eattypelive

Investigating ‘science’

It’s sort of the hot thing to bandy about words like ‘experts’, ‘science’ and ‘evidence’ right now. Throwing one of those words in your sentence is meant to make people take you seriously. Citing a study has become the holy jackhammer of “See? I know what I’m talking about!”. But research can be corrput, biased,Continue reading “Investigating ‘science’”

Lockdown getting you down? Get cooking!

I smoothed the homemade berry pie filling over the top of the New York cheesecake I had made. My chef’s knife slid carefully through the berries, dragging streaks of purple and read over the creamy lemony middle, and then crunched through the biscuit crust. I gently tugged the slice free from its cake prison, tippedContinue reading “Lockdown getting you down? Get cooking!”

There’s vegan and there’s vegan

Many years ago, I visited a friend of mine for a few days while she was staying at her parent’s place over summer. Her mother had recently gone back to Weight Watchers, and her father was enthusiastically supporting his wife. They were the most welcoming, delightful family, but I was devastatingly hungry the entire timeContinue reading “There’s vegan and there’s vegan”

Fresh air

It rained this weekend. As all parents, school teachers and early childhood educators know, rain is not conducive to calm when there are children involved. Cooped up indoors and already fighting through the mind fog of another growth spurt, my own three-year-old burst into tears over things like “I wish I had green eyes likeContinue reading “Fresh air”

Seven ways to spot a dodgy dietitian/nutritionist

“A dietitian came into work to talk to the personal trainers,” he told me. Even over the phone, his voice had a certain strained-quality about it. I pictured a group of fit trainers, eager for solid nutrition advice to pass on to their clients, gathered around a young, white lady (my imagination went with theContinue reading “Seven ways to spot a dodgy dietitian/nutritionist”

Gym culture has changed for the better… and the worse

I started going to the gym in 2010 and, at the risk of sounding like an old lady, things were different back then. The gym I attended was split into two floors – weights room down the bottom, cardio equipment like treadmills and exercycles up the top. In practice that meant that guys went downstairsContinue reading “Gym culture has changed for the better… and the worse”

Does Action Man have bigorexia?

Barbie gets a lot of shit for having a body that’s simply impossible to reconcile with good health. Since she came onto toy shelves in 1959, Barbie’s gotten thinner and thinner and her boobs have gotten bigger and bigger. I think it’s pretty well known that if Barbie were human-sized she’d be a freak. She’dContinue reading “Does Action Man have bigorexia?”

Turn up the music, but choose your song carefully

I was driving on autopilot when it happened. Alone in the car, I was in a small queue leading up to a roundabout. My eyes had slid slightly out of focus staring at the brake lights of the four wheel drive in front of me, and the gentle tick-tick of the indicator was slightly outContinue reading “Turn up the music, but choose your song carefully”

Improve heart health, decrease stress, boost happiness: take off your headphones

My gumboots squelch on the muddy grass as I lug an awkwardly-sized laundry basket of cold, wet washing outside. My thoughts are on the morning rush: I need to hang this washing out, make my lunch, get the 3-year-old ready, brush my teeth, make the beds and do my makeup in, eek, 15 minutes. MyContinue reading “Improve heart health, decrease stress, boost happiness: take off your headphones”

Eight glasses of water per day is a myth that refuses to die

The eight glasses of water per day myth has been debunked over and over again – yet it refuses to die. Where did it come from? And why isn’t it going away? Let’s travel back in time, to 1829, when Vincent Priessnitz opened the first ‘hydropathy’ clinic in Austria. He believed that water could cureContinue reading “Eight glasses of water per day is a myth that refuses to die”