NutritionWorks

11/07/2025

Absolutely delighted to have published this article this week about the role of dietitians in the multi-disciplinary team working with patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
We know that dietetic care improves patient clinical outcomes and quality of life and that patients want greater access to dietitians. Hopefully this article will help us work towards achieving improved access to dietitians for those with IBD who are interested in supportive nutrition strategies and therapies.

Thanks to my co-authors Cath Wall @ Gut Nutrition and Prof Michael Schultz @ University of Otago

In recent years, nutrition and dietetics have evolved from playing a supporting role in inflammatory bowel disease care to becoming an integral part of the treatment approach. Nutrition and dietary t...

19/11/2023

Did you know that 1 in 70 NZers has Coeliac disease - but most of them don't even know it!
I was in Auckland for the weekend at the Coeliac New Zealand conference, which was held alongside the Gluten Free food festival.
It was an excellent opportunity to catch up on the latest knowledge, fact check a few things and try some delicious gluten free foods!
We discussed the importance of follow up and regular blood tests for people after their diagnosis, as new challenges with the GF diet and maintaining good nutrition can come up through the different life stages.
There are some exciting things on the research horizon, including a test for CD which doesn't require you to be eating gluten for six weeks beforehand plus possible drug treatments for CD. Watch this space!
If you or a family member could use some support with your nutrition while maintaining a gluten free diet, please get in touch I'm happy to help.

27/10/2023

Did you know that the average NZ household throws away hundreds of dollars worth of food each year? That affects not only our grocery bills but the environment too!

If you're looking for inspiration on how to cut down on food waste, this is a great place to start:

So often we throw away food because we don't know what to do with it. Love Food Hate Waste has tried to tackle this through our 8 ways with series.

03/10/2023

The rising cost of food is very much on people's minds these days. It doesn't make it easy to make healthy choices and get the recommended 5+ serves of vegetables and 2+ serves of fruit each day.

Below is a link to a free recipe e-book put together by Nadia Lim and the team at Bargain Box, 45 family-friendly recipes with tips to keep your food costs down. They look yummy, I'm going to give some a go! Let me know if you do too!

https://try.bargainbox.co.nz/saver-flavour-cookbook/?_gl=1*1lctzdw*_ga*OTU3Mzk4MjA2LjE2OTYzNTc5ODg.*_ga_XX6JNH00KW*MTY5NjM2MTQyNi4yLjEuMTY5NjM2MTQ0OS4zNy4wLjA.

18/09/2023

One of the most frequent questions I get from people who are newly diagnosed with Coeliac disease is about oats. Are they okay to eat or not?
In NZ & Australia it is illegal to call oats, or any food containing oats, gluten free. Although other countries don't have the same rules - are you confused yet?

Coeliac Australia has just updated their advice about this, you can read more at the link below
https://www.coeliac.org.au/s/article/Oats-and-coeliac-disease

As always if you would like more advice about how this applies to you and your diet, please don't hesitate to contact me to book an appointment.

19/05/2023

Happy World IBD day to all those brave people living with this condition!

Happy World IBD Day!

Living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) can be tough, but it can also bring unexpected blessings and moments of strength. 💪✨ Today, we are thrilled to share an inspiring quote from Stan about their experience with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

We'll share everyone's submissions and they are being displayed at the Grand Hall of Parliament right now!

Let's show that living with IBD isn't just about challenges – it's also about resilience and growth. 💜

08/05/2023

If you've ever wondered what working as a dietitian in a rural community entails... here is a video to give you a bit of an idea!

I was asked to be part of a project with Hauora Taiwhenua Rural Health Network promoting rural health careers - you don't have to work in a big city to have a rewarding career in health!
This is based on the work I do for Central Otago Health Services out of Dunstan Hospital, Lakes District Hospital and the Wanaka Lakes Health Centre.

Our rural health careers video series showcases the inspirational work of rural dietitian Nicky McCarthy.Living in the beautiful Wanaka Lakes area of Aotearo...

07/05/2023

It was my privilege and my pleasure to speak today at the Wanaka Parkinson's retreat organised by Parkinson's New Zealand. They had over 100 people registered for a weekend of learning and socialising and Wanaka turned on a beautiful Autumn weekend for it.
The topic of my presentation was Nutrition and Parkinson's Disease - what is the evidence?
It generated some interesting discussion, thank you everyone for your questions!

01/05/2023

I had a fabulous weekend in Queenstown at the 20 year reunion of my Dietetics class! One of the highlights was visiting Nadia Lim and her husband Carlos Bagrie's farm Royalburn station.
We learnt all about their Paddock to Plate philosophy and then they made us a most delicious meal of lamb and produce from their farm followed by meringues and egg custard made with eggs from their 4000 chooks! It was a great example of how a simple meal made with fresh quality ingredients can be nutritious and delicious 😋
Bonus was I got to cuddle their baby, 2 month old Arlo, while Nadia and Carlos were busy in the kitchen 🥰

20/04/2023

Gosh, I can't believe how long it's been since I posted on my page!

My time has been spread a bit thinly in recent months while I'm covering my colleague's maternity leave from Central Otago Health, as well as continuing my own clinics for CO Health and seeing NutritionWorks clients. So things like social media and website updates have very much gone on the backburner!

Another thing that I've spend a lot of hours on is getting some of my research findings published, so if you're interested here is an article published last week in the Journal of Nutrition & Dietetics
https://doi.org/10.1111/1747-0080.12811

I'll have more time to devote to NutritionWorks later in the year but rest assured I am still running clinics and have appointments available ☺️

Aim Nutritional therapies for inflammatory bowel disease are increasingly recommended. This study aimed to gain insight from patients, dietitians and gastroenterologists into inflammatory bowel dise...

24/06/2022

It was my pleasure to present online to the Southland Crohns and Colitis NZ support group during the week about Nutrition and IBD.
I was thrilled to get this lovely feedback:

Myself, partner and friend watched this and I can't thank you enough. Clear easy to follow information just what we needed for our daughter, and you were wonderful answering my questions.

If you have any questions about diet and gut conditions, or anything else, please get in touch I would love to help.

22/05/2022

Are you bamboozled by the breakfast cereal aisle in the supermarket? If you could use some tips on how to choose (or make!) a nutritious cereal, check out my latest blog.

How to choose breakfast cereal with homemade muesli recipe