Bio-Gest - 180 Vegetarian Capsules Thorne Research

Thorne Research - Bio-Gest - 180 Vegetarian Capsules

For individuals who need a more broad-spectrum digestive aid, Thorne Research offers Bio-Gest. Bio-Gest contains HCl, pepsin, pancreatin, and ox bile, which are important for those who need support for protein and carbohydrate digestion, and fat emulsification and absorption. Hydrochloric acid secretion in the stomach does several positive things. It assists protein digestion by activating pepsinogen to pepsin, it renders the stomach sterile against ingested pathogens, it inhibits undesirable overgrowth in the small intestine, and it encourages the flow of bile and pancreatic enzymes. Hydrochloric acid also facilitates the absorption of a number of nutrients, including folate, vitamin B12, ascorbic acid, beta-carotene, iron, and some forms of calcium, magnesium, and zinc. Numerous studies have shown hydrochloric acid secretion in the stomach declines with advancing age. Overuse of antacids can also lead to low levels of hydrochloric acid in the stomach, which can result in poor protein digestion. Thorne offers hydrochloric acid and pure pepsin from a porcine source. Unlike many supplement companies, the pepsin utilized in Thorne's product is pure, undiluted, and lactose-free.

• blend of HCl, pepsin, pancreatin, and ox bile
• promotes digestion of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats
• ox bile added for fat emulsification
• benefits individuals with occasional indigestion
• made without lactose, preservatives, magnesium stearate, or other lubricants and diluents

Pancreatin is a mixture of several digestive enzymes produced by cells in the pancreas. Pancreatin is composed of amylase, lipase, and protease. Pancreatin production and secretion by the pancreas is essential to digestion and absorption of numerous nutrients, especially fats.

Situations such as illness, gall bladder removal, overuse of antacids, and normal aging can contribute to insufficient secretion of stomach acid, pancreatic enzymes, and bile, and can adversely affect digestive enzyme activity and lead to heartburn, gas, bloating, and other symptoms of gastrointestinal discomfort.

Maldigestion can lead to digestive problems and poor absorption of nutrients, resulting in vitamin deficiencies (particularly fat-soluble vitamins like vitamins A, D, E, and K). Food allergies can develop when inadequately digested proteins are absorbed through the gut. As large proteins are absorbed intact, the body might recognize them as foreign and create antibodies to them, resulting in an allergic response to the food. An individual who has frequent indigestion should make sure to have adequate enzyme support.

Dr. Michael Lebowitz D.C. Recommends:
Bio-Gest is a broad-spectrum digestive aid; it contains Betaine and Glutamic Acid HCI to increase gastric acidity, Pepsin for proteolytic activity in the stomach, Pancreatin, providing enzymatic action to break down protein, starches, and fats, and Ox Bile for enhanced fatty acid absorption.

Thorne Research's Mission
At Thorne Research, their mission is to enhance the health and well-being of people by providing superior dietary supplements that have the highest level of quality and purity – thereby creating the most respected and valued company in the dietary supplement industry.

The Thorne Difference.
For more than 25 years, Thorne has relentlessly pursued the highest possible quality and bioavailability in dietary supplements. At Thorne, they actually manufacture products that they sell – a key difference that allows Thorne to control every aspect of the manufacturing process and ensure that every Thorne product is in pure, completely hypoallergenic form, and without the common additives, flowing agents, and binders used throughout the industry.

A few other companies have tried to do what Thorne does, and many others claim to have the same philosophy and quality, but nobody has been able to duplicate what Thorne's clients call "Thorne Quality." Thorne has changed the industry in many ways over the past two decades, and they continue to raise the bar and set new standards in product formulation, raw material purity, manufacturing, and quality control.

Thorne's Commitment to Purity
Practitioners have become accustomed to seeing the vague "We use only the purest ingredients" in the promotional materials of almost every dietary supplement company. Perhaps these companies truly believe that. Perhaps they don't know any better. Nevertheless, Thorne Research, for more than 25 years, has been the standard by which companies in the industry are judged for product purity. Practitioners rely on Thorne as the company they trust for their extremely allergic, chemically sensitive, and immune-compromised patients.

Purity Takes Extra Effort
For example, instead of purchasing prediluted vitamin D, as other companies do, Thorne performs its own dilution to avoid detrimental ingredients, such as the preservatives or lactose that are found in many commercially available dilutions. Why must vitamin D be diluted? Because in its pure form, it is too concentrated to safely blend into a vitamin product. Pure vitamin D is 40 MILLION International Units (IU) per gram. The RDA for adults is 600-800 IU per day. To ensure proper mixing, it must be made into a dilute powder that flows and does not lose potency. So, unlike companies that use prediluted vitamin D that contains unacceptable excipients and preservatives, at Thorne, pure pharmaceutical vitamin D is first blended with pure mixed tocopherol vitamin E, and the resultant stable vitamin D is then blended with hypoallergenic cellulose powder. The final powder is blended in a large tumble blender and subsequently analyzed. Not only is the final product stable; it is also hypoallergenic and can be mixed homogeneously and at a safe level with other powders. Just as with vitamin D, Thorne utilizes similar processes for other raw materials, such as vitamin K, leaving it to other companies to purchase commercially available raw materials filled with unacceptable ingredients and preservatives.

Ingredients You Don't Want
Magnesium Stearate: Good for speed-hungry encapsulating machines. Not necessarily good for you. Manufacturing encapsulated dietary supplements isn't easy. Pure powdered ingredients are difficult to mix because they are either extremely dry, sticky with botanical oils, or attract unwanted moisture. So most manufacturers add magnesium stearate and other agents such as lactose and dextrose to make the powder flow quickly and easily through their high-volume machines. Problem is, these additives may compromise the bioavailability of the nutrients in the supplement, and might cause allergenic problems. At Thorne, they take a different approach.

Thorne will never utilize large fatty acid excipients in its manufacturing processes – ingredients such as magnesium stearate or stearic acid. These excipients are utilized as flowing agents to ensure that maximum productivity is obtained from capsuling and tableting machines. There are documented detrimental effects directly attributed to long chain fatty acids utilized as manufacturing flowing agents. Every qualified pharmaceutical compounder recognizes that large fatty acids, such as magnesium stearate, can interfere with product dissolution and influence absorption. Virtually all companies, because of the economic impact, ignore this data. As with most industries, the bottom line dictates the level of quality. The dietary supplement industry has one exception: Thorne Research, the company that does not compromise. Nevertheless, if a company cannot manufacture products without using detrimental excipients, they should not allude to being either "hypoallergenic" or "pure."

The Bottom Line?
Thorne is the only hypoallergenic dietary supplement manufacturer with the highest degree of purity that you – and your most severely allergic, chemically sensitive, and immune-compromised patients – can truly trust.

Quality Ingredients: A Higher Standard
At Thorne, they are committed to setting a higher standard of quality when it comes to ingredients. To produce their truly hypoallergenic encapsulated supplements, Thorne uses only the purest and finest ingredients available.

Every manufacturer has two basic options when purchasing raw materials: purchase either truly pure raw materials, or purchase raw materials to which substances have been added to facilitate manufacturing. This fundamental dilemma translates to these very typical questions: "Do I purchase pure vitamin C or vitamin C with additives?" "Do I purchase pure B vitamins or coated B vitamins for taste masking?" "Do I purchase pure enzymes such as pancreatin, pepsin, and bromelain or enzymes diluted with lactose?"

There are few commercial sources for vitamins B12, D, K, or biotin that are not diluted with substances such as lactose, cornstarch, and preservatives such as BHT. That's why Thorne developed methods that allow them to use pure, undiluted sources of these nutrients – and many others. It's just one more example that when it comes to quality, what everyone else accepts as an industry standard isn't good enough. While some companies say they are raising their standards....at Thorne they set them.