Simply put, everything in your body works better when your gut is happy. And no, this is not an excuse to help yourself to a second piece of your favorite Tiramisu. There's a reason your small intestine is about 20 feet long; there's a lot happening there. The small intestine is responsible for absorbing most of the nutrients from what we eat and drink. Ideally, we should have over 400 types of 'good' microorganisms, called probiotics. Probiotics are a type of bacteria, which plays an important role in metabolism, digestion, vitamin synthesis, and prevention of vaginal and urinary infections. The health benefits from probiotics are numerous. They have been shown to lessen diarrhea associated with taking antibiotics, and improve symptoms of ulcerative colitis (UC) and IBS. Current studies show promising results in that probiotic supplementation could provide benefits by modulating immune functions and could be used in the treatment of human inflammatory diseases of the intestinal tract. Suggested doses for probiotics are not standard and are determined by what condition is being treated. According the Natural Medicinal Database, doses range from 1.25-300 billion CFU, and duration of use is up to 24 weeks. Please contact your health care practitioner for accurate dosing instructions specific to your condition. Prebiotics are non-digestible carbohydrates that act as a “food” for probiotics. These carbohydrates are made up of resistant starches, inulin and oligosaccharides. They help to make an ideal environment in the intestinal tract, for the probiotics to flourish and help to improve digestive health. Our Pre-Biotic ingredients also includes whole grain wheat germ, soy, whole grain spelt germ, orange, apple, apricot, carrots, lemon, and yeast.  Yeast has been used since the beginning of the century as an intestinal stimulant and culture yeast (saccharomyces cerevisae) not only increases the production of digestive enzymes but reduces the side effects of antibiotics. Although this product is not 'gluten free' many gluten-sensitive customers are able to use it by starting off with a smaller dose.  Due to the absence of any preservatives or pesticides and the addition of germinated or fermented ingredients, many find they have no difficulty using this product.  There is quite a bit of independent research that supports the theory that it may well be the preservatives and pesticides that cause ill effects for which gluten is blamed in all but the 1% of us who suffer from the more serious Celiac Disease.