Helen Barnett Certified Intuitive Eating Coach, Nutritionist, Dietitian APD

Dubbo Health Hub's new Website is now live!!

Home We specialise in general practice, dietetics, and psychology services, providing comprehensive healthcare to individuals and families.

Wow - what at week at the Royal Children's Hospital... So much to bring home and implement in the paediatric dietetics space. I am especially excited about some skills I honed in PEG feeding - mainly Blended Tube Feeds as this has the potential to improve the quality of life and nutrition of people receiving Enteral feeds. Having been hesitant before, it was so cool to sit in lectures and workshops on Blended tube feeds and now feel so much more confident about supporting my families with this method of feeding.

What are some benefits of Blended tube feeds?
- Better nutrition!
- reduced reflux and vomiting
- reduced/eliminated constipation and generally better bowel/GI health
- more enjoyment of family meals (because you can just blend what the family is having and the person on the PEG feed can have the same thing)
- better able to manage allergies because blends can cater for individual needs better
- for those people struggling with gaining weight on formulas, often they can gain weight it stabilise their weight on Blended feeds

Although it's a typical cold day in Melbourne, I'm beyond excited to be down here for 4 days for the 1st Module of the Specialist Paediatric Dietetics Course, held at the Royal Children's Hospital!
So much to learn, so many people to meet, so much knowledge to bring home and use!

I'm planning a FREE Talk on Neuro-affirming Dietetics (for all ages) - which will cover fussy eating, ARFID, meal time stress, challenges and why the food pyramid doesn't work for this population. I won't necessarily be going in to great detail, but looking at this from a neuro-affirming lens.
I'm hoping it will be informative, interactive and a chance for people to meet, shares stories, challenges and triumphs and find like-minded people.
My goal is to help other Neurodivergent people and parents of Neurodivergent kids meet and find support, make connections and build community.
Seats are limited to 100 so please RSVP to [email protected] just in case I have to cap the numbers. (If there is huge interest, I can always repeat it..!)
Date: 27th July 2-5pm (ish) (talk won't be that long - I've just booked the space for that time)
Venue: Western Plain's Cultural Centre
Food and Drinks can be purchased at Creo cafe during the talk.

What is self-care?
It is a complex concept actually. It often feels selfish and indulgent, and many of us feel that we are not giving enough to others, when we are taking tie for ourselves.
BUT - when we don't care for ourselves, others have to care for us. Other's spend time worrying about us. We don't have the energy to do things for other people. And we resent the time and energy we put in to caring for others if we don't put the same time and energy into ourselves.

Nutrition is all about self-care. Denying ourselves adequate nutrition in order to be something for someone else (i.e. an appropriate or acceptable body size) - whether this is a friend, lover, society, health care worker/medical professional usually only leads to resentment in some form or other. But if in a certain way is about self-care because it comes from a place of loving and nurturing yourself - then this is a totally different dynamic.
Listening to our needs, hearing what our body tells us, nurturing ourselves and caring for ourselves is not only a gift to ourselves, but a gift to others.
We are much more able to be present, caring and compassionate people when we acknowledge and meet our needs - with one of the most fundamental being food.

If you need help navigating the complexity of your relationship with food, you can find me at Dubbo health hub:
Ph: 6884 1804
Appointments are available face to face and online

Intuitive eating is learning to eat in-tune with and attuned to one's natural body cues. It is not listening to what someone else tells you to do - like following a diet plan, meal plan, calorie limit, or counting macros. It is learning to hear what our body needs on any one day and honouring those messages. Years of dieting, over-exercising, trauma, stress, over-working, high adrenaline, trying to fit in - so many things - contribute to not being able to hear what your body needs. The idea behind Intuitive Eating Counselling is helping to learn what your body needs while being in a safe and non-judgemental environment... Imagine that - a dietitian who doesn't mind what you eat and actually encourages you to enjoy and savour food and wants to talk about why you eat the way you do NOT what you eat and what you weigh... Intuitive eating does not involve being weighed, nor does it involve any form of counting. It acknowledges that dieting disrupts the most fundamental attachment relationship we have - that with ourselves.

If you want to change your relationship with food find me at
Dubbo Health Hub: 6884 1804

I'm planning a FREE Talk on Neuro-affirming Dietetics (for all ages) - which will cover fussy eating, ARFID, meal time stress, challenges and why the food pyramid doesn't work for this population. I won't necessarily be going in to great detail, but looking at this from a neuro-affirming lens.
I'm hoping it will be informative, interactive and a chance for people to meet, shares stories, challenges and triumphs and find like-minded people.
My goal is to help other Neurodivergent people and parents of Neurodivergent kids meet and find support, make connections and build community.

Seats are limited to 100 so please RSVP to [email protected] just in case I have to cap the numbers. (If there is huge interest, I can always repeat it..!)

Date: 27th July 2-5pm (ish) (talk won't be that long - I've just booked the space for that time)
Venue: Western Plain's Cultural Centre
Food and Drinks can be purchased at Creo cafe during the talk.

After 5 1/2 years working in some great practices in Orange and alongside some great teams, I've decided to take the leap out on my own. From the end of next week I'll be effectively leaving Psych Solutions and taking a break for a few weeks (over the Uni Holidays while my son is home), then embarking on something new in Orange.
It is always sad to leave somewhere especially when the organisation has been so kind and supportive.
I'm excited to collaborate in different ways with new people. Over the past few years I've refined the type of dietitian I am and am keen to consolidate those skills and ideas.
Some of those ideas include working more in Neurodivergent Affirming dietetic care and feeding challenges, ARFID, Eating Disorders, Disability and nutritional needs in a range of settings and cases; my love for working in Gut health and restoring Optimal functioning, and of course refining the Intuitive Eating Paradigm for those who are struggling so much with their weight and suffering so much because of the constant struggle with food. I also love working with women around Menopause as there is so much on this topic right now.
I suspect some of my work going forward will involve some free public talks and getting out a bit more to debunk what Dietitian's do, and show a different side to the stereotype.

I am still taking on new patients, and going forward my administration for Orange will be run through my Dubbo rooms - so all enquiries and bookings for both Dubbo and Orange can be made by calling:
Dubbo health Hub
ph: 6884 1804 or
email: [email protected]

I will still be in Dubbo at Dubbo Health hub each week, Wednesday to Friday, with possible expansion. 🙂

Unfortunately - the algorithms and influencers behind these social media platforms are designed to make people, especially young people feel so dissatisfied with themselves and their bodies that they go out and buy all the useless stuff to try and fix themselves. When it doesn't work - people become desperate.

The problem is 2 fold. Social media selling and promoting idealised standards and pictures in the first place. And the so called "wellness industry" which includes many health professionals too - promoting that they can "fix" people so they can achieve these unattainable and unrealistic standards.

We absolutely have a mental health crisis in our youth. They can not dissect and analyse what they see and hear, nor challenge what is irrational or unrealistic. But we also have a mental health crisis in our adults - because these unrealistic standards presented in social media are then sold as "products" to adults, by adults, who are generally trusted people (like surgeons, and promoted by other health clinicians).

Body dissatisfaction, eating disorders, mental health issues etc may start on social media, but it is perpetuated and reinforced by our medical profession who sell the "cure". If we want to be real about this conversation, then we have to face all the facts, not just some of them.

New push to save kids from toxic social media Australian teenagers are in the midst of the greatest crisis of a generation because of toxic social media that is affecting their health and costing lives.

Learning to eat what your body needs and desires takes time to develop, especially when we have perhaps, for many years, listened to the advice, recommendations, guidance, meal plans, portion sizes and opinions of something external to you. These external standards - diet plans, tracking apps, other people's opinions, the dreaded scale or BMI, the latest fad diet or diet method (pills, injections, surgery..!) - all lead us further away from connecting with our self, and understanding what our body needs.
Our modern world is exacerbating this every day, outsourcing so many things to external technologies, with the aim of making life easier - but it takes us further away from authenticity, and from our authentic selves.
Learning our own body cues of hunger, fullness, satisfaction, enjoyment of food, and the reasons we eat (joy, pleasure, despair, boredom) all involve listening to, and learning to trust ourselves, rather than believing that something or someone else knows better. It means trusting ourselves that we are OK as we are; and that we have the same rights to equal nourishment as anyone else.
Loving your body - in the sense of caring for it, like you would a young child, might just be the most liberating and profound act you ever learn.

We live in such a weight-centric world where the constant messaging is “weight loss=better health outcomes”.
Here is a 2024 study which is part of the growing chorus of research challenging this narrative.
When is healthcare going to stop being hi-jacked by the weight loss industry? And when are we in healthcare going to stop bowing to simply making money off vulnerable people and actually start being authentic to the lived experience of the far majority of the population?

Effect of weight loss before in vitro fertilization in women with obesity or overweight and infertility: a systematic review and meta-analysis - Scientific Reports The effect of weight loss before in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures on pregnancy outcomes in women with overweight or obesity and infertility remains controversial. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we investigated whether weight loss before IVF in these women affected the IVF result...

The journey of recovery from an eating disorder encompasses many facets - from learning to eat adequately, exercising at an appropriate level for you, through to respecting and cherishing your body.
Body Image struggles are often one of the last areas covered in recovery, sometimes because it's a hard topic to discuss, and sometimes because the practitioner doesn't know how to help.
some of us trained in Eating Disorders have extensive training in Body image work and can help you process the difficulties of feeling not so great in your body.
The aim may not be to reach "Body Positivity" as that can feel so far off - but maybe to feel not so awful.
If you want some support with your body image, alongside your recovery from your eating disorder, feel free to reach out and we can have a chat:
You can find me at
Dubbo Health Hub - 6884 1804
Psych Solutions Orange - 6360 3551

health

We all aim to eat well. Many of us know what it feels like to be eating a consistently nourishing diet (note I say “nourishing”, rather than “healthy” or “good”).
However – how we speak to ourselves, how we communicate to others about their body’s, what we are thinking about food, body and weight also has a significant impact on our health and of that of those around us.
Many of us (who are in our 40’s and 50’s and older) had the “privilege” of growing up in the diet crazed 80’s where low fat foods, lycra leotards and Jane Fonda aerobics videos were a huge part of our culture. When this formed part of our childhoods, it is hard to challenge these ingrained thought patterns (though seriously, lycra leotards, leg warmers, headbands and teased hair – what were we thinking!).
Dieting, losing weight, needing to be thin, and “eating healthy” has been part of our mindsets for a very long time. But this hasn’t really worked. Extending these messages to our children and continuing these thought patterns when they just cause us more pain and harm, also needs some re-thinking.
As a dietitian, Credentialed Eating Disorder Clinician and Intuitive Eating Counsellor my training is in helping people learn how to eat, not telling them what to eat. This is a huge shift in the profession of dietetics. It is about cultivating a normalised and natural relationship with food FOR YOU, rather than listening to “noise” and marketing of society.
Some great books to challenge diet culture include “Anti diet” and “The Wellness Trap” by Christy Harrison and “How to raise an Intuitive Eater” By Sumner Brooks.
For support with your relationship with food, you can find me at
Dubbo Health Hub: 6884 1804
Psych Solutions: 6360 3551

This post is inspired by my current training in Eating Disorders and Gastrointestinal Disorders, run by Monash University.

DIETARY INTERVENTIONS, GUT DISORDERS AND NUTRITIONAL RISK
There are many potential gastrointestinal disorders that a person could experience throughout their life. This is because all food that we eat comes in contact with our gastrointestinal system, has to interact with it and be absorbed by, and so any dysfunction with our Gastrointestinal tract is potentially going to cause us problems.
But there are a few important issues we really need to understand before we jump headfirst into eliminating foods.
Firstly – the gastrointestinal disorder may itself cause nutritional deficiencies
Secondly – any nutritional intervention may cause nutritional deficiencies
And Thirdly – long term adherence to eliminating foods – WITHOUT GUIDANCE AND SUPPORT from a qualified dietitian can place you at risk of developing fear of food, nutrient deficiencies and disordered eating.

Unfortunately there are many non-evidence based diets purported to help with gut health, and often these diets are suggested by health clinicians who do not have the training, skills or competencies to be suggesting the nutritional management of complex health conditions. Some of these diets include the Specific Carbohydrate diet, the GAPS diet, a gluten free/dairy free diet (without a diagnosis of lactose intolerance or coeliac disease) or a Low Food Chemical diet (for food intolerances/chemical sensitivities).

Further, it is often found that specialists suggest to patients to follow a diet that could be relevant – like the Low FODMAP diet, but do not make it personal, culturally relevant or easy to follow, and hence many people turn to alternatives to help.

Because the gut is very sensitive it can result in nutrient malabsorption relatively quickly. In turn, when a restrictive diet is implemented for any length of time, the nutrient deficiencies become compounded, and a person can start to feel really unwell. Symptoms on nutrient deficiencies can include fatigue, cognitive fatigue, low mood, depression, poor sleep, decreased immune function, anaemia (iron/b12/folate), slow wound healing, and increased risk of osteoporosis. It can start to become hard to determine what has caused these symptoms when food has simply been eliminated and nutrients haven’t been replaced.

Many people have IBS, but equally they could have disaccharidase deficiency, coeliac disease, Crohn’s disease, food allergies, or eosinophilic oesophagitis. Working with your Doctor and specialist is essential to determine what your condition – and then you qualified Dietitian can determine, along with you, what is the most appropriate dietary intervention to support your recovery while ensuring you are consuming adequate nutrients and energy.
Usually in most of these cases, adding more into the gut isn’t always beneficial. Sometimes a probiotic might be helpful and sometimes a prebiotic supplement – but generally, in terms of supplements, less is more in order to help heal the gut. Nutrition is the most vital ingredient as is maintaining nutritional adequacy.

Mealtime Anxiety and Sensory Processing...

This article is by Irish feeding clinician and researcher, Hazel Wolstenholme PhD

It is very common to hear concerns like, “my child gags a lot when he’s eating”; “she can’t stand the smell when I’m cooking”; “he has difficulty with smooth or creamy textures”; or “they constantly fidget and can’t sit still at the table.” As a feeding professional, it can be tricky to tease out whether these behaviors relate to sensory processing challenges or anxiety (or both!). Why? Because anxiety and sensory processing are highly related.

Anxiety and Sensory Processing Can Impact Eating
In response to a perceived threat or danger, one of the initial tasks of the nervous system is to interpret incoming sensory information so that the nervous system can respond to the threat (as part of the fight-flight response) (Perry, 1998). Over time, the nervous system learns, and in response to continued, or toxic stressors, can become either hypervigilant and overly sensitive, or at times, dissociative (described by some as “numb” or “zoned out”) (Perry, 1998).
The relationship between anxiety and sensory processing difficulties goes both ways. Early life trauma and stress can contribute to the development of sensory processing difficulties (Hambrick, Brawner and Perry, 2019). Multiple theories have been proposed, suggesting that anxiety may cause sensory over-responsivity, that sensory over-responsivity may cause increased anxiety, and that a combination of genetic and environmental factors may contribute to the co-occurrence of both anxiety and sensory sensitivity (Green & Ben-Sasson, 2010).
And autistic adults have shared how dysregulating and traumatizing it felt to be trapped in sensory overwhelm with no escape, often for most of a school day. The anticipatory anxiety around these experiences compounded the misery.
When a child is in a state of anxiety, they are more easily threatened or startled by stimuli that may not otherwise be perceived as a threat (Perry, 1998). So, it makes sense that when a child is feeling anxious about mealtimes, that they will be hypervigilant and more sensitive to (have a lower threshold for) sensory information (like smells, textures and sounds). They may also be more likely to perceive stimuli or requests (like being prompted to taste something) as a threat, leading to further anxiety which can have a negative impact on digestion and appetite.

What Does the Feeding Research Say?
A study of 95 children aged 5-10 years (Farrow & Coulthard, 2012) found that both anxiety and sensory sensitivity were associated with selective eating. Interestingly, they found that sensory sensitivity explains why children with higher anxiety are more likely to be selective about their food intake. These findings were replicated in a later study (Zickgraf & Elkins, 2018) of 158 children aged 8-17 and 813 young adults, and were upheld in a sample of children with obsessive-compulsive-spectrum and anxiety disorders.

Putting it into Practice
Of course, there are children who need extra support with sensory processing, and in these cases, children should be referred to an Occupational Therapist experienced in this area. Considering whether a child presents with sensory processing challenges or anxiety in other situations outside of mealtimes can also provide clues about what may be underlying their eating difficulties.
But – what happens if we focus on reducing mealtime stress, anxiety and pressure first? If mealtimes are less stressful and perceived by the child as a non-threatening environment (felt-safety), it is easier for children to process sensory information optimally and to be more comfortable participating in the meal. Then it is possible to see the child’s capabilities for what they are, without them being clouded by mealtime stress and anxiety.

What Does this Look Like?
When we lower mealtime anxiety and help children to feel safe, secure, and not under pressure at mealtimes, we often start to notice improvements in behaviors that look solely like sensory processing challenges.
When children’s accepted foods are planned into the meal, when they are not prompted or pressured to eat any other family foods served, and when children are reassured that they can eat as much or as little as they like, children’s anxiety starts to reduce. At this point, parents have shared examples with me such as:
“He doesn’t seem so bothered by the smell when I’m cooking meat anymore.”
“She couldn’t sit still before – but her need to get up and down from the table seems to be reducing.”
“Gagging at mealtimes is almost non-existent now – we haven’t noticed it for a while.”
This reduced anxiety and increased comfort at mealtimes paves the way for the child’s confidence (RFT value of competence) and curiosity (RFT value of intrinsic motivation) with eating to grow.

The take-home message?
Anxiety and sensory processing at mealtimes are highly related and tricky to pick apart. If we focus on reducing mealtime anxiety first, it is then easier to determine how a child is coping with sensory information at mealtimes in their relaxed state.
Surprisingly (or not?), as mealtime anxiety reduces in those first few weeks of responsive feeding, many parents report that their concerns (like gagging, constant fidgeting/leaving the table, and negative responses to food smells) start to resolve without us doing anything to target those behaviours directly.

References:
Farrow, C. V., & Coulthard, H. (2012). Relationships between sensory sensitivity, anxiety and selective eating in children. Appetite, 58(3), 842-846.
Green, S. A., & Ben-Sasson, A. (2010). Anxiety disorders and sensory over-responsivity in children with autism spectrum disorders: is there a causal relationship?. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 40(12), 1495-1504.
Hambrick EP, Brawner TW and Perry BD (2019) Timing of Early-Life Stress and the Development of Brain-Related Capacities. Front. Behav. Neurosci. 13:183. doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2019.00183
Zickgraf, H. F., & Elkins, A. (2018). Sensory sensitivity mediates the relationship between anxiety and picky eating in children/adolescents ages 8–17, and in college undergraduates: A replication and age-upward extension. Appetite, 128, 333-339.
Perry, B.D. & Pollard, R. (1998) Homeostasis, stress, trauma, and adaptation: a neurodevelopmental view of childhood trauma. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 7; 1: 33-51, 1998

Protein is an essential macronutrient in our diet required for tissue repair, immune function (we make immunoglobulins out of protein, for example), the production of neurotransmitters and enzymes. We can also convert protein to glucose when we don't have enough (ie in a starvation state, at the end of a marathon, or during, and when we are not eating enough carbs).
At various points in our life we need to consider how much protein we need, as each day our muscle turns over, and we need to ensure we are eating enough protein to minimise the muscle loss. When we are younger, muscle loss isn't really an issue because we have plenty of growth hormones and s*x hormones (oestrogen and testosterone) to stimulate muscle growth. But as we age, muscle growth and maintenance gets harder.
BUT, it's not as simple as that, as too much protein stresses the kidneys out, via creating too much ammonia, and also via the way protein signals the vessels in the kidney to expand and contract (ie the blood vessels going in to the kidneys expand while the blood vessels going out contract, putting alot of extra pressure on the kidney, when the body senses there is extra protein around).
SO - while protein is a good thing, too much protein can cause us problems - especially if you have any kind of kidney issue.
Hence why seeking advice from a Dietitian is helpful so we can tailor advice for you, your medical conditions, your exercise levels and your stage of life.
The below fact sheet is a good starting point on the role of protein and how much we need as a minimum.

If you'd like some structured advice you can find me at:
Dubbo Health Hub: 6884 1804
Psych Solutions: 6360 3551

Protein Protein is an important nutrient that our bodies use to function properly. Most Australians get enough protein, but there are some groups of people who may need to monitor the amount of protein they eat. Here are some easy ways to increase the protein in your diet.

I love that Dietitian's are being promoted as a key part of helping people manage their mental health. There is ample evidence to demonstrate that a nourishing diet and regulating Blood Glucose levels can significantly help with anxiety, depression, the impacts of medication, and more serious mental illnesses also.
I'd love to highlight that there are nuances here though. For many people, eating what is considered a "healthy" diet actually causes distress, anxiety, feelings of failure and depression. Not being able to eat the way other people eat can be severely debilitating, and a skilled dietitian is able to read these cues and signals from a patient - and honour their lived experience, without invalidating it.
While I think the aim of beautiful food pictures is to inspire, for those who are really struggling, these pictures are often overwhelming and trigger feelings of failure. Many dietitian's understand this - especially if they have lived experience of allergies, intolerances our food aversions. This is before we even consider a Neurodivergent lens.

If you need someone to support you to explore a healthier relationship with food that is affirming and validating, then feel free to reach out to me in:
Dubbo: Dubbo Health Hub - 6884 1804
Orange: Psych Solutions - 6360 3551

Mental health including anxiety and depression A nutritious diet is not just good for your body. It is good for your brain and mental health too. Here are some tips for eating well for your mental health.

Neuro-Affirming Dietetic Care, in its’ simplest form, is an approach to feeding and eating that honours neurodivergence. Rather than seeing neurodivergence as a problem to be fixed or people who are neurodivergent as disabled and broken, it approaches neurodivergence through a different lens – that is, simply that neurodivergence is a different way of thinking and experiencing the world. This is not to say that people who are neurodivergent don’t have varying levels of struggles in the world as it is, but perhaps these struggles could be considered as reactions to a world that is excessively overwhelming and over-stimulated. As the world is becoming increasingly fast-paced, busy and with more sensory inputs on different levels (think: social media, AI, technology, greater concentrations of people in smaller areas, more marketing, more activities to do…), we are seeing more children and adults diagnosed with autism.

When it comes to eating, many kids and adults struggle to eat because the world feels so unsafe and overwhelming, due to other sensory challenges. Food is often one of the few things a person can completely control for themselves, and when decisions in the world are hard to make because of so many sensory inputs, choosing chicken nuggets and white bread (for example) for every meal, is safe. While there are also often sensory aspects of food that are challenging for many people who are neurodivergent to deal with, one of the most fundamental aspects to consider is environmental safety: do I feel safe in the world? And for a child “the world” means “my home”. This can be hard for parents to grapple with when faced with a child that won’t eat much, because our first instinct is “I must get food into my child” which then translates into pressure and exposure to more foods. But what is actually needed is safety, reassurance, space, understanding and time.

Neuro-affirming Dietetics is so much more than giving a meal plan. In fact – it doesn’t do that at all. While assessing nutritional adequacy is important (for growth and development), there are so many ways we can achieve nutritional adequacy without making a person eat foods they don’t want to eat. In fact, following on from the above – making a person eat or forcing a person to eat foods they don’t want to can create a lack of safety and lead to greater aversion to food. It can create fear, anxiety, stress and be incredibly traumatic. The research is demonstrating over and over that forcing kids to eat – both at home and in therapy - backfires.

A responsive feeding approach supports parents to create an environment of felt safety while also prioritising a relaxed meal-time dynamic. This might look like anything for any particular family – and I guess one of the big challenges for families is to understand that what they might be aiming for is no longer the neuro-typical model of everyone eating at the table, with no devices and the TV off. There is no right or wrong way – it is entirely individual, and what works for your family.

A neuro-affirming approach to nutrition is turning traditional approaches to feeding therapy on their head – it is suggesting that these models were designed by people who wanted to “fix” neurodivergence rather than honour and respect it. The nuance here is that when difference is honoured and respected, felt-safety can develop, and the ability to explore, and hence eat more foods, grows.

If you and your family would like to explore a Neuro-affirming approach to food, eating and nutrition, then please feel free to reach out to me at:
Dubbo Health Hub: 6884 1804
Psych Solutions: 6360 3551

Helen Barnett Certified Intuitive Eating Coach, Nutritionist, Dietitian APD I am a Nutritionist, Dietitian and Certified Intuitive Eating Coach in Orange & Dubbo NSW and Telehe