about the happy gut place

Hi, I am Joanna! The face behind The Happy Gut Place.

I started my professional career as a nurse before moving into nutrition and dietetics later.

I hold the following qualifications: Accredited Practicing Dietitian, Accredited Nutritionist and Registered Nurse.

The Happy Gut Place’s goal is to: Inform, empower and ultimately change lives for the better through nutrition for life.

Qualifications

Graduate Diploma in Dietetics (2001), Curtin University, Western Australia

MSc Nutrition (1998), King’s College, University of London, London

BAppSc Nursing (1989), Curtin University, Western Australia

further training

2021: Completed FODMAP training (Monash University, Victoria)
2019: Nutrition Therapy for Pregnancy Course (Nutrition Plus)
2019: Nutrition Therapy for Fertility Course (Nutrition Plus)
2019: Sports Nutrition Essentials Course (Sports Dieticians Australia)
2016: Certificate of Paediatric Nutrition & Dietetics (The Royal Children’s Hospital, Victoria)

registrations

During my childhood I have fond memories of my Mum always sourcing the best ingredients she could find from her favourite fruit and veg shop, butcher or fishmonger for her chosen recipe after a busy day at work. Only as an adult have I realised what a juggling act it must have been. Her recipe books were full of dog eared pages with pieces of paper sticking out. “You are what you eat” was a line she would regularly repeat. I did not realise at the time but this greatly influenced my interest in nutrition. I initially became a nurse which allowed me to travel overseas and live in London for 10 years whilst also starting my studies in nutrition and completing them on my return to Australia.

Working first in remote communities across the Queensland outback for a few years allowed me to appreciate the importance of food supply on food choices. This followed nearly ten years in public health which gave me the experience of working on statewide projects in early life nutrition (from pregnancy to toddlerhood) with a focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Another major project was introducing a statewide policy on how to make school tuckshops healthier across North Queensland. My passion for nutrition and desire to work for myself led me to work in private practice over 7 years ago. My special interests have always been the impact of nutrition from trying to conceive right through until early childhood. This is combined with the continued emerging scientific evidence in gut health playing a significant part in optimum health.

With my nursing background throughout the last 30 years, from intensive care to the medical wards, I have witnessed first-hand on what a fine tune machine the body is. This was further reinforced when I started my nutrition studies over 20 years ago, practising for the last 17 years. The impact of nutrition on health is immense.

my background

Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food

Hippocrates

my approach

I feel it is fundamental to have a holistic approach to optimum health by considering nutrition alongside sleep, exercise, stress and hydration which simply is ultimately reflected in your bowel pattern (yes this is very important!) to ensure one can really feel the best they possibly can from the inside out.

I like to call them ‘pieces’ of a jigsaw puzzle which are guided by the latest scientific research. These ‘pieces’ are very individual. I like to breakdown the changes that are needed to piece together the jigsaw puzzle into ‘tweaks’ which can then be prioritised on what is most important to you.

These ‘tweaks’ start to add up over time and you start feeling better so they are easier to continue and ultimately become your new normal and have the greatest impact on overall health for life.