Dr Fláv

05/03/2026

Huge thank you to  for inviting me to speak at the Citrus Congress in Adelaide this week. 🍊

My talk was called “More to See in Citrus: Health as a Market Advantage.”

The short version? We’re still using old science to talk about citrus today. Not surprising when all we hear about in the news, media and in policy are the macronutrients. Sugar..protein....

Citrus is often reduced to “vitamin C for immunity.” But modern nutrition science tells a much richer story.

A few take-home messages from the talk:

• Citrus is where nutrition science started – the first clinical nutrition trial was about curing scurvy with lemons & lemons AND their JUICES.
• Whole citrus (and 100% juice) are complex food systems, not just single nutrients or sugar molecules.
• Bioactives like flavonoids interact with the gut & the brain directly— the whole really is greater than the sum of its parts.
• Citrus can be quite high in micronutrients- 3 of the top 6 shortfall nutrients (folate, magnesium & fibre). Don’t underestimate whole food and 100% juice.
• Health outcomes for citrus are clear: gut, brain, immunity and heart.
• In a world debating ultra-processed foods and GLP-1 drugs changing eating patterns, nutrient-dense foods matter more than ever.
• And globally, citrus has powerful positioning opportunities in the market – from healthy ageing and cognition in Japan, to nutrient density in Southeast Asia, to whole-food functionality with real health outcomes in supplement-heavy markets like Korea.

Citrus doesn’t just taste good — it has a strong, evidence-based health story that the world needs to hear.

My daughter came along to the congress and got to watch mum in action on stage. Nothing like explaining FLAVonoids to citrus growers while your biggest critic is sitting in the audience, making sure you behave. 😄

Thanks again to the citrus industry for the warm welcome and for the great conversations.

19/02/2026

What if the biggest untapped opportunity in the food system isn’t a new ingredient but something we’re throwing away?

I’ve been reading some interesting research from Brazilian scientists who are doing something brilliant:

Turning fish skin into biodegradable food packaging.

It’s transparent and flexible, mechanically strong, good at blocking UV light and better at slowing water vapour than many other gelatin films.

And it’s usually discarded…

It’s not perfect as there are issues with mositure still- but this is cool innovation to keep an eye on and the kind of thinking we need to create better food systems.

What I love about it, is that this is rooted in Brazilian aquaculture and Amazonian biodiversity.

The fish? It’s called Tabatinga. A hybrid Amazonina fish..that’s also a great source of collagen-rich raw material)

What do you think?

🐟 → 📦

BlueEconomy

17/02/2026

If we want a healthier 2040, what needs to change now?

I recently had the pleasure of joining the NSW Health Future Health Podcast.
It’s part of the Future Workforce Unit at the Ministry of Health and it’s all about helping the health sector prepare for what’s next. 
And I was honoured to add my “future-thinking” flavour to the conversation.

We explored questions that sit at the intersection of science, food systems and human potential and discussed some of our work at and the nutrition program for the early years I co-developed with Sinead Storch called ._ (because, really- food SHOULD be cool..we’ve gotten too side tracked with the macronutrients and the “ultra-processed” era).

✨ How we are in an era of ‘invisible’ nutrition as we are forgetting the importance of the micronutrients (relevant as the Health Star Rating- or macronutrient and sodium rating, just got mandated in Australia).
✨ Aeronutrients and how it may serve as adjunct nutrition therapy
✨ 27 million hospital meals a year- what can we do with food?
✨ Childhood obesity and the food-first appraoch
✨ Nutrition misinformaiton in the TikTok era
✨ Space-grown mushrooms (of course!) and what can space teach us about the future of food and health
✨ What are the skills that I believe will be essential for our future workforce?
✨ From synthetic foods to space nutriiton- what mindset and skill shifts we will need to build a workforce that is adaptive, innovative and future-ready?

+++Plus my one big idea prediction for the future of nutrition.

🎙️ More to come when the episode goes live!

FutureFood

24/12/2025

🎄✨ A gentle reminder from your nutrition scientist.. 🤓
Health isn’t won or lost in one week of pavlova, cheese boards, or champagne.
So eat, laugh, celebrate, and enjoy your food, wherever you are and whatever eat!

Eat and be merry.
— Dr Flav

06/10/2025

🚀 What’s the future of space food?

I got to present on that topic at Sydney’s Festival of Science on Satruday and did a live cross with the Today Show just before it! You can watch the interview via the link in bio.

What will we be eating on Mars?
There’ll be no Uber Eats. No Woolies click & collect. Just you, your crew… and maybe a 3D-printed mushroom steak or two. 🍄

Food decides whether humans thrive or fail in space.
From the first tube of beef liver paté in 1961 to freeze-dried food, the future of space food may include a range of plants and algae, lab-grown meat, mushrooms grown in orbit, and even vitamin mists.

Space is already shaping how we’ll eat on Earth. Because every bite that fuels an astronaut in the hazardous and confined space environment, brings us one step closer to nutritious, sustainable food systems here on planet Earth. 🌍

✨ Space will feed our future.

Interested in having me speak at your next event? Get in touch!

11/09/2025

Can green tea affect your iron absorption?

Yes- it technically can- both the flavonoids and the caffeine can inhibit iron absorption.

But you can minimise the effect by not having it with your meals, especially if the meal is a source of plant-based iron. Top it off by adding some vitamin C to your iron-rich plant-based meal (a squeeze of lemon juice on the Dahl, fresh strawberries in your spinach salad, etc.).

Read the article via the link in my bio!

20/08/2025

Every week there’s another headline about UPFs “causing” obesity. I’m not saying UPFs are a free-for-all.

As I head to the International Congress of Nutrition this week, I thought it would be good to get up to date on the two sides of this very polarising debate.

Nutrition science is messy, and the evidence on UPFs is far from black and white. Before we make blanket rules, we need to make sure the science is robust & that solutions don’t create unintended consequences.

This review looked at all the possible mechanisms that could explain why UPFs might cause weight gain and tested them against the evidence.

What are your thoughts?

The review:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advnut.2023.04.006

25/06/2025

While at Cape Canaveral for Mission MushVroom 🚀, I was invited to speak at NASA’s Lunch & Learn.
An internal session where big space brains come together to explore new frontiers (and this time, mushrooms were on the menu 🍄).

The room was full, and included some of my colleagues from ISU in person and online. What an honour to put a spotlight on our work in nutrition science, our mission and the future of food with the incredible NASA team.

It was also incredible to get a personal tour of where the space crop magic happens at KSC by Trent Smith! Meeting Gioia Massa, connecting with new scientists.

Meeting the team face-to-face was a highlight. Most importantly, hearing their passion and stories (literally straight from the source!).

The whole NASA space crop team is so passionate, curious, generous with their knowledge, and genuinely fun humans. We were wholeheartedly supported by the team for our mission and we are extremely grateful.

What was surreal was standing where astronauts actually walk out before missions. Where the Apollo crew walked. And where many more will.

Being able to touch the mission patches…and to even see a dedicated astronauts EV car park..not a joke! LOL (see photo).

I left feeling energised, inspired, and more determined than ever.

Thank you Ralph for the connection, Trent and the whole space crop team at NASA for having me, and allowing me to share some nutrition science insights that’ll help shape the future of space food and human health too. 💫

30/05/2025

What an epic 2 days at the Australian Space Summit. 🚀

My highlight? Spending time with epic humans who are changing the world.
And the photo I got with 3 Aussie astronauts (one day 4???!! 🤣). I LOVE your sense of humour Dr Paul Scully-Power! I’m glad I have a hyphenated last name. 🤓

The beauty of the space sector is that you don’t need a traditional degree in “space”. And it doesn’t even have to be STEM as Katherine Bennell-Pegg beautifully told to our next generation. There is a place for everyone- from arts, to business and science.

There are many adjacent industries- like food and nutrition!

Thank you Eric Philips for the mention and flying the food flag- we need to do better when it comes to food for the space sector. Let’s move it from providing nutrients to being an asset to both physical and psychological health. 👩‍🚀🧠

Absolute pleasure to chat in depth to Eric, his wife Suzie and his friend Tim! Loved our discussions and cannot wait for more.

And my daughter Tallara even made a digital appearance at summit!! More on this later… 🦠

Till next time!

22/04/2025

Off the back of , I now get to do one of my favourite aspects of the work- sharing the why.

I'm excited to be heading to the Workshop for Research in Low-Earth Orbit in Columbus hosted by The Ohio State University. Happening on April 23-24, I can’t wait to be surrounded by brilliant minds, spark conversations with new and old colleagues and help ignite the food ecosystem for the future of space commercialization.
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Handles:
FB

https://www.facebook.com/osu/

LI
https://www.linkedin.com/school/the-ohio-state-university/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/keystone-space-collaborative/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/starlab-space/

19/04/2025

17/04/2025

🍄‍🟫♻️ Did you wonder why we chose oyster mushrooms for Mission MushVroom?
Oyster mushroom cultivation offers a practical, eco-conscious solution to global food demand rising alongside concerns about sustainability, on Earth- and in space.

Oyster mushrooms are decomposers- helping reduce, reuse and recycle. They bridge the gap between waste reduction and food production.
Swipe for insights on why they’re nature’s perfect bite-size recyclers.

What do you think? Let’s talk fungi in the comments. 🍄👇
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