Hi, I’m Issy, an Accredited Practicing Dietitian and Nutritionist who is passionate about allergies and intolerances here at Eat Smart Nutrition.
Food has always been a huge part of my life. I come from a large Italian family. Every social event involves the family sitting around a table, covered with delicious food, created with love!
Growing up, I enjoyed many sports from volleyball, swimming to dancing. I started dancing at the age of 5 and I still dance today! I believe that dancing gave me the confidence to perform and to be a ‘quietly confident’ person. Because of dancing, I feel comfortable presenting nutrition education sessions to large audiences and I am always up for a chat.
In high school, I had to see a dietitian as I was diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (also known as IBS). She helped me get out of the abdominal pain I was suffering and gave me my life back through a food first approach. This dietitian inspired me so much that I became a dietitian myself!
Since then, I have upskilled in medical nutritional therapy for food allergy and intolerance created by ASCIA and have successfully completed the Monash Low FODMAP Dietitian Course. Now I am wanting to share my knowledge and help those who are also struggling with gut health issues. I understand that gut health symptoms can be embarrassing, but please know I have heard it all and experienced it all myself. There is no judgement in my office!
I have also completed training in paediatrics, as I believe your relationship with food starts young. I love working with fussy eaters because I utilise the SOS feeding approach which builds their relationship with food. This approach helps remove the pressure around meal times, gets the family involved, boosts the child's confidence when trying new foods to allow more colour and variety on their plate to meet their nutritional requirements.
I am a strong believer of building a healthy relationship with food and improving everyone’s quality of life through nutrition and exercise. Please know I will work with you to create and achieve sustainable nutrition related goals.
Clinical Specialty Areas: Food allergy management in children and adults, weight management, diabetes management, cholesterol management, blood pressure management.
Gut Health Areas: Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Coeliac disease, diverticulitis, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, lactose intolerance, general constipation and diarrhoea management.