Steph Geddes Digestive Health Interview

No Your Gut Good For Digestive Health

A new report by the CSIRO found every year, 50% of Australians experience gut health problems, and 1 in 7 Australian adults experience distressing gut health symptoms which they tend to manage themselves through the elimination of key foods or food groups. It's no surprise then that 40% of Australians report being interested in foods that support gut health.

The Culture Co are passionate about gut health, and create products that are good for your gut by ensuring that the full product range contains ingredients that are scientifically-proven to provide real health benefits. It's the daily dose that does you good!

The Culture Co is made with a special combination of 13 strains of live cultures, including a probiotic that has been clinically tested, creating a yoghurt that is smooth, delicious, and good for you. The Culture Co's full product range contains scientifically proven ingredients that are backed by research, to deliver genuine health benefits. A daily serve of The Culture Co probiotic kefir not only tastes great, it's good for your gut as it contains over 1 billion of the probiotic B.Lactis, which improves regularity in adults as part of a balanced diet. The Culture Co probiotic kefir also contains the goodness of protein and calcium, which assist with healthy muscles and bones, and healthy digestive enzyme function, as part of a balanced diet.

Nutritionist Steph Geddes has partnered with The Culture Co to share a simple message for Aussies hoping to improve their gut health. "It's fantastic to see Australians becoming increasingly interested in looking after themselves and there's no time like the present to make a positive change for your health and wellbeing!

"Unfortunately, many people find it tricky to know where to start their health journey. I've partnered with The Culture Co to help show people just how simple it can be to create healthy habits that really work.

"I'm encouraging you to add one simple step to your daily routine to help improve your gut health. Add a dose of probiotic kefir to your morning smoothie or serve it up in a breakfast bowl with fresh fruit, to enjoy the probiotic benefits. It's a great choice for people who prefer to get their probiotics from real food, rather than supplements."

The Culture Co is available at leading supermarkets and convenience retailers across the country, in 1kg and 250g pack sizes. With Blueberry, Mango and Natural flavours to choose from, there's a kefir to tempt all taste buds, and a multitude of ways to include this gut loving product in your daily routine.

The Culture Co also partners with The Gut Foundation; because of a shared love for gut health. The Gut Foundation does medical research to better understand the causes of gut problems, better methods of prevention and treatment, and is continually educating the public on the latest findings.

From 3rd June to 30th June The Culture Co is celebrating good gut health with the 28 Day Good Gut Challenge, serving up 28 days of healthy tips, recipes and wellbeing guidance in partnership with Steph Geddes. To join the challenge, visit thecultureco.com.au/OMG.

For more information on The Culture Co, visit http://www.thecultureco.com.au, or @thecultureco_

Interview with Steph Geddes, Nutritionist

Question: What message do you hope to spread for World Digestive Health Day?

Steph Geddes: To raise awareness about identifying digestive issues (many people think the symptoms they experience are normal and don't realise they can be signs of digestive distress), and understanding that diet, along with other lifestyle factors can play a big part in creating optimal digestive health.

Question: Are you surprised that 1 in 2 Aussies experience gut health problems?

Steph Geddes: No not at all, as over the year's fibre and food diversity has been replaced with processed food and the use of antibiotics. Four out of five Australians don't eat enough fruit and vegetables and this is a key aspect to a healthy digestive system. I do think as people are becoming aware of the importance of nutrition that these statistics will start to shift.


Question: Why symptoms are related to gut health problems?

Steph Geddes: Suboptimal gut health can be experienced through bloating, stomach pains, irregular bowel movements, gas and reflux. Other symptoms that we now know are likely but less obvious to connect to gut health can be poor mental health, compromised immunity and weight gain.


Question: How can we all support a healthier digestive system today?

Steph Geddes: These are my top tips for a supporting a healthy digestive system:

Eat a diet high in fibre such as wholegrains, legumes, vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds.
Include gut friendly foods such as yoghurt, kefir, tempeh, miso and fermented veggies such as kim chi and sauerkraut.⠀
Also include extra virgin olive oil and oily fish.⠀
Add in papaya and pineapple for their digestive enzymes.⠀
Eat slowly and chew your food well. ⠀
Be mindful when eating and try to sit down, in a relaxed state with no distractions while eating.
Drink plenty of water, sipped regularly throughout the day.
Try some peppermint tea. ⠀

Question: Can you share your tips for getting our gut health, on track?

Steph Geddes: Know your gut
Firstly, it's important to be aware of what's going on in your gut and how it can affect your health. If you're experiencing bloating, abdominal pain, cramping or skin rashes, you could be suffering from poor gut health. By making small simple changes to your diet, and being more aware of the foods you consume, you could create a very positive impact on your digestive health.

Incorporate probiotics and prebiotics into your daily routine
Probiotics and prebiotics can provide a quick and easy daily boost to get your gut on track. You can get probiotics and prebiotics into your diet by increasing your intake of nutritious foods like asparagus, onions, garlic, green banana flour, oats, Jerusalem artichoke and probiotic yoghurt and drinks. When looking for a product, make sure you read the label to ensure it provides a high-quality dose – a therapeutic dose of probiotics can be found in The Culture Co. Kefir Yogurt in just one serving alone! It can be consumed straight up from a glass, or easily incorporated into every day foods such as smoothies, bircher muesli, salad dressings, marinades, in dips and desserts.

Know your foods – from the fresh to the fermented
Fermented foods such as sauerkraut, yogurt, kombucha and kefir are all good for gut health and have numerous benefits for your gut microbiome1 - the ecosystem of bacteria and microorganisms living in our digestive tract! When choosing a kefir, try to look for a high quality one that contains a therapeutic dose of probiotics per serve, like The Culture Co. Include this in your diet along with other whole foods such as vegetables, fruits, legumes, wholegrains, extra virgin olive oil, dairy products, nuts, seeds and oily fish!

Get moving
Exercise plays a huge role in ensuring your tummy is healthy and happy! Incorporating incidental activity into your routine is a great place to start if you struggle to get to the gym. Where you can walk, run or ride instead of driving – do it! If driving is your only option, park your car a good distance from your destination and walk from there.

Meditate
Stress has a direct impact on the balance of bacteria in your gut so it's important to make an effort to keep this under control. Meditating is an easy, yet effective way to decrease your stress levels. Try taking five minutes out of your day to close your eyes, focus on your breath and block out the external world – your gut it will thank you for it!


Question: What foods contain probiotics and prebiotics?

Steph Geddes: Foods with probiotics include some yoghurts and kefirs, fermented veggies, miso, tempeh, and kombucha. The Culture Co Kefir is particularly probiotic rich as you can get a therapeutic dose in just one serve (200g). Prebiotic foods include onion, garlic, leek, asparagus, artichoke, tempeh, miso, banana, chicory root, dandelion greens, oats, barley and flaxseeds.

Question: How does meditation and exercise help our gut?

Steph Geddes: There is a lot of research to show how stress can affect the gut so mediation is a fantastic option to help manage stress and minimise these effects. Emerging research is also showing that exercise may be able to modify the balance of bacteria in our gut to improve digestive health, however more research into what type, how long and the intensity of exercise needs to be done.


Question: What is The Culture Co.?

Steph Geddes: The Culture Co. is a range of probiotic kefir yogurts, each containing over one billion friendly live cultures (B. Lactis) per serve, measured at end of shelf life so you know you're going to get a benefit. These live cultures promote good gut health by increasing regularity in adults as part of a balanced diet. The Culture Co. products are available at leading supermarkets and convenience retailers across the country, in 1kg and 250g pack sizes. With Blueberry, Mango and Natural flavours to choose from.


Question: Why did you decide to partner with The Culture Co.?

Steph Geddes: I have been including kefir in my diet for a long time now and learning about how superior the quality of their product is made it a natural fit for me. So many people are confused about gut health and are turning to supplements and fads so this partnership is a great opportunity for me to show that you can actually improve your gut health by using whole foods, and kefir is one food in particular that is so easy to include in your everyday diet whilst being able to give you a therapeutic dose of probiotics.


Interview by Brooke Hunter