The Goods on Gut Health with Renew Life Probiotics!

This post is sponsored by Renew Life Probiotics. As always, I’m keeping it real and all opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting brands that support Whole Living Lauren!

I’ve got a fun post for you today all about one of my favorite “nutrition nerd” topics…..gut health! But to be honest, you don’t need to be a nutrition nerd to have an interest in gut health. I think everyone should care a little about gut health. Even if it’s just a teeny tiny bit.

Why?

I’m so glad you asked! Well for one thing, there’s bacteria living inside you, and that’s a good thing. Each person is made up of their own unique microbiome, which houses nearly 100 trillion (yes, trillion) bacteria. These bacteria help to increase nutrient absorption, ward off pathogens, and can directly affect our mood and brain chemistry according to recent research. Ninety-five percent (95%) of your body’s happiness-inducing serotonin is produced in the gut. Having a healthy digestive tract is even strongly linked to our immune system and better sleep. Kinda crazy when you think about it. It really is all about the gut! And research is discovering more and more about it all the time.

We have all heard a little something about probiotics. Probiotics are a buzz in the health world and have been for some time. And for good reason! Our bodies house multiple kinds of bacteria that perform specific jobs, including probiotics. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), probiotics are live organisms that, when administered in adequate amounts, create a health benefit on the host (person). So basically, probiotics = good bacteria.

There are a lot of probiotics on the market. It can be hard to know which one to choose in the sea of probiotics where the options seem to be growing by the week. Here are a few things you can consider when choosing a probiotic:

Multiple strands: Look for an abundance of strains!
Other ingredients: If you have food allergies or intolerances, be sure to read the supplement facts label carefully for inactive ingredients. Some probiotics contain ingredients such as gluten, dairy, soy, or nuts.
Storage recommendations: Currently, there is no research to suggest that refrigerated probiotic supplements are more effective than their room temperature counterparts. Just be sure to store your probiotics as recommended by the manufacturer in order to reap the full benefits.
Take your probiotic daily: In order to reap the benefits of a probiotic supplement, consistency is key.

One of the brands I really like is Renew Life® Ultimate Flora Probiotics. These probiotics deliver blends of multiple strands and billions of live cultures, which reflects the natural diversity in the gut. They have 30 billion live cultures per capsule which helps support digestive and immune health. I also love that they are made using targeted release vegetable capsules which ensure more probiotics actually reach your intestinal tract - and are also dairy and gluten-free. I get mine at Kroger (in the natural food/supplement isle) which makes it SO easy when I’m getting my groceries. No special trip to another store which is SO nice, especially when I have my little shopping buddy, Rhys with me ;)

In order to optimize the effects of probiotics, it’s important that we feed the good bacteria in our gut to maintain the right balance. Just like all living beings, probiotics need to be fed in order to remain active and healthy and to benefit YOU as much as possible. What do probiotics eat? Prebiotic FIBER, of course! If you have been long time readers, you know how much I nerd out about fiber. #sorrynotsorry. But seriously, prebiotic fiber is where it’s at when it comes to helping probiotics do their job. Here are some of my favorite prebiotic foods:

Garlic
Onion
Leek
Artichoke
Asparagus
Banana
Wheat bran

So go give your gut some love with a good quality probiotic, and give it some extra love with some prebiotic foods. To learn more and see the full line of Renew Life supplements, visit RenewLife.com!

Cheers to happy, healthy guts!

xoxo,

Lauren