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Phloe® is a natural, gentle and effective way to support your bowel health. 

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Packed with goodness, this hearty soup also helps to support healthy digestion and regular bowel movements...

Packed with goodness, this hearty soup also helps to support healthy digestion and regular bowel movements. The tomato and lentil combination are a great source of fibre, which is essential for anyone that experiences sluggish bowels and the added spices are good for gut health too.
Bon appetit!
Hearty Tomato and Lentil Soup
Serves 4
2 tbsp olive oil 
1 onion, finely diced 
3 cloves garlic, finely diced 
1 tsp cumin seeds 
2 stalks celery, chopped 
1 carrot, chopped 
1 tsp ground coriander 
1 tsp smoked paprika 
1 tsp sweet paprika 
½ tsp turmeric 
small pinch of chilli flakes (optional) 
2x 400g cans diced tomatoes 
2 tbsp tomato paste 
1 cup red lentils, rinsed 
4 cups water 
1 – 2 tsp honey or raw sugar (optional) 
1 – 2 tsp Himalayan salt 
Black pepper
Instructions:
<ol>
<li>Heat olive oil and stir in onions. Sauté until clear.</li>
<li>Add garlic, cumin seeds, celery and carrot and cook until tender.</li>
<li>Add coriander, paprika, turmeric and chilli flakes, and cook for about 1 minute to bring the flavours out.</li>
<li>Add canned tomatoes, tomato paste, lentils and water. Cover with a lid and bring to the boil.</li>
<li>Simmer for 30 – 35 minutes without the lid, until lentils are tender. Add small amounts of water if needed.</li>
<li>Add honey/sugar, salt and pepper to taste</li>
<li>Serve with sourdough or your favourite multigrain bread</li>
</ol>
Bon appetit!

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bowl-of-lentil-tomato soup

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Hearty Tomato & Lentil Soup Recipe

Hearty Tomato and Lentil Soup Recipe

Did you know that sluggish bowels can be helped with exercise? It’s a super easy option to help give you back a sense of control for regular daily bowel movements...

yoga-5

Yoga 5

Get Those Bowel Muscles Moving!

Get those Bowel Muscles Moving!

The holidays are a time for relaxation and enjoyment, for socialising with friends and family and celebration. Where this might be good for the soul, the digestive system may have not fared so well….   

A Fresh start for Digestive Health
The holidays are a time for relaxation and enjoyment, for socialising with friends and family and celebration. Where this might be good for the soul, the digestive system may have not fared so well.   An abundance of rich foods, sugary treats and perhaps an extra festive drink or two can upset the balance of gut flora and can put pressure on the stomach and the liver.  This may result in over acidity or reflux after eating, indigestion or perhaps gas and bloating after eating.  You might also find that your bowel habits have changed.  Perhaps they are no longer a daily occurrence or stools are harder to pass.  Others may find that they are getting loose bowels or swing between constipation and diarrhoea.
Since the digestive system is key to health and vitality, it may be a good time to put things back in order after the festive season.  Here are some easy suggestions to help put your digestive system back in order.
Increase fibre
Dietary fibre is amazing for our digestive system.  It feeds our good bacteria, exfoliates our digestive tract, helps soften and bulk stools, so they are easier to pass and helps the body with the removal of toxins. It is found in grains, nuts, seeds, fruit and vegetables, so increasing it in our daily diet is simple. Make sure you have at least 5 handfuls of fresh fruit and vegetables a day. Phloe also contains fibre, so can help in this area.
Get the good bugs
One of the reasons for regular gas and bloating can be an imbalance of our digestive flora.  At times our good bacteria can be overwhelmed by less beneficial yeasts and bacteria, which consume the food we eat and ferment them to produce unpleasant gases.  Probiotics can be one way of increasing the population of good bacteria that help crowd out less beneficial yeasts and bacterial species. Phloe Biotics contains all the goodness of regular Phloe plus probiotics to support normal gut flora balance.
Switch on your digestive juices
Often if we get bloated or have indigestion, we might need support with our stomach function. Our stomach is naturally acidic and is one of the first places to start breaking down our foods. It is important, especially for breaking down our fatty foods.   A natural way to switch on our stomach acid is to drink a squeeze of lemon juice in water in the mornings or to have a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in warm water before our main meal.  These naturally acidic foods also encourage the liver to produce bile that helps with digestion and supports digestive enzyme production. Phloe Zyme contains all the goodness of Phloe plus digestive enzymes to support easy digestion.
Hydrate
The digestive system uses fluids in many ways for optimal function. It is needed to create our stomach acid and digestive enzymes. Water is needed in every cell of the body, including for healthy digestive system cells. Water is drawn into the digestive system to help soften stools to make them easier to pass.  Our choice of drinks can therefore affect our digestive system.  Caffeine and alcohol can be dehydrating, so should be excluded when repairing the digestive system or taken in moderation.  Water is very important, so make sure you have your 8 glasses a day. There are many herbal teas that are caffeine free if you are looking for something hydrating as a warm drink. Many of these herbal teas have calming digestive functions such as chamomile, peppermint or fennel tea, which is a bonus.  Also, a piece of ginger added to boiling water can make a warming and digestively soothing drink.
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Ease the digestive burden
There are some foods that our body has to work harder to break down than others. Junk foods and overly fatty foods fall into this category. If you are trying to heal the digestive system try to cut back on the takeaways and choose simple meals with a large side of vegetables.
Some of us might also be aware that certain foods lead us to feeling uncomfortable.  Many people struggle with bloating after gluten or dairy containing foods.  Others might suffer after eating onions, garlic or spicy food.  Whilst you are trying to restore your digestive health, try to eliminate any foods that cause aggravation to give the digestive system time to get back on track.

A Fresh start for Digestive Health

During and prior to going on holiday, we tend to experience particularly stressful times, what with juggling our preparations for work while we’re gone, travel plans and social gatherings. Not to mention treating ourselves with delicious foods and drinks that we tend to avoid in our usual everyday life.  Unfortunately for some, particularly those with sensitive tummy’s, being on holiday can affect our bowel function. It can be distressing, especially when you’re out socialising with family and friends or long-distance travelling.

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HAPPY HOLIDAYS WITH HEALTHY GUT FLORA

Happy Holidays with Healthy Gut Flora

Little girl holds a puppy on her arms

Kids, like adults, should be having regular bowel motions. Constipation is quite common amongst kids and there are a variety of reasons as to why they could be blocked up. The good news is, there are numerous daily tips you can use to make going to the toilet easier for them. 

Keeping Kids Regular
Kids, like adults, should be having regular bowel motions. Constipation is quite common amongst kids and there are a variety of reasons as to why they could be blocked up. The good news is, there are numerous daily tips you can use to make going to the toilet easier for them.
But firstly, what actually is normal?
Most kids have a bowel movement every day or every second day, some more than once a day. It’s important to take into account that bowel habits vary from child to child.
Ideally, once a day is the sign of a healthy bowel, providing they have good consistency. Their stool should be like a soft sausage.
If however, they are a bit more like small hard pepples or a hard, large sausage they are most likely not going to the loo as often as they should.
They also might be showing signs of not wanting to go to the toilet (tears or tantrums) as it could be a little difficult or uncomfortable for them. This is a sign that you may need to consider whether they are drinking enough water or eating enough fibre.
Here’s a few signs to look out for:
<ul>
<li>Small hard lumps like pebbles</li>
<li>Hard, large stool</li>
<li>No bowel movements for 3 or more days</li>
<li>Crying or pain during bowel movements</li>
<li>Blood on the stool (due to a potential tear on the skin)</li>
<li>Tummy pain</li>
</ul>
The sooner you can catch on to these signs the better, as it can become a vicious cycle once children have a bad relationship with the toilet room.
If your child does not have a tummy bug and their stool has been a little mushy or watery on a regular basis, it may be a sign that they have a food intolerance such as dairy or gluten.
How can you influence a regular, daily bowel movement?
<ul>
<li>Establish a toilet time &#8211; try to work out when your child naturally needs to go and encourage them to sit on the toilet for about 5 mins. Help them to relax &#8211; sing, colour, read stories. This will aid with training their bowel to relax at this time. Routine is the key!</li>
<li>Keep them active every day</li>
<li>Healthy eating habits –Reduce their intake of ready-made food and takeaways, sugar, refined grains (pasta, white bread) and processed meats and try to integrate more fruit, veges, wholegrain breads, beans and simple, unprocessed meats</li>
<li>Make sure they drink plenty of water &#8211; you can measure their ideal daily water intake by multiplying their weight by 30 (30 x 25kg=750ml)</li>
<li>Food sensitivities – check for food intolerances and change their diet accordingly. Common foods are milk, wheat, egg and soy</li>
<li>Stress and emotional tension – a relaxed, happy child is more likely to have regular bowel movements</li>
<li>Healthy intestinal flora – keep their healthy gut microflora in check. Antibiotic use and food sensitivities lead to imbalances so daily probiotic supplementation may really help</li>
<li>Find a food or food group that makes them go. It might be something like berries, cucumber, celery or stewed/fresh pear. It’s ideal to find this out when they are young so it can be your ‘go to’ when needed</li>
<li>Try Phloe Kids Bowel Health, a yummy tasting natural bowel health supplement made from New Zealand kiwifruit that helps keep you regular. Your kids are sure to love these!</li>
</ul>

Keeping Kids Regular and Constipation

Gas.  If reading that word conjures sensations of uncomfortable fullness in your body where your clothes feel too tight and your stomach seems twice the size, then you’re not alone in having experienced digestive discomfort.

Gas.  If reading that word conjures sensations of uncomfortable fullness in your body where your clothes feel too tight and your stomach seems twice the size, then you’re not alone in having experienced digestive discomfort.
Intestinal gas is a normal by-product of the digestive process and we normally pass this gas without much effort.  It usually comprises odourless gases such as carbon dioxide, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and occasionally methane.  The mixture of gases we each produce is as unique as the microbial population that makes up our personal intestinal microflora, with different types of gut bacteria producing different gases.  Less than 1% of intestinal gas is made up of sulphur-containing odour-producing molecules, most often hydrogen sulphide, but even concentrations as low as one-half part per billion can be detected by a human producing that characteristic nose wrinkling expression of distaste!
Gas is produced by either ingesting air with the food and fluids we consume, or as a ‘waste’ product by our intestinal microbes who are processing the food we eat, breaking down further those often difficult-to-digest food particles from complex carbohydrates (sugars, starches and fibrous cellulose – the tough outer walls of plants).  Upper digestive gas is passed via the mouth as a burp (also known as belching), and lower digestive gas is passed as flatulence (also known as …!).  Ordinarily, we produce about 500ml to 1.8L of gas daily, which we pass on average 12 to 20 times a day.  Fortunately, most of this is passed at night when we sleep.
Typically, we might begin to notice a problem with gas towards the end of the day when the stomach looks and feels uncomfortably distended. Or it might be a feeling of passing gas noticeably more frequently – either as burps or wind.  This increased distension of the digestive tract can lead to an increase in the normal contractions that propel food along its length and may lead to painful cramps.
To relieve the problem of excess gas there are a number of tips that can help:
<ul>
<li>Reducing consumption of carbonated beverages</li>
<li>Avoid drinking through straws</li>
<li>Avoid chewing gum</li>
<li>Slowing down when eating or drinking</li>
<li>Try Phloe Zyme</li>
</ul>
To reduce bloating and the uncomfortable sensation of abdominal distension, the first place to start is with digestive enzymes.  A lot of times bloating is due to partially digested food being worked on by gut bacteria. Supplementing with additional digestive enzymes can help support a more efficient break down of food and better absorption of nutrients. Try Phloe Zyme, it has all the benefits of regular Phloe, being natural and containing Zyactinase, a unique kiwifruit extract which has seven clinical trials to back it’s efficacy, and it also has added digestive enzymes to help the healthy break down of different food groups in the digestive system.
It might also be necessary to avoid those problem foods that trigger bloating.  Common culprits include beans, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, dairy products containing lactose, onions, leeks and garlic, fruits, and starchy foods (wheat, other grains, potatoes, corn) etc. What may be a problem food for one may be fine for another!

Beat The Bloat

When looking at bowel health and constipation one word that makes a frequent appearance is fibre. Sounds great, but how does this translate into your everyday diet and what are some other top tips on fibre sources and benefits?

When looking at bowel health and constipation one word that makes a frequent appearance is fibre. Sounds great, but how does this translate into your everyday diet and what are some other top tips on fibre sources and benefits?
In fact not all fibre is the same and there are actually two kinds of fibre to be found in our diet. There is insoluble fibre and soluble fibre and both have their benefits in the digestive system.
Insoluble fibre
This is the mostly commonly known fibre that provides roughage from sources like wheat bran, nuts, beans, kiwifruit, prunes and vegetables. It is called insoluble fibre as it does not break down in the digestive system. This is why it helps add bulk to stools, which aids transition through the bowels. Due to it&#8217;s rough texture, this fibre also acts like a loofah and has a gentle exfoliating effect on the walls of the digestive system. This helps spring clean our insides by sloughing off old cells. It also acts as food for our good bacteria that help maintain the digestive system and helps them produce short-chain fatty acids; linked with health promoting effects such as cardiovascular health.
One negative effect of insoluble fibre is when it is consumed in high amounts it can cause some people to become bloated and gassy.
Soluble fibre
This type of fibre is soluble in water and dissolves to form a sort of gel. You may have seen it if you have ever soaked oats or linseeds overnight. Other good sources of soluble fibre include apples, peas, kiwifruit, prunes, beans, citrus fruits, carrots and barley. One of the positive benefits of soluble fibre is that it helps slow down the absorption of sugar, which helps the body to maintain a healthy sugar balance. It also helps absorb and remove excess bad cholesterol, toxins and heavy metals from the digestive system.
In terms of digestive health, soluble fibre has a balancing effect. If stools are too loose then it absorbs the water and helps firm them. With constipation it helps add bulk to the stool, but also the gel like substance of soluble fibre, when combined with water, helps smooth the passage of the stool through the digestive system. This is why drinking water is so important for digestive health.
Ideally maintaining a healthy balance of these types of fibres will give the best results for a happy, healthy digestive system. Try Phloe as it&#8217;s natural kiwifruit formula contains both soluble and insoluble fibre, along with prebiotics to feed beneficial bacteria.

Fibre Fact Finder

We are probably all familiar with the term the ‘gut-brain connection’ which refers to how our mental and emotional well-being is affected by the function of our gut. But did you know this connection is a two-way street? Stress – those feelings of tension generated by challenging events - has a massive and often detrimental impact on our digestive function.

We are probably all familiar with the term the ‘gut-brain connection’ which refers to how our mental and emotional well-being is affected by the function of our gut. But did you know this connection is a two-way street?
<blockquote>Stress – those feelings of tension generated by challenging events &#8211; has a massive and often detrimental impact on our digestive function.</blockquote>
Acute, immediate feelings of stress can generate short-term changes in our digestion. You might experience this as a change in appetite, or maybe nerves causing you to feel nauseous. But longer-term, chronic stress has a different impact, generally slowing the whole digestive process down leading to sluggishness.
Our nervous system controls our bodies&#8217; interaction with the world around us. Part of it is under our conscious control – we can move, speak and physically interact as we wish.  But the other part of our nervous system is under involuntary control – and just as well, you wouldn’t want to have to remember to breathe when you were absorbed in a task!
This involuntary part of the nervous system is called the autonomic nervous system and this is further divided into two branches – the sympathetic and the parasympathetic.  The sympathetic nervous system we know best as the ‘fight or flight’ response and this is the system that is activated by stress.  The parasympathetic branch is the ‘rest and digest’ arm responsible for calming the body down after the danger has passed and engaging in general housekeeping when at rest.
In times gone by, stress was an evolutionary response that kept us alive.  See a lion? The body responded by creating an internal alarm. A cascade of hormones and chemicals flood our system, increasing our heart rate, and sending blood to the muscles of our arms and legs so we could run for our lives. In that situation, spending time digesting your last meal would have been rather pointless if you didn’t succeed in escaping the lion!
Today, our bodies still responds to stress as if we saw lions everywhere, causing a disruption to our digestive process. It reduces our flow of digestive enzymes and secretions, reduces the rate at which food moves through our gut, upsets the permeability of our digestive tract and the balance of our innate gut microflora, as well as increasing the sensitivity of our digestive tract. Our body loses stored nutrients and becomes less able to absorb replacement nutrients from food.
All of which eventually leads to progressive and ongoing dysfunction and an increased need for digestive support.  Reducing your exposure to stress or improving your adaption to it will provide enormous benefits to your body as a whole. Your digestion, in particular, will thank you for it.

The gut-wrenching effects of stress 

We are probably all familiar with the term the ‘gut-brain connection’ which refers to how our mental and emotional well-being is affected by the function of our gut. But did you know this connection is a two-way street?

Top Story: The gut-wrenching effects of stress

The Gut-Wrenching Effects of Stress | Phloe®

When our digestive system is working at its best we are blissfully unaware of all the complex processes that are being carried out after we have finished a meal.  However, if things are not working well we may become aware of gurgles, discomfort and bloating. So how does digestion work and what can go wrong?

When our digestive system is working at its best we are blissfully unaware of all the complex processes that are being carried out after we have finished a meal.  However, if things are not working well we may become aware of gurgles, discomfort and bloating. So how does digestion work and what can go wrong?
<blockquote>The whole point of our digestive system is to break down the food we eat into smaller nutrients that can be absorbed in our digestive system.</blockquote>
For example carbohydrates become simple sugars that pass easily though the walls of the digestive system and into the blood stream.  Food is shuttled through the digestive system using mechanical processes that gradually push it through, so it has time to break down.  This break down involves a cocktail of chemicals produced by the body, triggered by a number of stimuli.
The first trigger occurs even before we put any food in our mouth.  The sight and smell of food starts the production of saliva; hence food really is being mouth-watering!  In this saliva is an enzyme called amylase that is the first chemical to start breaking down carbohydrates in the mouth.
As food moves down the digestive tract it activates stretch receptors in the digestive walls, preparing the stomach ready to receive food.  This causes stomach acid to be released from the stomach wall that will help to kill any ingested bugs, but also signals the release of an enzyme, pepsin, that starts the break down of proteins.
When food leaves the stomach it is in a more liquid form and is rather acidic as it has been mixed with stomach acid. Our body is amazing, so to counteract the acidity, our pancreas creates bicarbonate which it sends to our small intestines. It also sends a collection of digestive enzymes such as lipase, amylase and protease to help break down a whole spectrum of foods.  The final chemical that joins the mix is bile, a substance produced by the liver and stored in the gall bladder. This helps to emulsify or break up fats. A bit like dish washing liquid helps break up the fats to help us clean our dishes.
<blockquote>Overall this is an amazing complex process to break down food for nutrient absorption. However, as we age, our digestive activity declines.</blockquote>
Our production of digestive chemicals slows and digestive absorption becomes less effective.  Also digestive motility can slow, which can lead to sluggish digestion.  Other factors such as food irritations can also cause disruptions to our well-oiled machinery; as can stress and we may feel digestive discomfort when we eat.  This is where digestive enzymes can be useful.  When taken before a meal they can provide support for the normal break down of foods, helping to top up the ones we naturally produce.

A cocktail of natural chemicals for smooth digestion

When our digestive system is working at its best we are blissfully unaware of all the complex processes that are being carried out after we have finished a meal. So how does digestion work and what can go wrong?

A Cocktail Of Natural Chemicals For Smooth Digestion | Phloe®

It is common knowledge that water is essential for life, but it may not be the first thing you would associate with good functioning digestion and bowel movements.  However, dehydration is often a reason for sluggish digestion and dry, hard, difficult to pass stools.  

It is common knowledge that water is essential for life, but it may not be the first thing you would associate with good functioning digestion and bowel movements.  However, dehydration is often a reason for sluggish digestion and dry, hard, difficult to pass stools.
<blockquote>Fluids are extremely important for the good working of our digestive system, especially for the mucosal linings.</blockquote>
The cells along the whole digestive tract secrete a mucous, which is a gel like fluid made up of around 95% water.  This mucous is food for our good bacteria that help support our digestive health and good bowel motility.  It is also quite slippery which helps food move through our digestive system and stools to pass out easily through the bowels.  So, you can see that if we don’t drink enough water we won’t make enough of this slippery mucous to create easy passage through our digestive system.
Another important mechanism for moving food and waste through our digestive system is peristalsis.  This is where the muscles and walls of the digestive system flex pushing things along.  Water is important for keeping the walls smooth and flexible, so when we are dehydrated they may contract slower and our bowels become slow and sluggish.
Finally it is important to understand that water is reclaimed in the large intestines.  The amount sucked back into the body depends on the water levels within the body.  If we are low on water the body tries to take back as much as possible.  This can leave our stools dry, which makes them harder to pass.
<blockquote>It looks like an easy solution to support sluggish bowels would be to increase your fluid intake.  However, not all fluids are equal in their hydration capacity.</blockquote>
Drinks like coffee and tea contain caffeine which works as a diuretic, which can lead to increased water being passed as urine.  Water and non-caffeine containing herbal teas are ideal and the suggestion is around 8 glasses a day.  Caffeine drinks are fine, just in moderation.   Fruit and vegetables are also water containing and have the added advantage of containing fibre, so they help the digestive system in two ways.

The importance of hydration on bowel motility

It is common knowledge that water is essential for life, but it may not be the first thing you would associate with good functioning digestion and bowel movements.

The Importance of Hydration on Bowel Motility | Phloe®

Thought we'd let some of you have your say :-)

PHLOE BOWEL Health

We're talking bowel exercise! In this article, we look at how activities like walking, dancing, yoga, and abdominal exercises can help tone the intestinal muscle system. Check it out at https://www.phloe.co.nz/article/get-those-bowel-muscles-moving

Ever experienced that uncomfortable feeling after eating where your waistband feels uncomfortably tight?  If so have a read of our latest article on “Beating the Bloat” at https://www.phloe.co.nz/bloating-and-gas

ANNOUNCING OUR PHLOE FAMILY PACK WINNERS

Thanks to all for sharing your wonderful photos, we enjoyed seeing all your lovely family members. Our winners and  their photo are shown above. If you are a winner please personal message us with your address. Congratulations!!

WIN A PHLOE FAMILY PACK!
Did you know there's a Phloe that's right for the whole family? Well, Saturday is International Day of Families and we would like to share the love from our Phloe family with you and yours. Just post your favourite family pic here and you'll be in to win 1 of 5 Phloe Family Packs.

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Phloe^® is a natural, gentle and effective way to support your bowel health.

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