Frequently Asked Questions

By now you have probably heard of probiotics. They are the good bacteria we consume that help protect our gut and thereby keep our body healthy. One way to think of probiotics is as desirable houseguests for your gut, the rare kind that you actually want to stay because they are so helpful.

Your gut is home to a complex community of trillions of microbes – also referred to as gut flora – that play a crucial role in your overall digestive and immune health. As you age, your population of ‘friendly’ bacteria naturally decline. The ‘friendly’ bacteria in your gut can also be lost due to antibiotic use, stress, surgery, infections, and/or a poor diet.

When gut flora becomes imbalanced, it can lead to uncomfortable digestive upsets such as gas, bloating, constipation, and diarrhea. By promoting an ideal balance of ‘friendly bacteria’ to enhance digestion and help prevent occasional digestive issues, probiotics can set you up for optimal health.

By helping to maintain a balanced, healthy gut flora environment that allows for optimal digestion, probiotics may:

• Help reduce the incidence of digestive complaints and boost immunity
• Help improve your gut wall – an important component in the prevention of leaky gut syndrome
• Help to control inflammation that can affect how efficiently your intestine processes nutrients, which in some cases can lead to the development of numerous chronic diseases3
• Provide maximum effectiveness when probiotics are combined with clinically proven strains.

Renew Life® probiotics help promote favorable gut flora thereby improve digestive and gastrointestinal health. Plus, Renew Life® probiotics are delivered via advanced acid-resistant vegetarian capsules to protect them from harsh stomach acid and transport them directly to the intestine.

Source

Natural Health Products have been used for centuries, with cultures all over the world looking for natural ways to gently cleanse their body from the inside out.

Traditionally used in Herbal Medicine to improve digestive function, protect the liver, and gently cleanse the bowel, herbal cleanses help with your body’s natural detoxification process to eliminate waste and toxins.

In the modern world we live in, we are exposed to toxins every day. They’re in our environment, the air we breathe, our food and water, and they’re even in our own digestive tracts. And while your body has natural elimination/detox channels, over time these toxins can build up in your body and impact your health.

By re-establishing digestive health and regular elimination, herbal cleanses may help get rid of the waste and toxins in your system. Cleansing is simply another way to help your body stay healthy, like eating right and exercising.

There are seven channels of elimination that can be targeted with natural herbal ingredients:

1. Liver
2. Lungs
3. Colon
4. Kidneys
5. Skin
6. Blood
7. Lymphatic System

With the ongoing exposure to toxins and stress that we frequently encounter in today’s busy world, it’s easy for your body’s natural detox pathways to become compromised. If you suffer from any of these signs, using an herbal cleanse with natural ingredients to reduce the toxic load in your body can help minimize or alleviate your discomfort.
• Lethargy or fatigue
• Indigestion, gas or bloating
• Constipation or irregularity
• Yeast or urinary tract infections
• Brain fog
• Insomnia
• Skin problems such as acne
• Weight issues
• Fluid retention

In addition to increased energy, using herbal cleanses made from naturally sourced ingredients to help detoxify your body and support a balanced digestive system can:

• Re-establish digestive wellness
• Restore digestive regularity
• Help eliminate waste
• Reduce bloating
• Relieve occasional constipation
• Boost energy levels

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Digestive enzymes are proteins that your body makes to help break down the food you eat into usable nutrients that are absorbed by your digestive tract and used throughout the body.

By breaking apart the molecular bonds that hold nutrients together – picture a jackhammer breaking up a chunk of concrete – digestive enzymes convert food into smaller building blocks that your body can absorb and use for energy.

Digestive enzymes are essential for optimal digestion, maximum absorption of nutrients, and the proper breakdown of proteins, carbohydrates and fats. The release of fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins A, D, E, and K) also rely on the digestion of fats and the activity of digestive enzymes.

Without adequate enzymes, nutrients are lost and deficiencies are possible. If you suffer from digestive issues or discomfort, insufficient digestive enzymes in your gut may be the problem.

Digestive enzymes, which are critical to the digestive process, your overall health and general sense of well-being, are produced by five major organs:

1. Salivary Glands
2. The Stomach
3. The Pancreas
4. The Liver
5. The Small Intestine

Some health conditions such as pancreatitis or gallbladder removal can make it difficult for your body to produce enzymes, which can result in stomach irritation, poor nutrient absorption, and leaky gut syndrome (also known as increased intestinal permeability).

The natural aging process and/or a poor diet that lacks vitamins, minerals, and electrolytes can also cause an enzyme deficiency. Since these nutrients are required to produce enzymes, a nutritious diet rich in fruits and vegetables is often encouraged. Unfortunately, the typical modern diet today contains too many packaged, processed foods that lack the nutrients we need to thrive. And, as we all know, you are what you eat.

When you are suffering from a lack of digestive enzymes, food is often only partially digested.

This can lead to a buildup of stomach acid, gasses and/or food fermenting in the intestines, which can cause uncomfortable symptoms that can be painful to live with, such as:

• Gas
• Bloating
• Heartburn or Indigestion
• Constipation
• Belching

Renew Life® offers a range of multi-enzyme formulations that promote optimal digestion, so you can feel comfortable and get the most nutrients from your food. Our enzymes:

• Helps maximize digestion of a broad range of foods
• Helps digest proteins

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Omega-3 fatty acids (also referred to as Essential Fatty Acids or EFAs), are the basic elements of our cell membranes. Two crucial ones – EPA and DHA – are primarily found in certain fish. Not only does your body need these fatty acids in order to function properly, consuming omega-3 fatty acids can also result in big health benefits.

Since fats make up at least 60% of our brain, omegas are critical for infant brain development during both the fetal and postnatal period.2 DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) is quantitatively the most important omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid in the brain3, while EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) has been associated with improving mood disorders and reducing inflammation.

Omega-3 fatty acids are classified as “essential” because the human body cannot produce these fatty acids, so they must be obtained from an outside source (such as food or dietary supplements), and because these polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have essential functions in the body.1

Omega-3 fatty acids are important nutrients when it comes to your overall health and well-being. In addition to supporting heart and brain health, numerous studies show that omega-3 fatty acids may also help lower inflammation throughout your body – including your gut – which, if left unchecked, can lead to a number of chronic diseases.

Like omega-3 fatty acids, omega-6 and omega-9 fatty acids can also offer numerous health benefits. But, there is one major difference: there is no shortage of omega-6 and omega-9 fatty acids in the typical Canadian diet. The same cannot be said for omega-3 fatty acids.

Omega-6 fatty acids are commonly found in cooking oils such as corn, sunflower and soybean oil, while omega-9 fatty acids are found in popular foods such as almonds, avocados and olive oil. Not only does the average Canadian get enough of these fats through diet, the body can produce omega-9 fatty acids on its own.

Since most Canadians are taking in adequate amounts of omega-6 and omega-9, it only makes sense to focus on supplementing your diet with omega-3s instead, given that they are the most needed fatty acids and – undeniably – the ones that the majority of Canadians are lacking.

Omega-3 fatty acids are anti-inflammatory in nature. Many chronic conditions – obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease – develop after years of underlying inflammation that is left untreated. This is why balancing the ratio of omega-6 fatty acids with omega-3 fatty acids in your diet is essential to long-term health and wellbeing.

Unfortunately, most modern diets are loaded with omega-6 fatty acids, while omega-3 fatty acids are consumed much less frequently. In fact, some reports show that the average person today consumes 15X more omega-6 fatty acids than omega-3s – a striking imbalance that can lead to many long-term health problems.

Thankfully, increasing your consumption of omega-3 fatty acids to restore balance is easy to do through supplements and smart food choices. There are three types of omega-3 fatty acids – ALA, EPA and DHA. ALA is found in plant sources such as flax seeds and walnuts. The best sources of EPA/DHA come from oily fish, such as salmon, anchovies, and sardines.

All Renew Life® omega-3 supplements are free from harmful contaminants and have been rigorously third-party tested and certified to ensure you are receiving the cleanest, highest-quality omega-3 fish oils.

Each Renew Life® fish oil product carries the International Fish Oil Standards (IFOS™) certification. This seal guarantees that our products meet or exceed international standards for purity, potency and sustainability. All Renew Life Norwegian Gold products have received a 5-star rating from the IFOS™ program.

The IFOS™ program guarantees quality by testing fish oil products for:
• Dioxins and furans
• PCBs
• Essential fatty acids
• Oxidation
• Mercury
• Cadmium
• Lead
• Arsenic
• Acid value
• Radioactivity

1. Added Lipase

Because many people have difficulty digesting fats, adding the digestive enzyme Lipase to a formulation makes it easier for many to break down fish oils to enhance the utilization of their benefits. This is why all Renew Life® fish oils contain Lipase, with the exception of Kids DHA, which is a chewable.

2. Enteric-coated capsules

Believe it or not, it’s not just the supplement itself that matters – the capsule it’s contained in also affects how omega-3 fatty acids are absorbed by your body. Enteric-coated capsules provide a targeted release method that results in 3X better absorption when compared with non-coated omega-3 supplements.

3. Purity & certification

When looking for a fish oil supplement, it’s important to make sure it’s sourced from wild, unthreatened fish that live in pristine waters. It’s a sustainable approach to good health. As part of our ongoing commitment to the environment and sustainability of resources, all our omega-3 fish oil supplements are Friend of the Sea third-party certified. In fact, we are one of only a few companies that have obtained this high standard across its whole line of fish oils.

4. Potency

Why does the potency of your fish oil supplements matter? Because taking supplements with a higher concentration of EPA and DHA will provide maximum benefits with fewer capsules. Renew Life®’s concentrated Norwegian Gold omega-3 capsules are subject to an exclusive multi-step concentration process that creates highly concentrated, ultra-pure fish oils with high potencies of EPA and DHA in each one. This means you only need to take 1 Norwegian Gold Super Critical Omega per day to get over 1000mg of omega-3 fatty acids from fish.

Here are just a few symptoms that can indicate you may be dealing with an omega-3 deficiency.
• Fatigue
• Insomnia
• Heart issues
• Skin issues
• Poor memory
• Difficulty concentrating
• Low immunity
• Poor circulation
• Depression and mood swings
• Joint discomfort

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Many experts believe that a healthy gut is the foundation of a healthy life. Research shows that the gut influences many aspects of our health way beyond everyday digestion. But first, to understand if our gut health is poor we need to know the signs of a healthy gut:

1. You don’t have any signs of discomfort after eating such as gas, bloating, heartburn, or abdominal pain.
2. You have 1 – 3 healthy, well-formed bowel movements per day, without straining.
3. You don’t have undigested food, mucous or blood in your stool.

It’s important to have at least one healthy bowel movement a day, with the time from ingestion and egestion between 12 and 24 hours. But for many, this process can take days. When food is only partially digested is stays in the gut and ferments, creating toxins that destroy the mucous lining of the intestinal tract. It is essential to have a healthy mucous lining as it acts as a filter between the small intestine and bloodstream. Our job is ensuring that this mucous lining is the healthiest it can be.

Fibre keeps things moving. Having a sufficient amount in your diet is essential to maintaining a healthy gut. Fibre is a complex carbohydrate, but unlike other carbohydrates, which are broken down by the body to provide fuel in the form of sugar, fibre cannot be digested by the human body.

Fibre brings a plethora of positives to people’s lives, especially when it comes to constipation. Instead of using harsh laxatives such as Senna and Casgara Sagrada, Renew Life encourages gently hydrating the colon by using non-irritating herbs like cape aloe and rhubarb. Supporting a healthy and hydrated digestive tract.

If it isn’t love, it’s probably Acid Reflux. This condition stems from hydrochloric acid that enters the esophagus from the stomach, irritating it. This leads to an uncomfortable burning sensation, especially when certain foods and beverages are consumed.

Renew Life® has focused on using herbal ingredients that are effective, natural and gentle on the digestive system.

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Many people don’t know that fibre is broken down in two unique types: soluble and insoluble. Both are important for gut health, but they work in different ways. Soluble fibre breaks down within the digestive system and dissolves in water, turning into a gel like substance. Soluble fibre provides benefits that protect against certain heart conditions and diabetes. This type of fibre can be found in many foods, such as apples, carrots, barley, legumes, oranges and peas.

Insoluble fibre, on the other hand, cannot break down, and stays close to a solid known as ‘roughage’. This kind of fibre works through the digestive system, sweeping the walls of the bowel clean. Sources of insoluble fibre include wheat bran, flax seeds, and fruit and vegetable skins.

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