Melanie McGrice
Melanie McGrice is a leading Australian dietitian and a highly respected author, researcher, journalist, speaker, blogger, thought leader and media personality on nutrition and dietary issues – and we are thrilled to be in partnership with her.
As an Advanced Accredited Practising Dietitian, one of the few dietitians in Australia to achieve that status, she is passionate about educating women to eat well, appreciate good food and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Her approach to nutrition is fun and fresh and effective.
Many of women would have experienced a change in nutritional needs before and during menstruation, pregnancy, breastfeeding and menopause. Whether you want to lose weight, preparing your body to conceive, are busy being a new mum and are possibly breastfeeding, entering into early menopause or just want to be fit and fabulous good nutrition plays a vital and important role leading a healthy lifestyle Melanie is here to help guide us to being the healthiest version of ourselves:
1. Can you tell us a little bit about how and why the ‘Nourish with Melanie’ youtube channel came about?
I became a dietitian because I’m passionate about helping people live healthy lives. I’ve been working in hospitals and in my clinic to help people improve their lives from a range of diseases for over 15 years. I mean, what have we got, if we don’t have our health…right? My youtube channel and online programs came out after the culmination of two key events….
1) I came to the realisation that I wouldn’t be able to have biological children of my own. So, I found myself helping more and more women who were struggling to conceive or have full-term pregnancies, and
2) When the evidence started coming out about how what we eat during pregnancy impacts the epigenetics of our babies, to influence their future risk of disease, it really touched me…. For example, did you know that eating adequate amounts of omega 3 during pregnancy can reduce the risk of your baby suffering from eczema?! So, now, I’m on a mission to help women have healthy babies and pregnancies.
2. What has been your greatest challenge with working with pregnant women?
Having never been pregnant myself, I found it hard to overcome the anxiety that my advice wouldn’t be accepted. I knew that I’d made a huge difference to the lives of thousands of women having complicated pregnancies at the hospital that I work at, and in my clinics, but I felt that seeing women one on one was somehow different than providing information to a mass audience through blogs and videos.
But, once I focused on helping, instead of what people thought of me, and started receiving thank you after thank you, I knew that I just needed to get over my own self-consciousness and focus on making a difference instead. (Besides, many mummas-to-be have no problem trusting a male obstetrician even though he’s never given birth!)
3. What advice would you offer to a pregnant woman who’s experiencing morning sickness?
This is one of the most common questions that I’m asked! I’d recommend starting with these three tips:
Try leaving an apple and knife next to your bed, then peeling it and eating it before getting out of bed in the morning. The carbohydrates help stabilise blood glucose levels which can sometimes help.
Try eating meals outside or next to an open window. The fresh air reduces the smell of food which exacerbates nausea.
Ensure you’re drinking plenty of water. Now that you’re pregnant you’ll need about an additional litre per day as your body will retain more fluid. Dehydration will make morning sickness much worse.
4. What should the Kiddi-Community expect from you?
As an Accredited Practising Dietitian, I’m passionate about providing information which is based on evidence, rather than on just one (or a couple of people’s) personal experience. However, having worked with thousands of mummas-to-be in my clinics over the years, I understand that mummas-to-be want practical, easy to follow advice – so I make sure that I break down the science into easy to understand, practical info.
5. If I was a genie and could grant you three wishes, what would you wish for? (and why?…)
I have to admit, I’m pretty blessed already! However, I’ve been waiting for the stork to deliver the baby that I’m going to adopt for a very long time, so I’d love him to hurry up! ….and I guess if I’m going to have access to a genie, I may as well make the most of him, so….I’d love smaller feet (that’s often why I jam my feet into stilettos as they look so big and ugly), and I’d love a home reno WITHOUT having to go through the months of dealing with contractors.
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