World Health Month: The Metric We’re Missing
Every year, World Health Month prompts the same conversation… We talk about prevention. We talk about lifestyle. We talk about the growing burden of chronic disease and the need to intervene earlier, more effectively, and more sustainably. All important, all priorities. Yet, despite all of this, the trajectory hasn’t shifted in the way we might […]
Greatest Moments of My 11 Years
After 11 years with The Noakes Foundation, it’s both humbling and emotional to pause and reflect on a journey that has shaped not only my career but my purpose. What began as stepping into the unknown quickly became a mission far greater than any one individual, a shared vision to challenge the status quo and […]
24 March: World TB Day Tuberculosis, Immunity and the Power of Metabolic Health
More than 140 years ago, on 24 March 1882, the German physician Robert Koch announced his discovery of the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, identifying the cause of tuberculosis (TB) and transforming the understanding of infectious diseases (3). Yet more than a century later, the fight against TB is far from over. Each year, World TB Day […]
Health Is a Human Right: Addressing Inequality in South Africa
Health is not a luxury; it is a fundamental human right. Yet in a society marked by persistent inequality, the right to health is not experienced equally. Human Rights Day reminds us of the struggle for dignity and justice in South Africa’s history. It is also an opportunity to reflect on the inequalities that continue […]
National Breakfast Day: The 100-Year-Old Myth Behind “The Most Important Meal of the Day”
Every year on 18 March, the phrase “National Breakfast Day” pops up across media channels, a marketing-friendly celebration of the meal many of us were told we should never skip. It’s the meal that supposedly kick-starts metabolism, fuels the brain, and sets the tone for the day. And of course, it’s the meal we’ve all […]
International Women’s Day: Women Leading Change
Change does not always begin in parliaments or protest marches. Sometimes it begins in kitchens, around dinner tables, and in the everyday decisions about what families eat. Across the world, women play a central role in shaping household food environments, influencing the meals that nourish families and the habits that shape lifelong health (1). These […]
World Obesity Day: Real Food as a Response to a Global Crisis
Every year on 4 March, World Obesity Day brings together organisations, health professionals, and communities across the globe to raise awareness about obesity and its impact on health (1). Launched in 2015, the campaign is led by the World Obesity Federation, which works in official relations with the World Health Organization (WHO) (2). In 2026, […]
Your Tax Rands Are Building Something. The question is what they will build.
Every February, finance teams across South Africa finalise provisional tax payments with precision. Figures are reconciled. Compliance is confirmed. Funds move into systems designed to keep the country functioning. Taxation is necessary. It sustains essential services and infrastructure that hold society together. Yet within this routine administrative cycle lies a question that rarely reaches boardroom […]
When “Low Carb” Isn’t Really Low Carb: Looking Beyond the Latest Headlines
Every so often, a nutrition headline appears that seems to turn everything upside down. One week, coffee is harmful, the next it is protective. Eggs have taken this journey more than once. Recently, low-carbohydrate diets have been back in the spotlight following a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology that examined dietary patterns […]
Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time
Why feeling exhausted isn’t always a scheduling problem There is a quiet assumption built into modern life that if you are tired, overwhelmed, or struggling to keep up, the problem must be poor time management. Somewhere between productivity podcasts and colour-coded planners, many of us have absorbed the idea that better organisation is the answer […]