YMCA Healthy Living Magazine, powered by n4 food and health (Summer 2015) | Page 6

ALEXANDRIA HOARE, APD
Alexandria is a Melbourne-based Accredited Practising Dietitian and nutritionist, with a Bachelor of Health Science and a Master
of Dietetics at Deakin University. She is the founder of The Dietitian’s Pantry (thedietitianspantry.com) and she believes in eating a
diet that contributes to all areas of health, happiness and wellbeing. For example, broccoli makes her healthy, cheese makes her
happy and dining out with her beautiful family and friends is great for her wellbeing! Alexandria promotes a well balanced
approach to nutrition and truly believes in “everything in moderation.” Click here to learn more about Alexandria.

SUPERFOOD or
SUPER HYPE?
Many “superfoods” are super hyped and super overpriced! These so called superfoods
can contain great nutritional properties but so do various other foods that don’t have the
superfood label attached to them. This means you can have a well-balanced, healthy diet
without these foods. Here are a few superfood swaps from nutrition expert, Alexandria
Hoare.
Chia seeds

Chia seeds are praised for their high
fibre, omega 3 and protein content as
well as their nutritional profile which is
all fantastic, but flax seeds are a great,
cheaper alternative and just as
nutritious. They too are loaded with
omega 3s, fibre, and they have a similar
protein content. The nutritional profile
differs slightly but they are still a great
seed to include in your diet and are a
quarter of the price of chia.

Ancient grains

Ancient grains are taking off in the
food world. Think teff, bulgur, amaranth,
faro, spelt and quinoa. These grains are
known for their high fibre, high protein

content, and vitamin profile.  Not only are some of these
ancient grains hard to find, hard to pronounce and expensive
to buy, but they have similar health benefits and properties to
other grains. More commonly found grains such as oats,
barley and brown rice can be just as beneficial in the diet as
the ancient variety. Oats are full of fibre, protein, healthy fats,
vitamins, phytochemicals and are low Glycemic Index (GI).
Many studies have linked oats and barley to the reduction of
blood cholesterol thanks to their beta glucan content.

Kombucha

If you are yet to hear of kombucha don’t worry it will be
clogging your newsfeed and Instagram very soon. It’s all the
rage amongst the health fanatics due to its claims of
“detoxifying the body,” reducing cholesterol, boosting the
immune system and improving digestion. Kombucha is a
fermented tea that has been around for thousands of years in
China. Whilst it may produce health benefits, there have been
no human studies done to back up the
claims. Kombucha provides a
good dose of probiotics,
antioxidants and
polyphenols, which
can also be provided
by green tea and
probiotic yoghurt.

Coconut oil

According to some, this
oil is the answer to all of
your health problems. I have
seen claims that it can burn
fat, reduce cholesterol,
prevent cancer, boost
metabolism, control sugar

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YMCA HEALTHY LIVING MAGAZINE SUMMER 2015