Exciting news! If you live in the greater Tampa Bay area, be sure watch me LIVE on WEDU-TV tonight from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. for my NEW PBS special, The Road to Perfect Health.

A lot of folks don’t realize that a healthy body begins with a healthy gut. That’s because your digestive tract is where more than 80 percent of your body’s natural defenses are found, and it’s where trillions of bacteria live in a delicate balance to help you absorb nutrients, defend against toxins, and fight off illness and disease—not to mention help with bowel regularity!

But what may surprise you is that even things you wouldn’t normally associate with digestive health—everything from anxiety, joint aches and food sensitivities to fibromyalgia and even high cholesterol—they all start in the gut. That’s how important it is to keep your digestive system running smoothly.

Join me to learn the secret to balancing your gut and healing your body, beginning with the power of probiotics. Those are the beneficial bacteria in your intestines that help with healthy digestion and immune function, and they are the key to a strong GPS, or what I like to call your Gut Protection System. From there, I’ll give you the keys to rebuilding your health from the inside out and finally living the life you’ve always wanted. See you there!

If you don’t live in the Tampa Bay Area, The Road to Perfect Health is also airing nationwide right now through mid-December. Visit PBS for air times and station in your area.

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You can say you’re the best all day long, but when Better Nutrition says it, then you know it’s true! I’m happy to say that the magazine’s elite panel recently awarded CleanseSMART™ and Ultimate Flora Critical Care 50 Billion™ Best of Supplements Awards based upon reader feedback and surveys from experts in the medical and nutritional supplements industries.

In the Cleansing and Detoxification Category, Renew Life’s CleanseSMART™ was recognized among the best, while Ultimate Flora Critical Care 50 Billion™ received a Best of Supplement Award in the Probiotics Category.

Here’s how they won them: Surveys were conducted that included questions about quality, ingredients, formulation, price points, customer satisfaction, popularity, and widespread availability. The results led to 76 winners in 31 categories that spanned everything from fish oils and antioxidants to multivitamins and herbs. In the Cleansing and Detox and Probiotics Categories, we are among the top three products in each category.

It’s not surprising to me since CleanseSMART advanced total body cleanse has also been voted the #1 Cleanse by health food retailers for the last 7 years. It’s combination of 23 natural ingredients help support the body’s natural detoxification processes. Like all Renew Life products, it doesn’t contain any added ingredients or fillers. Ultimate Flora Critical Care 50 Billion probiotic is also a huge favorite among customers, and is formulated specifically for people who are engaging in or have recently completed a course of antibiotics to help them re-establish a healthy balance of good bacteria in the digestive tract.

So thank you to everyone who chose CleanseSMART and Ultimate Flora Critical Care 50 Billion. Renew Life will take such high praises any time!

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ReNew Life’s popular CleanseSMART™ has been the #1 internal cleanse for seven years running. Now their award-winning line of Ultimate Flora probiotics is also ranking above all other probiotics! SPINS, a research firm that provides quantifiable information on natural product sales in retail outlets, confirmed that ReNew Life Formulas is the top seller in the probiotics category in health food stores across the country in the last 52 weeks!

It comes right in time for my new PBS special The Road To Perfect Health, which explains how probiotics balance the gut and heal the body. What I like about Ultimate Flora probiotics are the high-culture count, clinically studied multi-strain formulas with enteric capsules for targeted delivery. Plus there are no artificial ingredients or unnecessary fillers, just like all ReNew Life supplements. Probiotics are a cornerstone of good health and are key to proper overall digestive function because they help maintain the right balance of good gut flora in the digestive tract, and help keep you regular, energetic and feeling great!

So next time you’re looking for a probiotic, go with the winner – Ultimate Flora probiotics from ReNew Life!

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Okay, so maybe it isn’t a headline you expect to see very often, but lately things are changing, and I say they’re definitely changing for the better. More and more people are becoming aware of the vast numbers of microscopic bacteria living inside their bodies, and a whole new field of science has emerged to study the literally trillions of microorganisms that grow and thrive inside us—helping us do everything from digesting our food to boosting our immune defenses and protecting us against illness and disease.

To help you get an idea of just how important these bacteria are, consider this: In the human body there are 10 times more microbial cells than human cells. Just think about that for a second—it means that roughly 90% of our genetic makeup is microbial. Whoa! I don’t know about you, but I think it’s pretty amazing that something we can’t even see can be such an important part of who we are.

In the gut especially, there are about 100 trillion bacterial cells. Some are good, some are bad, and some are neutral, but the key is making sure you always have more good than bad (somewhere around 80% to 20%), because the good guys—called probiotics—help to nourish and protect not just your digestive tract, but your whole body.

In just the last few years scientists have made some pretty amazing discoveries about the role of probiotics in human health, and studies show that taking a daily probiotic supplement can help with digestive conditions such as irritable bowel, diarrhea and constipation, as well as aid in vitamin production, weight loss, mental health, and of course building up our immune defenses by crowding out harmful, disease-causing bacteria.

So the next time you hear someone talk about bacteria, resist the urge to cringe and remember the good guys! Probiotics literally means “for life,” and no wonder. I heard this great quote the other day by Dr. Jeffrey Gordon at the Center for Genome Sciences at Washington University, and it really sums it up: “Most people have this view of our encounters with microbes from the perspective of disease. But that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Most of our interactions with microbes are beneficial and are healthy.” Like I said, hooray for bacteria!

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“Renew You” Challenge – This weekly challenge is about how heart health begins in your mouth.
Your digestive tract (what I like to call the gut) begins in your mouth. The thought, smell or sight of food triggers the release of amylase enzymes in the mouth to begin the digestion of carbohydrates. The chewing process is also important for the physical breakdown of foods and mixing them with amylase enzyme in saliva.

But guess what, there is much more to the mouth than saliva and teeth. There is a bacterial balance that can contribute to the health of the rest of the body, in a somewhat similar way as it exists in the intestine.

This is a relatively new concept and one that I find interesting. Certain pathogenic bacteria haven been known to cause the buildup of plaque and the development of gum disease. This is not new news. But what is new, is that these bacteria (and thus, gum disease) are linked to the development of heart disease.

A recent study has found that these bacteria are actually able to get into the bloodstream directly from the mouth. (Have you heard of leaky gut syndrome? This could be called leaky gum syndrome). These renegade bacteria trigger the development of blood clots, which lead to heart disease.

We can no longer look at different parts of the body and see them as separate. Everything is interconnected, and what happens in one area of the body has an effect on another. This is especially true in the digestive tract, due to its function, location, and direct connections to so many parts of the body.

So brush off that dental floss if it’s looking a little dusty. Everyday flossing, cutting back on sugar and refined carbohydrates, and brushing at least twice a day are great ways to keep your heart (and your body) healthy.

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What would you say if I told you that kids who were more exposed to germs and dirt have fewer allergies than those raised in so-called “hygienic environments”? It’s true!

Studies prove that children raised in developing countries and who are more exposed to bacteria from dirt, animals, etc. are actually less likely to develop allergies (and related conditions) than those who live in more developed countries such as oh, you know, the United States! So what gives? How is this even possible? Well, the effect—known as the hygiene hypothesis—takes us back to…you guessed it! The gut.

When children live in ultra-clean environments (think antibacterial soaps and spotless countertops) they may be safer from certain pathogens, but they are also deprived of the helpful bacteria that work in the gut to educate the immune system. Without these beneficial bacteria, the immune system does not learn how to distinguish the good guys from the bad guys, and so allergic responses are triggered by normally common visitors in the digestive tract, the airways, and the skin.

So how can we stop this vicious cycle? While research is still ongoing, experts point out that one way to help is by recommending that pregnant women take a probiotic supplement during pregnancy to replenish the beneficial bacteria in their gut as well as those of their babies. I’d say they’re right on track!

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The other day I had the pleasure of joining my friend and colleague Jeffrey Burke, host of the Staying Healthy! radio show in Las Vegas, to talk about one of my favorite subjects: the connection between your gut and your health.

I know I sound like a broken record sometimes, but folks this is SO important. Your digestive tract is where the majority of your body’s natural defenses are found (we’re talking roughly 80% of your immune system!) so making sure you have a balanced gut is absolutely essential when it comes to being healthy and staying healthy.

Science has now linked nearly every major health problem out there today—things like heart disease, diabetes, arthritis and even mood disorders—to what’s going on in your gut, so you really start to get an idea of just how important those trillions of bacteria are that are living in your gut, especially the good bacteria called probiotics.

In fact, I think the relationship between your gut and your health is so important that it’s the topic of my new PBS special and upcoming book, The Road to Perfect Health, which also explores the vital role of probiotics in maintaining optimal health, so be sure to tune in and read the book! 

Here’s the Staying Healthy! radio show link if you’d like to hear more about what Jeff and I talked about: http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=batch_download&send_id=959336021&email=9db959967ad15a15bc93ada13afebb9c.

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When you hear the word “antibiotics” I’m sure a lot of you think, “Hey, those are good for me—they help me feel better when I’m sick.” Right? And yes, you’re partly right, but there’s also a dark side to using antibiotics that a lot of people either don’t know or don’t want to think about. What do I mean?

Well, did you happen to hear that recent story about an antibiotic-resistant gene making its way to the U.S. from India? So-called “superbugs” like the ones linked to the overseas gene are making people very sick, but the worst part is that the powerful antibiotics we’d normally use to get rid of them aren’t working anymore because of widespread antibiotic resistance.

And now a new study from Stanford University shows that taking antibiotics over and over again may impact our health by affecting the normal levels of bacteria in our digestive tract. Yup, that’s right—it all comes back to the gut! Because as you know, that’s where roughly 80 percent of our natural defenses are found, and it’s where literally trillions of microbes (both good and bad) exist in a delicate balance to keep us healthy.

So what this new study looked at was 1. whether or not repeated antibiotic use affected that nicely balanced bacterial colony in your gut, and 2. if and how well your gut bacteria were able to “bounce back” after each round of antibiotics. Now I’m sure you saw this coming, but the results weren’t great. The antibiotics wiped out large numbers of existing gut bacteria in all of the participants, and even though some gut populations returned to normal a few weeks after the antibiotic treatment stopped, this wasn’t the case after a second course of antibiotics. In fact, two months after the second round of treatment, gut bacteria levels still hadn’t returned to normal.

This topic is so important, and I’m really glad to see that it’s starting to get so much attention. When I say everything is connected to the gut, I REALLY mean it, especially now that all these new studies are finding that an out-of-balance gut can contribute to everything from digestive problems and weight gain to allergies, arthritis and yes, even chronic disease. So it’s time to pay attention—take a proactive stance when it comes to your health, and make sure you really need that antibiotic before you take it!

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Exciting news! If you live in the DC/Baltimore area, be sure to tune in to your local PBS station this Saturday, September 11 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. for an exclusive one-day-only sneak preview of my NEW PBS special The Road to Perfect Health.

A lot of folks don’t realize that a healthy body begins with a healthy gut. That’s because your digestive tract is where more than 70 percent of your body’s natural defenses are found, and it’s where trillions of bacteria live in a delicate balance to help you absorb nutrients, defend against toxins, and fight off illness and disease—not to mention help with bowel regularity!

But what may surprise you is that even things you wouldn’t normally associate with digestive health—everything from anxiety, joint aches and food sensitivities to fibromyalgia and even high cholesterol—they can all start in the gut. That’s how important it is to keep your digestive system running smoothly.

Join me this weekend to learn the secret to balancing your gut and healing your body, beginning with the power of probiotics. Those are the beneficial bacteria in your intestines that help with healthy digestion and immune function, and they are the key to a strong GPS, or what I like to call your Gut Protection System. From there, I’ll give you the keys to rebuilding your health from the inside out and finally living the life you’ve always wanted. See you there!

The Road to Perfect Health will also air nationwide beginning in late November through mid-December and continue periodically in 2011 and beyond. Stay tuned to www.brendawatson.com and I’ll keep you posted!

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Here’s something I thought you might find interesting: researchers at Harvard University Medical School recently discovered that bacteria in the gut can trigger the autoimmune response associated with rheumatoid arthritis.

In simple terms, an autoimmune response means that there’s an immune response in the body that goes astray, causing the body to attack its own tissues instead of a foreign invader, in this case causing the breakdown in healthy joint cartilage seen in people with rheumatoid arthritis.

So what does all this mean when it comes to the trillions of bacteria living in your digestive tract every day? It means that they can affect your whole body, sometimes even causing conditions nowhere near the gut, and it’s something I’ve been saying for years! Not only that, but more and more studies these days are proving me right, showing that many autoimmune conditions begin right in the gut.

This isn’t surprising, since more than 70% of your body’s immune defenses are found in the gut—and when things like digestive problems, gut bacteria imbalance and toxin overload put a strain on the immune system, it often leads to the development of autoimmune conditions. 

The folks at Harvard are planning to look at the effects of intestinal bacteria on other autoimmune conditions as well, including type 1 diabetes, so stay tuned! And remember to take good care of your gut!

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