31Jul 2019 by Matthew Benetti
3 Ways Dieting Could Be Slowing Your Metabolism

3 Ways Dieting Could Be Slowing Your Metabolism

Health
Having trouble losing weight?Unless you are a lucky minority, most people who have attempted weight-loss have faced the horrid weight-loss plateau. This refers to a stop in weight-loss for an extended length of time despite no change in observed behaviour (e.g. diet and physical activity). Anyone who has gone through this will understand how frustrating and discouraging it can be. Your personal trainer thinks you’re lying, your friends think that you have messed up your metabolism and you feel frustrated that the scale is not changing.Lucky science is able to provide some explanations that hopefully can help us make smarter decisions to handle this. This blog will investigate the big culprits for weight-loss plateaus. You Are Unknowingly Eating More Than What You Think This one isn't a way that dieting…
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24Jul 2019 by Aidan Muir
Why I’m Not a Non-Diet Dietitian: Part 2

Why I’m Not a Non-Diet Dietitian: Part 2

Health
A year and a half ago I wrote an article called “Why I’m not a Non-Diet Dietitian.” It’s not the most read post on the blog, but it is something that I’m proud of since I consider myself to be a poor writer and I believe that it is the only long-form piece of writing I have done that has had a major impact on a number of people. I had planned on writing more about the topic, but honestly, I haven’t had much more to say and the original article still sums up the majority of my thoughts even though I have been in the field for almost twice as long now. The title is 99% for clickbait. The whole point of discussing this is not to downplay HAES…
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09Jul 2019 by Nadia Mazari
Is Bone Broth Really a Cure-All?

Is Bone Broth Really a Cure-All?

Health
Is Bone Broth Really a Cure-All? Winter is well and truly upon us, and with it comes the barrage of comforting soup recipes, immune-boosting remedies and winter ‘fitspo’. Bone broth appears to tick all three of these boxes. What’s more, those on the bandwagon claim that it’s a cure-all for a multitude of common ailments such as poor gut health, joint pain and skin ageing. This article will therefore explore whether the hype around bone broth is based on science or science fiction. What is Bone Broth? Many of us are led to believe that we can use broth, stock and bone broth interchangeably. However, the preparation methods of each differ slightly and as such so does their nutritional value. Understandably, not knowing this makes it all too easy to…
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10May 2019 by Nadia Mazari
Fighting Fatigue

Fighting Fatigue

Health
Fatigue is a common ailment that most of us will experience at some point in our lives. In fact, it has been reported that each year, approximately 1.5 million Australians present to their doctors with fatigue. This isn’t surprising considering how busy, high-stress and emotionally demanding many of our lifestyles have become. Fatigue generally describes a feeling of unrelenting tiredness, lethargy and/or lack of motivation that lasts for several weeks. Daily, low-grade fatigue is a symptom of an underlying issue, condition or disease. It can be caused by a myriad of interacting physical, psychological or medical factors such as insufficient sleep, increased stress or catching the influenza virus. Fatigue can hence be remediated by addressing poor lifestyle habits or the underlying medical issue. In this article, we will explore some…
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27Apr 2019 by Matthew Benetti
Should you care about animal research in nutrition?

Should you care about animal research in nutrition?

Health
Understanding nutrition research is like trying to hit a pinata blind-folded- but with no pinata in the room. Even the savviest can fall in the trap of cherry picking unmeaningful studies to support a preconceived idea. Understanding a studies place among the hierarchy of evidence is an important skill to your nutrition toolkit. Despite not being a researcher myself, this blog will investigate the limitations and strengths of extrapolating nutrition research from animals to practical human recommendations. Animal Studies are Important for Research These types of studies are key to the development of nutrition research. Performing studies on humans require strict compliance with ethical parameters. This excludes many of the new or unsafe trials to cell-based and animal studies. These studies are not subject to the same level of ethical…
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04Apr 2019 by Nadia Mazari
Is Fresh Really Best?

Is Fresh Really Best?

Health
The profound power of social media in today’s world has presented us with strikingly different trends in health, wellness and consumerism. Freak-shakes, loaded fries and triple-decker burgers claim glory on the internet at the same time as clean-eating, Ayurvedic medicine and HIIT workouts. So although we’re encouraged to ‘go all out’ on our indulgences, we’re also often guilt-tripped into having to remediate it through healthy, natural and low-tox lifestyles. One such example of this remediation is the widespread notion that ‘fresh is always best’ when it comes to fruits and vegetables. According to this concept, we should steer clear of any processed forms of fruits and vegetables, and if we want optimal nutrition, we must buy local. Considering only 5% of Aussies over the age of 18 are consuming the…
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05Mar 2019 by Nadia Mazari
Could Your Dietary Choices Be Effecting Your Sleep

Could Your Dietary Choices Be Effecting Your Sleep

Health
The year is now in full swing, with most of us back into the daily grind of work, school, university and endless lists of commitments. With these demands comes inevitable stress and its domino effect into many other aspects of our lives. Our sleep is usually one of the first to suffer, so scientific wellness companies have capitalised on this. Dietary sleeping aids such as Moon Juice’s Dream Dust, The Goodnight Co’s Supplement Powder and The Beauty Chef’s Inner Beauty Powder are being increasingly marketed to us through social media platforms and health gurus. The biggest shocker is the new range of sleep-promoting ice-creams by Nightfood, which has just launched in the US so it’s only a matter of time until something similar reaches Australia. However, our consumption of certain…
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14Feb 2019 by Matthew Benetti
Trying to Eat Healthy? Why You’re Probably Undereating

Trying to Eat Healthy? Why You’re Probably Undereating

Health
It might be your aunt, maybe a friend, or even you. We all have someone in our life on some new healthy eating endeavour. It’s not long before the first social media post goes up. It usually features a plate without carbohydrates (because carbohydrates are the devil’s food), and heavily filled with some sort of salad and protein. To most people this seems great, I mean, they’re healthy foods? There is a common misconception by people who are trying to improve their diet that always eating less, and being restrictive, is good for your wellbeing and health. In some instances, this may be true, but for most, probably not. To understand this, we must define a healthy diet. The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating is a good place to start.…
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04Nov 2018 by Nadia Mazari
Are These Superfoods Really ‘Super’?

Are These Superfoods Really ‘Super’?

Health
The term ‘superfood’ is so frequently tossed around, exclaimed on food packaging and touted on social media influencers’ posts. Every couple of months, a new ‘ancient’ superfood is re-discovered. In our highly-connected society this often causes a domino effect; we see the latest superfood spreading through health-food stores, supermarkets, cafes and eventually to our pantries where they are allotted to the back-shelf until inspiration strikes or the newest superfood takes its place. So do we really need the latest superfood to have a super diet? What exactly are superfoods? Let’s begin with figuring out what superfoods are. Although no conclusive definition exists, superfoods are essentially wholefoods packed with high levels of antioxidants and minerals. The antioxidants and minerals are what gives superfoods their purported anti-ageing, anti-inflammatory and cancer-preventing powers. Some…
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18Aug 2018 by Nadia Mazari
The Low down on Personalised Nutrition

The Low down on Personalised Nutrition

Health
Personalised nutrition is a burgeoning niche within the trends of personalised medicine and scientific wellness. Promising highly individual solutions to dieting woes, longevity and a plethora of other health struggles, it’s no wonder that personalised nutrition has become both a buzzword and commercial enterprise. This has left many puzzled by its health claims, unable to sort fact from fiction. Perhaps most startling, however, are the sensationalist headlines spreading through social media platforms that discretionary foods such as chips could be healthier for you than salad. So let’s explore what personalised nutrition really does offer you and if such claims hold some truth. What is personalised nutrition? There is yet to be an agreed upon definition of personalised nutrition. The term is also often used interchangeably with nutrigenomics, nutrigenetics or nutritional…
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