Good digestive health is important.  We rely on our digestive system to breakdown food, assimilate nutrients and eliminate waste products.  Stress, antibiotics, poor diet and a number of other factors can severely disturb the balance of beneficial bacteria in your intestinal tract, resulting in gas, diarrhea, constipation, and other intestinal symptoms.  Keeping your digestive system healthy can help prevent problems such as constipation, hemorrhoids, heart burn, diverticulitis and colon cancer.
Think you need to improve your digestive health?  Take this simple quiz and find out:

Yes or No responses

1.  Do you have gas, diarrhea, constipation, and other intestinal symptoms more than once a week?
A healthy digestive system will occasionally experience such symptoms, but not consistently and not in a way that affects a person’s daily activities.

2.Do you eat a healthy, high-fiber, low-diet the majority of the time?
Fiber helps keep plaque from building up along the intestinal walls and facilitates moving debris through the system - maintaining regularity.

3.  Do you have a condition that requires you to take antibiotics regularly?
Taking certain medications, such as various antibiotics, can sometimes bring on digestive problems.

4.  Do you have a bowel movement less than 3-4 times a week?
Most health people have regular bowel movements at least every other day.

5.  Do you eat probiotic-containing foods less than 3-4 times a week?
Probiotics are bacteria that help maintain the natural balance of organisms (microflora) in the digestive system.

6.  Do you regularly experience acid indigestion, gastritis or heartburn?
A healthy digestive system will occasionally experience such symptoms, but not consistently and not in a way that affects a person’s daily activities.

7.  Would you describe yourself as “stressed-out” more often than not?
Research has shown that the intestine responds negatively to stress, during which the intestinal lining becomes leaky, absorption is less effective, and your body is unable to selectively take up the nutrients it needs.
    
8.  Do you include exercise in your lifestyle at least three times a week?
Regular physical activity helps keep food moving through the digestive system well. Try taking short walks during the day and use the stairs instead of elevators to fit physical activity into your busy schedule.

9.  Do you drink at least 42 ounces of water a day?
Drinking plenty of water and eating high-fiber foods, make it easier for waste to pass through your system.

10. Do you eat at regular intervals during the day?
Eating regular meals and snacks throughout the day will help promote the passage of food through your digestive system. Take time to eat regular meals and snack even if you are having a hectic day.

If you answered “Yes” to five or more questions, then you should consider taking steps to improve your digestive health.  You may choose to speak with a health care provider.  

Another treatment option is Better Digestion, a unique proprietary blend of probiotics, herbal extracts and enzymes which work in conjunction to promote overall health and proper digestion, by replenishing “healthy” bacteria levels in the intestine and enhancing the digestive process.