Are Portion Sizes Sexist? Meditation and Heavy Metals

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0:49Welcome to The Wellness Scoop, your weekly dose of health and wellness inspiration. And as always, we are both here as your hosts. I'm Ella Mills. And I'm Rhianna Lambert and today we're diving into some wonderful topics that you have chosen for us.

1:27Have you got any recs for us this week? What do we need in our lives? Well, Ella, I've got a few. Obviously, save our email address because that's a big rec. The first is my porridge game. I've upped it. Okay. How do we up our porridge game? Inspire me. Up our porridge game. It's because the kids have just been going through this phase, particularly my adults where he just loves porridge. And I've always cooked it with chia seeds pretty much because it thickens, it speeds up cooking. It just feels like it's a nicer texture. I added ginger and dark chocolate and my major dates. Oh. I know. Do you know what?

1:57We had a reader. Sorry, a reader. Did you put it in? A listener. I forgot to put it in for today. So I will shout you out next week. And I apologize for forgetting your name in this. But they recommended, they were saying, I know you guys love dark chocolate. My favorite winter breakfast is exactly make your porridge. Always put a cube in it. She said two cubes, yeah, of like 75, 80 % dark chocolate and let it melt in. I do it for the children sometimes. And it feels like the most. I need to make it this week. It sounded, I just had this image of like getting my teaspoon and swirling the chocolate squares around as it like melts in and goes all creamy and delicious.

2:29I feel my mission in life this year is also on top of obviously fiber fiber is to make dark chocolate a health food over a certain percentage. 70 plus right? Yeah well I always say 75 80. Okay. I just want people to get that higher cocoa percentage. Although if you've been more of a milk. It's better to start somewhere start 70 it still tastes really good I think it's got a bit more sugar but my other recommendation is try and book something for you. Now you don't have to book. So I realized quite shockingly Ella, this is very embarrassing. But the last time I booked something for myself, like a facial or massage was last January when we launched the World of Scoop.

3:05And I've done it again. Let's try and make it more than once a year. I know. I was like, oh my gosh, how has it only been once a year? But I knew I had a really busy January work-wise and I booked a secret spa thing at my house. It was this facial, this Dr. Jack's facial and it was one of those ones do you remember me telling you about last year that lifted my face the before an art photo is unbelievable it's all right I mean if only I did it every day because I do not look like that right now and I feel my tv game has also gone up so since having my now tv subscription because I got that for wicked if you remember oh yes of course to watch the like I'm live wicked thing in the US but I mean that's the first time I got that subscription because we don't have sky at home I finally could watch the Harry Potter reunion I mean I'm probably like five years late.

3:47Oh my gosh I never watched it. Did you know it's really good I mean it's quite nostalgic and I shed a little tear I love all that kind of stuff I was like oh there's Ron and Hermione. Well it's coming back. I know I don't know how I feel about that we'll get on to that though but The Night Manager absolute must watch. Have you watched all the episodes so far? Yeah. We've only done one because we. There's three for you then at the moment to catch up on. Exactly because we also who started watching the morning show, which is the Jennifer Aniston one. What channel? I don't have the channel, do I?

4:18What is it on? It's on Apple TV. Yeah, I need to get Apple TV. Just subscribe for a month and watch them all. That's what I'll do because I love Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston. It's so good. We've watched all of the seasons as in like when they sort of came out. So we were watching for a few years and season four, I think is relatively recently out, but we hadn't watched it yet. So we're just finishing that first. Oh my gosh, it's phenomenal. I think we're on episode eight. So I think we're almost there. it is so so good i mean they are both iconic they are iconic and they're just they're great in it and i i really really love it oh i've watched that yeah i so recommend it the morning show apple tv jennifer anderson and reese woodspine i mean what a combo and then my other recommendations so i think i said um last week i've had a few health challenges recently and i've got like a redoubled effort on stress management and gut health and as part of my fun gut health games i love here we go i thought you know what i'm actually going to write down the number of plants to try and get that diversity.

5:12And I'm really trying to get more fermented foods in as well. I did find, and just a tip if anyone else is trying to work on their gut health, and I know I've said it before, but writing it down does really inspire you, I think. Oh, you forget. Every day is so busy. Totally. And it just inspires you. I just had it on my notes app. Like, nothing big deal. But to be like, you know what? I don't know. I found some capers at the back of my cupboard yesterday. And I was like, ooh. And it made a kind of slightly spicy minestrone, but there was tangy because we put capers on the top. And it was delicious.

5:38And it just sort of slightly inspired me. like I bought a purple cauliflower, not just a white one. I got to 49 plants. I wish I'd got 50. I needed to read. Ella's written in the brief. I just, can you do it? Eaten alive pickled cucumbers. Okay. Eaten alive. Just fill me in. Okay. Yeah. That's my other rec for this week. Okay. So exactly. Trying to eat more fermented foods. Yeah. And someone recommended the brand eaten alive. It's a brand name. Because I read that and I was like, right. Well, yes, they're not alive. But in what way do you mean here? Yeah. The brand eaten alive. and it's good because obviously country bumpkin these days they deliver to you so you don't need like a whole foods or a planet organic type shop to get them so we bought their kimchi for my fermented foods pickled cucumbers aren't pickled sorry they're pickled so they're not fermented so they don't have the same benefits so pickled are made with sugar because i have this in the fiber book and the salt is more for fermentation yeah exactly but their pickled cucumbers are one of the best things i i like pickled cucumbers oh my gosh because i don't love a cucumber pickled onions pickled cucumbers i mean they're good i'm eating them with a fork out the jar they are insanely good so eaten live pickled cucumbers also their kimchi is amazing i bought some of their fermented sriracha and the jalapeno and lime once i'll report back anyway i think pickled foods are a really good stepping stone to getting to sauerkraut and items because i'm not a huge sauerkraut lover but i will eat pickled items so i don't love sauerkraut either but kimchi because it's spicy and therefore has a slightly different it has i think it has a slightly more universal flavour.

7:07It's not as tangy. It's delicious. So I would say, again, if you want to start adding fermented foods, kimchi is quite an easy one. It's nice, like even just avocado toast, super simple, but a bit of kimchi on there. And you've just got a kind of another layer of flavour. I mean, I'm sure the Gen Z salads we discussed on Monday all have them in. Yeah, I bet they do pickled cucumbers, kimchi. OK, so those are my rec. The morning show is phenomenal. Four seasons of it now. Eaten Alive. They've got their own website. Get their kimchi and their pickled cucumbers. and if you're inspired about your gut health try writing it down this week see how many you get to try and beat my 49 yeah i love that you probably will and we've got great tips from siobhan who wrote in about relationships and goals for the year ella yes so siobhan um had some really nice information um that would be very helpful for anyone thinking about kind of new year's resolutions in a more long-term way so i'm going to read out what she's told our community as someone who works in the field of psychology as a therapist, I wanted to share something that some people can find helpful when it comes to goal setting.

8:10This time of year in particular is a time of reflection and setting our goals or resolutions can sometimes feel a bit daunting or all or nothing. Something which can be helpful is to think about your values. Asking yourself questions such as what is important to me in my life? What gives me a sense of meaning or purpose? Can help to tease out what those values are. These might range from physical health to family relationships to recreational to work and learning. and once you've identified a couple of values you can then set yourself some behavioural changes or goals in order to help you on your way towards living more in line with those values.

8:41It's helpful to think of our values like the direction we want to travel in in our lives and goals as little markers along the way which help to guide us in that direction of travel that's meaningful to us. There's a lot of helpful literature and questionnaires online which can help people not only identify values but also identify any discrepancies between importance and behaviour which may help to identify an area to focus on, searching for something like valued living or valued living questionnaire online can be a helpful place to start. I have to say that's fantastic advice. It's so nice, isn't it?

9:11So, so good. And it's so accessible. I remember in 2017 writing my first book, Renourish, I put in a self-esteem questionnaire in the book because I think once you can understand yourself, what your values are, how you see yourself, how you believe in yourself, it's easier to then set goals. And also it's so much less generic. Like if you want to say, I want to be healthier, it's pretty generic. What does that actually mean? Whereas like really to take what you said on Monday of, you know, what I want is to be around for my children. That's identifying what really matters to you, which is your family.

9:42And obviously your children are a humongous part of that. And so what do you want? You want to keep your health as well as you can in order to get that maximum output. Okay, well, what does that look like? That looks like more energy. So then a small goal as part of that is maybe your strength training to be able to pick up your children. And it becomes so tangible. It's like here are these more kind of practical goals that are really orientated around being able to unlock the life that I want. And I don't think just like I want to look good on Instagram is the inspo that really moves the dial for most of us.

10:14Whereas I want to be able to easily pick up and move things around independently when I'm 80. eat freely and just feel less all or nothing because that's what most of us are do you know it's a human innate thing I think for lots of people to be wired as all or nothing I'm an all or nothing gal I know you said that from the day we first started well I always think it's important to know it yeah it is important to know because it helps you then set those goals so thank you so much for those recommendations I now have a lovely question on a voice note for us from Rebecca and we just want to say really loved getting a question via voice note so please keep them coming i love the podcast really enjoying listening to it this year i had a question for the wellness scoop and it's to do with seeds and specifically chia seeds and flax seeds that's something that i love incorporating into my diet i have loads of overnight oats i do loads of ella's recipes and use a lot of chia seeds and flax seeds.

11:13Recently, a friend said to me that there's been recent evidence that chia seeds and flax seeds are estrogenic and they increase your risk of breast cancer and that we shouldn't be eating them anymore. And my hunch says that this kind of sits into the same box as the soy products and when we went through this with tofu and things like that and that yes they do contain phytoestrogens but there's no evidence that they're linked to breast cancer or anything kind of in that area I just wanted to see your thoughts on it because I know you and Ella are huge proponents of eating lots of different seeds yeah I was just interested to see if there was any kind of research or data about this.

12:08Thank you so much. So Rebecca, thank you so much for sending that question in. And I have to say, I find it quite shocking when I hear these types of things, the fear mongering, Ella. Oh my gosh, I honestly, and this isn't Rebecca to like discredit or criticize you in any way. I just find it so reflective of the insanity of the environment that we live in where like, as I always say, we eat fewer vegetables than ever. Yet we're thinking that chia seeds are going to give us cancer. And, you know, we see this all the time, this clickbait saying almonds will kill you. You know, almonds are the most dangerous food you can eat and this kind of thing.

12:43And when we live in a world where almost none of us eat enough fibre, we don't eat enough vegetables, we kind of fail so much in the basics, this like fear-mongering and crazy clickbait. It's so unhelpful because all it does is muddy the water and no one knows what to believe or what to do. So really just break it down for us. And I think, just sorry, before we break it down for us, Yeah, let's just clarify, chia seeds and flax seeds do not give you cancer. Yeah, 100 ,000%. So they don't contain those meaningful phytoestrogens, which is where the confusion from soy came from, you know, ages ago.

13:15But soy also? Also doesn't do that at all. Soy is really beneficial for our health, actually. So chia seeds are known for their fiber, their omega-3, but in the plant form, alphalinoic acid, protein and polyphenols. They don't contain clinically relevant amounts of those phytoestrogens and isoflavones. and there's no human trials that show chia seeds have any estrogen-like effects in the body. So it's just not plausible at all for any biological mechanism of a chia seed to act like a hormone in our body, a female hormone. And even phytoestrogens and estrogen, if you look at the whole soy thing, phytoestrogens are plant compounds.

13:51They mimic and they're not the same as human estrogen. They bind really weakly to estrogen receptors and they often act like modulators. they do not stimulate. So that means they do not cause a response in our body from our hormones. In fact, in low estrogen states, they might have a mild estrogen-like effect for beneficial purposes. Like in menopause, it can be really good. And in high estrogen states in our body, they can actually block those stronger endogenous estrogens. So soy is so beneficial. Those phytoestrogens are wonderful plant compounds, and they've got such a bad rep from complete misunderstanding.

14:28And there's huge studies, aren't there, showing in large population studies that soy intake is actually associated with equal or lower risk of breast cancer. You know, so there was a lot of kind of fear around soy in that sense. I think it's important and well done for clearing that up in this. In fact, it's actually the opposite. But chia seeds don't even contain meaningful phytoestrogens, as you said, so they're not even part of this confusion. And we need to talk about the fiber in them. You just wonder where it all came from. Well, this is it. I think... What do you know? Well, Giles Yeo used to say to me that any myth online has some small underlying element of truth.

15:05Of course it does. And it's the confusion between those plant compounds and the healthy fats. That's where it stems from. Soy, it's really obvious where it comes from because the similar word and the similar compound. But I think with chia seeds, it's just a state of them becoming a trend and then people just picking out little elements of them and getting it wrong, if I'm being honest. early panic comes from a failure to accept that foods are not medicine in the same way they can be beneficial for our body but they're not as powerful as a medication as such but what i have to say is the fiber in cheer seeds let's just go there with fiber this is the year for fiber i hope let's make it that way guys it's protective it's not harmful cheer seeds are so rich in fiber as ella and i know they can really up your daily intake if you're trying to hit that 30 grams a day they improve instant sensitivity reduce chronic inflammation they help with increased estrogen excretion through the gut because remember we've got estrogen receptors in our gut as well if anything chia seeds support our daily bodily functions ella i i honestly find it absolutely mind-blowing they're not linked to cancer and i think that's where we should kind of leave it because the hormone balance stuff on social media is insane yes if it's helpful let us know because we can do more on that because I'm seeing so much of that as well.

16:20I will say I'm sitting here with the chia pudding open next to me. Oh my gosh, it's such a great thing. It took me like three minutes this morning before I got on the train. You do it with coconut, right? Yeah. So I do two tablespoons of chia seeds, one tablespoon of jumbo oats, any kind of plant milk or whatever milk you want to use. And then I do about a tablespoon of yogurt. And then I add a little bit of honey to it, like a teaspoon or whatever, half a teaspoon, some hemp seeds on the top. I've got chopped date with it it's so easy but i've got almost half my fiber intake in that so then it's like i've got a busy day i'm rushing around i know i won't have you know i'll just grab some bits and pieces as i go it won't be a kind of really nourishing day but i've got half my fiber intake exactly ready to go in a tupperware i know i know um you can bolt buy them guys and it's obviously much more affordable but we move on to a question from colette and she has said amazing podcast yay she said i'm watching this morning and they are discussing the debate on whether women should get served smaller portions in restaurants.

17:19Now, this morning is a show in the UK. It's like our daytime TV show that everyone, I love it. I'm obsessed. She said, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this topic. I'm currently a breastfeeding mum. I would dare them to give me a smaller portion. We love that, Colette. OK, so in case you guys missed it, we actually didn't do this headline on the show, but it was kind of in the running for a while. This debate kicked off in December. And essentially, there were some comments made from Professor Naveed Sattar, who's the chairman of the Obesity Healthcare Goals Program, which is the UK government's obesity initiative.

17:52And they're writing in The Lancet. And Sattar and their colleagues were suggesting that food outlets should routinely offer at least two portion sizes for common single portion ready to eat foods. And the proposal focused on items like prepackaged sandwiches, ready meals, takeaway pizzas, lattes, cakes, with the two portion options differing by around 25%, which would just reflect the average difference in energy requirements between men and women at population level. Essentially, what they're doing is the recommendation isn't about banning anyone from choosing the larger portion. But it is, I think, the idea was to normalise a smaller default option that's then cheaper and then would be more suitable for adults of shorter stature, they said, or children.

18:33And just make it kind of, I think the idea was to make it more inclusive rather than less. But I can see how this went really wrong. Yeah. So the suggestion does sit within wider public health concern, of course, about obesity. we know it's on the rise. And while men are more likely to be classified as overweight, data, interestingly, from both the UK and the US does show that women are more likely to experience obesity. And that includes severe or morbid. And that's particularly in older age groups. And in the UK, around 67 % of men and 60 % of women are classed as overweight or obese overall.

19:06But obesity is obviously common in women. So I think researchers point to factors like higher average body fat percentage, hormonal changes across the life course. So much happens to us. Can I just say it's not easy? And there's pregnancy-related weight retention, which is a huge factor because when you have children, it's so much harder if you've put on more weight in pregnancy than a smaller amount in pregnancy for so many reasons. And women, I just don't think we're supported enough. But anyway, the public reaction to this proposal of meal portion sizes for gender was obviously divided. Some commentators saw it as practical and choice-based, Ella, and others strongly rejected the framing.

19:48Glamour Mag, for example, responded with the headline, On behalf of women everywhere, hands off our portion sizes. Yeah, I really liked that headline. Brie, what do you think? I don't like it because, to me, you can't just put a gender on portion sizes. We're all different. It just makes no sense to me. Everyone's a different size and shape, with different activity levels, with different requirements, with different needs, different stages of life course. I know you're going to have a tall woman who exercises loads and has a high energy need. And then you're going to have a small man with a desk-based job.

20:23Yeah, who hasn't sat down, has not done anything all day. It just makes no sense to me. Yeah, it's the gender thing that makes it make no sense. But I do understand the idea of having two sizes. Of course. For optionality and for days where you're having a super sedentary day and you're not that hungry, but you want the same thing. and then you're not having food waste. We know food waste is a massive problem. So that I'm all for. Anything for the environment sustainability. But I can see the counter argument that other people would say is that, you know, relationships with food, going out to eat shouldn't be about restriction.

20:53It's about just going out to enjoy the plenty. I'm more thinking about like a lunchtime sandwich. Yeah, yeah, that's just it. And I think that definitely could potentially be helpful. But it's just such a big issue, Ella. I mean, it stems to so many factors. And also I think just as women, then it's the glamour headline, isn't it? That's why we wanted to include it because it summarizes it. Let's pick on women again. Yeah, I just think there's a desire for autonomy over body and to not be told what to do by anyone else, which I so respect. So I think I understand the premise of where this came from, which was the optionality, as I said, not like for a lovely meal out, but for a quick on the go situation.

21:31People don't know still. And that's what I know we both try and do on this podcast. And in all my books, I put how to read labels. People don't know. So, you know, when you're buying things on the go, we're still not educated enough to make healthy choices to begin with, whether you're a man or a woman. And also there aren't enough healthy choices unless you want to get£12.50 super salad that we talked about on Monday. Which we love, but wow, that's not an option. Yeah. So, Colette, I think I'm with you. I don't think women should be told what to do or what to eat. It should be very much a kind of autonomous decision.

22:02Do you want my one-liner I've got at the bottom there? Yeah, give it to us. True nutrition respects appetite. it doesn't gender it that was a win it's true it's true and that's you know yeah listening to yourself but then you don't want to waste food if there's too much so do you know all food waste is a humongous issue in this country it sickens me it's a huge issue yeah across particularly across the western world it's enormous if food waste was a country it would be the third largest admitter of greenhouse gases i mean it's a really big problem so i understand it from that kind of perspective as they're saying for children you know they don't need as much or you know if you've not done anything all day and you're not that hungry could you get a smaller portion so there's a lot of logic but also practically speaking if you're pret or buying on the go for children is a nightmare that there are no children friendly sized sandwiches and options that are anything other than ham or cheese if you're eating a restaurant for lunch or in the evening with kids the menu choices for children is just shocking it's always chicken nuggets always baked beans or fish fingers yeah and though and therefore there is often lots of ways if you're then getting the adults because it's too big so I totally understand but I also think there'd still be a lot of ways because of reality if you take a pret or something like that and you try to do the same portion size and everything it's almost impossible to think you'd have the right quantities of food so exactly I think it's probably more frictious and complicated than it's worth I don't think I mean it's like with calories on menus that didn't work I fix the food on offer before I fix the portion size in terms of obesity let's just acknowledge the fact that we have a problem and then we can move forward.

23:32It's crazy. Yeah, I think the fundamental problem stems from the fact that the vast majority of on-the-go options are really bad for us as opposed to the portion size. I think that's, again, it's sort of slightly moving the problem along the line as opposed to actually solving it.

23:50Your little one grew three inches overnight. Adorable. Also, expensive. Sell their pint-sized pieces on Depop and list them in minutes with no selling fees Because somewhere, a dad refuses to pay full price for the clothes his kids will outgrow tomorrow. And he's ready to buy your son's entire wardrobe right now. Consider your future growth spurt budget secured. Start selling on Depop, where taste recognizes taste. Payment processing fees and boosting fees still apply. See website for details. This is your fix. I am your host, Stassi Schroeder. Welcome to Tell Me Lies, the official podcast. what's the most unhinged thing of season three steven because he's so evil i do think he is misunderstood you see everyone face consequences it's intoxicating the writers just know how to trick yeah there's always a twist in this show tell me lies the official podcast january 6th and stream the new season of tell me lies january 13th on hulu and hulu on disney plus i'm so excited to tell you about my brand new cookbook quick wins healthy cooking for busy lives i wrote this one to make healthy cooking just simple when life is busy.

25:01So you'll find Fridge Raid Suppers, One Pan Wonders and Batch Cooks that you can turn into two easy meals. Plus we have eight weeks of delicious meal plans too, complete with shopping lists so all the thinking's being done for you. Every recipe also gives you plant points to help you eat more plants so you can get your 30 plants a week. It'll all help you feel great and just make healthy cooking feel effortless again. So Quick Wins is out now wherever you get your books. Ella, a question from Erin specifically for you here. She wants to hear a bit more about your meditation journey. I've heard so many good things about meditation, she said, and resetting the vagus nerve.

25:39And we did a feature on that the other week with our vagal tone. She said, but I don't know how to get started. Is it best to just download a Headspace type app? Yeah, and we had another question from Courtney who said, I've just had a baby 11 days ago. Congratulations, Courtney. And I find myself sitting feeding in the quiet hours of the night and becoming very aware of how quickly I reach. reached my phone in those moments. I felt the exact same way. I get that. And I'd love to begin replacing that habit with something more grounding, even if only briefly mentioned meditation and breath work in the last podcast.

26:07And I wondered if you had any advice for a total novice. All those days, Ella. It's tough, Courtney. So sending you so much love. It does pass. I just want to add on very quickly. Well, I know we talk about being sleep deprived a lot, but it's a different type of sleep deprived to those newborn days. Definitely, definitely. Look, there's no one way to approach it and other people would give you all sorts of advice. I do think it doesn't need to be meditation and it doesn't need to be breath work. It could be calming music. It could be having a bath and just staring out the window. If you can do that, it could be a walk without your phone.

26:40It could be knitting. It could be coloring. It could be painting. It could be building Lego. I think that we desperately need more calming activities that move us away from screens, away from kind of adrenaline, stress, cortisol you know intensity of our lives and let us sit and be with ourselves for a moment there is increasing evidence in terms of our our brains regulation and particularly emotional regulation that it's so incredibly important and in a kind of overstimulated overstressed world none of us have enough of that and i think it's so easy when we look at health changes to think they have to be enormous and sweeping but you probably most of us would find enormous benefit in literally a five minute breathing practice and I think I would say personally meditation is just my personal opinion a little bit more daunting and hard to kind of dip in and out of in terms of your normal day-to-day life because with meditation you want to sit there and just really try and let the thoughts come and go and still the mind as much as possible so if you're not doing a guided one you really would just sit there and just you know every time a thought comes in you just let it go and you come back to your breath.