For people with compromised gut function including malabsorption, UltraGI Replenish® is a medical food that offers a targeted nutritional approach to support the intestinal lining and the beneficial gastrointestinal (GI) microbiota usually established through appropriate nourishment early in life.* UltraGI Replenish features a key prebiotic, known as 2’-fucosyllactose (2’-FL),* identical to one found in breast milk, that research suggests may be significant in promoting a healthy balance of beneficial GI microbiota beginning in infancy and continuing throughout life.1
UltraGI Replenish comes in both chocolate and vanilla flavors and can simply be mixed with water, unsweetened alternative milks, or fruit or vegetable juice. But for those looking for a little more variety, these six additional and tasty options are here to tantalize the palate. For all of these recipes, add ingredients in a blender and blend to desired consistency. Adjust water or ice for desired thickness. Mango Refresher INGREDIENTS:
Refreshing WatermelonINGREDIENTS:
Spinach Avocado SurpriseINGREDIENTS:
Raspberry DazzleINGREDIENTS:
Orange Carrot BlastINGREDIENTS:
Green Power Punch INGREDIENTS:
This content is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Individuals should always consult with their healthcare professional for advice on medical issues. Submitted by the Metagenics Marketing Team Reference: 1. Vandenplas Y et al. Nutrients. 2018;10(9):1161.
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Going gluten-free?
No doubt you’re experimenting with gluten-free alternatives of your favorite foods. However, as discussed in my prior post, “Going Gluten-Free? Don’t Make This Mistake!” relying on gluten-free packaged foods can take a toll on your budget, blood pressure, waistline, and digestion. The alternative? Rather than swapping out one package for another, shift your diet away from processed foods and toward more whole foods. If your goal is to improve your health, an upgrade to a whole foods diet is a smart start. Many people find the approach so satisfying that they don’t want to go back to their prior diet. So don’t just go gluten-free. Go beyond gluten-free! Of all the meals, most people find breakfast is the one they need to plan ahead the most. Why is breakfast important?
Healthcare practitioners may find their patients benefit from the 5R protocol. We sat down with Mark Kaye, DC to discuss the use of the 5R GI restoration program.
What is the 5R protocol? The 5R protocol is a means of helping to restore the natural balance of the gastrointestinal (GI) system. The GI system can become compromised even through typical lifestyle patterns. The GI system is a very complex environment because it is the main means of communication that our body has with the outside world. It’s a very complex organ system. There’s a couple of pounds of bacteria in the gut. There are digestive enzymes that have to break down foods. So it’s a means of taking each of the different functions of the gut and to try to bring them back into balance. How did the 5R program come about? One of the first topics discussed as a Functional Medicine parameter was GI restoration. However, we can go back literally hundreds of years if you think about how traditional food patterns utilized components such as fermented foods, that was part of the health process of many traditional food patterns. The integrative medicine model took much of its influence from the naturopathic profession. In the naturopathic model, gut health overlies many aspects of systemic health. How healthy the gut is, is a reflection of how healthy the body is. What are the five elements of the 5R program? The first of the 5Rs is remove, which is removal of any type of undesirable organisms that may be residing in the gut. Part of that dysbiosis may be undesirable bacteria, undesirable fungi, which are impacting the health of the GI tract. In addition would be removal of irritants from the diet. Wheat and gluten may be an example of one. Other common allergens such as fish may be of concern in some individuals, or tree nuts. These are all healthy foods, but in some individuals they contribute to immune dysregulation, irritation, and damage to the gut. The second phase of 5R is replace. A key function of the GI tract is digestion, taking complex foods and breaking them down into their individual components so that we can properly absorb fats, properly absorb carbohydrates for energy, but also to break down proteins so they can be absorbed and used for the normal building and maintenance process of the body. That requires quite a few different types of digestive enzymes including hydrochloric acid in the stomach, pancreatic digestive enzymes, and certainly bile. The third phase of the 5R GI restoration program is reinoculation. Again, there are literally trillions of bacteria that reside in our gut that are part of a so-called normal flora or the microbiome of the GI tract. These can be negatively impacted by many different factors in our environment. From stress to diet to lifestyle, patients who may not get sufficient rest, as examples. Reinoculation is bringing a few desirable species and strains of bacteria back into the system and allowing the GI tract to be a hospitable environment. The fourth phase of the program is regenerate. The GI wall is a tube that has desirable compounds, nutrients that need to be let in, but undesirable compounds need to be kept out and eliminated through the feces. It’s constantly turning itself over. The cells are regenerating and repairing themselves. That regeneration process requires both macronutrients such as proteins and specific fibers as well as micronutrients, which work to keep that cell wall healthy and to keep it from becoming a leaky tube that allows undesirable compounds to be absorbed. Last but not least is retain. Once you’ve taken that patient through this entire process of GI restoration, they have to be able to maintain that normal GI environment, so that’s going to require a healthy diet, proper vitamin and mineral intake, appropriate protein intake, and again, maintaining a healthy diet means staying away from things that are potentially harmful. How does the program work? This is a GI restoration program. It’s asking the practitioner to determine what is most important in this individual. Not everyone is going to require each step of the 5R program. For example, a patient may have very effective digestion, sufficient hydrochloric acid, good bile production in the liver, appropriate pancreatic enzyme release, so the replacement phase of the 5R program would not be required for that individual. Let’s look at the first phase: remove. That patient and practitioner may have already determined what specific foods are problematic for that patient or what specific lifestyle factors have been impacted, so they may not need that individual phase. There may be specific things that may be needed in an individual patient, or a patient may be able to bypass that phase completely. Can two or more 5R elements be undertaken simultaneously? Very appropriately! For example, if we talk about removal, part of that removal would be a strategy to remove undesirable bacteria from the gut. Anytime you’re removing undesirable bacteria in the gut, you want to replace that with something else, or reinoculate. So the removal and reinoculation phases can often go together. What’s very important is to continue the reinoculation phase a couple of weeks at least after stopping the removal phase. The same thing with the regenerate. Since the health of the GI tract is highly nutrient-dependent, you have to feed that gut well and make sure you’re getting the baseline nutrient requirements for that patient. Outside of diet, are there any lifestyle changes that you recommend while patients are undergoing the 5R program? Just anything that’s related to a healthy diet. So proper exercise is certainly very important. Certainly we understand the use of fiber as part of that and other dietary components. But exercise stimulates intestinal function. Gravity is important for intestinal function. So get up and go! We’re far too sedentary. Very similarly with stress, we look at emotional or physical stress on the body; it changes our chemistry, so anything that reduces stress. One of the best ways we can help to reduce stress is proper sleep. The 5R program is not simply a GI restoration program; it’s a GI restoration program as part of a comprehensive diet and lifestyle intervention in patients. How would a patient get started on the 5R program? Find an experienced practitioner who understands the 5R program and can assess whether a 5R program would be appropriate. A practitioner can help the patient to discover the triggers for different diet and lifestyle habits that have led to the problem. I think anytime we’re dealing with any type of chronic illness, anytime we’re ready to make a major dietary lifestyle change where we’re ready to eat healthier, find a healthcare professional who can help us through it. Don’t do it on our own. Mark A. Kaye, DC, Senior Manager, Medical Information, Medical Affairs Dr. Kaye started with Metagenics in June 1995 and has been leading seminars, speaking internationally, writing, and supporting practitioners through programs including Innovative Practice Solutions (IPS) and FirstLine Therapy (FLT) ever since. Mark manages the Metagenics Medical Information team, providing practitioner support for medical foods, functional foods, and dietary supplements in clinical practice. In addition, Mark supports Metagenics International Distributors in their clinical and product needs and is involved in compliance with U.S. and Canadian dietary supplement regulations. Dr. Kaye received his Doctor of Chiropractic degree from the Los Angeles College of Chiropractic and was in private practice in Southern California for approximately 10 years prior to joining Metagenics. In addition to licensure in California, Dr. Kaye was also licensed to practice chiropractic in Arizona and Maine. by Noelle Patno, PhD
For mild and occasional diarrhea, consider these approaches:
References:
By Noelle Patno, PhD
If you’re having trouble with that more substantive trip to the restroom, there may be some simple behavioral habits to implement to resolve your issues. Most of the popular press, common opinion, or typical Google searches may suggest that constipation is difficulty in producing stool, having infrequent stool, or having hard and small stool, caused by 1) dehydration, 2) lack of fiber in the diet, or 3) a sedentary lifestyle. However, there may be more lifestyle reasons for consideration when there is an interruption in the motility of the intestine.2 Let’s examine in more detail common causes of what we may consider mild and occasional constipation. Common causes of constipation
If you suffer from occasional or mild constipation, this list of contributing lifestyle factors might be worth a look. As always, you should discuss any concerns you may have with your healthcare practitioner. References:
By Noelle Patno, PhD
For mild and occasional constipation, consider these potential, evidence-based, approaches: Water intake:
Resources:
Did you know your body can contain up to ten times more bacteria than it does human cells?
Probiotics are living microorganisms that can have beneficial effects on the microbiome and on many aspects of the human body; their use has become quite widespread in the last several years. But as is common among topics that rapidly rise in popularity, misinformation is easily spread as some companies may prey on customers’ ignorance. We think it’s time to debunk the most common myths about probiotics so you can make informed decisions. Myth: All probiotic strains are created equal.Fact: Only a handful of probiotic strains have been clinically shown to support human health. In fact, only a few probiotic strains have been researched extensively.1 What is a “strain”? While many probiotics are listed as a genus and species (such as Lactobacillus acidophilus), each species can also have many strains, and each strain may have different effects on particular body systems.2 For example, L. rhamnosus GR-1® and L. reuteri RC-14® are two probiotic strains shown to specifically target women’s health.*3 Myth: Better-quality probiotics don’t require temperature-controlled environments.Fact: Since probiotics are living microorganisms, it makes sense that they must exist in a habitable environment. They are sensitive to heat and moisture, which can impact viability. If handled carelessly or exposed to extremely high temperatures during shipping or storage, these tiny organisms may die off and/or lose their effectiveness, which equals a lack of potency and subsequent lack of health benefits.4 How can probiotics products be protected from heat? Refrigeration is not required for probiotics, but it is often the best way to protect the viability and ensure potency over a longer period of time.4 Reputable manufacturers usually ship probiotic products with ice packs to help ensure they are protected on their journey to you. Although the ice may melt before delivery, the temperature within the package should remain well below the level at which damage to the bacteria could occur.4 Packaging of probiotics is important, as well, to maintain viability. Desiccant packets in product bottles help to reduce moisture from the environment, while the bottles themselves matter too. Look for amber glass bottles, which eliminate the risk of UV oxidation.5 Read: 6 Things to Look for in a Probiotic Myth: The higher the potency, or total numbers, of a probiotic, the better the results.Fact: As it is important to utilize well-researched probiotic strains, it’s also important to keep in mind that the research conducted is usually done based on a total number of colony-forming units (CFU) of a specific probiotic. The potency, or total number of CFU, should be based on published scientific and clinical data on specific strains that demonstrate clinical efficacy for particular health benefits.6 In other words, if a study on a specific probiotic strain indicates health benefits at a dosage of 10 billion CFU, any product touting that benefit should have exactly 10 billion CFU. Companies promoting products with a higher number, and therefore a supposed increased benefit, may not be clinically accurate or relevant. Myth: Guaranteed potency at the time of production and expiration is the same thing.Fact: While some probiotic manufacturers tout the number of CFU at the time of production, not all can guarantee that you’ll get this number when you take them. Probiotics die over time, and this loss of efficacy can increase depending on manufacturing, shipping, and storage processes.4 Only products that guarantee potency at expiration assure reliable efficacy from start to finish. This follows the Best Practices Guidelines for Probiotics from the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) and the International Probiotics Association.7 Quality probiotics state a guaranteed bacterial number on the label, with instructions for the consumer on proper usage. With appropriate storage after delivery, potency ideally should be guaranteed through the date of expiration—for reliable efficacy with every use. For more information on probiotics and nutrition, please visit the Metagenics blog. References:
Submitted by the Metagenics Marketing Team Maybe you’ve heard a healthy diet can clear up skin conditions. Is this true? Read on to learn about the gut-skin connection and how a healthy gut may lead to a clearer complexion.1
Introduction to the gut: things to know, foods to eat Before we discuss the gut’s impact on healthy skin, it’s important to note that the gut microbiome contains trillions of healthy bacteria that contribute to good digestion, nutrient absorption, and overall wellbeing. It features more than 400 bacterial species, or gastrointestinal flora, that oversee these processes.1,2 Many bacteria found in the gut offer crucial metabolic and immune benefits.1 Some recent research suggests that keeping the gut healthy with certain foods and nutrients may also positively impact your skin:
To help further support a high-performing gut, also it is suggested to drink plenty of water, manage your stress levels, and exercise regularly.6,8 Can a healthy gut clear acne? Acne affects up to 50 million people in the United States. It’s the nation’s most common skin condition, and if left untreated, it can contribute to emotional distress.9 Regardless of whether or not you suffer from breakouts, your skin is an essential organ. Skin, in general, has an average surface area of over 21 square feet, and comprises roughly 6–10% of our body weight.10 The gut-skin axis is being studied more and more in relation to overall health. Our microbiome plays a key role in achieving what’s known as skin homeostasis, where the skin performs all its vital functions appropriately, including temperature regulation, protection, and water retention.1,11 How can you monitor your gut health? Besides a healthy diet, consider discussing comprehensive stool tests with your supervising practitioner. To dive deeper into your gut-skin axis, your practitioner may schedule a stool exam, the results of which may provide your practitioner information needed to rule out any gut health conditions. If you’re concerned your gut health may be affecting your skin, don’t hesitate to contact your healthcare practitioner for more information on the gut-skin axis or before making changes to your diet or skin care routine. This information is for educational purposes only. This content is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Individuals should always consult with their healthcare professional for advice on medical issues. For more information on nutrition and gut health, please visit the Metagenics blog. References
Submitted by the Metagenics Marketing Team By Noelle Patno, PhD
The common complaints of bloating and flatulence, while not immediate reasons to go to the doctor, often create discomfort both individually and socially. There may be a great deal of information about intestinal gas that is considered “common sense,” but you may be interested to learn what research studies in this area have revealed. Let’s begin! What causes intestinal gas?If you’ve ever heard someone sing to you, “Beans, beans, the musical fruit, the more you eat, the more you toot,” you’re probably already familiar with several foods that can cause gas production and flatulence. Certain foods are known to be metabolized by intestinal bacteria and generate gas.1 The gas within our digestive system consists mainly of nitrogen and oxygen. Foods composed of complex carbohydrates, including beans, and foods high in polysaccharides (particularly oligosaccharides such as inulin) tend to cause, or worsen, flatulence. When we digest these foods, gas, mainly in the form of hydrogen, methane, and carbon dioxide, is released.2 To reduce risk of excess intestinal gas, AVOID eating too much of these foods:
Typically, people pass minor amounts of gas without noticing it—gentle release of the small pockets of air that may have been swallowed and small amounts made by bacteria—it even happens during sleep; larger volumes are typically released after meals. 6 (hint: plan accordingly!). While flatulence releases intestinal gas, the problem of trapped gas found with bloating, according to the medical community, is actually a problem of gas dynamics.3 Bloating—a problem of trapped gas, not excess gasA recent analysis by computed tomography (CT) scans has identified that the average intestinal gas volume, about 200 ml, does not differ in those patients with gastrointestinal diseases accompanied by obvious symptoms (e.g., inflammatory bowel disease or IBD) from those whose symptoms are not externally validated (e.g., irritable bowel syndrome or IBS).7 Research has shown that in people who complain of abdominal pain, and sometimes have an increased waist circumference, when objectively measured, are shown to have only about 28-118% (about 2 to 8 ounces) more gas in their intestines.3 The researchers concluded that the amount of just 1.9 to 8 oz. more gas wasn’t enough to create the problem of bloating but that the distribution of the gas was cause of the problem.3 Theories on the causes of bloating include:3
This content is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Individuals should always consult with their healthcare professional for advice on medical issues. References:
Are you struggling to maintain a healthy weight?
If so, you may want to check in with your gut. Research has shown that our gut bacteria—specifically, the wrong kind of gut bacteria, or lack of microbial diversity—can hinder weight management.1 This post offers a brief overview of the gut and explains how you can improve your gut microbiome and support better weight management. Gut health: an overview Our intestines, or gut, are key to our digestive system and have been linked to many other aspects of our health, affecting everything from our cognitive wellbeing to our skin health and potentially our ability to lose weight.2 Our gut hosts 100 trillion microbes at any given time, and the majority of these microflora are good for us. That said, not all microbes provide the same health benefits.2 This is because we each have a unique composition of microbiota in our gut microbiome—consisting of various strains of bacteria, viruses, and protozoa (a group of single-celled microorganisms)—some of which have been shown to influence our weight and overall health. If our microbiota become less diverse, or if the amount of specific, beneficial microbes in the gut shifts, it may affect our health in various ways.2 What factors influence the gut microbiome? Our gut breaks down the food we eat into small particles. The smallest particles are absorbed into the blood, while the rest are eliminated from the body.3 The process of digestion that takes place in the intestines is where the impact of gut bacteria is the most significant. While the majority of these bacteria help to break down food and nutrients in the gut, some are better-equipped to facilitate digestion, and potentially help with weight management, than others.3 Put simply: If the gut has higher levels of certain types of bacteria, this could be a reason why it’s more difficult to lose weight. Some factors that can disrupt the gut microbiome and affect weight management include:4
Even the most relaxed people experience stress from time to time. Chronic stress is much more serious, however, as it can disrupt the gut microbiome, reducing the numbers of beneficial bacteria for weight management as well as affecting overall health. Strategies to improve gut health and promote weight loss Results from a study published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings reveals that even with a strict diet and exercise program, specific activities of the gut bacteria can disrupt the microbiome and make weight loss difficult.6 This is important because currently, more than two-thirds of American adults are either overweight or at risk of being overweight.7 Healthy weight loss and management are crucial to overall health—and this is where understanding research on probiotic strains is valuable.8 In addition to a nutritious diet and regular exercise, certain strains may improve gut function. Clinical studies have shown that strains, such as Bifidobacterium lactis B420, support body weight regulation and have been shown to help control body weight and body fat.8 While certain probiotic strains may be ideal for weight management, along with a comprehensive wellness regimen, they are not a substitute for a healthful diet and active lifestyle. Please speak to your healthcare practitioner before changing your diet. References:
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Certain persons, considered experts, may disagree with one or more of the foregoing statements, but the same are deemed, nevertheless, to be based on sound and reliable authority. No such statements shall be construed as a claim or representation as to Metagenics products, that they are offered for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of any disease. PAIA Manual |