10 Hours of Exercise a Week? The Omega-3 Debate & Brain-Boosting Beans

0:00Expedia and VisitScotland invite you to come experience the beauty that awaits in Scotland. The sweep of wild coastlines, quiet locks and untamed landscapes. Fresh cuisine that feels rooted in the land. Come experience the kind of stillness that stays with you long after you leave. Plan your Scottish escape today at Expedia.com slash VisitScotland. So good, so good, so good. New markdowns up to 70 % off are at Nordstrom Rack stores now. Stock up and stay big on shoes, tops, dresses, accessories, and more must-haves for summer. Join the Nordiclub to unlock exclusive discounts, shop new arrivals first, and more.

0:47Plus, buy online and pick up at your favorite rack store for free. Great brands, great prices. That's why you rack.

0:59Welcome to The Wellness Scoop, your twice weekly dose of health and wellness inspiration. And as always, we're both here as your hosts. I'm Ella Mills. And I'm Rhiannon Lambert. And after a decade in the wellness industry, we know how overwhelming and confusing health advice can be. And that's why we created this podcast to cut through the noise and make healthier living simple, fun and personal.

1:26we we got some really nice stuff today right what have we got coming up it is a good show today we've got the new exercise study everyone's talking about why fiber keeps winning in nutrition science the confusing omega-3 headlines explained the surprising link between beans and brain health the two b's now and which celeb has been telling everyone that fiber is cool and the most bizarre trend again pickle parties pickle lip balm and the fermented food boom oh my gosh pickled handbags pickles everything guys i actually love pickles i can't wait to talk about it but we first up how are you i'm good thank you um it's been half term it was super sunny it made my week and it was your birthday it was my birthday yeah you went to spain we went to spain for a few days which was lovely had a lovely um my sister and her boyfriend came down today from the weekend over my birthday and we just potted around we obviously had the heat wave which has just been so nice but I'm officially a grown-up because last night when the rain came I looked out the window and I was like yes my lawn yeah I know the grass the crispy yellow grass everywhere I tried so hard as well to protect it and it's just my lettuce died in a day on the 30 like four degree day or whatever it was and we've had a heat wave in the UK guys and it was hotter than Europe actually so I was in Spain and I reckon it was like 10 degrees cooler in Spain than it was at home.

2:53Which is very unusual for us. And today is the 8th of June as this comes out. So my menopause journey has begun on Returition Plus, which is exciting. So that's the eight-week program. We've got the most incredible guest speakers, Dr. Philippa Kaye, who's the author of The Science of Menopause. Just loads of incredible people from my clinic, Joe Warner, loads of people. So if you sign up this morning, you may be just in time. That's so cool. I love what you're doing with these journeys and giving people these deep dives in a really kind of considered accessible way. I mean, eight weeks for a fraction of the cost of a one to one clinic.

3:28You get a session every week for eight weeks. So, yeah, hopefully it can help help a lot of you out there understand yourselves. And yeah, it's been a turbulent time, Ella. It has. And I think you have a little news for us that you're a bit nervous to share this morning. I am nervous and I think I'm nervous because I know personally how triggering and, you know, difficult fertility journeys can be. I'm actually pregnant with my third, which is very exciting. As many of you may know, I didn't actually share it on the podcast. I had a loss last October. I didn't share it because I find it hard to talk about without crying.

4:07but I have made it past the 20 week mark which is why I feel it's been a journey hasn't it guys I mean I'm on crutches for pelvic girdle pain in the evening you wouldn't know it if you look at me oh my god you've been feeling so poorly and so sick sick I've been on anti-sickness med since the fiber formula book launch and that night actually Ella was on a different set of meds wasn't I I remember saying to Ella I walked in the room I felt like it wasn't working just my head felt like felt like I was drunk yeah she's been honestly you guys know you hear every week all the things she's up to she's been working so hard and feeling so extraordinarily unwell so incredibly proud friend and yeah really really happy for you so yeah I'm here I am obviously delighted everybody don't get me wrong I'm very excited to um welcome another little one to my family but I just wanted to say you know for anyone that's going through a journey like this I just wanted to say, don't worry, this podcast is not about me and my pregnancy at all.

5:05Because actually, this is the only thing that keeps me sane every week. Yes, exactly. No, health and wellness versus parenting. But obviously, that personal aspect is important. And it's such a huge, huge thing going on in your life. And we're all just so pleased for you. Oh, I'm so relieved it's out there now. Because honestly, I was saying to Ella and Will when I got in, I don't know. I don't know how to share it. I don't know how to tell people my news. And it is almost sad as well. We're in a world where we feel so guarded or I'm just particularly acutely aware of others, other people's feelings.

5:36But equally, I'm also slightly fearful of the reactions of people, people's judgment for some reason. Isn't that strange? It should be something to be celebrated, but it's hard to share personal things. Yeah, no, it really is. I really, really understand that. Well, we are so happy for you. Thanks, Ella. So let's do the show. Ella, the health headlines that matter today.

6:01Okay, before we get into the headlines, we have a funny clip. Oh, so this clip Ella's about to play me has had 438 ,000 likes and 15 million views. Yes, exactly that. So it's insane how many likes and views it has. And it's gone so viral and it felt so wellness, Scoopy. I thought we'd play it quickly. I need to lift heavier weights. I need to take creatine. I need to increase my protein. I need to walk more. I need to increase my fiber. I need to wear more sunscreen. I need to take magnesium. I need to take collagen. I need a sauna. I need to sleep earlier. I need to stop drinking coffee. I need to regulate my cortisol.

6:35I mean, it inspired me to make some versions of Biome when Ella sent it over. But I mean, I think absolutely everybody resonates with needing to do everything. Yeah, the pressure to need to do a billion and one things. And I thought it was so interesting, as I said, that the clip had had over 15 million views when I found it. And yeah, half a million likes. It just shows exactly that. Like there is this collective pressure on women in particular, but on us in general to need to do all of these things. And it feels so overwhelming. So that's a little reassurance and a bit of humor. But if you are feeling that sense of I need to do this, I need to do that, I can't do it all.

7:16you are clearly clearly not alone 50 million others feel exactly the same probably more that aren't online so ella we have our first pickup today which is a quick one but very very important because we know that the smartphone free childhood movement is incredibly um well vocal right now thank goodness yeah it's interesting actually we because the government um in the uk is doing this big consultancy period looking at as much data and information from as many groups as possible in order to make the most informed decision on what they do with legislation around smartphones and children. There are so many headlines at the moment around social media because there's so many different groups submitting their reports and often they then make the headlines and this was one as Rhi said this was one of the reports submitted from the smartphone free childhood and they were looking at the potential cost of the impact of social media on teenage mental health.

8:17Now, not everyone agrees with these figures, so we'll be super clear about that from the outset, but their estimation from their report is that it may now be costing the UK economy between two and three billion pounds a year, the toll of social media, because of the impact on teenage mental health. And to get that data, they were pulling together reports from the NHS, the ONS, as well as data from research groups like the Resolution Foundation and the Health Foundation. And it just showed these very, very stark trends that we're all really aware of, but essentially around hospital admissions for teenage mental health conditions, which have risen by 65 % in a decade with almost 1 million children now in contact with NHS mental health services and youth worklessness linked to ill health, which has also doubled over the last 10 years.

9:05So, as I said, not everyone agrees with how directly all of these various costs can be attributed to social media. There was a quote actually from a woman called Sonia Livingston, who's from LSE, the London School of Economics. And she said, the science is not going to support a simple causal claim because adolescence is not simple and social media is not one thing. And I think that summarises the nuance. It's quite difficult to say that the 65 % rise in teenage mental health conditions causing these hospital admissions is solely because of smartphones. But I think everybody collectively agrees they are playing a disproportionate role.

9:40And even a fraction of that two to three billion pound figure is hugely meaningful. I completely agree. It is hard. It's always chicken and egg and it's always very difficult to pull together any quantity of data. But the Office for National Statistics is pretty sound. And I think it's just another good force, this survey, that it drives action towards this area. We've actually got some more headlines on social media we'll probably cover next week, I think, as these evolve. We'll watch it more and more. They're stark, aren't they? Yep, and there have been reports submitted now from some of the largest medical bodies in the country, again, looking at it.

10:16So, yeah, it's a very moving story. So we will keep you updated. We absolutely will. It is no wonder that we are all struggling. Once again, it brings us back to grounding that we're all in this together. And there really probably is a very meaningful impact for our mental health when it comes to our phones. So our first headline, Ella, today, exercise for 10 hours a week. Sorry, just 10 hours. a panic attack in the corner everybody as well being pregnant now but i can barely get enough exercise in with my pelvic pain exercise for 10 hours a week to get the best heart benefits everybody yes this made headlines absolutely everywhere and actually there was some quite interesting kind of um like common pieces or personal opinion pieces on it from people who say look i see myself as quite an avid exerciser and exercise plays a really important role in my life and even I can't get 10 hours of exercise in a week.

11:11So it was interesting to digest. But basically there was a new study that just came out and it was looking at how much exercise people need for optimal heart health. And the headline figure from this research was actually a lot higher than current official guidance because NHS guidance is 150 minutes a week. So just over two hours. It's just a better minimum to keep you healthy. I think NHS guidance is to keep you free from sickness. Yeah. And this is the interesting thing is whereas this was looking at optimal. Exactly. Whereas that, as you said, it's more kind of minimum potentially. Anyway, it was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

11:46And it followed over 17 ,000 adults from the UK Biobank, Ella, for over eight years. And these participants wore fitness trackers. So once again, I just want to remind people that fitness trackers are not really that accurate when it comes to measures of health, you know, heart rate monitors, all sorts of things like that. but it wasn't based on people trying to remember how much exercise they'd done so one good thing about the fitness tracker is that you can objectively measure when you do raise your heart rate for a prolonged period of time so there's pros and cons to that and what they found was a very clear dose response relationship so the more moderate to vigorous activity people did i think this makes perfect sense you know as we exercise we grow more blood vessels and we increase our cardiovascular capacity so it lowers their risk of problems linked to that like heart attacks strokes and heart failure.

12:35Yeah, exactly that. And as we said, at the moment, the NHS, the World Health Organization, recommend, to Bree's point, at least, I think we always say the NHS recommends 150 minutes. Actually, they recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week. So we're talking about things like brisk walking, like power walking, swimming, even gardening, continuous mowing the lawn, things like that. And that hitting that target, the 150 minutes, was linked to around an 89 % lower cardiovascular disease risk. So obviously that's positive, but infinitely bigger benefits came at higher levels of movement.

13:13So when we got to about 370 minutes a week, so that's just over six hours, that was linked to a 20 % lower risk. But people doing around 560 to just over 600 minutes a week, so that's when we're at the roughly nine to 10 hour mark, they were seeing about a 30 % reduction in cardiovascular events. So that is really meaningful. I think it just makes sense. We all have to remember as human beings, our hearts are muscle. And the more you exercise that muscle, the more reward and benefit and strength you will get from it. Of course, oxygen and all the benefits that come within your body from exercise.

13:50I just want to throw in that I feel at the moment, knowing most people aren't even hitting the 150 minutes a week, 10 hours can feel. I mean, you heard my initial reaction. And, you know, it's like, whoa, OK, very overwhelming. But I think it's an important reminder just to raise our heart rate a little bit. So take the steps, take the escalators and those sorts of things that raise your heart rate, because those are the things that push our muscle a little bit more and make it, you know, keep it stronger. So it's just adding. And actually, one of the baseline fitness levels that was mentioned here was that we need to just exercise slightly more to achieve the same cardiovascular benefits as fitter people that are already doing it.

14:32So even just 30 to 50 additional minutes a week can be really beneficial for your heart. And for me, for instance, right now, that would be trying to walk up the stairs in the weird way that I do at the moment. So it's little things, Ella. yeah it really is and as we were saying what they're talking about here is moderate um plus exercise so out of breath well like exactly you can't keep doing it for hours and hours and hours but brisk walking is part of that and so yes you could go jogging yes you go swimming all these things but those are quite hard to fit into like the middle of your day you're in your office right now I mean I'm looking at me I'm in like shirt and jeans like I'm in my work clothes but I could easily you know go for a 20 minute walk for sure um instead of getting the bus for example from where i'm going next i could walk there it was torrential rain today so we both didn't do that but no no no next we could have walked yeah later she might do it and she may go up a hill i might go up a hill i don't think there's a hill where i'm going but you never know um but i just think it is it's so easy to think oh put it off and as you said really i actually it's funny because it sounds so kind of basic in so many ways but you're so right to remind us like the heart is a muscle it needs to be exercised and it needs to be worked and it's so easy not to do that when life is busy it's also the mental health benefits I mean I know from my struggles recently but also for many people out there once you do do a little bit more it could even be tidying the house that gets your heart rate up it's hoovering hoovering gets your heart rate up picking up a box and carrying it up the stairs if you've got stairs in your house or in your flat you know going up the stairs to your flat door all of those things are exercising your heart yeah they absolutely are and I think you know not to be kind of depressing but cardiovascular disease remains one of our biggest collective health issues according to the British Heart Foundation it causes around 170 ,000 deaths a year in the UK so that's roughly a death every three minutes and there are about 8 million people in this country living with cardiovascular conditions.

16:39So it's incredibly prevalent. It's responsible for around one in four premature deaths in this country. Like looking after our hearts is of absolute utmost importance for all of us. And although the 10 hours is obviously a huge jump for lots of people, I think it's important. You know, it's that whole idea. I always love that, like, get 1 % closer to your goals each day. You know, we really overestimate what we're going to do today, tomorrow in a week and underestimate what we'll do in a year. So if you currently manage to exercise once a week, please don't set yourself the target today of doing 10 hours.

17:15I think it is unlikely to stick. But if what you can do is start to build in maybe a second exercise session and then maybe a 20 minute walk on your lunch breaks or before work or after work while it's summer and it's lighter for longer, you can start just building in these little blocks and you might find six months from now that actually you're moving a lot more and you might find two years from now you're moving completely differently and you're suddenly not exercising for an hour a week you're actually moving your body for eight hours a week and you get all those benefits but just really adding these things in slowly gently incrementally that's what ella just said the key is um it's cumulative movement not necessarily 10 hours in the gym and I think that's what is really important to reinforce and humans historically move throughout the day without thinking they need to go to the gym or x is our size I'm not saying we were healthier many years ago we weren't we are living longer now but modern lifestyle is incredibly sedentary we know that and what the research has listed here was that you know it could even be picking up children gardening running around more in general just picking up the pace if you're running late for the train dancing in the kitchen and dancing yeah dancing around the house and cycling to work exactly all of that and so let's just try and remind ourselves to get our heart rates up a little bit more every day yeah absolutely that and also as resets like it is actually quite addictive exercise and that's in this case can be positive like once you start the desire to keep going and get those endorphins and that feel-good boost it is quite a good cycle we are going to take a quick ad break guys and when we come back we are going to dive into some very confusing conflicting headlines that we've seen on omega-3s and whether they speed or reverse cognitive decline

19:06starting or growing your own business can be intimidating and lonely at times your to-do list may feel endless with new tasks and lists can easily begin to overrun your life so finding the right tool that not only helps you out, but simplifies everything as a built-in business partner can be a game changer. For millions of businesses, that tool is Shopify. Shopify is the commerce platform behind millions of businesses around the world and 10 % of all e-commerce in the U.S. from household names like Gymshark, Rare Beauty, and Heinz to brands just getting started. Shopify has hundreds of ready-to-use templates that can help you build a beautiful online store that matches your brand's style.

19:47And you can tackle all the important tasks in one place, from inventory to payments to analytics and more. No need to save multiple websites or try to figure out what platform is hosting the tool that you need. And if people haven't heard about your brand, you can get the word out like you have a marketing team behind you with easy to run email and social media campaigns to reach customers wherever they're scrolling or strolling. Start your business today with the industry's best business partner, Shopify, and start hearing. Sign up for your$1 per month trial today at shopify.com slash realm. Go to shopify.com slash realm.

20:25That's shopify.com slash realm.

20:32Good sleep is everything. That's why Ali's Science Back Support is made with a blend of melatonin and L-theanine for both kiddos and grownups. So when your mind won't switch off, you've got something that can help. Erasing thoughts and restless nights won't stand a chance. Find Oli Sleep Solutions for the whole family at Oli.com. That's O-L-L-Y dot com.

20:57So moving on to headline two. Wow. Okay, there's a lot about omega-3s, but we've had lots of headlines at the moment that are stating omega-3 supplementation may increase your risk of cognitive decline. And there are warnings from scientists. It's so confusing. I WhatsApp this to Ray exactly that. And the headlines literally like study links omega-3 supplements to faster cognitive decline. And it feels so confusing because all the time you read, we need omega-3. We need fish oil for our brains. We've got to have omega-3 for our brains. Ray, break this down for us. What on earth? I actually am very disappointed with these headlines once again, because it's not what the research and the foundings have actually said, which is typical.

21:40We know this happens. It's just that from, you know, we need to update our data essentially, first of all, for the benefits of omega-3. But we also need to recognize that, you know, large human trials have been inconsistent. And all that it said is that the quality of supplementation has declined. So the quality of the supplements that people are taking, just to double check. 100%. These fish oils that have been marketed for years as being brain protective. But actually, when you look, you look behind the signs, the headlines, it's so much more nuanced. It's not that omega-3 is causing dementia at all.

22:14Because that is how you can easily read it. You flip through this and you think, oh my gosh, I've got to throw away my omega-3 pills, liquid drops, whatever. And this all came just from one observational study. So I just want to remind you, observational studies are notoriously not the most accurate form of study. You want a double-blind, randomised, controlled, placebo-type study to look at things. And it was looking at older adults from the Alzheimer's disease neuroimaging initiative. And researchers found that those people taking the omega-3 supplements appeared to experience faster cognitive decline over time compared with those not taking them.

22:50And that's where the headlines came from. However, the study doesn't prove that it was the omega-3 supplements that caused the decline. It's just an association from an observational study. Now, investigating or studying the elderly is really notoriously difficult anyway, depending at what stage they initially are, how they eat overall. Remember, a supplement isn't even a miracle on its own. We have to remember supplements just fill a gap. And it's actually an adult's overall diet lifestyle that's going to reduce their risk even more than just popping an omega-3 capsule. And I think that's so important to reiterate.

23:26But omega-3 has had a healthy halo for a long time. And there's not been enough attention on the quality of the supplements, which I am very passionate about. But the wording was far too dramatic. And over roughly five years, essentially, in the study, Omega-3 supplementation showed this deeper cognitive decline. But the researchers also didn't find the classic Alzheimer's hallmarks. So many of you may have heard of amyloid plaque or tau tangles. You see these pictures of DNA that's kind of unraveled and all scrambled. And that's what happens in our brains when we develop these neurodegenerative conditions.

24:03And that particular hallmarker is of Alzheimer's. So instead, they were looking at changes in the brain that were linked to glucose metabolism and synaptic function. These are not the same things. And those researchers couldn't fully control for the dose of the supplement, the quality of the supplement, the oxidation status. So just to remind you, cod liver oil supplements can go rancid very, very quickly. There's a reason I never recommend them in clinic. I would always suggest going for a DHA supplement instead, which is the algae the fish consume. So I could waffle on. I've actually written loads on this.

24:39I'm not going to because I feel that's kind of explained a lot of it for you. But overwhelming research says we need these omega-3s. Our brain's 60 % fat. we need the cell membranes around the cell are made of those healthy fats. And that is what we need in our diets. And most people are not getting enough, but I would swap cod liver oil for plant algae supplements. Okay, that's really helpful. Those sort of headlines, as you say, they're so frustrating, because it's like you keep reading, do this, do this, do this. And then you open the page and say, don't do that. Well, let's just also list off the other benefits.

25:14Omega-3 is not just about neurodegenerative diseases you know it impacts your heart health as well these healthy fats play a role of course in blood sugar regulation to reducing inflammation so there's so many things Ella that play a role with our health and these elderly adults who knows what they were eating they didn't even measure how many they were taking of the supplements so top line don't worry you still definitely need omega three in your life you can get it through your diet but most of us aren't enough right yes that's And that's why I mentioned, and it's quite a sweeping statement I made last week, that I do predict an omega-3 crisis sort of coming to our population at some point over the next few years.

25:57Because we'll finally acknowledge that we haven't been getting enough of this vital nutrient. Then we'll realize it's too late because we've overfarmed the oceans. And then we'll realize that supplementation is not as straightforward. and sadly the sustainability issue within this whole genre of food in itself is very difficult. So farmed salmon now contains significantly lower omega-3 levels than it did 20 years ago for instance because of changes in how we feed the fish and the regulation on aquaculture practices. You know we've mentioned before and we've used the example of Waitrose taking mackerel off the menu but salmon and mackerel are still valuable sources of omega-3 but they don't contain the same concentrations they once did.

26:39But also lots of people don't necessarily enjoy oily fish and so aren't eating that maybe as much. And plant sources, you can get some, but we're also talking about like walnuts, hemp seeds, flax seeds, which aren't necessarily kind of things that people are consuming an enormous quantity. No, that's why I predict a bit of an omega crisis. So, you know, we should be shifting the conversation from should we take them to how can we sustainably provide omega-3 sources for the public. And then really one other thing on the omega-3 crisis, which I think is so interesting, and you guys heard it here first, is correct me if I'm wrong here though, which is that the very rough ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 is incredibly important.

27:23And because of our high intake of UPFs, we're eating a lot of omega-6 and nowhere near enough omega-3. And that can be problematic. It can, but also I'm not worried about people's omega 6 intake in isolation it's more the combined approach this is what i mean the omega-3 is going down the anti-inflammatory ingredients going down and the going up going up tell us a bit about this so this is actually where the seed oil debate comes from exactly there's higher omega i always get so anxious when i talk about it because i know people get passionately about seed oils Omega-6 is very high in seed oils.

28:02And that's why olive oil, for instance, rapeseed oil has a good omega-3 ratio. And that's why we recommend cooking with those sorts of oils for the heart healthy benefits. The research of the golden liquids that are out there everywhere. Omega-6, because of the use of these seed oils, it doesn't mean the seed oil in isolation is bad. It's just that they are the best type of oils to use in the majority of convenience items. And let's be honest, as we know from our discussions, last year on ultra processed foods you know with 60 percent of adults and up to 70 percent of children having convenience foods their omega-6 levels are really high so that needs to come down at a smidgen there's no direct correlation at the moment that omega-6 in the diet is causing problems but we do know that the omega-3 is completely neglected it's almost like fiber conversation compare it to protein protein whereas the fiber but it's so much harder isn't it because at least with fiber which we'll get on to in a sec is getting cool um at least with fiber there are so many sources right like any plant that you eat you know a chocolate covered almond that has fiber chocolate covered raisins they have fiber like bananas apples these things that are pretty accessible and probably most of us can get on board with oranges etc that all has fiber you don't have to eat like a butter bean you know which might necessarily to other people feel new or whatever you don't have to eat kale you don't have to eat turmeric you don't have to eat butter beans you have to eat kind of wellness foods essentially to get your fiber you just need to eat more plants and it can come in a more accessible potatoes brown rice totally these much more accessible forms the problem with omega-3 as we were just saying is it's now to your point you've said before like it's not even in a fish like tuna it's in salmon's quite a specific taste mackerel sardines aren't popular because of the bones and the turn yeah it's a bit more niche right and then it's in these very very niche um plant foods i would say niche like flax seeds chia seeds walnuts these are just not things that people are like stuffing in their mouth on a daily basis and also the cost of these ingredients yeah and you need a lot of them as well like we're talking about several tablespoons a day we are i mean you need two tablespoons of flax around 15 grams to get the benefits of the amount of omega-3 you need and they want to be cold pressed and then store it in the fridge because once again flax seeds can go rancid because of these healthy fat components if you leave them out of the fridge unopened so this is not general public information yeah most people growing up in this country will never have seen a flax seed before no and omega-3 is so important for obviously our brains but also anti-inflammatory benefits so it's a really i agree with you on the crisis i think it's as i said with fiber i know there's a huge fiber gap but filling it feels a lot simpler to me just more fruit bowls you know there isn't i'm not trying to be reductive but these are familiar foods lots of them to people the idea that we could get encourage people to eat more of these foods feels plausible oats porridge all of the rest of it whereas omega-3 It's in very expensive and very scarce number of foods.