Your Diet Matters: Consultant dietitian nutritionist

24/12/2021

Christmas can be rife with diet talk. Whether it’s the thought of new year diets, rich Christmas foods or being around lots of family members, it can be hard to avoid. 🤶🏼

Setting boundaries can be key for avoiding diet talk. This can apply both for food and appearances. If there are comments such as “we should burn off all this food” “I’m being good/bad for eating this”, “you’re looking slim”, then make it clear that you don’t want to talk about these topics, even when meant well or in jest. 🎄

If this all sounds daunting, try using phrases like “I don’t feel comfortable talking to you about this, but I’d love to hear how you have been doing with xx”

Diet culture can be ingrained into many of us, and self-deprecation can be a part of group bonding. Because of this, many people might not even be aware of the potential impact of their comments. Being clear about what topics you want to avoid can help your loved ones to be more sensitive to these topics. 💛

Let’s focus on building a new form of culture this Christmas.

06/12/2021

❌Myth busting: I should avoid fruits and vegetables as they are carbohydrates

✅TRUTH: fruits and vegetables are an essential part of your diet

❓Have you ever been told to avoid certain fruits or vegetables due to their carbohydrate content?

👉🏼Although it is true that fruits and vegetables are based on carbohydrates, they are so much more than that. They contain vitamins, minerals, fibre, phytonutrients and even water.

👉🏼Carbohydrates are an essential part of our diet in any case. They provide an important source of energy, fuel our brains and help to keep us full.

👉🏼Fruits and vegetables have been consistently shown in research to be associated with reduced risk of diseases including heart disease colorectal cancer. If there is one thing to NOT cut out of your diet, it is fruits and veg!

👉🏼Although you shouldn’t fear any carbohydrates, fruits and vegetables are generally have a lower glycemic index, meaning they have less of an impact on blood glucose levels than more simple carbohydrates.

✅In a world where just about every food group can be demonised, don’t let fruits and vegetables be another food to fear.

24/08/2021

10/06/2021

Be careful who you take nutrition advice from! ⚠️ Sadly I see WAY too many self-proclaimed ‘experts’ pushing overly restrictive diets, unnecessarily supplements and invalid tests…

But it can be so tricky to know who to trust when anyone with an account can be giving out nutrition advice. Am I right?!

I am all about empowering you guys- so here’s what to look out for and what the titles mean so you can sift the facts from the fiction.

✅ Dietitians are the only nutrition professionals regulated by law, meaning we’re bound by an ethical code of conduct to make sure you’re protected.

To be a dietitian, you need at least a BSc (usually 4 years) or postgrad degree in dietetics - rooted in science and clinical practice.

How to tell? 'Dietitian' is protected in the UK so you can't call yourself one unless you've done the degree. In the US look for ‘RD’ letters or ‘APD’ in Aus.

Every dietitian is a nutritionist, but not every nutritionist is a dietitian.

✅ Registered nutritionists are regulated by their local bodies (AfN in the UK) and are qualified to share info about food and healthy eating. Look for 'ANutr' titles.

I know lots of brilliant nutritionists - but the term ‘nutritionist’ is totally unregulated, so literally anyone can call themselves one. And sadly some do even if they’ve only watched a 1-hour webinar on nutrition... 😬

I’d like to think advice is mostly given with good intentions - but all too often it’s given without any science to back it up. And without regulation, it can be really risky.

3 questions you should ask before taking nutrition advice (if they’re the real deal, they won’t mind the questions!)

🔹Do they have a valid nutrition degree (with hands-on training as an added bonus)? Or is it just a personal interest?
🔹Do they have a regulatory body?
🔹Do they keep up-to-date with the latest nutrition research that’s constantly evolving? Or are they relying on outdated info?

If they don’t have the right qualifications, go ahead and throw that nutrition ‘advice’ in the BS bucket 😉

Disclosure: having the ‘right’ qualifications doesn’t automatically mean they’ll be good 🙈 but it does give you more protection.

10/06/2021

🎉 Today marks the first day of Dietitians week 2021 and I am delighted to be a part of the BDA media campaign celebrating all things dietetics. (More on that coming on Thursday!)

Dietetics is a very diverse and rewarding profession but unfortunately it is often under - represented. So let’s take a minute today to have look at what dietitians do 🤔

👉🏼Dietetics is a very flexible and in demand profession. Dietitians can work in a wide range of settings including:

🏥 Hospital setting/ private practice- when working in the clinical setting dietitians can specialise in certain areas such as : gastroenterology, renal, eating disorders, IBS/ gut health, fertility, diabetes, intensive care, cancer, paediatrics... the list is endless.

🔬 Academia- dietitians can work in research and/or as lecturers at universities.

🗣 Public health – p***c health dietitians advise on national and government policies regarding diet and nutrition.

🏃‍♀️ Sports nutrition – sports dietitians work alongside high performance sports teams to support them during training and competition.

📱 Media- some dietitians work in the media where they identify nutrition fact from fiction and improve the publics understanding of nutrition.

🧑‍💼 Industry : dietitian’s can work alongside food business’ and in the manufacturing industry to help develop and advise on food products.

✅ A common misconception is that dietitians simply develop meal plans for people however, the reality is that we do so much more than that. In the clinical setting we work as part of a multi-disciplinary team alongside other amazing healthcare professionals such as doctors, OT’s and psychologists to provide the best possible care we can. We love working and interacting with people, and our goal is to support everyone to feel the best that they can.

Keep an eye out on my page this week for some IG lives including one tomorrow lunchtime with student dietitian Claire where we will talk about the training to become a dietitian 🎉🙌

08/06/2021

Effect of Personalised Diet on pre-Diabetes Take part    This study is forAdults with pre-Diabetes   Sponsored byImperial College London   Participants180 participants Overview of the research The ASPIRE-DNA clinical trial is investigating the effectiveness of a DNA-based diet (dietary guidel...

30/05/2021

White potatoes vs Sweet potatoes?⁠
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Something that comes up regularly in clinic is whether sweet potatoes are healthier than white potatoes.....⁠
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1️⃣ All foods can be considered healthy and part of a balanced diet.⁠
2️⃣ I class white potatoes as a starchy food or carbohydrate, whilst sweet potatoes are actually classed as a portion of vegetables.⁠
3️⃣ White and sweet potatoes provide different nutrients for the body, showing how we need to have a range of foods. So basically eat both!⁠
4️⃣ White potatoes are nothing to be scared of. They are nutritious and who doesn’t love a jacket spud!⁠
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priyatew

30/05/2021

Please check the melon you have in your fridge.

We are advising consumers not to eat specific melons which may be contaminated with salmonella.

For more information visit: https://www.food.gov.uk/news-alerts/news/fsa-issues-precautionary-safety-advice-for-specific-melons

09/05/2021

Food Rule “I can’t eat over a certain number of calories a day”⁠
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Reality:⁠
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👉🏼It is pretty much impossible to know exactly how many calories your body needs. There are calculations that can be used but they are rough guides. Short of placing you in a calorimeter (a chamber that’s measures the O2 you breath in and CO2 out) there isn’t a 💯 accurate method.⁠
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👉🏼You calorie needs will alter according to your age, levels of activity, your non exercise activity (movement doing daily activities and even fidgeting) and thermogenesis (the energy used when you digest your food). Don’t forget your brain also uses calories, if you are stressed you can use more too and if your body is sick it needs more to help it heal.⁠
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👉🏼It is impossible to be precise over the number of calories you eat. In fact calories were not designed for this. They are a rough guide.⁠
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✅ Being rigid with your eating isn’t helpful long term. Instead focus on the balance of foods you eat and listen to your hunger, fullness and satisfaction levels. Some days your body can need more and some days it can need less. That’s normal.⁠
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✅ Work on a routine with your eating having regular meals and snacks. You will start to find the amount of food that your body requires. Skipping meals and eating on the go can be confusing for that routine, but also life happens sometimes. We also need to be flexible.⁠
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✅ Try to move away from counting exact calories. There is certainly no need to measure the kcals in fruit and veggies or be weighed all foods out. If you find it useful to know the rough amounts you eat that can be useful as an initial guide for some people but I don’t recommend this long term in eating disorder recovery. You won’t get a calorie counted mealplan from me. You will get support and confidence that you can trust your body and eat what you really love.⁠
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priyatew ⁠

28/01/2021

27/01/2021

07/01/2021

Pure comfort food. Healthy too...

Cheesy Broccoli Pasta Bake

Warm comforting foods are where it’s at right now in our house. Lockdown vibes, self isolation and the freezing weather are affecting the mood in the house. We are all taking it in turns to fall apart for a while, the put each other back together.

This kinda food always brings a smile to the table. I hope it does to yours too...

👉🏼Chop 1 head of broccoli plus 1/2 cauliflower and cook in a pan.
👉🏼In another pan cook 200-300g pasta.
👉🏼Make a roux. Pour 1 tbsp oil into a pan, mix in 2 heaped tbsp flour and mix to a paste.
👉🏼Add 150ml milk and mix until it is smooth. Now add 200ml milk and place on a low heat. Keep stirring or whisking until it thickens. Add water to get single cream consistency.
👉🏼NB. Take care as I pretty much always leave mine too long and get a slight burnt pan!
👉🏼Add 50g grated cheese of your choice, 2 tsp mustard, black pepper and mixed herbs.
👉🏼Mix the pasta, veg and sauce. Spoon into an overproof dish.
👉🏼Top with just cheese, breadcrumbs aka cheese or I used puffed rice cereal and cheese (wheat free and in my cupboard!) for crunch.
👉🏼Bake at 180C fan for 20-30mins until it is golden on top.

Serve on its own or with a side salad.