You may have heard about ultra-processed foods in the media recently but what exactly is it and is the bad publicity justified? The term ultra-processed food was coined by nutritional scientists who needed to classify foods in order to study the effect processing by food manufacturers may have on our health. They came up with the Nova classification system which separates food into four groups depending on how much the food is changed in the manufacturing process from basic foods1. In the Nova classification Group 1 food are unprocessed or minimally processed (e.g. fruit, oats, eggs), group 2 ..read more

Simple answer: probably not! Here’s why… Why you shouldn’t count calories: 1️⃣ Calorie counting helps some people at the beginning of a weight loss journey - but only to get an idea of the effect of large portion sizes and how different types of food compare. 2️⃣ For most people, it's not an effective way to lose weight long-term - read: past the first month or so.  Why not? Most calorie information just isn't that accurate - both because the methods used are outdated and because we don't extract every last calorie, especially from plant-based foods. Calories just aren't indicative of ..read more

My favourite part of changing career from teacher to nutritionist has been the learning. I LOVE a good fun fact (although my old flatmate often disputed my use of the word ‘fun’), and I’ve taken to reading something educational every morning for 10-20 minutes over coffee. It’s amazing how much you can learn in such a short time! It’s been great for my professional development, but also just feels good to feed my brain a little.   The latest morning read is ‘Gene Eating: The Story of Human Appetite’ by Giles Yeo. I’m a fan of the author already - he’s a brilliant geneticist who has a way o ..read more

I have a real issue with people saying you should ‘just eat less’ if you want to lose weight. As if people don’t know that, or as if it were that simple. If it were, there would be no such thing as calorie counters, no fad diets and no global obesity problem. If you’re lucky enough to never have felt like you always want food, or can’t stop eating the ‘wrong’ foods, then you’re more likely to believe that it’s just a lack of self discipline behind people putting on weight. You’re extremely likely to believe this if you’ve ever dieted, because the vast majority of diets are unsustainable, whic ..read more

Heard that eating carbs after 8pm will make you put on weight? Here’s a quick overview of whether you should eat carbs in the evening. Yes, go for it! Calories are the same regardless of the time of day. Restricting carbs = restricting fibre, which is bad for gut health (and general health). Why people say you shouldn’t: Eating more calories in the late evening has been linked with weight gain and obesity, possibly because people find it harder to regulate what they’re eating with a whole evening at home (you feel snacky and have fewer activities to break up eating. It might also be ..read more

What are anti-inflammatory diets? An anti-inflammatory diet is essentially a way of eating more than a strict, prescribed diet plan. Examples of anti-inflammatory diets include the Mediterranean diet and the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet, which both follow the same principles: Plenty of fruits, vegetables and whole grains; Foods that contain healthy fats (mono- and poly-unsaturated fats), such as oily fish, nuts, olive and rapeseed oil; Limited foods that are highly processed and high in saturated fat, salt and/ or sugar; Limited alcohol. What is inflamm ..read more

What is the paleo diet? The idea is that you go back to what humans would have eaten during the Paleolithic period - 12,000 - 2.6 million years ago, which is why it's also called the caveman diet. That means eating whole foods like nuts, seeds, fruit, non-starchy veg, wild game/ meat and eggs, and not really eating anything else. The incorrect theory behind it is that our bodies cannot handle food that has been farmed or processed in any way. Some variations now include certain grains - so it depends on the exact one you’re following. The benefits of the paleo diet You're very ..read more

What is the alkaline diet? The alkaline diet - also known as the alkaline ash diet or alkaline acid diet - is an eating plan that emphasizes fresh vegetables and fruits with the aim of maintaining an optimal pH level in the body. It's based on the (unfounded) premise that the food we eat alters the body's pH to be either acidic or alkaline. The idea is that some foods, like meat, wheat, refined sugar, and processed foods, cause your body to produce acid, or 'ash', which is 'bad' for you. The benefits of the alkaline diet I'm reluctant to write 'pros' or 'benefits', simply because ..read more

What is Weight Watchers (WW)? Weight Watchers is technically 'WW' now (because that's easier to say), but most people still call it Weight Watchers. It's a 'simplified calorie-counting system' - tracking food (calories in) and exercise (calories out) but with points instead. There are three different colour plans (green, blue or purple) based on how many daily points you're aiming for. Each plan also gives you a list of "ZeroPoints" foods that you don't need to keep track of. Similar to Slimming World, WW is often done as part of a group with digital options too. The benefits o ..read more

What is Slimming World? There's an eating plan based on 'free' foods that you can eat a lot of, 'Healthy Extras' for certain nutrients and fibre and foods that have different numbers of 'syns', which should be limited. Essentially, the idea is to fill up on nutritious foods, count the foods that are high in fat and or sugar and move more. Slimming World is most often done as part of a group, but there is a digital option too. The benefits of Slimming World The theory fits - eat more nutritious foods, fewer foods high in saturated fat or sugar and move more and you are likely to l ..read more