About Us

i-Food the Vision

i-Food has been the dream of Jim Bedwell's for a number of years. The idea of a functional nutritional planning and information system that is cost effective for the commercial sector (i.e. retailers, gyms, practitioners, doctors) and affordable to education centres and community groups (i.e. schools, learning institutions, community based support groups, iwi groups).

Jim commissioned Dr Rachel Brown in 2001 to start researching and compiling information modules on specific areas of nutrition. This is specifically how i-Food has evolved and will continue to grow as an information source. The idea of being able to provide caloric value food plans with huge variety of food choices quickly on the 80/20 Programme was important.

The 80/20 Programme is an eating system Jim has used as his eating regime for years. It's based on simple principles. For 80% of the time you consciously make good food choices as directed, you will get the desired results. It's a conditioning approach to eating, making people look for good food choices.

i-Food has research based information on special nutrition requirements, food planning for vegetarians, menopause, diabetes, allergic conditions, obesity, high cholesterol, blood pressure, and many more conditions. Nutritional recommendations in different sports is covered with evaluated research on supplementation.

Mission Statement

"By having a positive effect on one persons life will ultimately multiply to effect many".

Jim Bedwell

Jim Bedwell has been at the forefront of the increased awareness in st1:country-region> New Zealand of sport supplementation. He launched the New Zealand range of supplements, RED 8 and Mana Healthcare, in 1997, The Sport Food Company in 1999. He is a past executive member of the National Nutritional Foods Association. In 1999 wrote and launched the book 'Food for Sport'.

Jim's passion is sport. His own sporting achievements include: Teenage provincial rugby, before running his first marathon with no training, finishing in sixth place in three hours. He then caught the triathalon bug. His first triathalon was a half Ironman distance, the second was the inaugral NZ Ironman.  He competed in the NZ Ironman only two months after a decision to buy a racing bike and learning to swim more than 50 metres.

Jim went on to compete in six further NZ Ironmen, three Hawaii Ironmen and two Japan Ironmen.  He achieved his goal of a sub-nine-and-a-half hour Hawaii Ironman, Top 20 finish in Japan and Top 10 finish in the NZ Kiwi Lager Ironman.

Jim is not ideally suited in stature for endurance racing, competing at a lean body weight of 85 kilograms.  He was nicknamed "The Body" by fellow competitors, because of the great drafting advantages obtained by riding or running behind him.

Finishing fourth in the 1990 Cape Reinga to Bluff multi-sport Xerox Challenge, and sixth in the Coast to Coast multi sport event, this made Jim the only person to finish Top 10 in both the NZ Ironman and the longest day Coast to Coast.

Upon retirement from endurance events, he spent more time at the gym.  This led to a decision to train, two-and-a-half months to compete in his first body building event.  He was hardly a mass monster but ripped enough to qualify for the IFBB Nationals finishing in third place in the over 80 kilogram novice division.

Jim still remains active, spending an 20-30 minutes three to four times a week at the gym, running, playing tennis and pursuing his pleasure - chasing a wave on his Malibu long board.

Current goals include the design of a functional system to provide affordable nutritional support to problem areas in our community. My mission is to address the obesity and diabetes problem we have in our community. Hence the development and launch of i-Food in 2003.

My task is to teach our children and parents how to nutritionally make the right choices.

Dr Rachel Brown
BSc, MSc (Dist), PhD

Dr Brown has worked with elite athletes and employees of corporations with the goal of improving nutritional status and thereby influencing both physical and work-related performance.

Dr Brown completed her degrees at the University of Otago where she studied Human Nutrition, Biochemistry, Epidemiology and Exercise Physiology. She went on to complete a Master of Science and PhD in Human Nutrition. She is the first person to graduate from a New Zealand University with a PhD in Sports Nutrition.

Dr Brown has extensively researched the influence of diet on sports performance, body composition and blood cholesterol levels and is one of New Zealand's leading researchers investigating the interaction between diet, exercise and cardiovascular health. Much of Dr Brown's work has been published in international scientific and medical journals.

For the last nine years Dr Brown has lectured at the Department of Human Nutrition, University of Otago, New Zealand. She has taught a variety of courses including sports nutrition, advanced sports nutrition, life cycle nutrition, nutrition metabolism, and many more.

Rachel's expertise has been sought by some of New Zealand's top athletes.  She has designed nutrition plans for the successful New Zealand crews in the 2001/2003 Trans-Atlantic Rowing Challenge, America's Cup Yachtsmen, Olympic Athletes, and Employees of Corporations.