September 09, 2013
Each person ages at a different rate. We’ve all seen people who looked surprisingly youthful at an older age. How fast we age has something to do with genetics, but lifestyle is a big factor too. According to a new field called epigenetics, even if you have genes that predispose to aging more rapidly, lifestyle can reduce expression of these genes – so what you do or don’t do matters. Need some tips for staying healthy as you age? Get Moving It should come as no surprise that exercise tops the list of healthy aging tips. After the age of.... [Read More...]
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August 26, 2013
A significant percentage of the population experiences gastrointestinal symptoms that are severe enough to make their life unpleasant, symptoms like gas, bloating, diarrhea, constipation or abdominal cramping. Estimates are up to one out of five people are troubled by these symptoms. Some people experience them on a daily basis – at work, at home, at school, at social events and are inconvenienced and embarrassed by them. Many have sought medical attention and may have undergone a few x-rays or procedures to find out what’s wrong – and nothing was found. That’s the nature of functional bowel symptoms, you can’t always.... [Read More...]
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August 19, 2013
Back to school time means kids spend more time in close quarters with other kids where they’re exposed to the latest “flu” bug or virus that’s floating around. This adds up to an unhappy child, missed days from school, and missed work days for Mom or Dad. It’s impossible for kids to completely avoid exposure to infection-causing organisms, even if they wash their hands regularly and stay away from other children that are sick. Fortunately, kids have a natural defense against infection – a healthy immune system. What is immunity anyway? A child’s immune system consists of a complex network.... [Read More...]
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August 12, 2013
It happens to most people at one time or other – they eat too much or indulge in too much alcohol and don’t feel well the next day. If they drank too much alcohol, they may be hung over with a headache, an upset tummy and fatigue that make it hard to crawl out of bed. Not a pleasant scenario, especially if they have to be somewhere the next day. Interestingly, bacteria that live in the gut may impact how quickly a person recovers from “tipping the bottle” too much. Here’s why. There are a number of reasons people feel.... [Read More...]
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August 05, 2013
It’s summer, that great time of year when we bask in the sunshine and take some well-earned vacation in the sun. However, much as we love the sun, our friendly probiotic bacteria do not handle the transition to warm temperatures so well. We have often stressed the importance of keeping probiotics cool, ideally in a refrigerator. There is a good reason for this – heat kills most bacteria, and since probiotics are living bacteria, heat is not their friend. However, some probiotic manufacturers would have you think that their product does not need refrigeration, but the laws of biology apply.... [Read More...]
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July 29, 2013
It’s an intriguing idea that what lays in your gut influences how you feel and even how you think. Believe it or not your gut is embryologically related to your brain – meaning that from the very beginning, as the body is forming, the gut and brain have similar origins. Once they’re fully developed, they relay information back and forth, keeping the brain informed of what’s going on in the gut and vice versa. So complex are the nerve complexes in the gut that it’s sometimes referred to as the “second brain.” Doctors call this network of gut nerves the.... [Read More...]
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July 22, 2013
We are pleased to announce that world-recognized probiotics scientist and Natren founder, Natasha Trenev, will be a guest speaker at the Brain Solutions 2013 conference in Vancouver, BC. We asked Natasha why she is particularly excited about this conference – here is her response: “In the 1980’s Natren formulated a unique and powerful probiotic product, later producing it in a state-of-the-art pharmaceutical grade facility. My husband, Yordan Trenev, and I did this because we were convinced that probiotics are the most important health concept of the 21st century. Natren is an innovator whose mission is to provide unique and valuable.... [Read More...]
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July 15, 2013
When babies come into the world, their intestinal tract is free of bacteria. It’s at the time of delivery that a baby’s gut is first colonized with bacteria from the mom. A number of factors influence the type of bacteria that make their home in a newborn baby’s intestinal tract. One such factor is type of delivery. During a natural delivery, a baby is in contact with intestinal and vaginal flora from their mother, making direct colonization easier. During cesarean deliveries, the first contact a baby has with bacteria is not from mom but from the outside environment. This can.... [Read More...]
The post Establishing the Digestive System – The Early Years appeared first on Natren Probiotics Blog.
July 08, 2013
Milk is a good source of calcium and protein but not all adults can tolerate milk and other dairy foods. That’s because they may have a common condition called lactose intolerance. What is lactose intolerance and why does it make it so hard to tolerate dairy foods? Lactose is a natural sugar in milk and dairy products. Lactose is two simple sugars, glucose and galactose linked together. To break down lactose into a form that can be absorbed by intestinal cells, you need ample quantities of an enzyme called lactase. Lactase is an enzyme secreted by cells in the small.... [Read More...]
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June 24, 2013
Fructooligosaccharide, known as FOS, or inulin, is an ingredient often associated with probiotics – many probiotic manufacturers highlight it as a benefit of their product. At Natren, we have grave concerns about the use of FOS, and we believe a little more education is needed. Firstly – what is FOS? It is a simple carbohydrate that is non-digestible by humans. It is also used as an artificial sweetener. It occurs naturally in plants such as asparagus, garlic and the Jerusalem artichoke, although it is more often chemically synthesized for commercial use. It is often used within probiotic formulas as a.... [Read More...]
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June 17, 2013
Blood sugar, or glucose, is the body’s main fuel source. The digestive system is responsible for breaking down the foods we eat to create glucose, and a complex system of hormones is responsible for maintaining blood sugar within a tight range. Too much blood sugar is referred to as hyperglycemia, and if prolonged, can lead to damage to the brain, retina, kidney and cardiovascular systems. Too little blood sugar is called hypoglycemia, and means that the body does not have enough fuel to operate, which can also result in damage to the brain and other critical systems. The body has.... [Read More...]
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June 10, 2013
Much has been written about the physical benefits of probiotics. We know that they are great for aiding digestion, helping keep your body in balance, and even for nourishing the outside of the body too. But what about the mind? Can probiotics also be good for your emotional wellbeing? Well, it turns out that they can help. A study by the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles was recently published in the journal Gastroenterology. In the 4-week study, 36 women were split into 3 random groups. One group was given regular milk products twice daily. The second.... [Read More...]
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June 03, 2013
Father’s Day is almost upon us, and once again, we find ourselves struggling to find the perfect gift for Dad! On Father’s Day, we show our appreciation for Dad and the role he plays in taking care of the family. At Natren, we feel that this is the perfect opportunity to give him something that will help him take care of himself. There are two products in our probiotic range that are ideal for Father’s Day gifts: Jourdan’s Probiotic Aftershave Lotion – Just as our probiotic supplements help take care of your body from the inside, we also have a.... [Read More...]
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May 27, 2013
In our last blog post, we discussed the role of food in your healthy lifestyle. What you eat has everything to do with your energy levels throughout the day, the efficiency and well-being of your organs, and the way you burn fat. However, sometimes no matter what your diet, you may experience discomfort in the upper abdomen. This is commonly called indigestion, and can have a number of different causes. In some cases the cause may be a medical condition, and prolonged bouts of indigestion should certainly be checked out by a medical professional. At Natren, we believe in wellness.... [Read More...]
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May 20, 2013
In order to have a healthy lifestyle, begin by looking at the food that you put into your body. Does your diet allow your body to operate with the utmost efficiency, giving you energy, delivering important nutrients to your body, and helping your organs to function properly? When talking about diet and nutrition, low carbohydrate diets quickly bubble up to the top of the list, and are often seen as a way of quickly and effectively managing weight loss. There are good reasons why this works, not least because it encourages us to be smarter and more aware about what.... [Read More...]
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May 13, 2013
In our blog last week, we discussed some pointers for keeping your digestive system in great shape. We highlighted a number of suggestions that, in effect, bring your diet and lifestyle closer to its “natural state” where we are living off the land, farming and catching our own food, physically working hard to survive, and generally returning our bodies to their evolutionary (or intelligently designed, depending on your beliefs) origins. The reality though, is that we are not cavemen. The stresses of today’s world make it very difficult to keep the balance of bacteria in your digestive tract. You can.... [Read More...]
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