Leah Higl | Ideal Nutrition

21 Jun 2023

Dietitian’s Quick Guide to Training Nutrition: Fuel Your Performance And Enhance Recovery

Whether you're an athlete or simply someone who loves to exercise, paying attention to your nutrition around training can make a significant difference in maximizing your performance and optimizing recovery. In this dietitian's guide, we'll explore the basics of training nutrition and how you can take your training and recovery to the next level. Pre-Training: Power Up with Carbohydrates Before your training session, it's crucial to ensure you have enough fuel in the tank to sustain your performance. Carbohydrates are the body's preferred source of fuel, so they should be your main focus during this time. Ideally, aim for a…

17 May 2023

By Leah Higl

How To Get Enough Iron On A Plant-Based Diet

Iron is an essential nutrient that plays a vital role in the body, including transporting oxygen to cells and tissues, supporting immune function, and aiding in energy production. However, individuals following a vegan or vegetarian diet can be more at risk of developing an iron deficiency due to the lower bioavailability of iron in plant-based sources. In this blog post, I'll discuss ensuring you're meeting your iron needs on a plant-based diet. Iron Requirements The recommended daily intake (RDI) for iron is 18 mg per day for premenopausal women and 8 mg per day for men and postmenopausal women. However,…

03 May 2023

By Leah Higl

Managing IBS on a Plant-Based Diet: A Guide to Low FODMAP for Vegans

As a vegan dietitian, I am often asked about the compatibility of a low FODMAP diet with a plant-based lifestyle. The good news is that it is possible to follow both a low FODMAP and plant-based diet, but it does require some extra attention and planning. Firstly, let’s break down what FODMAPs are. FODMAPs are a group of short-chain carbohydrates poorly absorbed in the small intestine and can cause digestive symptoms in some people, particularly those with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). FODMAP stands for Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides, and Polyols. Common sources of FODMAPs include wheat, onions, garlic, legumes, and…

22 Feb 2023

By Leah Higl

Plant Based Dietitian’s Ultimate Protein Guide

Protein is a hot topic when it comes to plant-based diets. As a dietitian who specialises in plant-based nutrition and performance nutrition, it is something I find myself talking about almost every day. So I figured, why not break it all down in one blog post? So this is your one-stop guide to protein on a plant-based diet. Let’s go through it all! What Is Protein? Protein is required by the body to grow and repair cells. Protein is made of building blocks called amino acids. There are 20 amino acids that combine together in different ways to create different…

08 Jul 2022

By Leah Higl

Is Kombucha Good for You? A Dietitian’s Review

Kombucha is really having a moment as a widely used ‘health food’. Most supermarkets and corner stores usually stock not just one, but several brands of this fermented beverage. But does kombucha actually provide health benefits? Is it worth all of the hype it is receiving? As a dietitian, kombucha is not a food that I would go out of my way to recommend to everyone. However, I do see it as a great option when water won’t quite quench that thirst. I'm really enjoying the taste of kombucha, especially with all the new flavours that have popped up recently.…

18 May 2022

By Leah Higl

What To Do When You Blow Your Calorie Budget

Have you ever wondered "what should I do if I eat more than my planned calories while in a deficit?" As dietitians, this is a question we get asked all of the time and is a common concern for those undertaking a fat loss phase. Everyone, even the most consistent people, are bound to go off track a day here and there. Whether it is a meal out with friends or a few drinks with work colleagues on a Friday afternoon. So what do you do after this happens? Energy Balance - A Quick Recap Let’s quickly revisit energy balance…

13 May 2022

By Leah Higl

How To Measure Changes In Body Composition: A Guide

There are so many ways that you can track changes in body composition and measure progress over time. All of which have their pros and cons. So this blog post will go cover each options that you have for tracking changes. What Is Body Composition? Body composition refers to the composition of your body mass. With predominant components being lean mass and fat mass. So body composition is the ratio of the two. Now lean body mass refers to not only muscle but also includes: Bone Organs Skin Body water And literally, anything that isn’t fat mass. When people say…

12 Apr 2022

By Leah Higl

The Menstrual Cycle & Sports Nutrition: Things You Should Know

You don’t have to spend much time looking through sports research to realise that the majority of research has been done in exclusively in male populations. There is a significant gender research gap in athletic populations. This means that the current sports nutrition recommendations we have, are mostly based on men and have just been applied to all athletes, despite gender. But of course, there are many fundamental differences between the sexes. Biologically, men and women are different. Our hormone profiles are completely different, which can and does affect our nutritional needs. It also potentially influences what an optimised diet…

23 Mar 2022

By Leah Higl

Does Having A Higher Body Fat % Make You Less Anabolic?

Should I bulk or cut first? Has been a common conundrum since the dawn of the online fitness world. It was often a heated debate on BodyBuilding.com back in the late 2000s. Many people believe that getting leaner prior to a bulking phase can improve your ability to build muscle due to an increase in insulin sensitivity. The theory is that as body fat increases, muscles become less responsive to insulin, which means nutrients are diverted away from the muscle. This has the flow-on effect of reducing hypertrophic (muscle-building) potential. Therefore, cutting before a bulking phase and/or periodically throughout a…

14 Jan 2022

By Leah Higl

Does Coffee Stunt Your Growth?

Coffee is probably one of the most well-studied beverages around. If you received a dollar for every time you saw a news article citing recent research about the benefits or risks of coffee drinking, you would probably become rich, very quickly. But have you ever heard someone say that coffee stunts your growth? There are quite a lot of reasons why you may not be wanting to pump your kids up with coffee. Hyperactivity due to the caffeine probably being at the top of that list. Another reason parents often cite though is not wanting to stunt the growth of…