There are so many conflicting ideas and thoughts out there in the world of health and wellbeing that sometimes we just do not know what to do or believe, and fair enough. I never realised why this was the case. Why everyone had different ideas. Why some people swear by one product and others another. And why certain things can impact people in different ways; until I met with Living Nutrition’s founder and nutritional therapist Graham Botfield. Living Nutrition is a small UK based supplement company producing exactly just that; ‘living’ supplements based on their unique kefir kombucha fermented wholefood and herbal range. Website >> here. Graham said to me “you are unique and so is your flora.” This is why your supplement intake and diet needs to be unique to you.

Just like a fingerprint or DNA we each have our own unique and dynamic ecosystem within our digestive tract, rich in a vast and diverse array of microorganisms. YOUR ecosystem impacts YOUR entire body both physically and mentally and a healthy ecosystem is vital for optimal digestion. Makes sense right?

TRUST YOUR GUT!! You mum or best friend probably told you this as a child and this is because your gut and brain are very much connected making them the two most powerful parts/organs of the body. You wouldn’t do anything to damage your brain so why would you do something to damage your gut? I am no scientist but I did some research into leaky gut and IBS and wrote a small post >> here last month when the topic first came to interest me. A large amount of stress, inflammation and general poor knowledge has caused me to have a very unbalanced gut and I am conscious that many illnesses and autoimmune diseases are linked with changes in gut microbiome and gut health.

Probiotics and Fermented supplements

So where to next and what exactly are probiotics? Probiotics are the live bacterias and yeasts that live inside and support our gut for optimum gut health. Instead of taking a generic probiotic I have chosen to take a Living Nutrition Cool Mint capsule morning and night as it is suitable for those with IBS and digestive issues. Made from 35 beneficial strains to support my gut ecology and complete my living ecosystem they pride themselves on the quality of their ‘natural’ ingredients which are 100% living foods compressed into capsule form and not man made scientific formulas.It is vital to know that not all probiotics are created equal and not all probiotic formulas are properly produced to provide optimal benefits. If the company is large there is a great chance the natural fermentation process has been altered with to help speed it up and keep up with the companies high demand, therefore reducing the quality of the product. Just like when farmers used hormones to speed up the growth rate and size of a chicken therefore messing with nature and giving you a less healthy and less natural product with added nasties. The end result is still 100% chicken however it is the process and treatment of the product that we aren’t informed of. Same goes for supplements and there is a lot of false marketing out there so you have to be careful with what you chose and put into your body.

Why did I chose Living Nutrition?

Firstly because their innovative nutritional products are of the highest quality and no compromises are made in their pursuit for perfection. Their unique process captures the living essence of foods and creates a bio-activated complex which the body can instantly recognise and utilise to its maximum effect. It doesn’t matter how many millions of live cultures you poor into your gut, if the gut is not balanced or thriving they will inevitably die. Just as humans cannot live on mars, whether you place 1 or 1 million the outcome is still the same, death. So how about we create an ecosystem that allows the humans (live cultures) to survive?  Living Nutrition supplements use living fermented foods and herbs to help create the perfect natural ecosystem which will allow for optimum gut health.

 

What do I hope to benefit from the ‘Cooling Mint’ symbiotic?

This particular supplement will help aid in some digestive issues and relieve my IBS symptoms due to the addition of the cooling mint which is great for natural digestion. I am hoping to balance my gut first of all which will eventually aid with some other symptoms I am experiencing. I am a huge believer that your gut controls your body; so lets call it the King. Currently the King of ‘Katieland’ is a little upset and aggressive and therefore the whole empire is failing due to poor leadership… does that make sense? Time to get that King back on his throne.

Should everyone start taking a gut flora supplement?

My short answer; yes. You can get good bacteria to help balance the gut from food such as yoghurt and fermented vegetables and drinks however it is not enough to help heal the gut on its own if you currently have digestive issues. Just like a probiotic supplement is not enough on it’s own if you continue to abuse the body and treat it poorly. They both go hand in hand and together can easily create optimum gut health.

Again as mentioned above no amount of probiotics can flourish in an unhealthy gut environment so before you gulp capsule after capsule of generic mass produced probiotics you should look into naturally healing and balancing the gut flora and this is where the kefir-kombucha fermented supplement plays an incredible role.

You can look into Living Nutrition more on their website >> here 

Start looking after your body from the inside out. x