This is a sponsored post for BC30™ through Kitchen PLAY
Health and wellbeing are really important to me and has been since I was very young. I have always been fascinated by the complexities of diet and how it affects the body and mind. Also how individual we are! This is what led me into my profession as a Dietitian. As well as my love for working with people, I wanted to work with my fascination with diet and health on a daily basis. For me looking after my physical and mental health is very high on my priorities and I know when I eat well, sleep well and keep active, I always tend to feel better, both physically and mentally. Looking after my gut health comes part and parcel with this, as everyday stresses can disrupt the microbiota in your gut and impact health and well-being. Being a busy working Mum of three can introduce germs and illness, stress and days of poor diet, which can have a negative impact on gut health. In some ways these negatives can be a positive, as make me focus on a healthy diet and being active. I also consider friendly gut bacteria like BC30 cultures, an ingredient that is used to create fortified foods and beverages.
Looking After my Gut Health
Gut health is complex and there is currently a lot of research being done into how it affects health and well-being.
For me there are several things I do to try and look after my gut health and as a practicing dietitian, I try to follow some of the advice I would suggest to my patients if they were looking to support their gut health, as I can sometimes do:
– I try to eat a variety of foods, including those with lots of fibre such as fruit and vegetables, legumes and wholemeal and wholegrain starchy foods.
– I try to cut down on refined sugar, though I have to admit this is quite tough some days!
– Some days we will have meat free days and have more fish, eggs, lentils and beans. I always feel a little more comfortable gut-wise on those days too.
– I’m regularly active, try to get enough sleep and I do try and keep my anxiety at bay but this can be tough sometimes. I also try to eat slowly and don’t have large portions of food, which can lead to bloating and wind in my case.
– I also consume cultures as part of my diet, to support the friendly bacteria in my gut, and I especially enjoy products containing BC30™ cultures as an ingredient.
What are BC30™ Cultures?
What is BC30™?
BC30 is a high-quality culture ingredient found in everyday food and drinks, and research shows it can support your daily digestive health. These foods make it easy to incorporate these cultures into your diet and add more good bacteria to your gut. More than 25 published research papers that show BC30 can support digestive and immune health.
BC30 is most importantly a spore forming culture, which means it has a protective shell allowing it to better survive extreme temperatures, including the microwave and if being added to boiling water. Importantly it can also survive through your stomach acid until the cultures arrive in your gut, where they team up with your own bacteria. Not all cultures are the same and not all can do this.
Foods with BC30™ Cultures
Sometimes incorporating a new food into your diet can be tricky and needs to be convenient and tasty to make it something you can do on a daily basis. Luckily BC30 can be found in a range of food and drinks.
It can be found in types of granola, tea, porridge, dried fruit and teas. So as mentioned, can be easy to have on a day-to-day basis!
Look for the BC30 (formerly known as GanedenBC30)symbol or “Bacillus coagulans GBI-30, 6086” in the nutrition label on the fortified foods and beverages in your grocery shelves and online when shopping.
Practical Tips to Include BC30 Cultures in Your Daily Diet
As mentioned, I always try and look after my gut health. I know after periods of worry and stress have me looking for ways to proactively support my health.. As well as trying to eat a healthy, balanced diet, exercise and sleep well, including cultures can be beneficial.
It can be a bit daunting making a change to your diet and incorporating new foods and activities but there are simple changes you can make.
– Try and have breakfast and include a food containing BC30 cultures. This may be a cereal such as a porridge or granola and you can serve with fresh fruit to boost the fibre content.
– Have a tea containing cultures for your mid-afternoon drink. Quite often as well thirst can be confused with hunger and a good cup of tea can be quite filling. If you are trying to cut down and eat a little less, this can help you go a little longer without eating.
– Add some flaxseed containing BC30 cultures to your food. You can add this to salads, cereal and soups. Packed with essential fatty acids too, this is a winner.
Looking after your gut health is important! Healthy bowels can contribute to a healthy you and simple changes to your diet and routine by including foods and beverages fortified with the BC30 culture ingredient, you can help introduce more good bacteria into your diet.
Disclosure – this is a sponsored post.