Dr Amanda Benham vegan dietitian nutritionist

About PB Nutrition

PB Nutrition was started by Dr Amanda Benham with the goal of helping people of all ages adopt and maintain plant-based eating patterns in a healthy, safe and sustainable way.

We do this by providing education, consultations and practical guidance to the public as well as to medical and health professionals to help people maintain plant-based diets that benefit individuals, communities, animals and the environment.

As there are so many different people providing nutrition information we strongly recommend that before acting on any advice or information you carefully scrutinise the academic qualifications, professional accreditations, experience, ongoing professional development, publications, practice ethics and conflicts of interest of the source. Details on Dr Amanda Benham are provided below.

To view a short introductory video, click here.

Academic Qualifications

Dr Benham has the following university qualifications:

PhD – Queensland University of Technology (QUT). (Thesis was on vitamin B12 in women of reproductive age on a vegan diet.)
Master of Health Science – QUT (Thesis was on the health and nutritional aspects of vegetarian and vegan diets)
Graduate Diploma in Nutrition & Dietetics – QUT
Graduate Diploma in Human Nutrition – Deakin University, Vic
Bachelor of Science (Physiology major) – University of Western Australia
Bachelor of Arts (Communication Studies) – Murdoch University, WA

As a lover of learning, Amanda has also completed university courses in Evidence-based Complementary Medicine, Philosophy, Business, Economics, Marketing etc.

Professional Accreditations

Amanda became an Accredited Practising Dietitian and Accredited Nutritionist in the early 1990’s, after completing her initial nutrition and dietetics training. Being qualified as an Accredited Practising Dietitian requires not only completing at least a four year full-time course of study in science, nutrition and dietetics at an accredited university, but also entails ongoing learning and professional development and abiding by a strict code of ethics. Amanda’s APD listing on Dietitians Australia’s website is here.

Because of her training and experience in the adoption of lifestyle measures to prevent and treat chronic disease, she have been named a Fellow of the Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine. This also requires ongoing professional development and abiding by a code of ethics.

Professional Development

Since graduation Amanda has completed numerous courses related to nutrition, including:

Complete Health Improvement Program Facilitator Training (Lifestyle Medicine Institute)
Certificate of Paediatric Nutrition (Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne)
Professional Certificate: Paediatric Nutrition for Disease (Dietitians’ Association of Australia)
Nutrition and Lifestyle in Pregnancy (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München)
Certificate in Food Allergy e-training for Dietitians (Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology & Allergy)
Eating Disorders Treatment Essentials: Detecting and Managing Eating Disorders for the Health Professional Program (Centre for Eating and Dieting Disorders)

Publications

Amanda’s published works include:

Benham, A. J., Gallegos, D., Hanna, K. L., & Hannan-Jones, M. T. (2022). Vitamin B12 Supplementation Adequacy in Australian Vegan Study Participants. Nutrients 14(22), 4781; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14224781

Benham, A.J. (2022) Weaning a baby onto a vegan diet, (Nolan & Gore, ed.) in Contemporary Issues in Perinatal Education (1st ed.), Routledge, U.K., p.173-187.

Benham, A. J., Gallegos, D., Hanna, K. L., & Hannan-Jones, M. T. (2021). Intake of vitamin B12 and other characteristics of women of reproductive age on a vegan diet in Australia. Public Health Nutrition, 24(14), 4397–4407. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980021001695

Benham, A.J.(2020) Weaning a baby onto a vegan diet. International Journal of Birth and Parent Education, 8(1).

Benham, A.. & Drew L., (2016) Greenilicious: 101 Ways to Love Your Greens, Arbon Publishing, Sydney.

Benham, A. J.(1999). Adaptation of the Australian Core Food Groups to enable planning of vegan and lactovegetarian diets. Australian Journal of Nutrition and Dietetics, 56(1), 22-30.

Experience

Amanda have over 25 years experience in the dietary management of a wide range of health conditions and in helping people of all ages achieve optimal nutritional health.

One of her key areas of focus has been helping people raise healthy children on a plant-based diet, from pre-conception through pregnancy, breastfeeding, weaning and right up to adulthood. Starting with her own children over 30 years ago, Amanda hase helped hundreds of families raise healthy plant-based children that love their veggies!

She also has extensive experience helping people ensure they are getting enough of all essential nutrients on a plant-based diet, eating for optimal health, body weight and longevity.

In addition to her experience in clinical dietetics she extensive experience in plant-based meal planning, menu development and food preparation, and has started several vegan grocery shops, cafes and restaurants.

Practice Ethics

Evidence-based Practice

As a nutrition scientist Amanda uses evidence-based practice to provide proven, up-to-date information and advice to improve people’s health through better nutrition. This means that recommendations are based on scientific evidence published in reputable peer-reviewed journals and not simply conforming to the current trends in beliefs and practices or what people want to hear.

No Conflicts of Interest

Please note that Dr Benham does not accept any payments or incentives for promoting any particular products or brands. She does not sell any pills or potions or take any money or kickbacks from the food industry, supplement industry etc. Because of this, she is on the registry of Australian Independent Dietitians-Nutritionists.