Sometimes people are surprised to learn that the microbes living in their guts can influence many aspects of their well-being, including:
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How happy or sad you are.
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How much weight you gain or lose.
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Your body’s response to stress.
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How well you remember names, faces and dates.
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Whether you have enough energy to get through your day.
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How fast your brain ages.
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Your risk for getting sick or developing serious health issues.
Your gut and brain talk with each other 24/7 – and they have ever since you were born. They share messages about many things, from how happy you feel to your level of hunger to what your brain cells need to create thoughts and memories.
This so-called “gut-brain axis” chatter occurs through direct nerve pathways – the most important one being your vagus nerve.
The longest nerve in your body, the vagus nerve stretches from your brain to your abdomen and connects to all of your visceral, or internal, organs. It plays key roles in body functions, like your heartbeat, immune heath and your response to stress.
At one end of your gut-brain axis, your gut hosts a teeming community of microbes or bacteria, both beneficial and not-so-good bacteria. It’s thought that these microbial cells may outnumber your own human cells by more than 10-to-1.
This microbial community also uses this two-way information highway to communicate with your brain and nervous system. So, depending on the bacterial makeup of your gut, or microbiome, those messages may be supportive to your well-being – or not.
That connection is so profound, researchers have discovered 60% to 70% of people who experience mood issues also have occasional gut problems.
Why Gut Health Matters
As we’ve seen, there’s a strong link between your gut health and your physical and psychological health, including your mood and mental health.But did you know your thoughts and emotions can actually change how your body functions?
When your gut microbiome is unbalanced and lacking in beneficial bacteria or probiotics, you can feel or see it in your weight, energy level, mood, immune function, digestion, and overall wellness.
A healthy microbiome is especially important for your immune health. Your gut microbes determine not only how well your immune system can defend you against threats, but the state of your overall health.
Many things can affect your gut health, including a poor diet, chronic stress, lack of quality sleep and drinking unfiltered tap water. Stress, especially, can have a negative effect on the diversity and complexity of your microbiome.
A healthy gut is a balanced gut, meaning there is a healthy balance of beneficial bacteria, or probiotics, to the less-beneficial bacteria.
Targeting your gut microbiome with the right nourishment to promote the growth of beneficial bacteria – and discourage the accumulation of the not-so-good bacteria in your gut – can be a real game-changer in how you look and feel.
Do you have a healthy, balanced microbiome? Let’s see how many of these red flags you identify with…
7 Signs of an Unhealthy Gut
How healthy is your gut? Reduced gut health shows up in different ways. Here are seven of the most common signs:
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Irregularity and digestion
Do you experience occasional heartburn, gas, bloating or irregularity? These can all be signs of an unbalanced gastrointestinal tract and disturbances in your gut-brain axis. Balancing your gut microbes aids both your digestion and elimination.
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Fatigue and sleep
Unbalanced gut microbes can lead to occasional sleep disruption and feelings of tiredness and fatigue.
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Food intolerances
If you find yourself no longer tolerating certain foods as well as you used to, you may have an imbalance of bacteria in your gut. Unlike a food allergy which typically triggers an immune response, food intolerances can result in occasional abdominal discomfort, such as bloating, excess gas, nausea and loose stools.
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Unhealthy eating behaviors, cravings and mood
The microbes in your gut can generate cravings for foods they need for their own survival (think: sugar and carbs) and that can affect your feelings of satiety, or satisfaction, after eating a meal. Plus, these pesky microbes can produce toxins that alter your mood, change how your food tastes and actually hijack the vagus nerve connection between your gut and brain.
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Altered immune function
An imbalance in your microbiome can affect how well your immune system works and can lead to either an overactive immune system or less-than-optimal immune function.
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Skin integrity
Your skin is your largest organ and an imbalance in your gut bacteria (with fewer beneficial bacteria) not only diminishes your immune system function, but can also decrease the integrity and healthy balance of your skin.
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Unintended weight gain or loss
Has your weight changed lately – without any changes to your diet or activity level? An imbalance in your gut microbiome can affect how your body absorbs nutrients from your food, stores fat and helps maintain your blood sugar within normal, healthy limits.
Besides these seven signs, there is one red flag that may be more telling than anything else…
How’s Your Poop?
Checking your stools is a simple, straightforward way to learn about the health of your gut. Ideally, you want to have one or two well-formed and easy-to-pass bowel movements a day.
The Bristol Stool Form Scale, developed by gastroenterologists Dr. Stephen Lewis and Dr. Ken Heaton at the University of Bristol, is a handy guide to knowing what’s normal in your toilet bowl – and what’s not.
Can you identify your type?
Depending on your stool type, you may need to pay more attention to the amount of fiber and water you are consuming each day.
Plus, you may want to consider using prebiotics, probiotics and postbiotics to help support a healthy bacterial balance within your microbiome.
How Prebiotics, Probiotics and Postbiotics Can Make a Difference in Your Gut Health
Most likely you’ve heard about probiotics. In fact, you may be taking them now.But what about prebiotics and postbiotics? How do they differ from probiotics?
You have three groups of ingredients that can benefit your gut and help keep your microbiome in a healthy balance. These are:
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Probiotics
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Prebiotics
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Postbiotics
Let’s take a closer look at each of these groups:
Probiotics
What are probiotics? The Journal of Gastroenterology defines probiotics as “the live nonpathogenic microorganisms present in the gut microbiota that confers benefits to the host for health.” So, probiotics are either foods or supplements that contain viable microorganisms that can alter your microflora, or the bacterial content of your gut. Examples include bifidobacteria and lactobacillus.
What do probiotics do? Depending on the strain of bacteria, probiotics play many roles to support your health. Some of the most valuable functions include immune and metabolic support, as well as promoting a healthy gut microbiome and intestinal barrier function.*
Prebiotics
What are prebiotics? Prebiotics are types of soluble fiber molecules from starchy carbohydrates. Your body can’t digest them until they reach your colon where they are fermented by specific bacteria. Examples of prebiotics include foods like under-ripe bananas, grains, legumes and raw garlic and onions, as well as oligosaccharides, arabinogalactans, fructooligosaccharides and inulin.
What do prebiotics do? Prebiotics provide probiotics with the nourishment and energy they need through the process of fermentation, and yield important substances, like short-chain fatty acids that support gut, metabolic and immune health.*
Postbiotics
What are postbiotics? Postbiotics are the result of heat-treating live probiotics leaving behind beneficial bioactive compounds from the cell wall such as bacterial lipoteichoic acid (LTA). These compounds can exhibit a health benefit through the body’s various pathways. Postbiotic benefits depend on the probiotic from which they were derived.
What do postbiotics do? Postbiotics contain bacterial metabolites that can promote a health benefit to your body and may work synergistically with prebiotics and probiotics to help support your immune and metabolic health as well as promote a healthy weight. Because postbiotics do not contain any live bacteria they are more robust.
Could Postbiotics Be Even Better Than Probiotics?
Probiotics are live bacteria that colonize within your gut. They have the same benefits as their heat-treated counterpart since they share the same cell wall containing the beneficial bacterial metabolites. But because they are alive, probiotics must first adapt to new growth conditions in the gut and the composition of the metabolites may vary. That’s where postbiotics can be useful…
Postbiotics mimic the beneficial effects of probiotics, so you get these positive effects without having to worry about the viability of the live microorganisms.
How can that be?
The latest scientific evidence shows that the beneficial effects of probiotics are not necessarily due to living or viable bacteria. Rather, it is the metabolites or bacterial components of the live bacteria that promote health – or what’s now known as “postbiotics.”
After a probiotic is no longer viable these remaining metabolites are still beneficial. Moreover, postbiotics may offer benefits including…
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Helping you manage your weight and metabolic health.*
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Offer additional benefits to promote health, such as antioxidant and protective functions.*
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Help maintain your immune function.*
Postbiotics produced from Lactobacilli probiotics have been studied the most, as it is the largest genus among lactic acid bacteria. Both inactivated Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus bacteria are known to be safe and effective.
Experience the Ultimate in Balanced Gut Health with Biothin® Metabolic Pre + Post + Probiotics
![Biothin® Metabolic Pre + Post + Probiotics 3-Pack]()
Balance is key when it comes to gut health. And now there’s a groundbreaking 3-in-1 tool to help you achieve that balance – one that really works.
Prebiotics, probiotics and postbiotics work together to help balance your gut to support your immune, metabolic, and digestive health, so for the ultimate in gut health, you need all three.*
Biothin® Metabolic Pre + Post + Probiotics provides you with the total package – all three components for a healthy, balanced gut:
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Prebiotic: Organic Sunfiber® Guar Fiber
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Probiotic: Bacillus subtilis NRRL B-67989
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Postbiotic: Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. Lactis CECT 8145
So, how do these three work together to support gut health?
Let’s dive in and explore each one separately…
Organic Sunfiber® Guar Fiber: The Invisible Fiber That You Can’t Taste, See or Smell
Fiber does more than just help keep you regular. It supports gut health, as well as blood sugar and weight management.So how do you go about choosing the right fiber supplement for you? A good rule to follow when choosing a fiber supplement is this:
If you don’t like its taste, texture or aroma, you likely won’t want to use it.
So, why not pick one that has no flavor or aroma, and mixes invisibly in just about any cold non-carbonated beverage, such as water, juice, sports beverages and smoothies?
The ideal fiber supplement is one that you can’t even tell is there.
Sunfiber®, a pure, partially hydrolyzed guar fiber, stirs into just about any beverage, without changing its aroma, flavor or texture. This remarkable fiber ingredient is…
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Gluten free
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Certified as glyphosate residue free
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Non-GMO Project Verified
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Free of other ingredients (unlike inulin tablets that can contain sorbitol, corn starch, magnesium stearate and artificial flavors and colors)
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Low FODMAP Certified
Sometimes individuals with less-than-optimal gut function and food sensitivities are advised to follow a Low-FODMAP diet. This is an eating plan that avoids certain foods, like carbs and sugars that are either difficult to digest or are rapidly fermented, triggering excess gas, bloating or abdominal discomfort.
The first stage of the Low-FODMAP diet is low in dietary fiber, which excludes many fiber supplements. Because Sunfiber is certified Low-FODMAP, you can use it when following this special diet.
When choosing a fiber supplement, you must consider your body’s unique needs. How is your regularity and stool consistency? Does your digestion need extra support? Are you prone to gas and bloating?
Some types of fiber tend to be more easily tolerated, while others are not. Prebiotics often generate gas and abdominal discomfort – especially inulin – so people typically need to start slowly when adding this type of prebiotic to your diet.
In a study that compared the effects of the type of fiber in Sunfiber, partially hydrolyzed guar gum fiber (PHGG), to wheat bran, a popular fiber choice, PHGG was better accepted by subjects.
4 Ways Sunfiber Supports Your Digestive and Metabolic Health, Including Weight Management*
Sourced from the guar plant’s fiber-packed bean, the Organic Sunfiber in Biothin® Metabolic Pre + Post + Probiotics is a soluble fiber prebiotics. Sunfiber supports your digestive and metabolic health, including weight management, six different ways…
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As a prebiotic, it feeds and stimulates the growth of beneficial bacteria in your gut and helps increase levels of Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus probiotics to promote a healthy gut microbiota for overall wellness.*
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Reduces the glycemic index of foods (when taken at mealtime) to support healthy, normal post-meal blood sugar spikes for blood glucose management.*
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Helps you feel less hungry and fuller and more satisfied after eating so you can better manage your food intake and weight.*
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Promotes healthy, normal elimination by helping to move food through your gut at the right pace, thus supporting regularity of bowel movements without causing the excess gas or bloating associated with other fiber supplements.*
Sunfiber has been extensively studied with more than 120 studies and 180 published papers. Eight studies show how it may benefit regularity, gas and bloating.*
Another study found that a 5 g dose of Sunfiber suppressed appetite and turned on a satiety hormone which helped individuals reduce between-meal snacking.
With this effect lasting several hours, Sunfiber could be a powerful tool to help you manage your eating – and your weight.
Some dietary fibers can affect the absorption of macronutrients and minerals such as magnesium and calcium. Rather than inhibiting absorption, Sunfiber supports your body’s optimal intake of calcium, iron, zinc and magnesium.
Research-Backed Spore Probiotic to Support Your Digestion and Immune Health
A special strain of Bacillus subtilis is making waves in the research community. This spore-forming probiotic naturally lives in your gut and supports immune function and digestion, in part by controlling which microbes survive.
What makes this strain so unique is it can form spores to protect microbes from the harsh conditions in your gastrointestinal tract until they reach their final destination. This ensures the probiotic remains viable, regardless of pH and temperature.
A trial was conducted with 41 healthy participants (mostly college students aged 19 to 42 years old) consuming 5 billion colony forming units (CFU) of this B. subtilis strain.
By the end of the 20-day trial, participants showed an improvement in occasional GI symptoms, maintenance of healthy, normal lipid levels, and the number and quality of bowel movements, according to the Bristol Stool Chart index.*
The daily B. subtilis supplement was well tolerated and it had a significant, positive effect on the gut microflora of study participants, measured prior to and after the study in regards to B. subtilis and Bifidobacterium.*
This is particularly noteworthy as the students were taking finals during the study – a time when stress levels and junk food consumption rise, as well as alcohol use.
Another study of 93 healthy adults between 20 and 62 years old found that four weeks consuming B. subtilis led to changes in immune cell populations, suggesting it may support an already normal inflammatory response throughout your body.*
Could Postbiotic Bifidobacterium animalis Help You Manage Your Weight?
Probiotics have long been recognized for their value in weight management. And Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis CECT 8145 (or Ba8145, for short) is no exception.
In a study with 126 individuals, participants received one capsule every day for three months of either the Ba8145 strain or placebo.
Abdominal visceral fat (belly fat), subcutaneous fat, waist circumference, basal metabolic rate (BMI), blood pressure and serum lipids were measured at the beginning and end of the study. Diet and physical activity were similar among the groups, except for a higher fiber intake in the Ba8145 group.
The results?
Those individuals taking the Ba8145 supplement showed positive improvements in their belly fat and waist circumference measurements, as well as their BMI and lipid profiles.*
The researchers proposed that the benefits from Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis CECT 8145 with these subjects may be due to an increase in a specific gut microbe supportive of weight management.*
Confirming what has already been discovered about the effectiveness of postbiotics, this study found the inactivated bacteria were more efficient than living probiotic strains.
With our Biothin® Metabolic Pre + Post + Probiotics, you receive both Bacillus subtilis NRRL B-67989 probiotic and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis CECT 8145 postbiotic strains.*
Take Control of Your Health With Biothin® Metabolic Pre + Post + Probiotics
We’ve seen how prebiotics, probiotics and postbiotics work together. And I think you can see by now how important it is to get all three to help you properly balance your gut.*
You get the total package with our Biothin® Metabolic Pre + Post + Probiotics:
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Prebiotic: Organic Sunfiber® Guar Fiber – An extensively studied, well-tolerated soluble fiber that provides prebiotic benefits to support your digestive and metabolic health, including weight management.*
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Probiotic: Bacillus subtilis NRRL B-67989 – A special spore-forming probiotic shown in studies to support digestion and immune health.*
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Postbiotic: Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis CECT 8145 – A research-backed postbiotic to support metabolic health and help you manage your weight.*
My team and I formulated this product to provide you with research-backed components that work together to help you support not only your microbiome, but your immune, metabolic, and digestive health*
Pre-packaged in convenient on-the-go packets, Biothin® Metabolic Pre + Post + Probiotics is easy to take along on trips, to the gym or the office.
Best of all, it mixes instantly and invisibly into any non-carbonated beverage without changing the flavor, texture or aroma.
Experience the difference a healthy, balanced gut can make in how you look and feel. Order Biothin® Metabolic Pre + Post + Probiotics today.