About me

About Dr Sylvia Goedeke

I believe that symptoms are always a way of our body trying to communicate something.

As an integrative practitioner, I’ll ask questions about what your symptoms really mean rather than trying to “work around” them. Although I have always been one to challenge the status quo, this way of thinking first developed through experience with my previous health challenges.

On writing my PhD thesis, I learned how to further question evidence and discuss nuances around health from a holistic viewpoint. Like you, I am naturally not satisfied with one straight answer (e.g. a pill) for a complex issue and am prepared to help you work through your challenges with nutrition and lifestyle.

I’ll help you develop sustainable healthy habits.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not perfect, and I don’t expect you to be either. I teach people how to develop realistic, sustainable nutrition behaviours. I want the core of the plan you’re following to be something you can see yourself continuing for months and years to come. That means I don’t expect clients to weigh and measure all their food.

You can cook delicious, complex, flavoursome recipes if you want to. Or you can keep it simple with minimal-fuss techniques. I understand that food is also social and fun, and I don’t expect you to miss out on life for the sake of “perfect eating”. These are all types of things that I incorporate into your nutrition and lifestyle plan. I want you to be in it for the long haul.

Over 8 years of university training in nutrition

I started my formal nutrition training at Massey University when I gained a Bachelor of Science in Human Nutrition and Physiology in 2014, followed by a Master of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics in 2016. Between 2018-2024 I completed my Doctor of Philosophy with Auckland University of Technology.

Clinical experience

I have been consulting as a dietitian since 2016. Over the last six years, I have helped many clients from various walks of life with their nutrition to improve energy, digestive problems (e.g. coeliac disease, IBS, inflammatory bowel), diabetes, cardiac health, cancer, weight management, thyroid problems, women’s health issues, and inflammatory issues.

Over time, there were certain types of cases that would show up more than others; these were women of varying age demographics with period and fertility concerns and women planning pregnancy. I chose to specifically direct my work towards women’s health because I connected with their experiences (as a woman myself, of course) and felt so much gratification and warmth from the success stories. Sadly, many women’s health and digestive issues get brushed over as problems we’re supposed to deal with it because of our age or family history.

I wholeheartedly believe that we are not destined to suffer just because of our health tendencies. Instead, I believe in using our symptoms as teaching experiences to learn what our body is trying to communicate so that we can better align with lifestyles that allow us to thrive.