You can follow your heart or do what your brain tells you to do — but how often do you pay attention to your gut? Good digestive health is a key foundation for good overall health, yet we often ignore or misunderstand the importance of that “gut instinct” from inside.
Approximately one in four people experience occasional digestive upsets, according to a recent GfK Roper “Gut Check” digestive health survey of online Americans. The survey also revealed that many have some common misconceptions about the digestive system.
“I see the frustration occasional digestive upsets cause my patients,” said Dr. Roshini Rajapaksa, a gastroenterologist at NYU Langone Medical Center and spokesperson for Align. “The first step to building a stronger inside is to better understand how your digestive system works and what you can do to keep it healthy.”
Dr. Rajapaksa offers the following tips for maintaining good digestive health:
* Do Your Homework: Be proactive! Develop an understanding of your digestive system and how to keep it healthy. Take action: speak to a doctor about digestive health and how you feel, research credible Web sites and books, or keep a log of food and activity triggers to identify the source of your occasional digestive upsets. Do you know about probiotics? Read up on these little bugs and find out if they are right for you.
* Trust Your Gut Instinct: You are the best judge of how you feel, as everyone is unique. The recent Gut Check Survey found that one in five survey participants who experience occasional digestive upsets say others have told them their attitude or emotions are causing their digestive upsets.
Listen to your body and determine what remedies work best for you. Changes in your routine, diet, stress and travel can cause an imbalance, which can lead to occasional digestive upsets. Take time to de-stress, exercise, or keep a food diary.
* Do a Gut Check on Your Priorities: If occasional digestive upsets impact your life, pay attention to them! Your body is telling you something, and ignoring upsets won’t make you feel better. Make digestive health a priority — it’s key to your overall health. Challenge yourself to learn more about your digestive system and the science behind it.
* Feel Good — Inside and Out: More than half of those surveyed in the Gut Check Survey who experience occasional digestive upsets feel their upsets have some impact on their self confidence. Restore your natural digestive balance with healthy bacteria, or probiotics, like Align probiotic supplement. Align helps to build and maintain a healthy digestive system and protect against occasional digestive upsets, when used daily as directed. The Food and Drug Administration hasn’t evaluated such statements regarding this product, and it is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Interestingly, probiotics are strain specific, and therefore different probiotics may have unique benefits. Different strains may differ in a number of ways but what matters most to you is how well the bacteria strain works for you.
According to a 2009 Wolters Kluwer survey of gastroenterologists who recommend probiotic supplements, Align is the number one recommended probiotic supplement. It’s also the only one containing Bifantis (Bifidobacterium infantis 35624). Bifantis is a unique patented probiotic that you take just once a day, every day, to help restore natural balance to your digestive system. The Food and Drug Administration hasn’t evaluated such statements regarding this product, and it is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
For more advice on keeping your digestive system healthy and to learn more about probiotics, visit AlignGI.com.
