The one question you need to ask yourself if you want to get healthy
As a Lifestyle Medicine Practitioner, my job is to help people understand the role that their food choices, activity and sleep patterns, habits of thought, and relationships with themselves and others play in sickness and health, and how to break the habits that are keeping them sick, tired and overweight and establish health-promoting habits instead.…
Blueberry Sweet Potato Pie
Ingredients: Crust 1.5 cups rolled oats1/3 cup raw almonds2 tbsp desiccated coconut1 cup pitted dates Filling 2 cups baked sweet potato flesh250 g fresh or frozen blueberries1/3 cup carob powder1/2 cup diced pitted dates1 tsp ground cinnamon1/2 tsp ground ginger1 tsp desiccated coconut Method: Crust Place all ingredients in a food processor or high powered…
Want a good night’s sleep? Change what you eat!
When was the last time you had a good night’s sleep, and woke up feeling fully restored and ready to take on the day with gusto? If it was last night, and most nights before that, congratulations. Pass this article on to someone who needs it! But if you’re one of the 40% of Australian…
Why you’re never too old to go plant-based
The Million Dollar Vegan campaign, the brainchild of 12 year old activist Genesis Butler, is urging the Pope to go vegan for Lent in return for a million dollar donation to a charity of his choice. The 40 day period of Lent is a time of self-examination and reflection for Christians, inspired by the 40…
Report from Newkind Festival
After coming down from the high of the inaugural Australasian Nutrition in Healthcare Conference, I headed off to Hobart for a very different type of gathering (although with complementary themes) – the third annual Newkind Festival. Newkind bills itself as a masterclass for change makers. Its themes of exploring and promoting human- and earth-friendly approaches…
Lime and Coconut Cheesecake
My daughter wanted a lime and coconut cake for her 14th birthday. None of the recipes that I googled sounded very promising, so I decided to adapt my Passionfruit Cheesecake recipe for the occasion. I could only get my hands on purple-fleshed sweet potato; if you can find white-fleshed, it will produce a more traditional…
Israeli Couscous, Sweet Potato and Broccoli Salad
If you’ve never tried Israeli couscous, you’re in for a treat. It’s a type of toasted pasta with a delightfully chewy texture, and is quick and easy to prepare. When combined with baked sweet potato, steamed broccoli and a piquant sauce, it makes a delicious main course salad. Warning – Israeli couscous is not suitable…
Report from the inaugural Australasian Nutrition in Healthcare Conference
The inaugural 2019 Australasian Nutrition in Healthcare Conference has officially wrapped up – and the unanimous judgment from all the conference delegates and speakers was that it was an unmitigated success! Four years ago, I was with Dr Heleen Roex-Haitjema at the International Plant-Based Nutrition Healthcare Conference in Los Angeles when she approached conference organisers…
Menopause, gut bugs and oestrogen – how nurturing the ‘garden in your gut’ can help prevent weight gain, diabetes and cancer
When I was in my early twenties, I became very close to my boyfriend’s Mum, who was going through menopause at the time. My own mother never talked much about her experience of ‘the change’, but Helen discussed her menopausal trials and tribulations quite openly with me. She found a willing listener, not just because…
How the Pill and HRT affect your gut… and your risk of autoimmune and inflammatory disease
With roughly one quarter of Australian women aged 18-49 using the oral contraceptive pill, and around 6% of postmenopausal women taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT), the question of how oral oestrogen drugs affect the gut and its microbiome, and consequently the risk of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, is a crucial one to answer. I’ve written…