The Longevity Diet, Jennifer Aniston’s Workouts and the Science of Strength

0:02Welcome to The Wellness Scoop, your weekly dose of health and wellness inspiration. And we are here as your hosts. I'm Ella Mills. And I'm Rhiannon Lambert. And after a decade in this wellness industry, we know that it's overwhelming and confusing. And that's why this podcast is here to cut through the noise and make healthier living simple, fun and personal. Exactly that. And we have got a jam packed show today. What have we got coming up? Oh, it's a good one. We've got the Green Mediterranean Diet and how it could extend your lifespan. can, Jennifer Aniston's new workout trend and the truth about micro lifting, simple nutrition tweaks to protect your eyes and boost your brain health and the science behind dogs which I know Ella can't wait to discuss, daylight and longer happier lives and of course practical steps to build sustainable strength and feel your best.

1:00Rhi how are you? I'm good thanks my love I was actually thinking I met someone at the weekend I was away with the family another Rhiannon Ella I know she came up to me I was at a breakfast buffet and she just wanted to say she said I I didn't know if I should approach you or not but I just I love the podcast so much and we love to hear it we love to meet you in person I think it makes a huge difference. Well, I went shopping at the weekend with May and we were buying like towels and sheets and stuff because we had our first guest to stay in our new house because we had our first guest room that someone could sleep in, which was so exciting.

1:33So my father-in-law came and the lady in the shop was like, oh my God, I'm such a fan of the show. Yeah, we do genuinely love to hear it. Reading the reviews, the feedback, it's just very heartwarming but Ella I really really really want to ask you very very quickly about Disney because I am Disney obsessed but I do think even when I went to Paris it was a strange one it's so like off topic and so I won't dwell on it for too long don't worry guys but it's we went to Disney for the with the kids for three days first of all oh my goodness me the food really was as bad as lots of you said it was as bad as we said it was like and I don't mean that in a rude way in the sense of like I wasn't trying to get the healthiest meal or like the world's most delicious meal I just really wanted to get some pizza for the kids or like something you know simple like just a croissant for them like something to keep them going that wasn't just candy floss and that's nigh on impossible if I just went away in a queue for like an hour and a half just the amount of candy floss and lollipops and things it was really quite a interesting experience and we were really thrilled to cook when we got home um but the girls had the time of their lives and then it's half term and I've been at home all this week and I'm like really living this new life which I'm loving I've been planting my garden I planted about 100 daffodils yesterday oh well done fingers crossed for those put my garlic in ready for some garlic next year shallots next I'm about to make water kefir today oh you got the grains got the grains and next week I'm going on a sourdough course I'm in my I feel like I'm in a sort of some kind of trad wife era going on here.

3:10You do know I'm expecting some of this bottled up Ella's special produce very soon. When it gets good I'll bring you my sourdough and I'll bring you some water kefir but I can't promise it will be good straight away. Amazing. Do you know I think there's something about gardening that's you know it's therapeutic. I was also getting into drawing Ella you know things that you just there's something about being in the garden or getting a bit of pen and paper I haven't drawn since I was tiny and I was drawing Disney characters for the kids, Peppa Pig. It's really therapeutic. Honestly, it's so therapeutic.

3:44I could go off on such a tangent and I'm not going to do that. But I started therapy actually a few months ago and I have been reading quite a lot of books, a lot focused on the nervous system, recommended by this woman who's fantastic. And these books were talking so much about the flow state and how powerful it is for our mind, our body, when you get in that state where you are just kind of doing an activity, it could be running, swimming, gardening, drawing, something that's kind of mindful. And you do, you kind of completely switch off and you go into this flow state and how beneficial it is.

4:16And I really found that yesterday with my gardening. It was so lovely. And I'm in my new home office today as well, the first time. So it's all go. It's very exciting. It's amazing. And also I feel like you're kind of disconnecting from tech, which I think helps massively and then of course haven't you also been prepping for cookbooks that's coming up as well i mean that's only what a month two months yes quick wins which is my new cookbook is coming out in yeah just under two months 18th of december i have got a special half price link from waterstones so i will put it on the show notes but if you want to do it if you go to waterstones.com quick wins and then you have to put the code in at checkout so it won't come up automatically and it's just quick wins 50, the number 50 in capital letters, and you will get it half price of 12 pounds 50.

5:01And it's healthy cooking for busy lives. So there's a full eight week meal plan, fridge raid suppers, batch cooking with a second way to use your batch cook. So you don't just feel like you're eating leftovers. It was a really, really fun book to create. So I'm kind of curious, a bit nervous as we get closer to about what people think. Honestly, everybody, I saw the process here of Ella going through her notepad, you know, with all the recipes, it's going to be so incredible at this time of year where we're all manically busy quick wins it's definitely the appropriate title we all just need quick wins don't we we need quick wins ella so let's start with the health headlines that matter this week so we break down the biggest trending stories what makes the news and this week we've got a lot to discuss oh my gosh there There were so many headlines for this week that we already have like three more episodes basically done with just what's happening this week.

5:54I don't know what it was. There's some really interesting stuff we'll pick up next week on bacon and doctors and scientists pushing for cigarette style warnings on ham and bacon. And actually, my dad's husband, who often texts me these things now, texted me an article on it. And then on the same newspaper, it then had on the front page like recipes using bacon. And he was like, this is so weird on what you have. One article here being like health warnings should be added like smoking. Another one being how to use this delicious ingredient and this sense of this like irony and how people meant to know what to do or not do.

6:29Anyway, we'll pick up on all of that next week, guys. But first of all, you're going to talk to us about creatine. I'm not in the loop here. So you take the lead, please. OK, well, yes, this is why we're here, everybody, to make your life simple, to make it easier and break down those headlines. So first of all, the internet, this isn't really something that appears in print because as we all know in the scientific world, they're very, very small studies, but they get blown out of proportion when they make the Instagram sphere, when they make TikTok. Remember, less than 2 % of nutrition information is accurate on platforms like TikTok.

7:02So the biggest news that came out was we finally have an actual randomized control trial. So like gold standard research on creatine that came out over the weekend. And the big news is that creatine and menopause, basically there may be some slight improvement. And I'm going to say slight, but the reason it got blown out of proportion is particularly interesting study was because it's the first of its kind. So in the world of science, everyone's like, yay, hey, now we can make room for more research for women, which I'm all for, and creatine. But just to kind of ham it down a bit before I read the results, there were only 36 women in this study.

7:39So it's tiny, teeny, teeny, tiny. It ran over eight weeks. They split everybody into four groups and there was a placebo group and it was done very, very effectively, a really good research trial. And what they did was they checked different cognitive impacts. So on mood, brain fog all sorts of things and the researchers did find a difference that if you take creatine between six to sixteen percent worth of a difference that is significant creatine could help with concentration it could help with brain fog and the reason behind this is because our mitochondrial cells they're less efficient when we go through menopause as we age you know the way that we function does change and i think we all are aware of that it's common sense as we age things slow down a little bit.

8:21And what creatine may do is kind of create this almost buffer of energy and help improve the function within those cells. But, you know, nine participants that saw those benefits is a really small sample size. And while you will see people shout about this now on the internet, they're going, creatine does help with menopause, grain fog. You know, I was nearly there, Ella. I saw it and I thought, oh my goodness, now's the time I'm going to buy creatine. And then I went and looked at the study and I was like, 36 people, just nine people saying they saw a benefit. Yes, I'm excited for research for women.

8:55Yes, I'm excited for menopause research because I feel like by the time Ella and I get to that point in our life, there's going to be so much research and so much to help us. So thank you to everyone that's paving the way because for every woman out there, wow, this is a game changer. But we definitely need larger sample sizes and a lot more research. yeah and just to remind you as well creatine it's made from three different amino acids and it's naturally produced in the body stored in the muscles where it's this quick energy reserve but you can supplement it is what we're saying so and it obviously it's just had a lot of hype recently we've covered it a couple of times so there's a bigger 101 on what creatine is if you want to go back and listen to it but i think it was interesting i that was very much our conclusion when we covered it the first time wasn't it in terms of like get behind this or not kind of myth or fact is that it just needs much more research.

9:47And this is the beginning of it, which is really exciting. I also want to see the quality of supplements improve. So, you know, at this stage as well, I want to see quality vegan sources of creatine. I just want to see more research in this area massively and also regulation of what's being sold on the internet. So you know what you're buying is actually what you think you're buying. But there's a lot to be said for placebo. It's not harmful, but just three to five grams a day of creatine is what researchers are recommending. But let's watch the space salad. So we have a lot of headlines. We do.

10:19OK, so yeah, the green Mediterranean diet. Rhi, you contributed to an article on this and I was reading it and I thought this is so interesting. The articles in country and townhouse and essentially the green Mediterranean diet is like your classic Mediterranean diet, but with a glow up. So tell us about the glow up that the Mediterranean diet has had to turn it green. The glow up of the med diet, the glow up. So researchers are basically finding that a few small green tweaks to a traditional med diet. So let's talk about the traditional diet could really be beneficial. So you've got olive oil, nuts, seeds, pulses, basically a whole food diet.

10:57It does have animal produce, but in smaller amounts than we consume over in Western society. It can also be plant based. The med diet is a very healthy, family based, whole food, full of beans, pulses. Lots of whole grains. Tons of whole grains, lots of beautiful, fresh veg. I mean, let's be honest, their climate is just beautiful for growing things like tomatoes and they taste different anyway. I think the other thing about the Mediterranean diet, though, as well, is like it's not one of these diets like a keto diet and a paleo diet where it has these really strict rules and regulations. You know, ultimately, because you're abundant in all that beautiful food, you're low on ultra processed food.

11:36Again, you're limiting foods that are high in saturated fat. It's much more olive oil than it is butter. it's much more whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes than it is lots of red meat, for example. But it is that lifestyle and it's cooking and it's fresh produce, eating with other people, enjoying those meals. And I think that's a really important point, which is like, if you're like, I'm going to follow a Mediterranean diet, you're not on a diet that you can come on or off, come like on the bandwagon, off the bandwagon, you are just following this really nutrient rich, plant-rich lifestyle that is so widely studied in terms of humongous health benefits.

12:12Ella's hit the nail on the head. It is the lifestyle, it's the social interactions as much as the nutritional completion of the whole rounded plate. But it also varies across Southern Europe. So countries like Spain, their diet drastically changes to a country like Italy or Greece, but they've all got those similar elements and common themes that run throughout their diets. And it's the most researched diet in the world, guys. It's linked to heart health. It's linked to reduced risks of cancer. It's really good. And there's decades of evidence behind it. So the landmark study in the 1950s basically found that people in the med countries had those lower rates of heart disease compared to everywhere else in the world.

12:51And more recently, scientists have now gone on to look at brain health, which we love to hear because we know very sadly there are rising rates of neurodegenerative diseases. Things like Alzheimer's definitely should be spoken about more. And with a 2023 study that linked the Mediterranean diet to eating basically and helping lower the risk of Alzheimer's, we're now getting more studies that are showing that a healthy gut microbiome is a key player here. Because if we eat well, we support our gut microbes, you then support your immune system, which we discussed before. Your microbes in your gut, the beneficial bacteria, helps train your immune cells.

13:28That in turn helps play a role of keeping us healthy, of course, and perhaps also our metabolism and our mood. But the green Mediterranean diet takes it even further because it's basically adding more and more to it in terms of colour, in terms of emphasising those polyphenol rich compounds whilst further reducing the red and processed meat. Essentially, it's another glorified title, Ella, for plant-based diets. Interesting. So you've got all your core components of your classic Mediterranean diet, your fruit, your veg, whole grains, legumes, your extra virgin olive oil, your nuts. But then you're adding in specific high polyphenol rich foods like your green tea, walnuts.

14:12And then now tell us about this other one, manchi. Yes. So manchi is essentially a plant-based protein source.

14:25Now always find it amusing when I'm introduced to these new components of diets and I'm writing about it for the press and I do a little bit of research and I'm like, oh, how interesting. Because one of the studies that was published in Genome Medicine back in 2022 tracked 294 people with abdominal obesity for 18 months. So we're talking basically, when we say abdominal obesity, just about storing extra weight around your middle, which is one of the most dangerous areas. You can store weight. That's something that I think a lot of us are aware of. And it does happen more for women as we age as well with menopause because of estrogen distribution, we then stop storing weight where we used to and a lot of us start to store in the middle.

15:04We've never done that before. So in this study, they split participants into three different groups. One followed the standard healthy eating guidelines, so like the eat well plate. The other followed a traditional Mediterranean diet. And then the other, here's the kind of crux, followed the green Mediterranean diet. And both of the Mediterranean diets showed significant improvements to their gut microbiome. But the green one, Ella, that's what led to more prominent compositional changes. So the diversity of the bacteria, this is why we talk about 30 different plants a week. And in my next book, the fiber formula, I really go into beneficial bacteria to another level because it's so, so important with reduced inflammation, which again, And I think we have a listener question for this week we're going to cover, aren't we, on inflammation?

15:51Exactly. But basically, the green Mediterranean diet, the Mediterranean diet was still brilliant, but the green one then had greater microbial diversity, stronger increase in beneficial bacteria. And obviously, as we're saying, that the more diverse your microbiome is, the better in terms of better immune function, reduce inflammation, improves mood, lower risk of chronic disease. Like it's the epicentre of it. And actually, we have had, again, so many questions as well on gut health. We have got Tim Spector answering all your gut health questions on our Q &A. He's such a guru, for want to better word, in the world of gut health.

16:25So lots more coming on gut health next week. He really is. And Ella, it's that particular component, though, in that green group, you know, the one that I tried to pronounce earlier. But essentially, it contains all nine amino acids. And if you add that to your diet, that's what showed a reduced risk of visceral fat. so what's so interesting is if you are storing weight around your middle it's not just about restriction we're not trying to restrict food again we are just trying to support gut health like you said listen to tim's episode coming up something that a lot of people get in asia as well which contains a lot of these similar polyphenols is soy soy foods things that are really beneficial for our health and around 200 different polyphenols and powerful antioxidants and vitamins a and zinc and all sorts of things that are associated with this particular duckweed which is this wolfier globosa I mean that's amazing to think this one food can have all of those properties and different effects on our body but you can't just find manakai in shops here in the UK no exactly as you said so you can use the soy products as well and then one other thing on the green med diet was there's another trial the direct plus trial and that showed again that the green Mediterranean group, they saw the greatest reduction in visceral fat in improving cholesterol and lowering levels of blood proteins that are associated with brain aging.

17:44So it really is very, very powerful stuff. And again, I think as we said at the top, it's such a lifestyle that you can bring in. It doesn't need to be something where you're like, right, as of today, I am on this diet and I'm going to do it for six weeks. It's like, no, this is a lifestyle to gently follow for the rest of your life essentially and I think if you just break it down in terms of what could that actually look like in your life basically you want to build every meal around plants so you're filling your plate with vegetables fruit whole grains legumes nuts and seeds you don't need to become a vegan or a vegetarian or a plant-based person it's just that you're building the meal around plants so that's the kind of first thing that you're thinking about yeah using extra virgin olive oil as your main cooking dressing fan you're adding in those daily polyphenol rich foods your green tea or walnuts duck chocolate colorful fruit and veg so fermented foods like kefir yogurt sauerkraut kimchi miso remember those are all wonderful things to cook with miso so underrated and i think maybe we should talk a bit more about miso another time limit those red and processed meats prioritize those plant proteins the soy and also what i do every day because I've always been a green tea or matcha drinker is I start the day for me with a cup of tea pigs green tea or my matcha I was trying um quite a few of those that we had before and we mentioned previously but a 2025 study found that even if you just drink two or three cups a day of green tea you can help prevent dementia and I know that's just cherry picking a small tiny study but what Ella and I are just trying to say is it's just teeny tiny things that if it works for you like some people don't like green tea that's never going to be an option for them but if you can try and cook a little bit more with tempeh or tofu you're also doing wonderful benefits it doesn't have to be directly green colored or edamame like another great one just chuck them in they're so easy like even when i'm doing a simple meal for the kids like pesto pasta i'll add edamame halfway through cooking the pasta and along with some peas it's just such a win buy massive bags frozen of them.

19:47Yeah, magic beans are a win for me. That's what we call them in my house because they like popping them out. I get them in the shells, the edamame frozen, because for the kids, it's novel to pop them out the bag. But anyway, I thought this article was fascinating because once again, it's just saying a Mediterranean diet is just the way to go and you can pimp it up how you like. A hundred percent. And I think the final thing to remember on it is it's not restrictive. It's abundance, it's balance, it's connection, and it has all those health benefits. And I think in a world where we often feel we have to follow a fad, a trend, something rigid, something dogmatic, like you actually really don't.

20:21The most researched diet in the world with the biggest number of health benefits is not a strict diet with rules and regulations. It's a lifestyle that you can tap into.

20:35If you are a dog owner, headline two for you is definitely something that's going to make you very happy. So it is official. You live longer with a dog and in the headlines in brackets it said and it'll be more fun. And more chaos I can add. Especially if you decide to have three including two puppies at the same time. Hella has taken the dog life to the extreme. I cannot wait to cuddle these little ones. I'm obviously team cat at home and there are also headlines guys just to reassure you that having a pet in general can of course help with your long-term health outcomes. But today we are discussing the 24 % lower risk of all-cause mortality and 31 % lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease if you own a dog.

21:20I mean, that is absolutely mad. Like just to recap, so this is from a meta-analysis. Again, this is proper data here. And it is showing that dog owners have got almost a quarter reduced risk of all-cause mortality and over 30 % lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease, so from heart disease. I mean, that's really quite something, isn't it? I think, Ella, predominantly, this is A, if you're a good dog owner, like you are a lovely animal-friendly person who loves to take your dogs for walks and you're able to give that time to your animals because I think it's definitely linked with not just the therapeutic aspect.

21:59I mean, you know, I'm the biggest animal fan. Gosh, I love them all so much. I think they relax you. There's something about mental health, which must offer so much benefits of glucose control, blood pressure, but it's the walking. I'm so sure that this is basically a walking headline as well. You know what I think as well? I know we've just done a big section on diet and diet is so important and, you know, it's a complete foundation of health. But I think this headline, apart from it being fun, if you have a dog, is again, just another proof point that we're talking about such huge statistics here as i said like almost a third reduced risk of heart disease almost a quarter reduced risk of all-cause mortality and it's not actually from the dog to your point what it is it's about we know that two of the things that we all lack in modern world that are so fundamental to our health is connection you know we know loneliness is one of the biggest risk factors when it comes to health and animals can give you that amazing sense of love and connection and reduce loneliness and it gets you moving and we all collectively struggle to move enough and as you said if you're a vaguely responsible animal owner like you are going to walk your dog and so you've got to get those steps in and we know that for like each thousand steps you get there's increased health benefits and so I just think it's uh yes it's really fun if you have a dog but actually I think much more than this I feel like this headline is another reminder of the small things and that is the little things that add up that change your life like having more green tea, like having that Mediterranean style diet, like going outside for walks, like trying to connect with people and have those stress lowering tools in your life, of which a dog can be an amazing one.

23:38They also mentioned in the research, we talk a lot about stress on the podcast, you know, how it's really not good for us. And it's really hard. Life can be really difficult. And Ella's got some stats here with financial implications as well, which I think definitely leads to stress if you're, you know, it's a difficult time right now. But the research has said that our primary stress hormone is linked to our ill health and the increase of oxytocin that you get from dogs. So it's the bonding, it's the calmness. And you don't just have to have a dog to do that. We just need to generate more oxytocin and social interaction, which is so, so key.

24:12Cuddles, hugs if you're a hug person, hug a friend when you see them. Those little things, we don't realise it, but they play such a key role in reducing those stress hormones and if you've got your dog just give it all the cuddles I'm actually like just personally quite obsessed with stress at the moment I um and on the kind of yeah in the nervous system and the impact that chronic stress is having on on us as a collective I definitely feel like this might be my next career path the psychological side of it all but it's just um it's extraordinary and as I said in a world of fads quick fixes you must buy this powder.

24:46You must do this. You must do that. No, you must stop. You must do something that calms you. Cuddling a dog can be one of those things or a cat or a bunny rabbit or a friend. But I think it's just, we do, we lack connection so much. And obviously loneliness stats are absolutely huge. And, you know, it used to be that the eldest generations in our society were the loneliest is now the youngest. You know, we feel this chronic disconnection. And I think it's extraordinary. As I said, I feel like a dog here is really representative of, as you said, boosting your oxytocin, lowering your cortisol, getting yourself moving.

25:20And we can't forget nature. We talk about it a lot as well. And it's really hard when it gets cold. And I think having a dog does make you go outside. And of course, getting fresh air, gosh, does it pick up your mood? Even just going for a walk around the block if it's two, three minutes long in the middle of your working day. I'm speaking to myself for this advice, do it Rhiannon, because I don't do it enough and I need to get out the house. do you know what we also have had so many questions from people about like staying not necessarily motivated but just like continuing to look after yourself over winter and like it is really hard when it's pitch black by five o 'clock and i would say not in like an extreme way by any sense but i do think an accountability friend partner is a really interesting tool in terms of this like how do you continuously like support yourself and your health and your mental well-being and as I said it doesn't not in like some intense way of like how many squats did you do today but just a kind of friendly reminder like maybe it's your neighbor maybe it's a really good friend maybe it's your colleague of like should we go for a walk at lunchtime have you been for a walk today like what did you do just those little reminders to kind of support each other because actually it's these 10 minute habits as we keep saying that really change your life but finding the motivation when you're halfway through quite a boring work day you know you feel a bit like stuck and uninspired.

26:41It can be really, really difficult. And it's like, if anything, use this as your motivation, like get up when you can, go outside, do something calming, nice for yourself. And it can take five minutes. Like I know you don't, most of us don't have huge amounts of time to do these things, but don't forget that five minutes can make a huge difference. Yeah. And what I love about this podcast is actually the first time, because we've only been going, we haven't even been going a year. So what I love about recording this time of year is we're here for you all and you're here for us which is so nice I felt we can perhaps motivate each other we can share our tips and Ella and I here every week so we can definitely help each other through what I would consider before Christmas is quite a dark and gloomy period and I'm really looking forward to being there for you all as well for January and February because gosh I find those months particularly difficult Ella I don't know about you oh my gosh yeah when it was suddenly like when the after the clocks changed on Saturday night and it was suddenly kind of pitch black up by five o 'clock on sunday i was like oh no i know here we're in for it now here we go so talking of pitch black let's move on to headline number three to do with eye health um simple diet tweaks to boost your eye health because i mean carrots and seeing in the dark is one of those classic phrases i just think it's the one thing that most people have heard with diet it really is carrots helping you see in the dark i do remember being told that a lot as a child.

28:04So there was a fun article in the Telegraph, which was exactly this. Simple diet tweaks to boost your eye health do characterfully help you see in the dark. Experts reveal the easy nutritional tweaks you can make to help protect your eyes, which was quite a nice one. And as we said, the headline was kind of asking, yeah, we all grew up hearing these things. Are they old wives tales? Are they true? But the heart of the piece is actually reminding us again, that nutrition is so much more about aesthetics or six packs or how you look or being beach body ready. is actually you know something like protecting our eyes from age related decline yeah which is a little bit boring in a way but so crucially important it is so important i wear my glasses as we record this episode and i'm short-sighted and have been my whole life and i know that there are so many people so around 35 percent of people in the uk report having an eye health issue and whether that's dryness, blurred vision, it could be a more serious condition like macular degeneration.

29:04There are also so many things to consider here. We've got to remember genetics at age. If you're undergoing treatment, my mum, for instance, after her chemotherapy, she had to have a cataracts operation because of the damage to her eyes. And I think if we all knew there is actually an element of truth that nutrition can help a little bit, it gives us a little bit of reassurance and control that we can do something. In one of my first ever lectures at university we studied old wives tales it's a really interesting lecture and it was really reassuring to know that that just stems from the fact that you are protecting your retina and your eye by consuming some vitamin a so that's where the old wives tale comes from with the carrots because carrots are rich in vitamin a orange foods guys so also pumpkins this time of year if you are pumpkin picking or pumpkin carving ella i should have asked you to do tips on what to do with pumpkins like soups and things because that's full of vitamin a which is good for your eyes a roasted pumpkin or a roasted squash is so delicious and top trick i would do because those need to go in the oven for quite a long time is get a whole bowl of garlic slice off the top so you can just see the top of the cloves wrap it up in baking paper with olive oil on top of the garlic and salt before you wrap it sorry pop it on the baking tray with the squash or sweet potatoes carrots, pumpkins, all these slow roasting root veggies and roast that huge bulb of garlic for the 45 to 60 minutes that you roast those.

30:30And then when you pop it all in your blender or stick blender, what you do is get that whole garlic and squeeze from the bottom. And all of that really like soft, tender, fragrant roasted garlic will squeeze out. And it adds so much flavor. It's so much flavor. My favorite soup is actually like super, super simple it's literally a tin of tomato miso ginger coconut yogurt lemon you've really not got much going in there but you roast a garlic for an hour and you squeeze it all in and like oh it's so good last week ella said it's like popping a spot when i know i nearly said that again and then i was like it's actually quite rank when you use that analogy isn't it but is there's the satisfaction of the like oozing out but for some people they may find puts them off their food so there are a few key ingredients that can make a difference for our eyes and we do get some of those in our garlic so let's start making those soups everybody so lutein and zeaxanthin which are found in your leafy greens like spinach kale peas egg yolks if you cook with eggs and these act like internal sunglasses they filter harmful blue light and protect the retinas remember the vitamin a from carrots in particular also does this sweet potatoes and red peppers support the cornea and it helps you see in low light, which is where that you can see in the dark bit comes from and healthy fats.

31:47I think we talk about this a lot with our love of walnuts on this podcast, which thankfully so many wellness scoopers also love as well. But the omega-3 fatty acids in salmon, sardines, chia seeds, flax seeds do help prevent dryness. They keep inflammation low and keep our retina healthy. And those are such easy things to chuck in. Like I did porridge for the kids this morning an iron. I just always cook it with chia seeds now as I've had it. It's always oats and chia seeds just because it's such an easy way to get more omega-3. And then of course you've got everyday foods that I like to think most of you are probably consuming.