What are probiotics and why do I need them?
Probiotics are beneficial microflora that play a critical role in maintaining good health.† Healthy human intestines contain billions of both good and potentially harmful microorganisms. The good bacteria in the intestines are considered to be an integral part of normal immune system support.
Probiotics are important because they can synthesize certain vitamins and short-chain fatty acids to support a healthy intestinal lining and bolster immunity.† When your intestinal lining is occupied by healthy beneficial flora, it deprives unwelcome microorganisms of both space and nutrients.
Healthy people usually have a ratio of approximately 85% good to 15% potentially harmful organisms in the intestinal tract. In some cases, even those who appear to be well might have an unfavorable ratio as a result of daily exposure to environmental toxins and a modern lifestyle. For example, taking antibiotics or drinking chlorinated water may change the optimal microbial balance essential for good health.
†These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Information provided by gardenoflife.com. Back to Health carries their Primal Defense probiotic.
October is Gluten Free Month
Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley and rye and it is hidden in many foods and millions of people suffer from gluten allergies or intolerance. Symptoms of allergies or sensitivities to gluten include:
Upper respiratory tract problems
Fatigue
Chronic fatigue syndrome
Mouth ulcers
Anemia
Iron-deficiency anemia
Osteoporosis
Weight loss
Short stature in children
Diarrhea
Constipation
Abdominal bloating
Crohn’s disease
Diverticulitis
Depression
Attention and behavioral problems (in children and adults)
Autism
Skin problems
Keratosis Pilaris
Asthma
Irritability
Not everyone will show the above symptoms and they could be caused from something else. You can try and elimination diet and see if your symptoms go away or if you feel better. Celiac Disease is triggered by a reaction to gluten and currently the only "cure" is a gluten free diet. If you think you may have celiac, you should get tested for it.
Back to Health now has a wide variety of gluten free products to choose from!
Do you know your pH level?
What most people do not realize is that we are bio electrical engines.
In order to accomplish all the many complex functions that occur over the course of the day, your body has to be able to communicate with itself… all the way down to the cellular level. The way it does this is through pulses of electricity. Yes, electricity.
Your body operates on an electro magnetic current. Believe it or not, all of the organs in your body emit these fields of electrical current. In fact, nerve signals are nothing more than electrical charges.
What creates this electrical power in your body is a very fine balance that exists in your bio chemistry. Of all the systems in your body that depend on this delicate, bio chemical balance, one of the most important is your blood stream. This is where pH comes into play. But what is pH?
pH is a scale that measures how acidic or alkaline a substance is. The scale ranges from 1-14 with 1 being very acidic, 7 neutral, & 14 very alkaline.
So what does pH have to do with you and your blood? The pH of your blood is extremely important. The ideal pH level for your blood is right around 7.35 and your body goes to enormous lengths to maintain this level. Why? Because if your blood pH were to vary 1-2 points in either direction it would change the electrical chemistry in your body, there would be no electrical power and in short order you would drop dead. So… maintaining the right pH level in your blood is pretty important!!!
With this in mind, a good way to avoid upsetting this delicate bio chemical balance would be to take a look at those things that can compromise the maintenance of the ideal pH level in your body. The main culprit in this case is the creation of acid in your body.
Before we look at what causes acid, here’s a graphic example to give you an idea of what can happen in the blood when your pH drops to less than ideal. Red blood cells are how oxygen is transported to all the cells in your body. They have a “negative charge” which keeps them from being able to stick together. Acid strips away the negative charge causing them to clump together making it difficult for them to pass through the blood stream and the tiny little capillaries. This in turn causes less oxygen to make it to your cells. When red blood cells die, it causes more acid in your body.
What happens to a person’s energy level over time when their system becomes more & more acidic, their biochemical balance is disrupted, and their red blood cells can’t deliver oxygen and nutrients as efficiently to all their cells? Their energy level drops… dramatically.
Now that you are beginning to get the picture as to the importance of pH in your body let’s take a look at what causes acidity in your body then look at the steps you can take to get your body pH back to an ideal level.
What causes acid in the body? The primary cause of an acidic condition is from what you eat and drink. It isn’t how “acid” something may seem when you eat or drink it… it has to do with what is left over when you digest it. A lot of things people eat or drink creates an acid ash. These include: alcohol, coffee and a lot of flesh protein in your diet. Another thing that tends to create an acid condition in the body is stress.
Here are some steps that you can take to improve your pH. It is pretty easy to immediately change your pH for the better and make it more alkaline. The first step is to understand which of the foods you are eating and the drinks you are drinking are acid and which are alkaline. Then you just eliminate some of the more acid foods & drinks and add more alkaline ones. However, before you start, it’s important to get a baseline of what the pH is in your body so that you can see how you are improving or if you need to continue to eliminate more acid foods and add in more alkaline ones. You can do this by testing the pH of your saliva or urine on a regular basis.
In addition to decreasing the amount of acid foods you eat and increasing the amount of alkaline foods you eat, one of the best ways to immediately begin changing your pH is to drink “green drinks”. You can make these by simply adding a powder that is made up of a whole host of vegetables that are highly alkaline to a glass of water. We offer these “green drinks” here at Back To Health.
Thank you for taking the time to read this informational article. Please call us if you have any questions.
STRESS CAN HINDER YOUR ENERGY BY DEPLETING VITAMINS
Stress can deplete your body of major nutrients needed by the body. Two of those are B-Vitamins and Vitamin C. These two nutrients are top on the list to provide your body with energy and help the body function by boosting the immune system and helping with nutrient absorption.
B-Vitamins are so important for nerve functioning, supporting energy levels, heart health, metabolism and helping people deal with anxiety.
Vitamin C also helps support energy levels, the immune system, heart health, eye health, and helps with collagen production which is essential for preventing aging effects on the joints and skin.
April is Autism Awareness Month.
Autism affects one in every 110 children in America - that’s 13 million families who live with autism today and the number keeps rising. There is some belief that a gluten-free and or casein-free diet may benefit someone with autism. Back to Health Nutrition and Natural Foods has a wide variety of gluten-free foods to choose from.
There are many nutrients that children with Autism have found to be deficient in or that can aid in healing such as: B-Vitamins (which aid someone who is stressed or anxious and is needed for normal brain and nervous system function), Vitamin C (which helps with immune system and is also depleted quickly in times of stress), Calcium and Magnesium (which do NUMEROUS things for the body, including aiding in normal brain and nervous system functioning), and of course a multi-vitamin with minerals to ensure that all of their nutrional needs are being met because of the lack of a variety of foods.
Back to Health has a great liquid multi-vitamin with all of these nutrients in them that has an orange/fruit punch flavor that most children like and it even has trace minerals added!
Baldwin County has a fantastic program called Early Intervention for autistic children and it is FANTASTIC in helping the child learn new positive behaviors and helps both the parent and child cope. If you think your child or someone you know may have autism, talk to you doctor about it. If caught early, it can change lives!