Gut Health: Supplements
We have spent the past few weeks talking about the importance of gut health and how nutrition plays a vital role in correcting and maintaining gut health, but we have yet to talk about supplements that help aid in gut health. While supplements alone are not a fix all and there is no magic pill to correct a poor diet, but they can come alongside nutritional changes and help make gut health more effective. One of the most important things to understand about supplements is that QUALITY MATTERS! There is a gap in oversight and regulations for supplements that is only revealed by that of cosmetics and women’s products. According to the FDA, “Manufacturers and distributors of dietary supplements and dietary ingredients are prohibited from marketing products that are adulterated or misbranded. That means that these firms are responsible for evaluating the safety and labeling of their products before marketing to ensure that they meet all the requirements of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act as amended by DSHEA and FDA regulations”. This means that all the responsibility to produce safe products is placed into the hands of the company and there is no evaluation process before supplements are sold on shelves. Therefore, the brand you purchase from really matters in terms of safety and quality of the product.
I will go ahead and be transparent in saying that the companies who tend to go through voluntary third party testing and have quality ingredients are not the cheapest on the market, but just like with food, understanding what you are putting into your body truly matters. Third Party testing is an important factor for me when selecting a supplement brand. Third party testing is something that is frequently important for NCAA athletes as it makes sure there are not trace amounts of restricted ingredients in their supplements. However, for most people it is when the company has a non- supplement cooperation to evaluate the safety and quality of the product and then they release the results to the public for viewing. This allows for you to see exactly what is in your supplement and if it is deemed safe or not. In addition, it is representative of the brand’s desire for supplement transparency and safety which goes a long way with me. Keep in mind, this third party testing is not free for companies so it is a cost factor that can make the price point appear higher.
Let’s talk through my three favorite supplements for gut health and then I will link some honorable mention products at the bottom! My first is a probiotic, hands down. I am personally of the opinion that most everybody should be on a probiotic (even children). According to the NIH “studies have proved that probiotics can alleviate a variety of gastrointestinal ailments and improve overall health”. In addition, probiotics can help to boost immune function, maintain the microbiome of the gut, alleviate digestion discomfort, and even help in the process of hormone regulation. When it comes to selecting a probiotic there seems to be limitless possibilities, but hands down my favorite is Metagenics Ultraflora Balance. This is a company that believes in third party testing and is trusted by both medical professionals as well as holistic based approaches. Another probiotic that I use about once a year is MegaSporeBiotic, this is a spore based probiotic that actually has multiple different strands of good gut bacteria to make sure that you have good bacteria present in the gut. This isn’t necessary for me on a daily basis but is nice once a year or after a round of antibiotics!
The next supplement I like for gut health is digestive enzymes. I personally like Pure Encapsulations Digestive Enzymes and the brand pure encapsulations is a go to for me as they believe in no GMO as well as undergo third party testing. Digestive enzymes are particularly beneficial for people who feel bloated or uncomfortable after they eat a meal, or even feel like they have a hard time absorbing nutrients from a meal. The goal of digestive enzymes is to help the body to absorb nutrients from the food and to mitigate discomfort from food. Anything that we can do to limit inflammation in the gut lining as well as balancing pH is a huge win for overall gut health. These could be added into any nutritional plan and even used on an as needed basis!
My honorable mention supplements are below:
Metagenics CandiBactin-BR - Concentrated Berberine for Intestinal Support
Research Links:
https://www.fda.gov/food/dietary-supplements
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9733784/
https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/probiotics-usefulness-and-safety