Health | Ideal Nutrition

22 Sep 2021

Complete Food Chemical Elimination Diet List | What To Eat

Welcome To The Food Chemical Elimination Diet Guide! The food chemical elimination diet guide is also available as a searchable (CTRL+F) PDF download. This is based on the elimination phase of what is known as the RPAH Elimination Diet or The Failsafe Diet. Just a few things to note before you move on to the guide. Only eat food listed as low in food chemicals whilst on the elimination diet. Avoid foods that are moderate to high in food chemicals. Although foods that are moderate in food chemicals may not cause symptoms in less sensitive people. You may wish to…

15 Sep 2021

By Aidan Muir

Does Salt Intake Affect Gut Health: Early Interpretations of the Research

Dietary salt intake is typically linked with the impact that it has on blood pressure. Really, that has long been the only major concern I have had with higher salt/sodium diets. Even that point is not relevant for everybody. Somebody who is quite far away from having issues with hypertension can typically have higher amounts of added salt without it really being an issue from a blood pressure perspective. Some people also seem more sensitive to sodium than others. An interesting area of research that has developed recently is the effect of salt intake on gut health. It is very…

03 Sep 2021

By Leah Higl

Should You Go Lectin Free? Reviewing The Plant Paradox Diet

What Are Lectins? Lectins are a type of protein found in a range of foods. Lectins are grouped together based on the fact they are all proteins that bind to carbohydrates. This feature protects plants in nature. Although it may actually cause issues with digestion as it makes lectins stable in an acidic environment. The human stomach is acidic to facilitate the breaking down of foods. Lectins are resistant to being broken down in the gut due to being unaffected by this acidity. There are many different kinds of lectins that all have different effects on the human body. Ricin,…

01 Sep 2021

By Aidan Muir

Resistant Starch – The Things You Need to Know

Resistant starch has gained a lot of recognition over the last few years for the potential health benefits associated with it. Theoretically, it can be an easy way to improve overall gut health while resulting in a lot of other health outcomes too. What Is It? Starches are long chains of glucose found in carbohydrate-rich foods. Resistant starch is a form of starch that is resistant to digestion. Basically, resistant starch is a unique form of fibre. It passes through the small intestine to the large intestine mostly undigested. Types of Resistant Starch Type 1: Physically inaccessibleType 2: Resistant granulesCannot…

25 Aug 2021

By Leah Higl

Leaky Gut: A Dietitian’s Review Of The Research

Leaky gut is a hot topic of debate in the medical field. Some medical professionals don’t believe it to be a real condition, whilst others associate it with a range of symptoms and disease states. Research on leaky gut otherwise known as increased intestinal permeability seems to be a bit of a hot mess. Hence why it is not a widely accepted condition but also why it can’t be completely refuted. Proponents of leaky gut syndrome have linked the condition with a variety of other medical conditions and diseases. Saying that leaky gut is the underlying cause of chronic fatigue…

11 Aug 2021

By Leah Higl

Plant-Based Milk: A Dietitian’s Guide

Dairy milk is still the most widely consumed variety of milk, but the plant-based milk industry is growing, and it's growing fast. Plant-based milk has expanded from just soy, almond, and coconut. You can now get milk made from cashews, hemp, oats, rice, quinoa, and sesame among so many other things. Cow’s milk is often the benchmark that we compare other milk to as it is a good source of several nutrients including calcium, protein, vitamin A, B12, and iodine. It is incredibly difficult to find a plant-based milk option that ticks all of these nutrient boxes. However, you should…

11 Aug 2021

By Aidan Muir

What Is Taurine and What Does It Do? Everything You Need to Know

Have you ever looked on the back of an energy drink, seen taurine as an ingredient and wondered what it does? That was the first thing that made me curious enough to start looking into it a few years ago. Firstly, I wanted to check the safety of it and if there were any downsides. And I was also curious about WHY it would be included. Outside of energy drinks, taurine does have quite a few potential benefits. And even though it has been studied for decades, it looks as though we are only really scratching the surface when it…

04 Aug 2021

By Leah Higl

The 3 Best Dairy-Free Sources of Calcium

Dairy has been considered the gold standard calcium source for decades. This makes sense as it is a very calcium-rich food source that has a high bioavailability compared to most plant-based sources. It is also already widely consumed in many countries in comparison to other non-dairy calcium-rich foods such as small fish with bones. But dairy isn’t for everyone nor is it necessary to get sufficient calcium in your diet. There are so many reasons why someone may want to cut dairy from their diet. These include dairy allergies, lactose intolerance, a general dislike of dairy products, or because they…

02 Aug 2021

By Aidan Muir

How to Convert Salt to Sodium and Vice Versa

Have you ever wondered how to convert salt to sodium? Some countries list salt on their nutritional information panels. Other countries like Australia list sodium instead. And while there is a bit of overlap between the two, they are actually a little bit different. What Is the Difference Between Salt and Sodium? Salt is technically 40% sodium and 60% chloride. This is why salt is referred to as sodium chloride (NaCl). To be overly specific, it has a 1:1 ratio of sodium and chloride ions, but the molar masses are 22.99g/mol and 35.45g/mol respectively which explains why salt is 40%…

02 Jul 2021

By Aidan Muir

What Impact Does Caffeine Have on Calcium Absorption?

Nutrition is all about context. It is often not as simple as “caffeine completely blocks calcium absorption while it is in your system.” Typically, there is more nuance. How much of an impact does it have? What dosages of caffeine are required for this impact to be relevant? Does having more calcium offset this? This is a bit of a niche nutrition topic. I still think it is relevant though. I have been a dietitian for about 5 years now. And for my first couple of years, whenever I would be talking about calcium with a client, and they mentioned…