Gut Check: HOPE for Ultimate Health with Brenda Watson

ANNOUNCER: Brenda Watson is a certified nutritional consultant and author, and one of the foremost authorities in America on natural digestive health, detoxification, and internal cleansing.

She shares her years of knowledge and experience to help you live the longest, healthiest life possible in Gut Check: HOPE for Ultimate Health.

(audience applauding) (Brenda laughs) (audience applauding) BRENDA: Hi, everyone.

It's so good to be with you.

Guess what I'm here to talk about?

Of course, it's your gut health.

As a digestive care expert, I've been talking about gut health and digestion more than 25 years, and now everyone's talking about it too.

So you would think my work here is done.

But no.

So why am I still talking about digestion?

Because there isn't one of us who hasn't experienced digestive issues, and most people don't know that you don't have to live with them.

So apparently we still haven't managed to get this right.

Without gut health, there is no health.

A healthy gut is the epicenter of how you feel physically, whether you can fight disease, your emotional wellbeing, your mental health, all of it.

And yet we're still dealing with an epidemic of health issues and chronic diseases connected to imbalances in our digestive system.

We need to talk about these digestive issues because most of you don't discuss them, not even with your doctor.

And it's not just you women, how many times have any of you men walked out of the bathroom and discussed your bowel elimination with your significant other?

(audience laughing) No one, and I mean no one wants to discuss digestive issues because we're embarrassed about what's coming out of our body.

And guess what?

We're all literally dying of embarrassment.

There are four simple steps that can fix that and they can change your health, and possibly even the number of years you live.

Let me repeat that.

Possibly even the number of years you live.

Today we're going to be discussing the HOPE Formula, which I created based on my experience over the last three decades, helping people get and stay healthy.

The HOPE Formula is a specific personalized formula that if you follow, will give you tons of energy, a clear mind, and a longer, healthier life with less likelihood of developing chronic disease.

And what do I mean by chronic disease?

Things like obesity, diabetes, IBS, chronic fatigue, or Leaky Gut.

Things that are all too common.

In order for me to reveal to you my path to ultimate health, we're gonna have to talk about some things you might not be so comfortable talking about, like gas, bloating, and constipation.

I mean, I'll just come right out and say it like the baby book does.

We all poop (audience laughs) and we need to talk about it.

Now, if I look back on my own journey, what happened to me first was the overprescription of antibiotics.

This caused me to have an out of balance digestive tract, and then I developed constipation as a result.

Back then I really didn't know I was constipated.

And as with many of you, I just thought having a bowel movement once every few days was normal.

And over a period of many years, I got sicker and sicker and it took me some time to educate myself and understand why.

Today I'll discuss four factors that helped me and will help you dramatically improve your health if you pay attention to them.

They're fiber, which we get some of probably not enough in our diet every day.

Omega-3 oils, which are only in specific foods.

Probiotics, which are our good gut bacteria.

And digestive enzymes, which you produce really well when you're younger.

But as you age, hmm, not so much.

And as you may have guessed by now, the HOPE Formula stands for high fiber, omega-3 oils, probiotics, and enzymes.

These four nutrients are not only beneficial for your health, they're as vital to your health as vitamins and minerals.

I'll be showing you the important role these four things play in your body's ability to fight off disease and even help your brain function better.

But first, I want you to look at the number of digestive and chronic diseases in this country so you won't become just another statistic.

Digestive diseases are among the most prevalent and expensive diseases in America.

Approximately 70 million people are diagnosed with a digestive problem every year.

Over 66 million people have chronic heartburn.

And from 25 to 45 million suffer from irritable bowel syndrome.

SIBO, which stands for small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, is now a commonly diagnosed digestive condition affecting millions of people in the US.

Most people still refuse to acknowledge that what they put in their body in the way of food has anything to do with their digestive conditions.

I spoke with gastroenterologist, Dr. John Ahn on the relationship of diet and lifestyle to the development of digestive diseases, and here's what he had to say.

JOHN: I do a lot of colonoscopies and endoscopies in my practice.

I must have done over 30,000 procedures in my practice.

And as they say, truly the beauty is only skin deep.

When you go into inside of human body, they're pretty much, everybody's same.

Keeping that in mind, diet I do think is very important aspect of how we control our inner gut system and the health of it, you know, people say you are what you eat and therefore inside is the same thing if you are what you eat inside.

So diet to me is very important aspect of how we keep our health of our gut system and avoid a gastrointestinal disease and symptoms.

BRENDA: Digestive issues can have a huge impact on your quality of life and your health overall.

We now know that most chronic diseases start in the digestive tract from inflammation that triggers their development.

A staggering number of people in the US are suffering with a chronic condition like diabetes or heart disease, both of which have a relationship to what you eat.

Diabetes affects 37.3 million people in the US and heart disease is still the number one killer.

Isn't it amazing that the foundation of vibrant health, whether you suffer from a digestive problem or a chronic health issue, lies in nutrition?

And that's where the simple but powerful HOPE Formula comes in.

And the formula's healing power lies in nutrition because of this truth.

You're not what you eat, you're what you digest.

So I wanna help you, but before we can understand the process of a poorly functioning digestive tract, we must first understand how a properly functioning digestive tract works.

When you first think about food, you begin to produce saliva.

Now it's not like a dog whose saliva literally comes dripping out of their mouth at the sight of food.

(laughing) But in that saliva is digestive enzymes, specifically amylase, which is what helps you digest starches and carbohydrates.

So you're eating and you chew your food, mixing it well with saliva, and then you swallow.

The food travels down into the esophagus through a sphincter muscle called the lower esophageal sphincter, and then it enters the stomach.

The next step of digestion happens in the stomach when hydrochloric acid and pepsin, another enzyme, starts the digestion of protein.

Hydrochloric acid also signals this lower esophageal sphincter to tighten and close.

And as your stomach starts to churn your food, if this muscle does not close properly, you can reflux your food into the esophagus and this is called esophageal reflux disease or GERD, and it can irritate and inflame the esophagus.

Food then begins to leave the stomach in small portions, and as it leaves, you have two ducts, that's duct, not quacking ducks.

(audience laughing) One duct comes from the liver/gallbladder and secretes bile which helps in fat digestion.

The other duct comes from the pancreas and secretes your digestive enzymes.

This process must take place for the nutrients in food to be available to your body.

So you must break protein into amino acids, your starches to glucose, and your fats to fatty acids.

And your body does this with the enzyme secreted in your pancreas.

Now next, the food travels into your small intestine where most of your nutrients are absorbed.

The small intestine has this mucus lining that acts sort of like a gatekeeper or a window screen.

It allows properly digested food into the bloodstream.

It also keeps out bad bacteria, parasites, and undigested food because you don't want everything that enters your digestive tract to get into the rest of your body.

Now, this small intestine has also been called the second brain.

Do you know why?

Because it has its very own nervous system and produces many of the same neurotransmitters that are produced in your brain.

We now know that this second brain in our gut communicates with the brain in our head and vice versa.

This communication called the gut-brain connection can play a role in the health of both the gut and the brain.

How many times have you had a gut feeling or a gut instinct, or maybe you've just had more guts than brains?

(audience laughing) An imbalanced, inflamed gut can cause issues in the brain including anxiety and depression, conditions that are absolutely epidemic right now.

You may be having these feelings and I know you have loved ones who are too.

The prevalence of emotional and mental health issues today is astonishing, and it's no wonder why many practitioners are now addressing the health of the gut along with the health of the brain.

Now, the next phase of digestion takes place in your large intestine, also known as your colon.

As contents are passing through into the large intestine, they should be in a liquid form.

So what does the colon do?

It takes the water out of the matter so things get more solid, or at least they should.

The colon is where you harbor a large collection of gut microbes.

These microbes are also known as your microbiome and a large portion of your microbiome is bacteria.

So up to two to four pounds of bacteria reside in your colon about the weight of this brick.

Now, most of this bacteria is considered probiotics or beneficial bacteria.

I know you've all heard about probiotics by now and I'm still talking about them too.

Come to find out, probiotics give you even more health benefits than we knew 20 years ago, and I'll talk about those benefits later in the show.

The last thing that occurs during the digestive process is something called a bowel movement.

(indistinct chatter) I know you may not want to, but let's talk about that.

Remember, no more dying of embarrassment.

So what is healthy bowel elimination?

This may surprise you, but you should have at least one good bowel movement every day.

Unfortunately, people have been given information that if they go to the bathroom even just one time a week, that's healthy for them.

But I'm here to tell you that it's not healthy.

I mean, how could you get any reading done anyway?

(audience laughing) Good elimination every day is essential for your health.

Think about it.

If you eat three meals a day and you don't eliminate every day, where's all that food?

I'll let you think about that.

Now, the entire digestive tract is long.

I bet most of you don't even know how long it is so I'm gonna demonstrate this for you today.

Your mouth is only about this big, but I gotta tell you, I've got some relatives I think whose mouths are much bigger than this, don't you?

(audience laughing) Your esophagus is to here and then we have the stomach to here.

Now then we go into the small intestine and you know, I've always wondered why they called it the small intestine.

(audience laughing) And if you spread the small intestine out flat, it's the surface space of a tennis court.

Then we have the colon.

I'll bet a lot of you are sitting there wondering how long your partner's colon is, right?

(audience laughing) So I'll tell you, it is as tall as they are and that's how long your digestive system is about 30 feet.

Now, that's a lot of room for error to occur, and a lot of times it does.

Now you know how a properly functioning digestive system should work, the basics of it at least, but we also need to understand how a digestive system can break down and lead to chronic disease.

I'll walk you through that too and give you tips to make sure your gut stays balanced and strong.

Because gut health is all health.

I wanna say this.

Everything you put in your mouth has the ability to either help you or harm you.

We were told as kids, don't put that Lego in your mouth.

You could choke.

Well, that's pretty simple to remember.

If it's not good for you, don't put it in your mouth, right?

And our bodies are adaptable.

We can change our health in many, many cases by changing our diet and lifestyle.

For example, as you age, you're more prone to memory loss.

So you should make sure you're getting plenty of foods that are rich in omega-3 oils such as salmon and avocados.

If we give our body the tools, it will heal itself.

And to help you visualize this, I developed something called the Health Continuum.

The Health Continuum is a scale.

All of us are somewhere on this scale.

For example, what happens to most people?

They begin to get heartburn, gas and bloating, and headaches.

And what do they do?

They go to the drugstore and they begin to self-medicate.

And if that doesn't work, they're off to the doctor's office to get prescriptions.

And as this is occurring, our digestive tract becomes imbalanced and it's getting weaker and weaker, and eventually we are moving down the scale into chronic conditions.

Now, if we're moving up the scale, we're gaining awareness and educating ourselves about our health every day.

We improve our diet.

We supplement with our HOPE Formula.

We have ideal weight and high energy and head upwards toward vibrant health.

And that's where I know all of us want to be.

I've been on that scale going down to the bottom into chronic health problems and I changed my health and changed my life.

And sometimes it was the simplest things that made the biggest difference for me.

And when we come back, I'll share those things so you can easily make the same changes in your life.

I'll also discuss a recently identified gut condition that is thought to be behind widespread digestive unrest.

Thank you.

(audience applauds and cheers) (audience applauds and cheers) BRENDA: So now you know that healing your gut is bigger than just digestive issues.

It's about your entire physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing, and even your longevity.

I'm going to give you the simple step-by-step formula to make sure you can count on your gut to help you live a long healthy life.

So what we have here is a flowchart and I love flowcharts.

And it starts with impaired digestion.

How many of you have had gas, bloating, indigestion, heartburn, reflux, or pain after eating?

Of course.

We've all experienced some of these things to one degree or another.

Those are all symptoms of impaired digestion.

And there are several reasons for impaired digestion.

Earlier I spoke about digestive enzymes and how important they are in breaking our foods down into usable nutrients.

For most of us, we don't produce enough digestive enzymes to make this happen resulting in undigested food matter traveling through the small intestine.

To complicate this matter further, as we age, the amount of enzymes our pancreas can produce decreases.

The result is abdominal gas, bloating, and discomfort.

You probably just live with that, right?

You never thought about the fact that your digestive system was compromised.

Even if you tend to eat a more natural diet, the process of cooking destroys most of the natural enzymes that may be present.

Now, raw foods naturally contain enzymes that help us digest that particular food.

So here we have an apple.

So let's take this apple for example.

In its raw form, it naturally contains the enzymes needed to help digest it.

But if you bake that apple into applesauce, no more enzymes.

The food-based enzymes can help you overall in the digestive process.

So here's a helpful and super easy tip to reduce impaired digestion.

Include a good amount of raw plant foods in your diet because the enzymes will help your digestion.

The more colorful, the better because that tells you they're nutrient dense as well.

A few other foods rich in enzymes you can easily add to your diet are pineapples, avocados, dark leafy greens, and peppers.

See how simple this can be?

For those of you experiencing more of the upper digestive complaints like reflux, heartburn, and belching, you may be shocked when I tell you it's likely due to too little stomach acid.

That's right, I said it.

Too little stomach acid.

Low acid is very common in people, especially over the age of 65, much more common than high acid.

We need stomach acid.

It's our first line of defense against bacteria and parasites.

It signals the tightening of that sphincter muscle that keeps food in the stomach and it's involved in our calcium absorption.

For those of you concerned about bone health and getting enough calcium, it's really important to make sure you have enough hydrochloric acid.

More importantly, our stomach acid is imperative for the digestion of protein.

When undigested protein enters the small intestine, it can result in pain and discomfort after eating.

So what are other symptoms of this impaired digestion?

How about brittle fingernails, hair loss, fatigue, and bacterial and parasite infections such as H. pylori which causes stomach ulcers.

Impaired digestion and undigested foods set the stage for more serious issues down the line.

Which brings us to our next topic on our flow chart, which is LOMD or loss of microbial diversity.

Now, this may be your first time hearing this term and by now you've all heard we have lots of good bacteria in our intestines, but there's probably something you don't know.

And that is we need not only a large amount of this good bacteria, but many types or what we call strains.

So what do I mean by that?

Bacteria, like most of us, have three names, a first name, a middle name, and a last name.

With bacteria the first name is called the genus.

The middle name is called the species.

And the last name is called the strain.

So let's take a very common probiotic that I'm sure most of you have heard of, Lactobacillus acidophilus.

It's found in yogurt and other milk products, fermented foods, and supplements, and it's in our intestinal system.

Now, Lactobacillus is the first name or the genus.

Acidophilus is the second name or its species.

But all acidophilus and all probiotics have a third name and that is what is called the strain.

So without knowing its strain or its last name, you cannot properly identify it.

It's sort of like myself and my assistant.

Her first name is Brenda also.

But guess what her middle name is?

Sue, just like me, Brenda Sue.

(audience laughs) You know what that was?

We both had those southern mamas.

(audience laughing) Luckily we have different last names, otherwise that would be a real mess around the office.

(audience laughing) Two probiotics with the same first and middle name like Lactobacillus acidophilus but with a different last name or strain are as different genetically as myself and my assistant.

Like people, all bacteria have their own strength and weaknesses.

Let me be clear.

In addition to many different strains of Lactobacillus acidophilus in our gut, we also have hundreds or even thousands of other probiotic strains in our digestive system, and this is what is meant by the term Microbial Diversity.

The problem is we are losing this critical diversity, meaning we're losing the multiple types or strains of our good bacteria.

Microbiologists have coined this issue as LOMD or Loss of microbial diversity, and it has become one of the most common causes of gut imbalances.

And fixing this one thing could be the answer to balancing your microbiome and fixing your gut issues.

There are several reasons we are now experiencing LOMD.

They include diet and lifestyle factors, environmental toxins, poor sleep habits, and antibiotic overuse.

Make sure you check with your doctor because antibiotics are needed in certain health situations, but they can wipe out all good bacterial strains and for many people, they never come back.

In one study, researchers at Harvard Medical School have stated that the human gut has experienced an extinction event, losing dozens of species and becoming much less diverse.

Studies also show that people with the most diverse gut bacteria are the healthiest and people who have low diversity experienced an increase in health issues.

If we stay on this same course we're currently on, your children and your grandchildren will continue to lose their microbial diversity affecting their health for their whole life.

So these decisions you're making about your own health and longevity can impact generations to come.

I wanna tell you a story about my husband.

I love to tell stories about my husband especially when he does something wrong.

(laughs) (audience laughing) (Brenda laughs) Well, on a routine blood test, my husband's cholesterol came back very high, over 500.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Whoa.

BRENDA: Yeah, that was my reaction as well.

So off to the doctor we went.

Her first thought was we needed to be on a cholesterol lowering drug, but she was really also open to taking 30 days to see what we could do with diet changes and supplementation.

Now everyone is different and you'll wanna talk with your healthcare provider, but ours said, "Well, let's just see what you can do."

So I started him on a high fiber diet, including fiber supplements.

Well, 30 days later we're back in the doctor's office to review his latest test.

The cholesterol had come down to just over 200.

Needless to say, we were all thrilled.

Over time, in addition to lowering his cholesterol, he lost over 40 pounds and kept it off over 10 years now just from changing his diet and adding in more fiber.

Sometimes it can really be that simple.

The fiber contained in natural plant-based food is so important to the health of our gut bacteria.

Certain fiber helps feed our good bacterial strains and helps them to thrive.

This type of fiber is called Prebiotics.

Here's the simplest tip for a giant dose of gut medicine and it's delicious too.

High fiber foods like berries, artichokes, and beans are super fuel for your good gut bacteria.

So, this brings me back to our flow chart and flow's appropriate, don't you think?

(audience laughs) Next is SIBO.

SIBO, as I mentioned earlier, stands for Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth.

There are a lot of symptoms of SIBO including unresolved abdominal bloating, skin rashes, sleep disturbances, brain fog, anxiety, food intolerances, and constipation or diarrhea.

SIBO can even contribute to fatty liver.

Sounds a bit like Irritable Bowel Syndrome, doesn't it?

Well actually, it has been estimated that 70% of people diagnosed with IBS actually have SIBO.

So bacterial overgrowth within the small intestine also inflames and irritates that delicate mucosal lining.

And once this gut lining becomes irritated and inflamed, it can become more porous, no longer performing its important duty as a barrier.

This condition is called Intestinal Permeability and what we also call Leaky Gut.

And I'm so excited, not about Leaky Gut, but this brings me back (audience laughs) to our flowchart.

Now, you've probably heard of Leaky Gut, right?

Remember I mentioned the screen?

Think of your intestinal lining as a screen on the window of your house, letting the fresh air in but keeping the bugs out.

When the screen has a hole in it, mosquitoes can get in and we know how miserable that is.

Leaky gut is like having a screen with holes, allowing unwanted particles such as undigested food, pathogens, and toxins to pass through into your bloodstream.

You know, I've been talking about Leaky Gut for over 20 years now, and I'm still at it.

Why?

Well, because science has finally caught up and connects Leaky Gut to inflammation in the body, and a main contributor to autoimmunity and the development of many chronic diseases.

So now that it's finally more widely understood and accepted, the world is ready for one of the easiest ways to help address it.

The HOPE Formula which is what we're talking about.

Chronic diseases like diabetes, arthritis, cardiovascular issues, lupus, and even mental health issues have now been found to be related to the onset of Leaky Gut.

Where has this possibly shown up in you?

If you're concerned about Leaky Gut, one quick, easy change you can make right away is to work with your healthcare provider to start taking L-glutamine and organic aloe vera.

This will help your body rebuild a healthy gut lining.

You know, your body is a connected, closed system.

It's not divided into individual sections that run on their own independently.

Every single choice we make, especially the moment we decide what to eat, we can make a difference.

But it's not what you do once in a while, it's what you do most of the time.

Sure you can treat yourself, but let it be a treat.

The even better news is Leaky Gut, SIBO, LOMD, and Impaired Digestion can be reversed.

And when we come back, I'm going to give you the exact tools you need to help you do that to feel better and get on the road to perfect health.

Thank you.

(audience applauds and cheers) (audience applauds and cheers) BRENDA: Okay, so far we've covered the healthy digestive system and looked at how impaired digestion and LOMD can lead to chronic health problems like SIBO, Leaky Gut, and issues like diabetes, autoimmune, and heart disease.

And we're not done talking about poop either.

(audience laughing) The stakes are high here.

Your ability to live your life with vitality for as long as possible is literally on the line here.

But we don't always see that clearly because we've been led to believe we're all stuck dealing with these issues as we get older.

So we just have to put up with them.

That is wrong.

So let's talk more about the HOPE Formula and the way it will help you digest all the nutrients you need to have a healthier life as you age.

You can actually live life to the fullest every single day and there's a lot of reasons to be HOPE-ful because it's easier than you think.

So let's start by first answering this question.

What is fiber?

Because the H in my HOPE Formula is high fiber.

Fiber is the indigestible part of fruits and vegetables.

It's also found in beans, grains, and legumes.

There are two types of fiber, soluble and insoluble, and I like to use this sponge to describe fiber.

See this yellow side?

Soluble fiber is like this.

It soaks up and helps absorb things.

The insoluble fiber is like the green side, it acts like bulk or roughage in the intestine.

Fiber as a whole has many benefits.

It helps regulate blood sugar and lower cholesterol.

It also helps keep you regular.

Your colon is a muscle and if you put bulk into it, it will stimulate the muscle to contract and have better elimination.

And also, as I mentioned earlier, a very important aspect of fiber is that it helps feed that good bacteria.

One of my favorite ways to get some fiber is drinking a fresh organic green shake using the whole vegetable where the fiber is left in the drink.

But to make sure I get enough, I also take fiber supplements like organic flax, acacia, or even pea fiber.

Based on research, I recommend getting at least 35 grams of fiber daily.

But it's not just the amount of fiber that you get that's important.

It's also the sources you get it from.

Just like our bacteria needs diversity, so does the fiber we eat.

Getting fiber from at least 35 different sources weekly has been shown to contribute to excellent gut health and microbial diversity.

So grab your pens and write that down.

35 grams of fiber a day from 35 different sources a week, okay?

Now I wanna show you what 35 grams of fiber looks like from 35 sources.

Here's what it took in fruits and vegetables.

Now, I don't know about you, but this is a whole lot of food (scoffs) to buy and eat in order to get (audience laughing) the fiber that you need.

That's a lot.

To help, one thing you need to do is start reading nutritional labels on the foods you're choosing.

The fiber content is listed and by being aware of this, you can immediately start making better choices.

For example, let's look at some of these meals to compare.

Here we have bacon and eggs.

Well, there's absolutely no fiber in this meal.

Or you could choose this steel-cut oatmeal that has at least 10 grams of fiber and even better, some raspberries or blueberries, strawberries, chia seeds and now you're getting fiber from five different sources.

Look at this salad with lettuce, tomato, and cucumbers.

Do you know that only has 2 1/2 grams of fiber?

Now let's look at this salad with spinach, mixed greens, cabbage, carrots, and garbanzo beans.

10 grams of fiber from five different sources.

So, lots of colorful veggies, lettuce and spinach, nuts, beans and lentils, whole fruit, non-gluten grains.

Now, the O in my HOPE Formula stands for omega-3 oils which are the good fats that our body needs not only to survive, but to thrive.

Omega-3s are one of the most studied nutrients in the world.

I think we finally understand that there are some fats that are good for us and that we need to add more of them to our diet.

These good omega-3 oils have many health benefits.

They're necessary for proper digestive health.

They help protect your cardiovascular system.

They help lower cholesterol.

And if you have inflammation anywhere in your body, they can help reduce that inflammation.

And the best thing, they're one of the most vital nutrients for brain health on this planet.

And who doesn't want better brain health?

Right?

(laughs) A study from the Harvard School of Public Health found a deficiency of omega-3 fatty acid to be the sixth highest killer of Americans resulting in 96,000 preventable deaths per year.

The key word here is preventable.

I spoke with my good friend and cardiologist, Dr. William Davis, about his opinion of omega-3 fatty acids with cardiovascular and brain health.

WILLIAM: You know, Brenda, that's been a matter of debate for over 20 years.

The original data did indeed suggest that supplementing omega-3 fatty acids that we don't get from diet reduced cardiovascular risk.

It's been batted around, a number of studies said yes, some said no.

But if we take the evidence in its entirety, I think we can conclude omega-3 fatty acids reduce the risk of cardiovascular events like heart attack, sudden cardiac death, very serious matters.

And it makes sense.

In my mind, something has to pass this litmus test.

Was it present in the lives of primitive people who didn't go to the grocery store and unwrap their cellophane-wrapped food, but caught their dinners?

Of course, also fish and shellfish.

But in the modern world, we have exposure to mercury from fish, cadmium from shellfish, so we've gotta resort now to supplements.

But I believe on balance, all the 20 years of haggling, debating over this issue, it's become clear omega-3 fatty acids do indeed provide cardiovascular benefits.

If your desire is to maximize your protection from heart disease, maximize your protection from dementia, cognitive impairment, maximize your protection from bowel flora, that's another area where omega-3s have been proven to be very effective, you need to get the EPA and DHA from fish oil.

There's really no alternative to this.

BRENDA: Based on all my research and recommendations from several organizations, I suggest you strive to get at least 2,000 milligrams of omega-3s every day.

Your best food choices for omega-3s are wild-caught cold water fish like anchovies and salmon, also walnuts and avocado.

So moving on, the P in the HOPE Formula stands for, you guessed it, Probiotics.

Remember the brick, the good bacteria.

We see probiotics everywhere now.

They're not just in yogurt anymore, they're in juices, granola bars, and even chocolate and ice cream.

Not that I recommend eating ice cream for your probiotics, as tempting as that might be.

(laughs) (audience laughs) There are numerous studies on the benefits of probiotics, beneficial bacteria.

What do they do for us?

Let's take a look at the eight primary purposes of probiotics.

And as you can see, there are many crucial health benefits to our microbiome.

They help deter pathogenic organisms and infections.

They help keep our intestinal lining, that barrier, intact.

They're a huge support to our immune system as 80% of our immunity is in the gut, and they help reduce chronic inflammation, and they support a healthy gut/brain connection, helping your gut tell your brain all good things.

Now historically, we used to get some good bacteria in our diet before refrigeration.

The way to preserve our foods was with the process called fermentation.

Fermentation not only made the food shelf stable, but it also produced an abundance of good bacteria called Lactobacillus, and a highly diverse number of them.

These bacteria gave us many of those health benefits that I just mentioned.

I remember every summer as a child, my father would grow cabbages and ferment it into sauerkraut.

Back then, I hated it.

(audience laughing) He would make us eat that every day.

(audience laughing) Now, I love fermented foods and you can ferment practically any vegetable.

So if you don't like sauerkraut, there are many options to choose from.

You can ferment asparagus, peppers, cucumbers, or even green beans.

So if we look at the popular fermented foods, we have the yogurt, we have miso, we have kefir, and of course, the dreaded sauerkraut.

(audience laughing) Try to work some of these fermented foods into your meals every day.

So if we look at it, the last letter in the HOPE Formula is the E and E stands for Enzymes.

What are enzymes?

Enzymes are protein-based substances that are found in every cell of all living things.

Digestive enzymes are what we use to break our foods down and that's what we've been talking about today is the importance of digestive enzymes.

As I mentioned earlier, a lot is riding on the enzymes we make in order to digest our foods properly, especially when we don't choose our foods well.

So we're gonna look at some enzymes.

Here we have a hamburger with cheese and fries.

There's no living enzymes left in that food.

But over here we have a cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, and coleslaw instead of the fries.

So at least some of this meal is raw and will contain some enzymes.

This will lessen the load on our body to produce more enzymes.

So getting raw foods in your diet every single day is very, very important.

And as we age, the amount of digestive enzymes that we make is dramatically reduced, and that's where it becomes a problem and we begin to develop impaired digestion.

I had a conversation with our local Integrative Medical Doctor, Erika Bradshaw, about the importance of digestive enzymes.

And here's what she had to say.

ERIKA: As we age, all of our body's functions start to decline slowly.

The hormone systems, the digestive systems.

As time goes on, more and more people need to take enzymes.

BRENDA: What conditions do people have with digestive enzyme deficiency?

ERIKA: So they might have bloating, they might have gas, they might have reflux, they might feel as though their food is not passing through.

So that could extrapolate to constipation possibly.

BRENDA: Uh-huh.

ERIKA: So there are a varied amount of different symptoms that they could present with.

BRENDA: How important do you feel digestive enzymes are in your practice?

ERIKA: Well, I think it's really important because of the lack of enzymes in the foods that we're eating, and the more cooked the food is, the less enzymes there is going to be in the food.

So you might end up eating your food and realize that the food's not digesting as well.

So, I think it's important to incorporate a digestive enzyme.

BRENDA: So I've given you an overview of how to implement the HOPE Formula for digestive healing with nutritious food.

So I suggest you work with your healthcare provider and look into a supplement plan so you can set it and forget it.

Let's start with fiber.

So how do you choose a good fiber supplement?

I suggest looking for one that has at least five grams of fiber per serving from as many fiber sources as you can.

If you can find a supplement that is made with 35 sources of fiber, even better.

If you're not a big fish eater or if you're concerned about mercury, adding an omega-3 supplement can help make sure you get the essential fatty acids that you need.

Look for one that offers at least 2,000 milligrams of omega-3, not just fish oil per serving.

And also look for one that's enteric coated and adds in the fat-digesting enzyme lipase.

This will help ensure you digest your fats properly.

And then there's those probiotics.

Adding a probiotic supplement will help you reach your goal.

Look for a probiotic supplement that has at least 60 billion cultures and 60 strains.

Also important is the delivery system, meaning it needs to be in a delayed release capsule that will bypass the acidity of the stomach and deliver the probiotics into the intestines where they belong.

So what should you look for in a digestive enzyme supplement?

Look for one that offers many different enzymes to ensure the complete digestion of your diet.

Whether you get these nutrients through food or choose to supplement, they can make a powerful impact on your physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing for the rest of your hopefully very long life.

You know, there are many things that you should do every day in your health and in your eating habits, but you know what?

We don't always do them because it's difficult.

So what I say is strive for them 'cause we do the very best we can.

Adding the HOPE Formula can help give you peace of mind that you are helping your body in a very important way.

Remember where we started?

Let's look back at the Health Continuum.

Where are you on this process?

Are you heading down to chronic disease or maybe you're already there?

But know this.

Just by watching this show today, you are already heading upward increasing your awareness and education.

No matter where you are, HOPE will help you.

You know, I feel so much better and I know that I do everything I can every day to ensure that I have energy, that I can be healthy, that I can live a long, healthy life.

These changes aren't hard.

I'll tell you what's hard.

Being sick is hard.

HOPE is one of the simplest, most beneficial things that you can do to ensure you live the long, vibrant, disease-free life that you deserve.

Thank you.

(audience applauds and cheers)