Healthy-ish

Actor, model, son of a famed politician… you might assume that Nick Bracks has led a charmed life, and is enjoying the fruits of his labour. But this passionate mental health advocate has triumphed over some pretty dark things in his short 32 years, and is on a mission to educate more Australians about the need to speak up when it comes to living with mental health issues. And his own experience with anxiety and alcohol abuse means he really knows what he’s talking about… You can find Nick on Instagram at @nickbracks You can listen to Nick’s podcast, Move Your Mind here Read about Nick’s mental health life lessons on bodyandsoul.com.au here You can find out more about the preventative work that One In Five does here You can join the conversation, or drop us a question, via the Healthy-ish Australia Facebook page, here. If you’re up for funny memes and health inspo follow Body+Soul on Instagram at @bodyandsoul_au Or, head to bodyandsoul.com.au for your daily digital dose of health and wellness. Each Sunday, you can pick up the latest copy of the Body+Soul/Stellar flipbook inside The Sunday Telegraph (NSW), the Sunday Herald Sun (Victoria), The Sunday Mail (Queensland), Sunday Mail (SA) and Sunday Tasmanian (Tasmania).   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Zara McDonald and Michelle Andrews are no strangers to the backlash that often comes with working and, to a point, living your life online. Their pop culture podcast Shameless consistently tops the Australian podcast charts, but it’s when they speak openly about their personal struggles with topics that are often kept quiet - like endometriosis, vaginismus and mental health - that they receive the most attention. Their advice on finding the courage to speak up (even when it’s the last thing you feel like doing), and side-stepping shame, is not to be missed.  This is part two of our chat, so please be sure to go back and listen to yesterday’s episode with these bright sparks, too.  You can find Zara on Instagram at @zamcdonald, Michelle at @michelleandrews1 and their podcast at @shamelesspodcast  You can listen to Shameless here The Space Between: Chaos. Questions. Magic. Welcome to your twenties is available to buy, here You can join the conversation, or drop us a question, via the Healthy-ish Australia Facebook page, here. If you’re up for funny memes and health inspo follow Body+Soul on Instagram at @bodyandsoul_au Or, head to bodyandsoul.com.au for your daily digital dose of health and wellness. Each Sunday, you can pick up the latest copy of the Body+Soul/Stellar flipbook inside The Sunday Telegraph (NSW), the Sunday Herald Sun (Victoria), The Sunday Mail (Queensland), Sunday Mail (SA) and Sunday Tasmanian (Tasmania).   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Zara McDonald and Michelle Andrews are something of a two-woman media empire. After leaving their roles at a mass digital publishing company, the journalist friends decided to go it alone and launch a podcast that their ex-employee didn’t want. The fact that said podcast, called Shameless, is one of the most downloaded in Australia - and has gone on to spawn merchandise, live events and now a book - called The Space Between: Chaos. Questions. Magic. Welcome to your twenties - speaks volumes about the ease at which these two have tapped into Australia's millennial psyche.  But their success hasn’t come without drawbacks. Michelle and Zara have been propelled into the buzzing but also brutal world of online commentary and, as they share, it’s had a huge effect on their mental health, their sense of confidence and also their friendship.  This is part one, of a two-part chat, so please be sure to tune into to the follow-up tomorrow.  You can find Zara on Instagram at @zamcdonald, Michelle at @michelleandrews1 and their podcast at @shamelesspodcast  You can listen to Shameless here The Space Between: Chaos. Questions. Magic. Welcome to your twenties is available to buy, here You can join the conversation, or drop us a question, via the Healthy-ish Australia Facebook page, here. If you’re up for funny memes and health inspo follow Body+Soul on Instagram at @bodyandsoul_au Or, head to bodyandsoul.com.au for your daily digital dose of health and wellness. Each Sunday, you can pick up the latest copy of the Body+Soul/Stellar flipbook inside The Sunday Telegraph (NSW), the Sunday Herald Sun (Victoria), The Sunday Mail (Queensland), Sunday Mail (SA) and Sunday Tasmanian (Tasmania).   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you struggle to climax during sex, you’re far from alone. Certified Australian sex coach Georgia Grace sees this problem so often in her Sydney practise, and she has one firm piece of advice: stop trying to orgasm. Sounds counter-intuitive, but she’s adamant that this is the first step to taking back your pleasure - and fully enjoying intimacy, whether you’re alone or with a partner. She explains why…  You can find Georgia on Instagram at @gspot._ and online here.  You can join the conversation, or drop us a question, via the Healthy-ish Australia Facebook page, here. If you’re up for funny memes and health inspo follow Body+Soul on Instagram at @bodyandsoul_au Or, head to bodyandsoul.com.au for your daily digital dose of health and wellness. Each Sunday, you can pick up the latest copy of the Body+Soul/Stellar flipbook inside The Sunday Telegraph (NSW), the Sunday Herald Sun (Victoria), The Sunday Mail (Queensland), Sunday Mail (SA) and Sunday Tasmanian (Tasmania).   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Turns out slapping collagen on your face will NOT help to keep your skin looking youthful… but there are a slew of ingestible beauty supplements on the market that are promising to help boost collagen production from the inside. We dig into the science to see if a collagen powder really is the elixir of youth, and when it might not be worth your time (or money).  Something Old/Something New: Kelsey: Becca Cosmetics Zero Face + Lip Glass Highlighter, $41, at Sephora and Morphe Gloss Pop Face and Eye Gloss, $18, at Mecca  Ali: Trinny London BFF Serum Destress, $75, at Trinny London  Each Thursday, Body+Soul digital editor Alison Izzo (who, by her own admission, is no beauty expert) and Body+Soul beauty editor Kelsey Ferencak (who, is a bonafide expert with years of experience speaking to experts) get together to try and crack the everyday beauty problems that plague us all. You can join the conversation, or drop us a question, via the Healthy-ish Australia Facebook page, here. You can find Doctor Stephanie Mallouf on Instagram at @sm_nurition and online here.  If you’re up for funny memes and health inspo follow Body+Soul on Instagram at @bodyandsoul_au Or, head to bodyandsoul.com.au for your daily digital dose of health and wellness. Each Sunday, you can pick up the latest copy of the Body+Soul/Stellar flipbook inside The Sunday Telegraph (NSW), the Sunday Herald Sun (Victoria), The Sunday Mail (Queensland), Sunday Mail (SA) and Sunday Tasmanian (Tasmania).   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nicole Singh knows what it feels like to be a round peg in a square hole. At the age of 24, the Sydney-based journalist was diagnosed with a chronic illness that meant she had to quite quickly reevaluate her job, her finances and even her friends. The experience was brutal, but it inspired her to create Real Talk TV, an online space for real conversations about how women approach their lives - and all the issues therein. As she says, ‘Life is messy, let’s talk about it.’ You can read more about Nicole’s story here.  You can find Nicole on Instagram at @nicole.d.singh and at @real.talk.tv. You can join the conversation, or drop us a question, via the Healthy-ish Australia Facebook page, here. If you’re up for funny memes and health inspo follow Body+Soul on Instagram at @bodyandsoul_au Or, head to bodyandsoul.com.au for your daily digital dose of health and wellness. Each Sunday, you can pick up the latest copy of the Body+Soul/Stellar flipbook inside The Sunday Telegraph (NSW), the Sunday Herald Sun (Victoria), The Sunday Mail (Queensland), Sunday Mail (SA) and Sunday Tasmanian (Tasmania).   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lillian Ahenkan is DJ, TV presenter, writer and advocate and if you haven’t listened to at least one of her podcasts, you really should. The Sydney-based media star is launching yet another podcast - called Flex’s Semi-Factual History Lessons, which aims to shine a light on many of the dangerous societal constructs that we don’t have the time, energy or research up our sleeves to question.  You can find Lillian on Instagram at @flex.mami and online here.  Flex’s Semi-Factual History Lessons is a weekly, Spotify Original Podcast which launches on October 13th.  You can join the conversation, or drop us a question, via the Healthy-ish Australia Facebook page, here. If you’re up for funny memes and health inspo follow Body+Soul on Instagram at @bodyandsoul_au Or, head to bodyandsoul.com.au for your daily digital dose of health and wellness. Each Sunday, you can pick up the latest copy of the Body+Soul/Stellar flipbook inside The Sunday Telegraph (NSW), the Sunday Herald Sun (Victoria), The Sunday Mail (Queensland), Sunday Mail (SA) and Sunday Tasmanian (Tasmania).   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dietitian Lyndi Cohen knows the power food can hold over us. Her own struggles with disordered eating started when she was just 11 years old, but after educating herself, and losing 20kg in the process, she’s come to see food as fuel - for the soul as well as for the body. She explains how attaching guilt to what we eat can affect us in more ways than we may know.  You can find Lyndi on Instagram at @nude_nutritionist and online here.  You can join the conversation, or drop us a question, via the Healthy-ish Australia Facebook page, here. If you’re up for funny memes and health inspo follow Body+Soul on Instagram at @bodyandsoul_au Or, head to bodyandsoul.com.au for your daily digital dose of health and wellness. Each Sunday, you can pick up the latest copy of the Body+Soul/Stellar flipbook inside The Sunday Telegraph (NSW), the Sunday Herald Sun (Victoria), The Sunday Mail (Queensland), Sunday Mail (SA) and Sunday Tasmanian (Tasmania).   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jazz Thornton tried to end her own life many times before her final attempt, at age 19. Her story is a tragic one - but the way in which this New Zealand native overcame her mental health battles is one of pure inspiration. Jazz is now a passionate mental health advocate, and author, with a feature film based on her experiences titled The Girl on the Bridge coming out soon.  You can find Jazz on Instagram at @jazzthornton and read her incredible story online at bodyandsoul.com.au here.  Her book Stop Surviving Start Fighting, $32.99, is available now, here.  You can join the conversation, or drop us a question, via the Healthy-ish Australia Facebook page, here. If you’re up for funny memes and health inspo follow Body+Soul on Instagram at @bodyandsoul_au Or, head to bodyandsoul.com.au for your daily digital dose of health and wellness. Each Sunday, you can pick up the latest copy of the Body+Soul/Stellar flipbook inside The Sunday Telegraph (NSW), the Sunday Herald Sun (Victoria), The Sunday Mail (Queensland), Sunday Mail (SA) and Sunday Tasmanian (Tasmania).   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Heard of Milky Foot? Instagram, and the internet generally, seems to love the spectacle of the foot exfoliating mask. But why? Do they work? And is shedding THAT much skin even healthy? Kelsey puts her feet on the line to test this viral beauty treatment… with unexpected results.  Kelsey tried the Milky Foot Intense Exfoliating Foot Pad, $29.95, at Chemist Warehouse Something Old/Something New: Kelsey: U Beauty Resurfacing Compound, $215, at Net-a-Porter Ali: Minenssey Australian Clay Mask Exploration Set, $35, at Minenssey Each Thursday, Body+Soul digital editor Alison Izzo (who, by her own admission, is no beauty expert) and Body+Soul beauty editor Kelsey Ferencak (who, is a bonafide expert with years of experience speaking to experts) get together to try and crack the everyday beauty problems that plague us all. You can join the conversation, or drop us a question, via the Healthy-ish Australia Facebook page, here. If you’re up for funny memes and health inspo follow Body+Soul on Instagram at @bodyandsoul_au Or, head to bodyandsoul.com.au for your daily digital dose of health and wellness. Each Sunday, you can pick up the latest copy of the Body+Soul/Stellar flipbook inside The Sunday Telegraph (NSW), the Sunday Herald Sun (Victoria), The Sunday Mail (Queensland), Sunday Mail (SA) and Sunday Tasmanian (Tasmania).   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.