Catherine Saxelby's Foodwatch | EatKit nutrition chat on Twitter

EatKit nutrition chat on Twitter

Article Index
EatKit nutrition chat on Twitter
Allergy awareness: View archives
Protein: view archives
Butter vs margarine: View archives
Paleo and pop diets: View archives
Super Foods: View archives
Omega-3s and fish oil: View archives
Low fat diets? View archives
All Pages

Confused about healthy eating? Not sure what's good to eat? Or not? Join a group of friendly practical dietitians each month for a chat on Twitter. Called EatKit, we meet online once a month for a moderated conversation on a range of nutrition and cooking topics from good fats to reducing salt from the food supply.

 

Reserve the date in your diary

Join dietitian Emma Stirling and myself on the third Wednesday of each month at 9pm OR 2100 for one hour of chat.

• Next EatKit is on Wed 20 June

• Topic:   TBD
  

• 9 pm AEST  (time in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and the east coast of Australia)

 

ABOUT EATKIT

What

A monthly moderated conversation on Twitter for people interested in food and nutrition. The hour-long chat is a virtual venue to discuss the latest headlines, new studies, controversial topics and issues related to the food we eat. The chats will be moderated by myself or Emma Stirling or another accredited practicing dietitian (ADP). Occasionally we'll invite a special guest or author to lead the discussion. Questions will be asked by the moderator (Q1, Q2, Q3, etc.) and participants can respond to questions (A1, A2, A3), add comments or RT other answers.

Who

The chat is open to everyone — you don't have to be a dietitian or health professional. Anyone interested in food and nutrition can take part, and various viewpoints are welcome. The chats will primarily focus on nutrition, but will also touch on various aspects of social media, including blogging, use of Twitter, etc. If you have a blog or a website, that's great. You don't need one to be involved. The only requirement to participate is a Twitter account. If you missed the live tweeting, you'll be able to find the monthly conversations archived on ScoopNutrition or Foodwatch.

When

• EatKit is held monthly on the third Wednesday of each month from 9 pm Australian Eastern Standard Time (Sydney & Melbourne time which is GMT+10)  or 8.30 ACST (Adelaide, Darwin) or 7pm AWST (Perth). In summer from October to April, we move to AEDST or Daylight Saving time but still at the same time of 2100.
• Check in on this page each month to find out the topic for the month and to read past archives.
• Search for #EatKit on Twitter to read latest posts and to find out the topic for the next month.
• The time in key cities around the world is:
  • London 12noon
    Paris 1pm
    New York 7am
    Los Angeles 4am
    Tokyo 8pm
    Moscow 3pm
    Buenos Aires 8am

Or use World Clock to check your local time at www.timeanddate.com/worldclock.

 

Where

• The chat happens live on Twitter and you can join in at any time during the hour.  Simply log on to your Twitter account and you can use any of these options to help you manage the conversations.
• One option,  go to http://www.search.twitter.com and type in #EatKit.  Only the  tweets that include that hashtag (#) will appear.  You may have to refresh the page to get new results.
• If you use Tweetdeck, start a column for #EatKit.  Only tweets that are tagged with #EatKit will appear in that column.
• There are several other programs you can use that are specifically designed for chats on Twitter. We like and use  www.tweetchat.com, but there are also www.tweetgrid.com or http://twubs.com.
• All you have to do is log on to one of those programs.  When prompted, type in #EatKit and you’ll only see tweets that include that hashtag.  It allows you to see the fast-paced conversation happening in real time.  You use it just like Twitter eg reply,  retweet, flag, etc.  All of your tweets will automatically be tagged with #EatKit.

 

Why

Tweet chats are a great way to meet and network with new people who share your interests. They also provide a forum for you to communicate with a broader audience on Twitter and gain new followers.

EatKit helps dietitians, recipe writers, foodies and fitness leaders connect on newsy topics. We often write about various issues on our blogs, but don't always talk with each other about those topics.

 

Disclaimers

This is an open chat of a general nature. It is not intended to be a place to ask for medical advice or personal health problems. If you need advice for an individual medical issue, we suggest you make an appointment with an accredited practicing dietitian (APD) or your health care professional.

We value openness and transparency. If we mention products by brand, this does not imply an endorsement of any kind from our EatKit group. If you work for or act as consultant to a particular food or food category, please declare your interest so we can listen to what you say within that context.

Questions?

If you have additional questions or comments, Send a Direct Message (DM) to us via Twitter at either @EmmaStirling or @Foodwatch.

Tweet

 

EatKit Archives

• Click the NEXT page link below to read tweets from past Eatkit chats ...

 

 

EatKit May 2012

FOOD ALLERGY AWARENESS in support of Allergy Awareness Week 14-18 May 2012

Background on food allergy

Australia has the highest prevalence of food allergy in the world. Approximately 1 to 2 per cent of Australians have a food allergy. And 10 per cent of infants aged one year have a food allergy (Health Nuts Study, Murdoch Institute 2011)

Based on birth statistics of 2010, this is equal to 29,700 infants. Some of these infants will grow out of their food allergy, but those diagnosed with peanut and tree nut allergy will most likely have this food allergy for life. It's very difficult and stressful to maintain the level of vigilance required. But living with food allergy is manageable if we have an allergy-aware community.

During Food Allergy Awareness Week, Emma and I wanted to hear your creative ideas and resources to find ways to raise the community's awareness of food allergy.

Important for restaurateurs, food service staff, café owners, caterers, school canteen managers, teachers and child care staff. Not forgetting the parents and grandparents of young children, who have to deal with allergies at the coalface.

Here are the five questions we posed on EatKit:

• Q1: What are your tips / resources for avoiding food allergens in food products? How to read labels?
• Q2: Let's share our favourite free from products and recipes. What's yours?
• Q3: When eating out what can people with food allergens do to minimise risk?
• Q4: What do you feel about more nut free zones? Necessary? Or limiting to the majority who can eat nuts?
• Q5: Where should people go for help? Diagnosis? Info?

 

Archive

Click here to view key tweets on Storify. Or scroll down through the tweets below:

 

 

EatKit April 2012

 

• Protein and your health

• Our 5 questions for debate and discussion were:

Q1. What are the benefits of boosting protein intake? Do you? For weight loss?

Q2. How do you raise your protein intake eg foods, recipes or products?

Q3. How much protein is enough? In a food or overall day’s plan?

Q4. Are there any pitfalls of protein power? Can you overdo it? Make unwise choices?

Q5. Have bodybuilders over-hyped protein and protein powders?

 

Archive

Click here to view key tweets on Storify.

 

 

 

EatKit March 2012

 

Our topic for Wed 21 March centred on that perennial question in nutrition circles: 

Butter vs margarine: what's the best choice for health, taste and convenience?

These were our 5 questions for discussion:

• Q1. Time to declare your side. Which do you have in your fridge - butter or margarine?
• Q2. Is there a healthy way to include butter in a balanced diet?
• Q3. Do you find light (lower-fat) spreads a good choice? Or butter blended with oil?
• Q4. Chefs love butter – what are alternatives that work in cooking or baking? Your recipes?
• Q5. Do you have to spread anything on your bread? Can't you spread avocado, hummus or peanut butter?

 

Downland Archive from TweetDoc here.

 

 

EatKit Feb 2012

 

Our first EatKit topic for 2012 was on 15 Feb and was a lively debate of the pros and cons of the trendy Paleo ("Caveman") diet.

Paleo and pop diets

The questions posed:

Q1. How popular is the Paleo Diet with your friends or clients?

Q2. What types of Paleo are you trying out? No or minimal grains? No or low dairy? Alcohol?

Q3. Does Paleo work because you’re cutting out “junk” eg soft drink, white rice, cereals?

Q4. Is Paleo code for gluten-free?

Q5. What other pop diets are on your radar?

 

View stream of tweets from EatKit on Paleo here:

 

More information on the science behind Paleo

Read my quick review of The Paleo Diet book by Professor Loren Cordain, one of the leading researchers into stone-age eating.

 

 

EatKit Nov 2011

Our fourth topic was on 16 Nov 2011 - scroll down to read all the tweets from participants (note: RTs not saved)

Super foods: hype or help?

We debated the merits of quinoa, blueberries, red wine, garlic, tumeric, mushrooms, cinnamon, liver, thyme and oregano.

Click to view our EatKit Archive on TwapperKeeper here.

Apologies but our Archives were not saved on TwapperKeeper with no alternative offered to us. But here's the questions we posted:

• Q1.  Does the concept of super foods help or hinder healthy eating?  Would you agree with spinach is a super food? Or blueberries?
•  Q2.  What makes a food super to you? Which ones, if any?
•  Q3.  If we didn’t have the amazing marketing claims for some super exotic foods eg acai, goji would you look more favourably on super foods?
•  Q4. What about marketing claims for super foods? Helpful or hype?
•  Q5.  Can super foods be everyday ordinary foods like oats or eggs or spices?
•  Q6. Should super foods by whole, minimally-processed foods? Or can they be ok as fortified foods eg juices with ‘extras’.
•  Q7. What are examples of foods you see being promoted as ‘super’ that get up your nose? Mine is  goji.

 

 

EatKit 2

Our second topic was on 21 Sept 2011 - scroll down to read selected tweets from participants (note: RTs not saved)

Fish, fish oil and omega-3s

 

 

 

 

EatKit 1: Is low-fat dead and buried?

 

Our first topic was on 17 August 2011 - scroll down to read selected tweets from participants (note: RTs not saved). Here are the questions we posed:

• Q1. What are your experiences with low fat eating approach, today or previously? Do we need to cut fat to lose weight? Be healthy?
• Q2: Dietary fats are not created equal. Which ones do you recommend/use or watch out for? What about controversies like coconut oil?
• Q3. A certain amt of fat is needed for good health. What's the "right" amount? Do you have tips, links for getting it "right"?
• Q4. What food products are worth buying reduced or lower in fat? What are your faves? Why?
• Q5. Fat in food really can improve taste. What high fat foods are on your must eat list? How to flavour food without fat?

 

Is low-fat dead and buried?