What is a Balanced Diet

By Warren Maginn on May 1, 11:19am

With health as the new currency, having a balanced diet plays an integral role in every path to wellness. What a balanced diet means, though, is open for interpretation. Clinical Nutritionist and Spokesperson for Nordic Naturals, Warren Maginn, shares his simplified guide to a balanced diet.

A balanced diet should contain a mix of vegetables, protein, carbohydrates and foods rich in omega-3s. Proportion is key to getting the ‘balance’ right.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when meal planning.

1. Colour Your Dinner Plate

Regardless of your fitness/weight loss goals, every diet should have a sufficient amount of vegetables. For the average adult, 5 serves of vegetables is the recommended amount. You can improve the nutritional value...

Healthy Foods on Supermarket Shelves

By Cindy O’Meara on May 1, 11:12am

It’s easy to feel confused by the labeling on foods these days. And especially with products in organic grocery stores. They bring up more questions than they answer. Are they really worth the money? Are they actually a wonder ingredient? Will this overhyped product solve all my problems, make me super healthy and save me from Friday night’s alcohol binge? With this in mind, let’s step away from the bright lights and clever packaging, and look at some of the basic foods found in regular supermarkets, and how they can supercharge our health. Here’s some you’ll find in my basket:

1 - Cauliflower

A member of the brassica family, cauliflower is rich in sulfur containing nutrients and glucosinates, to reduce inflammation and support liver...

Junk food cravings? We’ve got your back

By Anne Finch on May 1, 10:50am

Cravings are pretty common when we make changes to our diet. It’s a classic response to telling ourselves we can’t have something! Here’s our top tips for dealing with cravings.

1. Investigate your craving

Cravings can make us uncomfortable, so our instinct is to fulfill them at once. Next time, try taking a minute to think about what you really want. Are you tired and looking for a pick-me-up? Are you genuinely hungry? Or bored? Try and meet the underlying need of the craving, rather than a using a Band-Aid solution. If you’re tired, a brisk walk is invigorating (especially in the cold weather!). If you’re hungry, eat something satisfying rather than junk food that will leave you peckish again in half an hour.

2. Distract yourself

If...

Navigating drinking culture in the workplace when you're sober

By ABC Life / By Flip Prior on May 1, 10:43am

This year, I've had plenty of time to reflect on what influenced my past drinking habits since quitting on January 1 — and colleagues have emerged as a strong theme.

Look, I'm not about to try to blame Bob in accounts for my own after-work boozing, but given how much time most of us spend at work (and how stressful that environment can be) it's not surprising workmates loom large in shaping drinking behaviour.

Hanging out with colleagues in social situations often brings a not-so-subtle pressure to drink — it's ubiquitous, especially in the media industry, and opting out can feel uncomfortably weird.

And like lots of situations in which drinking is involved, habits can be ingrained after many years until they eventually feel normalised...

Alcohol can be hard to quit — here are ways to set yourself up to succeed

By ABC Life / By Johanna Khan on May 1, 10:43am

Have you ever considered cutting down on the amount of alcohol you drink, or even stopping completely?

It's not that you have a big problem with alcohol but there are some things about your relationship with booze that you want to change.

You might be reflecting on your indulgent holiday period and want to take a step back, or perhaps you've noticed your drinking is stopping you from doing other things.

So how do you get started? While a break from booze will look different for each one of us, there are certain strategies that can really help if you want to stop drinking (even if it's just for a while).

Create a support network

Personal support networks and connections can keep people going with quitting alcohol, says addiction...

What alcohol does to your body in the short and long term

By ABC Life on May 1, 10:43am

Most Australian adults will have at least an occasional drink and about half of us are regular drinkers.

But it's easy to underestimate the health impacts, and experts believe there is too much risky drinking.

What is alcohol?

The alcohol in drinks is called ethanol (also known as ethyl alcohol). It is made from sugars in grains, fruits and vegetables.

It can be produced in various strengths:

• 5 per cent (full-strength beer and cider)

• 12-14 per cent (wine)

• 18 per cent (fortified wines like port or sherry)

• 37-40 per cent (spirits like vodka, whisky and gin)

In recent years, the strength of both white and red wines has increased.

What is a standard drink?

A standard drink is one that contains 10 grams of alcohol.

The size will vary,...

My problem with your drinking: Australia’s hate-love relationship with alcohol

By Paul Harrison on May 1, 10:39am

In the 2015 annual alcohol poll, 34% of Australians said they drink to get drunk, 43% said they had vomited as a result of drinking and 75% said Australia has a problem with excess drinking or alcohol abuse.

But in the same Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education poll, 92% of Australians identified themselves as responsible drinkers.

As the young people might say, what the …? A majority of Australians agree we have a problem with alcohol. But almost all say it’s not a problem of theirs – it’s a problem that exists somewhere outside of their world.

There are both contradictions and abstractions in this discussion. But it makes perfect sense to me.

It’s simply easier to say others are flawed than admit you might be the one who is...

Ten reasons some of us should cut back on alcohol

By Steve Allsop on May 1, 9:41am

Some of us seriously underestimate how much we drink, so perhaps the first step to deciding if we need to cut back is to consider how many standard drinks are in that glass of wine, beer or spirit. A miscalculation increases the risk of drinking outside the low risk guidelines. Pouring your own drinks, topping up a glass before it’s finished, or not paying attention to your consumption influences whether you drink more than intended.

Here are some reasons why you might think about cutting down on drinking.

Here are some reasons why you might think about cutting down on drinking.

1. Improving your health

Reducing alcohol means you might find it easier to manage your weight. Some drinks have as many calories as high fat foods.

In one large...

How to Set Goals

By Melissa Ingram on May 1, 9:27am

Many of us set ourselves tasks and goals to achieve what we feel will make a difference to our lives. Sometimes we find it difficult to achieve these goals as the journey becomes too long, too hard or it simply gets overshadowed by other ‘higher priority’ tasks and therefore these goals are pushed to the side.

Start by asking yourself some simple questions that can help you take control of your life and achieve your goals:

• What are you trying to achieve?

• What are your habits and what do you want to change?

• What have you achieved in life?

• Do you live in the moment?

What are trying to achieve and what is your ultimate goal? Is it to live cleanly, train for a 10km fun run, sleep better, lose weight, drink more water, change careers, start a...