Category Archives: Bio-Kult Pro-Cyan

Bio-Kult Pro-Cyan, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Latero-Flora, Saccharomyces boulardii

Bad triggers and good habits: dietary tips for living with IBS

Do you find you get constipation, bloating, diarrhoea or abdominal pain – or even all four – more often than you assume is normal? If so, there’s a chance you may have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). In fact, given it’s something of an umbrella-like gastrointestinal complaint, the likelihood is a good number of people suffer from it without even realising.

Indeed, statistics suggest IBS occurs more often in women than men and, as far as we know, it affects 10-15% of the population of the United States alone1. However, sufferers shouldn’t despair because in an effort to control – or even to try and prevent – flare-ups of symptoms (or ‘triggers’) there are things they can do to help ensure the condition doesn’t dominate their lives. Many of these take the form of lifestyle adjustments and a good number of them concern what we put in our bodies; in other words, diet.

In practice, as you might expect, no single experience of IBS is the same for every sufferer, but a number of the dietary triggers can be, so it’s important to be aware of them.

Dietary triggers

Two of the most painful – and common – IBS symptoms are constipation and diarrhoea. Specifically to prevent constipation, be mindful to limit or avoid eating/ drinking trigger-foods such as:

  • processed foods – including snacks like crisps and pastries like cookies
  • breads and cereals derived from refined (non-whole) grains
  • dairy foods – especially cheeses
  • alcohol, carbonated drinks and coffee

Meanwhile, to prevent IBS-related diarrhoea specifically, be mindful not to overdo how much you eat each meal and try to limit or avoid consuming trigger-foods such as:

  • gassy foods like beans, Brussels sprouts, celery, raisins and wheat germ
  • food rich in insoluble fibre, for instance fruit and vegetable skin
  • alcohol, caffeinated drinks, chocolate and foods containing fructose or sorbitol
  • fried and fatty food
  • dairy products – especially if you’re lactose intolerant
  • wheat (if you don’t react well to gluten)

Good dietary habits

Conversely, there are several things you can try and make part of your regular diet that can prevent flare-ups and even soothe an IBS-afflicted gut and intestinal system:

  • probiotic-rich fermented foods – one of the ways you might find relief from IBS is to create strong probiotic colonies in your gut, especially if you’re having to cut dairy out of your diet; turning to fermented food with high levels of probiotics is one way, while another is to seek out probiotic supplements
  • organic green beans – a good source of soluble fibre
  • organic raw honey – a fine natural sweetener to replace refined sugar in your diet
  • coconut milk – for those with lactose intolerance especially, replacing cow’s milk with coconut milk can yield significantly positive results; other organic alternatives you might look to could be hemp milk, rice milk or sunflower milk
  • egg whites – unlike yolks, whites are relatively easy to digest and not high in fat
  • green tea – why not give it a go in place of heavily caffeinated and carbonated drinks?
  • lemon juice – offers great nutritional value to the liver and has digestive cleansing properties, plus offers a nice flavour when added to water
  • organic brown rice – far more nutritious and thus better for the gut than white rice; it also contains soluble fibre thus it works to encourage normal bowel function

IBS supplements

As mentioned above, to get your necessary fill of good bacteria toting-probiotics, an excellent source is via supplementation. The following – and more – are all available through The Finchley Clinic and are highly recommended by our customers:

bio-kult-120-capsules

Bio-Kult (120, 60 and 30 capsules) – helps to balance the gastrointestinal system against pathogenic, harmful organisms by introducing 14 beneficial probiotic bacteria into the gut; may aid sufferers of candida, gut dysbiosis and post-antibiotic diarrhoea as well as IBS

latero-flora-60-capsules

Latero-Flora (60 capsules) – contains a unique strain of Bacillus laterosporus, a naturally occurring bacteria whose introduction to the gut may maintain a healthy colon, especially in the face of IBS

optibac-probiotics-for-bowel-calm

Saccharomyces boulardii (formerly OptiBac Probiotics For bowel calm) (80, 16 and 8 capusles) – an acclaimed probiotic that naturally helps support bowel health, control and function during diarrhoea episodes; we advise IBS sufferers to take 1 capsule daily

Reference

1. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. ‘Definition and Facts for Irritable Bowel Syndrome’. https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-topics/digestive-diseases.

Bio-Kult Pro-Cyan, Cranberry Intensive, Cranberry Plus, Prostate health, Saw Palmetto Complex, Urinary tract, Women’s health

Keeping on tract: preventing and fighting urinary tract infections

Few things in life are as natural and normal as spending a penny. So, if you experience issues when urinating, it often causes concern, even anxiety. Should you check with a doctor if you have trouble when trying to go? Probably, yes. Especially if you feel a great urge to go but then can’t or experience a burning sensation when you do. Or if the urine itself appears cloudy, smells odd or contains blood. Or if you seem to have back pain or pressure in the lower abdomen. Because, should you have a combination of these symptoms, then it’s likely you have a urinary tract infection. These infections (often abbreviated to UTI or UTIs in the plural) are bacterial-based and, if left untreated, can be painful, disruptive and dangerous. In addition to the above symptoms, they can also bring on nausea and a fever and chills – the latter suggesting that the infection is spreading beyond the urinary tract itself.

Causes

It’s certainly true that UTIs tend to afflict women more than they do men, but why is this? Well, while in part it may be because a woman’s urethra is shorter than a man’s and so nearer to their anus, the idea that someone will suffer from a UTI only because of poor hygiene in the anal area (something easy to remedy, obviously) is unfortunately not true. Other potential causes include pre-existing, digestive conditions such as diabetes and kidney stones, use of spermicide-coated contraceptives or possibly urinary catheters, a weakened immune system (thanks to, say, chemotherapy or HIV) and – in the case of men – an enlarged prostate gland. It’s not all bad news, though. The standard treatment for UTIs tends to be antibiotics. And yet it’s worth noting recent research suggests, while they’re often effective for many sufferers of UTIs, antibiotics may not be the silver bullet many assume them to be1.

The limitations of antibiotics

One of the big problems with taking antibiotics to treat UTIs is that they kill both the ‘bad’ bacteria (which create and spread the infection) and the ‘good’ bacteria that’s also naturally found in the urinary tract. Good bacteria plays an important role in ensuring the digestive system functions correctly; indeed, should its levels in your body drop, you could become susceptible to developing inflammatory and autoimmune conditions. However, further research has indicated several different natural remedies may help in not only supporting a healthy urinary tract, but hopefully preventing UTIs3.

Natural remedies

  • Cranberry juice – thanks to comprising A-type proanthocyanidins, cranberries may help prevent bad bacteria from making itself at home in the bladder; additionally, they may help stop kidney stones from forming4
  • Juniper berry oil – may work towards ensuring there’s probiotic (good/ bad bacteria) balance in the digestive tract5 and aid in flushing out the kidneys by encouraging natural urine flow
  • Uva ursi – often referred to as bearberry, this plant extract has long been seen as the go-to natural treatment for UTIs; you’re advised to take it as soon as you believe (or know) you’ve contracted an infection, ideally 2-4g daily for up to five days6
  • Organic food – a natural, organic diet featuring a host of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants will support the tract’s good bacteria (as will remaining hydrated by consuming fluids, especially water), unlike a diet of processed food and refined sugar that will just aid bad bacteria growth7.

Supplements

Another way to keep the urinary tract healthy and help maintain the balance between good and bad bacteria in the digestive system is by taking supplements. The following are all designed specifically for this purpose and so could definitely be said to be supplements for urinary tract infections (as you’ll notice, in many of them the headline ingredient is cranberry). Needless to say, as they’re all available through The Finchley Clinic, we strongly recommend every one of them: bio-kult-pro-cyan

Bio-Kult Pro-Cyan (45 capsules) – a supplement that provides a triple action (36mg PACs of cranberry extract, Vitamin A and the probiotic strains Lactobacillus acidophilus and Lactobacillus plantarum) to help balance gut bacteria levels and keep the urinary tract healthy

Cranberry Intensive (6 sachets) – contains a unique blend of cranberry, potassium salts, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Vitamin C and hibiscus extract that work together to fight bad bacteria in the tract; can be mixed with water and so consumed as a pleasant drink

cranberry-plus

Cranberry Plus (30 capsules) – in addition to its high level of fresh active cranberry components, this supplement contains Lactobacillus acidophilus and Vitamin C, all of which combine to help combat UTIs, cystitis and vaginal thrush

saw-palmetto-complex Saw Palmetto Complex (formerly Prostate Complex) (60 capsules) – encourages natural function of the urinary tract through its assorted ingredients: saw palmetto, lycopene, zinc, selenium, celery seed, Vitamin A, Vitamin B6, beta sitosterol and the amino acids l-glycine and l-alanine; note that this product is especially beneficial for men as it also contributes to healthy prostate gland function.

References:

  1. Storm D. W., Patel A. S., Koff S. A. and Justice S. S. ‘Novel management of urinary tract infections’. Curr Opin Urol. Jul 2011; 21(4):328-33. doi: 10.1097/MOU.0b013e328346d4ee.
  2. Mannhardt W. ‘What is the cause of recurrent urinary tract infection?’. Monatsschr Kinderheilkd. Dec 1992; 140(12): 842-6.
  3. Reid G. ‘Potential preventive strategies and therapies in urinary tract infection’. World J Urol. Dec 1999; 17(6): 359-63.
  4. McHarg T., Rodgers A. and Charlton K. ‘Influence of cranberry juice on the urinary risk factors for calcium oxalate kidney stone formation’. BJU Int. Nov 2000; 92(7): 765-8.
  5. Filipowicz N., Kaminski M., Kurlenda J., Asztemborska M. and Ochocka J. R. ‘Antibacterial and antifungal activity of juniper berry oil and its selected components’. Phytother Res. Mar 2003; 17(3): 227-31.
  6. University of Maryland Medical Center. ‘Uva ursi’. http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb/uva-ursi.
  7. Kontiokari T., Laitinen J., Järvi L., Pokka T., Sundqvist K. and Uhari M. ‘Dietary factors protecting women from urinary tract infection’. Am J Clin Nutr. Mar 2003; 77(3): 600-4.