Kulturing Kuriosity Podcast

Hi I’m Kirsty and welcome to our first episode of the Kulturing Kuriosity Podcast! Before you push play, here’s a little about me. I’m the founder of Kultured Wellness, a company whose mission is to inspire and educate people to take control of their health by eating real and fermented foods that nourishes the brain and the gut. I am the brainchild behind the Kultured Wellness Culture Starters and functional supplements, the Kultured Wellness Optimal Gut Healing Programs and the proud co-author of GUTALICIOUS. I have been fortunate to have appeared on numerous leading health and wellness podcasts and I love being able to break down complex concepts into easy to understand information. My qualifications and experience in education, teaching and research spans over 15 years and continues to drive my purpose of empowering our community to gain knowledge and understanding to become well and thrive.  I am also a HUGE nature lover, a mother, wife and a fervent advocate for children on the spectrum.  And finally I am super curious! I hope you enjoy the podcast series, all about getting curious and inspiring you in your life and wellness journey. 

This week I am joined by the fearless Cyndi O’Meara who tells us about a time when she was in her 50’s and what she discovered about the ketogenic diet. What Cyndi shares comes from such an interesting angle, discussing the ancestral origins and benefits of the Ketogenic diet and how we would do well to keep these origins in mind when applying the diet in our current age. We discuss her quest for knowledge and how she seeks out and then consolidates the information to quench that thirst for knowledge. We discuss the idea of ketones being the fourth macronutrient and the controversial topic of xygenous ketones. Later we discuss the importance of staying curious and cultivating this in our children.  

In this episode I am joined by Alexx Stuart, founder of Low Tox Life. Alex and I have a wonderful conversation all about the areas in her health that she’s been curious about. We discuss how tonsillitis plagued her until she had a wonderful consult with a naturopath who really changed the course of how she investigated her health, the questions that she asked and taught her the importance of forming a great partnership with a practitioner. She also went on to talk about how she was told at the age of 28 that she was in early menopause and that there wasn’t much she could do about it! She also talks about the masses of information she had to gather and the team she had to have around her to work out what was going on with her severe health decline which in the end was an inflammatory response to mould which was really just providing this cascade of issues she had to address. She talks about some of the blessings that happened for her while learning about mould.  I also ask Alexx about where to from here, what is she curious about now and she discusses her new book, what she is learning about climate change and what we should be doing for our own bodies and health.

This is definitely not one to miss. In today’s episode I talk with one of our own team, health coach, Alicia Berry. Alicia became curious when, suffering with some serious health concerns, she wondered if her breast implants were the root cause of her problems.  Alicia discusses her journey to getting her implants removed, the impact this had on her health, the hidden blessings and how her experience has gone on to help others. A truly touching story. 

Today’s guest is Brad Leech, a Clinical Nutritionist, Ayurvedic Herbalist and PhD Candidate at the Australian Research Centre in Complementary and Integrative Medicine. Brad is a current Lecturer and Clinic Supervisor in Nutritional and Dietetic Medicine at the Endeavour College of Natural Health while also holding the position of Subject Coordinator (Nutrition and Healthy Eating) at the University of Technology Sydney. His major clinical focus is finding and treating the underlying cause of any autoimmune disease using a functional and holistic approach. With a passion for food as medicine, Brad utilises diet, nutrition and herbal medicine to manage chronic disease. Brad is an international presenter and published peer-reviewed author. He presents at health conferences, wellness events, on Youtube, Podcasts and has also been featured in the health documentary – No Reason For Disease. Brad has assisted local and international clients presenting with a diverse range of autoimmune diseases to improve their health and well-being. His philosophy includes correcting the four major contributing factors to autoimmune disease development and progression: inflammation, increased intestinal permeability (leaky gut), dysbiosis and immune dysregulation.

Steph Lowe is a sports nutritionist, yogi and founder of The Natural Nutritionist, a hub for celebrating the importance of real food, and author of Low Fat Healthy Fat Nutrition. With a passion for spreading a positive message about real food and the incredible effect it has on performance, Steph launched The Natural Nutritionist in 2011 and is on a mission to inspire others to make health a priority in their lives.  Along with running the Natural Nutritionist, Steph hosts the podcast, The Real Food Reel, the resident nutritionist for Melrose Health and has an online 12 week online programme, LCHF Endurance. 

In this episode, I’m fortunate to be chatting with straight talking environmental health expert and entrepreneur, Jason Bawden-Smith.  Hear how as a teenager Jason’s curiosity was sparked by swimming in Sydney’s polluted waters, leading him down a path of studying water quality and on to becoming a consultant on childhood lead poisoning. Jason shares that a significant health crisis led him to overhaul his lifestyle, and focus on circadian rhythms and improve his mitochondrial health. Hear his vital advice, sourced from world experts around light, both good and bad as well as EMF’s and its effect on mitochondrial health.

Kim Morrison is a 5 times best-selling author, creative director of Twenty8 Essentials, aromatherapist, health and lifestyle educator, speaker and a multi-tasking mum and wife. Kim is someone who shares her passion for health, using essential oils for wellness and knows it is the small daily rituals of self-care that accumulate into the powerful art of self-love. Kim wholeheartedly believes that life’s all about visualising your dream and going for it – regardless of the feedback you receive or the challenges you face. With her own experience of this Kim set a world record as the youngest female to run 100 miles in less than 24 hours in 1989. 68 year old world record holder Cliff Young was her mentor at the time and to this day lives by his ethos that success is 90% mental and 10% physical. She has used her running story as a direct metaphor for life – riding the highs, hitting the walls, pushing through the pain barriers, crossing the line and never, ever giving up! 

One of our very own practitioners at Kultured Wellness, Ellen Tattam is a qualified Naturopath, Nutritionist and Herbalist who has completed a Bachelor of Health Science (Naturopathy) with years of clinical experience and is highly passionate about all things health and wellness. Ellen knew from a very young age that she wanted to help people and is now completely invested in supporting her clients through all stages of life by helping them to achieve optimal health and vitality. Ellen has an extensive understanding of biochemical processes in many conditions throughout the body and how to ensure optimal functioning through natural medicine. Using pathology and functional testing along with evidence based research and treatment methods is highly important to her.  Ellen’s mission is to empower, educate and help women learn about their beautiful bodies and experience how good they are designed to feel.  

Cathy Fitzgerald lives on a 50 acre property in a tiny home with her partner, Carlos and their chihuahua, Lupita. Cathy has an extensive background in nursing and still works as a midwife and Child Health nurse in the community, but her real passion is her property and the life she has created. She has chosen to live a little bit differently, embracing small space living and keeping life as simple as possible. She has created the secret cabin society, a platform to give others the opportunity to experience how she lives and she hopes that through this experience others will have the inspiration and confidence to make positive changes in their lives that is better for their health, their relationships and the environment. 

Today on the podcast, we have a fascinating guest, Rowena Field, who is both a physiotherapist specialising in chronic pain and a PhD candidate researching chronic pain and nutrition. During our chat we delve into how Rowena’s own experience with chronic back pain led her to turn her understanding of chronic pain management on its head and in the process solve her own chronic pain problem. And here’s the really exciting part where Rowena shares with us her PhD research into using the ketogenic diet as an intervention for chronic pain management. You’ll hear how the ketogenic diet can create the perfect kickstart to overall wellness and in the process  help to reduce pain and improve quality of life. 

Welcome to episode 12 where I speak to Rohan Smith an extremely experienced and knowledgeable Naturopath who runs a clinical practice specialising in supporting patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.  Rohan’s own health journey saw him battle with unhealthy addictions and chronic fatigue syndrome which led him to study nutritional and functional medicine. During his education he learnt the ins and outs of genetics, mitochondrial function, detoxification, and all of the pretty pathway diagrams in between. But through his journey he realised that the body cannot heal without also healing the mind and so he came full circle back to the importance of mind-based medicine: meditation, breathwork, psychotherapy, and the healing power of nature.  Keep a pen handy as Rohan discusses how he supports his clients with chronic fatigue and provides some great apps and tips to support yourself in moving forward into full wellness. 

Welcome to the podcast and what a treat I have for you today. I’m interviewing Maria Harpas, a clinical Nutritionist and Naturopath. Maria is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to plant based diets and understanding the nutrients that are needed for following a vegan diet. Maria has acquired a vast amount of knowledge through her own food journey, research and education which has led her to become quite the expert in this area. We unpack the benefits and limitations of a vegan diet and the most common markers that she sees in clinic to help her patients optimise their health. Make sure you listen out for Maria’s top 3 tips for following a vegan diet too.

Joanne Howarth is a social entrepreneur, Founder and CEO of the insulated, environmentally friendly packaging company, Planet Protector Packaging, a company leading the way in sustainable alternative solutions to harmful plastic transportation packaging, by using sheep's wool. After studying at the University of Sydney & the University of Technology Sydney, Joanne discovered that it is not the amount of money earnt in a career, but the difference that career makes to the lives of others, to communities and to the planet. After working in distribution for Australia's largest meal-kit company, BOXED2GO, Joanne was stunned by the huge volume of wasteful, non-biodegradable Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) packaging that was and still is destroying the planet and has been the go-to for over 60 years in the industry. With the need for a sustainable alternative, Joanne founded Planet Protector Packaging in 2015. Understanding consumer concerns about packaging sustainability, Joanne established a way to provide businesses that require insulated packaging to transport perishables or delicate items with an environmentally-friendly alternative to EPS, made from sheep's waste wool. Joanne's determination and leadership has won the company multiple awards both domestically and abroad, including Joanne's 2020 achievement of being named laureate at Cartier's Women's Initiative, a prestigious global honour. Joanne's pursuit to drive positive change in the world, and her passion for raising awareness for the community through public speaking events and education beyond her role at Planet Protector Packaging, led her to become a Community Ambassador for Dementia Australia and an Ambassador for Melanoma Institute Australia.

You definitely don’t want to be listening to this one at night behind a screen! Today I’m interviewing Dr. Michele Lastella, a career researcher at CQUniversity’s Appleton Institute for Behavioural Science in Adelaide.  Dr. Lastella’s expertise is vast but today we are focusing our chat on sleep. Highlights include screen use and its effect on sleep onset and quality, teenage sleep, organ circadian rhythm and discovering your personal sleep chronotype. And then the all important question of whether to nap or not, stay tuned for all the essentials on that as well as the interesting concept of a napacinno. Sleep Chronotype Questionnaire: https://tinyurl.com/y9p2hurz 

In this episode I am joined by the incredible Shelley McKenzie, Nutritionist, soon to be Naturopath, and proud Mama. Shelley specialises in female hormone health, and is very passionate about fertility, pregnancy and beyond. Join me as we chat about Shelley’s health journey, and all that she has overcome, as well as preconception health, pregnancy and that sacred postpartum period.  To learn more and connect with Shelley: https://www.freedomwellness.com.au/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/freedomwellness1/ instagram : https://www.instagram.com/freedomwellness/?hl=en Freedom Wellness podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/freedom-wellness-podcast/id1468232464

In this episode I’m joined by Dr. Brett Hill. Brett is a chiropractor and today we talk all about how to flex that resilience muscle - how to build it, how to build resilience in kids, what skills you need and what areas of life you may need to build resilience in. Listen as Brett reflects on his own personal crisis that taught him these incredible steps and tools to be resilient for life. I know you’re going to love this one, which is so relevant right now in 2020.

In this episode I am talking with Rachel Favilla. We begin discussing Rachel’s history of being diagnosed with Autoimmune hepatitis at age 14, which led on to a diagnosis and treatment of Anorexia. Rachel eventually found the healing power of real food and is now a nutritionist and educator with a beautiful simple philosophy around eating real food that serves your body and makes you feel good.

Ever wanted to grow your own vegies? Well this is the episode for you. Today I chat with Matt Harris, founder of Vegepod, a company whose mission is to make growing veges foolproof. We cover topics such as soil health and quality and food miles. No matter what the size of your outdoor space I hope this inspires you to get growing. Learn more about Vegepod here!

For all the gut science nerds out there like me you are just going to love this episode. Today I interview Dr Alena Pribyl who is the senior scientist and research officer at Microba, the very lab we use at Kultured Wellness to analyse our clients’ gut microbiome. Listen in as we discuss the cutting edge science around sequencing and latest insights into the gut microbiome as it relates to mental health, cancer and more.