant women, taking daily probiotics can decrease allergies in your child by boosting baby's immune system!)
-They are beneficial for brain function, such as mental clarity
-They are linked to helping decrease anxiety and depression. (This one amazes me. For those who eat a lot of processed food, their stomachs can take several hours, even days to get the food through their systems. Anxiety and depression are caused by a chemical imbalance in our systems. The added hormones in our food (milk, beef, chicken) affect the chemical balance in our bodies, and can attribute to anxiety or depression! If we eat organic food, we are much less likely to have a chemical change occur in our bodies due to food because we are not eating hormone-pumped food!)
-Increase energy
-helps treat IBS, or irritable Bowel syndrome
-helps regulate you, need i say more? :)
I would say it took probably 2 years for me to find a good routine, but I can say I feel EXTREMELY blessed to have learned so much and to have had such a transformation in my life. My eyes are bright eyed again, my skin is MUCH clearer (minus the occasional spot when I have chocolate :) ) , I have so much energy (except when my 4 month old keeps me up all night), I get headaches MAYBE 5 times a year, and I weigh less. The weight part was never my intention, my intention was to become a healthy, young adult, and as result of that, my body trimmed down as well!
If I go 4-5 days without a probiotic, I notice a huge difference. less energy, more stomach issues, and a blemish or two on my face.
While eating healthy was about 80% of my transformation, I believe that probiotics was the other 20%.
There are several ways to consume probiotics, including by eating
but lets be real... who is going to eat that food everyday? I strongly suggest taking a probiotic supplement everyday!
Humbly,
Haylee
http://www.genesispure.com/products/display/2075/probiotic
Everywhere we turn we are reading articles, seeing television specials, and hearing people speak about PROBIOTICS! WHAT IS ALL THE HYPE? Is it really that important?
Well, actually probiotics are life-changing, and yes,they are THAT important.
I'll start this blog with a little story.
If you were to ask my family how to describe me, I'm sure their first few words would be "loving, kind, sweet, creative" soon followed by "convicted, speaks her mind, stubborn, passionate". Growing up, my parents (well my mom) would ask me to clean my room, and I had to fight this inner brat that just didn't see the point in cleaning my room. While I've always had a good sense of what is right and wrong and would often times "follow the rules", the other side of me has always been a bit stubborn and only wanted to do things in my life because I truly understood the purpose and was convicted about how effective it is. i.e., at a young age, I didn't understand the purpose of cleaning my room if it was going to get dirty the next day, so I just wouldn't do it. NOW, being an adult and married, I TOTALLY understand why my mom wanted me to clean my room everyday (or maybe a few times a week :) ). It instills a sense of discipline, it allows me to think of someone other than myself and contribute to the family, it helps me take ownership in helping make our family home a beautiful one, and it's just downright NICE to have a clean home!
The reason I share this little story is because I had this similar experience when entering into the world of health and especially, PROBIOTICS. I would say about 10 years ago, my mom got VERY interested in the world of health. She was talking to me about multivitamins, raw milk, superfoods, Vitamin B12, and several things that honestly at the time I just WAS NOT INTERESTED IN. I was young, healthy (or so I thought), and didn't see the point of taking these supplements when I felt 80% or better most of the time. And so... I continued on my merry way... Eating packaged granola bars, drinking my Starbucks coffee, and not thinking twice about what I was putting in my mouth.
SUDDENLY, out of nowhere, this blue-eyed, energetic, clear skinned, 20 year old started noticing some differences. I suddenly started breaking out (which I've always been fortunate to have very clear skin), I lacked energy, I was pale, I got terrible headaches, and just overall didn't feel good. Side not: things in my personal life, such as deaths in my family, were contributing to my lack of energy and stress, BUT my gut told me it was more than that; I just knew deep down that this was not the way God intended for a 20 year old to feel. I knew I had to figure out what was the root cause of all these new found problems in my life.
So, what did I start doing? I started my research. I started finding people in my life with energy and light in their eyes, and I wanted to figure out what it was that got them there! While there is more than one factor that contributes to this, I found one common factor, they all believed health was VERY important. I still wasn't ENTIRELY convinced that diet was what was making me feel bad, but I had my mom's voice in the back of my head telling me how important this health stuff was, and I was encountering people that spoke of how important it was, so I figured I might as well try.
The sad thing was I THOUGHT I knew a lot about health, I "tried" to eat healthy... (stay away from lots of fried food, only eat fast food occasionally, and drink diet soda... If only I knew then what I know NOW about diet soda.... its DEADLY...)
So, this time around I learned about TRUE health. Over the course of 2-3 years, I learned as much as I could, including the importance of eating organic protein, veggies, and limiting alcohol and caffeine consumption. I learned about raw milk. I learned about superfoods, such as wheatgrass and spirulina. But more than ANY OF THIS, I learned how our digestive system works, how our stomach breaks down food, and what aids our stomach in effectively processing our food to use for energy.
Each of us has over 1,000 different types of bacteria that live in our digestive tracts. This bacteria allows us to break down the food we put in our bodies, absorb the nutrients which give us energy , and also helps form our immune systems. Our bodies were intended to digest organic whole foods, grown naturally from the ground. Unfortunately, our food is no longer grown this way. Our cows and chickens are pumped with unnatural hormones and we ingest these unnatural hormones, creating chaos in our gut. Our wheat has so much more gluten and preservatives, and because it's not grown in it's natural state, our bodies DO NOT know how to digest it! As a result, our bodies spend endless hours trying to digest whatever it is we have eaten, and because our bodies spend all its time digesting these processed, unnatural foods, it leaves very little energy for anything else.
And after an extended period of time, our bodies take a toll.
We begin to have a range of issues, abdominal pain, cramps, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, infection, fatigue, headaches, inability to focus, and so much more, all because our bodies are using ALL ITS ENERGY to break down these processed foods.
And this was what happened to me. After a year or so of feeling this way, I was determined to find an answer. I tried several things, including juice fasts, getting rid of gluten and processed dairy, and incorporating more veggies in my diet, I began to feel tremendously better. And the better I felt, the more research I wanted to do about how to become the healthiest version of myself. While eating healthy was a huge part of my transformation, I believe that probiotics were another crucial aspect.
I bet every person reading this has had more than one meal that's been processed or is filled with preservatives, whether it be eating out at Panera or simply buying groceries that are not organic (YES... buying vegetables that are not organic is not as healthy as you think). As a result, WITHOUT US INTENDING TO, we have damaged our gut. With every processed meal we eat, we kill off crucial bacteria. With EVERY Starbucks we drink, we consume processed milk that damages our stomach. And after weeks, months, and years of consuming processed food, we have lost the strands of bacteria that allow us to effectively process food and use it for energy. And EVEN IF we begin to eat healthy, organic food, our stomachs are so damaged that we need to go through a process of healing to get rid of the years of build up in our systems before being able to effectively process anything. That's where probiotics come in.
Probiotics are live bacteria that aid our stomach in digesting food. The more probiotics we take, the more "good" bacteria we put back into our bodies. Between the processed food, toxins, and antibiotics we have taken, we have lost a lot of this good bacteria, and it is crucial to undue the damage that has been done to our systems , and a huge way to do this is with probiotics.
Probiotics not only help aid our stomachs in digesting food, but it does so much more! As I said earlier, these strands of bacteria in our gut help with several functions of our body including digesting food but also with our immunity. Therefore, taking probiotics helps aid our digestive tract as well as boosts our immunity. It's unbelievable what probiotics can do to help improve our health.
What else do probiotics do?
-They can help prevent urinary tract infections, which are caused by bad bacteria invading our urinary tract.
-They can help with allergies, by boosting the immune system (This is especially important for pregnant women, taking daily probiotics can decrease allergies in your child by boosting baby's immune system!)
-They are beneficial for brain function, such as mental clarity
-They are linked to helping decrease anxiety and depression. (This one amazes me. For those who eat a lot of processed food, their stomachs can take several hours, even days to get the food through their systems. Anxiety and depression are caused by a chemical imbalance in our systems. The added hormones in our food (milk, beef, chicken) affect the chemical balance in our bodies, and can attribute to anxiety or depression! If we eat organic food, we are much less likely to have a chemical change occur in our bodies due to food because we are not eating hormone-pumped food!)
-Increase energy
-helps treat IBS, or irritable Bowel syndrome
-helps regulate you, need i say more? :)
I would say it took probably 2 years for me to find a good routine, but I can say I feel EXTREMELY blessed to have learned so much and to have had such a transformation in my life. My eyes are bright eyed again, my skin is MUCH clearer (minus the occasional spot when I have chocolate :) ) , I have so much energy (except when my 4 month old keeps me up all night), I get headaches MAYBE 5 times a year, and I weigh less. The weight part was never my intention, my intention was to become a healthy, young adult, and as result of that, my body trimmed down as well!
If I go 4-5 days without a probiotic, I notice a huge difference. less energy, more stomach issues, and a blemish or two on my face.
While eating healthy was about 80% of my transformation, I believe that probiotics was the other 20%.
There are several ways to consume probiotics, including by eating
- Yogurt
- Kefir
- Aged cheeses
- Kimchi
- Sauerkraut
- Miso
- Tempeh
- Some soy beverages.
but lets be real... who is going to eat that food everyday? I strongly suggest taking a probiotic supplement everyday!
Humbly,
Haylee
http://www.genesispure.com/products/display/2075/probiotic