Thrive Nutrition

06/03/2024

...and because Facebook isn't letting me add a photo to my previous post, here it is!!

06/03/2024

Second blog post in my new series "More Plants".

This one is a delicious and easy tomato soup, and the previous one was a veggie-packed pearl barley tabbouleh.

Mmmmm veggies

02/11/2023

"Brain drink" company is on notice, ministry says.

A significant amount of quality evidence is required to support a high level health claim by a food manufacturer. Good to see the Ministry doing its bit to protect consumers from being influenced by unsubstantiated claims.

"Brain drink" company is on notice, ministry says.

10/07/2023

For those wondering (or worried) about the sugar present in fruit.

This type of sugar is called "intrinsic" sugar, and is present in fresh/frozen, whole/unprocessed/minimally processed fruit. It has previously been shown that intrinsic sugar in fruit (and intrinsic sugar in milk and other dairy products) is not associated with the same negative health effects that are associated with consuming added or "free" sugars.

Free sugars include any form of sugar that has been added to a food either during processing (eg: canned fruit in syrup, sugar in lollies and biscuits) or before you eat it (eg: brown sugar on porridge, sugar in coffee), to sweeten the food. Anything from plain old table sugar (sucrose) to honey, maple syrup, rice malt syrup, golden syrup, or coconut sugar (and many other names!) count as free sugar if it is added to a food, rather than already being there in the first place.

This systematic review is a resounding "please stop" to those who might encourage you to avoid fruit due to the sugar it contains. Fresh fruit is an important source of a range of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fibre, and deliciousness!!

Make sure you get your two serves a day:
- Fresh: look for what is in season to save money
- Frozen is just as good as fresh
- Canned in juice (drain the juice, and the creative amongst you may use it for something else, as an added sugar)

You can find out what is in season by checking out the following websites:
https://www.5aday.co.nz/whats-available/

https://lovefoodhatewaste.co.nz/?s=in+season&search-type=site

https://media.healthyfood.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Whats-in-season-poster.pdf

Background: The energy content of whole, fresh fruit derives primarily from simple sugars, which are currently under heightened scrutiny for their potential contribution to obesity and chronic disease risk. Yet fruit also has a relatively low energy density, moderate palatability/reward value, and h...

27/06/2023

Updated advice on alcohol consumption and health from the Heart Foundation.

"If you don't drink, don't start," the Heart Foundation now says as its new advice also suggests a glass of red wine has no benefits for the heart.

25/03/2023

Did you know that there is a free healthy lifestyle course that is available to anyone who is enrolled in a Pegasus Health practice?

Each course consists of 8 two-hour sessions run over 8 weeks, and groups are limited to 16 participants maximum. The sessions are delivered by trained facilitators, and you will learn about:

- developing a healthy relationship with food
- breakfast foods
- creating a food routine
- using whole foods
- good sleep habits and moving hour body
- how to read a recipe and develop some cooking skills
- how to make a variety of dishes from one base recipe
- and loads of other recipes that you get to cook (and eat!)

Check out the Puāwai - Kai website for more info. They have some great Health Tips, and Recipes 😁

Want to live a healthier lifestyle? Check out our course and articles on eating well, sleeping, exercise and more.

03/03/2023

Super-excited to have just hit "published" on a blogpost with an awesome guest collaborator - fellow Nutritionist Sara Lake of https://nznutritionist.com

Sara and I commiserated on our similar tramping footwear issues over lunch recently, and then (being nutritionists) got onto the subject of food...

Both of us being tramping "noobs", we thought we'd share our experiences (and recipes), so anyone else considering taking the plunge could learn from out mistakes!

https://www.thrivenutrition.nz/post/hiking-the-abel-tasman-tips-for-amateurs

This blog is a wee bit special. My colleague in nutrition Sara Lake and I had similar footwear-related misfortunes befall us on our Abel Tasman adventures, so after commiserating and kicking around some ideas, we decided to collaborate on a "tips for noobs" post, as we both wanted to share our exper...

20/12/2022

I am now closed for in-person and online client consultations for the holiday period.

I will re-open on Wednesday 18th of January.

Remember you can book one-on-one nutrition consults with me at the Rolleston Medical Centre (Wednesday afternoons) via my website: https://www.thrivenutrition.nz/services

If Wednesdays don't suit you can get in touch via the contact form on my website to arrange another day at the Rolleston Medical Centre: https://www.thrivenutrition.nz/contact

You can also request online consults on other days - just select "request to book" on the services page: https://www.thrivenutrition.nz/services

Wishing you all a happy and healthy holiday,

Meri Kirihimete ☺️

29/10/2022

Annoys the heck out of me that often homeopathic “remedies” 🙄 are sold in pharmacies.

04/10/2022

Another good reason for country of origin food labelling. None of that “made from local and imported ingredients” malarkey.

It would be nice to be able to make a more informed decision (these berries were from Serbia).

Foodstuffs has recalled a number of Pams products after the hospitalisation of several people - with frozen berries thought to be behind the country's largest foodborne outbreak of Hepatitis A in over 15 years.

14/09/2022

https://www.1news.co.nz/2022/09/14/hep-a-warning-after-3-cases-linked-to-imported-frozen-berries/

People with chronic liver damage, the elderly and pregnant people in particular have been advised to consider extra precautions.

02/08/2022

In case you have ever wondered…😆

Bonjour!