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Directors

We believe in the critical value and need for robust research into nutrition

The Noakes Foundation is a non-profit corporation founded for public benefit which aims to advance medical science’s understanding of the benefits of a low-carb high-fat (LCHF) diet by providing evidence-based information on optimum nutrition that is free for commercial agenda.

Tim Noakes

Director

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Travis Noakes

Director

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Adam Pike

Director

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Lara Dugas

Director

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John Falconer

Director

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The Team

These passionate individuals are the driving force behind the foundation

Jana Retief

team

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Maritza Hulley

Team

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Karen Heath

Team

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Lisa Marashula

Team

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Maleeqa Bambrough

team

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Ambassadors

Our ambassadors are passionate advocate for the benefits of a low-carb high-fat (LCHF) diet, questioning the science and upholding the academic freedom of speech.

They support and promote The Noakes Foundation through their influential voices and platforms. they play a huge role in advancing the medical science’s understanding of optimum nutrition and inspiring positive change in the world. We are proud to have these esteemed individuals on board as Ambassadors, driving our mission forward with their dedication and expertise.

Sami Inkinen

Ambassador

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Donal O’Neill

Ambassador

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Gary Taubes

Ambassador

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Bruce Fordyce

Ambassador

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David Pocock

Ambassador

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Euodia Samson

Ambassador

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Andre Obradovic

Ambassador

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Nina Teicholz

Ambassador

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Zoë Harcombe

Ambassador

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Caryn Zinn

Ambassador

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Richard Smith

Ambassador

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Brian Andrews

Ambassador

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Anthony Chaffee

Ambassador

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Sean Sakinofsky

Ambassador

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Neil Gyte

Ambassador

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Louise Benning

Ambassador

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Tim Noakes

Prof Noakes has published more than 750 scientific books and articles. He has been cited more than 21 000 times in scientific literature and has an H-index of 77. He has won numerous awards over the years and made himself available on many editorial boards.

For the final 15 years of his academic career he was rated an A1 scientist – the highest possible rating indicating a world-leading scientist – by the South African National Research Foundation. He is now the co-founder and Chief Medical Director of the Nutrition Network and devotes the majority of his time to promoting the low carbohydrate high fat diet, especially for those with insulin resistance, raising funds and doing research through The Noakes Foundation and supporting Eat Better South Africa.

Scholarship Profile

Travis Noakes

Travis has been working where brand development meets health promotion since 1999. He spent nearly a decade helping Winning Wellness (Pty) Ltd become BODY iQ before its rebrand as Virgin Life Care (now myvirginactive), and then started work on his PhD. He now volunteers for The Noakes Foundation by contributing to the research funder’s strategy and overseeing its branded and co-branded publications.

Scholarship Profile

Adam Pike

Adam is a corporate and commercial business and legal consultant, holding BA, LLB and LLM degrees from the University of Cape Town. He specialises in the implementation of corporate actions and transactions, and is a member the Law Society of the Cape of Good Hope, the Institute of Directors (Southern Africa), and the Corporate Lawyers Association of South Africa.

Lara Dugas

Lara Duglas, PhD, MPH, FTOS is a non-communicable disease epidemiologist. Her research focuses on the gut microbiota and obesity and type 2 diabetes risk in African populations.  Her most recent research incorporates the impact of circadian rhythms and feeding patterns on the gut microbiota and cardiometabolic disease risk. She is passionate about science and independent, critical thinking.

Scholarship Profile

John Falconer

John is the Foundation’s financial manager.

Jana Retief

Jana Retief, Foundation Manager at The Noakes Foundation, brings a diverse background with experience in the NGO and educational sectors. Alongside her M.A. in Drama and Theatre Studies and a postgraduate degree in Psychology, Jana’s diverse expertise encompasses community development, project management, research coordination, and operations management.

She has a passion for helping people live happy and healthy lives and is dedicated to driving positive change in the fields of nutrition and mental health.

Maritza Hulley

Maritza is a passionate and dedicated individual who has a passion for health and fitness. She believes in the importance of self-care and enjoys working with people, inspiring and motivating them to love themselves a little more each day. She is very excited to be part of The Noakes Foundation team as the Junior Administration and Communications Executive. She is also a mom of two beautiful children.

Karen Heath

Karen has a PhD degree in exercise physiology from the University of Cape Town and brings over 15 years of research and communication experience from both corporate and academic environments. She has managed global projects for market research agencies and has provided medical and health related research, insights, and copywriting to support the introduction of telemedicine in South Africa. With a keen interest in digital health, Karen also has experience in health risk management and coaching via AI and science-backed personalised health education.

Karen is a passionate health advocate; a scientist at heart; a cheerleader for the importance of sustainable health habits and a strong believer in the power of research and engagement to motivate and improve health and well-being.

Lisakhanya Marashula

I join The Noakes Foundation with a unique interdisciplinary background in natural and social sciences. Holding an Honours degree in Anthropology from Rhodes University, I bring a holistic understanding of human health and wellbeing. I’m passionate about innovative public health solutions that drive social impact, and I’m committed to community engagement and outreach. My goal is to increase accessibility and bridge health disparities, empowering local communities and promoting equitable health outcomes, guided by evidence-based research and scientific best practices

Maleeqa Bambrough

Maleeqa Bambrough is our Programme Manager for Eat Better South Africa (EBSA).

With 13 years of experience in Parliament and 8 years in the Democratic Alliance, Maleeqa brings extensive expertise in policy, governance, and leadership. She adds strategic strength, clarity, and purpose-driven leadership to our work in community nutrition and wellbeing.

Her passion for meaningful impact and sustainable change aligns perfectly with EBSA’s mission to strengthen communities through better health.

Karen is a passionate health advocate; a scientist at heart; a cheerleader for the importance of sustainable health habits and a strong believer in the power of research and engagement to motivate and improve health and well-being.

Sami Inkinen

Sami is a triathlon world champion and co-founder of the leading online real estate company, Trulia. Business and endurance sports are his main passions.

He believes that if you can measure it, then you can improve it and he certainly lives this mantra out. He’s rowed across the Pacific Ocean, competed in Ironman tournaments and continues to push himself to the extremes of physical performance. Sami is a self-proclaimed data geek and has a spread sheet for everything. He’s a stickler for numbers and is constantly searching for the next big adventure.

Donal O’Neill

Donal O’Neill is the producer of the “Cereal Killers” movie franchise. He is a former international athlete and passionate activist for better food and smarter exercise.

Gary Taubes

Gary is an American author whose main hypothesis is that carbs stimulate the secretion of insulin which leads to fat storage. Originally focused on physics, his main interests now lie with nutrition and medicine.

He’s an alumnus of Harvard and Stanford Universities. Gary rose to prominence with his controversial publication, What If It’s All Been a Big Fat Lie?, and has become one of the world’s leading low-carb diet experts.

Bruce Fordyce

Bruce Fordyce is a South African marathon and ultramarathon athlete. He is best known for having won the South African Comrades Marathon a record nine times, of which eight wins were consecutive, earning him the title of ‘World’s greatest Ultra Marathon runner’.

In addition to writing two books, he is also a motivational speaker, columnist, running coach and a LCHF enthusiast.

David Pocock

David Pocock is an Australian rugby legend, playing for both the Brumbies and the Wallabies. Outside of rugby, the sportsman has close ties to his home country, Zimbabwe; he is the co-founder of EightyTwenty Vision, an organisation that focusses on maternal health and food and water security in rural Zimbabwe.

Besides being an environmental activist and Ecological Agricultural Systems student, David is an avid supporter of the LCHF lifestyle, saying that the diet is suitable for his high intensity rugby profession. His dedication to optimum health and fitness makes him an ideal ambassador for the LCHF movement.

Euodia Samson

Euodia has been married for over 20 years and is a mother to three sons. She studied drama at UCT and has been an actress for 23 years. She is currently the coordinator of EAT BETTER SOUTH AFRICA! and runs the development of information and training of the programme.

She is a Level 2 TRE (Tension and Trauma Release Exercises) practitioner and is currently completing a diploma in counseling at SACAP (South African College of Applied Psychology).

Andre Obradovic

Andre’s mission is to inspire people to optimise every aspect of their life. An ex military/corporate executive with over 30 years experience in leadership and coaching, today Andre helps people achieve their goals, with a very strong focus on improving his clients health, habits, relationship with food and physicality. Endurance sports and Health are his main passions. He is a USA and Australian certified Triathlon Coach, a certified personal trainer, and executive coach.

He has run 8 Marathons he competed in 70.3 Triathlons and is training for his first Full Ironman. His aim in working with The Noakes Foundation is to drive change in our world with respect to eating better, optimised health covering the mental, physical and emotional. 

Nina Teicholz

Nina Teicholz is a New York Times bestselling investigative science journalist who has played a pivotal role in challenging the conventional wisdom on dietary fat.

Her groundbreaking work, The Big Fat Surprise, which The Economist named as the #1 science book of 2014, has led to a profound rethinking on whether we have been wrong to think that fat, including saturated fat, causes disease. In opeds, interviews, and articles, Teicholz continues to explore the political, institutional, and industry forces that prevent better thinking on issues related to nutrition and science; published in the New York Times, the New Yorker, the British Medical Journal, Gourmet, the Los Angeles Times and many other outlets.

Zoë Harcombe

Zoë reads, writes and speaks in the field of diet and nutrition. A Cambridge University graduate (economics/maths), Zoë had a very successful career in blue chip organisations before leaving corporate life in 2008 to pursue her passion.

She completed a PhD in public health nutrition in 2016 following a complete RCT/epidemiological examination of the global dietary fat guidelines. Author of six books and active blogger (zoeharcombe.com), Zoë was honoured to be one of ‘Tim’s Angels’ at the ‘Banting for Babies’ hearing.

Caryn Zinn

Dr Caryn Zinn is a New Zealand Registered Dietitian and a Senior Lecturer at AUT University, NZ, where she currently focuses her research work on whole-food, low carbohydrate, healthy fat (LCHF) nutrition and its application to metabolic health and sports performance.

Caryn also has over 20 years of consulting experience as a dietitian. She has an extensive range of clients in her private practice, and is well-versed in the application of both the mainstream and the more contemporary, whole-food, LCHF nutrition approach to a variety of population groups.

She is a co-author of two books What The Fat? Fat’s in Sugar’s out, and What The Fat? Sports Performance. Her current mission is to work alongside mainstream dietitians and shape the thinking of the dietetic profession as a whole.

Richard Smith

Once clinically obese, suffering from type 2 diabetes, daily debilitating migraines causing temporary blindness, chronic fatigue, depression, anxiety, arthritic pains, and skin conditions, he found himself heavily dependent on various medications. In his mid to late 20s, simple tasks like climbing stairs were a struggle, leaving him severely out of breath.

Transitioning to a keto lifestyle marked a profound transformation. Within a year, he shed an impressive 107 pounds, reversed diabetes, and experienced freedom from migraines, pain, depression, and anxiety. Crucially, he became medication-free, alleviating all the aforementioned issues. The subsequent 4/5 years witnessed his evolution into a professional athlete, securing titles as a British & European champion in men’s physique bodybuilding.

Discovering what felt like a hidden secret led him to make life-altering decisions. He left his role as a Purchasing Manager, liquidated assets including his house and car, all to share his newfound knowledge with the world. Now a nutritionist and an advocate for public health through collaborations, he actively engages with Diabetes UK, assisting individuals in overcoming health challenges, ranging from insulin resistance and diabetes to APKD and cancers. His journey has not only transformed his life but empowered him to guide others on a similar path to well-being.

Brian Andrews

Brian is the Managing Director of the South African subsidiary of a FTSE100 company that has nothing to do with health and wellness. Through his own personal health challenges and in working with his colleagues and team he became more aware of the necessity of work life balance, living a healthy life and the impact each has on the other.

Brian’s leadership purpose to “build a healthy business with a high performance team based on honesty, openness and trust. Inspire others through his actions and behaviours to challenge themselves, embrace the possible, and live fulfilling/ healthier lives”, drives the way he works with his teams and others in his day to day interactions. Despite being very active he was overfat for the first 46 years of his life having nick names the likes of The blob, Blubber and Fatman.

He tried many diets, however nothing was sustainable. It was then that he came accross the LCHF lifestyle through Prof Noakes’ book “Challenging Beliefs” and it started a him on learning journey that helped him lose weight, but more importantly changed his health and his life. He is passionate about living a healthy lifestyle relating to all aspects of his life. He wants to improve not just his life span, but more importantly his health span and loves sharing his journey and what he has learned with others.

Brian enjoys doing endurance sport events, including like ultra marathons, endurance cycling events as well as triathlons having completed two full Ironmans. He wants to make a difference and believes that by working with the Noakes Foundation and creating more awareness he can do that.”

Anthony Chaffee

Dr Anthony Chaffee is an American medical doctor and Neurosurgical resident who, over a span of 20+ years, has researched the optimal nutrition for human performance and health. It is his assertion that most of the so-called chronic diseases we treat as doctors are caused by the food we eat, or don’t eat, and can be reversed with dietary changes to a species specific diet.  He began University at the age of 16 studying Molecular & Cellular Biology with a Minor in Chemistry, which culminated in an MD from the Royal College of Surgeons.  He is an All-American rugby player, former professional player in England and America, and has also trained in MMA fighting at AMC Kickboxing in Kirkland, Washington More recently, he volunteered as a doctor in the refugee camps in Bangladesh, helping the survivors of the 2017 genocide in Burma of the Rohingyan people.

Sean Sakinofsky

Sean is not your typical endurance cyclist.

10 years ago he had a light bulb moment post the death of his father, who passed away from oesophageal cancer. After deliberating over the loss of his father and various family members on both his mother’s and father’s side who had mostly passed away from cancer or cardiac disease he came to the conclusion that there is a direct link to what we put into our bodies and that sugar is creating a fertile ground for various diseases. Sean has slowly but surely discovered more about how the processed food industry is pushing a narrative to keep us hungry by getting us hooked on sugars.

Sean has pursued disproving the narrative that one requires carbohydrates to fuel one’s physical events and exercise. In 2020 he once again started to push the barriers of performance by embarking on endurance rides and performing at levels that would leave most sports scientists scratching their heads. He has been able to perform above his Functional Threshold Power (FTP) for extended periods and multiple times after 5 hours of riding, without the effects of hypoglycemia. Sean would only consume salt and water during these feats.

He has truly championed the cause of LCHF and more so to be a beacon of light for others and inspire them to think out of the box. We look forward to helping Sean on his journey and to further spread our message of healthy eating to the world.

Neil Gyte

Neil Gyte is a seasoned business executive with a passion for metabolic health. After spending over two decades in the tech industry, Neil embarked on a transformative journey to address the root causes of chronic diseases. Inspired by his personal health challenges and the profound impact chronic illness has had on his family and loved ones, Neil made it his mission to help 1 billion people achieve metabolic health.

Neil pursues this mission through:

Education: As the founder of 1bmh.org, Neil simplifies the complexities of metabolic health, offering educational resources and tools to empower individuals on their wellness journey.

Awareness: With thought-provoking challenges like “Zero-Two-Lomond,” Neil swam 22 miles across Loch Lomond in 12 hours, consuming zero calories, to showcase the human body’s incredible ability to use fat as fuel.

Products: Neil serves as the Chief Business Officer at RxSugar, a groundbreaking company revolutionizing the sugar industry with allulose — a metabolically healthy alternative to traditional sugar.

Neil’s journey is a testament to his unwavering commitment to creating a healthier world, one step at a time.

Louise Benning

Louise Benning is an accredited health coach and certified Nutrition Network Advisor, dedicated to helping individuals reverse metabolic disease through evidence-based nutrition and lifestyle strategies. Originally from Pretoria she now lives in Hampshire, UK where she also volunteers as a Public Health Collaboration (PHC) Ambassador at her local GP surgery.

Louise has a particular focus on low-carbohydrate and ancestral approaches to healing, and works with both women and men avarage aged between 30–60 who are struggling with metabolic health issues including obesity, food addiction, type 2 diabetes, and other life limiting health conditions. Through coaching and practical, sustainable support, Louise helps people reclaim their health, energy, and confidence often for the first time in decades.

Inspired by the groundbreaking science of Professor Tim Noakes and the Nutrition Network, Louise combines a solid foundation in metabolic health education with deep personal experience. She is currently completing her EIA EMCC accreditation and regularly speaks on topics such as insulin resistance, obesity, seed oils, the role of food in chronic disease, and the urgent need for root-cause solutions in modern healthcare.

A passionate advocate for ancestral eating and community-led change, Louise believes that knowledge, empowerment, and prevention are our most powerful tools. Her coaching work is driven by the belief that educating adults is only part of the solution we must also reach children, families, and educators if we are to fix a sick population and ease the unsustainable burden on our healthcare systems.

Louise continue to challenge conventional thinking and empowers people to embrace a new way forward one rooted in real food, ancestral wisdom, and metabolic truth.