Dianne Wintle, Dietitian

02/04/2026

Prestigious journal nature published this review article about METABOLIC psychiatry.

Exciting for us Australians as 2 researchers from Townsville’s James Cook University are authors. Including Professor Sarnyai as a senior author and corresponding author.

How lucky are we to have them here in Australia!

Metabolic psychiatry will soon be mainstream.

What is it?

Often a ketogenic diet/ exercise/ regular sleep/ morning sun/ sometimes metformin.

It’s recognizing that many serious mental illnesses are due to a problem with brain energy use.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s44220-026-00609-5

13/03/2026

I knew it!! 🌞.

Getting older comes with the inevitable deterioration of our minds and bodies, right?

Not according to newly published research in Geriatrics that’s challenging traditional assumptions about the aging process. Instead, we’re capable of showing some improvements throughout our twilight years—all it takes is the right mindset.

Researchers led by Becca R. Levy of Yale University followed more than 11,000 participants in the longitudinal Health and Retirement Study, which monitors the health of older Americans. The team tracked cognitive function, using a global performance assessment, and physical function, using walking speed as a metric. They found that over a 12-year follow-up period 45% of people improved in at least one of these areas—32% improved cognitively and 28% improved physically.

“What’s striking is that these gains disappear when you only look at averages,” Levy said in a statement. “If you average everyone together, you see decline. But when you look at individual trajectories, you uncover a very different story. A meaningful percentage of the older participants that we studied got better.”

So what separated these lucky few from the rest?

According to the researchers, part of the difference was all in their heads. Participants who possessed more positive age beliefs were significantly more likely to see their cognition and physical condition improve.

It’s a finding that builds upon Levy’s earlier research, which found that having a negative attitude toward aging predicted poorer memory, slower walking speed, higher cardiovascular risk, and biomarkers associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

“Our findings suggest there is often a reserve capacity for improvement in later life,” she said. “And because age beliefs are modifiable, this opens the door to interventions at both the individual and societal level.”

Per Levy, negative stereotypes about aging, pervasive throughout the media and advertising, seep into our consciousness and can even lead to biological consequences. Additionally, there’s a raft of research on the power of positive thinking linked to better health outcomes for cancer, heart disease, stroke, injury recovery, and more. It stands to reason that a sunnier outlook could help soften the adverse effects of aging, as well.

It certainly can’t hurt to try. At worst, you walk into the sunset with a smile on your face and a pep in your step.

12/03/2026

Agree … everything gets better by…. Not sure where to start …. send me a text

06/03/2026

He explains so well ….

05/03/2026

26/02/2026

💪 COMPREHENSIVE SUPPORT KEY TO WEIGHT LOSS AND LONGER LIFE 💪

The key to long term weight loss and good health is not just a new, dynamic medication like Ozempic, but a much broader approach involving comprehensive support.

This is a view held by leading endocrinologist and senior Kolling Institute researcher Professor Sarah Glastras, who is calling for a shift away from the perception that these new game-changing medications are the only answer to complex health challenges like obesity and heart disease.

Sarah is part of a growing body of health professionals advocating for a holistic approach to weight loss, involving a multi-disciplinary team including an endocrinologist, dietitian, exercise physiologist and counsellor when necessary.

RNSH is currently running clinical trials to explore long‑term weight management, offering participants structured care and expert guidance.

The Diabetes and Obesity Research team is now seeking volunteers who meet the study criteria.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/3OpKHTm

22/02/2026

Conventional dietary recommendations for improving heart health often include cutting out carbs or fats, but a new study has found that this approach may lead to poorer health outcomes—especially when it comes to reducing heart disease risk. But not all carbs are created equal. When participants ate healthy carbs like whole grains, risk dropped by 15 percent.

Learn more about the study and what it means for your diet: https://on.natgeo.com/4ru18MZ

07/02/2026

Excellent … particularly in light of all the current nonsense around avoiding bread!!

Danish public health researcher Christina Dahm and her colleagues have analysed decades of data from 76,000 people to make an important discovery about diet and mortality. She offers several specific tips on how to easily incorporate the most important elements into your daily diet.

16/01/2026

For the many …. there are still things we can work on that will make a difference irrespective of genetic predisposition! There are alternatives to injectables 🙂. Text me if you would like some help.

A combined low-carbohydrate diet and resistance training program leads to significant weight loss in Japanese participants, regardless of their genetic risk score (GRS). An efficiency score, which integrates GRS with baseline BMI and body fat percentage, predicts short-term weight-loss outcomes more accurately than GRS alone. https://bit.ly/4pylfrr

12/01/2026

As always good advice from Dr. Uma Naidoo

As a nutritional psychiatrist, nutrition scientist, trained chef and author, I welcome any national conversation that brings real, whole food back to the center of health. That focus matters deeply for mental well-being and our metabolic health.

At the same time, brain health is not built on a single food group or a one-size-fits-all chart. The science of nutritional psychiatry shows us that mood, cognition, anxiety, and resilience depend on dietary patterns, not extremes—patterns rich in vegetables, fruits, leafy greens, legumes, fiber, fermented foods, healthy fats, herbs, spices and well-sourced proteins, and minimal ultra-processed foods.

We also know that how food is prepared, portioned, and personalized matters just as much as what appears on a graphic. For mental health, eating all healthy fats and dairy if you consume these, should still be in moderation as part of an overall healthy diet. The same goes for the sources of protein you select whether it be beef or tofu and beans. Paying attention to the source of our carbs is also key, less refined carb/cereals and more healthy sources – so I am a fan of the inversion of the food pyramid. Added sugars can worsen inflammation, insulin resistance, and neurotransmitter imbalance in vulnerable individuals, while whole foods, polyphenols, omega-3s, and micronutrients can be profoundly protective. The guidance on “Eat the right amount for you, based on age, s*x, size, and activity level” is a good reminder and pays attention to exercise and activity – key factors in our diet.

I would add in more beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, tofu, edamame to the graphic so we don’t forget these healthy options.

I encourage Americans to view any food chart as a starting point, not a prescription. The most powerful approach for brain and mental health remains one that is:

• Evidence-based
• Culturally inclusive
• Metabolically informed
• And individualized to a person’s mental and physical health needs

Food is medicine, but only when guided by science, balance, and compassion. Kudos to the new pyramid for it’s overall message, it’s a step in the direction towards Americans eating more whole foods more often.

What are your thought on these new guidelines?

20/12/2025

Dietitians Australia acknowledges today’s announcement to list Wegovy on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) for people living with established cardiovascular disease and obesity.

The PBAC has recommended that semaglutide be subsidised through the PBS for people who have already experienced a cardiovascular event such as a heart attack, stroke or have symptomatic peripheral arterial disease.

The recommendation determined that PBS funded access to the medicine will be limited to people with a BMI of 35 kg/m² or higher, or 32.5 kg/m² or higher for people of Asian, Aboriginal, or Torres Strait Islander ethnicity.

We welcome the acknowledgement by the PBAC on the need to improve access to non-pharmacological interventions, such as diet and physical activity support.

We know people can benefit significantly from GLP-1 medicines when they are appropriately prescribed and supported by a dietitian.

Wherever a prescription is given, access to evidence-based nutrition care must come with it before, during and after treatment to protect health and support sustainable outcomes.

Dietitians Australia continues to call for fair and equitable access to comprehensive multidisciplinary care for anyone prescribed weight loss medicines.

🔗 (PBAC) Meeting outcomes: https://bit.ly/4aVLDYy

🔗 Read out full statement: https://bit.ly/4qgcRO7

28/09/2025

Nice to see commonsense from credible source