I wrote this review of a study a few years ago as part of an application. Then I thought I would publish it, but I… Read More »Surprisingly, The Intuitive Eating Scale-2 Isn’t Inclusive – Here’s Why.
Intuitive Eating isn’t just eating what you feel like when you feel like it, though some people think it is.
Many people question if it’s just another weight loss management programme too. With numerous apps like Noom and WW (Weight Watchers) promoting lifestyle change as a means to weight management, I can’t blame you for thinking this is just another of those movements!
To answer the question, we need to understand why weight is often targeted as a health marker to change over others.
Read More »Intuitive Eating – Just another weight loss diet for millennials?
Last year, in October, I observed Malnutrition Awareness Week (MAW) with other healthcare professionals in the USA, Canada, and the U.K. You may wonder why that’s important. Simply put, malnutrition can lower our quality of life and life expectancy.
On hearing the word, Malnutrition many of us will conjure up images of starving children in war-stricken countries. However, malnutrition is a global issue that affects more people than you may recognise.
Food provides our bodies with the energy and nutrients important for growth, repair and staying active. However, for many of us, access to affordable, nutrient-rich foods is a challenge. Nutrient-dense foods such as fish, fruit, vegetables, low-fat dairy, nuts and seeds can be unavailable, inconvenient or unsafe. Pockets of food insecurity exist even in the most developed countries, which we have seen throughout the pandemic.
Read More »Malnutrition, the double-edged sword that could be decreasing our quality of life
Today’s article is written by the lovely Lucy Jade who is a recently registered associate nutritionist. Lucy stands out to me as a nutrition champion because of her values and impactful nutrition science communication which busts dieting myths and addresses nutrition stereotypes.
Lucy graduated in September 2019 with a first class degree in Applied Food and Nutrition from University College Birmingham, and has interest in weight management, busting diet culture myths and helping to promote sustainable, evidence based strategies to improve health and wellbeing. She works for Healthy Lifestyles in Coventry as a weight management advisor helping those that have health issues such as a high cholesterol or pre-diabetes to improve their diet and lose weight to help them. AND she’s the founder of the Nutrition Graduate group (which you know I rave on about) that helps to support those that have graduated nutrition with careers, CPD, networking and other support.
You can find Lucy Jade on Instagram at @lucyjade_nutrition and Twitter as lucyj_nutrition. While the Nutrition Graduates group can be found on Facebook, Instagram and their new website!
January is the time of year where it seems like the whole world wants to go on a diet. December is such an indulgent month of Christmas chocolates, meals out and parties, meaning that we are more likely to be consuming more, therefore leading to some weight gain. But the media has made us believe that in January we all have to go on diets, detoxes and nutritional resets to ‘fix’ this. But we really don’t.
Read More »New year, new me? Dieting in January
Some time ago, the topic of detox diets came up for my #NutriChats. This is just one of those things I’ve never quite understood why people would want to do, but I also understand it’s also a part of some cultures. When I was a kid, my parents and grandmum would mention Epsom salts for when your poops were smelling a bit unsavoury, or they felt like you needed to be “cleaned out”. Granted, stool never smells like lemons, but I’m sure you know the particular stink of certain poos…that eggy, sulphur-smelling goodness. Look at how mature we’re being talking about stool on the internet🙃.
Nowadays detox diets/supplements/teas are a whole sophisticated and lucrative industry where diet culture perpetuates. Promising improved health, weight loss, reduced stomach bloating, improved circulation and liver function, beautiful skin… the works! All stemming from the removal of toxins from the body. But is it worth our time, money and effort?
I always found it confusing when people said stuff like, “oh I have to cut down on bread to lose weight”. From a scientific perspective, bread is not super-charged with anything to cause weight gain. It’s definitely not like the magic bean that Jack had. If anything, bread is one of the most affordable staple foods capable of providing energy and micronutrients that you may not otherwise be getting. So, why do people think it’s making us fat? What about other starchy foods and sweet carbs? Today, we’ll talk a bit about the role of carbohydrates in global diets and hopefully, you’ll be able to determine if it’s the cause of weight gain.
Carbohydrates are one of the macronutrient trio which supplies energy to the body. CHO, or Carbs are a diverse set of molecules which are derived from organic monomers (units) such as glucose, fructose and galactose. Plants are the most diverse sources of carbohydrates because they use carbon dioxide and water to create carbs for energy and structure. Carbohydrates can range from the simplest sweet sugars like those found in fruits, to long, branched chains which taste starchy, such as those in potatoes, ground provisions and starchy foods.
Read More »Should I avoid Carbs?
Thank you for continuing to follow this series on fats. I hope by this point, you have a better idea of the role of fats and know the differences among saturated, unsaturated, trans fats and essential polyunsaturated fats. Now as we don’t consider just nutrients when eating food, let’s talk about some practical ways to incorporate more healthy fats into our diets. I’ve tried to put together as many useful ways as I know, but if you have your own swaps and suggestions, feel free to sound off in the comments.
Consuming oily fish such as salmon, sardines, mackerel and pilchards are a great way to incorporate more EFAs into your diet. There are UK guidelines for the consumption of oily fish along with other fish and shellfish because there is a concern about mercury poisoning. They recommend two 140g portions of fish including 1 oily fish.
As I am not particularly a fan of eating fish (unless I have cooked it), I aim to get my omega 3 through supplements or vegetarian sources. There is some controversy on the usefulness of fish oil supplements as compared to eating fish, but if you do consider taking them, you should consult your medical doctor for the best advice.
