SOOTHE gut complaints with this ‘Bible bean’ you’ve NEVER heard of
If you struggle with digestive issues, you NEVER get used to it.
Whether you’re “backed up”… or you can’t stop “going”… it’s enough to drive you crazy!
And most “cures” don’t actually help – but not because they don’t work.
They work TOO well!
And then you’ve got the opposite problem.
Fortunately, there’s a way to SOOTHE gastrointestinal distress by promoting healthy digestion that STARTS in your belly and STICKS with you… all the way to your bowels!
So why has modern research largely NEGLECTED it?
Dessert trick for healthy digestion
Even if you’ve never eaten its “fruits” yourself, you may have read about the carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua) in the Bible.
According to scripture, St. John the Baptist survived the wilderness by eating the legume-like pods that grow on this biblical tree.
That’s why this “pod fruit” is sometimes known as “St. John’s bread.”
The tree has grown throughout the Mediterranean region since the times of the Old Testament…
And we know that Ancient Greeks used carob “beans” for their health benefits as long as 4,000 years ago.
Here in this country, nobody ever really heard of carob until the 1970s – when it emerged as “hippie food” and was marketed as a healthier substitute for chocolate.
And it’s true – carob is high in vitamins and minerals and, compared to cocoa, contains DOUBLE the calcium!
Now, four decades after we first started studying the medicinal benefits of carob, we’re finally beginning to understand how our health can benefit from it.
And I’m not talking about a way to make “guilt-free” brownies!
First, carob beans are PACKED with soluble fibers – specifically, galactomannan and fructooligosaccharides.
Dietary fiber can THICKEN loose stool… and research shows how supplementing with carob can beat back diarrhea.
But it works the OPPOSITE way, too…
Because fiber also SWEEPS out all the junk from your gut… from undigested food to toxins!
Combine those actions with the drying compounds known as tannins also found in carob – and you’ve got a “bowel conditioner” that keeps you REGULAR.
Imagine not going too much… and NEVER not going at all… but moving things through and out in JUST the right way.
Carob also seems to help the gut absorb certain nutrients from the food you eat – and malabsorption is a HALLMARK of digestive conditions like celiac (when you can’t digest gluten).
But perhaps the MOST impressive aspect of carob is its RICH content of phenolic compounds – a.k.a. antioxidants.
A 2015 animal study out of Tunisia, carob pod extract PROTECTED damage to rats’ stomach linings – in part by SUSTAINING or even BOOSTING antioxidant activity.
In a 2016 animal study, those same Tunisian researchers found that carob pod extract even reduced the severity of ulcerative colitis!
Even if your digestive system is working properly… and you don’t THINK you need any extra help… carob has shown to help maintain a healthy weight and improve several metabolic parameters.
Now, carob is similar to chocolate (or cacao) in terms of its flavor and antioxidant activity, but it contains ZERO caffeine.
It also doesn’t contain high levels of the toxin that makes chocolate POISONOUS for cats and dogs, theobromine.
You can find carob powder as a culinary ingredient or as a supplement in capsule form or as a liquid extract.
A new patent-pending carob fruit ingredient out of Spain called CSAT+ offers a standardized percentage of polyphenols, galactomannan, and fructooligosaccharides.
Look for it in the ingredient list of “superfood,” weight management, and other formulas.
To a bowel-boosting bean,
Melissa Young
