Healthy Digestive System

Improved nutrition begins with a healthy digestive system

Here’s how ‘good’ bacteria and enzymes can help…

Digestive problems are perhaps the most common health concern in North America today, particularly as we continue to eat high-fat content, highly processed foods. With our frequent trips to the restaurant drive-through window, not to mention our participation in the latest fad diet craze, it’s no wonder our digestive systems are a mess!

Many digestive problems can be prevented through a healthy lifestyle. Getting the proper amounts of fiber, fruits and vegetables, and not eating on the run, may be a healthful start. At times, we may also see the need to supplement with beneficial bacteria and helpful enzymes that our digestive systems need to function efficiently.

Are you deficient in digestive enzymes?

If you have frequent bloated stomach, belching, burping, gas, fatigue, weight issues, headaches, constipation, to mention but a few—then you may have a digestive concern that should warrant your attention.

Enzymes are the sparks that cause or speed up the essential chemical reactions that the body needs to live. Digestive enzymes are particularly important since they allow the foods we eat to digest more completely so that we can use the food’s energy more efficiently.

‘Leaky gut’ and more…

As we age, the body produces fewer enzymes. Daily living also depletes the body’s source of enzymes by placing tremendous demand on body systems through stress, strenuous exercise, illness, extreme weather conditions, and the loss of perspiration, urine and feces. Pasteurization, microwaving, hybridization (or genetically modifying foods), and excess intake of hydrogenated fats can cause further depletion of digestive enzymes.

When foods are not well digested, they remain in the stomach where they rot and putrefy. This results in buildup of waste in the colon. As fecal matter begins to decay, bacteria produce toxins. The toxins eventually seep through the bowel wall, where blood capillaries pick them up and distribute them throughout the body, causing havoc on the body systems. This process is sometimes known as ‘leaky gut’ syndrome.

Of all foods, protein may be the major contributor to intestinal toxemia (‘leaky gut’ syndrome). Proteins are building blocks of the body and are necessary to transport vitamins and minerals to the bloodstream. However, protein is also the most difficult dietary constituent to digest.

“Contrary to the information on fad diets currently promoted by some popular books, a diet that is high in protein can actually contribute to disease and other health problems,” according to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.1

High protein diets may weaken the pancreas, which in turn, may fail to provide the necessary enzymes to digest the protein in the first place. Certainly, a vicious cycle that can lead to immune deficiency and leave a person vulnerable to chronic infections or disease.

Supplementing with AIM PrepZymes®

Raw foods have functional, live enzymes; however, raw foods provide just enough enzymes to digest that particular food only—there is no extra to digest cooked or processed foods. And, many people find the fiber content in large quantities of raw food difficult to digest.

There are many designer enzyme formulas in the marketplace, but AIM PrepZymes® is considered to be a complete general enzyme formula. What makes it so special? The enzymes are cultured, strained off, and purified, so no fungi, bacteria, or yeast remain in the product. AIM PrepZymes® also contains an extract of papaya fruit, which assists in protein digestion, and has a soothing effect on the stomach. A known metabolic stimulant, garlic has also been added, which may aid in digestion, contribute antioxidants, and offer antibacterial and antifungal properties.

A good digestive formula will contain a variety of enzymes that address every type of food ingested: protein, fats, starches, dairy, plant, vegetable material and sugar. AIM’s complete general formula addresses the variety of foods we eat. Each capsule of AIM PrepZymes® contains:

• Protease I & II to aid protein digestion

• Amylase—to aid carbohydrate digestion

• Lipase—to aid in fat and oil digestion

• Cellulase—for dietary fiber digestion

• Invertase—for digestion of sugar

• Maltase—for malt sugars and grain digestion

• Lactase—for dairy product digestion

Supplementing with digestive enzymes is a good way to efficiently break down protein, carbohydrates and fats, thereby stimulating the good bacteria in the gut, and detoxifying and cleansing the colon. As an added benefit, with a clean colon, we utilize more nutrients, eat less, and maintain a stable weight.

How important is beneficial bacteria?

There are upwards of one hundred trillion bacteria in the digestive system. A healthy balance of intestinal flora (bacteria) is considered integral to good health. The so-called ‘friendly’ bacteria counteract unfriendly bacteria in the digestive process by:

• aiding in the digestion of food

• cleaning the intestinal tract

• purifying the colon

• promoting regular bowel movements

• establishes a healthy balance of good bacteria in the intestinal tract:

• balances the intestinal pH

• promotes the destruction of molds, viruses and parasites

• protects us from environmental toxins

• increases the number of immune system cells

• helps to manufacture vitamins and essential fatty acids

• assists in maintaining healthy cholesterol and triglyceride levels

• breaks down and rebuilds hormones.

With so many benefits, it’s easy to see that when the ratio of good to bad bacteria in the intestines has become skewed, a host of health problems may result.

Supplementing with AIM FloraFood®

Multi-strain probiotic products are more likely to show health benefits than those formulas with only one strain of friendly bacteria. Generally, it is recognized that minimal concentrations should not be less than 1 billion viable cells per dose. AIM’s FloraFood® meets all of these requirements. It is a powerful probiotic formula packed with three essential bacteria: L. acidophilus, B. longum, and B. bifidum, to provide a better balance of intestinal flora. And, AIM is proud to guarantee 1 billion good bacteria cells per capsule until expiration in

AIM FloraFood®.

If product superiority weren’t enough, AIM’s FloraFood® is easy to use since no refrigeration is required. Through a unique and proprietary processing method, AIM FloraFood® will remain stable at room temperature. This makes AIM’s product particularly convenient to use when traveling.

Dr. Michael Murray, N.D., states, “The intestinal flora is intimately involved in the host’s nutritional status and affects the immune system function, cholesterol, metabolism, carcinogenesis, and aging.”2 Our overall health is greatly influenced by the balance of friendly and unfriendly bacteria in our digestive system, and AIM FloraFood® can help.

AIM FloraFood® and AIM PrepZymes® are best taken with meals. You may take AIM FloraFood® with other AIM products; however, AIM PrepZymes® will break down the bacteria in AIM FloraFood®, so take these products with alternate meals. As always, it is best to consult with a healthcare practitioner before adding anything new your diet.

1“The Protein Myth,” Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Washington, DC, 2003.

2Boris, et al. Infect. Immun. 66(5): 1985-1989, 1998.

Copyright © AIM International, Inc. Used with permission.