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  Microencapsulated Probiotics      Are Supplements Necessary?    Probiotics and More

Colostrum:

For more than 20 years colostrum has been extensively studied and has had over 20,000 scientific studies and research articles performed on one of nature’s most potent and invigorating natural immune factors. Especially those who try it and use it are discovering more health benefits every day.

Colostrum is the pre-milk liquid produced from the mammary glands during the first 24-48 hours after birth. During this short duration of time, the immune factors and the growth factors are still at their peak and contain several times the factors compared to colostrum taken during later milking.

Colostrum contains over 37 different important natural immune factors and more than 8 growth factors that work with the body to combat illness and promote full health. While the immune factors in colostrum work to fight off disease and protect the body, the growth factors in colostrum work to support optimal health. The factors in colostrum have also shown to help:

• Improve nutrient uptake
• Support bone mass
• Promote Skin Health
• Support memory
• Balance normal blood sugar levels
• Support normal metabolism
• Help maintain normal cognitive function
• Support normal immune function

Colostrum is completely natural unlike antibiotics. In fact antibiotics can actually make us more susceptible to illness. Antibiotics kill all bacteria in our bodies, which not only causes other ailments and side effects, but also throws the body off balance since not all bacteria in the body are bad. By killing all bacteria in our body, it makes our immune system work harder and leaves us more stressed and tired.
Antibiotics are also not naturally occurring. It is another chemical compound added to our list of symptom suppression. It has been proven that more than 80% of the prescriptions written for antibiotics are needless. Viruses cause most colds, sore throats and congestion; antibiotics have no effect on viral infections.

With the use of colostrums helps support your immune system naturally is your best defense against illnesses.

COLOSTRUM CAN SUPPORT LEAN MUSCLE MASS, INCREASE PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE AND REDUCE RECOVERY TIME BETWEEN STRENUOUS WORKOUTS

For horses that work out regularly and strenuously, colostrum is a good choice. Not only does it help maintain lean muscle tissue, colostrum helps slow normal protein breakdown and speed up normal protein synthesis. In fact, many body builders say that colostrum is the most beneficial muscle-building agent they have ever used – and it’s completely natural!

Colostrum and Lean Muscle
One of the real problems with achieving muscular development lies not just in harnessing anabolism (growth) but also in reducing catabolism (breakdown.)

Colostrum contains two important compounds which work synergistically to support the building of lean muscle mass. The first of these, called IgF-1, is a small peptide with a more anabolic effect than any known compound. Research has shown that during exercise, 1gF-1 is the signal that triggers muscle cell proliferation. IgF-1 works hand in hand with growth hormone (GH) for the building of lean muscle mass.

COLOSTRUM AIDS METABOLISM FOR A MORE EFFICIENT USE OF FUEL & GREATER ENERGY

In order for your horse to compete successfully, it is important to have both strength and stamina. Anything that will enhance endurance while maximizing fuel is certainly an asset.  During heavy workouts and in times of hunger, the body burns its own protein instead of fat. Studies have shown that colostrum shifts fuel utilization to fat, actually preventing the body from burning glucose for energy. The additional growth factors keep GH levels in the body high enough so that protein (muscle) is not compromised during heavy workouts. It also stimulates glucose transport in the muscle, making more efficient use of the available fuel. Athletes and body builders often report they lose weight while gaining inches.

COLOSTRUM SUPPORTS TISSUE AND MUSCLES
Each time your equine athlete exercises strenuously this causes tiny tears in muscle tissue. The muscle-building factors in colostrum repair this normal damage quickly while strengthening muscles.

The beneficial effects of colostrum extend to nearly every structural cell of the body. In fact, IgF-1 is the best know compound for synthesis and support of cartilage. Other compounds known as Transforming Growth Factors A and B are known for their ability to support the synthesis and repair of RNA and DNA. Colostrum supports equine athletes, on a day- to-day basis within the muscle, to those of a more serious nature.

COLOSTRUM HELPS WITH NUTRIENT UPTAKE
Colostrum helps heal the lining of the small intestine where nutrient absorption takes place. Not only does this enhance nutrient uptake, but it also seals out invading organisms which otherwise slip through the intestinal lining into the bloodstream. This accounts for the boost in efficiency when you or your horse receives colostrum.

Colostrum benefits the athlete in so many ways that it is quickly gaining popularity – especially amongst those who prefer to stay with natural substances.

WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU START GIVING COLOSTRUM?
Colostrum begins working immediately.

Colostrum begins its work by being absorbed into the bowel mucosa. It begins there, which provides benefits throughout the body. You should notice your horse beginning to feel better right away.

When taken at the recommended rate of 10,000 ~ 20,000 mg (10~20 grams) per day for your horse, you should often see a difference in a week. However, each horse is unique and some stresses that have been endured may mean that benefits will not come immediately. The long-term benefits of colostrum are definitely worth any minor wait you may experience.


More colostrum can be taken during times of stress to move through the symptoms quickly. Colostrum has no known risks and contains no toxicity levels so that you can provide as much as you want without side effects. There have never been any reported side effects from taking too much. 

Micro-encapsulated Probiotics

In recent years, the term "probiotics" has become a health buzzword and there has been an explosion of equine feed supplements adding probiotics to their product lines.  What are they?  Probiotics are beneficial bacteria which favorably alter the intestinal micro-flora balance, encourage feed and ingredient utilization, support immune function, and maintain optimal health.
 
 As we become increasingly aware of the growing importance of friendly intestinal flora and its benefits to a healthy gut, the survival of these live micro - organisms is crucial and must be considered too! 

Micro-encapsulation is a process of enclosing the probiotics in very small sealed capsules from which the probiotic is released slowly by body heat employing an effective means of delivering the complex micro-flora to the digestive tract where it is best utilized. 
 
With micro-encapsulation technology, Total* Equine Supplement bonds with digestive enzymes and are the key building blocks to your horses health and immune system. These micro-encapsulated probiotics work to optimize the absorption of ingredients into the digestive tract and obtain optinal health.

The maintenance of a healthy micro-flora in the horses gut will help maintain general health, appearance, performance and temperament.

Are Supplements Necessary?

Taking vitamin supplements has long been argued as either crucial or completely unnecessary to your body's health and overall wellbeing. You may well be wondering: so which one is it? Are they, in fact, a necessary part to the healthy whole, to keep your body functioning at its optimum? Or, conversely, are they superfluous to our self-sufficient bodies, already built with all the necessary mineral and vitamin-producing bodily resources? It is true that our bodies have been built to use and produce the right amounts of necessary vitamins and minerals for our overall health; however, a number of external factors in our present lives either impede vitamin and mineral production or deplete our bodily stores altogether.

The proper amount of vitamins and nutrients are absolutely necessary to our body's ability to heal, maintain immune system response, grow/develop, and daily function. Below is a number of reasons why so many of us are deficient in vitamins, and must look to vitamin supplements for overall health.

� If you are like most, even the healthiest of four food group diets don't necessarily meet your daily vitamin requirements.

� Most of the time, vitamins offer quantities of nutrients that a healthy diet cannot provide.

� Dietary restrictions such as vegetarian/vegan diets leave out many essential vitamins and nutrients.

� Weight loss diets of any form can easily deny your body of necessary minerals and nutrients; i.e. low/no carb diets, etc.

� Produce and vegetables lose necessary stores of nutrients and vitamins during the transporting and storing process, so even consuming the suggested amount of fruits and veggies per day will not give you the amount of nutrients that your body requires..

� A large percentage of foods today contain nutrient-robbing/deplete preservatives, insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, artificial coloring, etc that, not only do not have any nutritional substance, but may harm the vitamin stores we have; if not our body's immune system.

� Stress takes a serious toll on not just your mind, but also uses up a lot more bodily energy and processes that you think. With it, your body's vitamins and minerals are being used in excess.

Unfortunately, the world that didn't require daily vitamin supplements is now our grandparents' memory and will forever be. One piece of fruit in their day retained its vitamins and nutrients due to less insecticides, transportation abuse, and general neglect for profit. Breads and grains were not over-processed. There were no harmful trans fats or chemical-rich fat-free products. With industry cutting corners on quality care and respect for our foods, it's no wonder that more and more of the world's population is deficient in necessary nutrients and suffering health concerns due to it. How our food is brought to us is only the beginning as to why we need to take daily vitamin supplements. Fad diets and stressful lives only serve to add to the problem. So, the answer is yes, for overall well being and bodily health, vitamin supplements are most definitely necessary!!  You only have one body so keep it healthy!!

Probiotics – Digestive Enhancers & Much More

It’s been said by some that the use of probiotics are unnecessary and all hype.  Is that true?  I beg to differ and say they are becoming essential for your horses well being.  A few reasons and an actual test that I saw with my own eyes proved that probiotics are needed.

First what does probiotic mean?  It originates from the Greek word Probiosis, ‘pro” meaning for and “biosis” meaning life, thus probiotic means “for good life”.  Probiotics are simply the “good” bacterial that exists in the digestive tract and promote health.  Since horses have become domesticated and their life style changed their need for additional support has become necessary.  Feeding live beneficial bacteria and digestive enzymes help to create and maintain microbial balances in the digestive tract for optimal digestion and maximizing health of your horse.

Today’s horse lifestyle includes limited grazing access if any, processed feeds, intense training and showing stresses, all which mess with the ability of the horse to maintain a healthy body.  Your horse’s stomach requires digestive enzymes to continue with the process of feed breakdown.  The gastric juices start this breakdown, and then the bacteria make the feed into useable, absorbable compounds.  Without the proper digestive enzymes and beneficial intestinal bacterial being in place, the food passes through the system without being “fermented” the way it should, thus the nutrients that are in the feed stays in the feed and lost through the feces.  This undigested food can lead to situations such as colic or colic-like symptoms, bloat, founder, and set up ideal parasite conditions. Antibiotics, of course not only destroy the bad bacterial, but also the good bacteria.  That is why most times a horse will go “off feed” after antibiotic treatment.  The bacteria have been eliminated from the digestive tract, and the only way to “start” the engine is to reintroduce the bacteria thru supplementation. 

When feeding a supplement with probiotic there are some criteria that should be met:  first the product must contain LIVE microorganisms – if not then it is not a probiotic and it will not to anything for your horse’s digestive system.  Some supplements have yeast added which increases the digestible energy content of the feed; however it needs to be live also.  There are yeasts on the market that are “dead” and don’t do anything without the addition of live organisms.  Also, not all strains of probiotic are created the same thus your probiotic should have Lactobacillus sp to be effective and there needs to be 10-100 billion CFU/day of an organism to colonize the digestive tract.

I have seen a horse in full blown colic (still in the digestive tract, no twisted gut) reversed within minutes by the oral administration of a probiotic and digestive enzyme concoction. Seeing is believing when I saw the horse walking and eating within 20 minutes of the attack and I have been a believer since. 

There are many other benefits of adding probiotics to your horse’s diet.  Of course it enhances the digestive tract, it reduces or eliminates colic, reduces foal scours, enhances mare milking ability and milk nutritional content.  Probiotics enhance the immune system to maintain health and resistance to diseases, including worms.  Probiotics improve the health of all ages of horses and give you a healthy, happy horse.