Health
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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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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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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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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…
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Product review: Naked Life non-alcoholic cocktails
Naked Life non-alcoholic cocktails are a good ready-to-drink alternative for when you choose to stay sober. Besides zero alcohol, they are also sugar-free. Naked Life non-alcoholic cocktails These alcohol-free drinks are manufactured by the Victorian company Naked Life, which also produces other lines of beverages. The non-alcoholic cocktails come in four-packs of cans, each containing 250mL. I have bought them at Woolworths and have seen them available at Dan Murphy’s and a few online retailers in both cans and bottles. I suspect the company is planning to expand their list of stockists, given the popularity of alcohol-free beverages. The cocktails come in a wide variety of flavours inspired by the…
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How to survive the holiday season
Welcome to the 2021 edition of the “How to survive the holiday season” guide! Hope the tips below help you stick to healthy habits during this hectic time of the year. Holiday season, 2021 edition 2020 was hard, 2021 has potentially been harder. Some of us thought we wouldn’t go through lockdown again but we were wrong. On top of the frustration of being “trapped” at home, we added the burnout of having been there before. Mental health suffered, healthy habits went off the window. The holiday season comes packed with family and other social commitments despite life not being “back to normal” yet. Under normal circumstances, being “naughty” for…
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5 common nutrition myths
There are many nutrition myths, some of them known as “vampire myths” because they refuse to die. In this article I’ll be breaking down 5 common nutrition myths that I hear on a regular basis from clients. #1: I can’t eat bananas because I’m a diabetic Bananas, like most fruits, have natural sugars. However, bananas are not the sweetest fruits around. A medium banana has 14.2 grams of sugar, less than a medium red delicious apple (21.3 grams), 1 cup of red grapes (27.7 grams) and a medium mango (37.9 grams). Does this mean you should not eat fruit if you have diabetes? Absolutely not! Fruits are packed with other…
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Product review: Formulite
Formulite is a new brand of meal replacement products designed for low energy (LED) and very low energy (VLED) diets. How does it compare to other brands in the market? Formulite Formulite meal replacement products include both shakes and lupin-based soups. You can use the products within the following programs based on your goals: Weight loss Rapid weight loss Pre-bariatric surgery If you have ever worked with me, you know I normally don’t recommend LED or VLED diets to patients with overweight or obesity concerns. However, Formulite is different. Their meal replacement products are high in protein, low in carbs and sugar, contain prebiotics and probiotics, do not have any…
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Intermittent fasting
Intermittent fasting is a dietary pattern that involves voluntary energy intake restriction. In this article we explore the different types of intermittent fasting, potential benefits and more. What is fasting? Fasting is not eating. It is common in normal life, for example: we don’t eat between bedtime and breakfast and prior to blood tests or some procedures (e.g. colonoscopy, surgery). What is not fasting? Technically, any form or food or drink intake breaks a fast. In practice, however, water and potentially some energy-free (i.e. non-caloric) beverages such as unsweetened black coffee do not seem to make an impact in fasting status. Below are some examples of what some people do…
