Donate Deakin

Recap of Gut Revolution: A Catalyst special – Part 2: Obesity (Garry’s story)

Airing on ABC’s catalyst series last month, Gut Revolution was a two-part feature seeking to sort the facts from the faeces. Hosted by Dr Joanna McMillan, we followed the path of two people with debilitating gut issues, on their quests for better health. Food and Mood Centre director, Professor...

Recap of Gut Revolution: A Catalyst special – Part 1: IBS (Melissa’s story)

Airing on ABC’s catalyst series last month, Gut Revolution was a two-part feature seeking to sort the facts from the faeces. Hosted by Dr Joanna McMillan, we followed the path of two people with debilitating gut issues, on their quests for better health. Food and Mood Centre director, Professor...

Polyphenols: Do we all just need a little more chocolate?

by Meghan Hockey For many of us, we instinctively turn to chocolate when we are in a bad mood. Is it the taste or are we programmed to choose these foods because of their mood-boosting benefits? Chocolate, along with fruits, vegetables, spices, tea, coffee and red wine all contain...

Diet and the Gut Microbiota

You may already believe that many of your behaviours and choices – smoking cigarettes, having a few too many drinks, or routinely choosing Netflix over the gym – can impact on your health in a big way. Researchers are starting to understand how some of these factors influence the...

What is the Gut Microbiome?

For those who follow health news, you might be familiar with words like ‘probiotic’, ‘kombucha’ or even hard-to-pronounce bacterial names like bifidobacteria or lactobacillus. Gut-related messages are everywhere, both in popular media and in science too. With the arrival of so many new supplements, health drinks and advertisements promising...

Nutraceuticals and Mental Health

Can nutraceuticals help mental illness? Research into the role of nutrition in mental health has shown that a healthy diet can potentially play a significant role in the prevention and management of mental illness. A related question that researchers are trying to answer is what happens when we give...

Diet in pregnancy

If you are pregnant or know someone who is, then you may have heard that maternal health and wellbeing is important as your baby grows and develops your womb. Over the last thirty years scientists and medical researchers have come to understand the importance of the in utero environment...

Diet and mental health in children and adolescents

Childhood and adolescence is a period of rapid development, and both are critically important to developing a foundation for good physical and mental health in adulthood. Unfortunately, studies have shown that young people are not meeting many health-promoting recommendations, particularly when it comes to eating a healthy diet. In...

Diet and Mental Health

Mental disorders, particularly depression, account for a huge burden of global disability. Half of mental illnesses first manifest prior to 14 years of age and childhood disorders are linked to a range of long-term negative outcomes in adulthood. Despite an increase in the recognition and treatment of depression and anxiety,...