Coco's Blog

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Vitamin D in a sunny country: why so many Australians still run low

19/10/2026

Australia has some of the strongest sunlight in the world, so it surprises people to hear that low vitamin D is common here. In the Australian Health Survey, close to one in four adults had a vitamin D level below the healthy cut-off. Most of those c..

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Do you need a greens powder if you already eat your vegetables?

19/10/2026

Greens powders have gone from health shop niche to the most talked about scoop on social media. The pitch is simple: a spoonful a day covers the vegetables you did not get around to eating. The truth is a little less tidy. A good greens powder can be..

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Oat, almond, soy or coconut? Choosing a plant milk for coffee, cooking and kids

19/10/2026

The plant milk fridge has grown from one or two soy cartons to a whole wall: oat, almond, cashew, macadamia, coconut, rice, pea, tiger nut and blends of all of them, each in a regular and a barista version. They are not interchangeable. Some are clos..

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Shopping gluten free in Australia: labels, oats and the flours worth knowing

19/10/2026

Some people eat gluten free because they have to, and some because they feel better for it. Either way, the shopping is easier once you know how Australian labels work, where gluten tends to hide, and which grains and flours can stand in for wheat wi..

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Sunburnt anyway? A calm guide to after-sun care, and when to see a doctor

19/10/2026

It happens to the most careful of us. A cloudy morning at the beach turns into a scorcher, the sunscreen stays in the bag after a swim, or a patch of back you could not reach turns pink by dinner. With the warmer months back in Sydney, here is how to..

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Coco's new online shop: Maroubra's organic health food store, now easier to shop from anywhere in Australia

14/10/2026

Since 2014, Coco's Wealth of Health has been the organic grocer and health food shop at 936 Anzac Parade, Maroubra. In that time the shelves have grown to around 5,000 products, from pantry staples and snacks to supplements, natural skincare and low ..

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Is organic worth the extra? Where to spend first, and how to read the label

14/10/2026

Organic food costs more, sometimes a lot more, and most of us cannot buy everything organic. So it is a fair question: what are you paying for, and where does the extra money do the most good? This guide covers what the word means on an Australian la..

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From Kakadu plum to lemon myrtle: a beginner's guide to Australian native foods

14/10/2026

Australia has thousands of edible native plants, and First Nations peoples have been gathering, trading and preparing them for tens of thousands of years. A handful are now easy to buy: in teas, muesli, snacks, spice blends and drinks. They bring fla..

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How to choose a better chocolate: cacao percentage, sugar, mylk and fair trade

14/10/2026

Chocolate is one of the few treats that comes with a respectable list of reasons to enjoy it, as long as you pick the right bar. The chocolate aisle can be confusing, though: 70 or 85 percent, organic or fair trade, dairy free mylk or sugar free. Thi..

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A plastic free bathroom, one swap at a time

14/10/2026

The bathroom is one of the easiest rooms in the house to cut plastic from. Most of what we use there comes in a bottle or tube that is used up in weeks, and many of those containers are hard to recycle because of pumps, caps and mixed materials. You ..

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A shopper's guide to sugar alternatives, from monk fruit to allulose

09/10/2026

The sweetener shelf has grown from a lonely box of stevia to a whole bay: monk fruit drops, erythritol blends, birch xylitol, coconut sugar and, lately, a syrup made from something called allulose. They all promise sweetness with less of the downside..

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Liposomal vitamins: what the tiny fat bubbles do, and when they are worth paying for

09/10/2026

A sachet of liposomal vitamin C costs more than a whole bottle of vitamin C tablets, and people still come back for it. Liposomal supplements have gone from a niche product to a whole section of the shelf, with liquid vitamin C, B12, magnesium, gluta..

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How to calm a breakout: pimple patches, tea tree and a simple routine

09/10/2026

A pimple always seems to arrive the week of a wedding or a job interview. The temptation is to attack it: squeeze it, scrub the whole face and dab on everything in the bathroom cabinet. Breakout prone skin usually does better with the opposite approa..

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Nappy rash: how to prevent it, soothe it and know when to see the GP

09/10/2026

Almost every baby gets nappy rash at some point, and it can turn up quickly: a happy bottom at bedtime and an angry red one by morning. Most cases are mild and clear up in a few days with some simple changes. Here is what causes it, a routine that pr..

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Packing a healthy beach picnic for a day at Maroubra

09/10/2026

Spring has turned up in Maroubra, the water is warming and the weekend crowds are back on the sand. A day at the beach is better with good food, and the beachfront takeaway is not always what you are after. With a little planning you can pack a picni..

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Do you need electrolytes? A Sydney summer guide

05/10/2026

Electrolyte sachets used to be something you bought at the chemist when a stomach bug went through the house. Now they sit next to the protein powders, come in a dozen flavours and get carried to the office in a drink bottle. Some of those people nee..

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Fibremaxxing without the bloat: how to reach 30 grams a day

05/10/2026

Of all the health trends to come out of social media, fibremaxxing is one of the few we are happy to see. The idea is simple: eat a lot more fibre than you do now. Most of us should. The catch is that people go from 15 grams a day to 50 overnight, fe..

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Low iron: the signs, the blood test and how to bring it back up

05/10/2026

Low iron is one of the most common nutrient problems in Australia, and one of the easiest to miss. The tiredness creeps up so slowly that people put it down to work, kids or getting older. Women who menstruate, pregnant women, teenage girls, enduranc..

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Apple cider vinegar: what a daily spoonful can and cannot do

05/10/2026

Apple cider vinegar has been a kitchen cure all for about as long as there have been apples and barrels. These days it is sold in gummies and shots as well as bottles, with claims that range from reasonable to wild. The real picture is more modest, a..

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