The Wellness Scoop - Are Your “Healthy” Snacks Actually Better for You? Air Fryers & Viral Myths

Episode Date: May 28, 2026

This week we’re unpacking some of the biggest wellness questions and food fears taking over the internet right now. Are lentil crisps actually healthier than standard crisps? Are air fryers really toxic? And is coconut oil genuinely good for us, or just clever wellness marketing? We also dive into the yogurt hierarchy — kefir, Greek, skyr or natural — discuss algae-based omega-3 supplements, soy and hormones, and the growing confusion around what “healthy” really means online. Plus, we chat sleep deprivation, meditation training, dance classes, charity shop puzzles and the joy of wonky veg boxes. For more from Rhi and Ella:  Order your copy of Ella's new book: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Quick Wins: Healthy Cooking for Busy Lives⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Order your copy of Rhi's new book: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Fibre Formula⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sign up to ⁠⁠Rhitrition+⁠⁠ Get an exclusive 15% discount on your first Saily data plans! Use code Scoop at checkout. Download Saily app or go to to https://saily.com/scoop/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Wellness Group, your twice-weekly dose of health and wellness inspiration with us. We're always here as your host. I'm Ella Mills. And I'm Rihanna Lambert and we are so excited today to be taking your questions. It's one of our favourite days of the week, so let's do it. Okay, guys, I'm still a little croaky, a little bit better. I am chugging away on some ginger teas still and carrying around all week. But Rie, how are you? I'm good, Ella.

I'm sleep deprived, but I'm only. Okay, you know, I am very happy because sun's shining and it makes me happy and what can I say? My salads are in full swing at home and it's making me feel good. Retrician Plus is live and people are loving it and life is good. How about you? Oh, I love it. So good. What are your recommendations?

Oh, rivals. Oh, my God, it's so good. Oh, it's so good. I'm upset. I'm just waiting for the next ones, which actually when you're listening to this, everybody, it should have dropped another episode because there's only three available on Disney Plus. I was gutted when the third one finished. Me too, because I was like, oh, what's happening?

Where's the next one? And it didn't come. And then I've started watching Grey's Anatomy again. Oh, I love... I mean, we're on something like season 22 at this point. I absolutely loved Grey's Anatomy pre-Kids, but I do find any A&E type drama quite triggering now. So I'm definitely sticking to my rivals. And, oh, what was the name of the other one?

watching. It's with the lady that played the Bond girl and she is an MI6 agent. Well, producer Well's going to look it up. Okay, while we look that up, I'll say, started watching Love Story. Yes. Oh my gosh, obsessed. I think I've watched that. You have, you recommended it. It's the JFK Jr.

Oh, Ella, I know. Yeah. I was hooked on their story for weeks. But I'm loving it. And then also, I've recommended this before, but the series two of your friends and neighbours, oh my gosh it's so good I liked season one but it's quite stressful season two is actually less stressful much more emotional depth or I have such a crush on John Hamm

as well I've seen season two then it's new it's out we're like I think we're on episode seven at the moment what channel is this Disney so I can now watch season two oh yeah so I haven't already watched it you knew me it's right now new yeah I mean we're like seven weeks in or something oh my goodness thank you now I've got a new series while I'm waiting and John Hamm is the madman guys what was it well secret service yeah secret

service and what's her name? Gemma Arterton. That's it. That's on BBC, I believe. Okay, I've got to do that. My other recommendation for you guys this week I'm obsessed with is frying sage leaves, chili, little slices of garlic and pine nuts together, generous amount of olive oil, very generous. And then you fry it for maybe like three minutes, so your garlic and your pine nuts are going golden. It's like the best topping for anything in the world. I don't generally buy a lot of sage. It's not necessarily my favorite. Because I, I associate. I associate. I, see it sage, even though I've got it in a few recipes, not loads, but with the whole I'm saging and cleansing the house. So actually cleanse and use your sage. Oh my God, it's so good,

because I'm obsessed with the all plants tortellini and you like... And that's got the pine nuts, I remember. Well, and it's a butternut squash. I always think squash and sage is such a nice combo, so we started doing it. Anyway. And we have some amazing wrecks from the listeners. So Lily has said that she gets, I mean, this is genius, charity shops and puzzles only for about three pounds. She's an avid lover of puzzles and usually tries and find some time in the week as a good switch off or wind down one to do. I mean, that's just such a good idea. She says, in fact, when my mind is most busy, I can find it the most useful time to do just 10 minutes as ideas can come to me when I allow myself some space. It's so true. Is it like meditation, a for a puzzle,

isn't it? It's so true that there's some really interesting research. I actually read a book at the beginning of the year called, I think it was something like, This is Your Brain at Rest. And it was talking about this, about the default mode network and these parts of your brain where we think we have to always be busy for ideas, but actually the brain is so powerful when you stop. And actually what the scientist was saying is what we've forgotten how to do is do things like literally, just sit. And I know people's lives are busy, but like when you're having a bath, maybe, just sit and stare at the window or stare at space and just do nothing. Or maybe when you have a cup of coffee on your lunch break, can you take even three minutes or on the train or on the tube?

don't scroll, just stare. That's really hard to do. I know, but he's saying how important it is for creativity. I have got this new scrub from Tropic, like kind of like a bath bomb. Oh, I need to remain that. I think it's called smooth scrub or something. Oh, I love a scrub. It's so good.

But I realised if I'm actually just doing proper skincare, that's kind of the same thing as meditating. But what Lily mentioned here is that you need to get to charity shops because they're in high demand at the moment. And they only usually cost about two or three pound. and you're helping a good cause. I love it. She also recommended Odd Box, if you guys haven't come across Odd Box. Wonky veg!

I know, it's really nice, and they deliver to your front door, and it's the stuff that's been rejected from supermarkets because it was wonky, etc. So that's a really nice thing. She's saying it helps you get those 30 plants a week, which I love. And then we have one more recommendation from Leanne,

who's in Bristol, for us all, who said, I just wanted to send in a recommendation. This is very apt for me, given my recommendation a second ago, about garlic and hand washing. Because we said last week, I was like, do you wash your hands straight after? I know. And I was just saying how much I love to just fry garlic to put on everything.

When you chop fresh garlic, if you wash your hands holding a teaspoon, the smell disappears. It's so cool. That makes sense. I'm going to try it tonight. You know, I love watching these clinging accounts as well. I just sniggered at me, but it's so true. You know, when they use tin foil. But, you know, tin foil to clean the tap.

It's Nancy Birkwistle-style thing again. But genius methods of cleaning. Thank you so much. everybody, I'm loving your recommendations. I love them. Thank you. Keep them going. You know where we are. Hello at Wellness-Hifenscoop.com. Okay, our first question today comes from Danny. Danny said, hi, both, really enjoy the podcast and how realistic and achievable everything feels. I was wondering what habits or activities you'd prioritize if you had more time. I don't have children and I want to take my wellness routine further. Ella, I mean, what a question. I suddenly think of all the things I could do and want to do. My head went into overdrive when I read this. question. Your laugh when I tell you what I want to do. Do you want to go first thing? Because I always lead a good laugh.

Go on, tell me. I want to go on a silent meditation retreat. Oh my God, do you want to go. Yeah, if you're past now. Yeah, that's what I really want to do. I shouldn't laugh. It actually would heal your voice. I do highly recommend it.

Not for my voice, for my mind. Yes. I would love the experience of that. Yeah, that is really hardcore. I have to say they're meant to be really good, aren't they? Isn't that what monks do? They have, correct me if I'm wrong with everybody listening and maybe I've got this from a Hollywood film

that's completely inaccurate history. But don't you have as part of the etiquette for monks you have to sit in silence for a prolonged period of time, isn't it part of the Buddhist training? Yeah, I mean different traditions and kind of languages have different approaches. Because it is healing. Yeah, I've spoken to monks

who've kind of lived in isolation for periods of time and that's, you know, an amazing kind of devotion in a way to take things deeper. or it's just, you know, many hours of the day or weeks. So there's loads of different versions. But yeah, I've got lots of friends who've done this. That's amazing. These Vipassanus and you go and you have a few days.

And you literally are in silence. And I don't think I could have done it before because I think I would have been too confronted, but I'm very used to sitting in silence now. That's good. And I would love to do that. That says a lot about where you're at, actually, in your own journey, which is really remarkable.

I think it's a very brave thing to want to do because I don't think I would want to be in, silence with myself at this current stage in my life. But yeah, I think that's generally, if I had more time, I'd be keen to kind of to go deeper into things like, you know, an experience of like retreats and things like that, where otherwise, you know, you never quite get that in an hour. I think that's remarkable. It's a very good answer.

What about you, Ray? Well, my notes on this one would be, I just want to see my friends more. How nice are you? You want to see your friends? I want to go and stay in silence by myself. So it's not a good reflection on me, guys. It's not, I don't know, it's the opposite. I think it goes to show we're all missing so much from our lives in general.

Be that your time with yourself, be that social interaction. And for me, the one cup that is never full enough is the friendship cup, because it's the first thing to go when you run a business or you're prioritising your family is social interaction. I miss dance classes with a friend or just going out for a morning coffee. I'm often quite envious of the other school moms that can do coffee mornings each week, you know, things like that that you just can't do when you run a business or kids. And I think also if I was, you, Danny, and I was thinking of that daily inspo, I would definitely, if I wasn't spending my mornings, like, you know, brushing teeth and getting children to eat, saying and book bags and out of the door and all the rest of it, I would definitely see myself as someone who'd have quite a long morning routine. Yeah, I'd love a morning walk. You know, people talk about it.

It's just not realistic for me. I can't leave the house. Exactly, because I got to get them ready for school. But I think I would get up. I would do the meditation. I think I would do like a 20-minute dog walk. I'd have my ginger turmeric shorts. I'd have breakfast.

I would take that hour. And I personally am someone who, like I like morning. So I'd be so happy, you know, with six or seven o'clock. Play some classical music and then do your makeup in the morning or your skin routine. Yeah. That's beautiful. Yeah. I think that's what I would do.

I love that. There's a good, very insightful question. Thank you for triggering our brains there. Maddie from Cambridgeshire has said, I absolutely love the podcast and look forward to every episode. I wanted to ask about yoghurt. Is there a hierarchy between Greek, kaffir, skier and natural yogurt?

Does fat content matter? And does kaffir yogurt different to kaffir drinks? It's actually such a good question. It's all so confusing. You stand in the supermarket and you're like, what is what? Is that really what is what? What is what? What is what?

Existential questions before I go on asylum, retreat. Yeah, when we're overwhelmed with choice and questions, we need the silent retreat. Let's look that up, by the way, the history of silent retreat. I find that very interesting. Okay, let's break it down. Café drinks are more liquid and drinkable than a yogurt, so not as thick, usually lower in protein, just purely because they're not strained in the same way. They're thinner, but cafe has amazing multitude of bacteria within it and live microbes, It's a living bacteria, although, of course, some are flavoured and, you know, that can detract value a little bit with stabilisers and things.

But ultimately, khef is fantastic for your microbiome. And you can get vegan alternatives and you can grow these strains and you can make these drinks and there's options for plant-based consumers and for those that have cows milk. You'll really appreciate this. And water. Yes, water kaffir, which I completely failed out and need to try again. Camilla, my mum, who's always sending us articles and ideas for the podcast. She is now making her own kaffir.

I love that. Can I just say Kamala, she should have a steak in one scoop, but I do just think it's like built for her. She says it's really easy. Yeah. She says it's really, really, really easy. Time consuming wise? I don't think so.

Okay. Good to know. I mean, I think, you know, I will ask her. I'll come back to you guys next week. Maybe you can give us a voice note. But I'm thinking like 10, 20 minutes kind of time consuming. Like a normal recipe, I don't think. And she says it's delicious, better than the shop bought one.

But genuinely, once you get the hang of it, super, super easy. It makes sense. And just to add, the reason why you get these beneficial components, of course, I'm just going to be straight up here in dairy products, is because obviously breast milk from a cow contains lots of beneficial microbes because it's meant for the infant. And that's why when you mix anything, just why it's harder, I think, to make water cafe probably

because you don't have other mixing bacteria and processes that are happening. Thanks for making me feel better about it. It was a disaster. Yeah, exactly. It's hard. I think it's harder to make the dairy alternative versions because of that very reason. And so back to yoghurt's Greek yogurt is typically highest in protein because it's really thick. You should pick up a Greek yogurt, not Greek style guys. That is not real Greek yogurt. Look at the pack with a spoon and it should go plop. You know, that kind of traditional plopping on the plate. Yeah, it's almost solid. Yeah. It's like solid. It's thick. It's really filling. It contains live culture. Super high in protein, right? It's higher in protein than normal yogurt. Yeah. Higher than the liquid eat. type of yogurt and it should contain lactobacillus, bifidobacterium minimum on the side of the

pack when you look for two beneficial really research strains. So pure, like unsweetened Greek yogurt, very good for gut health. Oh yeah, yogurt's really good for gut health. But it's because of that reason it's cow's milk essentially and it's been fermented in these different processes, contains these live cultures. It's unbelievably beneficial and very researched and good for heart health apparently too. So it's really confusing the landscape of dairy and heart health and saturations. It's funny because I think people make you feel like Greek yogurt is really indulgent, but actually it's really good for you.

Yeah, although I will say... But it's very high in fat. If you're somebody that's looking at your saturated fat intake, on the other hand, I would say you need to go for zero percent fat but not added flavorings. Right. Or lower percentage. And if you're someone that isn't on that projector, enjoy the full fat Greeks. Skiya, very, very high in protein, naturally low in fat. It's similar to Greek yoga.

It's more of the Icelandic origin does contain live cultures. It's very similar to Greek yogurt. And then you've got natural yogurt, which has less protein because, you know, it isn't strained. It's a great option. It does contain live bacteria. But again, the texture is thinner. I would always recommend a Greek over a natural for most people. Khehehe yogurt's just fermented for longer, so you've got more strains.

So there you go. That's your yogurt cafe lowdown. So what's your, if we're doing this hierarchy, who do you crown? I'll always crown a kaffir for gut health benefits. Yeah. Because I don't worry about people's protein intake in this country. Yeah. Great shout.

So, you know, I think we're all hitting our protein guys. And if you are worried about your protein intake, then just add some Greek yogurt and skier. And you are well on your way. You don't need to buy the yoghuts that are labelled. You know, you can buy those yoghuts that are like typically high protein. Yeah. So we're giving number one place to kaffir. I feel very uncomfortable.

Yes. Yes. They're my words, not yours. And then shortly followed by Greek or Skiya. Yes, I would say. It's your face. Avoid Greek style. I feel it's a bit of a con.

And also, right in saying what you want to be doing is buying the plain version. But if you like it sweeter, then add your berries and honey on the top. Or jam. Yeah, or anything like that, exactly. You're better off adding. My nephews are obsessed with jam and yoga. Yeah, so is my son at my eldest the moment. Because I am that mom that introduced jam later because of the sugar content to my kids.

He loves it and I'm very happy with him having jam on toasting yogurt and things in the morning. Yeah, for sure. Do you know what I really want to try? I saw on Instagram last night. I wasn't bricked. Was coffee yogurt. So people taking yogurt and then getting a little boat. It's not for you.

No, you weren't bricked. I sent you loads of wrecks last night. I'm so sorry. I was like going ping, ping to Ella. I was up so late watching Grace Anatomy because my husband was up late watching the golf. I thought you were bricked. I was like, she's not going to get these. Wasn't logged out.

I was scrolling away watching Grace Anatomy. Okay. If you like coffee, you can make like a tiramisu type. Yeah, it was a kind of. Greek yogurt to type yogurt and so like a thick one to hold the liquid. And then a few table spoons of espresso mixed together. Oh, it looks so good. All you then need to do is add some cheer seeds in front of the most amazing texture.

Oh my God, yum. Yeah, I know. Then they did pan-fried caramelised bananas and I was like, I have got to make this. Do you know what I'm going to make tomorrow? Is a roasted balsamic tomato tart tata. Yum. Oh my God, I'm so excited. I love those.

But don't put roasted carrots on it for the kids. Just keep it tomato. Tomato. Loads of butter. Basil and pasta. I love that. I'm so excited. Okay, we are going to go to a very quick ad break.

When we come back, we are going to be talking about air fries. We're going to be talking about healthy or not healthy ingredients in our kitchen, supplements, all sorts of things. So we'll see you in one sec. Hey, y'all, it's Kelly Clarkson with Wayfair. Ever order furniture online and wonder what if? Like, what if it doesn't hold up? That sofa was four days old. You should have ordered from Wayfair.

With Wayfair, there's no what if. Just style you love and quality you can trust. Visit Wayfair.ca. Wayfair, every style, every home. Right, Becca, Ella and Rui, I've been a fan for years. Your recipes are staples in my kitchen. That was so nice to hear. Can you recommend a good quality omega supplement that's not from fish oil?

I've heard about algae-based options. I don't know what brands to trust. I mean, not knowing who's just a huge part of supplements. There was actually a piece in the times this weekend that was like the wild west of supplements. And it was saying how dog food and pet food is infinitely better regulated than the supplements industry. Yes, it is. 100, I can wholeheartedly believe it.

Yeah, and not the quality of produce, but it's more regulated in terms of what you can and can't do. Yeah, exactly. And I'm not saying I don't want a regulated pet food industry, but I do think it's really interesting in terms of what you're allowed to do. And like, just to say as well, the food industry, although it's wildly complicated, it is very tightly in this country regulated in terms of like you can't make up claims. Like, yes, it gets a bit dodgy with like. You can, but you can put that.

then it gets pulled off eventually. Yeah, if you're a bigger brand, you really can't, though. I mean, it would be pulled so quickly. The cost wouldn't be worth it. I mean, you can make up kind of random claims. Like, I don't know, there'll be stuff for, like, drain unblocker and also cheaper than a plumber. But when it comes to health claims, it has to be substantiated. And you always see asterix on there.

Now, obviously, people get around this by doing, like, breakfast cereals with a sprinkle of multivitamin. And then it will say, you know, good for your health because it's got a sprinkle of vitamin D in it. But generally speaking, you can like sort of quote unquote trust claims. Whereas in the supplements industry, it is so weirdly unregulated. I think it's really surprising. And it is therefore really important. I do think that you buy from trusted brands. I know for me the two that I have been most recommended when it comes to algae.

And just also saying the reason that the fish are high in omega-3 is because they eat the algae. So you're going to going straight to the source. to some extent. It's obviously, and I know Rees got lots of nose on this, much more sustainable to do it that way and obviously more ethical in the sense of, you know, yeah, it's not using these byproducts, but Bear Biology, B-A-R-E, Biology, FEMA-founded

company, I think it's a really nice company. They have a really good plant-based and algae-based one. I would also say, it's quite a large capsule, but it's soft, so I didn't mind taking it at all. And then, for Rydian, another really nice company Again, really trust for Rydian, as in with a V. They have a drops one if you don't like taking capsules. It's not as high a dose, but that's the one, for example, I give my kids, and they're so happy taking it.

It's just literally kind of olive oil and the omega-3s. But, Rhee, you've got lots of thoughts on this. No, do you know, I think you've summed it up really perfectly. I don't want to over-complicate it. I want to say, go and follow C-Spiracy. It's a charity that I really fully rate. I don't know if you'd even call them a charity. that activist, but they do a lot of work in the ocean trying to protect krill, which is the

main source of food for large areas of the ocean at the moment. And the problem is we're now seeing a lot of people doing a lot of krill farming and krill fishing because sustainability of getting algae supplements as well from fish like salmon and all sorts of things. There's a whole host of problems which we on land are not seeing happening at sea because it seems so far away, doesn't it? It's not on your peripheral, you know, what's happening in the ocean, but mass destruction is happening in the ocean. So if we can go for the algae option, you are still getting all the benefits.

If anything, they last slightly longer. They have less chance of going rancid, like the fish oil versions of this Amiga do. And they offer the same benefits. So try and get some more flaxseed in your diets, some more cheer seeds and walnuts and hemp seeds. Yeah. And I just want to add in there, I think, you know, really important to say like neither re or I. advocates at making everyone veggie or vegan. It's all about getting the right balance for you and your health and your lifestyle. It's absolutely not anti-eating fish. I think for me, I just look at

things like this and think, is it necessary to get your omega-3 from there? You know, it's very different if you enjoy the taste and, you know, it's got lots of health benefits from eating fish. To me, that's really different. Whereas when I look at this, I'm like, oh, there's lots of complicated issues that arise from it. And we can just go straight to the alga. Why not? Well, also, the quality of your omega-3 supplements from fish are really questionable now because of the quality of fish. That's been in the headlines a lot recently that actually it can be quite bad for you.

We need to, let's bring that to the show very soon. I'm going to make a note of that. Okay, yeah, make a note of that. Yeah, Ella and I are not here to preach your diets. It's just I like informing. If I have an opportunity to give you extra knowledge on this podcast that helps you make different decisions, then I will absolutely do that. It's up to you what you want to do with that.

The next one we've got is from Jessica. Hi, I love the honesty. The honesty. There you go. She likes the honesty and evidence-based advice you give. I love this question. Are hummus or lentil crisps actually healthier than standard crisps? Should I still be choosing them regularly and are the better alternatives that still give that crunch?

Ella. Great question. I love this one. It's the ultimate like our quote unquote healthy snacks actually better for you. I think obviously, can we just start the question with? It depends the matrix, as you always say, I love that word of your diet. Like, what else do you eat? When, how much of the time are we eating these?

In what context is it happening? Like, for me, for example, I would say generally have a very healthy diet, generally get my five a day, generally get my 30 plants a week, not trying to be smug. But obviously it's my job. It would be quite ironic if I struggled with that. We love crisps as a family. Oh my God, you know, again, this is so bougie.

but you know those Torres truffle crisps that people are obsessed with. Okay, they do a vinegar version. I've never liked salt and vinegar. I'm afraid your claim is wasted on me. The Torres Vinegar Crisps are the best thing I've ever eaten. Do you cheese version? I'm cheese and onion. I don't like cheese and onion.

I'll have something about that. I always ate it. Oh my God, the worst growing up was the prawn cocktail. Oh, no, don't see. And the barbecue one. For me, I just can't bear that. I can't bear those. But I love the salt and vinegar.

Anyway, very bougie. But the Torres Finiger ones, they're so. So vinegary. Okay. And I love vinegar. Anyways, yeah. There we go. But I love those.

You can tell. I love those. She loves them. I really look forward to those. And so I don't particularly like the lentil crisp. I find them a little chalky. To me, they're kind of less good version of the real thing. And for me, like, I would rather enjoy crisps on a sassad with my family as part of an overall

healthy diet because there's still crisps at the end of the day. They're still fried. They're not a lentil. So I kind of think you should have what you enjoy when we're looking at balance. Now, if you struggle to ever eat lentils or chickpeas or things, it becomes a bit of a different story. But Ria is not sure if she agrees with that. I'm not sure because it depends on the ingredient list and deck. Like you said, these crisps compose as lentil crisps and actually contain very little lentil.

Yeah. And they're also, I mean, they're still deep-fried it. Yeah, and they're still mashed up and made, and perhaps may have more additives than just a. standard classic baked potato crisp. Yeah, because if you take your big brands... They have more fiber, the baked potatoes over the flaked ones. All of the big, not like super premium brands, but like a Tyrols or thing. A kettle crisp.

Exactly. And all your kind of... Yeah, kettle chips. Yeah, kettle chips. And then all the kind of supermarket brands, pretty much. They all have their like own label standard, ready salted kind of crisp or just like... They're not like a walker's crinkler. There's obviously loads of potato flakes crushed together.

They're not a actual crisp. Yeah. Normally the ingredients are literally potato oil, salt. I'm not saying they're like a health food. They are obviously deep fried and you don't want, you know, excess deep fried food in your life. But they're not filled with... Selling something they're not pretending to be. I have a problem with the deception.

I have an issue with that. So do I. And I just don't think there is yummy and they're still deep fried and they often have more additives in. So I don't know. I would personally be like as you're more kind of quote unquote like treaty type food, I feel you should have what you enjoy and what gives you that yum in my life. Yeah, go for it. And then

get your lentils into your salads. Yeah. Personally, that's my approach. And I agree with Rie. I think some of these things can be a little bit of a corn personally. Whereas I do like things like the roasted chickpeas or I love those posh bags of like roasted alamame beans and roasted chip peas and things in a bag.

Popcorn is, because popcorn's got lots of flybore. more fibre than crisps. Yeah, and it's not deep fried in the same way. For disclosure, I recently collaborated with popcorn brand, so I'm not just, popcorn was in my book, the fiber formula. Ella didn't. She just now has found her new love of popcorn. Thank you, Pratt, because Ella's now on the same page as us. But, popcorn. Yeah, the pink Pratt popcorn. Thank you. Oh my God. The sweet and salty. I know. It's my kid. 10 out 10. We love it. Did we answer that fairly? Yes or no, are they healthier? So do I think the crisps are healthier?

Lentil vert? No, I don't actually. I think crisps are crisps and you need to look at the label of the ingredients and I'm all about enjoy enjoyed items. Yeah, they probably have a smidge more fibre. But it's, again, you could get the smidge from also having a piece of fruit. If you're comparing fibre, go for fruit or popcorn over your crisp. But to be honest with you, I mean, yeah, if you love crisp, you love crisps.

I don't really know what else to add, Ella. I'm loving this. I'm absolutely loving this. And I would say, like nice crackers with hummus, if you're trying to get the fiber in or the kind of chickpeed lentil type ingredients, that would be better. Have hummus with crisps. Everyone's a winner. 100%. Okay.

Our next question is from Nour from Brussels. She said, hi, LR&B, your podcast is the highlight of my week. Someone told me air fryers are harmful, full of toxins and destroy nutrients in food. It sounded quite extreme. Is there any truth to this? Does sound quite extreme. I have seen quite a lot of this as well online. I totally understand why you feel concerned about it.

Now, I think the toxins normally talking about the centre of it, isn't it? And also, I don't know if all of you saw here in the UK, but I'm a celebrity recently, Gemma Collins came out and said something. Like, I feel, you know, I put my air for her, and I feel like the air has been sucked out of the room or something she said. And I do feel they're quite an alien object in your house. the science must be a bit bamboozling. Yeah, I don't have one.

I haven't jumped on the trend of it. Is this something people should be worried about? No, not at all. I just want to really reassure you, first of all. And I was one of the first ever air fry consumers at university well over a decade ago. I had a mooseve one in halls because I didn't want to share the kitchen. So I've had one in the corner of halls.

I don't have one today, though. And air fry is basically a small, very powerful convection ovens. I don't know if you remember it, science at school looking at how heat travels and goes around a room, almost like a radiator. If you put a radiator in the corner of the room and the heat rises, you know, to the top and then we'll go across the roof and go around the room. So it cooks by rapidly circulating hot air around it, which means you can achieve a crispy texture using far less oil than traditional deep fat frying. So I think air fries were really created to replace that deep fat frying component from kitchens, which is very beneficial. And nutritionally speaking, it's really good.

because it can help reduce overall added fats to foods. But in terms of nutrients and toxicity, that's false. All cooking methods to some degree alter the structural component of a cell because you're heating, boiling, roasting, grilling, microwaving, all denature enzymes. They all do something. But you still retain nutrients. It's only things like vitamin C that are a bit more susceptible or B vitamins. But most of us never have those deficiencies, particularly.

of vitamin C if you eat fruit and vegetables. So airfriand doesn't destroy nutrients. First of all, fact number one. It cooks in a much shorter time, which is a benefit. But the toxins. Now, these components are centered around a conversation on aclamides, which conform when starchy food like potatoes are cooked at very high temperatures. This is what I spent a long time writing about in the science of nutrition back in 2020. And I've got a diagram on how this works, but it isn't specific to air fries. It's when you overheat anything. You know, we talk about olive oil and it's smoke point or oil smoke points.

It's how much you can heat a food before it becomes essentially not good for you. And this is part of the barbecue conversation, isn't it as well? It's like heavily charring. Yeah. You don't want to eat heavily charred food often. I also saw people are using this metal devices in barbecues and they're flaking off and they're getting caught in the food. They've been like injuries of people. Anyway, that's another subject.

This is not remotely concerned. with this, but the most concern online is around the non-stick coatings and chemicals in pans. But you can get stainer steel ones. Yeah. And most modern air fries that are sold in the UK and Europe anyway must meet these strict safety regulations. So I would not be worried, but you don't want to be scratching and damaging non-stick surfaces. I would switch personally to a stainer steel like Ella and I spoke at the very beginning of the

podcast about the pans and how we've changed our kitchen. Yeah. Or you can get these ceramic coating ones, like the R-place ones, which do look quite trendy. We've got, we've got the, I've got all the Ard Place ones. Oh, have you got that? No, have you got the RPA? No. Oh, did they do an air fryer?

Yeah. Oh, wow. I don't have it either. No, I have space on my kitchen counter for another big. Meaning that I can't cope and another gadget. My kitchen A is big enough and that's like getting that out and lifting that onto the counter. They are so heavy. They're so heavy.

I just bought the pasta attachment for it. Did you? Yeah, I'm going to try to make pasta. I love, I love this. I'm excited. Why not? Apparently it's very quick and easy to make pasta, isn't it? I think it is.

It has to be. It's just flouring it. You just have to roll it through. I'll update you guys. Okay, let us know. Our final question today. Yes, go. Is coconut oil healthy?

I see it in so many healthy recipes. I'm reluctant to use it. This is a bit of a misnomer, I would say. This is 2015. Let's go again a decade later. We always need to remind us that was the same thing. Coconut oil was marketed, I think, massively in particular, to your point in 2015, is a health food. It was in so many things, energy board type products.

Also because, as people are moving to quite a lot of plant-based, focus. It is a very effective replacement for butter and it helps things stick together as well if you're not using eggs. So I think that's part of the reason as well it really took off. It's a kind of quite convenient ingredient when it comes to baking in particular. But it's not a health food. No, and you don't want to consume it in excess. And it's confusing as hell because everyone online is talking about MCT oils again. I remember when this first came around, they were adding them in shots and juice bars. They're called medium change. I cry glycerides, the type of fatty acid. and particularly lyric acid, which may have antimicrobial properties.

And also, that dates back to Araveda, actually, because of oil pulling with your teeth and all sorts of things. So, coconut oil has been in certain cultures for many, many years. But what we know from so much large, robust data is that the high amounts of, I mean, it's 85 to 90% saturated fat. It's got more saturated fat than most other items that you'd assume does so. It's got more than butter, significantly more than butter. So if you are someone that's looking after your heart health, it's not good to have this in excess at all. And we've got plenty of randomised control trials that state this actually.

So you want it in small amounts in your cooking. I still would go for olive oil, extra virgin olive oil any day. Controversial, seed oils don't have the same amount of saturated fat as coconut oil. Shouldn't be controversial to say there because it's true. But there we go. I know. But the British Heart Foundation and the World Health Organization are on my side here. I follow their advice there.

Still recommending mostly choosing unsaturated fats in that way, nuts, seeds, olive oils, over using coconut oils. So every now and again, in certain dishes, I think it has a great place. Even for skin, I remember sometimes it can be put on your skin. Oh, my God, it's such a good hair mask. Oh, is it actually? Does it work? Yes. Okay, there you go.

Another, maybe we could try some hair masks this week. because the smell, it's got a natural odour, hasn't it, coconut? But it's not suffocatingly awful. I agree. So there you go. Don't labour it at health food. It's just another cooking ingredient for your kitchen. Love it.

Any questions. Send us an email at hello at wellness-scoop.com. We love hearing from you. We're so grateful for you every single week. Have a fantastic day. Have a great week. Bye.