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Author: Yakult

Update: Ian Thorpe Swimming Competition *POSTPONED*

As a result of the ongoing and uncertain nature of COVID-19, Yakult have made the decision to postpone the Ian Thorpe Competition. This postponement extends to both entrants and event date.

*Please be advised all competition entrants have been contacted regarding postponement and subsequent steps.  Please review our website for updated competition details, terms and conditions once a revised date has been confirmed.

Wishing you health and wellness,

Yakult Australia.

POSTPONED: Yakult Factory Tours

Following the recent escalation of COVID-19, Yakult Australia has made the considered decision to postpone all factory tours until further notice.

We wholeheartedly appreciate this news brings disappointment, particularly for those awaiting our factory refurbishment. However, during this time of uncertainty, protecting the health and well-being of our visitors, staff and the broader community is our utmost priority.

Yakult will continue to monitor advice released by Government and health services. We’re optimistic that this will pass in a timely manner, and we as a company have taken sensible precautionary measures to help protect community health and safety.

Yakult will continue to post updates on our website. We encourage you to monitor this resource and re-book online once tours resume. For any further enquiries please do not hesitate to contact us on 1800 640 023 or info@yakult.com.au.

Wishing you health and wellness at this time,

Yakult Australia

WIN A SWIMMING CLASS WITH IAN THORPE!

To mark Yakult’s partnership with five-time Olympic gold medalist Ian Thorpe, Yakult Australia are thrilled to announce the Ian Thorpe Swimming Class Competition! Open to participants aged 8-12 years from Victoria only, we want YOU to show us your Do You Yakult moment!

TO ENTER: 

​The competition opens from 00:01AM AEDT Wednesday 26th February, 2020 and closes at 23:59PM AEDT Sunday 15th March, 2020. 12 lucky winners will be selected Monday 16th March, 2020 and contacted within two business days of selection. Winners will be published on the competition website within two business days of selection.


EVENT INFORMATION:

When: Wednesday 1st April, 2020 (Victorian school holidays)
Time: 10:30 – 13:30pm
Where: Melbourne Sports Aquatic Centre
The details: Winners will be separated in two groups of six. Each group will have a 45 minute group swimming lesson with Ian Thorpe.

For further details please see this link. Full terms and conditions are available here.

Good luck to all our entrants! #Howdoyouyakult?

Back to school? Here are our lunch box tips!

The beginning of a new school year often presents mixed emotions for parents. Preparing your child for school can be a stressful time, with joy, excitement and trepidation common feelings. Packing a healthy, nutritious lunchbox can pose challenge (especially for those fussy eaters!). We’ve complied our top tips to help with lunch box stress!

  1. Use A Bento Lunch Box
    Bento style lunch boxes are an excellent way to display your child’s food. The various compartments keep food separate, reduce the need for packaging and is visually appealing. Try popcorn, berries, cheese, pretzels, guacamole, savoury muffins and dried fruit.
  2. Keep options diverse
    The same old lunch quickly becomes tedious. Keep your child’s lunch box varied and full of variety! We recommend rotating options weekly. Additionally, variety facilitates children’s exposure to a range of tastes, textures and flavours.
  3. Seek balance and avoid processed snacks
    Some processed, pre-packaged convenience foods contain excess sodium, sugar and fat to enhance taste. Look out for healthier options high in fruit and vegetable content or wholefood sources (e.g. wholegrains).
  4. Use an insulated bag and ice bricks
    Ensure food is stored adequately – use an insulated lunch bag and include ice bricks to keep food cool.

We hope our back to school tips will assist you with lunch box preparation and optimising your child’s nutrition!

Image courtesy of @melb.mum – Instagram.

 

Statement re: Coronavirus

We have become aware of a number of rumours circulating on social media regarding Yakult and the Coronavirus.

Yakult products are ensured to be safe and of high quality.

Yakult Australia would like to make it clear that Yakult is made in Dandenong, Victoria using only Australian ingredients.

Any statements or comments saying otherwise are incorrect.

Gold Medallist Ian Thorpe: The new face of Yakult Australia

Five-time Olympic Gold Medalist, Ian Thorpe AM has joined global leader in probiotics, Yakult as its new Brand Ambassador.

The three year-partnership will see Thorpe promoting Yakult and the positive contribution of the Lactobacillus casei.

Shirota strain found exclusively in Yakult products to intestinal microbiota. The partnership will also demonstrate Yakult’s ongoing commitment to science and continued work investigating the use of bacteria in food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical products, which is at the core of the Yakult company.

Thorpe will feature in a new integrated campaign across TV and online channels, rolling out in January 2020 and the partnership will extend across multiple phases all designed to help consumers understand the role of probiotics in maintaining digestive health.

Mr. Kenji Ono, Managing Director of Yakult Australia “We are delighted to have a trusted name like Ian Thorpe represent Yakult Australia”.
Ian’s longstanding record of personal integrity and excellence in his chosen field fit very well with Yakult’s Corporate philosophy.

Thorpe said, “As an athlete, maintaining my health has always been really important. As a long-time customer of Yakult, even when I was competing, I have seen the benefits of the Shirota strain to my gut health, so I am honoured to have the opportunity to tell the company’s story.”

This media release has also been published by Mumbrella, Marketing Magazine, CMO Magazine, Campaign Brief, B&T.

A new way to drink Yakult: Saying goodbye to single use plastic straws

Have you noticed anything different about our Yakult 10-pack?

After careful consideration, Yakult Australia have made the decision to discontinue the inclusion of single use plastic straws in our 10-packs.

This change comes in response to growing feedback from our valued customers regarding the impact of plastics in the environment.

We understand some consumers may be disappointed by the change. However, we have thought carefully about the user friendliness. We have made changes to resize the tab on the foil cap, making them easier to open. On balance, it was felt that most people would be prepared to accept a small inconvenience for the greater good of our planet.

We also added a ‘straws removed’ statement on our packaging to ensure that members of the Public understood that the straws were not missing by mistake.

We hope that our valued customers will support this sincere initiative to minimise our impact on the environment.

 

Gut Health: New Year’s Resolutions Worth Sticking To.

With the New Year well and truly upon us, many will leap into the new decade with the same old cycle of repeating the same feared declarations of New Year’s Resolutions. We all have good intentions for real change, beginning strong and steady. However, this is short lived and majority of us begin to stray away from our new goals, with studies showing that up to 55% of Aussies will not even make it to February before throwing in the towel.

This year will be different. Gut health plays a major role in our overall health and wellbeing. Probiotics have beneficial effects on overall individual health and wellbeing. Probiotics can help you stay on track with your New Year health related goals this year. At Yakult we are here to help you overcome these obstacles with some quick and easy to follow simple resolutions targeted at gut health that you’ll be sure to stick to.

1. Increase your Probiotic Ingestion by taking Yakult Daily
Just one bottle of Yakult or Yakult Light a day will allow you to reap the benefits of 6.5 billion beneficial strains of the Lactobacillus Casei Shirota strain (LcS). This is important to maintaining balance, as these bacteria have benefits linked to health and wellbeing by aiding digestion and immunity, by suppressing harmful bacteria and encouraging the growth of beneficial bacteria.

2. Reduce Stress Levels on your body
Stress can have negative effects on the body, causing an imbalance in the gut bacteria. In addition to reducing the presence of beneficial bacteria, stress can also increase the number of harmful bacteria present in the body.

3. Incorporate more movement into your life
Many New Year’s Resolutions are centered around exhaustive exercise, consider a more sustainable change by simply integrating more movement into your life. This could include going for walks on breaks and taking the stairs instead of the lift. Furthermore, being active has also been linked to increasing bacterial diversity in the gut.

Sticking to New Year’s resolutions is not an easy task, let’s use this new decade to create meaningful and long-term changes in our lives. If you have any questions regarding Yakult, probiotics and evidence regarding this research area, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@yakult.com.au.

Can Probiotics Permanently Alter Your Gut Bacteria?

As probiotic interest continues to grow, so too does the confusion regarding the role of probiotics. This blog aims to address the misconception that probiotics permanently alter the composition of your gut bacteria and explains how probiotics can be of benefit, including tips for maintaining gut health.

A healthy gut composition is characterised by adequate numbers of beneficial bacteria and increased diversity of bacterial strains. The recent popularity of achieving ‘gut health’, through habits dedicated to improving gut composition, has likely led to the misconception that “probiotics permanently alter your gut bacteria”. The truth is quite the opposite.
Studies have shown that probiotics typically do not take up permanent residence in your gut. But this is not to say that they don’t have the potential to provide a health benefit… because they do!

Probiotics (and the substances they produce) can be of benefit on their journey through your gut by interacting with your immune cells, gut cells and food along the way. Research shows that regular use of a probiotic (i.e. regular exposure to adequate amounts of beneficial bacteria) can help to improve both immune function and digestive health. Many of us may therefore benefit from regular consumption of a probiotic to ensure continual exposure to good bacteria in our digestive system.

There’s a reason why “Every body. Every day” is Yakult’s motto!

You may be thinking: “How else can I ensure my gut is constantly exposed to beneficial bacteria?”. The adoption of healthy lifestyle factors can also help to improve and maintain a healthy gut. Eating plenty of fibre from a variety of food sources (e.g. fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes and wholegrains) will ensure you are feeding a wide variety of beneficial bacteria naturally present in your digestive system. This will support the survival of beneficial bacteria in your gut, encouraging a healthy gut composition in the longer term. Adequate sleep and regular physical activity are also vital as these lifestyle factors can assist to improve gut composition.

Although the pursuit of healthy living should be of upmost priority, today’s busy lifestyles can often lead to unhealthy habits such as poor diet, stress and fatigue which can all impact our gut health. Including a probiotic, such as Yakult, to your daily routine may help to restore digestive balance by providing your gut with consistent exposure to beneficial bacteria every day.