Caryn Zinn Dietitian

02/11/2026

LAST CALL: Metabolic Health Summit tickets close TOMORROW (Tuesday 3 November)

If you’ve been meaning to book, this is your moment. In-person attendance ticket sales for the 2026 Metabolic Health Summit close tomorrow at 4pm, and once they’re gone, they’re gone.

📅 Friday 13 and Saturday 14 November
📍AUT North campus, Auckland

Two days of practical, evidence-based talks on metabolic health, from the science through to what works in the clinic and in the community. Whether you’re a health professional, researcher, or someone who simply wants to understand their own metabolic health better, you’ll leave with ideas you can actually use.

It’s also a rare chance to be in the room with people who are changing how we think about chronic disease in this country. Check out the line-up - we'd love to see you there.

Grab your ticket before it’s too late: https://metabolichealthnz.org/event/metabolic-health-summit/

Online options available until the 11th.

Please share with anyone who’s been sitting on the fence!

Metabolic Health NZ
LOW CARB DOCTOR
Reversal NZ
PREKURE
Prof Grant Schofield
Mikki Williden, PhD
Julia Rucklidge - Mental Health & Nutrition Research: Te Puna Toiora
Lara Briden - The Period Revolutionary
Pharmacist Catherine
Cliff Harvey PhD

Join us for New Zealand’s first dedicated Metabolic Health NZ Summit. Metabolic health — how well your body converts food into energy and regulates blood sugar, insulin, lipids and inflammation — sits at the heart of preventing, reversing and managing chronic disease. It’s the physiological ...

29/10/2026

Are we short of GPs, or is the way we run general practice simply out of date?

Dr Glen Davies Reversal NZ and I have just published an editorial in the Journal of Metabolic Health about his rural practice in Taupō. Instead of treating diabetes, high blood pressure, weight and fatty liver as separate problems, each with its own pills, his team treats them as connected problems that share the same root cause.

Insulin Resistance

Lifestyle comes first. A whole team supports patients, not just the GP. A third of their patients with type 2 diabetes have reached remission without diabetes medication (other than metformin) at some point during follow-up.

It’s one practice, not a clinical trial, and it needs proper testing. But it shows a different way is possible, and the conversation is worth having.

Free to read here:

The Journal of Metabolic Health is a peer-reviewed, clinically oriented open access journal covering advances in metabolic health and related disorders. The journal focuses on pathophysiology, prevention, management, and advancing therapy for different patient populations with metabolic health issue...

18/10/2026

The link between food and mood is one of the most important questions in health care right now, and here’s a good study you can contribute to.

Calling all NZ dietitians, nutritionists, naturopaths, GPs, peer workers and allied health professionals! Bond University in Australia is looking at how nutrition and mental health connect in your practice. It’s just a 60-minute focus group.

Details are on the flyer. If you’re keen to contribute, email the researcher.

15/10/2026

Always a good chat with Paul Brennan from RCR Reality Check Radio NZ. This time with Dr Glen Davies, we talk all things metabolic health, starting with what it actually means, why it sits underneath conditions like type 2 diabetes, heart disease and fatty liver, and what has to change for things to get better.

And yes, we talked about the Metabolic Health NZ Summit coming up in November. If you want to be part of the metabolic health conversation, that’s where you need to be. Listen here: https://rcr.media/episodes/glen-davies-caryn-zinn-nz-health-advocate-aut-nutrition-professor-putting-metabolic-health-at-the-heart-of-healthcare/

and see you here -->https://metabolichealthnz.org/event/metabolic-health-summit/

Paul Brennan is joined by Dr Glen Davies and Caryn Zinn to talk about the upcoming Metabolic Health New Zealand Summit. They discuss why metabolic health could be key to tackling New Zealand’s healthcare crisis and argue for greater focus on prevention and the root causes of chronic disease, al...

10/10/2026

As Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Metabolic Health, I’m proud to share our latest publication: A Delphi consensus-based guideline for the implementation of therapeutic carbohydrate reduction in metabolic disorders. Led by Sarah M. Rice, it brings together a team of top-notch researchers and clinicians working in metabolic health.

In a Delphi-Experts worked through several rounds of review to reach agreement. Here’s what they concluded:
- A whole-food low-carb approach (protein, natural fats, vegetables) meets nutritional needs and can fit different cultures and food preferences
- TCR is safe and effective for a range of metabolic conditions
- The early “adaptation” symptoms are usually mild and short-lived
- People can stick with it long term, and enjoy it

Reaching consensus takes a huge amount of work, so a big well done to the whole team. For anyone helping patients or clients with metabolic health, this is a practical, go-to resource.

Free to read here 👉

The Journal of Metabolic Health is a peer-reviewed, clinically oriented open access journal covering advances in metabolic health and related disorders. The journal focuses on pathophysiology, prevention, management, and advancing therapy for different patient populations with metabolic health issue...

05/10/2026

The Metabolic Health Summit is coming up, and we're really proud of the programme. Great speakers, practical sessions and plenty of fresh thinking on what's working in metabolic health right now.

But here's the thing: some of the best moments at a summit happen between the sessions.

We've deliberately built generous downtime into the day so you can actually talk to people. Grab a speaker over a coffee and ask the question you've been sitting on. Swap notes with others doing similar work. Meet people who get what you're trying to do.

The talks will give you plenty to think about. The conversations are what you'll take home.

All the details on the flyer. Register here:
https://metabolichealthnz.org/event/metabolic-health-summit/

We'd love to see you there.

29/09/2026

Starting Wegovy® or Trulicity®? Or prescribing them? We'd love to hear from you.

At AUT, were recruiting adults in the Auckland region who are about to start semaglutide or dulaglutide for weight management or type 2 diabetes. We're studying changes in body composition, strength, activity, sleep and diet over the first three months of treatment. This is an observational study. We won't change or advise on anyone's treatment. We simply measure what happens and learn from patients' experiences.

Patients: you'll get two free DXA scans and up to $250 in vouchers.
GPs: if you're about to write a script for an eligible patient, please pass on the flyer. They contact us directly, so there's no paperwork for you, but you will be acknowledged. See the attached flyer for eligibility and details and contact us if you want to know more. [email protected]

We would really appreciate your help to enable us to understand these outcomes in the NZ context.

19/09/2026

Just out: A health policy about actual health!

Politics is messy. Parties compromise, coalitions water things down, and good ideas often get lost in the gap between what's promised and what's delivered.

I take political promises with a grain of salt, and I think most people do too. Not because parties are lying, but because governing is harder than campaigning, and priorities shift once you're actually in the room.

But this one is worth pointing out. It's the first time a major NZ political party has put out a health policy that's genuinely about health, not just hospitals and waiting lists. Prevention front and centre, metabolic health named as the key driver of chronic illness, informed consent, health coaches in GP clinics, a proper review of our dietary guidelines.

This is the kind of thinking that's been missing from our health conversations for a long time.

Will it happen exactly as written? Who knows. That's true of every policy from every party once they're actually in office. But whether it gets a shot at all comes down to one thing: the level of support it gets on November 7th.

This is likely the only real chance we get to push the direction of our health system somewhere better. Worth thinking about.

15/09/2026

Wow. That last post really got people talking!

The debate and discussion around metabolic health and the physiology/biochemistry behind it over the past few days has been incredible to watch. It’s made one thing really clear: science changes as new knowledge comes to light, and that can be genuinely disconcerting for people. But that discomfort is exactly where good science happens, in the questioning and the pushback, not in certainty.

Which is why I want to point you towards the Metabolic Health Summit this November, because if you enjoyed that discussion, this is where it happens in person (or online). We've got a great line-up of presentations and panels, with content stretching from GLP-1s to metabolic psychiatry, to diet and CVD risk: debate-sparking topics for sure! Two days of exactly the robust, evidence-based conversation our field needs, 13-14 November at AUT North Campus, Auckland.

The challenges facing metabolic health right now are vast, and if you want to a part of the community that works through it, join us, either in the room, or on screen.
Early bird pricing is on until 30 September, with options to suit everyone: in person, live stream (with questioning options), or post-summit recordings for own-time viewing. If the conversations on this page are anything to go by, the Summit is going to be something special.
More details here:

Join us for New Zealand’s first dedicated Metabolic Health NZ Summit. Metabolic health — how well your body converts food into energy and regulates blood sugar, insulin, lipids and inflammation — sits at the heart of preventing, reversing and managing chronic disease. It’s the physiological ...