Nutrition & Recipes

Author: Rohan Smith | Functional Medicine Practitioner | Adelaide, SA Quick Answer Healthy aging may be supported by optimising intake of omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants such as vitamin C and resveratrol, and herbal compounds including curcumin. Research associates these nutrients with reduced oxidative stress, lower inflammation, and preserved telomere length. Combined with stress regulation, 7-9…

Author: Rohan Smith | Functional Medicine Practitioner | Adelaide, SA Quick Answer Surgery may increase the body’s demand for specific nutrients including zinc, vitamin A, iron, B-vitamins, and amino acids involved in collagen synthesis, immune defence, and erythropoiesis. Research published in Nutrients (Burgess et al., 2018) suggests that pre-existing nutritional insufficiencies are common among surgical…

Author: Rohan Smith | Functional Medicine Practitioner | Adelaide, SA Quick Answer Taking excessive supplements without diagnostic testing may lead to nutrient competition, liver and kidney burden, and biochemical imbalances. Research suggests high-dose zinc supplementation can deplete copper stores, while synthetic folic acid may impair methylfolate utilisation in individuals with MTHFR gene variants [1][12][13]. A…

Author: Rohan Smith | Functional Medicine Practitioner | Adelaide, SA Quick Answer Nutrition directly influences mental health by modulating neurotransmitter synthesis, neuroinflammation, blood sugar homeostasis, and gut-brain axis signalling. Research published in The Lancet Psychiatry and the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition associates diets rich in omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA), B vitamins (folate,…

Author: Rohan Smith | Functional Medicine Practitioner | Adelaide, SA Quick Answer Healthy ageing may be supported through three evidence-based pillars: nutrient-dense nutrition, consistent physical movement, and mental wellness practices. These lifestyle factors influence key biological processes including chronic inflammation (inflammaging), oxidative stress, mitochondrial function, and hormonal regulation. Functional medicine approaches focus on personalised strategies…

Author: Rohan Smith | Functional Medicine Practitioner | Adelaide, SA Quick Answer Iron dysregulation is a condition in which the body’s ability to absorb, transport, or utilise iron is impaired — often despite apparently normal ferritin levels. The liver-derived hormone hepcidin, upregulated by chronic inflammation, may block intestinal iron absorption and trap iron inside macrophages…

Author: Rohan Smith | Functional Medicine Practitioner | Adelaide, SA Quick Answer Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) is an essential water-soluble nutrient that serves as a precursor to the flavin cofactors FAD and FMN, which may support mitochondrial ATP production, glutathione-mediated antioxidant defence, MTHFR-dependent methylation, and thyroid hormone activation. Suboptimal riboflavin status is associated with fatigue, migraines,…

Author: Rohan Smith | Functional Medicine Practitioner | Adelaide, SA Quick Answer Excess visceral adipose tissue (VAT) is associated with increased all-cause mortality primarily through metabolic endotoxemia, a state of chronic low-grade systemic inflammation. Visceral fat releases pro-inflammatory cytokines including interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) into the hepatic portal vein, which may contribute…

Author: Rohan Smith | Functional Medicine Practitioner | Adelaide, SA Quick Answer Telomeres are repetitive DNA-protein caps at chromosome ends that shorten with each cell division. Research by Elizabeth Blackburn and colleagues has shown that shorter telomeres are associated with accelerated cellular ageing and increased chronic disease risk. However, leukocyte telomere length is not a…