How to Cut Cancer Risk, Cellulite and Extra Weight

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0:46Welcome to the Wellness Scoop podcast, your weekly dose of health and wellness inspiration. And as always, we're your hosts. I'm Ella Mills. And I'm Rhiannon Lambert. And we just love being here. So Rhiannon, tell us what have we got coming up for you guys in today's show? We've got such a good one. We've got can veggie and vegan diets cut cancer risk by up to a quarter? The truth behind cellulite, can foods really make a difference? Why cooking at home leads to twice the weight loss compared to ready meals and the trend of the week which is how blueberries have become one of Britain's most popular fruits.

1:28Welcome back. We've just come back from our summer break. I have really missed this. I've missed Rhi, I've missed Will, our amazing producer, being in this room, going through the headlines and obviously all of you guys. So yay, we're back. We've got cheesy like grin ear to ear smiles on our faces. I came in with like high pitched squeals like we're back everybody. It's my first day commuting in from the countryside as a non-Londoner now. We've officially made the move. I think you'll start to enjoy the peace of the train ride in the morning when you get there because I often use that time in the morning.

1:59like all right the kids have been dropped off everything's sorted and I kind of almost have that time to get on top of the day before I even get into the office or before you get here to the studio I think you'll love it I'm already loving it we're one week into country life and I'm like I'm never gonna look back this is 10 come back to me in the winter and then we'll have another chat but I think you are gonna love it and then before we get into the show guys just a quick note to say I think we always say in this one really is the first one to read them all we just love your Spotify, your Apple comments and what we realised over our summer break and it was amazing just taking a few weeks away from the show to have a think about it and reflect on all your feedback and I think what we really heard from you is that you want more, we want to give you more, we love, as we said we love this and so thank you for that support and I think as we were thinking through what's the best way to do that our inclination was that super super long episodes are what some people want but for other people hard to do because it's a bit too long for a commute, a dog walk while you're doing your washing, cleaning, cooking, whatever it is that you do when you listen to podcasts.

2:59And so instead, we're going to do two episodes a week, Rhi and I, and then one of them will be based all around the headlines, the trends, what people are talking about. And one will really be a community one. And so it's, we'll share our recommendations and our updates and all the rest of it, but also all of your questions, because we've already got a spreadsheet, I think with about 500 questions on from organic food to blood sugar to acne and they're linked to diet to ketogenic diets paleo diets like you name it you've asked it and we want to cover all those and we can't do it all in the main shows so mondays and thursdays would both be in your ears giving you all the wellness inspiration that you need and this is solid guys it's not a one-off whenever we can do it this is us committing to mondays and thursdays for you for the foreseeable you're basically getting two episodes a week now i know it's so good so let us know what you think and for those questions keep them coming either pop them in the Spotify and Apple podcast and please leave your name because it's so nice for us to get to know you and who you're talking to me too but only if you want to obviously there is no pressure if you want to use the kind of nickname that's fine because we like that too yes pseudonym keep it mysterious um or I don't mind if you just email me them directly ella at delicious the ella.com the world's easiest email address do you know I have to say the kindness in this community is still just astounding and almost every day I get a comment saying, oh, I love the Wellness Scoop and I was hosting an event the other week and someone said, I recognise your voice.

4:24She was in the audience of the events. It's totally unconnected. She's, oh my goodness, it's from the Wellness Scoop. So it just goes to show that we've created this incredible community and we love to hear from you guys. Even, you know, good criticism. Yes, keep it coming. Constructive criticism is everything. Helps us make better episodes. Exactly. And so, Ree, before we get into a better episode, how are you? What have you been up to? How was your summer break? Oh, summer. Summer just seems to fly by. You know, you look at it, don't you, when it's ahead. And this is my first time ever as a mum of a school child over the summer.

4:57So, you know, having to coordinate camps, lunchboxes every day while working and then also multiple trips because we've done lots of different mini breaks around the country. and we stayed at the Grove. We've been to Wiltshire. So I grew up in Melksham, a town, and we visited this amazing place called Bowood, which I used to go to every other week. And it's funny, actually, because when I was doing a book signing last weekend down at Goodwood, I worked the Good Food show there. A girl came up to me after. She said, I'm from Melksham. I'm from your hometown. And if anyone knows Melksham, it's just so small on the map.

5:30It's such a small world when you meet someone. And I think it was so nice for the kids to see what I actually do for a living because you've had that with the girls before Ella and I've never been able to really take the boys to a corporate nutrition talk you know or a lecture at university and for them to actually get to have free food and yeah see mummy do some cooking and book signing was quite cool. Oh my gosh it must have been so proud honestly it's one of my like biggest moments of pride ever is when the girls see what we do with work and obviously they're only young so they can only take in so much but I do think they've got a sense of what we do now it's amazing I was in a cafe the other day and there was a lady outside the cafe eating a delicious yellow oat bar love this guy just like ran over to her this stranger and was like my mummy and my daddy they make those bars and this lady was like hello she's like yeah they make them in their factory oh my gosh i love her it was so funny she was like she looked at me she's like do you actually i was like yeah i often think about that when i see people because at bowwood i saw someone with a delicious just the Ella bag.

6:35It was Billy that pointed it out, my husband, to me. And I was like, yeah, what do you want me to do? Go up to her and say, oh, by the way, I'm friends with Ella. You know, it's just quite awkward. But it's amazing, Ella, and you should be so immensely proud. I think the summer's just been, oh, it's just so full of inspiration. I'm writing again behind the scenes. Ella, you have exciting news to announce. Well, yeah, I mean, we've been at All Systems Go. We have moved. We are officially out of London now it's my first time in a very long time not being a londoner which is quite something but thrilled my new book quick wins healthy food for busy lives has gone to print so it's officially done it's edited it's signed off and that's coming out on the 18th of december i do have a half price pre-order link if anyone wants it so i will put it in the show notes what is it do you know it now it's on waterstones and you just use the code quick wins 50 okay i'm there because christmas kind of comes around really fast and you know when you hit the end of the summer i'm seeing ads for the Polar Express for the kids and I'm like right but Christmas.

7:36I know it's coming and then our John Lewis range is coming out at the end of this month and also we are about to relaunch a whole part of plants as you guys know we bought the all plants trademark at the beginning of the year which was another plant-based brand in the UK and we've merged them and that's all about to be unveiled in the next few weeks so yeah it's been a kind of all systems go kind of summer. I feel so lucky. I feel like I get to hear everything like before everyone else does on the podcast. I can't wait. I used to get your ready meals on Ocado and I do need a few more of them for the freezer because they're the only ones without, you know, ultra processed foods and additives inside.

8:15Exactly. And there's loads more coming. So, yeah, I cannot wait to update you guys on that soon.

8:22right health headlines that matter we have been whatsapping each other like there's no tomorrow over the last few weeks because there have been so many headlines and if you're new to the show this is a bit that we go through all of the health and wellness headlines that are making news and try and debunk them give you the take-homes the things that you actually need to know and the first one which re was talking about in the times this summer is huge and the headline is why being a vegetarian can cut your risk of cancer by up to 25 percent so up to a quarter which is staggering. It's amazing and essentially there was a huge study that was published this month in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that looked at nearly 80 ,000 seventh-day Adventists over eight years.

9:06So it's a huge sample size and none of the participants had cancer at the outset and their diets were recorded in detail and then their health was tracked over the course of the study. So it basically concluded that vegetarian and vegan diets can significantly reduce the risks of certain cancers. It was really astonishing. So the key kind of headlines of this study, which you guys did probably see because it was picked up literally everywhere, is that vegans, so people who were eating absolutely no animal products at all, had the largest overall reduction in cancer risk, 24 % lower than meat eaters.

9:42And that included lower rates of breast cancer in women and in younger men, prostate cancer. vegetarians had a 12 % lower overall cancer risk for both groups colorectal cancer risk was reduced by 21 % stomach cancer reduced by 45 % and lymphoma 25 % the largest reductions were seen in vegans than vegetarians but pescetarians also saw fewer colorectal cancels and lacto-ovo vegetarians also have protection against some blood cancers yes that's vegetarians that still consume dairy for instance or eggs as well and I think the detail Ella is just fascinating and when I was breaking this down for the times I was looking at ways that people who currently are omnivores can focus on making changes that are sustainable I'm not saying you have to give your diets up or change the way you eat completely but let's get one more plant-based meal in a week which I know Ella and I are very passionate about advocating for but it's so relevant because colorectal cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK with around 44 ,000 new cases diagnosed each year and also in terms of the population age groups that it's currently impacting it's getting younger and younger in this country and normally we associate these types of cancers as an aging cancer you know something that happens towards later end of life and it is the second biggest cancer killer which causes more than 16 ,000 deaths annually and it's something we should be raising a lot more awareness off because while it's more common in people over 50 it is the 2600 younger people every year that are diagnosed.

11:13Yeah and that's been making a lot of headlines actually hasn't over the last year how quickly rates of bowel cancer are growing in the under 50s and what's causing it and people are looking at whether that's the impact of UPFs and our diets but I think it is a really really interesting thing and as you said we don't bring this headline up to make everyone feel well you've got to become a vegan tomorrow because I don't think that's a plausible approach for the vast majority of people but I think it's a really important topic of conversation it shows just how important it is to eat more plants and to as you said just one plant-based meal or much more plants in your daily life and I think it you know it is worth saying as well obviously you know very conscious that whenever we talk about cancer related headlines it's a really difficult conversation it's so emotive and because it's so rife obviously we are all connected to it in one way or another so we really wanted to flag that and actually in the UK about 395 ,000 people are diagnosed with a form of cancer every year and as Rhi was saying among the under 50s cancer cases have risen by almost a quarter since the mid-1990s.

12:18Obviously a big part of that is the rise in sedentary lifestyle, our kind of diet's getting worse, high fat, sugar, salt, low in fiber, the rise of obesity and premature deaths caused by cancer cost the economy around 10.3 billion a year and about 3.2 billion if that is for those under 50 that was something I read while I was researching this which I just thought was really staggering so obviously it's a huge issue and it's not to kind of say there's a magic wand here no and the researchers were really clear in that as well like just eating broccoli it's not going to change the world or you know change our health in its entirety but I think it just shows that actually what's on our plate is really really important and being a little bit more conscious of that where we can supporting others and making those changes is really important.

13:03I think it's worth noting actually as well in there is the researchers did account for lifestyle factors like weight, smoking, alcohol, exercise and education as well. And so whilst diet isn't the sole cause of cancer, their data strongly suggests that plant-rich diet can really be cancer prevention. It is that big. That's why it was making the headlines. It really was this all-around approach to how we live our lives. I would say even we could chuck in social interaction with cancer risks like we've spoken about before. and from a public health perspective you know we have to really be kind here as well and just think about the fact that there is something within our power we can do and that is a slight change in our diets and half of me is filled with sadness when I read these headlines and when I'm told to dissect it and then the other part of me is very optimistic you know when I'm writing a piece saying you can make these changes I do feel filled with a tiny bit of hope that we're making a difference on this podcast but you're right though aren't you because I think it is this really difficult double-edged sword where you know it's estimated that diet influences about 35 percent of cancer mortality so it's seriously meaningful but also we know that people's lives are so busy people are so overwhelmed and we know that unfortunately as per the broken plate report that we've referenced so many times healthy food is too expensive and it's out of the reach of too many people and so it is this double age sort of kind of being optimistic and excited that there is things that we can do and we should be motivated to increase the healthy foods that we eat but equally being super aware that's not plausible for everybody and that's so fundamentally wrong when you see how important it is well it is also as well because i don't think what's helpful is we're constantly labeling people's diets we just cannot help it it's the moral compass around food oh we love a label we love a label oh you're a vegan therefore you must be like this so you're a vegetarian you're a pescatarian oh you eat meat and i think instead of doing this all the time we do have to speak about the fact that look meat here is or processed meat is just associated with poor health outcomes we discuss it all the time i feel like on this podcast and we're not saying it in a judgy way it's just having one extra meal a week can have so many benefits a flexi approach just chuck in some more pulses and beans oh love pulses and beans and we thought it'd be helpful and we wanted to do a bit more of this on the show going forwards of like real take-homes from the articles things that are useful for you for your colleagues friends family whoever it is and i think on this one it's really interesting to think like how can you increase those plants in your diet to have that more plant first plant rich flexi type approach so we've got some tangible bits of advice here what to think about if that's what you're trying to do the first one i think it's got to be plant protein hasn't it re the journalist that i was speaking to i was so happy that she took this approach because the first question was oh but how do you get enough protein on a plant-based diet.

15:47And I think anyone that is plant-based might be rolling their eyes right now, but there is genuinely such a concern about protein still. There's the hype of people that are aware and just want to hit their macros. And then there's the cohort of people that still don't know you can get it from vegetables, beans, pulses, and it's just not an issue. So thank you, Kate, first of all, for the chance to actually put some solid advice in this article in The Times. It was just a complete myth. I was so happy to bust, Ella. you know whole foods lentils beans tofu tempeh you don't even just have to buy a block of tofu if you go plant-based you can literally try so many different things meat alternatives even like corn are not bad for you people have this real misconception over swaps that help them reach the end goal and if you're swapping your beef mince once a week for some corn mince with half beans and half corn and then gradually moving to a full mixed bean version if that's your pathway i think that's great 100 i always say it's the same we'll do like half mince half lentils you know or 80 mince 20 lentils like small changes make such a huge difference absolutely and there's some nutrition that i feel like i just have to caveat like if you are going vegan not veggie because i think you do hit these pretty much i just had to mention supplementation things like iron might be a point to be concerned with b12 i think most vegans are aware of and you've got to take a supplement for b12 yeah i would say so if you're vegan absolutely not so much if you're vegetarian i think that's okay um if you still eat eggs or dairy but vitamin d everyone should be taking omega-3 i think most of us unless you eat oily fish should be taking iodine and selenium i'd say ultimately ella we just don't eat enough fiber as well 90 of us don't get enough so we can get these plants in boom let's do it but one tip if you're really increasing your plants is to do it slightly gradually because some people do find on the basis that yeah 90 ish percent of us don't eat enough fiber if you suddenly eat loads and loads and loads and loads of fiber having eaten very little you might have some kind of bloating tummy problems so i'd say you would definitely have some bloating tummy yeah don't go fiber maxing there's these trends aren't there fiber maxing um that we can discuss another time but yeah drink a lot of water and daily small changes make big differences.

18:00Yeah, they really, really do. I think it's a really nice word that doesn't have to be all or nothing, but it's a clear reminder that our diet has a massive impact on our health. And without becoming obsessive or perfectionist about it, those small daily changes really can make a huge difference. And they're worth thinking about, but you don't need to be perfect.

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19:37Our team can help you every step of the way. See a Lowe's red vest associate or visit lowes.com slash holiday install to get started. Lowe's we help you save basic install only date restrictions apply subject to availability installed by independent contractors. See associate for details. It moves us on to a headline that I almost, oh Ella, I almost cried when I saw it. Just out of pure, oh my goodness, we're here again. The worst foods for cellulite. That was the headline. That doesn't come from us. Doesn't come from us. And actually it was in the Telegraph. Yep. And it was the worst foods for cellulite.

20:15Should we even know what cellulite is? I wonder how many of us know, we know what it looks like, but know exactly what it is. We thought that would be a helpful place to start. Go on Ella, break it down. Okay, so cellulite is also probably quite nice for everyone to know. So common. Yeah. Completely harmless. It's a skin condition that causes those dimples or, when I was looking at it, the way people described it was so gross, orange peel or cottage tea's texture. So lumpy flesh. I swear a woman would not have written that. I'm sorry. But when I think of how cellulite's described over the years.

20:46Cottage cheese. I just don't think so. It just can't be. It's horrendous. But anyway, you normally find it on your thighs, hips, bum, abdomen. And it basically develops when fat cells push up against the skin while the fibrous connective cords beneath pull down. And that's what creates this kind of slightly orange peel or cottage cheese as other people are describing it texture. But I think it's just so important to stress like it's physiological. It's not pathological. There's nothing bad about it. Yeah, because, you know, less than 10 percent of men have it. this is a kind of a female mostly I would say mostly female related skin concern or concern normality I should say that we all have because 85 to 98 percent of women get it after puberty and it's largely because women's fat is typically distributed in the thighs hips and buttocks and actually it's safer there so it's not a bad place to store your fat and if we look at the hormone estrogen the reason that as women then go through perimenopause and menopause which is something I get a lot in the clinic and suddenly fat is distributed around the middle it's because of estrogen changing and the hormones so our hormones help us store fat deliberately in those areas it's quite protective and it becomes more noticeable I think cellulite with age because the skin loses elasticity and if you gain weight and that can obviously make cellulite more visible because you're pushing more of those fat cells towards the skin but any shape or size gets it and I know is sometimes you may see a model on the catwalk and you think they don't have any cellulite because their body fat percentage is so low and i think it's really important to reiterate that whether you have it or not it's just so normal but there's such a stigma about it which is why to your point it's so frustrating when you see headlines like this because it simplifies it in a way that's just not reality and actually i was really surprised well not surprised i guess unsurprised but sad to see 78 percent of women feel embarrassed about their cellulite which is why i think we really wanted to talk about this and highlight that almost 100 % of us have it.

22:45It's completely normal and nothing to worry about. It's just airbrushed out in the magazines. A hundred percent. And that's why I think because these articles feel like they kind of reinforce shame and that if you didn't eat and it was ridiculous, the things that they included, that you wouldn't have any cellulite. And again, you'd be kind of quote unquote perfect, which I think is very unhelpful, if I'm honest. But we run us through what these four foods that are apparently going to cause cellulite. can i just say i would never contribute to an article like this i just wouldn't put my name to it so um this is what the article is the ultimate clickbait isn't it because the fact that 78 of women are embarrassed about it 85 98 of people have it the number of people who are going to click on this article is probably absolutely huge i imagine it performed really well and that's the challenge in the world of health and wellness and many other things is it's like this triggers more and more of it because it's so effective as clickbait but it It just reinforces the shame and it's so frustrating and it's also kind of, well, not to jump the gun, but it's sort of only half true what we're talking about here.

23:44So yeah, what are our four worst foods? Well, this is just it. Now they plucked foods. I can see where they plucked these ideas from because if you're being asked to contribute as a nutritionist or a health professional to a feature like this, you have to really go around the hedges to kind of actually pull any concrete answers here. So salty cheese is what they listed, number one, and that's purely because of water retention. I mean, you could have said salty crisps, salty cheese, salty nuts, anything that causes water retention, which makes cellulite more noticeable. So that was number one that they listed there, which I think is a little bit absurd.

24:17But you read it and you think, OK, it's sprinkled parmesan and my pasta is going to bring my cellulite to the surface. It's like, no, it's not. Better halloumi. It's all gone now, guys, because the cellulite article says so. One Greek salad and there's cellulite everywhere. Yeah, outrageous. And then in another article on the same paper, you might have seen that Greek salad is good for you. this is like the conflicting area the second one again I can see why they picked it was ready-made pasta sauces and fizzy drinks I mean we know fizzy drinks aren't good for you if you're going for the kind of Fanta Coca-Colas but ready-made pasta sauces and they're not all the same but they listed it because of the amount of sugar and it's true some of them can contain as much sugar as a biscuit and you do have to be really really careful and read the ingredients I write about that in my book the unprocessed plate but too much sugar they say it leads to glycation which is true which weakens collagen and skin elasticity ella so they're just literally picking on a pasta sauce and a fizzy drink because of sugar leads to weakened collagen and skin elasticity and i think this is a bit isn't it it's like the half-truths it's true like we'll go on to in a minute but excess salt excess sugar could aggravate it but parmesan and a jar of pasta sauce i know and they I could have picked a jelly sweet or like a pear drop or something.

25:32Yeah, it feels more relevant. OK, Karen, what are our last two? OK, and then a very surprising choice, I have to say, protein shakes without fiber. I mean, I've got to be honest, protein shakes don't often contain any fiber anyway. Depends what you mix them with. And rarely do people blend them with fruit. And this person said they're used as meal replacements. I don't think protein shakes are meal replacements. I'm just going to put that out there. I don't think they should be seen in that. They're supplements to supplement a diet or support a sports goal. And they're saying that a lack of fiber that contributes to good gut health, that means without the fiber, basically all your toxins, including your lipopolysaccharides, your LPS, are more likely to leak through to the gut wall into the bloodstream, which some research links to cellulite.

26:16I mean, what around the hedges answer? It feels tenuous. And to your point, I think people aren't really using these meal replacements. People use protein shakes either as a quick kind of protein boost after the gym if they're very serious about their exercise or they're adding it into a smoothie to up their protein in their morning or something. So you're getting the fiber. But the reason she'd said protein shakes was because if we don't have enough fiber, we can't flush out toxins. That's basically the way they pick protein shakes. But you could have said that again about a steak hasn't have any fiber in it.

26:43So it's really interesting. An unbalanced meal. Yeah, the choices in this article. And then the final one was processed meats. And again, because it's high in saturated fat, increases inflammation, again, might raise those lipopolysaccharides. So, oh, gosh, what an article. Yeah, I think this is an article that we wanted to myth bust, which is that you can kind of get a fear of foods as a result of reading this and get a little bit paranoid and about something which you can't do a huge amount about when it comes to cellulite. but there is some research that shows that diets high in ultra processed foods too much sugar too many unhealthy fats can contribute to the accumulation of fat deposits and therefore the appearance of cellulite but again that doesn't mean there's a single food on its own causing it and certainly not a single food of the four that have been listed.

27:29No just so you know the hypothesis behind the kind of research it's just understanding essentially that these lipopolysaccharides, let's call them LPSs, people suggest or scientists that they may leak through the gut. So a really unhealthy diet full of UPFs like Ella's just said, it's very hard for your gut to absorb, to break down, to digest. They may leak through, accumulate then in fat layers around your body and trigger changes that contribute to cellulite formation. So they're just saying an unhealthy diet in excess will create more cellulite because the way fat is distributed. And that's all based on this early stage study that was published in Obesity Reviews in 2022.

28:10So it is a really interesting hypothesis. And I think that's the challenge with these sorts of articles, which is why we wanted to talk about it, which is that it is based on some facts. It is an interesting argument, but it's not to the point where we can say, OK, absolutely, like unequivocally, this is the case. And also it's sort of impossible for anyone to have no cellulite if you're a woman post-puberty. Look at the gender divide here as well. Like if you're a man and you ate all of those items, you won't get any cellulite because you're a man. So it's just a very, very interesting thing to look at.

28:43We just have to accept as women. And it's really, really, really hard because articles like this, we're being shamed left, right and center for our appearance all the time. And again, I should say that diet does influence our skin, though. You know, diet helps our skin microbiome. It helps how glowy it can be, how much acne potentially you can get. And it's not the sole cause or reason, but it definitely can help your skin feel refreshed and better. Yeah. But you don't need to worry about single foods. No. Follow the hashtag that Iskra Lawrence has, Ella. She's got something called Cellulite Saturday Campaign.

29:19How cool is that? I love all that. You know what? We sometimes are really down on social media, but it's a really nice. I really like that kind of thing with people, women that people really look up to in the public eye show off and they're like, this is completely normal. I mean, it's amazing. Cellulite Saturday. How cool. So Ella, from cellulite to home cooking. Yes, this was making waves this summer. Again, this was picked up by every outlet, certainly that I saw. And the headline is home cooking and minimally processed foods are best for weight loss. study finds. I couldn't even tell you how happy I was when it came out because this was this is basically huge for anybody that believes that ultra processed foods are a concern for our health which obviously it's still debated but Dr.

30:02Chris Van Tolken contributed to this research alongside his colleagues and we obviously need larger sample sizes but finally to see something that concretely says it's not about just energy and energy out in calories there's other factors at play here and I'll let Ella you go into it just tell us about this randomized control trial because UCL did a good job. Yeah they really did as Rhys said it's a small sample size there are only 55 participants in it so but it's a really really meaningful start to getting people to understand that what's in food matters so much so it's a kind of true real world trial it was published in Nature Medicine and it confirmed what's Rhys said so many of us suspected which is that people lose more weight when they cook minimally processed foods from scratch than when they rely on ultra processed ready-made meals even when both diets are nutritionally similar and I think that's what's so important here is that I think there's this idea that we're comparing things that aren't alike like you're talking about cooking from scratch and you know having your Mediterranean-esque diet and you've got you know loads of beans and pulses and salads and broccoli and it's super super healthy and the kind of epitome of health and then on the other side you've got McDonald's and Mars bars and crisps.

31:14And that therefore, of course, you're not going to have the same health outcome because they're so fundamentally different. Whereas what they were comparing here is so much more like for like. It was like two spaghetti bolognases, one in a ready meal, one homemade. It was two cottage pies, one in a ready meal, one homemade and made to be pretty much the same. Exactly. And I think it was so important to emphasize as well that obviously those foods are not kind of quote unquote diet foods. They're just kind of very popular, normal meals. And that's what they were comparing here, which is so so relevant this is the first study of its kind in the uk so you had your 55 adults and they followed two eight-week diets with a four-week washout in between they based them all on the uk eat well guide and as re said they were having the same thing and they were satisfying proper home-cooked meals but one was properly home-cooked from scratch and one was a ready meal or ready made so they're kind of on paper they're the same but fundamentally you've got completely different ingredient decks.

32:10Yeah, 100%. So both groups did lose weight, but it was twice as much on the minimally processed food diet. So with 2.6 % body weight loss compared to 1.5 % on the ultra processed food diet, it basically came up with a calorie deficit. If you're interested in calories of about 290 calories on the minimally processed diet compared to 120 on UPFs, it goes to show this isn't really about calories here. I think it's about the food matrix that we've discussed before I write all about it in my book about the fact the quality matters how much fiber is within the diet there and interestingly only the minimally processed food groups so the ones that cook from scratch saw improvements in their blood fat levels their triglycerides their blood pressure their food cravings despite both diets being nutritionally matched so they also preserve muscle Ella it wasn't just like water weight they lost they actually preserved muscle so it was done in a really sensible way.

33:08It's so powerful. And I think we obviously had that huge report that came out in April this year about the impact of UPFs again and looking at the fact that 14 % of early deaths could be linked to the impact of UPFs. So it's like, it just feels like we're having this continuous addition of information when we're talking about ultra-processed foods and the impact they have. But I think this new study, as we said, is so meaningful to show that you can eat the same thing, one home-cooked and one not, and have such a fundamentally different outcome. I really hope so. I feel like in other countries in Europe, they've kept their food culture or they're trying to preserve it.

33:42They're fighting back. Like when we discussed the fact that Spain put in that ban for children in all schools across Spain, they do not do any UPF food. And that was something that came in this year. And we discussed it on the Wellness Scoop, I remember. And it's just so sad that we haven't done the same yet here in the UK. We just do not have the infrastructure. We've gone so far. But I'll tell you something interesting, which this kind of thing that we obviously look at at plants, at delicious siela in terms of how consumers are shopping and the relevance of that over half of uk grocery shoppers so anyone shopping for food items in the uk have changed their shopping behaviors this year because of the information around ultra processed foods almost 19 million of them of shoppers in uk are actively trying to avoid upfs and another nine million are trying to avoid them but finding it really hard so not avoiding them as much because of what's actually for sale i love that but those are some mega numbers and i tell you what i've been looking at this obviously for a very very long time because when we started delicious sierra we were there saying we don't use additives we don't use stabilizers we don't use emulsivizers it's all real food blah blah blah and everyone was like good for you isn't that nice no one cares and it was true you know we would sit there and we would do these big retailer meetings and we were like preaching and we were like it's so important our food system's so broken the way we eat so broken it really matters you know blah blah blah blah blah but you there wasn't a commercial angle as to why you know why list one type of product versus the other yeah and i think what's been so interesting that we've really clocked over the last 12 to 18 months is there is now this real and that's why i'm really excited actually i'm feeling optimistic on it because there is this really commercial angle now and more for retailers to make a change you know they're having the pressure from all this information but actually the consumers the shoppers and their wallets which is so important are now actively making these choices and so there is a both an impetus for the right thing to do but also a commercial benefit to make changes on shelf and i think when those two things come together that's the first time you can believe that there's reason for real change i love that i really hope so and with one study like this it will hopefully catapult many others and of course to actually implement anything on a public policy level we We need loads of data to have been able to say, look, this is the right direction to move in.