Ozempic, The Size Zero Comeback & (More) Protein Hype

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0:40Get started today at linkedin.com slash campaign. Terms and conditions apply. Welcome to The Wellness Scoop, your weekly dose of health and wellness inspiration. And we are your hosts. I'm Ella Melz. And I'm Rhiannon Lambert. And after a decade in the wellness industry, we know how overwhelming and confusing health advice can be. so that's why we've created this podcast to cut through the noise and make healthier living simple fun and personal and the sun is shining it's been shining all week um it kind of feels pretty glorious doesn't it i cannot even tell you now we're so british can we just say to anyone listening abroad in the uk when you get consistent sunshine i don't just mean like a day i mean it has to be two or three days in a row your mood is just 10 times better we see a lot of gray we see a lot of grey.

1:31This is day four of sunshine and I feel like you can feel the whole country's spirits lifting. Yeah, every morning is so much better. Any task is way more manageable when I'm happy and the sun is shining through the windows. And also we've got a big week. We've got a big week and it's International Women's Day this week. I know most of our listeners are women. Everyone's obviously so welcome here, but just wanted to give a massive shout out, pat on the back. Congratulations to all of you because I feel like everyone listening, we myself I think we can all say it like everyone's doing their best and I think we should be really proud of ourselves and International Women's Day is always a nice moment for reflection a thousand percent Ella because we've had so many lovely comments as well from you and we're loving the community the support the fact that you are actually actively giving us ideas every week we're so grateful Ella do you want to read that comment that we've got here it's so nice I was just thinking exactly that really I think there's something it's definitely what I'm enjoying most about the show is this sense of community that we're building and togetherness.

2:31So if anyone's new, welcome to community, welcome to the show. This is exactly how I hope you feel at the end of it. This lovely listener said, I'm loving your podcast. It literally makes my Monday morning. Thank you. Staying motivated to keep on eating healthy as well as not getting too overwhelmed by perfectionism is my struggle. So it feels like I have two new mates who have my back. And that is exactly what we want to do. We want to inspire you to keep up healthy habits, but not being overwhelmed by doing at all feeling like you have to be perfect because perfect is an illusion no one's perfect it's impossible this is exactly it and it's such a pleasure for us to bring the headlines every week to dissect everything and talking of community we are going to deliver something very special in person so ella we've got to save the date for the calendars haven't we we do save the date in your diaries june the 14th we are going to be doing the wellness scoop live it's going to be a big live show it's going to be in central london it'll be amazing tickets will be available at the end of this month and we are so excited and it coincides with re's new book which by the way i thought i'd have finished writing by now i just found one more study last week to chuck in so it's going to be a really good live show we're going to have the latest up-to-date headlines facts studies and we're going to get to meet you all i know we're so excited so June the 14th, save the date.

3:50This is going to be amazing. But Reid, tell us, what have we got coming up in today's show? Oh, it's such a meaty show. We have the return of size zero. So why Hollywood's red carpets are looking ultra thin again and what it means for body image. We also have protein powders. Are they actually beneficial or just another wellness marketing trap? Plus, what to look for and the hidden risks you need to know. The rise of meat snacks. So why they're booming in popularity and the hidden health risks that nobody's talking about. The seven physical signs of stress you shouldn't ignore. Now I'm really looking forward to delving into that one with Ella because how burnout shows up in our bodies is obviously unique to us and what we can do about it.

4:34Then we have nature versus nurture, always a good one. How much of your health is really in your control? A major new study breaks it down. And the power of nuts and seeds. Why they're one of the simplest and tastiest ways to boost brain health, heart health and longevity.

4:55Before we get started, Rhi, how are you? What have you been up to this week? Well, we've mentioned the sun, obviously, big factor of my week. It just makes such difference and I'm trying to be an earth hero more with my sun. So on days when I don't have to catch a train into London, I can afford to walk to school and nursery drop and I've been loving it because I take the pram my littles only my little my littlest is only two and a half so he wouldn't quite make the walk around the whole block so we do that with the pram and it's made such a difference to my mood like I said another study came out last week which I had to tell the publishers we have to put it in the book because it's really really interesting when it comes to emulsifiers and the link on gut health again any spoilers you can give us oh for wellness scoop listeners always something tiny but it's not looking positive for ultra processed foods at the moment is what i will say and i break it all down in the unprocessed plate so obviously you can pre-order that but we'll chat through in the live show ella because we will that's going to be a big component we're going to be deep diving into reese new book on ultra processed food obviously as you said it's evolving all the time as per this new study has just come out in emulsifiers it's not looking good but it's also incredibly overwhelming it's incredibly overwhelming and i do feel like talking of overwhelming, February for me, Ella, was just mad.

6:14The first quarter of the year as a nutritionist is always insane because all the fad diets start in January. All the events of wellness events kick off from January to February. And to be honest, I'm relieved now that I'm kind of back to being a normal football mom on the side of the pitch and then trying to juggle my working hours and loving the podcast. January is funny though, isn't it? Like we see this every year kind of from say like early to mid-November we lose all relevance just no one cares it's really sad it's the same story every year it's tumbleweeds and then around the kind of 27th of December boom we couldn't be more popular for about three or four weeks and it feels like everything we do people are engaging with and it's such a cliche the first of January but I have to say 13 years into Delicious Yela.

7:05It's true every single year. And if that is you who thinks I'm going to change everything on the 1st of January, I hope you go easy on yourself. And instead of feeling too you have to change everything on the 1st of January, how about changing a couple of small things slowly? I think that's really good advice. It's a great time to make changes, but let's be realistic. Ella, I'm sure you're all book as well. What is going on? I am all book as well. I think that's the best way to sum me up at the moment. I am on quite a tight deadline for my next cookbook and I feel like I'm working at double speed, triple speed, probably should be quadruple speed on it.

7:43And so I'm trying to feed everybody I know, get rid of an extraordinary amount of food because you have to test stuff kind of three or four times. And because it's quite a tight deadline, that's often in a row. And so obviously by the time you've made the same recipe four times in 24 hours your desire to eat it let's be honest it's quite slim um you feel over that recipe once you've had it for breakfast lunch and dinner and so yes anyone I know I'm like would you like to take this away with you yeah and it's exhausting because when you're in the kitchen recipe testing you're on your feet all day you're by the hot oven this must be how chefs feel when they're working in a kitchen amazing and it's just the smallest things you know when you're cooking a recipe 10 extra mils of liquid for example you're trying it without that what happens if you do it 10 degrees hotter in the oven etc so it becomes all about the details but they're obviously critical to whether the recipe is great or whether the recipe is okay and obviously I want everything that we deliver to be absolutely gray so yes I am super super deep into recipes and then whenever my husband or my kids say I want this for dinner I'm like well you're not having it you're having what's on my testing list and that's about it but it's fun and I'm excited we're going to start shooting it the end of April into May um so that's all to come crack it in before the Easter holidays well yeah hopefully but have you got any recommendations for us Ella yes I do but I do want to touch on something if you're happy with it that you had the most incredible feature in the times and I think you should be proud of it because we are going to own it you are doing an amazing job and how incredible is it to be front page of the times feature it's really surreal honestly I went and got a copy of the paper with um May my youngest and I was in the newsagents by her nursery and I was like sweetheart who's that in the corner of the front page of that whole paper and like this massive picture and she's like that's my mummy I thought that is quite odd isn't it and it does it feels surreal and I feel incredibly lucky and actually it was really I get very nervous to read interviews back and I often get Matt my husband to read them first and say is that okay is that okay because you never really know but as you said in the spirit of owning it and being more confident I am a big believer in that and I we were kind of swapping notes on this yesterday but I definitely had a moment sort of around 2020 yes exactly the beginning of COVID where I stopped for the first time since I started my career and to be honest I'd had a lot of trolling, a lot of criticism.

10:21It's part of the job, again, as you and I were talking about yesterday. But obviously, once my kids were born, it's quite a big decision to kind of put yourself out there in the world. I certainly felt more at that point. And also, all the time I was spending away from them and things that I was missing and milestones, to be honest, I wasn't there for, particularly when they were younger. And I really reflected on it. And I thought, is it worth it? and do I really want this for my life? And actually, or am I just sick of being criticized for trying to get people to eat healthily? And as I said at the top of this episode, you know, you guys probably don't think that much about sending us a message saying you enjoyed that episode, but it means everything.

11:01Honestly, it doesn't it? It makes our jobs so worthwhile. We had a really lovely, just to echo what you just said, I read the reviews, you know, the Spotify reviews, I think it was one on there. And they said, I really appreciate Ella and Rhianne and putting themselves out there because they're mothers with young children. It is hard to have an opinion. And I really valued that comment. I was like, thank you so much because it is nerve wracking. It does put you on edge. So Ella, it was fantastic. Thank you. But yeah, that was my big decision. I was like, you know what? If it does help people and my work and our work together in this show, if this genuinely helps people, like the message, people find that right balance between eating well but not putting too much pressure on themselves, then it is so worth it.

11:43and the trolling's so worth it. So it was really nice to have a conversation. The trolling's so worth it. The trolling is so worth it. To help you, the trolling is so worth it. It's such a great by-product and I'm happy to accept it. But it was really nice to have an interview to talk about what we are so passionate about. And we don't get much trolling, actually. I'd say the feedback is just overwhelmingly positive. It is. But this idea that kind of we need to bring a bit more sanity to wellness to get that message across. It was great. So yeah, I was really pleased with it, actually. Well done, you.

12:09So our recommendations this week, I'll start by saying And the first one is an amazing cookbook. And I wanted to just mention this because I think she won MasterChef as well. Dr. Salia, is it Mahmoud Ahmed? She is incredible. And her Instagram is Salia Cooks. And I just love the look of all the food. Like she's got so many amazing flavors that are good for gut health. She utilizes, you know, herbs and spices and pulls in obviously different cultural inspirations. And I just thought her new book looked amazing. So that would be my first recommendation. And then number two is music. Now, you know, I'm ex-sopranos, so music for me is a big deal.

12:47But if you really want to relax at home, I cannot recommend Iron Aldi enough. And I know that Iron Aldi is a really, really well known and respected composer now. And I remember listening to him years and years ago. And I think he's even had an episode on Fern Cotton's Happy Place because he's just such a huge figure now. but I cannot recommend enough listening to his compositions while you're cooking obviously listen to the wellness scoop but also once you finish the episode once you finish put on some iron aldi it's really chilled and then for a different perspective and I think this is really interesting I listened to Paul Brunson's um we need to talk podcast and he's the guy from first dates that tv show he's got the most soothing kind of cool voice but he had the pop star Jamelia on and she did that song years and years ago for anyone listening that knows um superstar I'm not gonna sing it but you know I was like I'm not gonna come out with a song but honestly and she talks about the fact that at the height of her fame when everything looked like perfect behind the scenes she had her brother's in jail relationship breakdowns at home she was in an abusive relationship she just wanted to be a mum to her I think she's now got four children she fostered her brother's kids she was going through so much and she was asked the question by him if you could choose again to take that career would you and she said no and I was just blown away because when you're growing up and you look at these people that are you know Sabrina Carpenter performing at the Brits or you You know, you look at these big names.

14:26For me, it was Britney Spears. And, you know, back in the day. And actually, the grass is not greener. And I thought it was really interesting and such a wonderful, honest, raw, brave interview that she'd done. So give it a listen. That sounds like such a great recommendation on Britney Spears. There was that brilliant series, wasn't there, that Pandora Sykes did? Her life. Six months ago or so last year. If you haven't listened to it, it's amazing. It wasn't, unfortunately, an interview with Britney. But I think it was summarizing the same point is that so often we look at other people and obviously social media amplifies this to the kind of most extraordinary degree.

15:00And we think their life is perfect. And so often the reality is so completely different. And it's really interesting when people are then able to reflect back on that to get that perspective. Absolutely. So, yeah, definitely good to give it a listen just to put everything into perspective. And Ella, what recommendations do you have? Do you know what? I'm quite short on recommendations this week. So thanks for bringing three. No, go for it. What do you have? No, I've started watching The New White Lotus, which I think other people generally are saying they're not enjoying as much as the other two seasons.

15:31But I am obsessed. I'm living for it on a countdown for Mondays. I haven't started yet. It's the one with the really famous actress that I love. I cannot get enough of a she in it, the blonde one, with the amazing like, oosh, oosh, oosh, oosh kind of voice. Do you know what I mean? What's her name? what's her name Jennifer Kuhlin Jennifer oh no she she's not back in this season um but it's she was so fab before but no it's so good I'm loving it set in Thailand we were in Thailand over Christmas I'm like really reliving it but no it was just absolutely amazing and I'm currently obsessed with facial massage as well the guasha thing it's all I see on my Instagram algorithm at the moment which is obviously quite positive um for you feed but just five minutes in the morning Can you send it to me?

16:15Because I want to get into this habit. Who knows what makes any difference to how you look. But there's something about that active self-care that I think is so powerful. It's why I really believe in any semblance of a morning routine. I think it's setting a tone for your day. When you wake up in the morning, be that five minutes meditation, be that a quiet coffee, be that making yourself a healthy breakfast, five minutes of facial massage, whatever it is that resonates with you. I think there is something about getting up in the morning and saying to yourself, I care about you. Yeah. And I'm going to look after you today and I'm going to do my best.

16:47Yeah, I know. I think that's fantastic. And when we started recording this podcast, I made a conscious effort. And I now get up 15 to 20 minutes before the kids, which for me is a big deal because, Ella, my goodness, do I need probably more sleep than the average person. And I make it. I get up in the morning and it means I actually have time to sit, to have a shower. then I get into bed with my eldest and have a cuddle before you know I can wake him up nicely rather than being in a rush yeah even that is life-changing that's it small habits they add up they change your life so let's move on to the headlines for this week okay so the first headline it's kind of my big fear because I feel like I have always been very stressed out Ella as an individual.

17:31I think because I'm always doing, I'm a doer and I know that my coping strategy with life is to throw myself into work. Ever since I was a teenager, that's what I've kind of done to make it through into the singing industry, the music industry, motherhood. And now as a result, I have breathing pattern disorder. So it's when you get intermittent feelings that you can't breathe quite a lot, like frequently every day and you're like, am I getting a full breath? I can't quite do it. Apparently it's a thing. It took me ages to get diagnosed with this. I had lung scans, I had everything over the past two years and finally I got the answer which was really reassuring.

18:07But the headline today from the Telegraph is, is stress silently affecting your body? So Ella, do you want to kick off this headline? The fact that it's so important because stress is obviously key to how we age, how we live well. Yeah and thank you so much for that vulnerability there because I think it's, as we said at the top, not always easy, but it's so important. What you see isn't always the full picture. It's the beauty of podcasts, I think, because you get nuance and chronic stress is such a challenge, but you know, just like it is for you, it has been for me. I mean, it has been for so many of us, but it can be very, very invisible.

18:44And you sent me this, it was from the Telegraph, wasn't it? This is stress silently affecting your body. And I think it's so powerful because so much of what we talk about in wellness, whether you're exercising or not, whether you're eating your five a day or not, it's quite obvious. And actually, that chronic stress isn't normally as obvious. You all probably know this, but just kind of a top line is that chronic stress does come with its own set of problems. And as we said, they can go quite unnoticed for a while until they become serious and they're easy to kind of put to one side in favor of hustle culture.

19:14But when you're stressed, your body can go into fight or flight mode, which is a very evolutionary response designed to keep you safe. Your sympathetic nervous system kicks in and it floods your body with stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline in short bursts this is normal you know there's nothing to be worried about but when it becomes this long-term chronic state where ultimately you're essentially sitting in stress most of the time that is what can wreak havoc on your health and obviously again some stress is totally unavoidable but how we manage that chronic stress that's what's so important and choosing to actively close that stress cycle, whether that's deep breathing, meditation, movement, mindful hobbies, you know, something as simple as just stepping away.

19:56You need to do things that activate your parasympathetic, your rest and digest nervous system. But what was interesting is these seven signs of the chronic stress. And Rhi, will you talk us through them? Absolutely. Because I can relate. I only had the first one last week. Eye twitches, that annoying blink you can't control. You know, when you're with people and you're like, I've got an eye twitch, can you see it? And often they're like, no, really? But you are so aware of it when you've got this going on. And if you've ever had that tiny persistent twitch in your eyelid that just won't stop, this is because stress hormones can overstimulate your nervous system.

20:29So it causes those tiny muscle spasms, especially when paired with a lack of sleep or too much caffeine, which is what I think most people in this country probably have a lack of sleep and too much caffeine. I wish we could do like a hands up as we're going through these. Like, hands up listeners, if you've had that one. I've had eye twitches definitely. We'll do it on the live show. We'll do a whole stress meter. Yeah, exactly. Who's stressed today? We'll measure. We're all in it together, guys. Okay, what's number two? Number two, this was really interesting. The mystery of tinnitus, so that ringing in your ears.

21:01If you've ever experienced an unexplained ringing, buzzing or humming sound in your ears, it could be stress. So stress heightens sensory perception, which makes your brain more sensitive to normal bodily sounds which I had no idea. And it also explains the hypervigilance in terms of this heightened sensory perception. I know for me chronic stress the biggest challenge I had was this sense of hypervigilance which essentially manifests as like never-ending anxiety where you're suddenly anything that could possibly be perceived as a danger becomes terrifying. I've talked about it before like lifts you know suddenly lift is terrifying you're going to get stuck in a lift or the lift's going to fall down the lift shaft and you're definitely going to die.

21:40Stand back from the lift kids every time I know a lift. Exactly. But it's it is that heightened perception that becomes yeah can become quite overwhelming. Yeah and the next one as well which I think everybody listening I would say everyone listening has probably experienced this in some shape or form because we see it in the clinic all the time I know I have stomach pains and gut woes because that gnawing stomach pain you know bloating and digestive issues it's not just what you eat when we discuss gut health it's exactly the fact that your brain is linked and it's got this lovely feedback loop so stress can disrupt your digestion and even trigger IBS so irritable bowel syndrome anything that brings blood flow away from your stomach means you're not digesting well and this happens to us all when we get nervous you know at school if you look back when we were doing GCSEs or are they even called GCSEs now I think so are they still there it's good you know exam names change like oh my up to date yeah I'm sure we all felt something like that when we were doing exams and there's a lot of research isn't there to show that managing stress can be almost as helpful in managing IBS as looking at diet which I think again is not something to the point we were making at the top of this like it's so easy with stress to kind of ignore it say it's normal move on from it and not necessarily put things in place to actively try and manage it hard as that can be but actually something like doing active breathing meditation things that really get you into a mindful state can be so powerful for supporting your good gut health just stopping 80 lifestyle symptoms and then the next one is cold sores so assign your immune systems down so if you're someone that's prone to cold sores you'll probably notice that they flare up when you're under pressure and that's because stress weakens our immune system which allows that herpes simplex virus to reactivate So I know that that's really common because I remember speaking to Dr.

23:33Philippa Kay about cold sores and it's something she used to see in her GP clinic all the time. And then the next one, hair loss. So it's a delayed stress reaction. So have you ever noticed that your hair in your brush or shower drain is more of an usual? And it's because stress can trigger a condition called, and I hope I say this correctly, talogon effluvium. Effluvium. Effluvium, sounding like a Harry Potter spy. I was thinking the same thing. um but no while i laugh it is obviously serious and where hair prematurely shifts into a resting phase which does cause shedding so sometimes again it's not taking a supplement that's going to heal this it's stress that's such an important point as we talk about every week all these trends and these kind of quick fixes and the idea that they can solve all our problems and they'll give us glowing skin and bouncy hair and no bloating etc but if you're chronically stressed you're not looking after yourself you're not moving your body you're not eating your five a day etc etc those quick fixes those supplements they just can't do anything like you're just wasting your money go back to the route i know and it's really hard because how do you identify your stress which is why we're discussing some of these symptoms but it's easier look it's easier to take a supplement than it is to do things every day to actively manage stress like there's no two ways around that yeah because to manage stress you actually have to change something in your lifestyle actively.

24:55So yeah, to take a pill seems far more comfortable. And the next one, I remember a friend going through this, mouth ulcers, tiny sores, big discomfort. So that's also a stress-induced, you know, immune suppression. So when your immune system's overworked, it can struggle to heal small injuries and wounds. And it does lead to things like ulcers more frequently. And the final symptom I've got here, Ella, is skin rashes or hives. Now, this is fascinating because I don't know, have your kids ever had those viral rashes and things yeah and sometimes i wonder because children can't always tell you what's wrong and they often say when a rash comes up they're you're fighting something but for us as adults our skin is a direct reflection of our internal state and i often say this with gut health but if you suddenly develop like an itchy rash or something or worsening eczema then stress-induced inflammation might i say might because we're not gps here we're discussing the headline but it might be the cause exactly and as you said might comes into all of these they're not exclusively linked to stress of course they're not but i just think it's this again to me this was such an important headline to reflect on this week because i think it's such a great example of how actually stress is one of the most i think biggest issues in the health and wellness world that we don't talk about enough in terms of what on earth can we do in our busy lies to try and manage stress and the temptation is to take a pill or to take a supplement sold to you online etc etc because it is so much simpler than getting to the bottom of it and I'm 100 % one of those people that I've had that you know I definitely had it last year and I was so overwhelmed and I wasn't actively managing my stress but I was thought oh I'll take that supplement my ashwagandha and ultimately it's kind of absurd you know not to do anything to actively manage it but hope the pill takes it away.

26:42I mean Ella I've got breathing pattern disorder and I'm an ex-soprano so I should know how to diaphragmatic breathe. And a nutritionist and I think it just shows you know we all struggle with these things but I think try and listen to your body and try to actively manage your stress where you can and as I said again it's really interesting when you look at the research just five or ten minutes of mindful breathing for example can make a huge difference is proven to really really help manage stress. It doesn't need to be lengthy we're not suggesting you quit your job and move to the middle of nowhere and kind of live a completely nomadic lifestyle like that's not feasible there's got to be small things that fit into your life but if you are struggling give them a try yeah ella's got a few here written down which i think were really good and it's obviously stepping away was one of them so taking like even a five minute break can help reset your nervous system i added fresh air because i read somewhere that if you look at things in nature and it's really hard when you're in the city but looking at a tree or a plant apparently they're things called fractiles which instantly tap into your parasympathetic nervous system anyone listening if you know anything on that please let us know because i don't want to be just spreading misinformation on this podcast but i'm pretty sure that's a thing and ellie you had some other ones on there didn't you yeah it's just you know deep breathing meditation breath work can be for some people and that is proven to stimulate your parasympathic nervous system get you into that rest and digest state but mindful hobbies do the same thing and that can be painting it can be gardening it can be journaling it could be pottery you know there's so many different things whatever works you you don't need to just sit and meditate but you do need to do things that get your mind into that calm state of flow so if something like that appeals to you gardening is a double whammy because you also get the nature that's so true do You know, last night, because when you're putting two kids to bed, you have to kind of distract one at one point so you can manage the other.

28:34And I gave my eldest a colouring book with pencils. And then once I put my youngest to bed, I really enjoyed spending five minutes colouring a load of ice creams on a page. And I loved it. Mindful colouring. So lots of things you can do, but just be aware of your stress and what an important foundation of your health it is. Let's do an extra scoop. Definitely. I think there's about eight extra scoops in stress. the various different effects that it has. But that moves us on, I think, actually very nicely to our second headline, which is the whole never ending topic of nature versus nurture and what really shapes your health.

29:09Okay, so this is one of the biggest questions I think in health. I feel like it has been for a very long time. How much of our well-being is determined by genetics, the way that we're born, things that are outside of our control, and how much is shaped by our lifestyle, our environment, things that sit more within our control. We often hear people say, oh it's my genes when they're talking about the risk of developing certain diseases but there is a new study published in nature medicine and it suggests that our daily habits and surroundings have an infinitely bigger influence on our long-term health than our genetic makeup.

29:42Absolutely and the research here was on nearly half a million again from Ella's mum is part of this the UK Biobank the participants looking at 164 environmental factors and genetic components across 22 major diseases. And the results showed that lifestyle and environmental factors account for about 17 % of the risk of premature death, while genetics contribute to just 2%. So I think it really does go to show that things like smoking, of course, which alone is linked to 21 different diseases, or socioeconomic factors, which really are not fair, things like household income. I think finances is such a big thing that is so stressful.

30:21Homeownership, employment status, these were all associated with 19 diseases there really is so much isn't there Ella stark findings that show that the exposure you've got maybe to pollution what your body weight is at age 10 and whether a mother smoked during pregnancy which of course isn't recommended but can influence aging and disease risk 30 to 80 years later so it's what you do across the course of your life which we discuss on the wellness scoop and how that impacts that old lady that Jamila Jamil was speaking about in last week's episode. It is and I think it's really staggering because it's not easy and you know the impact of the socio-economic factors is incredibly challenging and obviously we were talking about the broken plate report a couple of weeks ago if you missed that episode definitely go back and have a listen because it really highlights the discrepancy in health in this country but it's very reflective of a lot of particularly the western world where in reality choosing to eat healthily is just fundamentally too expensive now and it's there's too many people to whom it's completely not accessible which is just wrong on every level especially when you look at what huge outcome it has on health but i think this is just a very interesting point the extent to which our day-to-day habits are actually playing into our risk factor for disease and premature death which much is that's a really difficult thing to talk about our lifestyle and environmental factors accounting for 17 and genetic components just 2 it is a fundamental difference and it just shows how much is in our hands and i'm not saying it's easy to take all that responsibility as we were saying a second ago it's much easier to want to take a pill than it is to actively manage stress find time to exercise bother to make a stir fry good sleep sometimes we don't always get it no but it's so worth trying yeah agree and And there's a quote here that we've got from Dr.

32:11Stephen Burgess, the group leader at MRC biostatistics unit at the University of Cambridge. And he basically said, genetics can load the dice, but it's up to us how we play our hand. I thought it was such an impactful quote. Genetics can load the dice, but it's up to us to play our hand. You know, actually, so much of our health sits within our hands. And I know that's not the easiest thing to hear. And when there are socioeconomic factors, particularly at play, I appreciate that's not something that everybody can change today and we're not trying to overly simplify it but equally I just think it's a powerful reminder that at the end of the day you might think I can't be bothered to cook but it's worth making the time and finding the time if you can keep the conversation going I think the more we speak about it and maybe we can you know the happiness extra scoop we had about kind deeds for one another and supporting one another if we can all become happier maybe instilling these habits is just going to be a bit easier as well but it takes a community not just an emphasis on an individual and I think that's so important to you know discuss.

33:15It really is and you know there's so much around you know the sort of five people or so that you spend the most time with having such a fundamental impact on your life and I think that comes to your health and wellness as well if the people that you're spending the most time with are also invested in looking after themselves and those around them it makes it a lot easier for you to make healthy choices I'm not saying to cut people out your life but I just think it's worth finding people who you're spending time with that are also really encouraging of let's go for a walk together let's cook a nice healthy dinner together you know colleagues that you can make lunch with choose a healthy lunch with support each other with I do think it's it's worth actively trying to find those friends that help in a really positive way keep you accountable and you can swap tips and tricks, ideas, recipes, et cetera.

34:04And this podcast, so little personal note, my dad, I encouraged him to listen because my dad won't mind me saying, you know, he has sleep apnea because he's managing his weight at the moment. And, you know, he wants to obviously look after himself more. And he said, I was listening to you both and I decided to go out for a walk and have a listen to see what you're up to. And I was like, yes, dad. A hot dad walk. Oh God, let's not go there. Let's not go there. this is so funny yeah he'll laugh at this bit I'm sorry dad I shouldn't have brought you into the conversation but yes everyone little moments to walk but it does segue us on doesn't it to diet to diet and Rhi was part of a great piece this week on nuts and seeds and I thought please can you just bring that wisdom to the wellness scoop listeners because again it's just this nice reminder we talked about walnuts last week and about how brain boosting they can be obviously packed with omega-3s etc but all nuts are actually so good for us and just a nice example of taking the time to include these simple ingredients in granola in snacks in energy balls salad toppers etc because they made the world of difference they're small but they're mighty and to make it accessible so let me just tell a quick little story i was doing a radio interview on the nuts feature before it came out at the weekend with someone from Times Radio.

35:24I finished the interview, I was talking about walnuts, I was talking about the walnut study. And she said, Oh, what about the salted versions of the nuts? I was like, well, obviously, no, this research is just on the plain nuts. That's probably a bit high in salt. And she goes, Oh, you're so bar humbug. I said, Oh, well, I'm just doing my job. As a nutritionist, I can't really tell everyone to eat a load of salted, sugared nuts every single day. But that messaging, because obviously, she's doing it as her job as a radio host to make it accessible and a bit humorous but it doesn't help the wider message it doesn't help encourage people still to eat nuts and seeds i know it's shaking up this viewpoint that kind of health well-being etc is boring and you're a bit of a loser for engaging basically made me feel like i was an absolute loser i don't think you're a loser thanks ella thanks and to everyone listening thank you i've got a few tips so here's a breakdown of some of the nuts we discussed the omega-3 and walnuts last week and we know that that's important for supporting our memory and our brain health when consumed regularly is the caveat in the research here so to get the benefit out of nuts and seeds you kind of want to be mixing up a small portion each day or frequently throughout the week i mean as ella said um cooking tips there chuck it in loads of things so let's start with do you say almond or almond i say almond but i think you you say almond almond i know so we're covering all bases for however our listeners like i think it's because i used to work with this american almond company they've like almonds that were here today and i was just it's always stuck in my head but if you go for almonds they're high in vitamin e and they support our skin health and did you know that as much as they're linked to gut functionality there's also some ongoing research at the moment that hasn't come out and it's tiny bits on wrinkle severity so for anti-aging instead of collagen if you have a handful of almonds a day that might help with the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines oh i know i know i didn't actually write that in the feature but ongoing watch this space pecans contain antioxidants that support heart brain and immune health uh brazil nuts now i think everyone most people know they're a good source of selenium and they support thyroid function but they also support male fertility and all you need is three a day to get your whole day's worth you know three of those nuts a day and that's the entire allowance a day of selenium so it's definitely worth it and then I think we're going to do an extra scoop on fertility aren't we but pistachios if we move on to my son's favorites they're a complete protein they've got all of those nine essential amino acids in them and they're beneficial for eye health and immune support it's just so nice because when you're out and about and you yeah eat some almonds or there's some almonds in a recipe or on a salad for example you don't necessarily think that much of it but then when you come back to this you remember there's so much good stuff in these simple simple simple things so pack them in make yourself your own little homemade trail mix sprinkle it on salads etc super delicious crunchy but packed with goodness and what about some of our key seeds oh yeah the seeds so remember also like ella said chuck the seeds on everything but mix them into porridge i make porridge sometimes with chia seeds and flax seeds now i realize and this is actually a message we had from one listener that different tastes and textures can also be very difficult for some people especially if you're a sen parent or you struggle yourself with introducing new textures so just a warning or a word of kind of we understand we hear you and there are ways of getting these in that don't result in such a kind of grainy texture because you can really blend things down can't you ella and you can mix them into pancake batters and things exactly so there are ways of putting those in but cheer seeds classic um loaded with fibrin calcium omega-3 is good for bone health sunflower seeds love these these are also really good for vitamin e and selenium again guys this is really good for your skin and things that are full of these what we call antioxidants which help fight off free radicals in the body flax seeds which are high in the vegetarian omega so ala we call it alpha linoic acid and they can help prevent diabetes and reduce LDL cholesterol levels.

39:29And then pumpkin seeds high in protein and zinc. So what I want to caveat by saying is when we discuss an individual food, you can't just say just by having a small sprinkle of sunflower seeds, you're going to be reducing your risk of XYZ. It's when it's incorporated in a healthy balanced diet. Exactly. But these are like USPs. Yeah. Oh, yeah. These are seed and nut USPs, Ella. I mean, living our best life. Yeah, we can work in nut branding but as i said i think for me it's just a really nice example of the fact these small things like a little sunflower seed it doesn't look like much looks pretty humble but actually they're really powerful and again humble so humble but in the spirit of kind of all the things that are being marketed to us all day every day all these various different powders supplements quick fixes i promise i will solve all your problems in 10 seconds just buy me actually when you strip it back these simple ingredients you can buy in bulk you can do a lot with.