Diet
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How to make poke-style bowls
Poke-style bowls can be a delicious and healthy meal option. You can save some money by learning how to make poke-style bowls. While not 100% authentic, poke-style bowls have become widely popular worldwide. They can be a healthy option depending on the ingredients, usually containing plenty of vegetables and fish. However, they can be quite expensive and are not always customisable. What are poke bowls? Hawaiian Airlines tells us that poke bowls are basically a serve of poke on rice to transform it “from a snack into a meal”. Poke originated as “freshly caught fish massaged with sea salt, seaweed and crushed inamona or kukui nuts”. Influences from other cuisines…
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How to add variety to your diet?
Variety is the spice of life. Not only that, but adding variety to your diet ensures you get access to a greater number of nutrients. What is variety? Variety is defined as:“1: the quality or state of having different forms or types : MULTIFARIOUSNESS2: a number or collection of different things especially of a particular class : ASSORTMENT3a: something differing from others of the same general kind : SORTb: any of various groups of plants or animals ranking below a species : SUBSPECIES” (1) Why variety to your diet? There are multiple reasons why you could or should add variety to your diet, including: To keep things interesting To get…
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What affects satiety?
Satiation and satiety are complex processes that determine how much we eat. Understanding what affects satiety can help us ensure we are eating the amount of food that matches our needs. Satiety vs satiation Satiation and satiety are terms that are often used interchangeably. While both processes/mechanisms relate to eating and fullness, they actually happen at different times (1, 2). “Satiation was defined as a set of complex processes that progressively inhibit the motivation to eat during an eating event” (3). Satiation develops while we eat and causes us to stop eating (1, 2). “Satiety is the inhibitory mechanism that takes place after the end of an eating episode and…
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Nutrient requirements for mothers
Happy Mother’s Day! Becoming a mother is hard work from the second the baby is conceived. Therefore, nutrient requirements for mothers typically increase when compared with females in the same age group. It makes intuitive sense that pregnant and breastfeeding women need to eat more. However, just eating more is not enough. Moreover, some women might not be able to tolerate extra food (e.g. due to morning sickness when pregnant) or not have the opportunity to prepare meals (e.g. when breastfeeding). Thus, it is important to choose nutrient-dense food sources, such as vegetables, fruits, legumes, fish, lean meats, eggs, dairy, nuts and seeds. Nutrient requirements for mothers To answer the…
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Should you eat your traditional diet?
Should you eat your traditional diet? By traditional diet, we are referring to what your ancestors ate. While this makes common sense, there are a few arguments against to consider. Pros Your gut microbiome is likely to thrive when provided the foods it expects based on your genetics. A healthy gut microbiome is key on overall health. Your metabolic pathways are likely to respond better to your traditional foods, for example you might have a better glycaemic response eating carbohydrate-containing foods that are staples in your region of origin. If you grew up eating traditional foods, your palate is already adapted to those flavours. If you live in the country…
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An introduction to resistant starch
Resistant starch is one of the most recently "discovered" types of dietary fibre. It continues gaining scientific attention due to the fact that certain species of gut bacteria feed on resistant starch to produce short-chain fatty acids, which are beneficial to health.
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How does alcohol affect exercise?
Within the realm of sports, alcohol has been viewed as a performance-enhancing drug, a rehydration beverage, a social lubricant and a post-event treat. Although it is generally understood that excess alcohol intake can be detrimental to health, the answer to “how does alcohol affect exercise?” is less clear. Alcohol consumption is a socially acceptable and expected aspect of team and other sports, and major alcoholic beverage brands often sponsor sports teams and events. Therefore, instead of pretending we can remove alcohol from athlete’s diets, it is more useful to identify which aspects of exercise can be affected by its intake. How does alcohol affect exercise? Energy balance Alcohol is a…
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Book review: Gutfull by Dr Joanna McMillan
Gutfull by Dr Joanna McMillan is an audiobook with a wealth of information about how to keep a healthy gut in an easy to understand format. The author Dr Joanna McMillan is a nutritionist and dietitian born in Scotland. She is very well known in the Australian dietetics community and the general population as she is very busy with professional webinars, TV shows, etc. She is an author, nutrition consultant and ambassador for many food, nutrition and health organisations and food businesses. Gutfull by Dr Joanna McMillan This audiobook is structured in podcast format, i.e. divided in episodes rather than chapters. The episodes are short and, as mentioned before, in…
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How to eat healthy when travelling
Travelling can be challenging for maintaining healthy habits. Whether you are relocating or visiting a new location, it is always handy to know how to eat healthy when travelling. Before travelling Before heading to your destination, do a little research. If you know someone who lives or has been to where you’re headed, ask for recommendations. Otherwise, search on the internet for highly-rated restaurants, markets, grocers and supermarkets. If you don’t speak the language, make sure you install Google Translate in your phone to translate menus, food labels, etc. At your destination Check out what kitchen facilities are available at your accommodation. This includes refrigeration, cooking facilities, small appliances and…
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22 habits for 2022
If you like to take the new year as an opportunity to get serious about your health but don’t know where to start, here are 22 habits for 2022. Resolutions vs habits Resolutions work for some people but chances are most people who make new year’s resolutions don’t keep them. This can be because most resolutions are unattainable, too vague or focus on the result instead of the process. Habits are behaviours that are repeated consistently. They take time to establish, but once up and running they don’t require much effort to keep going. 22 habits for 2022 Below is a list of suggested habits you can implement in your…
