After a recent research placement the dental surgeons clinic, I was alarmed by the number of children fronting up for tooth extraction of "baby teeth". It got me thinking... how often do people really brush their teeth nowadays? Once..? morning and night?

I'm not so convinced. In our health clinic, at Healthkicks, dental condition is always considered when developing easy to follow meal plans and creating nutrition balance (that is to say, we don't add meals like steak for someone who has difficulty chewing and we don't add a huge amount of seeds to meals that will otherwise aggravate the bowel condition diverticulosis and we definitely do not applaud the use of sugary treats in the evenings).

Although we all know that high sugar diets can cause obesity, we sometimes forget to highlight the importance of the effects that high sugar diets have on teeth, for both young and old. Bacteria in plaque feed on sugar to produce acid. This acid dissolves the minerals within teeth causing decay and...

Now, to the surprise of many of my clients, I actually rarely ever suggest strict portion control at Christmas and New years celebrations. Instead I simply point out tips and tools to use when the fun and festivities start and perhaps a little sprinkle of logic when it comes to counting the ACTUAL days of celebration. The end of year holiday season isn't actually a party every single day/ night, when you really take a look at the holiday break - we are talking about approximately 6 or 7 actual celebration events in total (slightly more or less for some). That's right, and here they are:

1) Christmas party - Work or School Breakups

2) Christmas Eve

3) Christmas day

4) Boxing Day

5) New years Eve

6) New Years Day (?)



So you see, you really don't have to miss out on the fun, instead just approach all the other days as any given "normal routine' day of a typical healthy week, oh... and MOVE more! Burn off all those extras by staying active throughout the day, and...

Label reading in Australia can be challenging at the best of times. What choices are good for you in relation to salt, sugar, fats, fibre & overall kilojoules and calorie content is often hard to discern. Let alone all the marketing terms that products come with these days:

• Baked not friend

• Natural

• Organic

• GMO

• Free Range Vs Grain Fed or Farm Raised

• No added artificial flavours and colourings

• Low Fat | No fat | Light | Reduced Fat

• Heart 'tick'

• Sugar free

• Low Sodium

• High in Fibre

The constant stream of current "trends", topics on morning shows, talk shows and magazines portrays a complex and confusing message.

Are you confused yet???

The real question is, what are you actually eating? And what is good for you?

Incidental exercise is simply a term used to describe any exercise or activity that is part of your daily routine. This can including activities such as cleaning the house, mowing the lawn, walking around the supermarket, walking the kids to school or even the vacuuming.

Increasing the amount of incidental exercise in your daily routine is one of the easiest ways to make improvements to your health, well-being & fitness. The simplest approach is get your body moving as much as possible throughout the day. Every little bit counts and it all adds up to a healthier you.

Here are 5 tips on how to include more incidental exercise into your daily routine:

1. Groove and get enthusiastic when doing the housework. Put on your favourite music and boogie while you clean.
    

2. Deliberately park 10-minutes walk away from your workplace and enjoy the short walk to work.
    

3. Spend time each weekend in the garden, weeding, mowing the lawn and doing a general clean up.
    

4. Take the stairs inst...

1) Skipping breakfast. Okay, we all know that breakfast is important, why? Well research shows that people are much more efficient in the workplace and find it easier to control their weight if they are breakfast eaters. If you are skipping breakfast, understand that this is just a habit that needs re-adjusting. Lose the mindset that breakfast is time consuming and instead think of it as a way to boost you metabolism, sharpen your concentration and help you manage your weight. You don’t need to create a deluxe gastronomic experience; if you are on the run something quick and healthy can be just as beneficial.

2) Sitting down all day. How often have you phoned or emailed a colleague who works in the next room when you could just get up and visit them instead? How often do you eat your lunch in front of the computer? Research evidence now shows that sitting for longer than 4 hours at any given time increases your risk of chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease. The simple act of...

Yes, the popularity of the Paleo-way of eating has been growing on a momentous scale here in Australia and as far as I can see, the public are embracing it with a new found respect for healthy eating. Just in case you have been living under a rock (or perhaps having a grand holiday away from our shores), let me get you up to speed. The paleo diet has also been called the "stone-age/hunter-gatherer diet" or the "caveman style of eating", and it advocates a lifestyle of eating nourishing foods that are readily available naturally in the environment, that are organic, wild-caught, free range and/or farmed according to sustainable living (?). It promotes the intake of nutrient dense foods, loads of healthy vegetables and lean meats and the total avoidance of highly processed, manufactured, pasteurized/ homogenized dairy, high salt and sugar dense foods.

Hmmmm, hang on.....the last statement already sounds very familiar - yes, just like healthy eating right? Well yes, but it is the paleo 'a...

Did you know that in Australia, men are twice as likely to have a heart attack or stroke than women? Unlikely to help this statistic, is the fact that 2 in every 3 men in Australia are now overweight or obese. Although men can be hard to get started on a healthkick once they do, they have great focus and can form new habits quickly. Call it a ‘primeval', but in my experience men enjoy following clear-cut guidelines and if they can incorporate some element of competition they will excel. Whether or not genetics are playing a role OR you need medication for blood pressure, you will still benefit from combined lifestyle changes.

Cut excess sodium in the diet: The primary source in most food is sodium chloride, the chemical name for ordinary cooking/table salt. Salt can significantly influence blood pressure and processed foods are high in salt (no surprise there), 75% of salt we eat is hidden in foods that we often think are healthy like bread and breakfast cereals. The recommended intake...

The impact that ‘sugar’ has on health has always been of interest to public health nutritionists but despite their best efforts to raise public awareness, it has very much remained out of the spotlight due to the food industries clever marketing strategies. Campaigns marketing food to consumers, like you and me, is very big business and it can leave even the most health conscious person confused and overwhelmed.  That of course is up until recently, thanks to the advocacy of celebrities and chefs in the media who are determined to push the low sugar message. How refreshing, finally celebrity support for a very worthy nutrition cause. 

When we think of ‘sugar’ usually the first things that come to mind are soft drink, lollies, cakes and biscuits.  These foods contain what we call ‘added sugars’, but sugar is also found naturally in food like fruit, honey, dairy and some vegetables. Unfortunately many convenience foods that are labelled as ‘healthy options’ are also very high in sug...