Got a question about your eating habits? nzgirl nutritionist Vicki has the answer for everything from the best breakfast to start the day, through to healthy dinner ideas.

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Back Pain
I get quite bad back pain, and have been told that cardio is good for this. However, I am quite skinny so I do not want to lose any more body fat by doing too much cardio. What do you recommend?

Back pain can have many causes and because your weight is on the low side I would consider the following as perhaps being a cause:

Back pain and low energy levels can also be caused by low protein intake. Muscles are made of protein. Increase your intake of meat, fish, eggs, cheese, chicken, yoghurt. If you are exercising often then whey powder shakes can also help to raise protein levels (try Aussie Bodies Perfect Protein powder).

Butter or Marg?
Is butter better for you than margarine?

This is a very good question. Firstly they are both fats and so are equal in calorie content - 9 kilocalories per gram of fat - that's a lot when you consider that 1 teaspoon = 5 grams. Looking at it this way, both of them are a luxury that many of us cannot afford if we want to stay in trim shape. Neither of them really contribute major sources of nutrients, so maybe it is a good idea to use hummus, avocado, salad dressing, or chutney to spread on your bread or toast as a base instead.

In terms of processing however, butter wins hands down, and margarine does not look good. Butter has minimal processing and generally no additives so is better for you from this point of view. Margarine however is processed vegetable oil with all sorts of added extras - not necessarily so good for you. The main problem for a lot of margarines are the creation of a particular type of fat called 'trans-fats' which are produced when the oil is processed to become solid at room temperature. Trans fats seem to raise cholesterol levels and research is indicating that they are very unhealthy for your heart and other body functions. What to do? I suggest using the other spreads as I have recommended above normally; use little or no margarine; and have butter once or twice a week on toast with your eggs and bacon on the weekend for a treat.

Weight Gain
I am trying to gain weight. I feel I am too thin and under-
nourished. I work out for one hour in the mornings and mostly have fruits, bread and milk for breakfast. I just don’t seem to have that glow in my face. Can you please suggest what I should do?

Time to increase your protein intake. Protein is what makes the body hum with energy. For breakfast I suggest you have a really good wholegrain muesli, topped with nuts, seeds, dried fruit, fresh fruit, and yoghurt. Nuts and seeds combined with wholegrains and yoghurt makes a complete protein. Yes - all of that will help you to feel much better, and help you gain weight.

At lunch and dinner aim for a large handful of protein = lean meat, skinless chicken, eggs, cottage cheese, or tinned salmon or tuna. Finally, don't forget to increase your fruit and vegetable intake - essential for glowing skin.

Disappearing Periods
I was wondering what the best foods for hormone imbalances are? For example I used to have really heavy bad periods, but now they hardly come and last month I had a hormone injection from the doctor to make my period come. Are there some foods that would help with the progesterone balance in my body?

Because you had heavy periods for some time it makes me think that your iron levels may be low. Have you had your iron and ferritin levels checked? If these levels are low then periods can disappear.

Firstly avoid caffeine where possible - coffee, cola, Milo, tea - these drinks prevent and reduce the absorption of iron. Then increase your protein foods. See my articles Protein Power and Could you be Iron Deficient?. These will give you ideas on what to eat. Healtheries Women’s Multi Capsule may also help with getting your period going.

Career as a Nutritionist
I know it's kind of off topic but I would love to hear about what your career as a nutritionist and naturopath involves. I'm considering a career in nutrition myself and especially like the idea of combining it with naturopathy.

To be an effective and knowledgeable nutritionist, you
need to be prepared to spend plenty of time on study. Short courses are available in nutrition, but they will not give you the information, confidence, and knowledge that you need to be an effective dietary counsellor.

At school you will need to study science, chemistry, and biology, maths is helpful also. Then a Bachelors Degree in Consumer and Applied Sciences at Otago University, with Nutrition as your major, or a Health Sciences Degree from Massey University, with Human Nutrition as your major. These are good courses which give an excellent foundation for any type of nutrition career and provide professional confidence and status. These courses are normally three years long.

You can then do an additional year afterwards training as a Dietitian. This will give you a Registration qualification and lots of experience in counselling people with their diets. This is essential as it is not as easy as it may seem to deal with many different types of people with many different types of requirements and needs in terms of their diet.

Masters degrees and PHDs are also available at both universities if you wish to go into research. To study Naturopathy as well (as I did), I suggest enrolling at a Naturopathic college, which can provide a degree course (as opposed to a diploma course) in Naturopathy. Degree courses will be more recognised in Health Sciences in the near future and give more essential training. These courses are three to four years.

Vicki Martin ND. Nutritionist, Naturopath