Exercise as Therapy, Super-Salads & the Pressure to Optimise

26 Jan 2026 · 54 min · 22 chapters

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In short

The Wellness Scoop - Episode Summary

Episode Title

Exercise as Therapy, Super-Salads & the Pressure to Optimise

Hosts

  • Ella Mills - Founder of Deliciously Ella
  • Rhiannon Lambert - Registered Nutritionist and founder of Rhitrition

Episode Overview

In this episode, Ella and Rhiannon discuss recent health topics affecting well-being perspectives, including the effectiveness of exercise as a therapy for depression, the impact of our food environment, hidden dietary risks, and the cultural pressures surrounding modern wellness.

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Key Themes and Discussions

  1. Exercise as Therapy
  2. Research Findings:
  3. A study analyzed 73 trials with nearly 5,000 participants showing that regular moderate exercise can be as effective as therapy for depression.
  4. Light to moderate intensity activities (e.g., brisk walking, cleaning) showed the best results.
  5. Consistency in exercise is more important than intensity for mental health benefits.
  • Key Takeaway:
  • While exercise is not a replacement for medication, it is a valuable tool in managing depression and should be considered in treatment plans.
  1. Food Environment and Hidden Salt Consumption
  2. UK Dietary Concerns:
  3. A study indicated that adults in the UK consume 8.4 grams of salt daily, exceeding the recommended 6 grams.
  4. This equates to the salt found in approximately 155 packets of crisps a week.
  • Health Risks:
  • High salt intake is linked to hypertension, heart disease, and other serious health issues.
  • The majority of salt in diets comes from processed foods rather than added salt in cooking.
  • Key Takeaway:
  • Awareness of hidden salt in processed foods is essential for long-term health, emphasizing the need for home-cooked meals.
  1. Weight Loss Medications and Regain Trends
  2. Study Insights:
  3. A major study in the *British Medical Journal* showed that individuals who stop weight loss medications regain weight rapidly—up to 4.8 kg within a year.
  4. The need for sustainable lifestyle changes alongside medication is crucial.
  • Key Takeaway:
  • Weight loss drugs are not a quick fix; changing diet and behavior is essential for maintaining weight loss.
  1. The Rise of Super-Salads as a Modern “Treat”
  2. Cultural Shift:
  3. Gen Z is redefining treats, favoring high-priced, health-focused meals over traditional indulgences.
  4. The trend of customizable, expensive salads is seen as a new status symbol among younger consumers.
  • Key Takeaway:
  • This represents a shift in consumer behavior where health-conscious eating becomes an aspiration, albeit often at high costs.
  1. Modern Wellness Culture and Optimization Pressure
  2. Mental Health Implications:
  3. The pursuit of optimal health can lead to anxiety and stress rather than support.
  4. The podcast discusses how societal pressures can drive individuals to extreme measures in health optimization.
  • Key Takeaway:
  • Finding balance in health practices is crucial; moderation is key to sustaining wellness without succumbing to stress.

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Conclusion Ella and Rhiannon emphasize the importance of practical, sustainable wellness practices and the need to navigate modern health narratives with caution. They encourage listeners to focus on small, manageable changes rather than extreme approaches to health and wellness.

Contact Information

  • For questions and discussions: [hello@wellness-scoop.com](mailto:hello@wellness-scoop.com)
  • Follow Ella’s new book: Quick Wins: Healthy Cooking for Busy Lives
  • Pre-order Rhiannon’s upcoming book: The Fibre Formula

Call to Action Listeners are encouraged to engage by sharing their experiences with health optimization, wearable tech, and wellness pressures, as well as to subscribe and share the podcast to reach a broader community.

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

Celebrating One Year of The Wellness Scoop

2:49 to 3:59

Hosts reflect on the success and growth of the podcast over the past year.

“I was on a domain buying shopping spree.”

Ella's Journey Towards Zen

4:03 to 5:13

Ella discusses her mission for daily meditation and its impact on her mental health.

“Well you know I'm on this like mission to be zen this year and I am on a serious streak of daily meditation or breath work every day in January.”

Challenges with Wearable Tech

5:14 to 7:30

Discussion about the pros and cons of using wearable technology for health tracking.

“And I think after we spoke last week, I made a really conscious effort around the children, especially.”

Processed Foods and Health

7:35 to 11:10

Exploring the nuances of processed foods and their impact on health.

“They're not going anywhere and I can see the benefit of some, but I agree with you, anxiety provoking.”

Exercise vs. Therapy for Depression

11:13 to 14:00

Research findings on how exercise can be as effective as therapy for depression.

“Let's move on to the headlines that matter.”

Understanding Exercise as a Tool for Mental Health

14:00 to 14:54

Explore the benefits of exercise during tough times and its impact on mental health.

“Like I know you and I probably would benefit more from yoga and stretching and other people probably would get more gain from the brisk walk or walking up the stairs every now and again.”

The Nutrition Crisis: Crisps Consumption in England

14:54 to 16:18

Discuss the alarming statistics on crisp consumption among adults in England.

Salt Consumption and Health Risks

16:18 to 18:42

Learn about the excessive salt intake in the UK and its health implications.

“Rhea, I know you've done quite a lot of press on this headline as well.”

The Problem with Processed Foods

18:42 to 21:04

Examine the issues surrounding ultra-processed foods and their salt content.

“Some naturally have higher levels of salt, but I'm talking particularly here about bread, you know, breakfast cereals in the morning, you'd be surprised.”

Cooking at Home: A Solution to Salt Overconsumption

21:04 to 24:09

Discover how homemade meals can reduce salt intake and improve health.

“But Ella found this analysis reported by The Economist that showed that it's a popular food because six billion packets of crisps are sold in this country a year.”
Show all 22 chapters

Weight Loss Medications: A Double-Edged Sword

26:06 to 28:00

Understand the implications of weight loss jabs and their effectiveness.

“On average, people took the medication for 39 weeks with a follow-up period of around 32 weeks after stopping.”

The Cost and Impact of Weight Loss Drugs

28:00 to 30:00

Explore the implications of weight loss medications and their societal normalization.

“No completely and we've had questions and you you know, completely understandably so from the way that these were kind of heralded as this miracle, essentially, like, can you use them for a summer bikini bod?”

Behavior Change vs. Quick Fixes

30:00 to 31:20

Discuss the importance of sustainable lifestyle changes over quick weight loss solutions.

“Well, that's to say that's why we've got to be really careful.”

Risks of AI in Health Guidance

31:20 to 33:36

Examine the potential dangers of using AI tools like ChatGPT for mental and nutritional advice.

“And that's another headline we must discuss for nutrition advice.”

The Rise of 'Super Salads' and Consumer Trends

33:36 to 36:30

Analyze the shift in consumer spending towards premium health foods and their implications.

“I know what a perfect segue we didn't even write it guys.”

Longevity Fixation Syndrome: A New Disorder?

36:30 to 40:40

Investigate the emerging trend of health fixation and its psychological effects.

“Yeah, but I wrote it pre-COVID, so I might have to update it.”

The Extremes of Health Optimization

40:40 to 42:00

Delve into extreme examples of health optimization and the balance between health and living.

“But so was orthorexia when that was first suggested in the clean eating thing, like as an eating disorder.”

The Longevity Obsession

42:00 to 43:30

Explore the extreme lifestyle of Brian Johnson and its implications for health.

“So you guys probably remember us talking about Brian Johnson quite early on, actually, in the history of the show.”

The Dangers of Hyper-Optimization

43:30 to 45:15

Discuss the mental health consequences of extreme health optimization practices.

“It's just it drives mental health disorders, you know, because we're focusing on the fixation on longevity, increases anxiety.”

Understanding Orthorexia

45:15 to 47:10

Learn about orthorexia and its impact on eating behaviors and health.

“So it's a drive to focus on all things that are pure, like the nature fallacy, you know, natural items of food.”

Finding Balance in Healthy Living

47:10 to 49:15

Discover how to balance healthy eating with social life and enjoyment.

“So yeah, orthorexia, I remember giving a talk in front of, that's where I met Tim Spector at the Royal Society of Medicine on this back in 2016.”

The Need for Human Imperfection

49:15 to 51:41

Examine society's trend towards perfection and the desire for authentic expression.

“And that's where I think that kind of 80, 20, 75, 25, whatever it is that works for you.”
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Transcript

Automatic transcript. May contain errors.

0:28So good, so good, so good. Score more with the college-branded Venmo Debit Card and earn up to 5 % cash back with Venmo Stash. Got paid back? With the Venmo Debit Card, you can instantly access your balance and spend on what you want, like game day snacks, gear, tickets, and more. The more you do, the more cash back you can earn. Plus, there's no monthly fee or minimum balance. Sign up now at Venmo.com slash college card. The Venmo MasterCard is issued by the Bancorp Bank N.A. Select schools available. Venmo Stash terms and exclusions apply at Venmo.me slash stashterms. Max$100 cash back per month.

1:02welcome 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 riannon lambert and after a decade in the wellness industry we know how overwhelming and confusing health advice can be and that's why we've created this podcast to cut through the noise and make healthier living simple fun and personal and guys the wellness scoop is officially won it's our first birthday oh my goodness we've aged we're growing up and we're entering our toddler years no but in all seriousness this was something that i think we were both really keen to experiment with as reese says in our intro every week we just felt this space was so noisy and so hard to navigate and when every time you open your phone you see something on social and then a headline and then a podcast clip whatever it is and they all contradict each other and they're all quite extreme knowing how to actually like gently slowly sustainably improve your health on a day-to-day basis when life is busy around you we just both felt had become nigh on impossible and so the fact that we've had five million lessons and downloads and you guys are in over 100 countries and are loving it we are just so beyond grateful because god we love this show it's given us a happy place every week a place without pressure without stress and just a place where we can bring positivity to a space that i feel has needed it because we all know negative news travels a lot faster than positive news which is why the wellness scoop is here it really is and very fancy for one year birthday guys we have our own wellness scoop email now we do ella did it two days ago she's like here's her email i was like Yes.

2:49I was on a domain buying shopping spree. I'm feeling really fancy. Anyways, so any questions, queries, comments, things you want us to know, and definitely questions for our weekly Q &A, send them to us. We are just hello at wellness-scoop.com. I'll pop it in the show notes as well for you guys, but please say hi. This is so exciting. So email us direct. We cannot wait to receive all of your questions. And Ella, it is a fantastic way to celebrate our one-year anniversary because we've got an incredible show. what's coming up we have okay we're going to be talking about whether exercise really can rival therapy for depression and what kind of exercise actually helps why hidden salt is one of the biggest quietest health risks in the uk and we're basically eating 155 packs of crisps a week which is wild what new research reveals about weight regain after weight loss injections why medication alone can't fix our health without changing the food environment the rise of the 12 pounds 50 super salad and how Jen said a redefining treat when wellness tips into pressure optimization and anxiety and why living longer isn't the same as living better.

3:59So Ella how has your week been you've been a busy bee again. Well you know I'm on this like mission to be zen this year and I am on a serious streak of daily meditation or breath work every day in January. That's incredible. Sometimes just like three minutes. I mean, sometimes 12 minutes, but not huge chunks of the day. And obviously I'm locked out of my socials for most of the day as well. And that's going well. It's been seven days now. I'm obsessed. She's on it. Yeah. Almost two weeks. Oh, 14. Wow, Ella. Yeah, I know. Basically. And I now think social when I log on is the most boring thing in the world.

4:37It's like taste buds. You get used to it. You really do. And I look, my brains, I'm an overthinker. I'm an over-warrior. I am probably naturally very scatty, a terrible multitasker. And that always makes me feel quite overwhelmed. And I think that just the combination of like deliberately trying to take time out to calm by doing the breath work and then not having that constant chatter in my head of like refreshing the little dopamine hits, that little monkey on my shoulder being like, look at this, look at this, always vying for my attention. I just feel, I genuinely, I feel really different.

5:10I feel so much calmer and more balanced. It's so important. And I think after we spoke last week, I made a really conscious effort around the children, especially. I just don't want it in, you know, near me because I just picked up my phone this morning, for instance, on the train and I saw something really sad, like someone's dog has died and I'm there in tears on the train about someone I don't know on the other side of the planet who's just lost their pet, which is very sad, but I didn't need to see it, Ella. And And I think it just reminds us that we, especially as empaths, and I'm particularly driven this way, I feel sad about everything on the planet.

5:41I think it's so important for our mental health. And you also have an aura ring. And I really want to know how that's going. OK. Do you know what? I feel I can give a better update maybe in like a month or two months. I tried it out. This was all part of my Zen year. I had some health challenges at the end of last year, some kind of reoccurrence of some of the things I've struggled with in the past with my heart rate and things and some gut health problems. And so that was all kind of part of just trying to understand what was going on. Anyways, I'm not sure. Jury's out. It did tell me I was in a restored state when I was working on the wellness scoop script.

6:16I mean, that is good. I would just say, look, we've read so much and we've talked a lot on the show about how these trackers are a slippery slope and how easy it is to become quite fixated on the numbers. Again, it's just like another sense of validation. You'll notice I'm not wearing it today. and I just found it was like you're in such a stress state and I was like yeah I am because my children won't put their shoes on they won't eat their breakfast we're late for school again I'm always saying we're late and I know I'm a bad parent for saying that and I feel so guilty but I always say we're late you're anxious but we are every day yeah I know we are every day I know come on get out of the house I don't know there was just this part of me that was like I'm not sure I now think I'm stressed about you telling me I'm stressed yeah and I'm overthinking the stress and actually I'm not sure if it's helping me so I've taken it off for a few days I'll put it back on again and try it out but I I don't know I just worry again like how much information is too much information I mean I don't think I need tech to tell me when I haven't slept well because I know when I haven't slept well we both came in this morning I now have insomnia from the three month period my youngest gave me of no sleep where they're sleeping and I'm not sleeping I don't need an app to tell me that.

7:29You're tired but wired, exactly. I know, and then it makes you more frustrated. There's definitely two sides to these wearable techs. They're not going anywhere and I can see the benefit of some, but I agree with you, anxiety provoking. I just felt like I was becoming the epitome of the worried well. Yeah, well done for saying no as well, no to it. You took it off today. Yeah, I took it off over the weekend because I was just like, this is ridiculous. Like, this is more information than I possibly need. Yeah, and I think, Ella, you're on a real good mission to really put yourself first this year and be in the moment.

8:00And I think that's really admirable. It's really difficult to do. It's one of the hardest things I've always said in the re-tourition clinic is when you're working with a client, any change is really difficult. As humans, we just don't like change. No, it's so difficult and you have to confront parts of yourself. But what is exciting, I told you guys a few weeks ago, we launched at All Plants some products into Tesco, which are going so well. and anyone who works in the food space knows that getting into Sainsbury's Tesco, that's the epitome of success. Guys, it's such a milestone. But then it has to work, obviously.

8:30It has to turn on shelf. People need to buy it. I'm buying them. I've got them in the fridge. We've had them twice now. The Toe Vue Couchons, they're just literally flying. So that's a really exciting start of the year. I think it was very, not unclear, but it was kind of, I don't think any of us were, you know, we didn't know 100 % where this company work and it seems like it's really flying. I think it's so good because if you have a think about it, not all processed foods are bad. There's a different scale, isn't there? Exactly. They're not Mars bars. They're not ultra processed. They don't have additives and emulsifiers pumped into them.

9:03And there are so many products like that that exist. There are some sausages made from vegetables. There's corn mince out there made from microprotein. There's your tofu goujons on the market. And they have a place. And what I worry about with this ultra processed food conversation sometimes is we do have to remember that these are options that can help people sometimes. They're not all the same. There's black and white way of looking at things. If you look at some of the other podcasts, my goodness me, you just feel filled with fear, don't you? Completely. And I have to say, trying to make those sorts of products without the emulsifiers and things is so difficult.

9:34So hard. But it can be done. And, you know, I'm a big passionate believer in that. You know who needs them? Donald Trump. I am just to say I had this interview on Sunday on Times Radio and they asked me, what does Donald Trump eat? I said, well, I don't know. I'm not his nutritionist. Apparently all McDonald's. and Coca-Cola. That's what they say. You know, I was like, well, if that's true, obviously he's not the vision of health. So we do need these other processed items on the shop shelves because then people like him that are so used to having, you know, this fast food diet could really benefit from it.

10:03Exactly. That's the whole mission is like, how do you give people a much better option? But that meets that need on a Tuesday night when you need something basically instant. But what was interesting to me, and we will go into the headlines, I promise, is that, you know, I was asked the question, he's not setting a good example for the US public when they're trying to now create guidelines that move away from ultra-processed foods. And that was really interesting to me because he's never pretended, obviously the president's never pretended to be the vision of health, but should every head of state and should every person in government, in parliament be fit and healthy and the pressure that puts upon them to then become role models, I'm going off on a whole tangent.

10:45It's a really interesting question though. Isn't it? I mean, I think if you're in charge of health, you should be, which is not always the case. No. Yeah. So I know I think you should. I think if you're going to inspire a nation to change, you need to to some extent live by that, surely. If Donald Trump ever picks up on this, you need to get Ella's book, Crit Wins, and my new book, The Fibre Formula, and then we'll see where he goes. Can you imagine if someone like that actually read our books? Oh, my gosh. This is such an unexpected tangent this morning. Let's move on to the headlines that matter.

11:19Okay, so our first headline today, guys, Scientists Find Exercise Rivals Therapy for Depression. And this was picked up in lots and lots of places. That headline in particular comes from Science Daily. And this new piece of research was analysing existing evidence that came from 73 different clinical trials, which involved almost 5 ,000 patients. And what the researchers found was that exercise had a similar effect on symptoms of depression when compared to psychological therapies. So they were drawing specifically on 10 trials that directly compared exercise with therapy. And the researchers in that concluded there was little to no difference in effectiveness between the two approaches, which is so interesting.

12:02The research team were based in the University of Lancashire and they were quoted saying they thought these findings suggest exercise should be considered a safe and accessible option for managing depression. I think it's really wonderful because the review also found that when you exercise, it shows comparable benefits to antidepressant medication. So we're clear, of course, that you can't replace medication with exercise, but it's something that I think we should add into the mix that works really, really well for people. And the review did identify, Ella, what type of exercise seemed to work best.

12:33And it was light to moderate intensity activity, which was better than the vigorous. I think that's because of stress. I totally agree. It's the gentle effect on the body and as well in terms of kind of consistency, the strongest improvements in depressive symptoms were seen when the participants completed between 13 and 36 exercise sessions. So obviously that does show that the consistency matters. Just one or two sessions won't get the same effect. But also, again, consistency more important than intensity, which I think is really good to know in terms of trying to make this work within your lifestyle.

13:08Because we spoke about it last week that putting the washing out and even hanging the washing line, that housework is light exercise. 100 % to that point, Rhi, they gave examples of moderate activity that was included and it included heavy housework, cleaning like mopping, washing windows, brisk walking, cycling at 10 to 12 miles an hour and sports like badminton. So kind of really accessible, gentle, plausible exercise. But interestingly, the programs that combined aerobic exercise, so those sorts of cardio, with a little bit of resistance or strength training appeared to be the most beneficial.

13:46Yes, exactly. But, you know, we have to be really careful what this review can and can't tell us. So it can't confidently determine that exercise works better for mild or severe depression. So I think it depends where on that spectrum people are and whether certain types are superior for specific people. Like I know you and I probably would benefit more from yoga and stretching and other people probably would get more gain from the brisk walk or walking up the stairs every now and again. But the takeaway is so important, Ella, that, you know, exercise isn't a panacea for health in total, but the evidence does suggest it's powerful.

14:22It's a tool that's free, doesn't cost any money to do. It's accessible. And if anybody's feeling down, I will add, when you are depressed, it's actually difficult to do something like this. Really, really difficult. And I think that's an incredibly important side note. Finding the motivation to go in a difficult period of your life is not to be underestimated. I think for me, the big take home from this headline and all this research, though, again, is it's just a reminder as well that these small things make a difference. to all of us no matter how we're feeling it's actually blue monday today as we're recording yeah we record the monday before the episode comes out the marketing hype day begins but again it's just like it's that time of year where i think most of us don't feel 100 it's dark it's cold it's raining again you know finding motivation to do things isn't always easy and so i think it is just an important reminder again that the basics matter so much and i think sometimes and like looking at myself here sometimes you know be like why don't I feel motivated why don't I feel amazing kind of all great and myself today I'm like right I haven't been outside I've spent four hours doom scrolling I haven't moved my body I didn't sleep well I've had three coffees I know we all do that sort of thing all the time but it's just the reminder that actually like we've got to move our bodies it's imperative for our mental health and it can be literally through cleaning your house it doesn't need to go around the block yesterday I'd been in nearly all day with the children and it got off I made a roast dinner after the roast dinner it was at 4 35 we did a scooter walk around the block so I was like I have to get out the house you always feel better so much better exactly and it's just yeah sleep stress movement obviously diet they really really matter and what also matters of course is our diets and nutrition so the headline that we have next headline too is that adults in England Ella are eating 155 packets of crisps a week in So what a headline.

16:22What a headline. Rhea, I know you've done quite a lot of press on this headline as well. So I'm going to let you take the weight on it. That headline in particular, the 155 packets of crisps a week, came from Sky News. But it's all based on this new analysis that, as I said, Rhea's been speaking to a lot from the British Heart Foundation. But it is a good headline that we're eating 155 packs of crisps a week. I imagine a lot of people clicked on it. Very good clickbait. I think really good clickbait. But also when it came in, for me, it was on the global BBC Radio 4 show. I was under quite a bit of pressure.

16:50I got the call 10 minutes before going on. So I had to quickly look up what I was going to say. Do you get nervous in those moments? Do you know, I get, this is so weird. I get excited. Yeah. Yeah, it's like that high energy kind of like adrenaline. Yeah. I'm like, great, finally, we've been over consuming salt for years. We've got more mainstream press on this. Maybe it'll make a difference in my head. I'm thinking, right, everyone's getting around eight grams was the last stat last year. They should be getting six. and I'm thinking about the ultra-processed food consumption, of course. So the study here from the British Heart Foundation found that working-age adults in England are consuming 8.4 grams of salt a day.

17:28Now, that is 40 % higher than, of course, our recommended 6 grams a day. And even the recommended amount will vary from person to person. Also from gender, we're starting to create in this country more gender-devised nutrition targets, which we've never had before. Everything's been based off male bodies. We're going to be diving into that a bit actually on Thursday, which I'm excited about. Yes, so, so important to discuss. And to make it easier to visualize, they got this packets of crisps that the salt equivalent of eating, you know, 22 packets of crisps a day is 155 packets worth of salt each week.

18:04I like these illustrative ways of doing it because when you say you're eating 8.4 grams of salt and you should be eating six grams of salt it's sort of like it's very difficult to imagine for a layman like just for me I'm sitting here I'm like what does that really mean because it doesn't sound big eight grams it doesn't sound big and it doesn't eight doesn't sound that much bigger than six either but when you say 40 it feels a lot bigger but then when you visualize the amount of salt in a packet of 22 packets of crisps you suddenly think oh no maybe that's a bit too much salt. Yeah, because around 85 % of the salt in our diets already is from the food we buy because, of course, we're a nation that consume more ultra processed foods.

18:42Some naturally have higher levels of salt, but I'm talking particularly here about bread, you know, breakfast cereals in the morning, you'd be surprised. Ready meals, you know, salt is a preservative. It helps retain flavour. It helps preserve the food for longer. But it's a real problem because of high blood pressure and it's a silent killer. That's what we call anything that links to heart disease. I think all of us know someone affected in my side of the family. It's big and my dad's side. You know, three in 10 adults in the UK are thought to suffer with hypertension. Which is high blood pressure.

19:14Yeah, and they don't know it. That's the problem. And around 5 billion don't know they have it. And that's quite scary. Also, heart disease is the biggest killer for women in the UK, just to throw that in there as well. Because I think a lot of the time, we associate high blood pressure with men. I don't know why that is. But high blood pressure is linked to around half of all the heart attacks and strokes and the British Heart Foundation estimate that reducing your salt intake, which is what we're striving to do, but down to the World Health Organization's guidance, which is five grams. So in the UK, we say six.

19:45Actually, World Health Organization says five. And that could prevent a staggering 135 ,000 new cases of coronary heart disease over time. And alongside that, you've got all the extra things that come with that like dementia problems of your kidneys and reducing the risk of stroke it's not that salt's bad at her it's just we all overeat it and we don't realize i think that point is really important though that salt isn't bad like if you're cooking from scratch at home you're making a lasagna this evening a tray bake there's nothing wrong with adding a little bit of nice salt your onions and your garlic as they're cooking like that's we want food to be flavorsome you want to enjoy it that's not the problem the problem is is that also when you are making stuff on a much bigger scale you don't have the same level of flavor and also the flavor is going to change and often dip over time so again when you're thinking about the manufacturing side of this you end up adding way way more salt oftentimes and we've definitely seen this kind of exploring that side of the market than you would ever do if you're making the equivalent meal at home if you put that much salt in the meal at home it would taste really overly salty but just because of a the other ingredients often lacking as much flavor as if it was kind of fresher and b the longer shelf life oftentimes yeah salt is added in excess and this is what we talk about when we say hfss you know high fat salt and sugar in the uk and initially the ultra processed food conversation just focused purely on these ingredients you know how much salt how much sugar how much fat and now Of course, we know there's potential knock-on effects of additives and emulsifiers as well.

21:24But Ella found this analysis reported by The Economist that showed that it's a popular food because six billion packets of crisps are sold in this country a year. Exactly. So obviously, when I was looking at the 155 packs of crisps a week, I was like, I know we don't eat that many. But I remembered something before about the insane number of crisps that we do eat in the UK. I mean, I do love a good crisp. I love a crisp as well. But we consume 6 billion packets of crisps. Well, we sell 6 billion packets of crisps a year in the UK. So if you were going to translate that, that's about 140 to 155 packets per person per year.

22:04So we're not eating 155 packs a week. That's just the salt equivalent. But we are basically eating 155 packs a year. But it starts young. So it goes in lunch boxes. And I remember in the unprocessed plate book doing this diagram of the processing of crisps. because Ella and I have both discussed before, not all crisps are potato. No, and not all crisps are equal, like all of these things. So there is a hierarchy, but I think the takeaway is simple, everybody. Let's just have a little reminder. I know we all know it. We know not to consume too much salt, but we still are. We still are. And again, I feel like a broken record or we could say a parrot, parroting the same thing the whole time.

22:41But again, it just comes back to the same thing. Like we just need to cook from scratch and we need to cook at home more because the easy way to get around this is to make more meals yourself. Like if you tonight make a delicious, big, spicy, creamy coconut milk based dal, for example, put spinach in it, some tomatoes, lots of cumin and spices and as I said, garlic and chili and all the rest of it. Delicious. You can have that for lunch tomorrow. Take that in a Tupperware or whatever it is, an easy container to work and have that you can cook with some salt in that and I can guarantee if you had that instead of say like a classic British meal deal you would have infinitely less salt and it will be so delicious you'll have fiber you'll have plant protein it'll be so much cheaper as well and then you can use your lunch break to go for a little walk it's not about being perfect and it's not about being like overly micromanaged but I just think again it just speaks the same thing we've got to get back to our easy cooking at home more often and I'm going to add what I mentioned the other week about my dad on Christmas day dad I know you listen and just just to use it as an example the generation that still adds salt to their food even when there's already a lot of salt before even tasting it because I think not to put any shame especially not on my own father because I love him to pieces but you know I think it's habitual I do think that we're it's a habit oh where's the salt and pepper shaker it's on every table in every restaurant Yeah, exactly.

24:10So try your food first. Yeah, try the food first. Let's do the taste test. Yeah, and use it as a reminder just to cook from home a little bit more, if you can, when you can. You'll find loads of delicious recipes in quick wins as well if you need it.

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25:50Every recipe also gives you plant points to help you eat more plants. 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. okay headline number three people who stopped taking weight loss jabs regain weight in under two years study reveals i'm sure you guys saw this because it was absolutely everywhere over the last few weeks that headline in particular came from the guardian but it was all written up following a major new study that was published in the british medical journal the bmj and it was just adding I guess more noise more depth more information to this very very fast moving fast developing conversation around all of the new weight loss injections and medications your Monjaro your Wega via Zempic etc there's 1.5 million people they think now in the UK taking this but obviously as we know there's a big black market so the number is probably a lot higher this study in particular was led by researchers at Oxford University and they analyzed 37 different existing studies involving just shy of 10 ,000 participants, all of whom had used these various weight loss medications.

27:03On average, people took the medication for 39 weeks with a follow-up period of around 32 weeks after stopping. And while they were on the drugs, they lost on average 8.3 kilograms, a huge amount of weight. But once the medication was stopped, and this is the important part, weight gain was both rapid and consistent. And on average, people regained 4.8 kilograms. So just over half the weight within the first year, but with all the weight that they had lost returning at a rate of about 0.4 kilograms a month. And by just over a year and a half, people had regained all the weight they'd lost. They'd returned to their original weight.

27:43So it's just an important thing, I think, to note for a whole variety of reasons. But the idea that we see these drugs as these like shortcuts I think this really shows as a myth they're not shortcuts because really and this is what all the scientists were saying around this is you've got to be on this for life and we don't have enough research really on being on this for life yet and that's expensive very expensive at the moment as far as I understand it for lots of the drugs the NHS only prescribes two years so what does that look like I mean that would have to be changed and the cost of that is obviously exponential if you start this and you're on it for 50 years i mean it's huge this is why you know it was originally developed for people with diabetes and then it became available for those that perhaps needed bariatric surgery that were over a certain threshold in terms of weight but the problem is it's become so normalized for those who just wanted to lose a few pounds or a few kilos and like we said we do think there's so many positives to this you know we're not saying that it's terrible but actually it's just the same as yo-yo dieting if you don't change your behavior if you don't change your diet if you don't change your nutrition if you don't use it to your advantage to kickstart behavior change you can put it on four times faster than even a fad diet after a weight loss pill because your body your hormones your peptide hormones that tell you when you're full and satiated and signal with your brain they're basically saying wow I've been halted from doing my job let's go.

29:11And they go on kind of mega mode. Absolute mega mode and I think that we need to caution short-term use without having a long-term plan completely because these are powerful medications and I think they've almost become known in society as a almost like Botox like everyday also I'm not saying Botox is bad I'm just saying they're known as everyday items. No completely and we've had questions and you you know, completely understandably so from the way that these were kind of heralded as this miracle, essentially, like, can you use them for a summer bikini bod? Well, they've also helped people conceive, though, as well.

29:47You know, they've lost the weight and then they've got pregnant. But then what do you do afterwards? Exactly. But I think if you kind of feeling like any temptation or pressure to use these as like the quick way of losing half a stone before your summer holiday, please don't feel that pressure because ultimately it won't work. And I think what's so important to kind of overemphasize is exactly what we said is that they're comparing it to structured programs where you're really, really fundamentally changing your diet and your exercise generally to a much healthier approach. And people who had done that versus people who had been on these weight loss drugs, people who'd done the weight loss drugs and then stopped them versus stopping the exercise or weight loss plans, the medication approach regained weight four times faster, four times.

30:32Like that is absolutely mega. Well, that's to say that's why we've got to be really careful. And Catherine Jenner, actually, she's the executive director with the Obesity Health Alliance. She summed it up so clearly. And she said, you know, you've got to stop looking at weight loss as a failure of the individual. But instead, it does really reflect the reality of living in a food environment that continually pushes people towards unhealthy options. And this was echoed by an NHS spokesperson who also said similar. while these new treatments are an important new tool for supporting weight loss they are not a magic fix and must be paired with behavioral and lifestyle wraparound support including advice on healthy diets and physical activity to keep the weight off long term and when we originally trialed these drugs Ella that's what it was you had a psychologist you had a nutritionist but no one has that no well they're doing that's very very expensive although using chat gpt and And that's another headline we must discuss for nutrition advice.

Read the full transcript

31:28And it's not all it's cracked up to be. And mental health advice. There's been, I actually got really deep. I think it was on the cut. I will get it for next week. Please do, maybe we can pop it in. There was a really good article about someone who, because there's lots of advice out there now for like saying, please don't use ChatGPT for therapy. And this person had used it after a breakup. And it was basically going through the process of just showing how ChatGPT, you know is often said that it's too sycophantic which it is you know you ask it a basic question and it's like great work ella yeah that's not great work would you like it in five different ways exactly it's like that's not great work i'm basically asking something red or blue it's not it's not great work but in that sense it's like very sycophantic so it's like continuously validating and validating and validating your viewpoint and that actually that can be quite dangerous it makes up studies it makes them up completely it really does oftentimes I will then say, where has this come from?

32:24Give me a link. And they do. And then it's not, it doesn't exist. The link's not valid. Yeah. A hundred percent. It's so true. It's so true. If you want something kind of really basic, that's kind of widely reported, that can normally be true and you can normally validate that. But no, yeah. I'm sure you spoke about it with your publishers as well, Ella. But when I was on a shoot last week with my team at DK, they were saying the amount of proposals you get now, they're obviously from chat GPT book proposals you know they must see in publishing a huge rise of people not actually writing books and just getting chat GPT to do it all and then the referencing if you're not actually trained on how to reference especially scientific literature it's so obvious yeah I bet it is yeah you could see right through it actually I was reading something else exactly was saying like now what we actually want I'm not very good at spelling and I was always really embarrassed about that me too I've never been fantastic yeah but actually people have been saying and have been reading people saying like actually now look for spelling mistakes because it shows it's human and actually that's a trend we'll pick up on in the next few weeks.

33:25I mean I'm a typo queen as you know it's awful. But it shows it's human and it's actually written by human but there's quite a lot about one of the trends potentially for this year and yeah we'll pick it up on a future episode being adding friction like friction maxing we in terms of stopping this kind of robotic AI totally digital way where everything should be the click of a button so easy it's like we almost need friction back in our lives to show that we live in a human driven world and the return of analog the trend i'm also liking which we should discuss in another episode is seeing people and make songs or read out their trolling comments oh my gosh um jamie lang did a good christmas one fern did it the other week and i just i don't know if i have the guts or confidence to do that myself i don't know if i want to go back and read them all oh i don't read any of them no no we've all got them somewhere but i thought that was a really good trend right that moves us on to our what's trending in wellness.

34:17I know what a perfect segue we didn't even write it guys. We didn't.

34:24Okay we've got two trends today the first one is just a fun one really I've been seeing so much about this recently but the trend is super salads and also sweet treats really but there was a piece in the Times last week I think and the title was Forget Avo on Toast the treat for Gen Z is a£12.50 super salad. And it said, a decade ago, millennials were being roasted for their avocado on toast, flat whites and Netflix subscriptions. The stereotype was clear, too many little luxuries, not enough saving for a house. Fast forward 10 years and that generation has aged into their 30s and 40s, discovered budgeting apps and pension contributions and has been replaced by a new cohort with very different treats.

35:05And to Gen Z, Gen Z. So they said this is a generation that's far less likely to see home ownership, which of course, you know, it's really sad or traditional milestones as immediately attainable. And so the spending shifted. So a Barclays survey, so the bank in the UK, a Barclays bank, shows that consumers are actively swapping out luxuries and big ticket purchases in favour of smaller, more affordable treats. And those treats, I just can't get over it, now look so different to what they were before. This had been picked up as well in like the FT, the Guardian, in the Italian, like everywhere.

35:41So it's legit. This is actually their spending habit. Talking about the modern status lunch, particularly in urban areas, is a£12.50 customisable super salad. And I mean, I've seen it. We did a project with the Salad Project, which is one of these places. You took me there. You treated me to a large salad bowl. Yeah, they are fab. I mean, they are expensive, but they are fab. But people will queue and do queue for like a solid 30 minutes for it, which is extraordinary. And yeah, the Guardian's title was the£13 salad is coming for your lunch money. I know. Move over the£6 coffee. It's the£13 salad.

36:14You know, add it all up in a day, though. If they're getting a matcha or a coffee in the morning and then they're getting a lunch there and let alone buying a bottle of water. You're spending a fortune every week on food, which is why you need to batch cook your doll. I was just about to say we need to take our own lunch boxes. Do you know I have a lunchbox e-book? Oh, do you? Yeah, but I wrote it pre-COVID, so I might have to update it. You should, because there's so much in that. of I mean I love I took loads of pictures of them all you know but kids ones family ones like lunch with like little smiley sandwiches and things as well as like anyway ignore me when I'm feeling really domestic and my kids need to pack lunch I'll do like a heart-shaped sandwich yeah exactly let's move back to the fact that the popular brands in London at the moment in the UK are Farmer J's I remember that first came about Ella your salad projects in there that used to be or is still opposite your office.

37:04Yeah, exactly. Urban Greens. Atis. Atis. And the Salad Project alone serves 6 ,000 salads a day. Yeah, according to the Financial Times. So this is just really popular anyway. I mean, it's better than a terrible ultra-processed sandwich with no fillings. 100%. It came from the US where there's a brand called Sweetgreen, which some of you guys might know. They were founded in 2006. And they're now valued at$4 billion. and they were all about making salads feel cool. So that's obviously just what people are doing now. Farmer Jay just raised 17 and a half million pounds according to Forbes. Because I don't want to buy.

37:40What I can't bear about salads is not only they're cold but it's, and in the UK it's nearly always cold, it's the fact that traditionally they were just iceberg lettuce leaves with a few cherry tomatoes and a bit of cucumber. Maybe a grated carrot. Oh, and I'm like, why would I just want to eat that? I'm not a rabbit. No, exactly. Whereas salads are bougie now. like they're incredible you can get butter beans and miso tofu and all these different things places you just i mean it's a different landscape but it prices people out completely anyway it's all been kind of put into this bracket called treatonomics where essentially treats are being redefined and it used to be like the occasional coffee or something and now people are treating themselves these lunches matches as you said a reformer pilates class collagen sachets all the rest of it so i think treats used to be about indulgence and now the interesting thing is there's a sense of a little bit of function in it like helping you feel good energize small ways to improve your life when bigger financial milestones feel out of reach so it's a really interesting premise a kind of silly headline but nuts to see that you can sell 6 ,000 12 pounds 50 salads a day in London I actually think it's if the pricing changed I think it's a really putting the government help with that a really positive trend because I did my 2016 throwback on social you know that trend that's going around yeah and I had to go into Facebook to find the old pictures because I couldn't bear the thought of scrolling down my Instagram page 10 years ago and I used to go with friends I used to have all this time before I had kids and I would treat myself it was a treat to go to a Pilates class with a friend and get a matcha so maybe that we were ahead of the curve because now...

39:19Trendsetter right here. Yeah. I wasn't out boozing away. I was maturing. Maturing and Pilatesing. Yeah, but not very many places sold it back then. That's why I used to go to your deli. I used to go to all these places called like Raw Press and the juice bar in Covent Garden. There's loads of these places. Lab Organic it was called. There's quite a few of them. I know now you can get maturing every Starbucks. Every Starbucks, I know. It's everywhere. Trend number two. Trend number two is a really interesting end to this episode, I think. Also accidentally circles all the way back to our conversation around the Oura Ring and tracking devices at the beginning.

39:56Just in terms of the potential kind of over analysis and fixation on health stats and whether it's helpful. I can see how you found this trend. It's like good timing in your zone. It was really interesting timing. It was speaking to me. Anyway, it was from The Times and the title was Uber Rich Lead Rise in Diagnosis of Longevity Fixation Syndrome. The obsession with living for as long as possible is now a disorder seen in a range of people with clinics and therapists reporting more patients seeking help. And it's one of those things to dismiss as silly and kind of frivolous. And it does speak to this worried well cohort.

40:31But ultimately, that is, as we know, when we look at stats of how many people are buying things like tracking devices, an enormous cohort of people. It is not just solely the over-rich who they're talking about in this article. But so was orthorexia when that was first suggested in the clean eating thing, like as an eating disorder. And actually, I would say this is like orthorexia, a fixation on trying to be pure and live forever. It was exactly that comparison, I think, was made in the piece because it is. It's this and it's a really hard balance. And as I said, that was why I took my aura ring off because I was like, I don't think this is helping me.

41:06I think this is making me stressed about being stressed. Can you let us know, everyone listening on the Spotify comments or somewhere? If you genuinely love your device, do you really love your wearable tech or are there moments of? Yeah. And also, you know, how easy do you guys find it to strike this balance? Because it is a difficult one to find. We know that how we live our lifestyles is very, very important to our long term health. And for most of us, having good long term health and a great health span so we can get the most from our lives is important. Like we want to live the longest. I want to be around for my kids.

41:40That's my biggest thing. I want to be there. Exactly. And in like with the best energy you can bring, least aches and pains, you know, but how much is too much? And it's, you know, how long is a piece of string? Go into what they said about Brian Johnson, because that's obviously the extreme example, isn't it? Yes, exactly that. And, you know, it is a really interesting one. So you guys probably remember us talking about Brian Johnson quite early on, actually, in the history of the show. So if you were listening, say, like 10 months ago or so, but he's an American tech entrepreneur. He's probably the most visible symbol of this longevity obsession, because his entire life is structured around trying to slow or reverse aging.

42:19The reports show he spends kind of several million dollars, if not tens of million dollars a year, on medical tests, supplements, strict diet protocols, constant biometric monitoring, experimental treatments, highly controlled and wildly highly controlled routines. He did a Netflix documentary. He didn't go outside, did he? Because he didn't want to be under the sun's rays at all. No, and then he talked about things like it's really hard to date because he doesn't eat after, I can't remember, but it was like 2 p.m. or something. Yeah, no social life. So quite hard to go out on a dinner date if the only thing you consume is water.

42:48but I don't think he could consume water in a restaurant because he has special water. Yeah, he had special everything. So it's, you know, obviously he's the extreme, but it is this like example of, you know, how much do we need to measure and optimize everything in pursuit of perfection, as opposed to just kind of try and move the dial and get that fiber a day and that movement and that 30 grams of fiber, et cetera. And yeah, whilst he isn't obviously the cause of this trend, he's sort of become its epicenter. And his extreme approach almost kind of normalized not that level of extreme, but a level of dedication to managing aging and almost trying to beat aging, which is just complicated.

43:30It's just it drives mental health disorders, you know, because we're focusing on the fixation on longevity, increases anxiety. And the World Health Organization, as we know, has identified loneliness as a significant risk factor. And actually, the irony of this is that if you are this kind of hyper optimization person, you know, everything has to be chasing this one goal. you can become so isolated from all of those societal functions with other human beings that we actually need to be healthy so it's quite counterintuitive it really is i got into last week when i was having my dedicated scrolling time i was that the week we both said we feel we have no friends we're like oh what happened do i do need to get out more i can't remember when this was anyways i ended up on the algorithm and i was watching people's routines and i was becoming fascinated by it because it was all of these things where goodness me they were dedicated but they were like literally two and a half hour long routines they go out for like an hour walk at 5am just to be able to get the steps in totally and then there was you know radio frequency vibration plate red light mask supplements all the rest of it but it was literally like two two and a half hours long then there's the kind of evening routine and essentially yes it seems impossible to do anything because you've got to go to bed at kind of 7pm and get up at five to fit this all in.

44:51And that's like, what life are you living? And I don't mean in a really judgmental way. I just mean it in a like, I think we have to be careful with optimization. Like we have to be careful with the way that we're collectively living because we don't eat enough vegetables. We don't move our bodies enough. We are overstressed and underslept. But equally, we don't want to go to the other extreme of, as you said, it's that balance with orthorexia. Will you just give us a definition of orthorexia actually for anyone who's not sure? Yeah, happily. So it's a drive to focus on all things that are pure, like the nature fallacy, you know, natural items of food.

45:25It was called, you know, eating clean, which essentially could be seen in two different ways. I think initially it was only ever meant that term to be moving away from ultra processed foods. But actually, the media picked up on clean eating quite negatively. But that is because there's a darker side, of course, you know, that it can become a complete drive that all you can think about every single day is what meal you're having next with orthorexia, what calories are in it. It's very similar to anorexia. But the drive is that you wouldn't buy a bottle of water because, you know, it might be contaminated with microplastics.

45:57You'd never drink it, even if you were literally so thirsty, your mouth was so dry. I used to have clients in the clinic that, you know, it's not an official diagnosis in the DSM, which is where we diagnose eating disorders, the diagnostic statistic manual. But the term meant it interfered so much in their everyday lives. They wouldn't eat at a certain restaurant if it was next to cars of car fumes going past it, which makes sense. You know, all of this is common sense. It's good for your health to be thinking of these things. But when you can't do that every now and again as a social occasion or it's a birthday party and you won't go because you don't want to have to eat a shop-bought cake rather than a homemade cake, that is a disordered eating pattern.

46:35And it's very similar to this because, you know, there's no leeway. If you are a Brian Johnson, that is your drive. That is disordered. And I also in the clinic use the example of marathon runners, ultramarathon runners a lot because I'm not saying this is true for every ultramarathon runner. But you've got to be a certain personality type to put your body through such an extreme at all costs and have that drive. There is a slight disordered pattern there and behavior. You've got to be a certain way to be able to do something that's so unbelievably difficult and drastic. So yeah, orthorexia, I remember giving a talk in front of, that's where I met Tim Spector at the Royal Society of Medicine on this back in 2016.

47:18And it wasn't in my 2016 throwback, Ella. I should have put that in. But it's serious. And I think cases have rised drastically. I mean, sometimes I question myself. I panic about microplastics and things. But not enough to stop me getting my coffee on the go or that bottle of heavy on at the airport. Yeah, that flexibility is super important. And it's exactly that. I think it's seen as very different, but very comparable here where the idea that like time you might spend with friends, family, you know, doing something you enjoy, having a glass of wine on a Friday night, you know, whatever it is, going out for pizza with your friends or family.

47:51You're not going to do because instead you're like, oh, it will affect my metrics, my metrics. I won't have perfect numbers. And, you know, yeah, things can suffer as well. And the one thing that I did think was interesting is that experts were pointing out in the article that, you know, what's being driven by? Well, actually, there's a collective feeling of a loss of control in terms of, you know, tech, huge rapid technological changes, very existential threats in terms of kind of global political climate, coupled with environmental changes, climate change and huge economic challenges across the board.

48:27and you know ultimately it's almost like people then want to control what they can control and the information just can quickly slip from like empowering and helpful and just nudging you to go to bed a bit earlier that's really helpful we know alcohol is bad now we know salt and sugar is not great not having a massive meal just before you go to sleep when you're at home and you're by yourself or you know you can change it but it's to make sure that you don't then apply the same information to when you're it's your friend's birthday and going out for a nice evening Exactly. It is those quick wins at home that we need to focus on instead of looking too fast sometimes, I think.

49:02It's great to think, wow, I've had this meal today. That's really good for my long term health. That's fantastic. But if it becomes all consuming and then you can't eat anything else or go anywhere, then yeah, I definitely take a step back, seek some support. Exactly. And that's where I think that kind of 80, 20, 75, 25, whatever it is that works for you. not rule but kind of gentle framework structure way of thinking is really helpful which is that ground your lifestyle your cooking in nourishing home-cooked lentil rich you know bean rich carrot rich meals that are really great for you and the rest of the time just relax enjoy yourself it's so so important perfectionism doesn't exist and chasing it isn't good for our health it really really isn't um interestingly on that subject um it brings us back to how people appear as well in the media at the moment and everyone's looking a bit samey and different procedures and it's mind-blowing so samey do you know i haven't seen hamnet the movie i'm sure lots of our listeners have but there was actually a whole article this weekend in praise of jesse buckley who's the lead's face praising the fact that she has such beautiful expression and her face that carries the weight of the emotion and the grief and the expression of the movie because we don't really see that much anymore and what are we doing with this over homogenization i don't know it's really interesting again curious what our listeners think but i think as part of this kind of move back to analog and like actually wanting human now we don't want a world driven by robots are you yeah that's really interesting i think about doing that because also um i mean this really is an extra scoop conversation but I'll pop it in here as it's relevant.

50:43I worry in emergencies, my kids aren't going to be able to unlock my mobile phone. Yeah. They need to know how to call 999 on a home phone. And then I equally think it's going to be healthier for them growing up with a home phone to call a friend as a treat rather than looking at a mobile phone. I totally agree. And I've got no problem with them calling a friend. But I might get a pink one. I might make it really bougie, Ella. Oh my gosh, I'm really inspired. And it is the same thing because I end up turning my phone off the whole time, just putting it away so I'm not distracted by it. You can hook it up to a mobile phone.

51:09There's devices that are Bluetooth-y. They hook up to the home phone. But does it work if your phone's off? I don't know. That's a good question. Because as you said, I still want my mum, hey, Carla, to be able to get her through to me if necessary. And they can just ring the home phone. Yes. I mean, I just haven't had one for so many years. Maybe Costa, I was a student, and I just had a mobile phone. But now, see, there we go. Yeah, OK, 2026, the return of analog. We're all going backwards. I love it. But I agree there is a homogenization of things. And we're all now looking for a bit of imperfection because it's a sign of being human.

51:41I mean, honestly, me and Ella this morning, we walked in, Ella's like, oh, I feel a state. And I know I've got two massive spots on my chin. Oh my gosh, I have the biggest spot. I actually zapped it last night. Oh, did you say I'm trying not to touch mine? No, no, I didn't touch it. I've got these zit stick-a. Tell me, I need this. Oh my gosh, they're so good. And then it's a silica acid in like a round circle. Yeah, exactly. But they're actually pretty invisible. I'm not wearing one now, but you can put concealer over it and you can't really see it. Zit stick-a, as in like not sticker, is an A not an ER at the end.

52:10Phenomenal. It's like you know your body. For me it was I had lots of shoots. I had so much thick makeup on my face for over a week. I wasn't sleeping and sure enough I don't just get like generous acne. I just get two corkers. Couple of boils. Yeah proper boils. Alright everyone thank you before we go on to boils thank you for listening this week. We'll leave you with boils guys. Thank you so we are human. Thank you so much for listening. Thank you for being here for a year of Wellness Geek. Let us know please in Apple or Spotify if you have been here all year. And just a reminder, please share this, comment, or click follow because all of that makes the biggest difference to getting the Wellness Scoop to more and more people.

52:48We love this community. See you on Thursday. Bye.

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54:09Parents can set limits, see real-time spending, and guide better habits all in one place without constant check-ins or cash runs. Don't wait. Try Greenlight risk-free today at greenlight.com slash trygreenlight. Rinse knows that greatness takes time, but so does laundry. So Rinse will take your laundry and hand-deliver it to your door expertly cleaned. and you can take the time pursuing your passions. Time once spent sorting and waiting, folding and queuing, now spent challenging and innovating and pushing your way to greatness. So pick up the Irish flute or those calligraphy pens or that daunting Beef Wellington recipe card and leave the laundry to us.

54:50Rinse. It's time to be great.

From the publisher

This week on The Wellness Scoop, we’re unpacking some of the health stories shaping how we think about wellbeing right now. We start with new research showing that regular, moderate exercise can be as effective as therapy for depression for some people, and what the evidence actually says about what works best.

We then look at two stories that reveal how much our food environment matters. New data shows just how much hidden salt we’re consuming in the UK, alongside research revealing how quickly weight can return after stopping weight-loss injections. Together, they highlight why long-term health can’t rely on medication alone.

We finish by exploring modern wellness culture, from the rise of the £12.50 super-salad as Gen Z’s new “treat” to the growing pressure to optimise every part of our lives, and when the pursuit of health can start to feel more stressful than supportive.

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

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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