A Rational Fare

I bet you can imagine it now... The jittery excitement as you wait for the grill to finish its job. Then that hot, buttery bun with a hint of spice on your tongue.  Or maybe you're a chocolate fiend, buying them by the dozen and finding they never... last... long... enough.  Yes it's Easter and it's time for everyone to eat hot cross buns like they're going out of fashion! But have you ever wondered if these are good for you or not? It's fair to say that a chocolate hot cross bun isn't the healthiest treat on the menu but, as a small part of a balanced diet, they won't hurt. To be on the healthier side, treat them as you would any discretionary delight and aim for moderation, one choccie bun every few days while they're available should be just fine for most people. (*Note they are higher in saturated fat than the other varieties available so if this is an issue for you medically, speak to your doctor or dietitian about appropriate consumption

When you’re a nutrition graduate, the job opportunities are highly competitive, as too are the post-grad options. Anything you do outside of your regular studies sets you apart from the crowd so when I was selected for this study tour I jumped at the chance to go! It turned out to be a delicious and informative (and really, really, really hot) trek through  Singapore  and  Malaysia … For foodies like me, it was a dream come true to be selected to eat my way through two countries! But it wasn’t just amazing food, we had multiple site visits each day with some of both countries’ most forward thinkers in the food industry, public health, government regulation, food service and innovation/sustainability sectors. The purpose of the 2015 Deakin study tour was to teach key differences between nutrition/health-related sectors in Australia, Singapore and Malaysia  We learned about group behaviour, how to function in a professional manner in a different culture, problem solving, critical th

Bowel Cancer is an issue I really care about, because it is so preventable! This coming week is Be Well Week, a new initiative from Bowel Cancer Australia, in which we encourage ourselves and our friends to move more and be healthier.  As I've previously referenced in this blog , bowel cancer is the fourth most common death from cancer. Many incidences of bowel cancer are highly preventable, just from living a healthy lifestyle! And so I don't look like a hypocrite, I even signed up to 'Promise or Pay'   and will be tracking my steps with my Fitbit app. More steps than the previous week or I pay! Will you sign up as well? There are lots of different options available at the Be Well Website and you can follow my posts on A Rational Fare and The Nutrition Press .

Haven't read part one? Check it out here. *** "One of the things that seems like a huge opportunity to me, as an outsider and particularly someone interesting in branding/marketing/communications ... is for you guys to start taking the narrative back from the self-appointed experts that are currently dominating the landscape."- Josh Sparks Josh doesn't have a nutrition degree, but he has got a lot to offer in regards to business and marketing and I would love if he spent some more time talking to us, because you can tell there's a wealth of knowledge in there. His top tip for marketing yourself or your business is to find your niche, find what differentiates you from Joe Blow down the street and clearly be able to articulate the features and benefits of your business, or yourself. To cut through the noise, you need to be able to know who you are. As nutrition students, our courses do not go into internet use or marketing and many of us don'

Tonight I made the trek down to Monash Uni in the pouring rain, confused myself trying to find a park in their strange colour-coded carparks with minimal signage and then wandered around lost until I stumbled upon lecture theatre H2.  Luckily I wasn't late because I would have missed one of the most informative talks I've been to! I'm going to try and condense the full two hours into an easy-to-read summary. Dietitians Karen Inge , Miriam Raleigh and Sarah Leung were there to tell us about their dietetic experience, and businessman Josh Sparks enlightened us with stories involving his decision to drop out of the fashion business and open up a series of healthy takeaway food bars called Thr1ve . Poster courtesy of Monash Uni's BND Society Josh's insights on the nutrition industry (from an outsider's perspective) were really eye-opening and his comments from a marketing point of view were really on point, as you will see below. Former lawyer an

Dietary fibre is an important part of the human diet. It is a major determinant of gut health and plays a large role in protecting against bowel cancer . Although it provides virtually no nutrients or energy, it is crucial for fermentation in the large intestine, leading to microbial growth. This is known to form larger stools and shorten the amount of time it takes for the waste to pass through the intestines.  Most dietary fibres are  polysaccharides , strings of  monosaccharides  linked together. Lignins, cutins and tannins are some of the non-polysaccharides that are classed as dietary fibre. The main health benefit of fibre is faecal bulk. Soluble fibre ferments in the gut, creating short-chain fatty acids along with bulky stools able to easily clear out potential carcinogens. As soluble fibre meets water and forms into a gel, the muscles along the digestive tract find it easier to push the food along until it is passed out as waste.  Lack of fibre in the diet contributes to co