i haven’t blogged about my GI issues in ages. i get questions about them all the time, but the truth is it’s hard for me to answer questions from others when i don’t even know the answers to my own problems.
acupuncture had been working well for me. my gut pain and bloating was reduced drastically. my acupuncturist suggested a couple dietary changes. cutting out dairy (for the most part) has helped, so has nixing coffee from my daily life. i still will have dairy and coffee here and there.. and i can definitely feel it when i do. however, my stomach will hurt tremendously at times even if i haven’t had dairy or coffee, so i know that there is more to it than that.
i haven’t been to acupuncture since january because my doc went to china and he’s still there. he will be back at the end of the month, i am anxious to get back in for more treatments! i was getting treated weekly. it’s $45 each time–not too bad considering my alternative was getting part or all of my colon removed. i would rather learn how to manage my issues than go that route.. just a personal preference. i know it has worked for many, but it’s not something i am considering right now.
while i am waiting for my acupuncturist to get back to the US of A, i have decided to try a few things. i have found that trial and error is the only way i ever make any progress. i know i should do some type of elimination diet (I KNOW, I KNOW, I KNOW) but, to be honest, i freaking love food and hate restrictions. it’s stubborn of me, i am well aware. there are just so many fun things in life and food happens to be a big part of those fun things. (i mean, like tonight.. i am going to a party where everyone is bringing chicken wings and we are judging them all!) maybe down the road i will muster up the willpower to do one.
for now, i have picked out three products from renew life to test out on the ol’ guts.
i have taken renew life products in the past. i actually found out about them back in 2009 when i was exploring supplements. i like their products and i continued to purchase them from whole foods or sunflower market (which is now sprouts) on occasion. they contacted me a couple years ago and i did a review for them in 2011. they are a great company! not only for their products, but for their concern about the health of others. side note–they also donated to the great fundraising act which helped raise $30k for my friend susan’s chemotherapy. the founder and formulator of renew life, brenda watson, knows her stuff. i have watched several of her informational videos and read countless articles written by her.
while i have tried various pills in the past, i haven’t been taking any supplements for my gut issues at all lately. back when i was going to a gastroenterologist, i was taking a very expensive probiotic called VSL3. that didn’t last long. he then suggested renew life, which was comforting because i was familiar with the brand. then i was taking herbal meds from my acupuncturist, but i found that the acupuncture helped way more than the pills did.
about a month ago, i was contacted by renew life once again thanking me for working with them in the past. they offered to send me three items from their website–my choice. i figured i have nothing to lose, so i picked a few out according to my symptoms. i LOVE their website because it allows you to search by so many different factors–both by goal and by concern. each product page is loaded with information and several even have videos explaining what the item does. there are several customer reviews, too, which i always look for when selecting ANY products. i like hearing from the public!
the first supplement that caught my eye was the lactose stop since i am avoiding dairy but still like to eat it on occasion.
you simply take a capsule of this digestive enzyme before eating a meal containing dairy. easy enough. think it’ll make me as happy as the model on the box?!
haha. this particular product had no reviews, so i am not sure how it’ll work. we’ll see.
i also picked out intestinew, which claims to strengthen your digestive lining. it had a five star rating and the reviews were very helpful.
they direct you to take one delayed release capsule daily. it’s also available in a powder, but i prefer capsules.
hopefully this will help reduce bloating and speed things up since my digestion is slower than a snail.
the third and final product i picked out is the ultimate flora vaginal support. again, 5 star rating and rave reviews.
i have mentioned before that i have gotten chronic UTIs since i was a kid. i remember going in for test after test when i was little and again as an adult. they still aren’t sure what’s wrong with me, but doctors have said it could be a muscular dysfunction in my urethra. hmmm. that’s also what i was told about my colon. my insides are messed, guys. anyway, this particular pill supports urinary health, so i decided to give it a shot.
i will let you know how these new products work out for me. i hope they help!
renew life has offered to give one meals & moves reader a $75 gift card to use on their website. since everyone has different issues, i love that they are offering a gift card rather than a specific product. what works for one may not work for another!
to enter, simply leave a comment on this post. you can get extra entries by tweeting about the giveaway, pinning it to pinterest, or posting it on facebook. just make sure you leave another comment telling me you did so in order to receive the extra entry/entries. i will pick a winner on monday.
you can check out renew life the following places:
well, i have some chicken wings to make! i have never, ever tried to make them.. so i hope it works out. marshall and i have a fun spin in mind for our wings.. hope it’s a winner!
enjoy the rest of your weekend!
xo. janetha g.
*i received these particular renew life products for free. no compensation was provided for this post and all opinions are my own. i really love this company and buy their products myself.
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My mum and sister both have issues with dairy and take Lacteeze which seems to help a lot. I’ve got some digestion issues too and know I need to get tested for allergies but I’m worried of what food groups I may then have to eliminate but definitely better to know than not know so I need to bite the bullet.
Hopefully once your acupuncturist comes back you might have found more things that work for you. I don’t think I can enter your comp being in Australia and all.
I am beginning to believe I have lactose issues. I stopped eating/drinking dairy for 2 weeks and felt better but I think I could manage it with lactose stop. I would definitely love the gift card!
There are certain essentials that I know I lack in my daily nutrition…including omega 3’s. I also have been advised to begin taking a probiotic…more proactively!;-) I really appreciate your review on these items as I have many friends and family members who suffer from GI issues as well…I might just share the gift card with one of them if I win it!
Those products look interesting! I hope you see some results. I am still trying to figure out a vitamin combo that works for me.
Yay, I want vitamins!
oh i think the second product would be the one for me! helpful giveaway.
I have been meaning to try probiotics and these seem like good ones. My gut issues are a bit diff than yours but I won’t go into TMI (:
I would love to try out some new to me products from them!
My husband also has some GI issues, I look forward to your review of IntestiNEW.
I’ve used renew life products in the past and found them helpful – I’m actually on one of their probiotics now. I’d love to be able to try some of their other products for my digestive issues.
I am in the market for some new probiotics so this would be perfect.
I love what probiotics have done for me and I’d love to try the intestiNEW!
I suffer similar intestinal issues as you. I cut out dairy, which seems to be helping, but my stomach still constantly bloats up. It makes me really self conscious! I definitely would like to try the Intestinew capsules.
I have horrible stomach problems (have actually just tried to start a GF diet to see if that helps at all, I have already failed with some pie.) I would love a good probiotic to try and see if it helps.
As I’m finally jumping back on the ‘be healthy’ bandwagon, this would come in handy! ;)
Pinned on pintrest!
Probiotics and digestive enzymes have been lifesavers for me! They make my tummy feel so much better, no more crazy bloating! I’ve never tried this brand, but have heard great things about it!
Shared on Facebook!
These products look great! I have a lot of GI issues and I’m always on the look out for products that help!
Hi there I love and use b permeable great product!!would love the gift card!!
i use renew life probiotics religiously! i would LOVE to win this giveaway. i notice a huge difference if i forget to take my probiotics for a day or two, so i’m a full believer. i hope the products help with your gut issues.
I checked out their website and its awesome! The search tools are great and allow you to easily find products. Crossing my fingers that I’m lucky! :)
i take a probiotic everyday but i’d like to try a different brand.
best of luck to you! i too have seen great success with solving bloating and digestive issues with cutting out dairy. I don’t even miss it anymore but im probably not doing myself any favors in eating the amount of processed fake cheese and sour cream that i do ;) ah well, progress not perfection, right?
I also have some problem with my digestive and bloating so I would be thrilled if I won a gift card to do some trial and error like you are doing :)
thanks for the giveaway! I hope these supplements help your issues
This is an awesome giveaway! I’ve always had serious problems with bloating so it would be great to see if something could help.
I hope these products help you out!
This is a great giveaway! I’ve never tried their products and would love to.
I love this brand! Great line of products especially there probiotic!
I tweeted!
I hope these supplements help!
I’ve never heard of this company before, definitely checking ’em out!
they are a really good company and i can’t wait to hear about your results!
I’ve used renew life products in the past and really should go check out their website for a few issues I’ve been having!
I checked out their website for the first time today and I would love to receive the gift card to try out some supplements!
My boyfriend recently had an ulcer. It has healed, but hot and spicy foods just don’t digest the same for him anymore. I’d love to try the stomach lining supplement to see if it helps. Personally, I also love Renew products!
This would be perfect timing for us. I have just decided to put myself and both kids on a probitiotc! I am still in the research phase of which to choose so this would be awesome!
I posted about it on facebook!
Yep, I neeeeeeeeeed these.
I hope I win!
Just checked out the website and there are so many I would like to try!
I would love to give them a try!
I’ve never tried any sort of probiotic, so I’d be interested in trying some of these products out!
I would love to try some of their products. I am one of those who unfortunately has a lot of GI issues but no diagnosis. I do eliminate a lot of trigger foods from my diet (which, like you mentioned is NO fun) but would like to dabble in supplements to see if something helps. I go through periods of being alright and then others being debilitating. Would be nice to find some relief!
I take their probiotics and they seem to do the trick!
Hope you have success with these. I’ve definitely been embracing supplements lately for my own issues.
I’d love to give that third one a shot!
I would love to try some of these!
Would love to try some of their products .
What a great giveaway! I have GI problems as well and cut out all grains…which has made a HUGE difference in the way I feel but I would love to try out some other products to see if I can totally solve my problems. I keep meaning to try a probiotic but just haven’t got around to it lately. Can’t wait to hear your reviews of these products.
Looks like they have tons of options! Thanks for the giveaway!
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