What is dietary fibre? Dietary fibre is made up of the indigestible parts of plants that pass relatively unchanged through our stomach and intestines.   Why should I include dietary fibre in my diet? Dietary fibre has many health benefits. These include assisting weight management, appetite control, cholesterol lowering, diabetes prevention and management and digestive system health.   What are the different types of fibre?   Type of Fibre Food Sources Health Benefits Soluble Legumes and lentils Oats and Barley Oat, barley and rice bran Psyllium husks Fruit and vegetab ..read more

It’s a Hot Topic! There is no denying that dairy is a hot topic! You either love it or hate it. Concerns range from gut-related symptoms to it being juice for baby cows to those simply avoiding it for fear of weight gain due to its naturally high fat and sugar content. Add to that the positive hype surrounding plant-based alternatives and it could be regarded as staggering that any human allows it to pass their lips! What does the science say? Dampen down the hype and delve into the science, and not surprisingly, you will find a completely different story. Dairy is one of the five food gr ..read more

Why do we need water anyway? Water is essential for life and good health. According to the National Health & Medical Research Council (Nutrient Reference Values for Australia & New Zealand 2005), we need more water than our body can produce. This means, that we need to drink enough water each day to help with bodily functions like biochemical reactions, the health of our cells, digestion, absorbing nutrients, eliminating water and regulating out body temperature. (Kleiner, 1999). But just how much is enough? Food can contribute about 20% of our total water needs (National Nutritio ..read more

The onset of gut symptoms is linked to diet by most people. However, symptoms like bloating, diarrhoea, constipation, and pain are typical of a myriad of gut health conditions and should not be ignored. Even if diet is suspected as the cause, it is important to keep your doctor in the loop about any change in bowel behaviour or symptoms. Your doctor may order some investigative tests to rule out the presence of something more significant like coeliac disease, inflammatory bowel disease or bowel cancer. These can include: Blood tests – to look for inflammatory markers Stool test – to look ..read more

Looking for a Gut Health Hack that actually works? It might be time to stop the mindless snacking between meals!   Eating constantly throughout the day can impact the optimal functioning of your gut! Whenever there is food in your stomach and digestive tract, the ‘Migrating Motor complex’ (MMC) stops.   The MMC, otherwise known as the housekeeper of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, is the natural mechanical and chemical cleansing mechanism of the gut. It is the movement pattern or grumbling in our stomach and small intestine that occurs between our mealtimes. It happens when there ..read more

Passionfruit Mojito Mocktail Makes 2 Mocktails Looking for a zero alcohol drink that you can enjoy socially? This delicious mocktail recipe is not only low in added sugars but is made with kombucha to keep your gut microbes happy on a night out! This recipe makes enough for two highball glasses, but triple it to make enough for a large jug to share with friends! Ingredients 400mL passionfruit flavoured kombucha 1 passionfruit, halved 1 lime, juiced 20 mint leaves 2 large sprigs mint and lime wedges, for garnish Method Add the mint leaves to a cocktail shaker (or a glass ju ..read more

Chickpea Protein Balls Ingredients (makes 20) These chickpea protein balls are one of our favourite plant-based snack recipes. They are loaded with guilt-free goodness and are light and tasty. Including chickpeas in the protein balls is a great way to get legumes into the kids and they can easily be adapted to be lunchbox friendly but substituting the nuts for seeds. Protein is the key nutrient that helps us feel satisfied when we eat, so these little beauties tick all the boxes. Chickpea Protein Ball Ingredients Dry 1/2 cup walnuts 1/4 cup sunflower seeds 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds ..read more

I wrote this article for the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners to break down the research around probiotics and help GPs decide whether they should prescribe them to their patients or simply recommend fermented foods. READ THE FULL ARTICLE The post What are probiotic supplements – and are they necessary? appeared first on The Gut Health Dietitian ..read more

I recently contributed to an article on this very interesting topic for CHOICE MAGAZINE. Here is a snippet to wet your appetite to read more of the article: If you’re curious about your gut health and would like to learn more about your bacterial inhabitants, investing in a gut microbiome test will prove to be an interesting experiment, if nothing else.  But if you’re suffering from gastrointestinal symptoms caused by common pathogens, routine clinical testing would detect these, so visiting your healthcare provider is still the best option.  READ THE FULL ARTICLE The post DI ..read more