Part 1: The 5 Pillars of a Strong Nutrition Foundation - The first of a new series exploring the fundamentals that truly shape your health, performance, and longevity

If you’ve ever felt like nutrition advice is a swirling vortex of contradictions, you’re not alone.

One moment you’re told to cut carbs, the next it’s all about intermittent fasting, then suddenly it’s seed oils or blood sugar spikes that are ruining your progress.

It’s no wonder so many people feel confused, frustrated, and stuck.

But beneath the noise, there’s something quieter, and far more powerful, that never makes headlines. It’s what I teach every client who works with me, and it’s what this new series of articles is all about.

A diverse range of protein-rich whole foods, essential for muscle preservation, metabolic health, and healthy ageing. Prioritising high-quality protein is one of the most impactful first steps in building a strong nutrition foundation.

The Problem With Chasing Precision Before Fundamentals

In the world of nutrition, people often leap straight into high-precision tactics, weighing food to the gram, intermittent fasting windows, micro-dosing apple cider vinegar, while skipping over the basics.

And that’s where things break down.

You don’t need cutting-edge "bio-hacks" to get results. You need a clear grasp of the core levers that actually influence your health. If you're not improving your biomarkers, feeling better, or making sustainable changes, it’s usually not because you chose the wrong superfood. It’s because the strategy didn’t address the fundamentals.

What Actually Matters Most

To solve this, I like to take a first principles approach, meaning we look at what truly matters, from the ground up.

It’s a concept known as polynomial order: identifying the variables that drive the biggest effects, and prioritising those first. Here are the five pillars I believe should form the foundation of any nutrition plan. These are first-order variables, the things that move the needle in a meaningful, measurable way.

1. Energy Balance

This is the relationship between how much energy you consume and how much you expend. It’s the primary driver of weight change over time. If you're in a consistent energy surplus, you'll gain weight. If you're in a consistent deficit, you'll lose it. This holds true regardless of whether your calories come from carbs, fats, or protein. The law of thermodynamics still applies.

2. Protein Intake

Protein supports the maintenance and growth of lean muscle mass, plays a key role in appetite regulation, and helps preserve metabolic rate as we age. Aiming for a daily intake of around 1.6 to 2.2 grams per kilogram of body weight is one of the simplest, most effective nutrition strategies you can implement, particularly as you get older.

3. Micronutrient Density

Vitamins, minerals, and trace elements, things like magnesium, B vitamins, zinc, and potassium, are crucial for everything from mitochondrial function to immune regulation to mood. If you’re not getting enough, your body doesn’t operate efficiently. A diet based on whole, minimally processed foods is your best insurance policy.

4. Sustainability

Even the most scientifically sound nutrition plan is useless if it doesn’t fit your life.

Sustainability means your eating habits align with your schedule, stress levels, family needs, cultural preferences, and your relationship with food. The best plan isn’t the one that looks good on paper, it’s the one you can stick to.

5. Metabolic Markers

Numbers matter, not just on the scale, but in your blood work. Metrics like fasting glucose, HbA1c, triglycerides, Lipid markers such as ApoB & Lp(a), insulin sensitivity, and inflammatory markers (like CRP) provide direct insight into how your body is responding to what you're eating. If you’re not tracking these over time, you're missing part of the picture.

What Comes Next

The truth is, not all nutrition variables carry equal weight. Instead of getting lost in the fringe details, whether you should eat at 10am or noon, or if it’s better to cook with olive oil or avocado oil, focus on building a strong foundation first. And that’s exactly what this series is here to help with.

Over the coming weeks, I’ll break down each of these pillars, starting with Energy Balance, to help you not only understand what matters, but why it matters, and how to apply it in your own life. Because once you understand the science, you can start building a way of eating that supports your goals, and actually lasts.