Dietitian or Nutritionist?
In Australia there is a distinction made between dietitians and other occupations in the nutrition and food science field, including that of a nutritionist. A nutritionist is a tertiary qualified nutrition professional that has the expertise to provide a range of evidence based nutrition services related to nutrition, public health nutrition, policy and research, and community health. There is no industry specific assessing authority that assesses the qualifications of nutritionists who are not dietitians. Dietitians are also qualified to provide this range of evidence based nutrition services, but in addition, dietitians have the expertise to provide individual dietary counselling, medical nutrition therapy, group dietary therapy and food service management. A dietitian has undertaken a course of study that included substantial theory and supervised and assessed professional practice in clinical nutrition, medical nutrition therapy and food service management. A detailed list…
How much exercise do I need to stay healthy?
Australia’s Physical Activity & Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines recommend adults get 150 to 300 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity, or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous intensity physical activity, each week to help improve your blood pressure, cholesterol, heart health, and muscle and bone strength. ‘Moderate intensity physical activities’ are those that that take some effort but mean you are still able to talk while doing them, such as a brisk walk, recreational swimming, golf and household tasks like cleaning windows or raking. ‘Vigorous intensity physical activities’ are described in the Guidelines as those that require more effort and make you breathe harder and faster, like jogging, aerobics, fast cycling and many organised sports and tasks that require lifting, carrying or digging. The Guidelines also recommend including muscle strengthening activities on at least two days each week. For more information…
How to check if you’re overweight
A QUICK INDICATOR that you may be overweight is your body mass index (BMI) – there’s a handy BMI calculator here. But your waist circumference is generally considered to be a better measure of your risk of health problems. Finding the tipping point from a healthy belly to a hazardous one isn’t as simple as doing a pinch test. ‘Slim people who run marathons may still be able to grab a pinch of abdominal fat. It’s not this fat, but the deeper visceral fat that’s most dangerous,’ explains Healthy Food Guide expert Professor David Haslam, chair of the National Obesity Forum. Visceral fat is stored within the abdominal cavity around the internal organs, and this is what poses a threat to health. How to measure your waist accurately 1. Put a tape measure directly against your skin and breathe out…
3 Ways to Maintain Focus as You Age
At age 84, Sister Madonna Buder (aka The Iron Nun), finished Ironman Canada. How’d she do it? Sister Iron says, “…all I was concentrating on [was] getting the job done.” Single-mindedness is essential for endurance athletes — and also for you, as you walk 10,000 steps a day to strengthen your body and mind without the wear and tear of endurance sports. Plus, mental focus let’s you drive safely or read — and remember — a book on a crowded commuter train. But many folks say that over time, focus becomes difficult and they’re more easily distracted. Well, researchers measured the brain activity of volunteers 18 to 88 as they watched a movie and reacted to distractions. Turns out, as you age you notice and react to ever-more diverse sensory stimuli and that can blur your focus. Aging,…
Know Before You Go: Allergy Tests
If you have allergies, you’re not alone. More than 50 million Americans have allergies, making them the sixth most common cause of chronic illness. But it’s not enough to know that you’re one of millions who suffer. To treat allergies more effectively, you first need to know what is causing your allergic reactions. Allergy tests are quick and painless ways to find out. Here’s what you need to know about allergy tests before you head to the appointment. What Allergies and Allergy Tests Are Allergies are the immune system’s response to certain triggers, called allergens. There are a few types of allergies: seasonal allergies like pollen and some types of mold; perennial allergies, which are commonly caused by dust mites, and cat or dog hair; and food allergies. Wheat, eggs, milk, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, fish and shellfish are the…
What Your Job Can Do to Your Heart
The funny thing about your heart not being in your job is that your job finds a way to affect your heart anyway. When researchers looked at men who felt unfairly treated at work, those who kept their feelings inside had more than twice the risk of a heart attack as those who coped in other ways. (Read up on some of the more unusual signs of a heart attack.) We’re not recommending that you yell at your boss or kick any dogs. Instead, find strategies that dissipate the anger. Don’t wait. Anger and hostility can also cause high blood pressure and constrict your blood vessels, which can lead to problems, including impotence. (More than one-quarter of U.S. adults have prehypertension. If you’re unable to tackle the problems with your manager, your HR department, or your colleagues, at least try…