Blood Sugar Spikes, Magnesium & Eating Well on a Budget

5 Feb 2026 · 46 min · 19 chapters

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In short

The Wellness Scoop: Episode Summary

Episode Title

Blood Sugar Spikes, Magnesium & Eating Well on a Budget

Podcast Description In this episode of The Wellness Scoop, hosts Ella Mills and Rhiannon Lambert address listener questions regarding practical healthy eating strategies amidst life's disruptions, focusing on budget-friendly options and maintaining wellness routines.

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Key Topics Discussed

  1. Healthy Eating in Real Life
  2. Shift Work and Meal Planning: Tips for maintaining a healthy diet during irregular hours are discussed.
  3. Blood Sugar Management: Clarifying misconceptions about fruit intake and blood sugar spikes, emphasizing that consuming fruit is generally better than sweets.
  1. The Importance of Fiber
  2. Fiber Intake Guidance: Rhiannon gives advice on how to manage fiber intake, especially when temporarily advised to lower it.
  3. Reintroduction of Fiber: Strategies are shared for reintroducing fiber without experiencing discomfort.
  1. Magnesium and Sleep
  2. Magnesium's Role: An exploration of how magnesium supports sleep and its depletion due to stress.
  3. Dietary Sources vs. Supplements: While supplements are discussed, the hosts advocate obtaining magnesium through a whole food diet first.
  1. Smart Supermarket Shopping
  2. Nutritional Value: Discussion on whether budget and premium stores differ nutritionally, emphasizing that fiber and nutrient content is often comparable.
  3. Budget-Friendly Choices: Insights on what to prioritize spending on, such as eggs and nuts, versus areas where savings can be made without compromising health.

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Listener Questions Addressed

  • Eating Well on Shift Work: Tips on timing meals to align with body rhythms.
  • Blood Sugar Comparison: Comparison of fruit versus sweets and concerns about blood sugar spikes.
  • Managing Fiber Intake: How to gradually increase fiber intake and avoid digestive distress.
  • Magnesium for Anxiety and Sleep: Clarifying the benefits of magnesium supplements versus dietary sources.
  • Supermarket Choices: Factors to consider when shopping for food, including quality, price, and nutritional value.

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Recommendations

Books

  • *The Housemaid*
  • *Heart the Lover*

Podcasts

  • *The Rest is Entertainment*

Tea

  • Dragonfly Rooibos Vanilla Tea

Upcoming Books

  • Ella's new book: *Quick Wins: Healthy Cooking for Busy Lives*
  • Rhiannon's upcoming book: *The Fibre Formula*

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Conclusion The episode wraps up by encouraging listeners to submit their questions and share the podcast to help others navigate wellness in their own lives. Ella and Rhiannon stress the importance of making informed choices without succumbing to the pressures of wellness marketing.

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For further questions, listeners are encouraged to reach out via email at [hello@wellness-scoop.com](mailto:hello@wellness-scoop.com).

Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.

Chapters

Tap a time to open that second in VO

Book Recommendations and Updates

1:27 to 3:20

Ella and Rhianna share their latest book finds and personal updates.

Discussion on Media and Privacy

3:20 to 6:53

Explore the complexities of celebrity privacy and social media culture.

“If you don't listen to it, I really recommend it.”

Healthy Snack Ideas

6:53 to 7:50

Ella shares her new snack obsession and recipe tips for healthy eating.

“I have loads this week and I never normally have any.”

Listener Tips on Healthy Drinks

7:50 to 10:00

Community members share their recommendations for healthier beverage options.

“And then I've actually put it in the freezer just because I made it and I wanted it to last even longer.”

Navigating Shift Work and Nutrition

10:00 to 12:11

Rhianna discusses strategies for maintaining health while working shifts.

“I have followed Nancy Bristwistle for a few years on social media and I highly recommend her for homemade natural alternatives for cleaning products.”

Understanding Blood Sugar

12:11 to 14:04

A deep dive into healthy eating, blood sugar, and food choices.

“Let's go through shifts and body clocks.”

Navigating Blood Sugar and Food Choices

14:04 to 18:18

Learn how to manage blood sugar levels through mindful food choices and the benefits of fiber.

“That typically is nuts and seeds alongside it or an oat cake.”

The Impact of Nutrient-Dense Foods

18:18 to 22:20

Explore the rise of nutrient-dense foods in supermarkets and their relevance to health.

“So Ocado, for example, have launched a dedicated weight management section on this website that includes smaller portion things like 100 gram extra lean steak.”

Fiber Intake Strategies and Myths

24:10 to 28:00

Understand how to safely increase fiber intake and debunk common fiber-related myths.

“I'm so excited to tell you about my brand new cookbook, Quick Wins, Healthy Cooking for Busy Lives.”

Adding More Plants to Your Diet

28:00 to 29:00

Learn how to gradually increase your intake of fruits and vegetables.

“It's adding an extra vegetable into your stir fry or whatever it is that you normally cook.”
Show all 19 chapters

Understanding Fiber: Soluble vs. Insoluble

29:00 to 30:16

Explore the differences between soluble and insoluble fiber and their health benefits.

“So sleep hygiene and minimizing daily stress are so important to me.”

The Role of Magnesium in Sleep and Stress

30:16 to 32:50

Discover the importance of magnesium for sleep and how stress affects its levels.

“I mean Ella you're experienced in this as well because you found it beneficial I think.”

Types of Magnesium Supplements Explained

32:50 to 35:06

Get insights into different types of magnesium supplements and their effects.

“And organic forms, basically with, you know, the amino acids like magnesium glycinate are generally better tolerated and may be chosen when you're looking at people with IBS or different digestive discomforts.”

Diet First: The Importance of Whole Foods

35:06 to 36:48

Understand why dietary changes should come before supplementing magnesium.

“need to supplement because magnesium pulls water into your gut.”

Balancing Costs: Organic vs. Non-Organic Foods

36:48 to 37:55

Learn about the nutritional differences and cost implications of organic foods.

“If you're super, super wired, a magnesium supplement won't knock you out.”

Shopping Smart: Understanding Food Choices

37:55 to 42:00

Gain insights on how to make informed decisions about food shopping on a budget.

“As food prices keep rising, I try to balance some things, you know, from places like Waitrose or Reminisce, which we know over in the UK are those stereotypically more expensive shops.”

The Complexity of Organic vs Non-Organic

42:00 to 42:29

Exploration of the price differences and environmental concerns around organic products.

“but that price differentiation ranges from roughly 10 to over 300 % more, depending on the product.”

Choosing Whole Foods Over Processed Options

42:30 to 43:39

Discussion on the importance of choosing whole foods like apples over processed sweets.

“and you've got to do that in a way that's plausible and sensible for you.”

Misleading Organic Labels

43:40 to 43:56

Debate on how organic labels can sometimes mislead consumers regarding nutrition.

“But I think it sometimes all just gets a bit misleading.”
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Transcript

Automatic transcript. May contain errors.

0:28We always recommend Shopify. Hey, I'm the Sparfuchs from Sparsim.de. You're in love with your smartphone, but your current Handy-Tarif is more like a toxic relationship? Then I have something for you. 60 GB 5G in Vodafone-Netz for only 9 ,99€ per month. With 50€ Wechselbonus surfst you five months gratis. Green Flag Alarm. Now you're going to finish your old Handy-Tarif and get you until the 17th February of your new deal on Sparsim.de.

1:03Welcome to The Wellness Scoop, your now twice weekly dose of health and wellness inspiration and we are always here as your hosts. Good morning, I'm Ella Mills. And I'm Rhianna Lambert and we're here today with all the wonderful questions and recommendations from you all. We can't wait. I have to say I love how many recommendations you guys are sharing with us. Just a reminder we have our very fancy new email address hello at wellness-scoop.com loving hearing from you guys but really appreciate not just the questions but recommendations for the community as well because we've got some good ones today same really good um so ella what are your updates first of all i need them okay i've got a few different recommendations for you this week i've just read i'll share more about it soon the book heart the lover unbelievable read it in a day so recommend i have to say i meant to start it before christmas but then my older daughter was sick the whole Christmas night instead I binged to watch five seasons of Poldark which you know I would say I also recommend would I get into Heart the Lover because I need book recommendations now I've started reading again finally it's taken me years to get to this point it's fab I'll bring it in for you it is so so good it's actually someone described it to me as like literary rom-com which I would say it sort of is as in like it's very well written and it's by a brilliant writer but it's also it's not a rom-com but it's like it's romantic it's a story of like love and humanity and so it's an easy read but it's very very well written which is the opposite I think so I read The Housemaid also in 24 hours have you read that no but it's on my list yeah we'll do a swap because it wasn't particularly I want to see the movie as well yeah I'm gonna go this week is it scary so I thought it was a rom-com because I started reading the book and I just saw the eye in the keyhole and I was like oh she's just watching this couple living in their house I had no idea I have no idea what it's about I just see Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried everywhere just know it's a thriller okay I'll let you bro I'm not going to say anymore so am I but if I managed to read it I did convert from reading it I read it in 24 hours as well in bed one night to being on the train the next day okay there you go I'll leave you with that oh I know my friend my friend Dinny was like you have to get this book so I got it and yeah I've just started reading yesterday The Wedding People yeah I saw it everywhere and I was like we really want to read that and I sat next to a girl on the train who was reading it last Monday coming in and I thought yeah that's got to be my next book anyway I'm about a third of the way through and loving it my other recommendation for you guys today we will not dive in and share our thoughts on the topic I don't think today but obviously there's been a lot in the news about the Beckhams and Brooklyn Beckham you know I love the podcast The Rest of the Entertainment.

3:54It's so, so good. If you don't listen to it, I really recommend it. But Marina Hyde, who's one of the two co-hosts, did a solo kind of emergency episode on this, because it's the sister show of The Rest is Politics and they do emergency episodes when like a bomb has been dropped on a country or something. Well, the Beckham's hit something. So anyway, that made me laugh as their version of emergency. But anyways, it's short. It's like 16 minutes long. But she just offers some interesting insights, whether you're interested in the Beckhams or not it's much more empathy because I actually feel sad as a mother and of a son I kind of feel sad about it I totally agree what she more did which is why I recommend it because I think it's interesting it talks about the world and I know we talk a lot about social media at the moment but just the strangeness of that world way beyond that family and the commodification of a kind of personal brand and the way that we commoditize and sell essentially and not just big celebrities like so many of us our whole lives and the way we show up online and we do we kind of create these personal brands and it's just an interesting look at the oddness and the kind of challenges that come with this commodification of our lives online it was a very strange one wasn't it to ask for privacy at the end yet to have like 20 million i don't know how many followers they have it's a it is a very very strange one but i feel sad about it but so I'm going to have a listen to that yeah I really recommend it as I said it was just interesting reflection on a different facet of society today and this strangeness of growing up online and commoditizing our worlds and creating all these personal brands you wouldn't air your laundry they say would you in the older days and it's almost like today it's so normal do you know what I spend a lot of time with my father-in-law he's a very wise man he is in his mid-80s and And look, there's a balance between it all.

5:47But he's really in my head at the moment because he's always sort of just saying like us younger generations, we just do. We overthink everything. We get too much. He always says how his granny used to say to him, darling, leave your feelings alone. But there's a facet of it that is true of like, and I, you know, I'll stew in my feelings. And then I'm like, get out of your own head. Like these things don't matter too much. Go and enjoy the world. Be distracted. Like read a book. It's because we're on the cusp. We are the first generation to have access to all of these thoughts about our feelings and how to navigate our feelings.

6:21And it's everywhere around. But also then we kind of commodify our feelings because they're interesting to read about other people's feelings. And then suddenly we're all so stuck in our feelings and we kind of really sometimes I do think, you know, we kind of overthinking anxiety. And it's like we all have anxiety. It's part of human disposition. And I'm not trying to kind of do it down because there's moments of lives where it's really challenging. But it's also just a kind of life is a. It is too much sometimes. Anyway, so yes. So Heart the Love of the Book and then the Rested Entertainment 16 Miniter on the Beckhams.

6:52Thank you. Really recommend both of those things. And we'll book swap next week. That's good. Yes, I love this. Have you got any other acts for us? I have loads this week and I never normally have any. Oh, load us up. I know. I know. I'm actually there. Guys, pens and paper are you ready? Yes. I was going to talk about fibre, but I feel like I did that Monday. You all know that I love fibre. She really loves fibre. It's done. I've said it. Making seedy chocolate bars are my new addiction. You know, you had one with dates and peanut butter last year. Okay, what goes in? I'm going to call it a bird seed mix, but I love it.

7:21Yum, right? Get into your garden center. Get your bird's mix. I mix all different seeds in a jar. I do it with my little one. He's only three and we shake it around. It's like sunflower seeds, linseed flax, you know, everything you could possibly imagine. Pumpkin, put them in the seed jar. You just mix it on the tray with tahini, one spoon of maple syrup, flatten it all down. You can add dates if you want or nut butter or chocolate, whatever you fancy. And I've been doing it with pistachio butter and chocolate. And there's a recipe in the Fibre Formula book. And I am just... And does it stick together?

7:50Yeah, sticks and blinds. And then I've actually put it in the freezer just because I made it and I wanted it to last even longer. It's even better when it comes out of the freezer with that like crunch. So when you're snacking, you're getting tons of points in terms of fibre and diversity. Then I have another new obsession. And I've always loved this tea and I don't know why I never shouted it out before. Or do you call it Redbush or Rubius or? Yeah. I'm obsessed with the vanilla one. There's this organic tea company. What's their name? Dragonfly, I think. Oh, yes. I know who you mean. Yes. It's not outwardly expensive compared to our licorice and peppermint tea pigs obsession.

8:26Oh, it's such a good tea. I had it last night as well. I mean, God, it's been a 10-year thing for me now, this tea. It's just not gone anywhere. I'm obsessed with vanilla Redbush with oat milk. If you want something sweet at the end of the day, you know that, you know, you're not really hungry. I highly recommend, if you're not into the licorice one, we recommended having a bit of oat milk and a Redbush vanilla tea. Yeah, it's Dragonfly tea. You got it. Vanilla, Robios. You can buy it on Amazon. You can buy it on justnatural.co.uk. Lots of different options. I got it on Ocado, I think. It's also a two-star Great Taste Award, which is a big deal.

9:02So it must be delicious. So it was delicious. There you go. you know maybe I should start judging these things I am no it's so comforting it's so delicious and so our listener recommendations the first tip is from Sophie and it's on tea so she said it yes we actually had remember maybe it was a month ago whole conversations around squash and my eldest loves um raspberry tea and same with this tip from Sophie I had never thought to give my kids tea just let it cool down obviously my youngest isn't quite into it but for my elders is that the colour of the water goes pink and it's quite appealing.

9:37It's so clever. So Sophie has said, I've started buying fruit teas, strawberry, raspberry, etc. I make a large jar of it with multiple tea bags and put it in the fridge. My kids generally just drink water but love drinking this when they want something sweet and it helps us avoid sugary drinks slash squash. It's quick to make and also super cheap as you can buy supermarket-owned teas for just under a pound for 20 bags. Our favourite is the Sainsbury's one. Thought it was a useful tip it's such a great tip because we were talking with squash if you wanted to transition away from it that the kind of premium squashes that don't have the artificial sweeteners and things and are really expensive so that's a great tip and there's flavors aren't there like you can get strawberry and raspberry and cranberry ones and all sorts of different flavors i think that's fantastic yeah it kind of goes on the iced tea vibe they have in america doesn't it and other countries and we're just not that big on it here no it's such a great one and then our other listener recommendation comes from Kate and she said I know Rhi is very aware of reducing plastics and chemicals in her cleaning products at home.

10:33I have followed Nancy Bristwistle for a few years on social media and I highly recommend her for homemade natural alternatives for cleaning products. She uses a small amount of affordable products that you can use to make everything you need. They're plant-based, environmentally friendly as well as giving neat tips and tricks for cooking and gardening. She's got some amazing user-friendly books but also she has loads of content on social I can't recommend her enough. Can I just show you, Ella? Because you love her, right? I'm obsessed. Can I just show you who she is? Because I think you're just going to go.

11:02She is the nicest, loveliest, like just savvy, incredible woman. Hang on, let me show you. She's got a million followers. So we're using things like baking soda for cleaning. Yeah, look. I know there's lots of us getting excited and looking forward to doing some planting in the spring. But for those just starting out, we might not have much in the way of kit. but we can start saving a few bits. This is a tray from the supermarket. It's already got holes in the bottom. Perfect little seed tray. I love her. Anyway, yeah, so she gives incredible tips and she's just so sweet. So that is such a good shout out, everybody.

11:40Nancy, we're here for it.

11:44Right, Phoebe. Phoebe says, I love the Wellness Scoop podcast. So thank you, Phoebe. And I was just wondering if you could cover a topic on shift work and healthy eating as it can be difficult. I'm also concerned about sugar spikes. Does having fruit on its own like an apple without fat or protein impact your blood sugar levels or is it still better than having sweets? I try to eat a whole food diet and I think I've become a bit obsessed with it. I don't want it to lead to restriction and disordered eating. Do you have any tips on this? Phoebe, first of all thank you for being so honest and second of all I know Rhea has got very strong opinions on this i'm going to hand straight over to her but we have got to like just have such a blanket line underneath ever comparing an apple to a bag of sweets and that is the problem with a lot of these conversations around blood sugar is goddess conversations around blood sugar it makes you think that a banana is the same as a bag of haribo it's not okay yeah there's a lot in that camp right now that i'm not happy with online because it creates fear like this around food okay Okay, so let's put this into three different buckets.

12:43Let's go through shifts and body clocks. Then let's go through blood sugar. Then we can go through kind of trying to create the line between healthy eating and restriction. 100%. Shift works hard, really hard. I've had clients in the clinic who are pilots before. And all I could do is give them tins of tuna and sweet corn on an airplane and a tiny little cockpit at the front of the plane. It's so small. all sorts of surgeons that have different hours in hospitals to work around their breaks. And I think what you can do is work it for you. So first of all, you need to get into your two rhythmic patterns.

13:22What are your shift work patterns? And then what are your day off patterns? And start to get a regular routine on those two different phases. So depending on what job you have, both require rigid sticking to that routine where you can so you can get your gut bugs used to it because we have a circadian rhythm. our gut bacteria naturally which means they work you know across the day depending on when we sleep and when it's light and when we eat and our regular meal times really help our digestion they help our blood sugar control and the problem is on shift work if we don't try and create these boundaries for ourselves obviously it's really difficult when you're a surgeon you've been pulled into a certain op and then you can't get out but if you can try and be as consistent as possible rather than striving for perfection then eating at similar times is the most important thing you can do that's tip one that's incredibly helpful thank you now let's talk about anxiety of an apple versus a mars bar i think when we look at disordered eating and relationships with food we have to really look at the fact that you know i don't want to buy into the nature fallacy thing but you know an apple is a food from nature it comes off a tree it contains fiber it contains hundreds of different amazing chemicals under the skin because of that fiber pectins are really um i say famous fiber it's like it's a famous fiber pectin is quite a famous fiber though thank you ella i think it's it is cool um you can also get different color apples but no on a serious note the fiber slows the release of sugar into your system and having an apple is a far better choice than a chocolate bar and if you really are concerned or you are maybe pre-diabetic or you're predisposed to blood sugar crashes and you want to stabilize and keep fuller for longer, add some healthy fats and a tiny bit of protein alongside your apple.

15:11That typically is nuts and seeds alongside it or an oat cake. Or chop it up and dip it in peanut butter. Delicious snack. Such a good snack. You can even freeze those and then take them with you and put them in the fridge when you're there so they're like got a slightly more colder crunch. But I think what we need to also look at is the fact that shift work is of course linked to health. So I'm really glad you are concerned about it because you are right. There was a lot of research that suggests that it's not great for blood sugar. So prioritise those fibre rich foods, avoid heavy meals before you sleep because even though when you come back it's daylight in the morning from a night shift, you are then going to be going to bed.

15:50So you don't want to have that heavy start. You want to have a lighter meal and then get back into your routine. But for everyone, shift work or not shift work, when we're looking at these blood sugar spikes, I think it's probably just, again, an important re-clarification. So it's normal. What happens in our body every time we eat is that we get a rise in blood sugar levels. And then we've got insulin, a hormone that's produced in our pancreas that comes out. And like a lock and key effect helps get energy into our cells. And, you know, it's natural to go up and down. But you can prevent that spike from being really extreme.

16:23And I think that's kind of obvious that a chocolate bar, when you eat it, actually, depending on the bar, there can be some fat. So a white chocolate bar versus, I don't know, overcomplicate it, a Mars bar, you'll probably get a bigger blood sugar spike from the white chocolate bar than you would the Mars bar, depending on how much fat, saturated fat, which isn't good, by the way, is in either chocolate. Whereas eating dark chocolate, there's less sugar and there's some fats as well in the production of the chocolate. So it's not going to really spike your blood sugar. to me the thing that's become confusing is that like all these things there's nuance and it's a scale isn't it and i think ultimately where for want of a better word problem and i'll clarify that sits is a constant up down with your blood sugar so you're spiking it right to the top it's crashing down you're spiking right to the top you don't want that all day long but for all of us it does go up and down like a roller coaster it's just not like a big log flume versus a little kids ride exactly and i think that's if you are eating oats and bananas and things like that you will have a gentle rise because you've eaten and those things as we know our body loves glucose contain glucose it's going to give you a little ride but ultimately we want to be generally having balanced meals so you generally want a bit of healthy food or some protein on your plate anyway and i'm not talking about like counting 40 grams of protein i mean just like do you know where i think it came from ella is online last year they were quoted saying um fruit does not exist in nature anymore and it was like this silly reel that went viral like the fear-mongering of having a piece of fruit is just not okay because we don't get enough anywhere like a third of adults get their five a day we just do not eat enough fruit fruit's really good for you gives you vitamin c gives you fiber and i would much rather everybody have fruit to feed their gut bugs than compare it to sweets and chocolate and I really feel where you're coming from because the fact that you've had to write into us with that question just makes me feel like sad but glad we're here 100 % and if you do want to make the fruit a bit more filling and give you energy for longer it is things like putting peanut butter even dark chocolate with your apple exactly you have a little snack and it's your apple dark chocolate and some almonds like that will just give you more energy or keep you fuller for longer than the apple on its own but don't be scared about blood sugar from an apple for a normal healthy individual unless you're pre-diabetic or diabetic there's no need to and be too overly conscious of it now um goppy has also got a lovely question for us she said i love this warming episode on my walk i'd love to know your thoughts on all the latest tv shows that have aired on protein health and also the new mns nutrient dense range look although sometimes as rey was talking about on monday with the show she was part of there's a sensationalism that exists on a lot of these shows it's great that we're talking about protein or that we're talking about health in general the fact that it's becoming mainstream ultimately i think it's probably inherently good in terms of the nutrient dense range just to give people a bit more background if you haven't seen this basically over the last few months loads of supermarkets have been launching food ranges that are they're nutrient dense but essentially i mean is very clever.

19:35They're aimed at people using GLP-1. So Ocado, for example, have launched a dedicated weight management section on this website that includes smaller portion things like 100 gram extra lean steak. I mean, that's huge, isn't it? A whole section on the website. Exactly, as well as high protein, high fiber ready meals and things. They've done lots of this with Press Whole Foods. In fact, they're all doing it. You've got a stat on co-op there as well. Yeah, exactly. So Morrison's, they've got a small and balanced range that was developed with a company called Applied Nutrition. Small and balanced.

20:02Small and balanced. Yeah, they're more straightforward about what they're doing. Co-op has expanded. It's got good fuel range. Again, mini meals designed for people with reduced appetites. Ultimately, I actually think that was my general sentiment. I think this is fantastic. Ultimately, we know that getting a healthy meal on the go is very difficult, nigh on impossible in the past. Your meal deals and things like that are inherently really nutrient deficient, devoid in places. It might have been done for GLP ones. I think it's brilliant for lots of people that you can grab some of this stuff on the go.

20:38But also, it's not really fair because, I mean, I know that nutrient dense is a separate thing, that's not calorie restricted. But the small imbalance, for most of us, I don't need small, I just want a balanced meal. No, but equally, we're getting to a point where like, I mean... But it is a huge shift. Yeah, and stats vary. It's one and a half to two and a half million people currently on these medications. Obviously, as we talked about the other day, it's looking like if you start them and you run them for life, we're about to have pill form, which means I think it's hard to believe the price will come down.

21:11And it's likely that a huge proportion on some of them, but on others longer. But once it's on pill form, I think privately as well, it'll become much cheaper, likely will become more widely used. and so i think that it's obviously the right commercial decision to then have these products available but equally like i was looking at some of the range the m &s one for example and it's like cauliflower shawarma and five bean hummus nutty super whole food 35 plant salad salmon and green goddess crush berry bliss bowl it's all of these things like super seedy oaty bread like it's so healthy i think i used to buy that though it's kind of great it is cool and that nutty's the nutty one I swear I used to buy that 10 years ago it's the same salad just rebranded yeah which is probably a great rebrand for I bet this stuff sells so well so it might be for GLP ones but I feel like you're right maybe you'd need two of it for someone else instead of just one but also if we are going to have a huge proportion of the population taking these drugs you aren't eating as much and so you do need those meals to be nutrient dense it's so important for your health Yeah.

22:19And so I actually am a massive fan. I think it's really interesting. Like you said, I am a huge fan. I just love the name and the concept. Like Goppy said, I love the idea of focusing. I've always said it in Renourish my first book. I said nutrients, not numbers, because I've always been fed up with calorie counting. And before, let's have a look at the supermarkets two years ago. Everything was about the calories on the pack, whereas now it's about the fiber on the packs or the plant points on the packs. And that's cool. Exactly. And that's where I'd say I would say nutrient dense is the cleverest marketing of it because you speak to both people who want something nutrient dense because they're looking for extra health.

22:55You're right. That's genius. And your GLP ones. I think that is super clever, whereas small and balanced is maybe off-putting to some people. So I think it's genius, but I'm a big fan. Yeah, me too. And it's really, really important that we obviously try and look at these nutrients because my big concern for people in the clinic is if you're restricting your food intake over the course of a day and you're not eating the same, you are unlikely to hit those 30 grams of fiber a day. Your bowel movements will slow down. You will experience more constipation and all sorts of other things. So it's really important.

23:24And with protein, you know, if you're not eating enough protein on GLP-1s as well, with muscle mass, there's lots to consider. A hundred percent. We know how hard it is already to kind of meet requirements of various different vitamins and minerals. So, yeah, huge fan.

23:42Okay, Nicola, quizfrage. Home Office Bastard or travel costs? What brings us more? Moment, I'll check that out. Oha, Home Office wins. It brings us more than 150 euros a year. Yes, but why do you know this? Because WiesoSteuer shows the installation live. That's just the tax app for all cases. Yes, and it also answers questions. 24-7 and without a lawyer. That's just the app that understands us. Tax done? Safe! With WiesoSteuer. Now try it out. ausprobieren. 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.

24:21So 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 been 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.

24:50Okay, Kirstie has said, I have a question, apologies if it's already been covered. That is no problem, Kirstie. I know how important fiber is and we should all eat more, but how would you go about doing this if you've been told to lower your fiber intake for a period of time? And then how do you reintroduce it? And I think this is a really great question, obviously specifically for cursory but actually obviously as Ria always says 96 % of us don't get enough fiber so for people wanting to add in fiber we also get often lots of questions saying I've added loads in and I'm experiencing bloating so if you don't eat a huge amount of plant foods you don't get loads of fiber and you're trying to up it what is the best way it's gradually right where you want to add in because I think it this also we have a kind of we're on the cusp with fiber I don't want it to become a subject that's fearful you know like for so many people oh my goodness how am I now going to hit my 30 grams of fiber a day oh you don't want it to add one more pressure exactly I'm really aware of that and I think um obviously you can all pre-order the fiber formula which will be really clear with step-by-step advice here but to give you a bit of an insight because I love the wellness scoop is that in the nutrition clinic we're always really really clear that fiber is important but it's how and when you eat which is why part of the formula is obviously the 30 chews and just being mindful about eating because sometimes we're so disconnected from how we eat our food let's be honest most of us are on our phones or we're watching a tv screen not me anymore ella's bricked out smug ella now that she's bricked her phone you're so i love the smug i ate my lunch last week when i was working at home just watching some like pigeons out the window i love pigeons did you see all the videos about pigeons i could go off on pigeons because I used to think they were rats of wings and now I've learned all this history about pigeons.

26:33Anyway, and I watch these videos of the people going around. Someone write in asking for a question on Rhys' knowledge of pigeons. Save their feet from all the hairs. You've got to cut them all off.

26:44Okay, I totally digress from my fibre goals. So yes, don't eat when you're watching a screen. The key is not to see fibre as good or bad because like I said, I really want to build healthy relationships with food. And every diet is different and every individual is different and some will be more sensitive than others. So it's slow, it's structured and start with what I call gentle fibers. So rather than loading up on cauliflower, which, you know, could be more difficult for people to digest over something like oats or cooked veg, make sure you introduce roasted vegetables first or well cooked vegetables rather than starting off with a load of raw carrot.

27:21There's this like viral raw carrot salad going around at the moment. Oh, the retinoid salad. They're like eat your skin salad. salad i actually really want to try making it because i actually think it looks quite delicious it looks delish but for so many people that's not a great first step to introduce when they're looking at increasing their fiber intake because cooked vegetables are easier to digest way easy because you've broken down the soul wall of the plant and you've got to think about it when you heat something up that's what's happening or things like oats or berries potatoes actually especially when they've cooled down because then you get more resistant starch when you reheat and you eat them again that's the same with toast so soak things to make them easier if you know you are sensitive soak your oats like ella does with a porridge overnight you've given us that hack to make it quicker to cook the next day as well and for most of us i think what's really really key is just try and think around like three and five grams a day extra or per week you know it's not doesn't have to be all overnight so if you don't eat lots of veg yeah whole food kind of plant legumes etc at the moment do you love fruit change everything yeah overnight just sort of three to five grams a week increase there, which is also, I always like the idea, again, if you're trying to change your diet, just add in one extra plant a day and let that build up, again, in terms of also just like achievable in your lifestyle, because one extra plant a day is literally adding an extra fruit to your porridge.

28:39It's adding an extra vegetable into your stir fry or whatever it is that you normally cook. And they all contain different types. And what was so interesting writing the book, and I got this question on a panel talk last week, Ella, it really put me on the spot someone said which food should I eat to get loads more just soluble fiber I think rather than insoluble which vegetable which fruit and actually fruits and vegetables contain hundreds of different strains of fiber and often they contain both but there are some foods like porridge that are renowned for being soluble which help push things through and we've got to remember that fiber is just indigestible carbohydrate it's basically food we can't break down that our bugs eat and if you just remember that I'm feeding those bugs when I'm eating these extra fruits or veg as well as it tasting good it's that positive headline we did on monday you know the outlook on life yeah the outlook on fiber if we can make it happy and positive we're feeding our zoo we're feeding everything inside i love that there you go okay our next question comes from martina hello firstly love the podcast thank you martina it's my go-to at the gym love it i have a question about supplements for sleep i struggle with anxiety and insomnia and I struggle to fall asleep and get high quality sleep.

29:50So sleep hygiene and minimizing daily stress are so important to me. I heard that people have been praising magnesium supplements and aiding sleep. However, I do want to fall victim to marketing and influencers online. There's so many different types of magnesium supplements, different formulations and strengths, tablets, powders, gummies, etc. Do we need it? Is it helpful for getting better sleep? And if so, which formulations are best? And more importantly, can we get the magnesium we need through diet? thank you in advance. I mean Ella you're experienced in this as well because you found it beneficial I think.

30:22Yeah well interestingly so I have had a few like you know all things are relative but um so on the grand scheme of things minor but some health challenges over the last six months or so so I've started um working with nutritionists that Rhi and I both know who I actually worked with 10 years ago and I did huge blood tests and stool tests and things like that pre-Christmas to like get a really good sense of what was going on. And even though, for example, like I eat a very magnesium rich diet, magnesium is something if you eat a veggie diet or you eat lots of plants, it's very, very abundant. It's not a kind of niche, you know, really seeking out kind of one.

31:02It's not difficult. But my levels of magnesium were like rock bottom and magnesium is very heavily depleted from stress, which I think is the interesting thing. And again, this is, I think a great example about the nuance that's needed in health and wellness, which is like, it's so easy to say, you don't need magnesium supplement, but actually if you're chronically stressed, maybe it would benefit you or, you know, everyone needs it. And it's like, no, because actually it's pretty widely available and you can get it through diet. But so there's not always one size fits all. So I am currently taking a magnesium supplement.

31:32And what Ella did was, which I wish more people had access to, but obviously it's be able to pay for a test to find out because I don't want people to just blanket take a magnesium supplement of a dose that you don't really know you're just taking what an influencer said and then you'll end up with laxative effects or you know cramping and digestive discomfort also very important to be aware that if your gut health is impaired you're not going to be absorbing your food effectively so you could be eating i've always said this for years the best diet in the world but if you're not digesting and absorbing your food well it's not going to be having the same impact and that really directly links to stress in ella's example here so i'm thank you for clarifying that ella because I think it's really important that people realise that there's so many different situations here.

32:14But there's different types of supplements. Shall I go through the types? I think that's really helpful because there are so many different conversations around magnesium online at the moment. I definitely agree with that. Yeah, and they differ on how well they're absorbed. They differ in quality. It's really difficult to decipher online these days what's what. For example, you get magnesium citrate, chloride, lactate or aspartate, which tends to be more bioavailable or better absorbed than less soluble ones that come in forms of oxides or sulfates. So, I mean, those are the ones actually that are used as laxatives, sometimes medically for support.

32:50And organic forms, basically with, you know, the amino acids like magnesium glycinate are generally better tolerated and may be chosen when you're looking at people with IBS or different digestive discomforts. whereas those heavier like oxide or hydroxides may cause the diarrhea I've discussed or the cramping when they're taking at high doses and the problem is online those doses vary wildly and it's really hard and I can't give you a blanket one over here now because everyone's so different and it would be really unethical of me to say something that's I just can't and the BDA the British Diastatic Association which is what we tend to follow especially with my gut health conditions in the clinic because a lot of them work alongside hospital teams as well.

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33:35Just remember that try and make those dietary tweaks first. Like Ella said, stress plays the role first of all. Food, like Ella, we've got loads. I mean, all of us love to wax lyrical here about pumpkin seeds, almonds, whole grains, legumes, leafy greens. It's basically a healthy balanced diet, Ella. Yeah, exactly. That's what I mean with magnesium. It's actually pretty, If you eat lots of whole foods, very plant-rich diet, it's super available in your brown rice and your lentils, your spinach, pumpkin seeds, almonds, wholemeal bread even. It's also in some fish, some dairy, some dark chocolate.

34:09But without the supplements, you want to be getting up to 300 milligrams a day. Which does, you've got an example here, and your breakfast could be porridge with pumpkin seeds and almonds. For lunch, you might have a whole grain salad, including some beans and some spinach. some dinner you could have some brown rice with some salmon and steamed greens you can snack on some yogurt with chia seeds or a banana so that would give you with no supplements your daily recommended amount but obviously appreciating here that's a i mean what would be quantified as like a super healthy day and most of us 60 percent of the population do not eat like that no and they have upfs and of course they are stripped of a lot of nutrients because they're so highly processed not all of them remember there's many good and bad things in this category all in all.

34:52But I think really, my concern here is how nuanced the conversation is that I hate that it's all over social media, because yes, a lot of us probably do need a bit more. But the first step is change your diet. And only if there's some underlying other issue do you then need to supplement because magnesium pulls water into your gut. And when that water intake is too high, especially from the supplements, it can lead to the diarrhea and the nausea, the cramping, the bloating that people experience and like I went through with the different forms and types just be really cautious would be my overall message yeah and I think those different types of magnesium are important to remember because of the diarrhea side of things so your magnesium glycinate is one that's more that's what you have yeah yeah and that's the one that's not so linked to diarrhea and kind of stool issues will you just give us a final line re on stress and magnesium because I think that's often why people are talking about it because obviously if you're struggling sleeping, it's not that it's always caused by stress, but often that's, again, a relationship.

35:52And so magnesium is interesting because that might also be affected by your stress. Yeah, because it's depleted. It's basically excreted from the body. And I think we see this so often. We have to remember our body has to work in a constant state of homeostasis. So it's constantly balancing out. Yeah, it's balancing itself. And when you're stressed, the magnesium excretion increases. And that's involved in pathways that help with our nervous system and our stress response. So maintaining adequate intake in that time is very difficult. And general guidance is really try food first. And that's also in hospital environments, dietic advice, everywhere you go, I hope.

36:28And if you see somebody that says, go and take this huge supplement before they've tried a dietary intervention or understood your health history, that's a red flag. But also sleep is a complex thing as well. And so although magnesium can support sleep, it's as part of many other things. If you're super, super wired, a magnesium supplement won't knock you out. It's not like a sleeping pill. It could be part of, you know, if you're deficient. But it's not going to replace that. And then doing some calming breathing and taking a bath before bed and trying to get off your anything that stresses you out or devices or overstimulation, whatever it is.

37:08What meal did you eat before bed? Exactly. How late did you eat? A light meal a couple of hours beforehand, a wind down bath, a lovely book, a bedtime story. Sometimes we should just flip it and have that porridge bowl for dinner and start the morning with that salmon and greens and brown rice. I mean, that would be a dream. I know, because it's hard to eat dinner early enough as well. I just don't. I just love my porridge in the morning. Anyway, that was a fantastic question. Thank you so much. And the next question we've got is from Aylan. And she said, I just want to say thank you for such a brilliant podcast.

37:40It's such a perfect mix of knowledge and fun and being genuinely down to earth. Thank you. And has said, especially in a world that feels pretty chaotic a lot of the time. Your episodes are a real highlight of my week. And I have a question about supermarket shopping. As food prices keep rising, I try to balance some things, you know, from places like Waitrose or Reminisce, which we know over in the UK are those stereotypically more expensive shops. And then doing a bigger like main part of the shop at another supermarket like Lidl. She said, on comparable products, for example, organic mushrooms from Lidl versus organic mushrooms from Waitrose, or regular berries from Lidl versus regular berries from a higher end supermarket, is there a difference nutritionally?

38:22I know flavour can vary and that's fine, but would fibre, polyphenols or other nutrients actually differ? I'm trying to understand what is worth prioritising spending more on, like is it nuts or eggs, and what can I buy more affordably without losing nutritional value? Ella, you know all about how this food chain works. it's such an excellent question thank you so so much i'm sure it will be well hopefully the answer will be helpful for lots of people i think there's two different parts so the first is on the organic and then the second is kind of just general quality i did so much research into this to try and see if there was anything else i was missing you know and of course the higher end supermarkets you know put a lot out there about how they source things and they're you know special farms and all the rest of it.

39:05And there is a component of that that's true, but there's also just different models. Like Lidl and Aldi just run their supermarkets on a different model where instead of having an enormous amount of choice, they have many fewer of an item that they buy in bulk. They therefore buy it for better pricing. They don't have to manage. You know, it's incredibly expensive for Tuscos and the like to manage dealing with so many different suppliers. You know, one buyer will have maybe a hundred different suppliers that they're working with and everyone has a margin of that so it becomes quite different whereas Lidl and Aldi they you know mostly its own brand stuff so they don't have to pay other brands a margin and they're not buying eight different versions of the same thing they're just buying one or two so it means it really helps them keep their prices lower so I'm sure a premium supermarket would say that it's better quality it doesn't necessarily mean it's true.

39:59So I don't think you need to worry that you're going to have much less, definitely not fiber, because that's going to be the same in an apple. But it's generally speaking like polyphenols and things like that. What you're just looking for is loads of different colorful fruits and veg. It's unlikely that a strawberry in a kind of higher end supermarket is actually going to be more nutrient rich necessarily. So I think that's an interesting one. And a lot of it just comes down to like the branding and packaging and the way things are sold and the marketing. What's been quite worrying for me to see is welfare of different animal farms around the UK.

40:34And you can have meat products that are coming from a specific place for one of those higher end supermarkets, but actually they've had scandals behind them and you see them merging in the press and they supply meat to all of the supermarkets, yet there are still these issues. So I really think when it comes to is the produce better, they all come from the same place really yeah they often come from similar places yeah it's not necessarily then when it comes to organic there's lots of different information out there but generally speaking there aren't meaningful nutritional differences so you've got some large reviews that have been done from places like stanford or the british nutrition foundation and they haven't found a consistent link between eating organic food and better health outcomes So, for example, this is old, but 2014, a massive study of over 600 ,000 women, so massive, found no difference in cancer risk, for example, between those who regulate organic food and those who didn't.

41:32So, yeah, there are some smaller studies out there that show sometimes organic foods can have slightly higher levels of certain nutrients, sometimes antioxidants, sometimes vitamin C, zinc, iron. And lots of that research is quite old. And I would say generally speaking, the answer sits on finding limited, meaningful nutritional differences. And cost is such a massive factor. So most kind of UK data would show that organic foods on average 75 % more expensive, but that price differentiation ranges from roughly 10 to over 300 % more, depending on the product. I'd love an update, wouldn't you, on that?

42:08I would love to see more large scale organic studies now, because surely again, in the last decade, we've had changes in soil and all sorts of things. Yeah. And soil health is a huge part of the conversation. It's such a concern right now environmentally. And a huge concern. Exactly. So look, I think this space will shift. But I think my general sense is like there's no perfect way to do it. The perfect way to do it is to eat as many different whole foods as you can and a balanced diet as possible. and you've got to do that in a way that's plausible and sensible for you. Do you know what I dislike about the conversation around organic versus non-organic is I feel like it's another barrier to people to eat well.

42:47Like we discussed with the question we had, was it Monday or was it earlier? I'm losing the plot on the apple versus a pack of sweets. Was that Monday we discussed that? I think that was about 20 minutes ago. Was that 20 minutes ago? But, you know, when we go backwards and we think about that apple versus a pack of sweets and then you're looking at an apple versus a non-organic apple you just need to eat the apple and that's like a yoda advice yeah no it's true the apple we're over worrying at that point for eating the apple you're winning but also one final thing wash it of course one final thing as well I think on that is like you also can buy organic sweets and you know I think it's also important that we're not kind of overly fooled by that sort of thing like that's really good branding but But, you know, just because it's organic, it doesn't necessarily mean it's nutritious because we can buy organic biscuits and crisps.

43:36And, you know, maybe the ingredient deck's a little bit better. But like, you know, let's eat an apple when we can and like enjoy sweets when we do it. But I think it sometimes all just gets a bit misleading. Oh, it's so misleading. And it doesn't always mean a completely cleaner deck either. You know, you can still have sulfur dioxide added to mango, have it dried and call it organic mango. Exactly. OK, so we will leave it there. Questions for next week. you know where to find us hello at wellness-scoop.com we cannot wait to see you back here on monday and just a reminder if you love the show please click follow leave us a comment a review share it with someone because it makes all the difference and we can't tell you how much we appreciate it thanks for being here everyone see you monday bye

From the publisher

This week on The Wellness Scoop, we’re answering your questions on eating well in real life, especially when routines are disrupted, budgets are stretched and online wellness advice starts to feel overwhelming.

We talk about healthy eating around shift work, whether fruit on its own really causes harmful blood sugar spikes, and how to avoid a whole food approach tipping into restriction or food anxiety. We also unpack the surge in protein-focused TV shows and “nutrient-dense” supermarket ranges, and what’s genuinely useful versus clever marketing.

There’s practical guidance on fibre too, including how to lower intake temporarily when advised, and how to reintroduce it without gut discomfort. We answer a brilliant question on magnesium and sleep, cutting through supplement hype to look at what the evidence says and whether food can meet your needs.

Finally, we explore smart supermarket shopping, whether budget and premium stores differ nutritionally, what’s worth spending more on, and where you can save without compromising health. Along the way, we share listener tips on affordable swaps and low-tox home choices.

Send your questions for our weekly Q&A to hello@wellness-scoop.com.

Recommendations: 

Books: The Housemaid and Heart the Lover

Podcast: The Rest is Entertainment Brooklyn Beckham’s Explosive Statement

Tea: Dragonfly Rooibos Vanilla Tea

Order your copy of Ella's new book: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Quick Wins: Healthy Cooking for Busy Lives⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Pre-order your copy of Rhi's upcoming book: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Fibre Formula⁠⁠⁠

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