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April 30th 2025
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WellBeing Magazine
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Interesting slices of life
Mother’s gut microbiome affects baby’s brain development
A recent study found that a mother’s gut microbiome during pregnancy influences her baby’s brain development. In mice, the presence of the bacteria Bifidobacterium breve in the mother’s gut supported healthy foetal brain development. Researchers observed that foetuses of mothers given Bifidobacterium breve had increased nutrient transport to the brain and positive changes in cell processes related to growth, compared to those whose mothers had no gut bacteria. Bifidobacterium breve is a beneficial bacteria found naturally in the gut and available as a probiotic supplement. Obesity and chronic stress can disrupt the gut microbiome in pregnant women, leading to foetal growth abnormalities. The study suggests that taking Bifidobacterium breve supplements during pregnancy may enhance foetal brain metabolism and support healthy baby development.
Source: Molecular Metabolism
Early antibiotic use
A new study has revealed how antibiotic-induced depletion of gut microbes in newborns can lead to lifelong respiratory allergies. Research indicates that immune system development starts early in life, with infant gut microbes playing a crucial role. Antibiotics given to newborns can reduce bacteria that produce butyrate, a compound essential for preventing allergies. Infants with fewer butyrate-producing bacteria are more prone to allergies. When antibiotics reduce these bacteria, butyrate levels drop, leading to increased immune cells called ILC2s, which trigger heightened immune responses and allergy symptoms. The study found that mice with depleted gut bacteria had twice as many ILC2s. However, supplementing with butyrate shortly after birth, within a few months for humans and a few weeks for mice, prevents ILC2 proliferation, reducing lifelong allergy susceptibility. This could lead to more effective treatments targeting the root causes of allergies, beyond just symptom relief with antihistamines and inhalers.
Source: Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
Low cortisol and heightened stress response
Recent animal research suggests that proteins left behind by COVID-19 can lower brain cortisol levels, inflame the nervous system and heighten immune responses to stress. This study sheds light on the neurological symptoms of long COVID, affecting up to 35 per cent of those infected. Researchers found introducing COVID-19 antigens such as S1 spike protein into rats’ spinal fluid significantly reduced cortisol levels in the hippocampus. This drop in cortisol, crucial for managing inflammation and stress, may heighten inflammatory responses to additional stressors. These results align with low cortisol levels observed in people with long COVID and chronic fatigue syndrome. Rats exposed to the S1 protein reacted more intensely to immune stressors, with increased neuroinflammation. These results suggest that persistent COVID-19 antigens might lower cortisol levels, increasing vulnerability to symptoms such as fatigue, depression and brain fog.
Source: Brain, Behaviour and Immunity
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Life Lines
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April 30th 2025
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WellBeing Magazine
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Medical findings for a healthier body
Restoring the ageing brain’s waste-disposal system
Recent research highlights that neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s may be linked to the brain’s reduced ability to clear harmful waste. Ageing slows down the brain’s waste-removal process called the glymphatic system, which uses cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) to remove toxic proteins generated by brain cells like beta-amyloid, tau and alpha-synuclein, which contribute to these diseases. A recent study shows that restoring the function of cervical lymph vessels can reverse age-related declines in CSF flow. In ageing mice, CSF flow slowed by 63 per cent due to reduced contractions and valve failures in these vessels. Researchers used prostaglandin F2, a hormone-like compound commonly used for inducing labour and aiding smooth muscle contraction, to treat older mice. This treatment restored CSF flow and vessel contraction to levels found in younger mice. Targeting these lymphatic vessels could pave the way for new therapies for neurodegenerative diseases.
Source: Nature Aging
Eat more protein and fibre for weight loss success
Participants in a self-directed dietary education program who successfully lost weight over 25 months consumed more protein and fibre in a recent study. Personalisation and flexibility in diet plans were crucial for long-term adherence. After one year, successful dieters (41 per cent of participants) lost 12.9 per cent of their body weight, compared to a little over 2 per cent for the rest. The study used the Individualised Diet Improvement Program (iDip), which combines data visualisation tools and intensive education to help dieters increase protein and fibre intake, reduce calories and create personalised weight loss plans. The program emphasises flexibility, allowing participants to tailor their diets for sustainable weight loss. Participants aimed for 80g of protein and 20g of fibre each day and limited daily calories to 1500. Lead researcher Mindy H Lee highlighted the importance of combining increased protein and fibre with calorie reduction for safe and effective weight loss.
Source: Obesity Science and Practice
Red and processed meat consumption
A recent study analysed data from 1.97 million participants and found that consuming processed and unprocessed red meat is linked to a higher risk of type 2 diabetes. Researchers from the University of Cambridge used data from 31 study cohorts across 20 countries. They found that eating 50g of processed meat daily (about two slices of ham) was associated with a 15 per cent higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes over the next 10 years, while consuming 100g of unprocessed red meat daily (a small steak) was linked to a 10 per cent higher risk. The study also examined the link between poultry consumption and type 2 diabetes, but the association remains uncertain and requires further investigation. These findings support recommendations to limit the intake of processed and unprocessed red meat to help reduce diabetes cases.
Source: The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology
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The Pulse
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April 30th 2025
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WellBeing Magazine
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What inspired you to start GK Gluten Free Foods?
At GK Gluten Free Foods, we are committed to providing nutritious, high-quality products that people with special dietary needs can trust. We believe everyone deserves to “Live the Life They Deserve” with delicious and nutritious pantry staples. Our oats are proudly 100% Australian Owned and Grown—“The Oats You Can Trust!”
In 2009, Kylie Martin and her partner Garry founded GK Gluten Free Foods, introducing the first oats in Australia that were completely uncontaminated by gluten from wheat, rye, and barley. Kylie’s passion for this product stemmed from her own experience catering to a family with special dietary needs and her deep connection to farming.
After more than a decade, our dream of working with Australian farmers came true in 2021. We partnered with Avena Mills to produce our signature Gloriously Free steamed rolled oats—Australia’s only oats tested and certified to meet strict nil gluten standards from wheat, rye, or barley.
What makes GF Oats different from other oat brands?
Gloriously Free Oats follow the Global Oats Purity Protocol, ensuring they are truly pure. While other countries may label similar products as “gluten-free oats,” Australian labeling laws prevent us from doing so. However, our oats are independently tested in Australian laboratories to confirm they are uncontaminated.
At GK Gluten Free Foods, we remain committed to offering products that meet specific dietary needs, helping people live healthier, happier lives.
What’s the best product for someone new to GF Oats?
I’d recommend starting with our Oaty Starter Pack. It’s a great way to sample different oat varieties and find the one that best suits your taste and lifestyle. Swap out packet cereals for a wholesome bowl of porridge, overnight oats, or a smoothie—you’ll feel the benefits right away!
Where can people buy GF Oats products?
Our products are available in health food stores, whole food retailers, independent grocery stores, and select IGAs across Australia.
What’s next for GF Oats?
GF Oats is expanding! Our product range now includes traditional steamed rolled oats, mueslis, and even ANZAC biscuits. These products cater to both the gluten-sensitive community and health-conscious consumers across Australia and New Zealand.
As we grow, we remain dedicated to supporting Australian farmers and providing safe, nutritious oats that meet the highest standards. Our paddock-to-plate journey reflects our commitment to trust, innovation, and inclusivity. We’re not just offering a product—we’re delivering a promise of health, quality, and integrity.
How can people learn more or get in touch?
Visit us online at www.gfoats.com.au or call us at 07 4696 9475. We’d love to help you find the perfect oats for your needs!
The post GK Gluten Free Foods: Pioneering Pure Oats in Australia appeared first on WellBeing Magazine.
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GK Gluten Free Foods: Pioneering Pure Oats in Australia
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April 30th 2025
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WellBeing Magazine
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Embracing uncertainty as a catalyst for growth, creativity and mindful decision-making in this empowering guide to life’s unknowns.
Instead of a promotion, you’ve just been made redundant and discovered your not-so favourite cousin is staying with you for a month. You’d be forgiven for curling up on the couch with a tub of caramel-swirl ice-cream and thinking, “Well, life really does suck at the moment.” No matter how it feels right now, it’s not all gloom and doom.
During periods of uncertainty, we peel back the jumbled intricacies of our humanity and truly thrive. We cut to the chase, to the heart of what we truly care about.
Authors of The Upside of Uncertainty: A Guide to Finding Possibility in the Unknown, professor Nathan Furr and entrepreneur Susannah Harmon Furr, believe uncertainty can be a gift. “Even now, behind every uncertainty you are facing, even the unwanted and unpromising varieties — insight, growth and possibility — are waiting in the wings,” note the authors. “We’re all wired to fear the downsides of uncertainty, but forget that change, creation, transformation and innovation rarely show up without some measure of it.”
By being let go at work, you might decide on a career pivot and score the job of your dreams. By spending time with your cousin, you might recapture the closeness you shared as kids. Unknowing means we can stay open to new experiences. We can reassess our values. If we’ve been through a traumatic or uncertain time, we can reflect on what really matters to us.
Which way is up?
Predictability is comforting, we want to know what’s next. Not knowing can make us feel vulnerable and uncomfortable, especially if we subscribe to the theory that if we take specific steps or actions, we’ll get the results we’ve worked towards.
In Uncertain: The Wisdom and Wonder of Being Unsure, author Maggie Jackson writes, “Humans are built for survival’s sake to yearn for answers and for the predictability that offers them up.”
She adds it’s a proven psychological finding that people tend to be more stressed if they don’t know an electric shock is coming than if they are pretty sure they will get one. Basically, we want to know, even if it’s going to hurt.
But life is not predictable. It’s messy, wonderful and crazy. Sometimes it’s so loud, you just want to ignore the chaos inside your head, sit on a beach and feel the warm sand scrunch between your toes.
But unknowing can be cool, for a host of reasons. Uncertainty allows you to cultivate your own creativity, to seek your own truths. It offers opportunity to build strength and resilience.
The reality is, we just need to roll with it sometimes. Clinical psychologist Dinusha Cragg says being accepting of uncertainty allows us to be more psychologically flexible. “It means we can make more mindful choices and conscious decisions, which align with our values,” she explains.
If we press pause, it allows us to think about what matters to us. It can give us an opportunity to explore different possibilities. “There is something really beautiful about uncertainty, even if it does feel a bit uncomfortable at times,” says Cragg.
We live in an uncertain world
The last handful of years have been tumultuous with the pandemic, the soaring cost of living, natural events that have brought townships to their knees and global social turmoil. Many people are struggling and trying to make sense of it all.
Meanwhile, technology forges ahead, at breakneck speed. AI is an insatiable force, even though movers and shakers like Elon Musk and other tech giants have voiced concerns it can pose profound risks to society and humanity. Plug in an algorithm and AI can spit out an answer. It doesn’t factor in the human element, our thoughts, our fears. Questions are asked and answered at quantum speed.
These days, there’s pressure to know all the answers and to make quick decisions. Some popular culture tells us if we don’t know all the answers that, somehow, we have failed. And that is simply not true.
Uncertainty impacts all of us differently. Intolerance to uncertainly is viewed by those who have an anxious disposition as something to be feared. Others can look at uncertainty as a challenge or a potential new adventure. Uncertainty also allows us to slow down, to see what opportunities are waiting if we contemplate taking a different path.
The decision dilemma
Maybe I should? Or shouldn’t I? If you’ve ever felt crippled by the sheer frustration of not being able to make a decision, you are not alone. It’s not always easy to make big choices, especially when a lot is at stake.
Do I stay in a relationship where I feel like I’m losing myself, because I don’t want to be alone? Should I coach my son’s soccer team, I’m already slammed with commitments?
Indecision can feel soul destroying. But we don’t always have it all figured out, right now. Not having all the answers, and resisting the urge to make snap decisions, can be a good thing.
If you do tend to rush into decisions, research shows it could be worthwhile rethinking that strategy. Work by Columbia University Medical Centre showed the accuracy of a decision can be improved by a mere fraction of a second just by taking a beat.
If you can’t decide, look within, find your inner truth. Learn to trust your intuition to see that you are consciously making choices that align with your values, or higher self. Maybe you are making decisions based on your internal beliefs about what you feel you deserve? If you feel like you walk through life with a post-it note stuck to your forehead that says “please like me”, take it off and put it on the mirror. Quiet your inner critic with positive self-talk. You are a unique human who is worthy of love and compassion. Forgive yourself.
If you are feeling stressed about uncertainty, stop. Right now. Breathe in and out. If you are feeling anxious about a decision, it can cloud your judgement. Your inner knowing, your intuitive self, is lost in the voices telling you what you “should” do.
Recognise your own true value and self-worth. Practise the art of self-compassion. If you are constantly being critical of yourself, that can feed into negative self-perception and lead to feelings of anxiety and depression. Next time you are at a crossroads and need to make a choice, look within. Stay curious about this world we live in. Be true to your authentic self.
Positivity in indecision
Some decisions are those of the everyday variety. Will I wear my hair up or down? Poached eggs or French toast? Heels or comfy flats? Each and every day, we make around a staggering 33,000 decisions. Some are made consciously, but many are spontaneous or involuntary. Dr Elisabeth Shaw, clinical psychologist from Relationships Australia, says some decisions are simply automatic, “Like putting one foot in front of the other. That’s why when we are faced with uncertainty, it can sometimes stop us in our tracks,” she explains. “But that’s OK to think, right? This means I really need to give that problem some thought.”
Uncertainty does feel uncomfortable. Dr Shaw acknowledges that being able to tolerate uncertainty is in fact a skill in itself. “It takes a lot of maturity and selfknowledge to see the value of uncertainty,” she says.
Dr Shaw says it’s all about how you look at it. “See uncertainty as a point of reflection, a diagnostic sign that you are in unfamiliar territory,” she says. “That
means slowing down and giving it more consideration, value it as a step in good decision-making.”
Sometimes things are simply out of your control. Nothing you say or do will change that. At times, you simply need to sit with feelings of uncertainty. How
events unfold will happen in their own time.
But if you are struggling to make a decision about something you need to, there are some practical things you can do. If you are a logical thinker, try looking at it strategically — weigh up the cost vs benefit of choosing one thing over the other.
Try to visualise the outcome and pay attention to how that makes you feel.
Cragg says if a decision needs to be made, there are some valuable strategies to try. “I’m a big fan of a pros and cons list, and also set a time limit or deadline to make your decision” she says. Reach out to those whose opinions you trust and brainstorm ideas to gain another perspective. Cragg says breaking down the decision into smaller manageable steps can also be helpful. “This can reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed,” she says.
When push comes to shove
If you are being rushed into making a decision that is out of your comfort zone, know that it’s OK to gently push back. Sometimes others will put you under pressure to decide, because of their own agenda. If you are being hurried along, Dr Shaw suggests testing the assumption that the urgency to decide is in fact a genuine one. “You could say, ‘I’ll get back to you on that one,’” she says. “Sometimes the other person just wants you to say, ‘I’ve got this’.”
In the workplace, leaders are decision makers. Workplace culture values a good leader who is confident, who can make snap decisions, who knows what to say or do at any given time. But we are currently seeing a subtle paradigm shift that shows the value of vetoing speedy decision-making. “There’s been significant work done in terms of leadership and management theory, and decision-making,” notes Dr Shaw. “It speaks to slowing down and taking time, to making sure you fully come to grips with the problem before rushing to a solution, which can be good for everyone.”
You might make speedy decisions at work, but find yourself in hot water with your tribe at home, if you make quick autocratic decisions. Dr Shaw says this can feel dismissive and uncomfortable. “If you rush to certainty at an interpersonal or intimate level, other people might feel like they aren’t being heard, they might feel you are being insensitive,” she says.
When you decide — it’s not foolproof
If you’ve decided, don’t stress about the maybes, wanna bes, could haves or should haves. When having to commit on big decisions, let your feelings be your guide. What brings you joy? If you visualise how your life will be after the decision is made, how does that feel for you? All you can do is make the best decision you can, based on what you know, at the time. Then have faith that it will work out.
Cragg says no matter which way you go when making an important decision, there is a possibility that you may second-guess yourself. “If you are making big decisions, to stay in a job, or leave a relationship, for example, know that often whichever choice you go with, there could still be an element of scepticism,” she says. “Part of making a decision might also be creating a space to feel a little bit of doubt — a bit of acceptance about that.”
Mindful decision-making
If you are struggling with a decision you need to make, mindfulness can help to guide the way. Cragg says looking at it through a mindfulness lens can be beneficial. “It can help us if we have a tendency to ruminate about uncertainty and the future,” she notes.
To get into the zone if you are stuck on a decision, Cragg recommends the following: Anchor your feet to the ground and take some deep breaths. Make sure you aren’t breathing shallowly; you should feel your breath reaching down to your belly. Look around the room and find five things you can hear, touch, see and taste, moving through your senses. Notice where you are holding tension and try to release that by exaggerating the tension response, and gently releasing, squeeze and release. Take your time. Be present. Let your inner knowing lead the way.
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The upside of uncertainty
