Small Shifts, Big Health : Healthy Lifestyle Awareness Day – 20 February
Almost two months after people make their New Year’s resolutions to eat healthier and exercise more, much of this momentum is often forgotten as old habits take over and priorities shift. This reflects the reality that a lifestyle is shaped by everyday habits, values, and routines, including food choices, which influence long-term health over time. […]
Rethinking Chocolate Gifts This Valentine’s Day
As Valentine’s Day approaches, the tradition of gifting chocolates and other sweet treats emerges once again, almost always overshadowing healthier choices. This tradition, stemming as far as the Victorian era, where chocolate was associated with romance and luxury, has become very common for Valentine’s Day. Similar patterns arise during the Easter season and other special […]
High Protein, Low Honesty: Why Fitness-Themed Fast Food Misses the Mark
Fast food doesn’t make you fast. It doesn’t build muscle. And it certainly doesn’t build metabolic health. When fast-food brands position their products as fuel for “gains”, the problem is not subtle; it is structural. When marketing campaigns position ultra-processed fast food as compatible with fitness and performance, they are not just confusing; they are […]
World Cancer Day: Hope, “Scanxiety,” and the Growing Role of Lifestyle Medicine
World Cancer Day is not only a global awareness moment; it is also deeply personal. For many people, cancer is not an abstract statistic. It is a phone call you never expected. It is waiting rooms, treatment schedules, and the emotional rollercoaster that comes with living between scans, what many patients now call “scanxiety.” It […]
Real change beats perfect timing – your health can’t afford the delay
Every year, January arrives carrying the same promises, new year’s resolutions that start with “new year, new me” or “this is the year I’ll eat better” and “this is the year I’ll fix my health”. Every year, for many people, those promises quietly fade by the 1st of February. The problem isn’t a lack of […]
Eating Well in Janu-worry
As January approaches, it’s the 58th day, and it has a way of squeezing everyone… into tighter budgets, fuller inboxes, and sometimes even last year’s pants. The holidays are over, the festive glow has faded, and suddenly eating well feels like something we’ll get back to “next month.” ‘Tis the season of Janu-worry, when the […]
Better Late Than Never: A Nutrition Shift Decades in the Making
For many people, the latest changes to dietary guidelines may feel sudden, even shocking. For others, they feel long overdue. At The Noakes Foundation, our response is one of cautious relief. Relief that the conversation is finally shifting. And concern that it took so long. Because this story did not begin last year, or even […]
If the UK can ban junk food ads, then why can’t South Africa?
On 5 January 2026, the United Kingdom rolled out what its government calls a “world-leading action” banning junk food advertising on daytime television and across online platforms. A bold move aimed at protecting children from being bombarded with marketing for foods high in fat, sugar, and salt in an attempt to address the troubling rise […]
Staying Low Carb During the Holiday Season: Protecting Your Journey Without Feeling Pressured
The holiday season is a time of joy, connection, celebration… and often a lot of high-carb, sugary foods. For many people living a low-carb lifestyle, December can feel like walking through a nutritional obstacle course. Everywhere you turn, there’s a treat, a family member insisting you “just have one,” or a tradition built around foods […]
Ageing with HIV: Time to Prioritise Metabolic Health
This World AIDS Day, celebrated on 1 December 2025, carries the UNAIDS theme “Overcoming disruption, transforming the AIDS response.” It is a message that resonates profoundly with a group too often overlooked in the global HIV conversation: older adults living long-term with HIV, many now well over 50, navigating the complexities of aging in a […]