Health | Ideal Nutrition

08 Jun 2022

Rhodiola Rosea: A Dietitian’s Review

Rhodiola Rosea has long been used in certain countries for medical purposes but has recently gained popularity in the western world. There have been claims that it can help with a variety of conditions. It is most known for its properties as an adaptogen, which means it theoretically helps your body handle stress. In this post, I will be going through a couple of the proposed benefits of Rhodiola and examining the evidence on the topic. Stress Decreasing stress and handling burnout-like symptoms is one of the most common claims for Rhodiola. One promising study on the topic featured over…

24 May 2022

By Tyler Brooks

Vitamin D: Are You Deficient? Here’s What to Do About It

Vitamin D (also called calcitriol) is a fat-soluble vitamin that is well known for its role in absorbing calcium from the small intestine, bone mineralisation, and for regulating calcium and phosphorous levels in the blood and bones. Calcium and phosphorous are critical for building and maintaining healthy bones, but vitamin D has many other roles in the body. These include immune system function, reducing respiratory illness, and potential protection against diabetes, hypertension, dementia, and even certain cancers. Vitamin D has many other potential health optimisation considerations in which research is still developing. Where do we get it? 80 to 100%…

17 May 2022

By Aidan Muir

How To Improve Sleep With Nutrition: Everything You Need To Know

Nutrition plays a role in our sleep and vice versa. That much is obvious. But the bigger questions are: How much impact can it have? How much impact is it likely to have on the average person? What if you are not average and you have some clear gaps/issues? This post will cover a lot of those aspects. It will also cover specific areas to focus on to achieve these benefits. But one of the reasons I have held off on writing about this topic for a while is because it is so broad. There are so many variables. To get past that, I am going to try…

23 Mar 2022

By Aidan Muir

How to Reduce Cholesterol through Diet?

Cholesterol can be a complex topic with a lot of mixed messaging. Some commonly accepted assumptions are: High cholesterol, particularly LDL cholesterol is often a bad thing for overall health outcomes. The goal is often to reduce it.Diet, exercise, and other lifestyle factors play a role.Genetics play a role. One of the things that make it hard to write about this topic is that is kind of a straightforward topic, but it has many layers. There are a lot of common themes that consistently work for reducing cholesterol that likely carries over to improved health, and these are the things…

28 Jan 2022

By Aidan Muir

Nutrition for Hashimoto’s Disease: Things You Need to Know

Hashimoto’s disease or Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is a thyroid condition that affects a lot of people. There are a lot of aspects of how nutrition can play a role in the management of it, so this post will cover a lot of key points that are worth being aware of. What is Hashimoto’s? Hypothyroidism is a condition where not enough thyroid hormone is being produced. This can happen for a variety of reasons, but Hashimoto’s disease is one of the most common ones. With Hashimoto’s, the body’s own cells attack and damage the thyroid gland. Basically, the immune system mistakenly views…

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 get pretty rich, pretty 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…

26 Nov 2021

By Leah Higl

Hypothalamic Amenorrhea: How To Restore Your Period

Functional hypothalamic amenorrhea is a condition where the menstrual cycle has stopped. Amenorrhoea is the absence of a menstrual cycle. Hypothalamic refers to the hypothalamus, which is a section in the brain that produces a number of hormones. The menstrual cycle provides key insight into the body’s hormonal balance. So when someone loses their period outside of menopause, the effects of contraception, or another diagnosed condition, it may be a sign that something is wrong. Nonetheless, if the menstrual cycle has stopped, it can be a sign that the body is under a lot of stress. The concept of not…

19 Nov 2021

By Leah Higl

Do High Protein Diets Negatively Impact Gut Health?

Diet significantly affects the health and composition of the gut microbiome. Recently, there has been a lot of talk around high protein diets and their impact on gut health. Specifically, high protein diets may negatively impact the gut microbiome. Although, it seems that there are several dietary strategies you can use to protect your gut health if you do have a high protein diet. These include maintaining a high fibre intake, having a diverse range of plant foods in your diet, limiting fat intake to <40% of caloric intake and moderating intake of red and processed meats. The Research -…

04 Nov 2021

By Leah Higl

Inositol: Is It A Useful Supplement For Those With PCOS?

Inositol is a compound that is abundant in the human body. It plays a major role as a component of cell membranes. It also influences insulin and other chemical messengers in the body. Supplementing with inositol has gained traction as a treatment for some of the symptoms and conditions associated with PCOS. But how useful is inositol supplementation and how do you take it? What Is PCOS? PCOS is a condition that affects hormonal levels in women. It is categorized by a higher than normal production of male sex hormones which can lead to an inconsistent menstrual cycle, infertility, body…

20 Oct 2021

By Leah Higl

Is Soy Really That Bad For You? Soy & Estrogen

Soy doesn’t have the best reputation in the western world. Whilst foods like tofu and edamame are embraced in many Asian cultures. It seems to be quite a demonized food in countries like Australia and the United States. First things first, I work with predominantly plant-based and vegan people. Mostly assisting them with optimizing their diet for athletic performance and muscle gain. I am a huge advocate for soy as a predominant source of protein in this situation. Soy has what we would consider a ‘complete’ amino acid profile. Products made from soy are usually very efficient sources of plant-based…