We're growing as quick as our friendly bacteria can multiply at the moment! We still have a couple of vacancies open for applications but get your CV in quick as the closing dates are looming. Make sure to visit our careers page to find out more: https://www.optibacprobiotics.co.uk/about/careers #jobs #jobsearch

'You only have one body' - said Boris Becker to Andy Murray. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/40589553 Boris is right, and as their bodies are their tools, it's vital for athletes to keep in optimum shape. But as we know, good health starts in the gut, and we loved this article: "Here’s How Your Gut Plays A Major Role In Your Athletic Performance" http://www.braveheartcoach.com/2017/02/22/healthy-gut-healthy-athlete/ We hope that Andy is giving his intestinal health the support it needs this week - we reckon Boris will be giving him some 'tennis pro'-biotics :-) Tennis is great whole-body workout for all ages, and all you need is a tennis racquet, a partner and access to a court, so if you get bored watching others play it, get out there and do it yourself. Whether you'll be watching the tennis or avoiding it, we wish you a fabulous weekend!

We're thrilled to announce that our 'For every day MAX' has been awarded the Gold award at the Janey Lee Grace Platinum Awards for the best probiotic! A massive thanks to all of you who voted for us. 'For every day MAX' contains 50 billion of some of the world's most researched strains, including L. acidophilus NCFM! Find out more about the product here: https://www.optibacprobiotics.co.uk/shop/for-every-day-max

HAPPY PRIDE to all our London friends! We're proud to know our probiotics are included in this incredible rainbow & love filled breakfast by Nina Piraveau. Have a wonderful day and as Nina says, spread the love everywhere you go. 💙💚💖💛💜 #LoveHappensHere

Your kettle is so 'yesterday' - want to make solar-powered tea? Read on... With the temperatures soaring here in the UK, we're all about the outdoors this week, and using natural resources. This link will show you how to use the sun's rays to make a delicious natural brew using fresh herbs, or just your favourite tea bags. Note - I'd always use glass for this, and never plastic. http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Sun-Tea As you know, we never miss an opportunity to ferment! This link shows you how to use your sun tea to start a delicious fermented drink. http://www.kombuchabrooklyn.com/blog/sun-tea-kombucha/ Have a wonderful weekend, and happy solar brewing... Kerry :-)

We're absolutely delighted that you're all so interested in the wonderful world of probiotics, but we have totally inundated with customer enquiries just recently! So if you're waiting for a response, please be patient while we catch up - we're on it!

We are SO excited to launch this new resource that our nutrition team have been working hard on - a database of the world's most researched #probiotic strains. This is NOT limited to the strains available in the OptiBac Probiotics range, but is rather intended as a helpful resource for healthcare professionals, health journalists and anyone who's a bit of a probiotic geek like us ;) There are a lot of misunderstandings out there when it comes to probiotics - and we're hoping to provide a useful tool for those looking for more info. So have a good look around here: https://www.optibacprobiotics.co.uk/live-cultures/probiotics-database and please comment, share and link to this from your website - as we feel it could be really helpful for anyone looking to find out about probiotics, which ones are well researched, and what they are researched for.

5 Travel Tips from our Nutrition Team! Holiday season is here, so what should go into your holiday health kit? I have my own natural faves that I never leave home without, but I thought I'd also ask our brilliant team of health professionals for their own top tips... 1. Keep well-fuelled! As you never know when you can lay your hands on a healthy protein-aceous snack in unfamiliar territory, our Joanna's bags are always packed with plenty of protein bars and nuts to keep those blood sugar levels stable on the move. Don't forget plenty of water too, especially in hot countries. 2. Pack probiotics! Our Farah says, if you're worried that the local cuisine will give you 'holiday tummy', then you should pop a pot of our travel probiotic in your suitcase. 'For travelling abroad' is a special combination of strains which may help protect our tums when travelling in exotic places. https://www.optibacprobiotics.co.uk/shop/for-travelling-abroad 3. Our Laura loves coconut oil, though warned 'Do NOT use this as sun oil - you will fry!!' But it's a fab soothing after-sun for both hair and skin, and one of my faves too - my top tip is take in a small pot and refrigerate in your room, the oil turns hard and becomes a cooling bar for sun-sore skin. 4. Our Kathy likes to plan ahead! She takes astaxanthin, a powerful antioxidant, for a couple of months before she travels, to help protect her skin from the inside out. Of course, Kathy still uses a natural suncream when she's lying on the beach. 5. My own health kit always contains essential oils, especially lavender, tea tree, and lemongrass. Unlike other essential oils, lavender oil can be applied undiluted to skin - it's soothing for burns, and antiseptic so great for bites and cuts, as is tea tree (dilute this one in oil or water). And a few drops of lemongrass can keep the mozzies away, or try this recipe for a natural insect repellent. http://www.thealternativedaily.com/lemongrass-natural-bug-repellent/ Feel free to share your own natural health tips with us - happy, healthy holidays y'all! #healthyholidays Kerry :-) Image credfit: strictlyvacations.com

Attention #CAM practitioners: Pick up a CPD point with Christine Bailey's FREE webinar next Tuesday. Christine (Functional Nutritional Therapist) will be talking about 3 of the most researched probiotic strains, and how they could help your clients, so make sure to tune in! Tuesday 4th July - 18:30-19:30 - Register here: https://www.ihcanconferences.co.uk/webinar/

Followers! Please vote for our 'For every day MAX' in the Janey Loves Platinum Awards 2017. Every vote counts so we'd really appreciate it if you could spare us a minute to vote. We've entered our newest product, 'For every day MAX' which contains 50 billion of some of the world's most researched strains! We'd love it if you could give it your vote here: http://janeyleegrace.com/readers-votes/

Eat fat to support your IBD?? Yes, according to new research from Case Western Reserve University. Read on to find out more... Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) comprises two serious bowel disorders, Crohn's disease and colitis. The health of the gut microbiome is being linked to the development of the disorders, which typically result in severe inflammation of the intestines. This article highlights the importance of diet on the composition of the microbiome, and suggests sufferers should eat more fat - are you surprised?? But eating the right sort of fats can really help to reduce inflammation in the body and may, as the article suggests, even help to promote positive changes in the populations of gut bacteria. http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/820550/crohns-disease-bowel-symptoms-diet-gut-bacteria-food-inflammatory As a health professional, I'd agree that 'low-fat' diets are not desirable, as fat is vital for good health. It's not just about choosing saturated versus unsaturated, as some saturated fat is good news, and not all fats - saturated or unsaturated - are the same. The fats to avoid are 'trans fats', typically found in industrially processed, artificially created foods with lots of very processed added fats. Don't forget to eat a wide variety of foods containing 'good fats' - olive oil, coconut oil, cocoa butter, seeds, nuts, avocados and oily fish, as the fats they contain are all different and it's important to get a good balance. Also include lots of other great, anti-inflammatory foods to your diet as part of your anti-inflammatory health protocol - turmeric is a favourite of mine, full of curcumin, which inhibits inflammation by preventing the production of pro-inflammatory enzymes, and purple veg and berries, which are full of anti-inflammatory anthocyanins. Take a look at our great FAQ about which probiotics are best for IBD: https://www.optibacprobiotics.co.uk/faq/which-probiotics-are-best-for-ibd Kerry Nutritional Therapist Image credit: Harvard Health

We're growing and multiplying as quick as our friendly bacteria at the moment! Which, we hope, says a lot about the health of our business. Right now, we have 4 vacancies - 3 of which are completely new roles to the business. If you're interested in any of the roles listed make sure you visit our careers page to find out more about each role and how to apply: https://www.optibacprobiotics.co.uk/about/careers #jobs #jobsearch