07Apr 2018 by Natalie Thompson
Things Your Grandmother Would Say About Nutrition That Are Actually Right

Things Your Grandmother Would Say About Nutrition That Are Actually Right

Health
I was inspired to write about this topic because I love grandparents. I love my grandparents - I am lucky to be surrounded by 5 grandparents, 4 who are nearing 90 and one who is 90! Good genes or good nutrition? Aren’t grandmothers (and grandfathers!!) full of wisdom?! I often find myself reflecting on how I don’t have many opportunities to soak up their wisdom with how busy life is and living interstate. I enjoyed interviewing my grandmothers and hearing additional stories from grandmothers about their thoughts on food, eating and nutrition growing up. I even learnt a few things along the way. Interestingly, the wisdom shared by these grandmothers form some of the foundational pieces of my nutrition philosophy from which I live and help my clients by. What…
Read More
06Apr 2018 by Victoria Lekkas
The New Nordic Diet – Could Scandinavian be the New Mediterranean?

The New Nordic Diet – Could Scandinavian be the New Mediterranean?

Health
Scandinavia – the land of incredible healthcare systems, more paid holiday days than anywhere else in the world and subsidised tertiary education, amongst many other qualities. With all these amazing assets, who wouldn’t be inspired by the Scandinavian lifestyle? They must be doing something right, considering recent studies have shown that the Nordic countries are home to some of the happiest people in the world. With recent hype around diets such as the Mediterranean diet and veganism, the Nordic countries have had one of their greatest and most beautiful secrets practically pushed to the side and concealed from the global media spotlight: the Nordic diet. What is the Nordic diet? As the name suggests, the Nordic diet features foods that are native, traditional and easily sourced in Denmark, Sweden, Norway,…
Read More
05Apr 2018 by Renae Earle
Salty Snags

Salty Snags

Health
Why so Salty? The humble snag copped a lot of flak recently, with health experts slamming the Aussie icon. A Bunning’s sausage on bread with tomato sauce is quintessentially Australian, and probably the closest thing to a national dish we have. It’s no wonder that people were outraged by experts calling to curb our intake. Few understand the evidence behind this recommendation, so let’s look a little deeper before turning our back on the backyard BBQ delicacy. Don’t? Chuck Another Snag on the Barbie? All this saltiness began with research conducted by the George Institute which investigates the sodium content of the humble sausage. It even goes as far as to name and shame some of the saltiest snags out there with Coles thin pork sausages ranking number 1. It…
Read More
24Mar 2018 by Aidan Muir
Are Low-Carb Diets Underutilised for Type 2 Diabetes?

Are Low-Carb Diets Underutilised for Type 2 Diabetes?

Health
As a dietitian I have held back on talking publicly about a lot of things I strongly believe in. Deep down, I think this is based on being concerned with how other dietitians view me. I know that I am not alone in this and a lot of dietitians feel this way as well. My recent article on why I’m not a non-diet dietitian made that point clear to me. The inflow of private messages I got from people sharing their stories and why they weren’t speaking up on the topic was incredible. This is exactly why I am writing about low-carb diets for Type 2 Diabetes (referred to as diabetes for the rest of the post). It’s another topic that I personally have avoided to speaking up about. Maybe…
Read More
19Mar 2018 by Renae Earle
How to Travel on a Diet

How to Travel on a Diet

Health
Everyone loves travel. Not everyone loves the weight gain that can accompany. If you want to avoid coming home with an unplanned 5kg souvenir, read on! Local Foods For me, one of the most exciting parts of travel is eating out every day. I love to sample local foods and trying a variety of foods is part of immersing yourself in the culture. Often, local foods are unfamiliar to us (which is part of the fun). Less fun, is having no idea exactly what you are eating, or its approximate energy and nutritional content. The best way to combat the unknown, is to get educated! Do your research. Quickly googling ‘local foods of…’ can be invaluable in gaining an understanding for what you are up against. You can therefore pick…
Read More
16Mar 2018 by Lauri Teperson
Fibre and all its magic powers

Fibre and all its magic powers

Health
  What is Fibre? This term fibre is thrown around in the media, in health blogs, magazines and celebrity diets but what actually is it? I’m so glad you asked… Fibre is the edible portion of any plant-based food. Even though fibre is classified as a nutrient, it resists digestion and absorption in the small intestine, and it ferments either partially or completely in the large intestine. Fibre has a unique role in the maintenance of overall gut health and it also is responsible for other sneaky tricks which many are unaware of. Fibre is protective against colon cancer, high cholesterol, coronary heart disease, type two diabetes, obesity and diverticular disease. Let’s explore fibre’s activities in the body and how it is able to be protective against so many conditions.…
Read More
06Mar 2018 by Renae Earle
Stressed Out!

Stressed Out!

Health
I’ve got a confession to make. I’ve been feeling pretty stressed out lately. I’ve come off the back of a 3-month summer break (complete with relaxing beach holiday) and now I’m back into the daily grind of university, work and exercise. If you’re human, you’ve probably felt stress before. In fact, you might be feeling stressed right now. When am I going to get the groceries done? How am I ever going to meet that deadline? When will I get a chance to see Black Panther?! No matter how trivial the source of your stress is, it has serious effects on the body. In fact, stress related illnesses are becoming increasingly prevalent in our society. What are they? How do we deal with them? And who is most at risk?…
Read More
02Mar 2018 by Lauri Teperson
Are High Protein Diets Useful for Weight Loss?

Are High Protein Diets Useful for Weight Loss?

Health
(I would like to credit information in this week’s blog post to Professor Manohar Garg of the University of Newcastle) There is much debate around this hot topic and justifiably so. To the common person with little nutritional knowledge, carbs and fats are what make you put on weight right? Protein takes longer to break down and keeps you fuller for longer and therefore it must be the answer. Unfortunately, it is not that simple. Before we delve into this discussion lets take a few steps backwards and define the key components. What are Proteins Amino acids are the building blocks of protein and are made up of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and sulphur. Percentage wise, 43% of our body’s protein is in our muscle, 15% in our skin and…
Read More
16Feb 2018 by Lauri Teperson
Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load: The Interplay Between the Two

Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load: The Interplay Between the Two

Health
Glucose, commonly known as blood sugar is a monosaccharide, which means it is chemically the simplest form of sugar. Other monosaccharides include fructose and galactose. We then have disaccharides including lactose, which are two sugar molecules, and polysaccharides which are three or more sugar molecules. Both of which break down into monosaccharides during metabolism. When we eat food, it goes down into our stomach, where many digestive enzymes start to break it down. After a while, the partially broken-down food travels to the small intestine where it is further broken down. One of the molecules carbohydrates are broken down into is glucose. From the small intestine, glucose is absorbed into the bloodstream. As glucose is absorbed into the blood stream, blood glucose levels rise. The glycemic response refers to how…
Read More
09Feb 2018 by alice bleathman
Nature’s Hitchhiker

Nature’s Hitchhiker

Health
You could call them passive freeloaders; hitchhikers even. Roaming the avenues of our gut, residing in the dark alleyways of our intestine, and fuelling off the crumbs left by fellow tourists. And, just like hitchhikers, these little guys get it all for free. ZILTCH. NADA. A big fat ZERO. But, unlike hitchhikers, these little fellas don’t just come along for the ride; they give more than they take. In fact, without them we as a human race would be virtually non-existent. ZILTCH. NADA. A big fat ZERO. Although their names extend far beyond the complexity of a German freeloader or a Swedish couch surfer, the microbes within the microbiome live in a land far beyond what any hitchhiker has the time (or the bodily dimensions) to explore. Yep. The microbiome…
Read More