Nikki
Hart

Nikki is a highly experienced nutrition advisor, researcher and media commentator who has positively influenced the health of thousands of New Zealanders for nearly 30 years.

She is the founder and director of Nikki Hart Nutrition Ltd and provides a bespoke nutritional advisory service that is grounded in evidence-based science.

To impart nutritional information to a larger audience Nikki was selected to create and present two popular anti-obesity TV series in 2005 and 2007 as well as being requested to regularly write and contribute to many consumer and corporate health publications.

Family and medical nutrition with an emphasis on normalizing food and NOT talking nutrients became Nikki’s focus. GP’s and specialists often refer her adult/child/families to help them through complex and emotional stress of obesity or medical conditions linked with being overweight – such as Type 2 Diabetes, raised blood pressure, raised cholesterol, poly-cystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) etc. In contrast, Nikki also sees many young people with eating disorders and works with psychologists and other health professionals to aid in their recovery.

She achieved her Human Nutrition & Post-graduate Degree in Dietetics at The University of Otago and then went on to achieve first class honors at Massey University for her Master’s Degree thesis in Nutritional Science and Hydration. This led to Nikki working with many high performance athletes and she continues to care for athletes at overseas universities on sports scholarships as well as many recreational and elite athletes here in NZ.

Her special interest in hydration has also allowed her to collaborate with the beverage industry where she has advised and provided information on non-nutritive sweeteners, electrolytes and carbohydrate formulation. Nikki also worked as the nutrition advisor on a beverage designed to help prevent Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) in people undertaking long distance air-travel. It was her professional associations with the experts in the Food Science and Exercise Physiology departments of the University of Otago that allowed the product to be scientifically tested and validated.

An interest in Functional Gut Disorders and the relevance of certain short chain carbohydrates lead to Nikki completing the introductory and advanced FODMAP diet courses at Monash University 2010. This specialty has lead to a huge increase in GPs and Gastroenterologists referring to Nikki for assessment and for her advising the food industry on product formulation to optimize digestive health.

In conjunction with the Food and Grocery Council of New Zealand Nikki also created and delivered nutrition videos based on the Ministry of Health’s Food and Nutrition Guidelines. With the rise in social media anyone can claim to be an expert, so the information provided was to create greater food literacy and to dispel nutritional confusion and myths.

She created the nutrition content for Sir John Kirwan’s Groov Mental Health App during Covid-19 Pandemic so that all New Zealanders could access safe and practical nutrition information to help keep them and their whanau healthy.

Nikki is also a member of UNA NZ and is helping advise businesses on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) specifically Goal 2 – Zero Hunger and Goal 12 Responsible Production and Consumption.

Nikki uses critical thinking and understanding of nutrition and food trends to not only help individuals achieve optimal health outcomes but also to the food industry to help design and create products that are valid and robust and most recently she has been appointed to Fonterra’s Global Expert Nutrition Panel 2023.