Good Digestive Health 


                   Lady drinking prune juice

How can good digestive health keep you feeling fabulous?

Let's be honest - when it comes to discussing digestive health, most of us would rather steer clear of the topic altogether. But now more than ever, it is important to realize that digestion plays a significant role in your overall health!

You may know that the primary function of the digestive tract is to break down the food we eat so that it can be used as fuel by the body. What is less well-known is the importance of the GI (gastrointestinal) tract to your immune system and your total body's health. In fact, the GI tract is often referred to as the body's "second line of defence" against potentially harmful pathogens that cause disease (the first defence being the skin!). You've been pampering your skin for years, but have you been making the right dietary decisions to promote a healthy GI tract

The digestive system is stronger than you think - for example, few bacteria can survive the acidic environment of the stomach. It may not sound pretty, but the fact is the abundant mucous and digestive enzymes secreted by the digestive tract helps destroy potentially harmful microorganisms.

This "good bacteria" keeps the "bad bacteria" at bay, so we essentially have a classic case of good versus evil on our hands, and it is your job to join forces with the good by maintaining a healthy digestive system. This is not only necessary from a nutritional standpoint but also for optimizing your body's overall immunity.

Today we are overwhelmed by many products targeted toward improving digestive health. However, there is only one beverage that packs in the fibre, potassium and magnesium in a great tasting 100% natural juice, and that's Sunsweet.
 

Maintaining a healthy digestive Tract 
So what can we do to protect ourselves from digestive disorders, and ensure a healthy and regular digestive system? It all begins with living a healthy lifestyle. Two of the easiest ways to take charge of your digestive health are to monitor your food intake and control stress levels.

Foods to limit or eliminate responses are highly individual, but some of the problem foods and beverages to steer clear of or limit include:  

· Fatty foods (fried foods, cream sauces, high-fat meats and cheeses)

·  Alcohol

· Caffeine

· Carbonated drinks

· Gas-producing foods like beans and some vegetables (cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower etc.)  

While veggies are a good thing, if you are sensitive to IBS you may consider steering clear of certain varieties.

Foods to incorporate into your diet
Foods that will improve your chances of avoiding IBS and other digestive discomforts include:

·  Fibre-rich foods. It is recommended that adults take in 20-35 grams of fibre each day.

·  Dried fruit. Fruits such as prunes are a delicious way to add fibre to the diet. Sunsweet make snacking on dried fruit easy with their delicious range of prunes and dried fruit.

·  Whole grains. Incorporate more whole grains into your diet by including oat bran and wheat bran cereals and whole grain cereals, breads, pastas and brown rice.

·  Fluids. Whether it's in the form of drinking water, fruit juices or the fluid in fruits and vegetables - it all counts toward the recommended 8 glasses of water per day.

Regular physical activity can help keep you "regular" too. Exercise can help prevent the uncomfortable symptoms of IBS such as constipation, gas and bloating.

Taking the steps to include healthy lifestyle habits such as proper diet and regular physical activity can help you maintain a healthy digestive system so you can enjoy your life.

The role of diet in maintaining a healthy digestive system, reminds us of the importance of consuming foods and beverages which are good sources of dietary fibre. It is recommended that healthy adults consume 20-35 grams of fibre each day to support digestive health and heart health.

So, learn where you can find fibre in foods and drinks by reading the Nutrition Facts labels on packages. Knowing which foods to limit, as well as which foods to include in your diet will help to maintain a healthy and regular digestive system, and avoid uncomfortable or irregular symptoms.

Gettting started
Get started upping your intake by enjoying a glass of Sunsweet prune juice every day to keep you regular.

Available from Tesco, Asda, Waitrose, Holland & Barratt and most good health-food stores

Find out more in the article below.

      Advice for Older People
 On Keeping Fit and Well



One: Supplements For Preventing Infections In Older People
by Salah Gariballa, clinical senior lecturer,Sheffield Institute for Studies on Ageing, University of Sheffield

Supplements may have a place for some, but improved diet and physical activity will do more good

The number of older people is growing rapidly worldwide. In England alone the number of people older than 65 has more than doubled since the 1930s, and one fifth of the population is now aged 60 or more.

Ageing, disease, lifestyle, and environmental factors may all impair in older people the acquisition of food and its intake, processing, and metabolism, all leading to poor nutritional status. Ageing is also associated with decreases in physical activity and lean body mass and an increase in body fat. The accompanying reductions in energy requirements and intake of food lead to lower intakes of macronutrients and micronutrients.

Many older people exhibit poor immune responses and are at a high risk of infection. Although the mechanisms leading to the age related decline in innate and adaptive immunity are poorly understood, several studies have shown a beneficial effect on the immune system of supplementing vitamins.

Two:    Key To Keeping  Fit For Longer

A carefully framed combination of moderate exercise and nutritional supplements could help older people maintain an active lifestyle for longer.

A Manchester Metropolitan University study has found that taking carbohydrate and protein supplements just before and just after low-resistance exercise could boost muscle performance and slow muscle wastage in people over retirement age.

Moreover, this combination appears to deliver greater fitness benefits than undertaking heavy-resistance training with or without changing one's nutritional habits.

This was the first-ever study of the combination of structured exercise and nutritional supplements to focus wholly on older people.

This groundbreaking study involved a carefully selected sample of around 60 healthy, independent-living adults aged 65 and over. The volunteers were randomly divided into groups who underwent different 12 week programmes of physical exercise and nutritional supplementation. Everyone was then re-assessed at the end of the programme.

Some groups undertook low-resistance exercise once a week; others undertook high-resistance exercise twice a week. Within each group, some of the volunteers took protein and carbohydrate supplements while others did not.

When all the participants were re-assessed at the end of the 12 week programme, it was observed that muscle size and strength had increased in all groups.However, the results suggested that older people would derive the most benefits if they took appropriate supplements coupled with low-intensity exercise.

"Maintaining muscle performance and arresting muscle wastage can offer older people real improvements in their quality of life," says Dr Gladys Pearson, who led the research. "Though we still need to assess precisely what level of exercise gives the best results, we believe we've shown that regular low-resistance exercise complemented by the right nutritional supplements could boost the well-being of the UK's ageing population."

Dr Pearson and her team now aim to look at the effectiveness of novel combinations of strength training and nutritional supplementation as a way of speeding recovery and improving mobility for old and young orthopaedic surgery patients.

Omega Fatty Acid Balance Can Alter Immunity And Gene Expression

For the past century, changes in the Western diet have altered the consumption of omega-6 fatty acids (w6, found in meat and vegetable oils) compared with omega-3 fatty acids (w3, found in flax and fish oil).

Many studies seem to indicate this shift has brought about an increased risk of inflammation (associated with autoimmunity and allergy), and now using a controlled diet study with human volunteers, researchers may have teased out a biological basis for these reported changes.

Anthropological evidence suggests that human ancestors maintained a 2:1 w6/w3 ratio for much of history, but in Western countries today the ratio has spiked to as high as 10:1.

Since these omega fatty acids can be converted into inflammatory molecules, this dietary change is believed to also disrupt the proper balance of pro- and anti- inflammatory agents, resulting in increased systemic inflammation and a higher incidence of problems including asthma, allergies, diabetes, and arthritis.

Three:      Good Digestive Health 
You may know that the primary function of the digestive tract is to break down the food we eat so that it can be used as fuel by the body. What is less well-known is the importance of the GI (gastrointestinal) tract to your immune system and your total body's health.