The importance of a Healthy Gut

By Charlotte Meschede - Nutritionist

In my experience, most people, doctors and other medical practitioners included, tend to take the health of our digestive systems for granted. This is probably because the gut can, and is designed, to take care of itself, much like a well-run corporation. However, as in a large business, when one department is not working well, it eventually will impact the efficacy of another one. Separate divisions in any enterprise are not islands, as they rely on the efficient functioning of all the other departments around them and a fault in one of them will eventually be manifested in the other. Such is our digestive system. The entire digestive tract is not only designed so we can put food in our mouths, chew it, swallow it and transport it to the stomach and small intestine, where the nutrients and other good stuff can be absorbed and then into the large intestine, from which all the indigestible remains are excreted. The gut is now considered to be a complex microbial ecosystem, which impacts many of our cellular pathways including detoxification, immunity, brain health, hormonal feedback mechanisms, neural pathways and many others. The gut and the brain are therefore intricately connected through a complex network of compounds released by the

If I was asked to give only ONE health tip that I had gleaned from my 44 years in clinical practice, I would say this: LOOK AFTER YOUR GUT!

microbiota in the digestive tract, to nerve cells and pathways that enable us to respond to different stimuli.

How can we ensure that we maintain a healthy gut?

In order for the gut microbiota to function optimally, there has to be sufficient prebiotics, which are the compounds that help to support the healthy bacteria as well as the probiotics, which are the bacteria themselves. Prebiotics include both soluble and insoluble fibres that are found in whole unrefined grains as well starchy vegetables such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, butternut, pumpkin, beetroots and carrots AND those indigestible fibres that are found in green leafy vegetables.

Dietary trends that encourage ‘keto-type’ diets, such as the very low carbohydrate, high-fat diets promoted by many endocrinologists and physicians, may impact the health of gut microbiota in a negative way if insufficient of these vegetables are not eaten on a regular basis. If you do follow a low carbohydrate or keto-type diet, then you will need to supplement with fibre and one of the best recommendations I can make is AIM Fit n Fiber.

AIM FloraFood provides a combination of 3 of the most common species of healthy bacteria in the gut. Probiotics facilitate the production of many important nutrients such as vitamin B12, B6 and vitamin K.

I have had several patients over the years that seem to ‘live’ with either chronic constipation or diarrhea and never do anything about it. Sadly, BOTH conditions will destroy the gut if they are not adequately treated. If people rely on chemical stimulating laxatives to make their bowels move, then they will end up with a lazy, enlarged large intestine that will NEVER function without this stimulation. The longer they take these kinds of laxatives, the more they will rely on them, develop tolerance (the dose will have to be continuously increased) and a condition called an atonic (has no muscle contraction whatsoever) megacolon (large floppy bowel), in which the fecal mass collects and sits until evacuation through chemical stimulus or surgical intervention.

Chronic diarrhea will ultimately lead to multi-nutrient deficiencies as the transit time in the gut increases, and there is less opportunity to absorb nutrients. Another problem in westernized diets, is the impact of all the artificial colorants, flavour enhancers, artificial sweeteners and other additives, such as emulsifiers and stabilizers which are present in all processed foods. These chemicals can disrupt hormonal regulation, not only in the gut but in several metabolic pathways.

I CONCLUDE in repeating, please look after your GUT!

“Health is the thing that makes you feel that NOW is the best time of the year.”

Franklin P.Adams

Regulatory environment for Health Supplement & Complementary Medicines

By Elsa Havenga - Regulatory Affairs Pharmacist (B.Sc Pharmacy)

There is considerable legislation pertaining to both foodstuffs such as BarleyLife, Health Supplements such as AIMega and Complementary Medicines such as Proancynol 2000. The legislation includes - The Medicines and Related Substances Act, 101 of 1965, The Complementary and Alternative Medicinal Substances (CAMS) Guidelines on Complementary Medicines, and Health Supplements, and the Regulations Relating to the Labelling and Advertising of Foodstuffs.

There is also the Consumer Protection Act (CPA), Act 68 of 2008 which came into effect on 1 April 2011. This Act has far-reaching effects on products sold to consumers. The Act identifies the responsibilities that are imposed on suppliers to make sure that the interests of consumers are protected during transactions.

Amongst the nine consumer rights listed in the Act, the following are especially important to take note of:

1. Fair and responsible marketing. 2. Fair and honest dealing. 3. Disclosure of information. 4. Fair, just and reasonable terms and conditions. 5. Fair value, good quality and safety. 6. The right to hold a supplier accountable.

SAHPRA (South African Health Product Regulatory Authority) is responsible for assuring that all medicines are safe, effective, and of good quality. Therefore, the requirements for these products (Health supplements and Complementary Medicines) have been made stricter as some of the active ingredients in these products may cause adverse reactions, especially some of the botanical ingredients. SAHPRA is amending and enforcing these strict requirements on an on-going basis as they also learn how to manage these products.

All the above-mentioned legislation and guidelines affect the way in which AIM Africa, with the support of AIM International conduct the marketing of our products. The importation of many AIM products into South Africa has become increasingly difficult over the past five years. We have to comply with the requirements immediately, to be able to import the products, therefore it is not always possible to timeously inform our members and their clients of these changes.

One of the many new regulations requires the addition of a Patient Information Leaflet (PIL) to each unit to be released by Port Health when entering South Africa. These PIL’s include many new label requirements which include the use of the terms like patient and medicine. This is similar to AIM products sold in Australia which are labeled as Listed Medicines and in Canada which are labeled as Natural Health Products. The labels in these countries also have risk statements and verbiage that is more restrictive.