The Truth About Probiotics, Gut Health, and Fat Loss with Jared St. Clair

[00:00:00] Hey everybody, this is Dr. Laurie Schmick. And I’m Omar Cumberbatch. You’re listening to this podcast, burns Fat.

[00:00:23] Hey Lori, how are you? Hi Omar. Doing wonderful. Thank you. Yeah, no, excited to talk about this guy today. Mm-hmm. Jared St. Clair. You know, we had him on for a completely different. Topic. Right, right. And I know we’re gonna do a part two of them because he, he was fantastic. But, you know, just getting into the, the concept of supplementation and going, and we just opened up the door and I just, we just couldn’t get out that room.

[00:00:52] True. Right. Like, oh yeah. And, and you know what? That’s not for nothing. That’s. Everybody asked me the same kind of questions about supplementation and he really highlighted so many nice things that I think the audiences can take away from that. Oh yeah. He was so great. I really we’re gonna have him back.

[00:01:09] So, um, if for listeners who really appreciate him, uh, don’t fear, we will have him back. Absolutely. Absolutely. All right, so let’s jump into the show. Okay. Hey, Jared, welcome to the show. How are you today? I’m doing great. I really appreciate the opportunity to be on your show. Thank you. Well, thank you for stopping by, Jared.

[00:01:29] We’re really happy to have you. So we’re gonna learn a lot today. I hope so. Yeah. Oh yeah. No, we definitely know you’ve been in the game a long time, and yet your journey’s really inspiring. So I wanted you to get an opportunity to share your origin story with the audience, and then we’ll jump into the questions that we have.

[00:01:46] Sure. Yeah. I, I started out in the, you know, kind of natural health world, uh, maybe a little different than most people where my, a lot of people get into it because they’re frustrated with not getting the results they’re looking for, uh, with maybe some of the more modern medical practices and that kind of thing.

[00:02:02] Uh, oftentimes they get into it because of illness and, you know, natural, uh, methods were what helped them get out of it. I got into it ’cause my parents opened up a health food store when I was five years old. Wow. And so, yeah, I started, uh, you know, very organically, pardon the pun, uh, with, you know, working at a little health food store, uh, in the family business for years.

[00:02:23] Uh, I started managing it for them when I was 15 years old. I bought it from them when I was 22. I’m 52 now. So I’ve owned it for the last 30 years and it’s just been something that has been a huge part of my life since I was a very. Uh, young boy and I absolutely love everything, uh, having to do with natural health and wellness.

[00:02:44] So it’s a, I’m blessed to do what I do for a living. Well, it sounds like you were raised a very healthy child. Yeah, my parents did things a little differently. I, I never had my, my first antibiotic wasn’t until I was 45 years old for a surgery, so, uh, we, I was Whoa. That’s impressive. Thankfully, able to avoid a lot of things that, you know, my friends and other people just didn’t have.

[00:03:06] The knowledge that my parents had. My, my parents were weird before. It was cool. Yeah. I love that. I know, uh, today you wanted to talk about probiotics and how that, how they impact our health, and I’m sure that, uh, had you had those antibiotics, it would’ve really, um, created a situation where, you know. It, it would’ve, your gut would’ve suffered essentially.

[00:03:33] For sure. And, and I actually was just having a conversation with a client a couple hours ago. Mm-hmm. Uh, you know, before we recorded this and we were talking about her health woes, and one of the questions I ask everybody that is telling me about their. Whatever they’re dealing with, uh, with their health.

[00:03:51] One of the first questions I ask is, you know, what is your antibiotic history? And most people have never heard that term. Uh, but uh, it’s something that I think is really, really critical. The full human microbiome is developed by about the time we’re four years old, and the vast majority of children in America have been introduced to at least one or two antibiotics by that point.

[00:04:11] ’cause of ear infections or strep or whatever. Then we also, of course, there’s a huge, the, the, the biggest donors to the microbiome, uh, are mother’s milk and mother’s birth canal. And with almost 40% of Americans being born cesarean and many Americans not getting breastfed or not getting breastfed for an extended period of time, uh, most of us start out in a.

[00:04:34] Pretty big hole. And, uh, when that happens, a whole lot, uh, can go wrong, right? The gut is just such a critical factor in everything from your mental wellbeing to, of course, your digestive system, your immune system, and of course weight loss and, and fat metabolism. Isn’t that something Oh, go ahead. Yeah, no, I’m glad you brought it up because again, like I.

[00:04:57] Know that children for sure get antibiotics at such a heavy clip, especially with the ear infections going to daycare and yeah. Mm-hmm. It’s, it’s, it’s, I, I can speak out from experience with that as well. Like it, I know that we’re, this is an adult show, but we have to definitely just touch on that for a second because I know a lot of parents out there are like.

[00:05:18] Taken aback by that statement, what, what can they do? And is it the same kind of routine to, to repopulate the gut health of a child as it is of an adult? Uh, yes and no. I guess is it, it’s a little bit of a mixed answer in terms of what they can do to avoid, uh, antibiotics. I mean, that really is a, probably a whole show by itself.

[00:05:39] Uh, but there are some things I always tell people. It’s just a knowledge thing really. We have to recognize that there, there are. Natural methods to going after things that you would typically use pharmaceuticals for. Uh, you know, some of the most commonly used natural antibiotics or things like, uh, nano colloidal, silver, oregano oil, garlic, olive leaf extract, these types of things.

[00:06:03] And if you can get educated on how to use those things, not just effectively but safely, especially when we’re talking about children, uh, it’s amazing what you can knock out because I wasn’t necessarily. Substantially healthier than my friends. Uh, I got all the same illnesses, although I, I honestly, I never did get an ear infection, um, in my life, but I had str throat.

[00:06:25] Oh, you’re so lucky. Yeah. It’s, uh, well, and I, and I think that had a lot to do with, you know, the way that my parents fed me and, and you know, some of the things that they. Chose to do and chose not to do with my health. But when it comes to, uh, these types of things, if I did have an ear infection, um, or my children, I’ve got four children of my own and I’ve had a couple of children who have had ear infections, uh, we’ve been able to address that with really simple means.

[00:06:51] Garlic and molen oil in the ear is, can be incredibly effective for that. For instance, did you say molin? Yeah. Mullen the herb. Okay. Yeah, because, uh, Mullen helps to open up congestion. Garlic is very naturally antibacterial and antiviral, and we know too that one of the problems with antibiotics is that they’re often prescribed for things that they can’t fix.

[00:07:11] Mm-hmm. You know, 85% of sinus infections in America. Are treated with antibiotics and about the same percentage. 85% of sinus infections are not bacterial in nature. They’re actually viral or fungal. And so we’re throwing antibiotics at things that antibiotics can’t even kill in many cases. And my view on antibiotics is basically that they are absolutely lifesaving drugs and ought to be used.

[00:07:36] To save lives whenever necessary, but I think most often they’re not necessary. And there are, you know, alternative ways that you can go after those things. Yes. Unless you have a, a severe kidney infection or bladder infection, whatever. Um, yeah. Yeah. And so you don’t ignore the fact that we’ve been blessed with these life saving drugs.

[00:07:57] Right. You just look at what you’re dealing with and if it’s not something that is. Critical that you’ve gotta knock this thing out right now and you’ve got a little bit of time, like a, you know, a urinary tract infection or an ear infection or strep or thing. There, there are alternatives. And if you become educated on how to use them, um, well, I’m living proof and I have four kids, none of which have ever been on an antibiotic.

[00:08:19] My oldest, you’re kidding me. Me? No, not at all. Oh my goodness. That’s something so it, it can be done and it’s not right. It, it’s not a matter of. Luck. It’s a matter of just knowhow. And thankfully, like I said, my parents knew stuff that most parents didn’t, and thanks to them I knew stuff that most parents don’t.

[00:08:36] So, yeah, it’s a real blessing. So I wanna ask a stupid follow up though. I am sorry. Oh, go ahead. No, not at all. I, this is the big misconception and I, when I try to promote things like that, especially to even my wife when I’m saying, you know, let’s try to not do that and let’s try to go the natural route.

[00:08:52] Mm-hmm. She’s like, it’s not gonna be as quick and effective. Is that mm-hmm. Accurate or not? It depends on what, um, I will say this, uh, my experience has been, and, and keep in mind you probably have a disclaimer on your show, but I’m not a doctor. This isn’t medical advice for anybody. Uh, but more just personal experience, my experience.

[00:09:12] And one of the coolest things about what I get to do is, yes, I’ve experimented on all these things on myself and my family, uh, but I get to talk to real people every day that are using these types of things and get, you know, real feedback from people that aren’t trying to sell me something that are just telling me, Hey, this worked or it didn’t work, and this is how I did it.

[00:09:30] And uh, when it comes to like an ear infection, for instance. It’s incredible how much pain relief and, uh, is almost instantaneous with these garlic and molin eardrops, for instance. Uh, some people also use nanos silver in ears. That can be an effective thing. Um, that that one’s a little bit more controversial ’cause there’s a lot of mm-hmm.

[00:09:50] Information on the web about silver that frankly, I think is generally not accurate. Um, and, but there’s also. Good quality nano silver and not so good quality silver out there. So you do have to be, you know, buyer beware as far as getting good quality stuff. Um, but, uh, if you recognize that, well, for instance, let’s just take silver as an, as an example.

[00:10:12] If you put a good quality nanos silver in a Petri dish with almost any bacteria, fungus, or uh, virus. It will wipe it out almost completely in less than 48 hours, and in most cases, in 24 hours. Wow. And there’s plenty of clinical, you know, actual research showing that, that, you know, in vitro, that’s how it works.

[00:10:33] Now, an ear infection or a sinus infection, you, you’re kind of almost in that Petri dish, uh, scenario where you can. Put the silver right in where the infection is. If you’re chasing a cold or a flu or, or strep throat or something like that. Not that you can’t get to the throat, but you can’t necessarily put the silver on the throat and keep it there, if that makes sense.

[00:10:54] Right, right. Um, then you can, uh, then, then you have a very, very similar, uh, success rate, uh, going after the infection, if. The silver can actually sit there with the infector, uh, for lack of a better term. Uh, when you’re, like I say, going after something more systemic, then silver is less effective, less quickly, but if used correctly can still chase down these things and, and help you to fight against them.

[00:11:20] I. But you know, things like silver and oregano and garlic and these things, those are the things you use when you’ve got the infection and you’re trying to figure out how to, you know, get out of it. But probiotics, like we talked about at the beginning, are what I always recommend to people who are dealing with chronic things.

[00:11:39] You know, the woman that comes in and, and is on her fifth urinary tract infection, or the mom that comes in and has a child that’s on her seventh ear infection and they’re considering tubes or things like that. When we recognize that if we can build up the body’s natural defenses and the microbiome itself, the bacteria in the gut makes up about 80% of that natural defense, then we can also get away from the infections themselves.

[00:12:04] I, I’ve mentioned that none of my kids, myself, uh, have ever been on an antibiotic. I’ve only had two children that have ever had an ear infection. In both cases, I think only one. Uh, and uh, so. Knowing what we needed to know to build up the microbiome, I think is a big part of the reason that we’ve never had to go down the route, the antibiotic route as well.

[00:12:26] Oh, that’s so interesting. You know, it’s, it’s, that’s one of the hardest things parents have to go through is, you know, trying to figure out their health, not, uh, and their children’s health. Right. Sure. Especially Oh, sure. With the, with the ear infections. Um. So what, how would a healthy gut then relate, or how would it, uh, relate to fat loss or, or fat or weight gain?

[00:12:52] In fact, I. So there’s a few things that are really, really interesting when it comes to that. And, um, there, there are also one thing you have to understand about the microbiome itself and, and for people unaware of that term, I think most people have heard that term. That’s basically all the bacteria that’s in or on the human body.

[00:13:09] And as I stated, that microbiome, the full adult microbiome is built by about the time we’re four years old. So. If you did start in a hole like myself, interestingly enough, I was breastfed for an extended period of time. ’cause my mom was a big believer in breastfeeding, but I was a cesarean section baby, so I lost out on that goodness from the birth canal.

[00:13:27] And because of that, uh, my parents were very, I. Cognizant of, of me missing that and my, my siblings as well. And so they gave us, uh, probiotics before probiotic was even a word. Wow. Uh, back then it was just called acidophilus back in the day. Right. But they gave us that from when we were kids to help us rebuild and strengthen the gut.

[00:13:46] And we ate fermented foods and things like that. And so, uh, so they were aware of that. But if you’ve got. And I’m sorry, I’m bouncing around here a little bit. No, it’s okay. But if you, if you recognize how the microbiome is formed, then it, it, it can actually make, uh, a little bit more sense. So we have what are called human strain probiotics.

[00:14:05] Human strain probiotics are the native strains that are naturally found in the human gut. These are things like, uh, lactobacillus, acidophilus, uh, bifidobacterium, things like that. And there’s. Literally thousands of strains of these bacteria. In fact, a healthy microbiome is considered to have a minimum of about two to 3000 different varieties of bacteria within it.

[00:14:30] And I’ve, it’s estimated that there might be as many as six or 7,000 of these. And it varies from person to person who’s got what, based on a variety of other, uh, of, uh, factors. And so we have this wide range of bacteria and each of them have very specific jobs. Now there’s a lot of overlap. Uh, so you’ll find that if you start researching individual strains of probiotics, that a lot of them do the same thing, but they all do it a little bit differently or in complementary ways.

[00:15:00] And one of the big challenges with the human microbiome itself is that antibiotics are, they’re kind of, you know, take no prisoners. They don’t just attack certain types of bacteria. They. Attack all of it. So they go after bad stuff, good stuff, and everything in between. And amoxicillin, which is still I think, the most commonly prescribed probiotic for kids with ear infections and, and for people with strep in a variety of other things, it’s, it’s considered a pretty standard it know antibiotic.

[00:15:29] Mm-hmm. They’ve done studies in humans now, and they’ve proven that. A 10 day run on, on amoxicillin can, in many cases, knock out as much as 50% of the bacteria in the gut. Now think about that number. That’s staggering if you think about it. That is staggering. Yeah. Now we have to recognize that these are living, breathing organisms and they do colonize and and regrow themselves.

[00:15:50] But it’s it. In the last about 10 to 12 years, what’s been discovered is that. We don’t ever really rebuild it all the way to the top. So let’s just say for instance, that you’re supposed to have a hun. Well, we are supposed to about have about a hundred trillion good bacteria in the gut and about two to 3000 different species of that good bacteria.

[00:16:12] So if we knock that down to 50 trillion and maybe we knock the species count down to a thousand or 1500, when it used to be 2000 or 3000. Then we have two issues. We have a volume issue and we have a diversity issue. And the volume issue, the body will rebuild to some degree, uh, that volume. But it’s been estimated that maybe we can get back to 80 or 90% of where we were without some sort of intervention, without taking probiotics, basically.

[00:16:42] Um, and the, the species thing is actually more difficult, um, in, when it comes to weight loss. You, I’m guessing the two of you are familiar with, uh, some of the research that’s been done on, uh, probiotics and GLP one. Oh yes. Yeah, so we know we, there are certain strains, Akkermansia being the one that’s the most commonly known, that most adults in America don’t have.

[00:17:05] But we should have. And most of us have lost it probably due to antibiotics. And so now they’re finding if we can get Akkermansia back in the human gut, then we can actually start to release more GLP one and have, you know, better insulin sensitivity and. Some of these other things that we’re looking for when we’re talking about weight loss.

[00:17:24] So the other form of probiotic is called a spore forming probiotic and spore forming. Probiotics are not native to the human gut. They’re actually native to our environment. They’re found in dirt and soil and things like that. They’re also known as, uh, soil based organisms. And these particular type of bacteria are, are known as commensal bacteria.

[00:17:42] We don’t really do anything for them as humans, but they do really, really good things for us. It’s kind of a one-way street. We breathe these things in, we eat them. Uh, they are, you know, literally, I. Uh, microscopic little bacteria that get on and in lots of things, and they do get in the human body. Most of us are gonna have some spores in our body at all times while they’re in there.

[00:18:04] They’ll hang out for around 30 to 45 days, and during that time, they will create an environment that is really, really uniquely beneficial to the human microbiome. The first thing they do is they actually release a bunch of what are essentially natural killers or antibiotics that are really, uh. What’s the word I’m looking for?

[00:18:25] Damaging, I guess we’ll say to the pathogenic type stuff that might be in the gut. Things like candida, e coli, parasites, these types of things that we don’t really want an overgrowth of in the gut. And then they create a very high level of lactic acid in the gut. And lactic acid is what feeds lactic flora.

[00:18:44] And so these, it’s essentially food for the good bacteria in the gut. So we’re chasing out the bad guys. Building up the good guys at the same time. And what’s cool about spores is because they come from the environment and they’re found in, in, again, soil and things like that, they’re accustomed to moisture, they’re accustomed to different levels of temperature, different levels of acidity, uh, and oh, human strain.

[00:19:10] Probiotics are not, they’re very, um, I’ll say. Unstable. Uh, we take ’em out of the human microbiome. We try and get back into the human microbiome. They have to be refrigerated. Maybe they have to be coated with something to prevent them from breaking down in the stomach and getting into the intestinal tract.

[00:19:29] Spores don’t have that problem. Spores get all the way down to the colon and then do their job. Can I ask you, um, I was told. Uh, that refrigerated probiotics, you should not buy because they have, you know, they’re all, if they have to be warmed up, you know, if the body has to warm them up mm-hmm. Uh, essentially going through the, the intestinal tract, um, that it’s just not, I mean, how they don’t live very long.

[00:19:54] They’re not very viable. Yeah, there’s a lot of confusion about that. And frankly, what’s really interesting about probiotics, I, you know, I’ve already told you how long I’ve done this. Mm-hmm. But what I’ve learned in the last, like eight years on probiotics is staggeringly big compared to everything I learned before.

[00:20:12] So this science is moving forward at a really, really great rate. It is. And there’s more good stuff coming out all the time. What we’ve learned recently, uh, and, and I would say recently in the last, you know, eight to 10 years versus. You know what we knew before is that first off, there’s not. None of what you just said is absolutely true, but it’s all partially true.

[00:20:35] So when we look at probiotics, there’s, there’s like three kinds that you can potentially get, well, let’s say four. There’s food probiotics, which are gonna be things from like, say yogurt and keefer and sauerkraut and things like that. Fermented foods, there’s human strain probiotics that are considered what are called shelf stable.

[00:20:51] These are gonna be found on the shelf at your growth, at your health food store, but not in the fridge. There are refrigerated human strain probiotics, the kind that you were just talking about, and then there are spores. So those are kind of the the big four options that we have. The spores, I’ve already told you why I’m a huge spore fan because they really.

[00:21:07] Bypass a lot of the issues that other probiotics have. Yeah. And that got my attention being flexible in terms of temperature, acidity, et cetera. Yeah. They, they can survive up to 450 degrees. So when we talk about flexible, you know, you can store ’em on any. Shelf in your house except for the oven. That’s amazing.

[00:21:26] Uh, so, so they’re, that really is, they’re really, really resilient. They’ve, they’ve actually dug these out in, in digs for dinosaur bones and have been able to reactivate what they believe are millions of years old spores. Incredible. So these things are, are incredibly hardy and human strains are not so.

[00:21:42] The thing about human strains, I get probably more people asking me and saying, well, I, I’ve heard I shouldn’t buy probiotics that aren’t in the fridge because they’re gonna be dead by the time I get them than the question you asked that too. But I get both questions, right? And the answer is this. First off, human strain probiotics are fascinating little bugs because they will get what’s called lysed, uh, because of excess heat or excess acid or excess.

[00:22:08] Oxygen. These are all things that can potentially, I’m gonna say kill, but they’re not most, they’re not fully dead. If you’ve seen the Princess bride, they’re mostly dead. Uh, and, and so not quite the same. And so with the way you have to look at them is they’re still beneficial because a lysed bacteria. Is no longer able to colonize, so they’re, they’re no longer gonna be able to actually go down there, colonize, set up, shop and grow.

[00:22:35] But the micro DNA in human strain bacteria, once it’s been lysed, will actually deliver messages to the rest of the bacteria in the body on the way through, and essentially give marching orders and say, Hey, you need to. Build some things up here. So what happens with human strain probiotics in most cases is people get symptom relief.

[00:22:54] They actually feel better. Maybe they don’t have diarrhea anymore after they’ve taken them, or less upset stomach or, you know, heartburn or their immune system is, is managing better. But when you go off of those human strain probiotics, in most cases, whatever your issues were, will come back. And this was a real struggle for me to try and figure out for the 25 years before I finally figured out.

[00:23:18] The situation with Spore probiotics, which I started learning about 13, 14 years ago now. Because I would wonder, okay, if we’re, if we’re feeding a body, a bacteria that’s a living, breathing organism that is supposed to be capable of growing and and repopulating the gut, then why are people not getting better with probiotics?

[00:23:39] They’re only getting symptom relief, but they’re staying in the same. Spoke from a health standpoint. Right? Right. And so, and and I never understood that until I understood this life bacteria concept because people would get symptom relief. So we knew they were working, but we also knew they weren’t getting better.

[00:23:57] And that was because they were getting down there. They were delivering messages, but they weren’t actually able to repopulate. And that’s where spores shine as they help the body to repopulate. So I guess the question is, and forgive me if I missed it, ’cause I was really just diving into all these concepts.

[00:24:14] I’m trying to put it together. There is a way that we can get the, these spores. In a capsule or how, how does that work? Yeah. Yeah. So, uh, to, to finish answering the question on the, on the cold versus not cold, basically human strain probiotics that are on the shelf, the manufacturers will literally put in about three times as much in the bottle, as it says on the label.

[00:24:37] Mm-hmm. Because they’re slowly dying on the shelf. Right, and the guarantee that they have on most bottles is it’s either gonna say at the time of manufacturing it has this much, or it’s gonna say at expiration data as this much. And if it says at expiration date, then what they’re basically saying is, we’ve overloaded this product knowing that some is gonna die off before, you know, by the time this product expires.

[00:24:59] But we’re still gonna guarantee as this much in it. And so that’s what makes it shelf stable. It’s not technically shelf stable, but they put enough in there to where it’s not gonna all be dead by the time you buy it. The cold ones are going to be far, far more stable, but they’re just as susceptible to stomach acid and heat and everything else as the other ones.

[00:25:19] So in my view, there’s not a real benefit, cold or not cold when it comes to human probiotics. As long as you’ve got a. Good quality, high potency formula, and they are the ones I recommend when people are dealing with a lot of symptoms because they’re typically gonna help with the symptoms a lot quicker.

[00:25:35] But if you’re trying to rebuild the gut, then that’s when you’re talking about spores. And to answer your question on the spores. Yes, they’re available in capsule form. They’re available in powder form. In fact, the spores are so resilient that if you ever see like a probiotic fortified food, sometimes you’ll actually, you’ll sometimes see spores in like string cheese.

[00:25:53] Uh, they’ll, they’ll put ’em in things that they have to cook. If you ever see a probiotic that’s a gummy, it’s almost always a spore because those are heated so high that the probiotic wouldn’t survive, but the spores will, so they are available. There’s a lot of mal there. I have a couple that, that I’ve actually developed, that I’ve used for the last.

[00:26:09] Years or so and, and, and they’ve just been game changers different than anything else that we’ve ever sold in that, in that category. Can I ask you about the, the cheese? So there’s spores they use for certain cheeses. Mm-hmm. Okay. Yeah. And not to make the cheese, uh, but to actually just fortify the cheese, so like you’ll see Oh, okay.

[00:26:28] Yeah. So it’ll say. You know, like probiotic fortified. Mm-hmm. Um, and oftentimes, usually anyway, that’s gonna be a spore just because they can’t make the cheese at a low enough heat that, uh, a regular bacteria would survive. So, Jared, I have to ask Lori a question. Okay. Uh, no. How come I’ve never heard of sport before?

[00:26:51] Have you heard of this before? Yeah, I have. Yeah. Oh, goodness. Uhhuh you got? Yeah. Okay. I’m just saying we don’t hear enough about it though. Yeah, that’s the problem. Oh yeah. No, this is, this is great. Right, Jared? Yeah, you don’t, and it’s coming, there’s more mm-hmm. And more people talking about it. There are more and more brands popping up, selling them.

[00:27:09] Um, you know, I, I don’t want to take too much time with the story, but I discovered them. I was on a quest to find a probiotic about 15 years ago, um, that was completely shelf stable because I, I knew I, I wanted to develop a product in, in the probiotics. And my business was, I, I didn’t have a network of, um.

[00:27:30] Distribution that could keep the product cold. So I knew I was gonna have a dead product if I didn’t find something completely stable. And so I was searching around, searching around. I didn’t think this thing existed. And I happened upon a company at a trade show that was talking about a spore called Bacillus Coagulants.

[00:27:47] I’d never heard of that before. I’d only ever heard of lactobacillus or bifido, which are the human strains. I’d never heard of a bacillus strain. And I, I researched into it and my mind was. Completely blown. I’d never seen anything like it. Mm-hmm. The research back then was super small, almost a hundred percent animal research, but what they had proven is that it would, that they were very, very safe and that they were completely resilient, uh, to heat acid and all that stuff.

[00:28:14] What we didn’t know is how effective they were in humans versus in rats, but they were really effective in rats. Now since then, there’s been a ton of human study on them, and what we know about ’em now versus 15 years ago is. Is night and day. It’s just incredible what the research is now. That’s just incredible.

[00:28:32] Is, is so, is this something that you would recommend for the spores, for anybody trying to optimize their health or if they’re health, if they, if their, they feel their gut is healthy, would you recommend something like that just as an insurance if you will? Yeah. What I tell people is this, so I have, I have what I call my vital five.

[00:28:53] Um, I told you I think before we started recording, I’ve been doing radio, local radio for 17 years and for all of that time, the most common question I ever hear is from people, because I was on the radio before I was a podcaster. Um, I would have a lot of people that had never heard of me, that didn’t even intentionally listen to my show.

[00:29:12] They just happened to have the radio on and. I was on there, and I guess what I said made sense. So they, so they reach out to me, but people would, uh, ask me this question over and over again, and that is, where do I start? I don’t know what to do. I’m overwhelmed by the supplement thing. Is it a multivitamin?

[00:29:27] Is it omega threes? Is it probiotics? You know, where do I go? So years ago, maybe 10 years ago now, I came up with a concept called the Vital Five. And the Vital five are basically the five supplements that I think every adult in America should at least consider taking because of the current. State of the world that we live in, the toxicity of the world, the low levels of nutrition in the soil and in our food supply and so on and in the Vital five is absolutely probiotics.

[00:29:54] I think almost everybody has a reason to take probiotics, at least. Um, occasionally, if not on a daily basis. And the thing that I tell people is if your gut is, is generally healthy, you’re not dealing with a lot of indigestion. If your mental health is great, you’re not dealing with, uh, you know, depression, anxiety, things like that.

[00:30:14] Um, significant issues with even OCD and that type of thing. And if your immune system is good, you’re not catching everything that’s coming along, your microbiome is probably in pretty good shape. The problem is I almost never run into anybody that can claim all three of those things. And so my experience has been that most of us have some room to go, and the interesting thing is.

[00:30:37] I’ve now at 52 years old, been on two antibiotics. I mean, that’s a tiny little amount of antibiotics. Both of ’em were for surgeries that I had to have, and they wouldn’t let me get out of them. And so I didn’t really have a choice. Um, but I bet you hated that. I bet you I just despise that when that wind streak of 45 years went away.

[00:30:54] That was a sad, sad thing. Yeah. So, but, but on. Two, pro two antibiotics with what antibiotics do. I’ve done a lot of probiotics over the last few years to, you know, do, do the recovery. Mm-hmm. What I recommend, if your gut’s good and your immune system’s good and your mental health is good and people might be wondering why I’m saying mental health and if you wanna talk about that, it, we certainly can ’cause probiotics.

[00:31:19] It’s absolutely related. Yeah, a hundred percent. Yeah. Um, if all that’s good, then I usually recommend taking a good Spore Pro probiotic for like 30 days, twice a year, or maybe even just a couple of capsules a week, just to keep things going because one of the biggest things that people don’t recognize is glyphosate, which is the, you know, key ingredient in Roundup that’s sprayed on so many crops in America and is really ubiquitous in America, is a human antibiotic.

[00:31:45] And all of us are consuming. Some level of glyphosate on a, on a daily basis, and 70% of antibiotics that are produced in America are fed to animals that are then fed to humans. And so even if you’re not taking an antibiotic directly, you are probably consuming antibiotics on a regular basis. And because of that Good point.

[00:32:04] You’ve gotta take care of your gut. Yeah. Well, that’s really an important point. You know, I didn’t even think about the antibiotics that they put into the food supply. Yeah, it’s, it’s serious. It’s a big deal. So what are your other four? Uh, so the other four are digestive enzymes, and I do usually reserve those for people over 30.

[00:32:24] That’s when most humans, uh, in America tend to be. Becoming deficient and that the enzymes are basically what breaks down, uh, food into its individual components. So if you’re trying to take a, a protein, like a piece of chicken, for instance, and break that down into amino acids, it’s largely digestive enzymes that break that down for you.

[00:32:44] And enzymes also are naturally anti-inflammatory, have a bunch of other side benefits as well. Um, Omega-3, the vast majority of Americans don’t consume enough and unfortunately. The ocean is so polluted now that even consuming Omega-3 from fish is probably worse for you than not, uh, consuming it because of all the mercury and other toxicity in the ocean.

[00:33:06] Uh, and then, um, magnesium and magnesium’s, the one that I always tell people. Magnesium bisco glycinates, my favorite form. And if you didn’t tell me anything about your health status, if I didn’t know your gender, if I didn’t know your age and you just sent me an email and said, Jared, I’m only willing to take one supplement, it would be magnesium bis, glycinate that I’d recommend.

[00:33:26] It’s so critical. Yeah, so critical. And all of us are substantially deficient in that one, right? Unless you’re supplementing, yeah. Unless you’re supplementing. Exactly. And then the last one is a great multivitamin and it’s the only one that I say in that I, um, say great in front of because I don’t ever like to lump all multivitamins together.

[00:33:46] ’cause I think most of them are pretty terrible. But there are some really, really good ones on the market and they essentially cover some of these, you know, little gaps and, and spaces in our diet that we, where we’re missing. A little bit of selenium or a little bit of vitamin C or whatever it is. So those are the big five that I usually recommend.

[00:34:02] And then depending on your health status and what else is going on, obviously there’s other things you can consider as well. I guess like my last question is because supplementation is such a huge industry and it is funny because someone who I know just threw a supplement right in front of me, hey, and say, Hey, is this supplement good?

[00:34:22] And I saw that they got it from Walmart. It was just like, you know, it’s pretty well known. I thought it was well known, like a lot of the store brand of supplements have a lot of fillers and. Stuff. So I, I think to wrap, like how, what do you recommend people look at label wise to try to get established a a, you know, a good, good solid supplementation, a supplement no matter what it actually is.

[00:34:44] Yeah, that’s always one of the hardest questions. And I actually, uh, I’ve done quite a few podcasts on, you know, just that topic. Um, you know, I call it decoding supplement, uh, labels because there’s so much, it’s a combination of marketing and just. Uh, lack of understanding of what the label’s actually telling you, because if you don’t do this for a living like I do, there’s a lot to understand about what’s, you know, what goes into a supplement.

[00:35:10] And so I feel for every consumer out there who’s trying to figure it out because there’s a lot of, I. You know, marketing and I call, uh, you know, window dressing of supplements where they put a little bit of something in there. So it looks good on the label, but there’s really not enough to make a difference, you know, that kind of thing.

[00:35:27] Um, so first off, exactly a little word of warning for everybody listening. Um. amazon.com. walmart.com. eBay are the three biggest places that people get what are considered to be, uh, not just poor quality supplements, but actually, um, counterfeit supplements where there are people who are literally, uh, printing labels.

[00:35:50] That are based on a label a, a national name brand, wrapping it around a bottle full of who knows what, and then putting it on Amazon and selling it. The FDA is aware that this is happening. Mm-hmm. Amazon’s aware that it’s happening. Nobody’s doing anything about it. And they tested. Berberine is something I know you’re familiar with ’cause it’s one of the most common, you know, weight loss herbs that there, that there is.

[00:36:12] Yeah. They tested 33 burberine brands on Amazon and the, the 33 best sellers as I understand it, and. 31 of them did not pass, uh, and have what they said was. In the capsule. In the capsule. Oh, that’s incredible. And five of them had zero berberine and more than half of ’em had less than half of what it said.

[00:36:32] Um, so you have a combination of bad quality from bad players. The, the supplement industry is regulated. That’s the strange thing people say it’s an unregulated industry. It’s not regulated the same way as the drug industry is. But the FDA regulates supplements literally the same way they recommend or they regulate food.

[00:36:50] But the problem with that is that unless somebody gets caught, then people can put whatever they want out onto the market, uh, because there isn’t a pre-approval process. And so a company can get caught, a company can get busted and they can get shut down, and that actually happens. I. On a fairly regular basis, but the FDA has basically admitted they don’t have enough people to police all that.

[00:37:13] And so it’s, it’s really not happening very often. And then the counterfeit thing, uh, you literally don’t know what you’re buying. And so be very, very cautious of buying online. If you’re going to buy online. I recommend buying from the company that makes the product. Yeah. Usually you’re not getting account of it usually.

[00:37:30] Yeah. And they have a, it says like, for example, life extension, right? They have their store. Yeah. So you can get life extension from Life extension on Amazon if you want. Right. And then you’re getting the legitimate product. Then the only question is, and this is, this is more of a personal thing mm-hmm. Is if you’re gonna be buying supplements from, you know, Amazon or who knows, wherever you want to choose to buy, um, supplements are something that requires some education, and you’re never going to get that from Amazon.

[00:37:56] You’re never gonna get that from Walmart. Right. Or Costco or anywhere else. And that’s where I still have to give a shout out to my fellow health food store owners out there that I think by and large are really trying to provide a great service truly, uh, in their community. Mm-hmm. Go talk to someone who actually knows and cares about what they’re selling and get the information from them and support those guys because they are in it for the reasons that my parents.

[00:38:20] Got into it years ago. Uh, they’re not just in it for the quick buck. So trust is a big thing. Finding someone you trust. Obviously I would love for everybody to be a customer of vitality, nutrition, and we have a website, vitality nutrition.com and our store in Utah and we’d love to help you, you know, here.

[00:38:37] But if it’s not me, try to support one of your independent health food store owners. ’cause I’ve met hundreds of them over the years and they’re wonderful people. Yeah. Listen, Jared, you’ve been fantastic. Absolutely. And the chat, me and Lori is saying we have to get you back on the show. Yes, I’d love to do it.

[00:38:55] I’d love to do it. Lots of applause in the chat. Yeah. Terrific. So, listen, I, uh, I don’t wanna hold you any longer, uh, but I, I do need you to tell us how to get in touch with you, obviously with, you know, your, your store, your website, social media, handles, all that good stuff so that we can keep up with what you’re doing and, you know, take advantage of, uh, you being such a resource for us.

[00:39:17] You bet. Yeah, I’d love to help. And, and one thing I will say too, ’cause a lot of, when I get on other podcasts like this, um, one of the things that hosts seem to really like is that we are real people, um, behind the website too. So, you know, wherever you’re buying from, uh, we have a chat feature. I. And you can jump in the chat@vitalitynutrition.com, and it’s either my son who’s been working with me for 10 years or myself that answers every chat.

[00:39:40] And we will give you personalized service through the chat. You can also call our number. It’s (801) 292-6662. I have a wonderful team, completely capable of answering your questions here. We don’t care if you’re from Florida or Utah. It doesn’t make a difference to us. Uh, feel free to give us a call and, and, and ask your questions there.

[00:39:59] Uh, so, so in terms of customer service, that’s something we provide That’s. Pretty unique. Uh, and then, uh, as far as finding me and getting more education, probably the best place is the podcast, it’s Vitality Radio podcast. I have 500 plus episodes. Uh, everything from. You know, metabolism to my vital five to deep dives on probiotics if people were intrigued at all by what I was saying about mental health and probiotics, since we weren’t able to get into that.

[00:40:26] I have two episodes called psychobiotics, where I talk about the probiotics that have clinically been proven to relieve depression and anxiety. Uh, so we have some really, really great content over there that we’d love to share with you. Uh, Instagram, it’s at Vitality Nutrition Bountiful. Uh, that’s our store Instagram, and that’s where I post most of my stuff.

[00:40:45] Um, I think those are all the places to find us. Awesome. That sounds perfect. Yeah. Well, thank you so much, Jared. It’s been wonderful having you. Well, so happy to do it. And really, if you’d love me back on, I’d love to be back on. That’d be great. Oh, we will. Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. Awesome. Get get ready. I, I’d love to talk to you about endocrine disruption of weight loss because I think, oh yeah, that is a massive key that, uh, and I don’t know, I don’t know what you’ve talked about on your show as far as that goes, but not that we’re actually.

[00:41:15] Really? Oh wow. We gotta, we gotta tackle that. My wife and I have been spending about most of the last year producing a protocol specifically for really, truly detoxing people from endocrine disruptors. And the impact that that makes on metabolism cannot be, uh, overstated. It, it can be a huge, huge game changer there.

[00:41:35] So that’s a great topic as well. Excellent. Yeah, we’re gonna definitely have you on and that, that, listen that that’s what was the focus intention of the show, but it didn’t, but we just had too much fun going in a different direction. But listen, that, that’s the way it goes when you have a good guest. So it’s all good.

[00:41:51] Thank you so much. Thank you very much. It’s been great working with you. And uh, yeah, Hopely can stay in touch. Absolutely. Absolutely. All right. Have a good night. Take care. Bye. Thank you so much. Bye-bye.

[00:42:03] Thank you so much for listening to this episode of this podcast, burns Fat. We’re so excited to have you as a listener, and we’re hoping that you’ve really enjoyed the content as well. And if you did, please run over to iTunes and provide a rating and or review. It’ll go a long way in helping us continuously build our listenership up so that we can provide you with excellent content regarding fat loss.

[00:42:25] Weight management and just an overall healthy lifestyle. Thanks so much. Have a great night.