Megan Rossi | |
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Born | 10 October 1988 |
Occupation | Dietitian |
Megan Rossi (born 10 October 1988) is a dietitian, nutritionist and author specialising in the microbiome. [1] [2] Her PhD in gut health received the Dean's Award [3] top 5% for Outstanding Research Higher Degree.
Rossi founded the website The Gut Health Doctor, including The Gut Health Clinic. In 2019, she co-founded Bio&Me [4] a food range in the UK. [5] She is an advocate and researcher of plant-based nutrition. [6] [7]
One of three children, Rossi was raised by her single mother, a science teacher, on a farm near Cairns in rural Australia.
Rossi studied Dietetics at Queensland University of Technology from 2006 to 2009. After receiving first-class honours, she went on to conduct more research into the field while working as a dietitian at Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane. In 2014, she earned her PhD in gut health from the University of Queensland while also working as a nutritionist for the Australia Olympic Synchronised Swimming team. [8] [9]
Rossi moved to London, UK in 2015, where she lives with her husband Thomas and her sons Archie and Cooper.[ citation needed ]
Rossi is a Research Fellow at King's College London [10] looking at nutrition-based therapies in gut health, including prebiotics and probiotics, dietary fibres, plant-based diversity, the low-FODMAP diet and food additives. She has published over 50 scientific papers in International peer-reviewed journals. [10] [11] [12]
In 2017, Rossi established an online presence as The Gut Health Doctor (@theguthealthdoctor with over 1/2 million followers), with a focus on linking gut health with other health concerns such as mental health, heart disease, kidney disease and skin conditions.
Rossi founded The Gut Health Clinic, which includes a team of gut specialist dietitians, for clinical conditions such as IBS, IBD, coeliac disease and other gut disorders, [13] as well as weight management, diabetes, cancer and women's health.
Rossi co-founded Bio&Me [14] in 2019, a food range with a focus on gut health. [15] The company was named UK Future Brand of the Year 2021 [16] and has recently received investment from Harry Kane. [17] The company achieved B Corp Status in 2022. [18]
Rossi has noted that there are number of different plant-based diets including veganism, lacto-vegetarianism, lacto-ovo vegetarianism, pescetarianism and flexitarianism. [25] She has stated that a plant-based diet does not have to be vegan and can occasionally include meat but the bulk of the diet must be built around plant foods. [25] [26] Rossi has commented that she does not personally promote a vegan or vegetarian diet. [27] Her advice is to eat more plants but not eliminate entire food groups. According to Rossi, "including some animal foods in your diet can be a valuable way to decrease your risk of nutritional deficiencies - I am in no way antimeat". [25] She has criticized plant-based junk and processed foods, including vegan cheese for degraded nutrients. [28]
Rossi has argued that a plant-based diet is the opposite of a fad diet, it is a sustainable way to eat a healthy diet. She has stated that the main focus of a plant-based diet should be on whole foods, including whole grains, fruit, vegetables, legumes, nuts and seeds. [25] Rossi has suggested that gut health is about moderation and plant diversity and that the ultimate goal should be to eat 30 different types of plant-based foods every week. [26] She says that the 5 A Day rule is a good starting point but the microbes living in the gut need a diversity of plants to flourish. [27]
Rossi's debut book, Eat Yourself Healthy [29] (UK, Australia & Europe) and Love Your Gut [30] (US & Canada), was published in September 2019. The book features recipes and advice on IBS and bloating, diagnosing food intolerances, and the relationship between gut health, sleep and exercise. [31] [32] The book was dedicated to her older sister, Justine, who died aged 5 in a playground accident. It was a Sunday Times bestseller [31] and has been published in 4 languages to date.
Rossi's book Eat More, Live Well was published in 2021 by Penguin Books and was also a Sunday Times bestseller. [33] The book suggests eating 30 different plant-based foods a week. [34] [35] The editors of the book commented that "based on the latest gut-health science, all of the recipes are packed with plants, but you’ll still find meat, dairy and eggs in there, because it’s all about diversity—eating more, not less. Megan’s love of food shines through every page and we can’t wait to see people enjoying her tasty creations". [36]
From 2022-2023, Rossi had a weekly column in The Daily Mail .
Fruitarianism is a diet that consists primarily of consuming fruits and possibly nuts and seeds, but without any animal products. Fruitarian diets are subject to criticism and health concerns.
Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a vegan.
A plant-based diet is a diet consisting mostly or entirely of plant-based foods. It encompasses a wide range of dietary patterns that contain low amounts of animal products and high amounts of fiber-rich plant products such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, herbs, and spices. Plant-based diets may also be vegan or vegetarian but do not have to be, as they are defined in terms of high frequency of plants and low frequency of animal food consumption.
Neal D. Barnard is an American animal rights activist, physician and founding president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). Barnard has authored books advocating a whole food plant-based dietary eating pattern. His views on reversing diabetes with a low-fat vegan diet have been criticized by diabetologists as misleading as Type 1 diabetes can not be reversed.
Vesanto Melina is a Canadian Registered Dietitian and co-author of books that have become classics in the field of vegetarian, vegan, and raw foods nutrition, have sold almost a million copies in English and are in nine additional languages. She has presented talks and workshops on various aspects of vegetarian, vegan and raw foods and nutrition for dietitians, health professionals, and vegetarian associations in 17 American states and 9 Canadian provinces, and in 10 countries as well as Iceland and Costa Rica.
Vegan nutrition refers to the nutritional and human health aspects of vegan diets. A well-planned vegan diet is suitable to meet all recommendations for nutrients in every stage of human life. Vegan diets tend to be higher in dietary fiber, magnesium, folic acid, vitamin C, vitamin E, and phytochemicals; and lower in calories, saturated fat, iron, cholesterol, long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, calcium, zinc, and vitamin B12.
William R. Davis is a Milwaukee-based American cardiologist, low-carbohydrate diet advocate and author of health books known for his stance against "modern wheat", which he labels a "perfect, chronic poison."
Mark Adam Hyman is an American physician and author. He is the founder and medical director of The UltraWellness Center. Hyman was a regular contributor to the Katie Couric Show until the show's cancellation in 2013. He writes a blog called The Doctor’s Farmacy, which examines many topics related to human health and welfare, and also offers a podcast by the same name. He is the author of several books on nutrition and longevity, including Food Fix, Eat Fat, Get Thin, and Young Forever.
David L. Katz is an American physician, nutritionist and writer. He was the founding director of the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center that was founded at Griffin Hospital in 1998. Katz is the founder of True Health Initiative and is an advocate of plant-predominant diets.
Dave Asprey is an American entrepreneur, author and advocate of a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet known as the Bulletproof diet, about which he has made claims criticized by dietitians as pseudoscientific. He founded Bulletproof 360, Inc. in 2013, and in 2017, founded Bulletproof Nutrition Inc. Men's Health described Asprey as a "lifestyle guru".
What the Health is a 2017 American documentary film that advocates for a plant-based diet. It critiques the health effects of meat, dairy product and egg consumption, and questions the practices of leading health and pharmaceutical organizations. Some have also criticised the film, arguing that there are scientific inaccuracies.
Steven R. Gundry is an American physician, low-carbohydrate diet author and former cardiothoracic surgeon. Gundry is the author of The Plant Paradox: The Hidden Dangers in "Healthy" Foods That Cause Disease and Weight Gain, which promotes the controversial lectin-free diet. He runs an experimental clinic investigating the impact of a lectin-free diet on health.
Timothy David Spector is a British epidemiologist, medical doctor, and science writer, working on the relationship between nutrition, the gut microbiome, and health. He argues against low-fat diets and fad diets, and instead advocates for a Mediterranean-style diet that is heavily plant-based, high in fibre, limits ultra-processed foods, and includes a diversity of plants.
Christopher David Gardner is an American nutrition researcher. He is the director of nutrition studies at the Stanford Prevention Research Center and the Rehnborg Farquhar Professor of Medicine at Stanford University.
William John Bulsiewicz better known as Dr. B., is an American board-certified gastroenterologist and author known for his exploration of the relationship between the gut microbiome and plant-based nutrition.
Gemma Newman known as the Plant Power Doctor is a British medical doctor, nutritionist, author and advocate of whole food plant-based nutrition.
Alan Desmond is an Irish consultant gastroenterologist and writer known for his advocacy of plant-based nutrition. He has argued that a whole food plant-based diet may prevent many diseases.
Joel K. Kahn is an American cardiologist, integrative medicine practitioner and promoter of whole food plant-based nutrition. He has been criticized for promoting anti-vaccine and COVID-19 misinformation.
Susan Marie Levin was an American registered dietitian, advocate of plant-based nutrition and veganism activist. She was one of the authors of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics position on vegetarian diets in 2016.
Shireen Amirali Kassam is a British haematologist, lifestyle medicine physician and promoter of whole food plant-based nutrition. She is the founder of Plant-Based Health Professionals UK.
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