You may have seen medicinal mushrooms crop up more and more in advertisements and hearsay. Medicinal mushrooms have been gaining in popularity with the introduction of “functional foods” – foods that have health benefits beyond basic nutrition- promoted in health stores and on social media. But what are they and why are they good for us? Medicinal Mushrooms are found all over the world, especially on wood, straw and other material. They are called “medicinal” because they are

Some bloating, gas or belching is natural and common. However, when it becomes so much that it starts interfering with your daily activities or your feelings of well-being, it’s an issue that should be addressed. In rare cases it can be caused by an underlying medical condition, however most of the time bloating can be reduced by following some easy tips. Skip fizzy drinks and chewing gum. Why? Because these are the main causes of swallowing air. There are 2 sources of gas in

Pre and post workout meals, shakes and bars are increasingly available. Sales of functional nutrition bars alone have increased by almost 400% since 2010. While overall calorie intake and macronutrient split have the biggest impact on body shape and performance, what we eat before training (pre-workout nutrition) and what we eat after (post-workout nutrition) can have an impact on our training session and our overall progress. So what should we eat before and after a training

Veganuary is a charity inspiring people to try a vegan diet for January and throughout the rest of the year. In 2018 a record-breaking 168,542 people took the pledge to be vegan. That is an astounding 183% increase from 60,000 who signed up in 2017, and the trend is on the rise. Following a vegan diet for a month can certainly be beneficial from a nutrition point of view. Like any diet, it can be approached in a healthy or a non-healthy way. Including more crisps, doughnuts a

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is one of the most frequent causes of referral to the gastroenterologist. It is a combination of chronic and recurrent gastrointestinal symptoms, not explained by structural or bio-chemical abnormalities, such as in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or by an auto-immune disease, such as coeliac disease. The American College of Gastroenterology defines IBS as ‘abdominal pain or discomfort that occurs in association with altered bowel habits over a

Do you experience heartburn or acid reflux? You’re not alone! Heartburn is typically a symptom of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD), which is more common than most people believe it to be. In fact, it affects at least 1 in 10 of the population on a weekly basis. Other symptoms of GORD include chest pain, chronic cough and malfunction of the lungs. What is GORD? Once food is chewed and swallowed it travels down the oesophagus, which leads to the stomach. Normally we hav

Whether it is the Atkins, Dukan or the ketogenic diet – the popularity of low or non-carbohydrate diets is consistently rising. Just looking at Instragram alone, the number of hashtags for #lowcarb is almost 9m, while #lowfat has just over 1m. Fat and protein are enjoying celebrity status in today social-media society (#protein is at a whopping 19m hashtags and #fat at 11m) while carbohydrates seem to be avoided like the plague (some lonely 0.2m hashtags for #carb). However,