Temptation and seduction have in recent years taken an epicurean turn, with ‘food porn’ emerging as a global trend driven by social media. ‘Food porn’ quite simply refers to mouth-watering photos of food posted online for others to lust after, and with over 18 million posts in the #foodporn Instagram tag, it’s clearly more than just a fringe obsession. Of the 37 categories on Pinterest, Food and Drink is reportedly […]
It’s a word we hear bandied about daily, usually by marketing teams seeking to boost the image of their product – but how many of us, if pressed, could actually define the term ‘superfood’? When it comes down to it, there’s no tangible definition, but pair it with words like ‘ancient’ and ‘Aztec’, throw in an exotic background story with distant origins, then slap on a hefty price tag and […]
If I told you that a vodka and coke contained the kilojoule equivalent of a tablespoon of mayonnaise, would you think twice about ordering it? Go for a double shot and you’re almost up to a slice of pizza. This confronting, but realistic approach to handling the bar has reportedly snowballed into a whole new kind of disordered eating – but it’s not the booze that’s being forfeited, it’s the […]
Have you heard of Atkins? Dieting fads have been around almost as long as modern nutrition, and today these quick-fix, results-guaranteed, scientifically suspect diet crazes are a serious money-making machines, with the ‘diet industry’ crossing almost $800 million annually in Australia. One funny thing about fad diets is that, much like fashion, they wind up being recycled again and again over the decades. Who would have guessed we’d be wearing […]
Have you ever wondered why some people love vegetables like broccoli and Brussels sprouts, while others shudder at the thought of them? Turns out the aversion to particular bitter tastes may be more than just a case of fussy eating, and may have something to do with being a so called ‘supertaster’.
Most tech-savvy people in my generation will be well aware of the ‘clean eating’ craze swarming social media. As this trend has gained steam, sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have been flooded with poorly communicated advice, much of which is not only a recipe for poor body image, but also flat out wrong (carbohydrates = fat, really?) But is this ‘thinspiration/fitspiration’ causing more than a case of serious jealousy? […]
Well, he’s done it again. David Gillespie, author of the controversial Sweet Poison: Why Sugar Makes Us Fat, has returned with another divisive book on the subject of vegetable oils. The contention of his new book is aptly summed up in the title, Toxic Oil: Why Vegetable Oil Will Kill You and How to Save Yourself. Dramatic stuff. But before you go rushing out to boycott all cooking oils, how […]
In a country as fortunate as Australia, you could be forgiven for assuming nutrient deficiencies are a thing of the past. However, recent news of Australian children’s poor performance in Global Education Tests has given some commentators cause to reflect on the question of how diet can affect academic performance. A disappointed Julia Gillard announced the government’s aim for Australian schools to rank among the top five internationally by 2025 […]
Felicity Curtain 