The “Inside” Scoop on Gluten-Free Digestive Health

Join us for a FREE webinar Nov. 13th: The “Inside” Scoop on Gluten-Free #Digestive Health Featuring Dr. Shekhar Challa, board certified gastroenterologist and author of Probiotics For Dummies, and Mary Schluckebier, executive director, Celiac Sprue Association – hosted by GoodBelly Probiotics.

Unless you’re like the proverbial ostrich, you’ve heard all about gluten intolerance and celiac disease. But did you know the conditions are still commonly misdiagnosed because the symptoms can be so varied? An estimated 1.5 to 3 million Americans have celiac disease or other forms of wheat intolerance. Join us for a complimentary webinar giving you the “inside” scoop on gluten intolerance and the importance of having a strong gut! Pun intended : )

Our featured rock star experts include:

• Dr. Shekhar Challa – board certified gastroenterologist, will share insight on the role the digestive system plays in gluten sensitivities and intolerance, and how to identify symptoms.
• Mary Schluckebier – executive director of the Celiac Sprue Association, will also offer top recommendations for making the gluten-free transition, and how to live a gluten-free life.

As a webinar attendee, you will learn:

• Symptoms of gluten intolerance and celiac disease
• Treatment, tips and resources for a gluten-free lifestyle
• The importance of digestive health for those living gluten-free

We hope you’ll join us!

Register here: http://bit.ly/187mUak 

 

Ask Your Doctors Why They Aren’t Giving Probiotics With Antibiotics

It’s not uncommon to get diarrhea after taking antibiotics. Most of the time it resolves by itself.

Antibiotics tend to decrease or “wipe out” the good bacteria in your gut allowing the bad bacteria which normally are present in small quantities to proliferate. One such bad bacteria is Clostridium difficile, commonly called C.Diff. Symptoms include diarrhea, abdominal pain, rectal bleeding, fever, and bloating. Occasionally the illness is severe enough that it may cause hospitalization and even death.

According to Dr. Shekhar Challa, author of Probiotics for Dummies, the incidence of C.Diff is increasing in epidemic proportion over the last decade and so have deaths associated with this deadly disease. In fact it is estimated that 15,000 to 30,000 people die of C.Diff each year in the U.S.

Recently researchers reviewed 20 published randomized trials to see if giving probiotics while on antibiotics decreases the number of patients getting C.Diff and there is clear cut evidence that giving probiotics with antibiotics (for any reason) decreases the incidence of C.Diff in adults and children with no risk of side effects.

In spite of adequate evidence only a few doctors are prescribing probiotics with antibiotics-So the next time you are put on antibiotics for any reason make sure you ask your doctor about probiotics.

Go to www.probulin.com to order your probiotics today! Use coupon code 20OFF for 20% OFF your order!

You Have Heard About Probiotics But Do You Know What Prebiotics Are?

When looking at the words prebiotic and probiotic they look very similar, only containing one different letter. They also have similar benefits as their jobs are to improve overall health by starting with digestive health. According to Dr. Shekhar Challa, author of Probiotics for Dummies, and creator of the first Probiotic video game – microwarriorsvideogame.com, probiotics mean “for life.” Probiotics are the good bacteria. Prebiotics are non-digestible food ingredients, like inulin, that stimulate the growth and/or activity of bacteria in the digestive system in ways believed to be beneficial to health and are not consumed by the bad bacteria. Essentially Prebiotics act as food or fuel to Probiotics. Probiotics and Prebiotics worktogether to maintain gut health.

Prebiotic fiber is not affected by heat, cold, acid or time, yet probiotics can be killed by heat, acid or passage of time. Prebiotics nourish the thousands of good bacterial species already living in the colon. Probiotics contain species of bacteria which are added to the colon when ingested.

Probiotics are the beneficial organisms, prebiotics help probiotic bacteria grow and flourish. Prebiotics and probiotics working together are called synbiotics. Now we can understand that prebiotics are the support team to probiotics which maintain our gut health. When Prebiotics and Probiotics are available in the same product it is called a synbiotic. Probulin is a classic example of a synbiotic.

Probiotics for Dummies: It’s on the Market!

We at Probulin are excited to see the Probiotics for Dummies book go on sale this week! This book is a great introduction to the subject of probiotics, and breaks the subject down into language we can all understand. It highlights all the evidence out there showing that probiotics help people and also explores the research that’s in initial stages (much like we do here on Probulin).

One of my favorite chapters in the book highlights the different kinds of bacteria, both good and bad. For those of us not in the medical field, the names of bacteria can start to flow together as a mix of gobbledygook Latin words. Of course, the more you learn about any subject, the more those words start to separate into concepts and you get a true understanding of what the different strains of bacteria are.

Below are some of the bacteria listed in Chapter 15:

• Bifidobacteria (Good)
  • B. longum
  • B. lactis
  • B. breve
  • B. animalis
• Clostridium difficile (Bad)
• Escherichia coli, or E. coli (Bad)
• Lactobacillus (Good)
  • L. acidophilus
• Helicobacter pylori (Bad)

Elsewhere in the book (and we’ve covered it here in our blog) author Dr. Shekhar Challa talks about how bacteria are named.

Understanding which bacteria are being shown to work on different conditions is important as you start to take a probiotic supplement. Probulin contains seven strains of bacteria, an important distinction because the more strains you take, the more you have an impact on the beneficial bacteria in your body.

Okay, our work here is done now that you know where to go to learn more about bacteria a capite ad calcem.

Excuse me? Oh, we thought you might be proficient in Latin now. What we said was that you know where to go to learn more about bacteria from head to feet or from top to bottom.

Guess we’ll stick to English. . .

 

Go with Your Gut,

The Probulin Team