"Even though you want the live bugs, even the dead bugs are good for you as well."
On my Talking Clean With Irene podcast, I spoke to Carla Oates, the founder of The Beauty Chef, about all things inner beauty, gut health and skin.
I discovered Carla's Glow powder at the Organic Expo in 2010. Before Carla, I had only ever heard of one inner beauty product. There were these tablets made from fish you could buy from the department store back then, and they were very expensive.
Carla said "so many people thought it was such a weird idea. It was so left of field. What are you talking about? Bacteria, fermented food. How does that affect your skin?" One department store buyer loved it but told her "there's no inner beauty category. There's no shelf to put it on."
She started this journey of inner beauty that everyone is now on.
Here are the 3 things I learned from my chat with Carla
1. Even the dead bugs are good for you
Back in the early days when Glow first launched, I was drinking it like a tea. Carla said "Irene, no! You're gonna kill it, don't put hot water in it!" I'd wasted a whole tub.
"Well, there have been advancements in the world of biotics and, you know, even when you heat probiotics, you get postbiotics and they still have benefits. So even though you want the live bugs, even the dead bugs are good for you as well."
"The beauty of fermented food is the food becomes more bioavailable because the bacteria have broken down those hard to digest proteins. So it supercharges the formula, plus you get a broad spectrum probiotic, so you get different strains of bacteria."
"We introduce 14 different species of bacteria into our products and they ferment over a period of six to eight weeks. Fermentation breaks the whole foods down so they're easier to digest."
"So basically when you ferment food and the bugs proliferate, through the fermentation process some bugs die as well. More and more research is showing the dead bugs in the fermented food, but also the metabolites and different compounds that the bugs produce as they are basically consuming or metabolising the food. Even if you did heat Glow, you're still getting postbiotics."
2. The probiotic capsule might be the wrong one for you
We know probiotics are good for our gut, but we don't know which one is good for our individual guts.
Carla said "it's not just about popping a probiotic pill. We take a very holistic view of gut health as opposed to just taking, you know, a capsule that has billions of one particular strain that your body might not need."
"My nephew has an overgrowth of lactobacillus in his gut. A lot of probiotic capsules will have billions of lactobacillus that he has an overgrowth of. So he doesn't really need that."
"When you take certain supplements, like for example, iron. Iron's really important for your skin, really important for your hair and nails. And a lot of women actually are deficient in iron. But say for somebody who has excess iron, for example, but doesn't know it, iron can be a pro-oxidant. So it can contribute to premature ageing if you take it and you've already got too much of it."
"We are all very different in terms of what nutrient profile or load we are carrying in our bodies. And so I always think blood tests are really good to actually go, where am I at with my B12, my zinc, my iron, my manganese. I actually carry a lot of iron. So I wouldn't need to take an iron supplement. It would be bad for me. But I only know that because I've had blood tests that show that."
"Different bugs feed on different foods. Diversity of diet is really important, different types of food to encourage microbial diversity. Fibre is really, really important because that's what your gut bugs feed on in your diet."
"If you just eat whole foods, eat low GI and low HI, which is low human intervention foods, drink clean water. We know that our gut bugs, our microbiome, they don't like stress. Not getting enough sleep can disrupt the body's ability to maintain a healthy microbiome. So just a healthy balanced lifestyle is the best thing that we can do to really nurture our microbiome."
3. Gut health is connected to everything
When I first started on Glow, I just took it because it tasted good and I thought it was going to make me look younger and prettier, but really, actually, the real benefit is that it makes your gut healthier. One of the biggest benefits really is just having energy and looking good and fit and healthy.
Carla said "your gut is where 70% of your immune system lies. And it's where you regulate your hormones, regulate detoxifying enzymes, where you neutralise pathogens. It's even where you make neurotransmitters. So while there's this, you know, gut-skin axis, there's also a gut-brain axis and information highway between your gut and your brain."
"And also 90% of your serotonin, which is your feel good hormone, is also made in your gut."
"Your microbiome and your gut regulate everything from your brain health to your immune health, metabolic health, skin health. So super important to maintain a healthy microbiome."
About the Author
Irene Falcone is the founder of Clean Nectarine and co-host of The Lee & Irene Show. She started her first clean beauty business in 2011 with $100 in her garage and grew it to $20m in four years. She has spent over 15 years reading the backs of beauty and wellness labels, is a Telstra Business Women's Awards winner and an EY Entrepreneur of the Year finalist, and has been featured on A Current Affair, The Project, Sunrise, Channel Nine Mornings and Sky News.
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