Nutrition with Nicki - simple, sustainable & evidence based nutrition 

Supplements often come in tablet or capsule form and typically refer to vitamins or minerals but may also include other components of foods such as herbs and plant materials such as ginseng, garlic, and green tea. Despite the promises made by some manufacturers, the recommendations from World Cancer Research Fund UK (WCRF UK) is to not take supplements to protect against cancer and to instead meet nutritional needs through diet alone. Some supplements can actually increase ca

Protein is often described as the most satiating macronutrient. People often report feeling fuller after eating a meal high in protein, comp

Studies have linked the consumption of fruits and vegetables with enhanced well-being. A systematic review of research found evidence that consuming fruits and vegetables “was associated with increased psychological well-being.” Okay, but that’s just an association. A famous criticism in this area of research is that maybe there’s just some inherent personality trait or type of family upbringing that might lead people simultaneously to eat in a healthy way and also to have be

A lot of the papers extolling the need for proper hydration are funded by the bottled water industry. Turns out the often quoted “drink at least eight glasses of water a day” has little underpinning scientific evidence. Surprisingly, the recommendation is traced back to a 1921 paper where the author measured his own pee and sweat, and determined we lose about 3% of our body weight in water a day, which comes out to be about eight cups. More recently studies have found evidenc

For many decades now, health authorities have recommended a low-fat diet. This recommendation has been widely accepted in the mainstream medical community. Although recent studies have raised some questions about the validity of these guidelines, most health authorities have not changed their position. The issue is still controversial and the guidelines remain largely unchanged, even though their scientific foundation has weakened. So are low-fat diets truly effective at prev

When you read articles like this in Alzheimer’s disease journals, about how “Eating more berries may reduce cognitive decline in the elderly,” they’re talking about observational studies like this, where “berry intake appears to delay cognitive aging by up to 2.5 years” in the Harvard Nurses’ Health Study, or the “intake of nuts” appearing to delay brain aging by two years. They’re just talking about associations. Berry-eaters and nut-eaters tend to have better brain function

The purported link between hormone-disrupting plastics chemicals, like BPA, and obesity was initially based, in part, on observations...

Erythritol, the too-good-to-be-true nontoxic, low-calorie, tooth-friendly sweetener that may even act as an antioxidant. What’s the...

Drinking alcohol is a favourite pastime for humans, both socially and culturally. However, alcohol also plays a large role in weight...

Only one in ten of the cells in your body is human. The other 90% are bacteria; we have about 100 trillion of them on us, and in us. The...

Fasting can certainly trigger rapid and significant weight loss, but how well does it hold up over the long term? Some research groups have reported surprisingly discouraging results. In one study, participants started at an average weight of about 270 pounds and, as is common with obesity, continued gaining weight in the six months leading up to the fast. After 24 days of what researchers called “inpatient starvation,” they lost a dramatic 27 pounds. But what happened afterw

Where did this whole breakfast-is-the-most-important-meal-of-the-day concept come from? Powerful corporate interests such as the...

Studies show that many doctors overestimate the possible weight loss ability of weight-loss drugs. This is likely because some clinical...

Protein is often described as the most satiating macronutrient. People often report feeling fuller after eating a meal high in protein, compared to a high carbohydrate or high fat meal. However, does that feeling of fullness last? For weight loss, you need to look at not only the satiety ratings but if this resulted in consuming fewer calories consumed later following the meal. Contrary to what is the common belief, research shows that actually the protein consumed in a meal