Heart Health

Cut through the heart health confusion. Get tips from a nutritionist about diet, lifestyle, and more.

Healthy heart tick is being retired, so what worked and what didn’t about our most well-known food logo?

February 3, 2016 By @entwellbeing

The Heart Foundation tick has been around for 25 years and was implemented to help consumers ascertain what foods and products were healthy choices. However, the Heart Foundation has now decided to discontinue the tick to make way for the new Health Star Rating. The Health Star Rating also rates the nutritional quality of items. The Heart Foundation says millions of Australians used the tick to help them make healthy food choices every day, but … [Read more...]

United States of America Imposes Trans Fat Ban

June 30, 2015 By @entwellbeing

Trans fats have been demonised by the medical and health fields, cited as a contributing factor to diet related illnesses such as obesity and heart disease. Now tougher restrictions are being put in place by the US Government in an effort to improve health and wellness. Mashable published the Associated Press article on June the 16th, 2015: “The Obama administration is cracking down on artificial trans fats, calling them a threat to public h … [Read more...]

Benefits of Coffee

June 23, 2015 By @entwellbeing

Coffee has long been seen as a habit to be broken in the path to good health. However, do the millions of coffee drinkers really need to go without? Is it really detrimental to our health? It seems that not only does it not pose any harm but it can actually provide benefits to our health! ‘Systematic reviews of the research – the most powerful method to weigh up scientific evidence – judge the current evidence as mostly in favour of drinking co … [Read more...]

Getting a grip: The strength of your handshake predicts the length of your life

June 4, 2015 By @entwellbeing

We all know that first impressions count, but what about predicting your future? You might not think the same way about the humble handshake again after hearing this news. The Economist reported on the 14th of May, 2015 about a study that intrigued the internet: can the strength of your handshake predict the length of your life? It seems so: “A paper just published in the Lancet, by Darryl Leong of McMaster University in Canada, reports that a … [Read more...]

Foods That May Help Decrease The Risk of Cancer

May 14, 2015 By @entwellbeing

We all know that the foods we eat play a key role in our health. In general, people who consume a healthy diet tend to have fewer health problems. Whilst those who have a diet high in fat and highly processed foods, tend to have an increase in health problems. One current area of research is the effect of certain foods and nutrients on risk of developing particular cancers. This article provides general information about foods that may help de … [Read more...]

Australia’s Healthy Weight Week 2015

February 17, 2015 By Belinda Elwin

‘Overweight and obesity affects almost 63% of Australian adults and 25% of Aussie kids. The latest statistics show 37% of 25 – 50 year old women and men are overweight and 27% are obese [1].’ These statistics are alarming yet many Australian’s still do not approach weight loss in a healthy, sustainable manner. How can you assess whether you are overweight or obese? Waist circumference Your waist circumference should be 80cm or b … [Read more...]

Resistant Starch

February 9, 2015 By Belinda Elwin

What is starch? Starch is a form of dietary carbohydrate and is the form in which glucose is stored in plants [1,2]. Chemically speaking, it is a polysaccharide which is made up of monosaccharides (glucose/sugar molecules) that are linked together. Starch is stored in compact granules consisting of two components: Amylose - a linear molecule consisting of linked glucose units. Amylose is soluble. Amylopectin - a branched molecule of … [Read more...]

How Plant Sterols Can Help Lower Your Cholesterol Naturally

January 20, 2015 By @entwellbeing

In Australia, 51% of adults have high blood cholesterol – that’s 6.4 million adults. Research shows that if you lower your blood cholesterol levels you will lower your risk of heart disease and stroke. If you’re looking for help to maintain healthy cholesterol levels, there is a natural solution to be found in plant sterols. Eating sterol and stanol-containing foods is an easy way to lower your LDL cholesterol, which may helps reduce the risk of h … [Read more...]

Lower Your Sodium Intake for Heart Health

December 23, 2014 By @entwellbeing

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, heart disease is the biggest cause of death in Australia [1], and having high blood pressure can put an individual at a higher risk of heart attacks and cardiovascular diseases. High cholesterol and fatty diets have long been associated with heart disease, but the most insidious factor in the mix may actually be sodium [2]. It is reported that 11% of the Australia population have developed high … [Read more...]

Health Check: five food tips that could save your life after a heart attack

December 3, 2014 By @entwellbeing

Every ten minutes in Australia someone has a heart attack. For 17% this will be fatal; the rest get a second chance. If you have had a close call, these five food tips will help get your health back on track. 1. Eat more wholegrain cereals There are heart health benefits from eating a range of wholegrain fibres. These include barley, buckwheat, bulgur wheat, corn and popcorn, millet, oats, quinoa, brown rice, wild rice, rye, triticale (a … [Read more...]