Kombucha can help you feel like an Olympic medal winner inside

We chat to Team GB Olympic Gold medalist, Hannah Scott, and Ollie Wynne-Griffith, who won Silver in Paris, about why they like to include kombucha in their diet.

Have you been inspired by the awesome commitment and resilience of the athletes at the Olympic Games? Have you ever wondered how gut health and nutrition play a role in the training of elite athletes?

We’re proud to supply kombucha to Team GB Olympic Rowers Hannah Scott and Ollie Wynne-Griffith and it’s great to know that the Gold and Silver medal-winning duo relied on our booch right the way through training.

Here at Equinox Organic we’ve always believed in the power of kombucha to help you feel your best. For most of us our diet is something we think about with general health and wellbeing in mind, but for elite athletes it’s a crucial part of their training and preparation

Before they headed to Paris we spoke to Hannah and Ollie to find out about their training and why they include our organic kombucha in their daily diet.

EK – What does a typical day’s diet look like for you during training?

OWG – We consume between 5,000 and 6,000 calories per day when we’re training, which means we have 5 meals per day. It’s a real challenge to get enough fuel to support our training regime of three two-hour sessions each day. We have a team nutritionist who works closely with the chef who prepares breakfast and lunch for us – we also have a first breakfast at home before training and an evening meal and snacks that we prepare for ourselves.

EK – How do live cultures feature in your nutrition?

HS – Our nutritionist is a strong advocate of including probiotics and live cultures in our diet and she helps us to balance the need to consume so many calories with the nutritional make up and diversity of our food and drink. The importance of probiotics and live cultures has become a real focus for our sport in the past two or three years because we know that the cumulative effect of all the small positive things we do makes a big difference to our results.

EK – What benefit do you experience from drinking kombucha and including other gut-friendly foods in your diet?

HS – For me the benefits of drinking kombucha are really tangible. When I first started training at this level, I struggled to take on enough calories – it was just physically uncomfortable and took a toll on my digestion. Drinking kombucha and eating plenty of fibre have really helped me to have an efficient and healthy digestive system.

OWG – We can’t afford to have time out from training. It’s so easy to pick up bugs when travelling and competing in close proximity with rowers from all over the world so it’s crucial to support our immune systems with live cultures and pro-biotics. I have used pro-biotic supplements in the past, but I much prefer the reassurance of getting them from a natural organic product.

HS – For both of us, our regular kombucha feels like a treat rather than a chore. It’s a great alternative to a fizzy sugary drink and we look forward to enjoying our kombucha.

EK – Do you think a happy gut gives you psychological benefits?

HS – I really notice the difference in my mood and resilience when my gut health is good. The gut-brain axis means that supporting your gut health is a wise move if you want to be able to cope well with stress and maintain focus.

OWG – Our training is all about the cumulative result of many marginal gains. It just makes sense that anything we can do to help stay fit, focussed and strong is a good idea – especially when it’s something we enjoy!

Of course, a daily kombucha boost isn’t just for rowing superstars, we can all benefit from improved digestion, better mood and strengthened immunity – even if the only medal we’re likely to win this summer is for the egg and spoon race at the school sports day.

There’s lots more information about Ollie and Hannah in their British Rowing profiles.