You will receive individual one-on-one assistance specially tailored to meet your personal needs. You will NOT receive a generic meal plan or quick fix FAD diet.

Alexander Dietetics will provide you with a personalised meal plan and unlimited email contact with an Accredited Practising Dietitian for a small monthly fee.

How Online Consultations Work

Once registered, you will be sent a questionnaire requesting details of your medical history and any medications you are taking. You will also receive a 7 day food and fluid diary for you to complete.

A personalised meal plan will then be designed, using foods you enjoy wherever possible. Your meal plan will be tailor-made to address all your health issues, your lifestyle, and your food preferences.

All your questions will be answered personally via email by an Accredited Practising Dietitian and you can email as often as you like.

Young children who eat a diet too high in saturated fat, sugar and highly processed foods like chips, biscuits, soft drink and take-away before the age of three years can lower their IQ by up to 5 points.

Good nutrition is vital in the first three years of life when the brain is growing at its fastest rate.  Even if their diet improves, the damage can be life-long.

The researchers compared the IQ of these children 5 years later at age eight with those who had eaten more fruit and vegetables and nutritious home-cooked meals. They took into account factors such as social class, breastfeeding, maternal education and maternal age. The influence of the home environment including types of toys and access to books was also taken into account.

The findings were part of a major investigation in the UK called the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children which tracked the long term health and well-being of approximately 14,000 children born in the early 1990s.  The study has been published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. **

Unfortunately this sad information comes as no surprise. My own research degree was in infant nutrition and weaning practices. I saw things like a baby of 6 months old with a full 250ml baby bottle filled with cola; also a 3 month old sitting in his bouncinette in front of the TV sucking on hot chips with tomato sauce.

And the sad thing is that if you are reading this blog you probably are just as horrified because the message never seems to reach where it is needed.

By comparison some other research is more encouraging. Research at University College London has shown that bribery can actually encourage children to eat more vegetables and salad over the long term. Praise, stickers and non-food based rewards have been shown to encourage children to try vegetables and that the results last even after the reward has been removed because children grow to like the vegetables. Of course offering food based rewards such as sweets and desserts are not advised!!!

** ref:

Are dietary patterns in childhood associated with IQ at 8 years of age? A population-based cohort study

Kate Northstone, Carol Joinson, Pauline Emmett, Andy Ness, Tomáš Paus

J Epidemiol Community Health jech.2010.111955Published Online First: 7 February 2011 doi:10.1136/jech.2010.111955

Of course making the plans is only the beginning. Following through and sticking to those strategies you have put in place will be the route to success.

Positive changes to the way we eat are more successful if accompanied by physical activity. But you don’t need to be a gym junkie to be fit, so choose something you enjoy – maybe gardening, playing with the children, even retail therapy if you walk enough! Even the not so enjoyable tasks like housework or washing the car helps keep us fit. It takes 34 minutes to burn 100 Calories by walking leisurely but only 14 minutes by carrying heavy shopping bags!

Recent research suggests that a few minutes of intense interval training can be more beneficial than long sessions at a moderate pace. But however fit you may or may not be and whether or not you choose interval training, the benefits of exercise are enormously important to our health.

Some of these benefits of exercise include:

• Reducing triglycerides and bad cholesterol, but improving good cholesterol
• Keeping body weight, body shape and fat deposition in check
• Reducing blood pressure
• Reducing the risk of insulin resistance and diabetes
• Improving energy levels
• Improving mood

The release of endorphins from exercise that improve mood will also help us feel positive and encouraged to continue our efforts with both exercise and dietary changes.

So even if your exercise routine consists of nothing more than walking through the shopping mall make sure it is something you enjoy and look forward to on a regular basis

RECIPE TIPS

One of my family’s favourite vegetables is fresh beetroot, which is a good source of fibre, anti-oxidants, potassium, magnesium and folate.

• Fresh beetroot leaves can be cooked like spinach or used raw in a salad.
• Uncooked beetroots can be peeled (using a potato peeler) and grated into salad.
• Beetroots can be baked in a moderate oven (about 180C). They are great with roast lamb.
• To retain the nutrients and colour when cooking, leave them unpeeled with the roots and 2cm of stem. They can easily be peeled after cooking.

Why not try these simple recipes:

BEETROOT & WALNUT SALAD

Grate 1 large cooked and peeled beetroot with 2 peeled apples and 1 carrot.

Mix with 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, juice of ½ a lemon and black pepper.

Stir through dry roasted walnuts to taste.

BEETROOT DIP

Chop 2-3 medium beetroot (cooked and peeled) and puree together with 400g Lite Philadelphia (or equivalent) cream cheese and 2 teaspoons creamed horseradish.

Another family favourite you might like to try is my:

HIGH FIBRE FRUIT COMPOTE:

In a bowl put equal numbers of prunes, dried whole apricots, dried figs, and teaspoons of dried cranberries.

Cover the fruit with boiling water.

Allow to cool and store covered in the fridge.

This is delicious with Greek yoghurt or muesli.  Keep topped up with boiling water.

Long term is the problem. Fad diets (another future blog topic) for a quick fix are ok for a few weeks, but do not offer a long term solution and generally all the weight lost from the fad diet will be regqined once you stop.

As mentioned in Part 1 of this blog – be honest with yourself and design your changes in small achievable goals with a preset date for achievement and review.

Below are some skills and strategies to help develop and maintain your changes:

• Keep a diary and learn to recognise the things you do well and achieve easily (like eating a healthy breakfast) and the stumbling blocks that hinder your progress (for instance unhelpful habits like always wanting to nibble while watching TV)
• Identify each of your pitfalls and develop each of your strengths
• Learn problem solving skills and address pitfalls quickly but one at a time
• Always think and plan ahead – meals, shopping, exercise, social events
• Create an Action Plan. Include the “what”, “when” and “how” of all your changes
• Keep goals realistic and achievable – one small step at a time
• Network and mentor with family and friends – don’t try to do everything on your own
• Try to serve the same basic meal to the whole family without having to prepare something totally different for yourself
• Choose a non-food related treat as a reward for reaching every goal
• Maintain a sense of balance – never say “never”. Choose one or two days a week for your favourite food (as long as this is safe within your medical requirements)
• Be patient and avoid “Behavioural Fatigue”. This generally happens when we become bored with the changes we have made and sabotage our achievements

Please remember that I am here to help

Receiving your meal plan is only the first step. The hard bit is to maintain the changes that we make. I often explain to patients that if the new regime becomes a battle then I can guarantee that you will lose the fight.

I remember saying to my children before an exam “ Enjoy today”. They thought I was mad. But the best guarantee of success is to enjoy what you are doing.

Another good but challenging secret to success is to plan ahead and then to make sure you keep to the plan. We need to allocate time to our wellbeing the same way we do for other commitments like making sure the laundry is done or that the bills are paid on time. However there are 3 pre-requisites to achieving life-style changes:

• Believing you can successfully make the necessary changes
• Being truthful with yourself about whether you are motivated to make changes
• Enjoying the changes so they last

Do you usually make any New Year’s Resolutions? Lets reflect on those New Year’s resolutions and whether we maintained them for even one week.  Were they realistic or just pipe dreams?

Write down just two realistic goals that you are confident can be achieved. Set a date within the next two weeks to achieve goal number one.

Think about your goals for the next 24 hours. Do the above pre-requisites apply?

If not then modify your goals until the pre-requisites ring true.

Small steps rather than quantum leaps will keep us on track. Once you have achieved your first goal, the good feeling of success will keep you feeling positive about achieving your next goal.

Christmas is often called the “Silly Season” because we go a bit daft with all the preparations and all the eating! It is often a time of over indulgence resulting in those New Year Resolutions to get back on track. But don’t despair, you can still eat healthily and try new and exciting recipes with a few helpful tips in mind.

I’m also a great believer in taking care of our emotional health and much of my time is spent helping people make necessary dietary changes rather than simply stating what needs to change!

Cooking a traditional Christmas dinner with all the trimmings can end up causing more stress than enjoyment for the cook, but I’ve found some useful hints from English chef Gordon McDermott who recommends starting everything days or even weeks in advance.

For example parsnips, carrots and Brussels sprouts can be prepared up to three days early.  Peel and slice the carrots and parsnips, boil for 12 minutes, drop into cold water, dry on paper towel and keep in the fridge covered in glad-wrap.

On Christmas morning whisk together a little olive oil, honey and wholegrain mustard and mix with the vegetables. Place on a preheated tray and roast for 30 minutes.

For the Brussels sprouts boil whole (no need to make little crosses on the bottom!!) for 6-8 minutes, drop into cold water, dry and cut in half. Cover with glad wrap and keep in the fridge. On Christmas day cook just before serving by stir-frying for 1-2 minutes. Add 2 table spoons of stock or water and cook 2 minutes. What makes them really delicious is to then add 200g of vacuum-packed chestnuts and cook for another 3-4 minutes.

The two most important survival rules for your waistline also involves planning ahead plus watching the quantities – keep it small! Taste everything but don’t pile up your plate.

If you have food sensitivities it is important to stay within your threshold. A small amount of foods spread out over time is often well tolerated occasionally. Plan ahead and design your meals and snacks within your limits.

If you are trying to lose weight, remember that one binge can undo a whole week’s effort.

Before eating out try to find out the options available so you can pre-decide what to choose. Only have 2 courses and have 2 entrée sized dishes instead of an entrée and a main.

If friends are coming to visit, modify your recipes to make them healthy. Try Greek yoghurt or evaporated skim milk in place of cream and sour cream, or coconut essence in-place of coconut cream. Use filo pasty with skim milk between the layers in-place of puff pastry.

Include raw vegetable sticks (try snow-peas and green beans) with cheese plates and dips and keep the dips vegetable based rather than cream based.

Remember to eat and drink SLOWLY and have a large glass of water with every alcoholic drink.

Turn your glass of wine into a spritzer with soda or mineral water, ice and lemon. Remember that fruit juice and soft drink contain lots of calories and are not a healthy option in-place of alcohol.

Below are a few recipe ideas for you to try or modify according to your personal needs, and please don’t hesitate to contact us in the New Year if you want help getting back in shape!

For extra psychological help see http://mindandbodypower.com.au

Grilled Goat’s Cheese with Caramelised Apple and Toasted Macadamia Nuts

Tuscan Pork Skewers

Tuscan Marinade:

• 1tspn fennel seeds
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2tspn Italian herbs
• 1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
• Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 4 tbs extra-virgin olive oil

Cut the pork into 24 pieces and marinade for at least 2 hrs.

Soak 8 wooden skewers in water. Peel and quarter the onions and cut the capsicums into 24 chunks.

Thread pork onto skewers with onion, capsicum and mushrooms. Brush with marinade and cook on the BBQ for approx 6 minutes each side. Serve with Tomato and mint salad.

Tomato and Mint salad: Chop 4-6 medium tomatoes. Toss with 25g fresh mint leaves and 1/2 a red onion (both finely chopped). Mix together 2 tbs extra-virgin olive oil, 1 tbs white wine vinegar and freshly ground pepper to taste. Drizzle dressing over salad.

Poached strawberries in Drambuie

• 1 punnet of strawberries – halved
• 2 teaspoons of honey
• 1 generous tablespoon of Drambuie (or your favourite liqueur)

Poach all ingredients in saucepan over low heat until strawberries soft and a sauce has formed.

Allow the mixture to rest for a few minutes before serving warm with Greek yoghurt and almond biscotti.

Poor lifestyle choices which increase your risk of Metabolic Syndrome* will also increase your risk of gout.  And these poor lifestyle choices are often the result of how we spend our working day including the business lunch – or no lunch as the case can sometimes be.

The problems facing busy professionals will often start with simply getting out of bed. This can be very early in the morning if they are facing a long commute to work.  Also when the day is long, our professionals will arrive home exhausted with little thought or energy for exercise or good nutrition. Often the first thing they will grab is a beer or glass of wine.  Sometimes the need to wind down before dinner will mean extra nibbles and a late evening meal.

So… Mr and Ms Brown go off to town….

Five days a week they are faced with getting out of bed and rushing out of the door whether to catch a train or fight the traffic.  Often those extra stolen minutes in bed are taken at the expense of breakfast. They may grab a coffee or cup of tea, but often have nothing until they reach work. Then if the diary is full there may not be time for a decent breakfast at all – sometimes another coffee with a muffin if they’re lucky.

By lunchtime they may be surviving just on the caffeine hit from several cups of coffee. If really busy, lunch may be missed completely, or there may be the opportunity to order something to eat on the run – hopefully healthy!

A bigger worry is the business lunch. I once had a patient in his early 40s who ran a successful business with a partner. Every day they would entertain clients and take it in turn to stay sober.

This man was hospitalized for surgery on his toe because the gout was so bad  Every day lunch would be high saturated fat, high calorie and high alcohol with very little water.  The gout was so bad it was necessary for him to stop drinking alcohol completely.

Generally speaking there are only four types of patients I ask to stop drinking alcohol completely – those with an alcohol dependence, those with advanced liver disease or advanced pancreatic disease and the business man with GOUT.

So…. Mr. and Ms Brown come home from town….

They may not have eaten all day. They may have grabbed something on the run or they may have eaten a large lunch with clients.  Feeling tired and wound-up after a busy day it can be nice to relax with the family and share nibbles and a drink before eating (an often late) dinner.

When the week-end comes, our busy professionals are concerned with catching up with all the chores for the week and to make sure they enjoy some relaxation. Socializing usually means eating with friends or family and often choosing comfort foods of poor nutritional quality. .

The risk factors from this hyper-busy life-style of little exercise and poor nutrition include:

• Stress
• Hypertension
• Hyperlipidaemia (high cholesterol and triglycerides**)
• Diabetes and Insulin Resistance
• Metabolic Syndrome
• Weight gain
• Gout

If you would like help with planning a healthy working week, register today.

* Metabolic Syndrome is a combination of medical disorders that increases the risk of developing heart disease and diabetes. The risk factors include obesity particularly central obesity, elevated blood fats, elevated blood sugars and/or elevated insulin levels, and elevated blood pressure

* *Triglycerides are fats stored by the body, but influenced by the amount of alcohol and sugar consumed

A particular concern at the moment is whether to avoid certain high risk foods such as egg, wheat, cow’s milk and peanut in an attempt to prevent your child developing food allergies.

There is a vast amount of (sometimes conflicting) information out there about health and nutrition, and it’s easy to get confused.

According to Dr. John Sinn, a neonatal specialist* and Senior Lecturer at Sydney University, it could be that the avoidance of foods such as egg, cows milk and peanut may not prevent allergies and could even be related to the dramatic increase in severe food reactions.

For the general healthy population it’s currently recommended that during pregnancy and breast feeding no foods are avoided by the mother in an attempt to avoid allergy, not even high risk foods such as peanut.

BUT (there is always a “but”), there are still certain foods that need to be watched during pregnancy for other reasons like bacterial infection (Listeria/salmonella) and heavy metals in fish that can be harmful to your baby.  In the 1970s it was recommended to introduce solids at about 4 months. This changed in the 1980s to 3-6 months and then in the 1990s to 4-6 months. But by the 2000s it was advised to wait until after 6 months and to avoid high risk foods for many more months and even years.

During this time food sensitivities and allergy escalated.

According to the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology & Allergy (ASCIA –see www.allergy.org.au) there is insufficient evidence to specifically delay or avoid potentially allergenic foods.

The latest recommendation from ASCIA is to introduce your baby to solids from 17 weeks to 6 months of age.

The reasoning behind this earlier introduction to foods is that recent research has indicated there is an “Optimal Window of Tolerance” for exposure within the 4-6 month age bracket. Introducing foods to your child at this time may decrease the chances of your child developing an allergy or sensitivity to foods. All food groups, including the high risk allergy ones like wheat, egg and cow’s milk, can be introduced carefully. But if you have a strong family history of allergy I recommend seeking further advice from medical and dietary consultants.

By the age of one year an infant should be eating the same as the rest of the family provided the meal does not include highly spiced dishes, rich pastries, too much fibre, too much salt or too much sugar.

However there are certain things you should avoid giving your infant, such as caffeine, or uncooked egg and honey due to the risk of bacterial infection. And for safety reasons no child should be given whole nuts under the age of 5 and even then only under supervision, as they are a notable choking hazard.

30 years ago I was a new mum and completing a research degree into infant weaning habits.  Now I am grandmother so this subject is very dear to my heart.

If you would like further information on food intolerances or healthy eating for pregnancy and children sign up for a customised meal plan and unlimited email consultations.

*A neonatal specialist is a paediatrician specialising in young babies.