http://www.thepunch.com.au/author-bios/susie-burrell/ Susie Burrell is one of Australia’s leading dietitians with degrees in both nutrition and psychology. Susie regularly appears on Channel 7’s Today Tonight and Sunrise and published her first book, ‘Losing the last 5kg” last year. She has a has a nutrition practice in Sydney. en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:40 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/10-ways-to-stop-health-problems-creeping-up-on-you/ Long term disease states including diabetes, cancer and heart disease do not develop overnight. Each and every day we are making health-based decisions which ultimately impact on the risk of developing such conditions. In addition to this, daily health related complaints including fatigue, constipation, bloating, lack of energy, poor libido, painful menstrual cycles and insomnia are all relating directly or indirectly in some capacity to poor lifestyle habits and weight issues. So, rather than waiting until you need to lose weight, or until you are so tired and stressed that you are forced to reevaluate your lifestyle, here are the top few daily health and nutrition habits that will go a long way in helping you to be at your best, every day, not just tomorrow. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Susie Burrell) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/10-ways-to-stop-health-problems-creeping-up-on-you/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/10-ways-to-stop-health-problems-creeping-up-on-you/#item8546 Sun, 20 May 2012 19:40:10 +0000 Susie Burrell | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/feeling-cold-and-hungry-more-soup-for-you/ The temperature has dropped, the days are noticeably shorter and suddenly salad does not seem like such an appealing lunch option – bring on the soups, I say. It may surprise you to hear that not only are soups a great option nutritionally but certain types of soup have also been proven to help support weight loss, so let’s get that soup pot out and get chopping! Soup, particularly vegetable based soups are a great option nutritionally as they combine a high nutrient density with a low energy density and this means that we get lots of key nutrients including vitamins and minerals for relatively few calories. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Susie Burrell) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/feeling-cold-and-hungry-more-soup-for-you/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/feeling-cold-and-hungry-more-soup-for-you/#item8487 Sun, 13 May 2012 19:35:02 +0000 Susie Burrell | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-war-on-sugar-is-full-of-overcooked-addiction-claims/ No other food has received the recent caning (pardon the pun) that sugar has over the past few months. Headlines of ‘toxic’, ‘poison’ and ‘addiction’ have been constantly bantered around with sugar free devotes claiming that banning the simple molecule has changed their life and their weight forever. Since high amounts of sugar is found in generally non-nutritive foods including soft drinks, sweet desserts, yoghurts, confectionery and processed cereal products, is not surprising that people drop weight when they ‘ban’ sugar form their diets. When you take a closer look at what is actually happening physiologically, is that the total carbohydrate load of the diet is significantly reduced when foods that contain sugar are eliminated, which simply means that insulin levels in the body are reduced and weight is lost. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Susie Burrell) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-war-on-sugar-is-full-of-overcooked-addiction-claims/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-war-on-sugar-is-full-of-overcooked-addiction-claims/#item8419 Sun, 06 May 2012 19:45:44 +0000 Susie Burrell | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/making-a-meal-of-your-familys-relationships/ In the past week, how many times have you sat down together as a family and enjoyed a meal together? If you had to think about it, chances are it was far less than the recommended four times for optimal family functioning long term. Long commutes, numerous after school activities coupled with relentless traffic tends to mean that family meals, during the week at least, are a thing of the past, with dinner often consumed at three or four different time intervals throughout the evening, with a range of different menu choices for the average busy, overcommitted family. Imagine though, if you could improve your family’s health simply by making the commitment to enjoy regular family meal times? A number of studies have now shown that regular family meals appear to be linked to a number of positive health outcomes for both children and teens, including weight control, better psychosocial functioning and improved interpersonal relationships. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Susie Burrell) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/making-a-meal-of-your-familys-relationships/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/making-a-meal-of-your-familys-relationships/#item8358 Sun, 29 Apr 2012 19:45:13 +0000 Susie Burrell | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Wanna-get-skinny-might-be-time-to-ditch-your-fat-friends/ If the majority of your friends drink too much, eat too much and are overweight, it may be time to do some culling. We become like the people we spend our time with. As a general observation, this would appear to be true. Just take a look at suburbs. It is fair to say that the people who live, work and socialise in the east of Sydney do tend to look and behave differently to those who live, work and play out west. There is no judgment associated with this observation, it is simply because as humans, like animals, we like to associate with others who are like ourselves. This “oneness”  helps us to feel safe, warm and cosy. When it comes to lifestyle habits though, this connectedness which occurs at both a conscious and unconscious level poses a significant issue as it appears that both good and bad lifestyle habits are catching. This means that if your friends are overweight, unfit and lazy, statistics suggest you are going to head that way too. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Susie Burrell) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Wanna-get-skinny-might-be-time-to-ditch-your-fat-friends/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Wanna-get-skinny-might-be-time-to-ditch-your-fat-friends/#item8307 Sun, 22 Apr 2012 19:50:08 +0000 Susie Burrell | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/your-large-coffee-couldbe-making-you-rather-large/ If you walk down the streets of Paris on any weekday morning, you will see sleek, perfectly coiffed Parisians clutching a briefcase or designer handbag and perhaps the newspaper. If you walk down any Sydney street, you will see a very different picture. You will see hundreds of people clutching a takeaway coffee cup. Now inside those containers there could be a skim capp, a chai latte or even a soy mocha, but what I see is calories. A lot of liquid calories that few of us really need. Now, before your morning coffee fuelled brain goes into a fury at the thought of the dietitian ruining your Monday morning by taking away the one indulgence of the day that gets you through the office doors each day, yes, it is true that there are some health benefits associated with drinking coffee. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Susie Burrell) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/your-large-coffee-couldbe-making-you-rather-large/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/your-large-coffee-couldbe-making-you-rather-large/#item8242 Sun, 15 Apr 2012 19:40:19 +0000 Susie Burrell | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/dont-turn-a-blind-eye-to-an-overweight-child/ If there is one topic that is guaranteed to cause much debate and controversy it is about the “right” way to deal with, and discuss overweight children. Many still believe that even though one in four Australian children has a significant weight issue that it is simply “puppy fat” and that children will grow out of it. Based on this belief, it is inferred that we should basically ignore the fact that a child is overweight or obese - we should leave them be. If only this were true. After working in the area of child and adolescent obesity for more than 10 years I can tell you that childhood obesity is a massive issue here in Australia. When you see a child who appears to have a little “puppy fat” or “muffin top”, you are actually looking at a serious weight issue. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Susie Burrell) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/dont-turn-a-blind-eye-to-an-overweight-child/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/dont-turn-a-blind-eye-to-an-overweight-child/#item8147 Sun, 01 Apr 2012 19:55:24 +0000 Susie Burrell | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/what-are-those-tim-tams-doing-in-your-trolley/ Health lobbyists, the media and consumers are very quick to blame soft drink companies, fast food giants and snack food suppliers for their contribution to growing rates of overweight and obesity here in Australia. But when you consider that our two major supermarkets control 60-70 per cent of all grocery sales in this country, perhaps it’s time to look a little more closely at what is going on behind their fresh food facades. Think back to the last time you did a supermarket shop. You may have been lured to your local supermarket by the nightly television advertisments highlighting the delicious celebrity chef inspired recipes you can prepare at home. Or the promise of only the freshest of fruits and veggies. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Susie Burrell) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/what-are-those-tim-tams-doing-in-your-trolley/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/what-are-those-tim-tams-doing-in-your-trolley/#item8033 Mon, 19 Mar 2012 19:30:15 +0000 Susie Burrell | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/sugars-not-evil-its-processed-foods-that-arent-so-sweet/ Ahhhh, another week, another journo looking to drop a few kilos in the limelight and yet another prime time television report on the evilness of sugar. This time from Channel 7’s Sunday Night. To date I have been reluctant to comment on the somewhat sensationalised media reports pointing the finger at sugar as the primary cause of the nation’s obesity issues. There are a few reasons for my hesitation. Firstly, I feel as if the sugar story has been done to death over the past 12 months. Secondly, I feel as if we are somewhat arguing the obvious. And finally, it seems to be an argument in which scientific debate has been all too readily replaced with personal views—a strong-minded lawyer’s opinion and now the personal weight-loss experience of one of Australia’s favourite rugby sons. Indeed, emotions will always generally beat logic, at least in a 3 minute television segment or within a few lines of a press release. So, here’s what I think, and I think I have a point of view that should at least be considered in this debate given that I see hundreds of people each year for weight loss. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Susie Burrell) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/sugars-not-evil-its-processed-foods-that-arent-so-sweet/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/sugars-not-evil-its-processed-foods-that-arent-so-sweet/#item7981 Sun, 11 Mar 2012 19:40:02 +0000 Susie Burrell | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/what-do-your-food-cravings-say-about-you/ We have all been there. Watching a favourite show on TV and suddenly feeling as if we could die if we do not get our hands on a tub of ice cream. Like now. In fact, some of us may be so taken by this urge to eat something sweet that we find ourselves leaving our warm, cozy home to get our sweet fix. Or sometimes threatening or convincing our partners to go and get it for us. The interesting thing about food cravings is that they give us much valuable information about what’s happening in our bodies, and what things are missing from our baseline diet. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Susie Burrell) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/what-do-your-food-cravings-say-about-you/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/what-do-your-food-cravings-say-about-you/#item7804 Sun, 19 Feb 2012 19:35:33 +0000 Susie Burrell | Author bios | The Punch