Elly Smith - Nutritionist

02/04/2026

Join me at the Mindd International Forum 2026, where I will be speaking with Helen Padarin about Food is Medicine - Pantry Essentials, featuring cooking demos and food sampling. The Mindd Forum is not just an event that places practitioners and patients at the forefront of functional healthcare, it’s a movement pushing for safe and effective healthcare for all families. I hope to see you there! ☺️🩵💙

Mindd Foundation 🙏

01/04/2026

Firstly, thank you to everyone who came to my first workshop last week. 💚 Seeing the room full of people who actually want to learn, ask questions and take their health seriously meant a lot. There will be more. 🥰

But today I want to talk about Chris… Chris Clarke is a young husband and father who was diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer in November last year. He had no symptoms. No warning signs. Nothing. The diagnosis came out of nowhere, followed by emergency surgery, and now chemotherapy. And what did Chris do? He ran a marathon. Mid-chemo. Not because he had to, but because he wanted to raise money so that what happened to him might not happen to someone else. I don’t have many words for that kind of courage. I just think more people need to know his name. Chris has a fundraising page for Bowel Cancer Australia - a 100% community-funded charity working on prevention, early diagnosis and research. He has already raised $13,810 toward his $15,000 goal and he is still going. The link is below. Please donate if you can, even a small amount adds up.

Bowel cancer is now the deadliest cancer for Australians aged 25 to 54. Australia has the highest rates of early-onset bowel cancer in the world, rising to 8% every year. And as Chris’s story shows, it can arrive with zero warning. You can feel completely fine and have no idea. I am not here to frighten anyone. I am here because I believe that knowledge, good food, and community are among the most powerful tools we have. Not a guarantee. But something real that we can actually do.

The next workshop is coming. In the meantime, please share Chris’s page. 💚 Let’s help him get to $15,000. 👊

Donation link —> https://challenge.bowelcanceraustralia.org/page/ChrisClarke-94758725

25/03/2026

Everyone is welcome… 🌿☺️🌿

22/03/2026

The response to my recent post blew me away! 🥹

So many messages, so much community support - it’s a reminder of just how much awareness and honest conversations are needed around what it truly means to look after our health. 🌿

I am deeply moved to share that Christopher, the young dad I mentioned in my last post, who was recently diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer, whose story I first came across in The Tawny Frogmouth reached out and will be joining us to share his story. 🩵

Also the wonderful team at Holixir in Balgowlah, after seeing my post, offered me a space to host these talks. Thank you Holixir Womens Wellness 🙏

This first talk will be a “Bird’s-Eye View of Health”. I will be discussing the different layers of health, why each matters, and how they all intersect. The foundation before we go deeper. 🌳

Event details are listed below:
Date: Tuesday 31st March
Time: 1:00 - 2:30pm
Location: Holixir, Balgowlah

Please register via the link in my bio. Space is limited, and knowing the numbers ahead of time means we can ensure everyone is properly accommodated.

This is a space for anyone navigating a health journey, supporting someone who is, or simply wanting to better understand their body. 🙂

18/03/2026

I read something in our local The Tawny Frogmouth magazine last week that I haven’t been able to shake. A young dad, who was fit and healthy, discovered he had bowel cancer by accident. No symptoms. No warning. Just an incidental discovery that may well have saved his life. 💚

This is not a one-off story. Bowel cancer is now the deadliest cancer for Australians aged 25 to 54. Australia has the highest rates of early-onset
bowel cancer in the world, rising up to 8% every single year. And the most frightening part is that it often has no symptoms in the early stages. By the time something feels wrong, it has often already grown.

So I am putting together a series of free community workshops on traditional healing foods, liver support, and eating well on a real budget. Because I never want money to be the reason someone can’t take a step toward better health for themselves or their family. 💗

I want to be upfront... I am a nutritionist, not a doctor, and I am not claiming that diet will always prevent or cure cancer. But I do genuinely believe that the food we eat and the way we support our bodies could play a meaningful role in our overall health. Research suggests that around half of all bowel cancer cases are linked to lifestyle factors. That means there is something within our reach. And I want to help people find it.

Many of you know that when my beautiful sister was diagnosed with breast cancer, I ran 341 kilometres in August 2020 to support her and raise funds for the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Because of this community, we raised $26,456 together! I am still overwhelmed by the generosity. My community showed up for my family and me, and now I want to show up for them.

Topics will include: traditional healing foods 🌿 liver support 🫀 gut health and the microbiome 🥦 eating well on a budget.

Dates and locations coming soon. Drop a 🌿 in the comments or DM me to be notified. 💛

16/03/2026

🌰 Do nuts upset your stomach? You’re not imagining it, and it’s not just from ‘eating too many.’ 😖

Unlike animals, plants can’t run from predators. Their defence is plant chemicals… a protective outer coating containing compounds such as phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors, making them hard to digest.

For some people, this means:
→ Bloating or nausea after eating nuts
→ A heavy, uncomfortable feeling
→ Poor nutrient absorption (even from ‘healthy’ food)

The good news is there’s a simple fix that’s been used for centuries!

✨ SOAKING ✨

Soaking nuts in water (with a little sea salt) begins to neutralise those protective compounds and essentially ‘wakes up’ the nut as if it were germinating. Dehydrating at a low temperature (I use 45°C) then restores that satisfying crunch without destroying the nuts natural enzymes and heat-sensitive nutrients.

This gives you nuts that are…
✔ Easier on your digestive system
✔ Better absorbed by your body
✔ Just as delicious — arguably more so

In these photos, I have walnuts, pecans, and cashews that I have soaked, spread over trays, and slowly dehydrated. Then stored in glass jars, ready to snack on all week. 🥰

11/03/2026

There is so much pressure and rigidity around being “healthy” and I think it’s doing more harm than good.

Food has always been about PLEASURE, JOY and HAPPINESS. Sitting around a table with people you love, eating something delicious and feeling connected. That connection to food and to each other is ancient, and sadly, we have lost it somewhere along the way.

Now the joy around food has been hijacked by ultra-processed, high-sugar foods engineered to give you a hit of dopamine and then leave you crashing - feeling tired, foggy and reaching for more, all while quietly damaging your gut, playing around with your hormones and driving inflammation through the roof.

Your body simply cannot heal and thrive on these foods. It doesn’t have the raw materials it needs. Some people feel it sooner than others, while some spend years recalibrating their “normal” to feelings of tiredness and low motivation.

BUT strict regimes and food exclusion are not the answer either. More rules + more rigidity = more guilt. That’s not healing. That’s just a different kind of pressure. There is another way… One built on fun, playfulness and curiosity. Learning to enjoy food that also loves your body back.

Our ancient, traditional foods are so deeply underestimated right now... these are the foods that have nourished and healed humans for thousands of years. Even mainstream medicine is beginning to understand the immense effect that real, whole, traditional foods can have on our health (finally!). The anti-inflammatory properties. The gut-healing compounds. The nutrients that work together in ways science is still uncovering.

I am so passionate about helping people discover the playfulness and fun in their food and educating them on just how extraordinarily powerful these traditional, ancient foods are and what they are truly capable of for healing the body.

This isn’t about going back. It’s about rediscovering what’s always been there. 🌿☺️

08/03/2026

Food is one of our most powerful medicines and it’s often our most ancient, traditional foods that hold the deepest nourishment.

In this reel, I’m straining the whey from a batch of homemade yoghurt and will put it to work in a few different ways…

🥒 Fermenting vegetables —> whey acts as a starter culture, kickstarting lacto-fermentation to create probiotic-rich foods

🌰 Soaking nuts and seeds —> helps break down phytic acid (an anti-nutrient) and ferment nuts and seeds, improving nutrient absorption and their overall digestibility

🥤 Adding to smoothies —> a simple way to sneak in extra probiotics, protein, and electrolytes

Most people know whey as a protein source and a staple ingredient in trendy protein powders. And yes, it absolutely delivers on that front. But whey is so much more than just a protein hit! As a fermented byproduct, it is loaded with beneficial bacteria and enzymes that support gut health and digestion.

Nothing gets wasted in our kitchen …. 🥰 as all whole foods have a purpose. 🌿

04/03/2026

Days like this fill my cup… the slow simmer of meat stock, and the preparation of GAPS yoghurt and cultured cream. These aren’t just foods - they are medicine. 🌿

Consistency is what heals, not perfection. It is the commitment to keep going, keep making, keep nourishing - even on the hard days. 🤍

02/03/2026

Before you buy another supplement, pause for a moment…🌿💚

I have met with countless people taking products that don’t suit their body, their gut, or even their genetics. Many supplement companies also use cheap forms of nutrients that your body can’t absorb very well or not at all. Others include doses so low they’ll never create a real therapeutic effect. 😩

The wellness world is noisy, and the marketing can be incredibly persuasive. 🤯

These are the five questions to ask yourself before you consider buying supplements…

🤔 Do you know the actual issue you’re trying to address?

🤔 Is your gut in a state to absorb it?

🤔 Do your genetics influence how you process it? (Yes, MTHFR counts 🧬)

🤔 Is the brand independently tested for quality?

🤔 Are you using supplements to avoid improving your diet?

Supplements can be powerful but only when they’re the right type, in the right dose, for the right person. 💊

Please feel free to reach if you have any questions. 🥰🙏💛

27/02/2026

🥚 Egg Loaf… frittata’s rebellious, rectangular cousin!

Every meal in my kitchen is basically a science experiment, and this one did not disappoint! 🙌 Loaded with whatever was in the fridge, topped with melted cheese, and baked until golden. It’s GAPS-friendly, kid and husband approved, and different every single time. 😂

No recipe. No rules. Just real food made with intention.

Here’s why I love meals like this… 👇

🥩 Protein & healthy fats from eggs and meat help keep energy and mood stable throughout the day. This matters more than most people realise. High-quality protein at meals directly reduces blood sugar spikes and leads to better mood, focus, and behaviour in kids and adults.

🧀 Good quality organic dairy provides vitamins A, D & K2, which work together to support immune health, gut lining integrity, and growing bones. Peer-reviewed research backs this up. Dr Weston A. Price spent his career showing us just how critical these fat-soluble nutrients are, and modern diets are still falling short.

🌿 Eggs deserve their own moment.🌟 They contain every essential amino acid, plus choline, a nutrient the National Institutes of Health identifies as essential for brain development and liver function, yet most people simply aren’t getting enough of it.🥺

🔬 This is root cause nutrition in action. Just giving the body what it actually needs to heal and thrive.🤍

Drop a 🙋 below if you want me to share how I made it - I’ll post the “method” (loosely speaking 😂)

14/11/2025