While some progress has been made in reversing the generations-long trend of not eating enough fiber, the lack of a healthful balance of beneficial microflora continues to be an issue for most Americans. The failure to fully recognize the need for a healthy diet to include support of a healthy digestive system brought processors to the importance of gut health decades later than in Europe and Asia. But, they have since demonstrated a powerful ambition to catch up.
According to the National Digestive Diseases Infor-mation Clearinghouse, 60-70 million Americans struggle with gastrointestinal distress, digestive diseases or conditions that affect the digestive system. These con-ditions can include anything from constipation, heartburn and hemorrhoids to irritable bowel syndrome, celiac disease, gallstones, ulcers and inflammatory bowel diseases, including Crohn’s.