The Wellness Scoop - Beating Hangovers, Wellness Washing & The Chronic Disease Pandemic

Episode Date: December 8, 2025

This week we’re diving into the health stories you’ll actually want to know about as we head into December. We’re looking at how to beat a hangover and stay well through the festive chaos, from sleep dips to sugar overload. We unpack the rise of wellness washing, why so many “healthy” products are anything but, and how to spot the difference between real wellbeing and clever marketing. Our big story this week is the chronic disease pandemic. A major new Lancet review has brought global attention to the links between modern diets, ultra processed foods and long term illness, exposing the industry forces driving the trend and what the evidence really shows. We break down the key findings and share the simple, realistic habits that genuinely support long term health. Ella’s book tour events: https://www.bookbaruk.com/event-details/meet-ella-mills-exclusive-pre-publication-signing-and-meet-greet 50% off code for Quick Wins with Waterstones - ‘QUICKWINS50’ (enter the code at checkout) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Wellness Scoop, your weekly days of health and wellness inspiration. We love being here. And as always, we're here as your host. I'm Ella Mills. And I'm Rihanna Lambert. And after a decade in the wellness industry, we know that it's overwhelming and confusing. So that's why we've created this podcast to cut through all the noise and make healthier living, simple, fun and personal. Oh, we have a big one today, really. We've got so many different things. We've got a real like 360 tour of the world of health and wellness we are going to start with the real science of hangovers and practical ways to feel better in the festive season and on that some simple habits to help everyone stay feeling really good

over Christmas when sleep goes down alcohol sugar normally go up it's not a problem but we've got some good tips you guys wellness washing explained obsessed with this new term and cannot wait to dive into that the new global ultra-process food review from the lancet and what that means all the headlines around things like the pandemic of chronic diseases that's happened and fitness and health tracking apps and the hidden downside, some new research talking about how those may not be so good for our health after all. We're a few weeks away from Christmas, which is all a bit exciting. I'm sure you guys are feeling overwhelmed and super, super busy, so it's time of year it always is,

but hopefully fun as well. Rie, have you been? What are you up to? I'm really proud of myself because I've had a few personal challenges behind the scenes, but I've made it to the gym once a week, Ella. Well done. Yeah. That's basically all I have to contribute.

I feel again, like I am, do you know, that's actually a lie. I did buy another heated blanket on the Black Friday sales. And it's changed my life because I get into bed now and I kind of switch on my little cozy heated blanket. And then I've got that little massager thing I bought in lockdown that I've pulled out of the storage box. And I really look forward to it. It's added to my nighttime routine, Ella. Oh, this sounds amazing. It's like a little nighttime spa.

It's good, but it's keeping me up late. so actually I kind of need to start earlier to make all this kind of stuff work because I'm starting to look like what's the trend at the very beginning the morning shed? I'm like the evening load. Oh my gosh, I love that. I have started going to the gym.

I've been doing like a couple of half an hour sessions a week for the last month. I feel so good for it. Yeah, back into regular exercise and oh my goodness me, my mental health benefits so much. I mean, I feel like it's grave your muscles and I feel kind of looser, that's all so nice you don't feel like that tight feeling but for my mental well-being

well you need it because you're so busy now because you've got book tour events to share yes the book is quick wins healthy cooking for busy lives give it its full title it's about to come out so this is all just like easy fuss free cooking and there's eight weeks of meal plans in there as well not like a whole shebang where I'm trying to dictate every single thing you eat but I just think how much do we all hate the what's for dinner question that we either ask ourselves or someone asks us at the end of the day, just the mental load is high and that's not what we need. And so I just started earlier this year planning out my dinners for the week, doing a little batch cooking on the Sunday, getting in everything I need.

So then when I get home from work, I'm like, no, I know I'm making fancy butter beans, or I know I'm making this, like, zesty soup, or I know I'm making this obogeen ragu, and I have the ingredients, and I know what to do, and I don't have to think. So there's eight weeks of dinner plans with a couple of easy lunches in there as well. with shopping list gets your 30 plant points of course but that all comes out on the 18th of December but on the 16th of December in central London at book bar we will be doing a little festive Christmas signing will be so lovely and then in January I'm going to do four talks and Q&As and I'm going to come to one of them yes I hope so I'm going to be in London Edinburgh and Bath

as well so I'll put the link to tickets in the show notes but hopefully see you there and if you do want to get the book. It is 50% off on Waterstones. If you use the code, Quick Wins, 50. I'll put that in the show notes as well in Capitals. And on Amazon, currently still half price. So nice little Christmas present. Epic Quick Win 50. It's like the perfect one, isn't it? Honestly, Ella and Bath. I'm from Malchshire, Matown, Wiltshire, near Bath and I used to go every weekend. I love that city. Oh, it's so nice. It's one of the most beautiful cities. I know I'm very biased, but it's so gorgeous. It is. It's absolutely stunning. So yeah, it's all very exciting. There you go. So we move on. on now to our health headlines that matter.

Do you know what my mum forwarded me? Obviously, we were talking about colostrum the other day, and she gets emails from the economist, and the economist sent her an email with the title, should adults take colostrum? Yeah, isn't that interesting? After we'd said it. After we'd said it. We're trend setting in our own, as in like anti-trendtrent setting. But which is so interesting, it really shows this is going super mainstream, I think.

The weird dystopian world of white. Wellness. Right. What have we got in this week? Okay, this is something I'm so excited to talk about in a minute, which is wellness washing. But before that, I also saw on The Economist when I was on their website that they had a piece called How to Avoid a Hangover. And I just thought this is the season of merriment. But it's also the season of sometimes. I know this is like it is of excess and that's not a problem. But I thought actually we're so lucky to every in the building every week. We should just get reese. a nutritionist lowdown on how to, not like in a kind of pious way, but stay well over Christmas. So you still feel good about yourself and still feel good in yourself and enjoy the Christmas parties and the extra drinks and all the rest of it. So how do we beat the hangover and how do we stay well over the intensity of the next month and enjoy it? Well, it's good. And I have to say, I'm probably asked this question. I probably have been asked this question for the last 15 years every December and it rings true because I'm still asked is hair of the dog true do we just

keep on drinking through um do we no no I wish I could say it was true Ella I feel like I'm the bar humbug but I want to be helpful so you know a hangover isn't just about being dehydrated it is you know alcohol essentially when your body digests it it wants to get rid of it as soon as it possibly can which is why you know you can get disrupted sleep inflammation you don't want to have too much because you get a build-up of el Cetalide, which is not great for us as like a by-product, like that toxic aspect. Blood sugar swings, the electrolyte balance. And I think that's why you don't want to keep drinking at their own hair of the dog. The more you have, the worse that can get. So what you need to do, this is positive, is rehydrate strategically. That means don't just down

the water. You need to replace the electrolytes. So the type of drinks you choose, so if you're going for a cocktail go for one with coconut water i know you know it might have a few tiny minerals there some potassium something extra that can help or a squeeze of citrus if there's a lemon don't just have it sitting there on the side of your glass of water in between your drinks squeeze it in let's do what we can here to hydrate and be sensible but then the next morning it's like should we squeeze some lemon into a hot water for example there's no miracle the next morning but anything that gets you drinking water is good like anything that gets that hydration in And also just make sure you eat a meal.

That is not a myth. You know, they say line your stomach. It is actually really important because it does slow the absorption of the alcohol and keeps your blood sugar levels stable. And I think the worst combination, and I notice it now, I mean, I can't handle alcohol anymore. But, you know, when I have one drink on an empty stomach, wow, does it, you feel it hit you fast, don't you?

So that's definitely something to think about. The next day, like you mentioned, Ella, in the morning, you want to look after your gut health. You really, really want to be thinking, like, how can I help myself here? It is getting that good porridge bowl in the Ella talks about a lot with cheer seeds, getting a broth in, some scrambled eggs, whatever you can do. The nausea side effect, I mean, gosh, nausea is a tough one.

There's no worse feeling. Ginger and peppermint, those ancient old traditions. And actually it's having sips of water frequently rather than downing it that can help some people. Rest, don't do strenuous exercise. You know the whole, let's go sit in a sauna and sit. sweat it out. It just doesn't work that way. You end up becoming more dehydrated and then your electrolyte balance is way off. So I think that the ultimate advice is just try and be sensible of

your alcohol. What about hangover foods? I feel like a kind of fry up is your classic. People say that, don't they? But actually it can make it. Or cold pizza. Yeah, it can make it worse. But to be honest, it's what people then end up craving. There's a lot of research that shows that when your body isn't regulated and balanced well from the alcohol, you end up making different choices. Really interestingly leaning towards things that hit dopamine responses and a lot of that and the choices we make is to do with a feel good pick me up because we're depressed because alcohol is also a depressant and the stimulant side of things so we end up going for those foods whereas you actually just want to eat normally I love that okay so enjoy yourself but then the next morning finish

earlier if they can finish earlier like if you stop drinking like an hour earlier than you normally would even that helps I love that and then the next morning try and resist the urge to either go on like a really tough run or kind of slightly beat yourself up in that way. And equally on the other extreme, the fry-ups, the like greasy spoon situation. Just go from mindful walk if you want to feel good. Yeah, and drink loads of water, coconut water if you can, lots of lemon and something nourishing and cozy and delicious. Balanced with B vitamins, what you normally would eat, balanced.

And why the B vitamins are good for hanging out. B vitamins are really important because you essentially, when you drink alcohol, you lose a lot of nourishment, water-soluble vitamins that come out in your urine because you start weeing more. You know, the frequent urination that comes, everyone goes to the toilet. And the first vitamins, we tend to lose a vitamin C, B vitamins, particularly. But that's really important to replenish in the morning. So that's the little tip there as well. And those are quite easy because you're thinking like eggs, whole grains, pulses, leafy greens, fortified cereals, like those whole grains. So quite easy one to focus on. Bingo. And then top tips staying well is look after the gut

health fellow, I think for me. But also, pick your alcohol wisely. So there is research that suggests that some alcohols hit your body in different ways and some contribute to headaches more than others. But I'll go into that another time. Basically... Oh, no, you can't say that. That's such a spoiler. You can't leave us all hanging that.

Okay, right. There is quite a lot on this. Okay, are you guys ready? First of all, don't forget your fart walks after you roast dinner at Christmas Day. Yeah, for a little digestion help. That Christmas walk, it's really helpful. Okay, you ready for the alcohols that may cause bigger headaches?

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, I want to know. Whiskey, brandy. dark rum so those cocktails and red wine ella it's a classic doesn't everyone love their mold wine and red wine although mold wine the way it's brewed you can evaporate a lot with the heat so it's like if you're having a cold glass of red wine now the lower likely the risk goes down with headaches when you have so tequila white rum gin vodka is the absolute lower so you know the safe option that i think diet culture used to spin the whole vodka lima soda yeah vodka soda exactly

But they are really good if you want to avoid hangover headaches. And white wine is better than red wine. And the reason why with clear spirits is because of the histamines and tannins in wine, they trigger headaches. And there is a difference in wine quality. But when you're out at bar, you're unlikely to ask how your wine is produced and where it's made and all that sort of thing. And then the drinks, sugar and cocktails. I mean, I love cocktails. Oh, I love a margarita.

A spice moat. I'm so basic. You go for the chili ones. My husband loves those. like extra spicy i've got to the point where i'm like no i mean like extra spicy like i want it to like burn my mouth oh my god i love it with loads of soul on the road you'll get a bigger hangover with that i know i know i'm such a like it's so funny i'm so basic i like don't drink but then i just love that so much that you i'll have like three in a row it's and feel absolutely horrendous

do you know what i mean i'm on a par with you with more of a peanut collard a dacaree or i but i do love a basic glass of Prosecco or champagne. So it's not always about sulfites. And I think they've been in the press, haven't they? So often people blame sulfites. But more research shows that sulfites trigger asthma more than headaches. And histamines are the bigger factor for headaches. So there you go. There's your headache roundup of alcohol. I love that. And if people wanted one thing to remember throughout the next month, when you're eating more, drinking more, what is your like number one gentle nutrition reminder

that alcohol's not good for you no no I feel like this was hopefully I've realised that by now no but in the season where you're like eating lots of mince pies and quality streets and alcohol and it's really easy to then feel

well I've really looked after myself this year and now it's all gone out of the window and then that's what creates I think this kind of insanity of January of people think like I've got to change everything if there's one little not rule but kind of habit you would keep up in amongst all the

fun and enjoyment what would it be i have to say it it's fiber fiber and water they work hand in hand together like psychology and nutrition do fiber and hydration are your new pair festive fun can definitely still be fun with additional fiber in your diet because it helps keep your gut regular that will reduce a lot of the symptoms you get from these poor diet habits we have around christmas guts are sluggish this time of year and when i mean digestion slows we just don't eat well and we do not help our gut bugs, which in turn have a knock-on effect on our mood, our well-being, our immune system, you're more likely to get sick. We have to nourish those gut bugs with fibre. So think of your roast dinner as being a way to max out on it, that trend, you know, fibre-maxing

or bean-talking or whatever it is. I love that. And I think also I would say as well, well, it's so busy. It's like this is the moment to do your like Sunday night batch cook, for example, and then go out every night or whatever your plans are and enjoy everything. But then have that batch cook for lunch. You know, when you're at your desk and you're working, why not to have a big, like, cozy bean chili or some, like, really nice minestroney or whatever it is? That's your moment. Get that fiber in. Yes.

And keep up those little habits and then enjoy everything else. It's not about saying, like, we must be super pious, like absolutely not. And you can have the red wine. Totally. Just because I've given that list. Also, I felt quite uncomfortable. So just so you know, I'm not advocating that everyone should go out and just drink off my low headache list. No, but it's helpful to know.

And then it's helpful as I said to know. And I think that was that point, like, let's find a balance that helps us feel good, where we join in the fun and all the rest of it. But then the next morning, we're like, no, we're going to make a lovely porridge. I do do this. I had the mum's night out the other night. I wore a Christmas dress for the first time. You looked amazing. I saw on Instagram.

I did share it because I dress up once a year and that is basically me done for the whole year. Thanks, Ella. I was basically Mrs. Claus for an evening. And I do follow my own advice with cocktails. I do do that. I have the one welcome drink and then I'm on water in between. and then I might switch to a vodka or bubbly. I never tend to have like three or four of the same cocktail in a row

because I know this stuff. And then I always do feel a bit better than my husband the next day. So you can cheat the system. I'm not saying it's good for my health, but you can cheat. I love that. Well, it's helpful. Okay. Headline number two, we are looking at wellness washing,

which I hadn't heard about before. Have you heard of this time? I've heard of a lot of washing, Ella. Yeah, green washing and things. Me neither. So I read this piece, it was in The Independent, and it was written by their wellness editor, Amelia, Lavinia, and I just thought it was really interesting, which is basically she was saying how she's really surprised we're not using this term more, given how much we're using things like greenwashing, you know, for corporations and or people who are kind of making all sorts of big claims about health and about sustainability when in reality, you know, X mounts going into landfill, for example. But I think it's really interesting. And I just wanted to read it. few quotes from it and then we'll go into it more. But basically what she said is essentially many of us are prioritising halls of cheaply made plastic items instead of actually improving our health

outcomes. We don't really need to be sleep maxing or doing the morning shed to be healthy. And then she went on to write about how wellness influences just completely dominate our social feeds and encourage us as we were saying to take part in these like performative trends like a morning shed like sleep maxing instead of actually learning how to take better care of ourselves. And at the same time, companies who are using these influencers paying them are getting away with flooding the market with useless items that allow us to co-splay as well, which is kind of like make it look like we're healthy. These are all quotes from her. And she went on to talk about how wellness is this, quote, vast slippery concept because it basically refers to your own

personal yardstick of feeling physically, mentally and spiritually well. And that looks different for everyone. Wellness encompasses Pilates, influences in Lulu Lemon Leggings, sipping matchalates, neuroscientists publishing research or meditation, biohacking bros, tracking their sleep scores, menopausal cold water swimmers seeking relief from symptoms and brand founders building products to meet their own specific health needs. And that breadth plus the lack of defining credentials is exactly what makes it right for exploitation.

Can I just add before you continue on it, that China recently, and I think we were going to put in, we haven't had time, have said that only people of qualifications can discuss nutrition and health tips on their social media platforms. been put into China. What she's saying here is so, so valid. Why can't wellness be like we're saying, just add in nuts, beans, pulses? Exactly. And she's basically saying, like, wellness washing is essentially like brands, using misleading marketing to make you believe a product

or service is good for you when it's probably neutral at best, harmful at worst, or entirely unrelated to health. And companies are now putting kind of wellness into anything and everything. Like, do you see it sometimes? I saw an advert for a cleaning product the other day that was just comical. It's like a kitchen spray that said contains one plant-based ingredient I remember herbal essences did a gluten-free shampoo. What? Oh yeah, this was a little while ago. See, I can see that. I am into my non-toxic

products. I know but one plant-based ingredient is wellness washing. That doesn't make it non-toxic. You're right. It could be anything. Of how many? A fragrant fresh mint leaf. Yeah, like 0.0.0.1% fresh mint. Oh, Ella. But it basically, it's like we're going to do a lot of repackaging of basic goods as wellness essentials or like creating kind of quite cheap imitation

products that can exploit workers, the planet. And like ultimately, I think it's like the chewing gum, the vitamin-enrich chewing gum. A hundred percent. All these supplements we're getting people talking about. We've got loads of it in Thursday's Q&A episode of this like essentially it's just like it's really preying on the fact that we're overwhelmed, overstimulated, struggling with our health habits. And as a result, we're constantly being told, well, you've got to buy this and you've just need this and you must have this in your cupboard. And essentially, if you're not wearing the right kit and doing your match a latte and taking this supplement and having this like X amount subscription to greens, then you're not really doing wellness. And what we know is that all the

research isn't about that. The research is about 20 minute walks. The research is about Mediterranean plant rich diet. The research is about chatting with your friend and then getting a decent sleep. Like it's actually not in any of these items. But the world we live in kind of makes us feel that and there is a lot of wellness washing and I think people probably need to be called out on it a lot lot more. But this is the wellness scoop. This is why we're here. This is the exact reason we exist because it's just wellness washing. I know. So maybe we need to like define our mission using this term because I thought it was so good. And she talked a lot as well about the psychology that makes us really vulnerable to it like that kind of authority bias when brands start using

sort of medical style branding or terminology and confirmation bias when we just want a product to work because we want a fix for our skin or for our sleep and so we just want to know what it's i mean eyes or something on instagram when i was on the train this morning and it was someone being like this three things have transformed my skin and it was just three affiliate links after another and maybe they have but the problem is it's now impossible to know that's also a black friday sell out at the time we're recording this like these three things help my skin here are my links yeah and there's just so many gray areas and what i liked is how she said which i think is so we talk about a lot but i think it's an important

point is that we're made to believe we need these things and they're probably neutral at best, which is I think what so many things we're asked about are. It's like it's expensive, it's probably not harmful, but it's not going to have the benefits you want it to and it's not worth it, harmful at worth or entirely unrelated to your health. Just so many of these things will do nothing. Yeah, now it's become, because of the rise of social media and the way we market products and the budgets that are going towards influencers or different types of spends, like we said, There's no regulation here. There is this no regulation.

In the skincare industry, there's no regular, not enough regulation online. For doctors, there's not enough regulation. For nutrition professionals, there's definitely nowhere near enough regulation. It's interesting because I've been asked to and I'll give feedback on it next week, but I'm filming for ITV tonight this week. So cool. I'm doing a big slips that in in this, like, such nonchillon way. I totally forgot.

What's it on? Wellness. And the first question is, I remember I looked at the brief this morning on the train because I'm trying to memorize things. What does wellness mean to you? So maybe I'll try and slip in a bit about wellness washing. What does wellness mean to you, really?

Wellness to me simply means trying to live healthily to a ripe old age. It means just trying to embrace your social life and your nutrition and health. It's all of it, isn't it? It's a 360 degree picture. But sadly, what wellness means in society is wellness washing now. I think exactly what you've just said. And it's giving me good food for thought that I'll try and slip in.

because this program's going to air I think end of December or for the New Year New Me phase which we know is coming but I'm really blessed to have this big segment on there and I'm really hoping I can get some good stuff across and we have to tell us all when it is so we continue and watch it.

I will let you know and this is really giving me food for thought anyone listening let us know what wellness washing you see let us know and how you see it because as I said I'm not just like shouting everyone or criticising or trying to be on a soapbox but I just thought it was a really nice way of calling out the irony and the kind of ridiculous nature of the industry at this point where we're just overwhelmed by now needing to buy more stuff to be well when we're failing collectively.

I don't mean individually, but failing at the basics. Like if we can't get our five a day, like why do we need some more gadgets and gizmos? And we don't need a green powder to do it either. That's not going to fix the problem. Saute some leaks. So it kind of sauteing. I really like some leaves. Do you know what?

I made leaks butternut squash and I put some very. veggie sausages in because the kids really want sausages at the moment, which is really interesting. You know, this time of year and I thought, right, I'm going to put those in a tray. Absolutely blam and delicious. I love leaks that have, like, been roasted in olive oil or sauteed in a pan. Me too. I thought I had nothing left in the fridge, and so I made this kind of very simple soup last night, but I had loads of chilies left. And I had some chilots and garlic.

So I sorted, yeah, shallots and garlics, leak, and my chilies, which turned out to be like, spicy. You are loving the spice. Guys, we've gone from spicy margaritas to spicy. You know when just sometimes the packet's like way beyond what it normally is? I'm very impressed it because I cannot handle spice like you. And just a big jar of harriet beans with the stock of the jar. And I just simmered them down for ages. I had a little bit of chimmy churry left for something else, did it a tiny bit of that.

It was so simple, lots of lemon at the end. But it was this like brothy beans, a little bit of chimmy chummy on the top. So simple. So delicious. The leaks added lots of depth. all I'm saying, I'm joking about the leaks, but like, that is actually wellness. And we like sat down, we had nice conversation. It was very peaceful.

That is wellness. Yeah, we had so many plans. Play ania. Have you played enya yet? No, I need to do that. I'm very much on the like, now that's what we call Christmas throwbags. Yeah. Oh, no, I've also got, yeah, the Christmas music, the first of December hits.

I'm like, Christmas songs. Headline three, which actually leads on. nicely from wellness washing and it is the ultra-processed food evidence the three papers that came out by the Lancet. I have to say when I was doing this and looking at the brief last week, I did actually just feel like hitting my head against the wall. Like just not to kind of be really debby down. Don't we do that every week? No, but I felt it even more. Sometimes I feel like, yes, I'm going to change the world. We just need to get Britain cooking again. I'm going to inspire people. This is great. and it's such like a career motivation.

But you are, Ella, don't be too demoralized. You're so sweet. Sometimes I'm like literally what is the point. Because the whole absurdity of highlighting wellness washing and the like size of the wellness industry and the trillion dollars that are being spent on kind of nonsense. Not always nonsense, but kind of often nonsense. When we struggle so much to, yeah, one in 10 teenagers,

manage to get their five a day, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. But it's also the issue we discussed last week where women go in the workforce, UPF food comes in, who's doing the cooking at home, I know. Both people aren't contributing in the same way they're used to and then things to slide. And so suddenly it's like we, the scale of the UPFs is so concerning. We're going to get into it now. I mean, it's absolutely devastating. So worrying. The trajectory we're on is so awful. No one seems to want to make any changes from a governmental level, which is so negligent for wants of a better word. And then at the same time, people are being peer pressured into spending absurd amounts of money and a cost of living crisis on things that they don't need while we can't cook our leaves. Oh, it makes me angry.

Oh, and I just, yeah, anyway, let's get into it. It's not fair on people. I just want to say, like, in amongst all of this, like, I ultimately think, it's funny, I was talking to my husband last week about this a lot. I was like, I'm not trying to be overly basic. I'm not trying to be reductive in the scale of the challenge here, but fundamentally, for the vast majority of people, the answer is actually so simple. We just need to cook from scratch more.

And it's how do we find joy in, like, making a 10-minute meal? not complicated cooking but how do we find a bit of enjoy a bit of enjoyment in making a 10 15 minute meal at the end of the day and remembering that that simple cooking is brilliant it doesn't need to be like four hour it stuff it's not really complicated it's a handful of ingredients coming together but it needs the help of government because the infrastructure for parents working parents it just isn't there it's terrible anyway let's get into this yes let's do it basically what happened i'm sure all of you guys saw a plethora of headlines about UPFs over the last few weeks. But they were quite big, like, UPS are going to kill you again, which were quite big headlines. UPFs, of course, a pandemic of chronic diseases. I think that word pandemic now creates a shudder effect, doesn't it? Oh, my goodness, never again. Anyways, so essentially what happened was a team of international experts published this global

review of research into ultra-processed foods at the end of November, and that's what triggered this wave of headlines, because what happened. into the Lancer, which is obviously one of the most preeminent medical journals, and it wasn't a single study. It was the largest synthesis we've ever seen. So we've got 43 global researchers analyzing 104 long-term studies on the impact. So they're trying to map out this total impact looking at over 100 studies of UPFs, looking at chronic disease, organ function, mortality rates, the food systems, global policies. And that's why there were so many headlines is because it wasn't just one new study.

No, we had three huge papers they presented. Exactly, looking at over 100 studies. So there was just this enormous amount of information that came out. And the conclusions were, I mean, Stark is a nice way of putting it. It is just unbelievable because, you know, I think it's the problem that we've discussed that UPFs do displace fresh foods, you know, and home-cooked meals. Like you've just said worldwide, though, and that the company is responsible. Well, of course they do.

They just put profit above all else. but that is incentivised by the different government systems in every country that takes the money from them. And the Prophet Anguela, I know that you understand more than anyone, is so important because the Lancet series went deep into the economics behind UPFs. And what I found really shocking being sat there as a health professional was the fact that alongside the main review of all the health outcomes, you know, the links to obviously all the comorbidities of obesity for start-offs, you know, of heart disease, diabetes, you know, all of it. And the main review found that more than 50% of the $2.9 trillion paid to shareholders by food corporations, and that was between the years of 1962 and 2021, came from UPF manufacturers alone. So essentially, over $1.4 trillion in shareholder payouts are from product scientists now say harm every organ in your body. And that's the marketing spend.

They're the people that have the budget and the money. And for me, as a health professional, I was sat there that night thinking all of the, well, the majority of nutrition courses or places when you graduate from university are with these companies. Nestle, Glaxo, all these huge companies. Some do really good research. I'll give it to Donon. I love their research angle, the biom lab they have, all of it. But some of them just are not contributing or doing enough. There were really, really damning quotes from the various different authors of the.

papers that were published in the answer. Can you read them out? Yeah so for example one of the co-authors Barry Poppin said companies can double or triple their profits by turning corn, wheat, beans and other whole foods into colourless, flavourless sawdust, which is then reconstructed with artificial flavourings and additives. The food industry doesn't want to lose their cash cow so they're willing to put millions into fighting government restrictions on ultra-processed foods as well as funding nutritionists who'll say there's no evidence or harm. And then what you actually see was in response to this Lancet paper, which this is the bit when I was like, what black mirror world do we live in? So you've got this huge academic consensus, right? We're not talking about

one study, as we've said. We're looking about over 100 studies, nearly 50 researchers from around the world, all sorts of different institutions they come from. And then the International Food and Beverage Alliance, whose members include like Coca-Cola, Ferreiro, General Mills, Kellogg's, Mars, McDonald's, Montalys, Nestle, PepsiCo, told CNN that health authorities, worldwide have rejected the concept of UPS due to a lack of scientific consensus. And what's so interesting is whenever I post about, obviously, I wrote the unprocessed play, I do feel passionate about this product. But for me, Anella knows this, as a registered nutritionist speaking out, gosh, do I get

some negative backlash comments when I speak about it from other nutritionists and dietitians and health professionals, lecturers at universities, I've had them comment under my LinkedIn posts saying that, oh, I'm just now profiting of telling people not to eat as many UPFs or bacon. I'm like, no, I'm not earning a penny from saying that. Thank you very much. But they are so indoctrinated to use this. There's no evidence of harm. And of course, we don't want to fear monger, but we have to say the facts. But we do now have evidence of harm. And as we said, it's not fear mongering. The harm is not one mile's bar. Like the harm is the harm is the majority of the diet, not eating whole foods. Exactly. Where over 50% of calories now in this

country are coming from ultra-process foods on average. That is the harm, everybody. That is the harm. It's not that the foods themselves individually are toxic to us. It's that they are the, they're just everybody's diets are made up at them. Albeit there are some ingredients in there that aren't great for us. Emulsifiers. Particularly. But basically the review found as a highlight that UPFs are linked to a greater risk of at least 12 major health conditions including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, several different cancers, depression and dying early from any cause. And across the total data set, so 92 of the 104 studies, they showed a direct association between higher

UPF intake and significantly worse health outcomes. And that was one of the kind of big things was that UPFs were then on the back of this kind of officially being said to cause harm in nearly every major organ, heart, lungs, liver, kidney, gut and brain. With exception of things like baby formula and baked beans, like they acknowledged in category four of ultra-processed foods that some of these items are not you can't classify them in the same way but what ella's just said categorically is true and as human beings we're designed to eat whole foods and the problem is we are just eating manipulated industrialized foods yeah i mean i tell you what i have been around a lot of factories and i have seen the grace love you told me yeah and oh my gosh you wouldn't eat

it if you saw it like that it's so foul it's kind of yeah like just buckets of gray sludge that waiting to be coloured. I mean, it's just not the food anyway. That's like every McDonald's then I guess or every like Burger King. So it's just this interesting thing where I mean I eat some UPF's food like I really like I really like some sweets and I'm not

you know all the rest of it but like so it's not saying and I really don't want anyone to take from this that either of us are saying oh my gosh if you never eat a sweetie ever again like never eat X ever again we all do we all will that's the world that we live in it's very difficult to say I will never ever do that and I don't think

necessarily for most people the right choice but and eating on the go Ella totally so hard that everything you buy has extra ingredients although I will say when I went into the M&S at Malabone clean decks lots of clean decks you know M&S are doing a phenomenal job with it reducing of all of those extra unnecessary ingredients and we are doing a review of the best UPF free dark chocolate on Thursday guys tune-ins you know what to get for Christmas but I do just think it is this really important thing where for years and years and years and you just said it really like and I remember my goodness me I've had a lot of criticism for saying we really shouldn't eat too much of this food.

Like, we really need to eat more whole food. I got trolled so badly. I gave a corporate talk. Did I share this at the beginning of the year by another registered nutritionist for saying to the guys that drive lorries for stobarts? I just said, you've got to cut back on the processed sandwiches and stuff in the middle of the day.

And I tried to give them other options. And then I got trolled massively. This was before the pandemic. Yeah. No, I mean, we all have. I mean, I was told I was like literally like the devil really incarnated for trying to get people to shift their diets many a time. And I think it is this thing that we have to be honest about the fact that, I mean, to say that these foods

are linked to harm in every human organ. Childhood obesity, look at the rates. We have to acknowledge down. And Dr. Chris Van Tullochin has said that the last 30 years have shown that we can change the ingredients, but it doesn't change the health outcomes. And childhood obesity and chronic diseases have risen in parallel with reformulation. Yeah, that was one thing I wanted to just call out at the end of this because one of my big frustrations is this like I see it for example with the high fat sugar salt high protein as well as a new thing regulation which is that what people have done is they've just reformulated and taken out some sugar and added in some more flavorings like it doesn't make it a healthy product it's just one problem swap for another and Chris van Tilicon was very clear on that like

the sugar tax making things lower sugar well the sugars are generally replaced with artificial ingredient. And this is what Joe Wicks was trying to prove by his campaign. It was, but it was taken the wrong way and out of context and the way it was done. But look at the backlash he got for trying to do something. Yeah, for sure. And what he was showing is that you can formulate something that is low sugar, that is high protein. Yeah. Has all those vitamins and minerals fortified. Totally. And takes all these boxes. So technically, one would argue, oh, it's so healthy, but it's not a killer. But it is like an example what he's trying to do. Anyway, so I think this kind of constant push that we have had as the only intervention, basically, from governments to

reformulate. I just don't, ultimately, it's almost making things more UPF filled. I do feel sometimes a bit alone in my nutrition and dietetic industry. I know I've got other health professionals that stand with me, but it's a very difficult place to put yourself in. But food is so emotive. I'm sure people are listening to this feeling really annoyed with us. Let us know what you think. You know, either really deeply passionate and evangelical in the way that we probably are a little bit, We're probably quite annoyed with us because they don't want to hear it because it's so difficult. Because they've got no choice, Ella. This is what frustrates me is that I know what it's like.

I don't have time to cook whole food meals every day of the week. Like I don't. Sometimes life stuff happens and you're down and you don't have the time. And then the government, the infrastructure society does not support us to eat well. But also I think if you walk into a shop, right, like I'm talking about like major retail or high street chains here. And it's, oh, you know, take a service station as the kind of worst slash best example of this. Like pretty much every single thing

available on a service station is UPF essentially. There's some Leon's now. Yeah, and there's, you know, a little bit of hummus sometimes in the corner. But like generally speaking, like it's a pretty UPF rich environment. It's very hard to believe, I think, as a citizen. You go to France. Let's use that as an example. You do not get that.

It's very different. But what I was going to say is like, if these foods were so bad for us, why are they everywhere? Surely they can't be so bad for us if they're allowed to be sold everywhere and I think to me that's one of the things that's really challenging. They're pushing for the health warnings on packets

that's part of this Lancet conversation and the outcome at the end was them all saying we think warnings on packets need to change and we do need a different scale but like you said until the government's open to that. Totally but I just can see it from a consumer's perspective it's like if this stuff was so bad it wouldn't be allowed to be sold

but actually turns out that's just not true Oh, everybody. We're not saying we have all the answers here. We're just trying to discuss it objectively. And I know it's hard. I know it's not easy. But it's just very frustrating when there's wellness washing. There's trillions of dollars in this UPF industry. It does seem very deep. It does. And I mean, the level of concern, like, you know, to be linked to more than 12 serious health conditions, like it's so worrying. And I do think we've got to talk about it because I do think we've got to become more. aware of it to help us like just gently shift it so it's not over 50% it's under 50% of our calories and you know headlines are alarming but the solution if we can do it and find those 10 minutes or batch cook moments just focus on more minimally processed foods focus on wellness scoop we are here to help you have small tips every day and things we can make a leak soup I think it moves us onto our trend as well this week, which is a different type again. So we've discussed UPS, we've discussed the wellness washing term in general, and fitness trackers. I would also

say, Ella, we've discussed them a fair few times before, but the times ran a really fascinating piece looking at the darker side of them again and how they can be toxic. Yeah, this was a really interesting one actually about how fitness apps can affect your health and they're not as good as you think. So there was some new research that came out, again, showing the scarce industry. It's Enormous global downloads of diet and fitness apps hit 3.6 billion last year. Wow. Yeah. UK markets expected to be worth nearly $1 billion by 2030.

These are companies like that whoop one and things. Yeah, well, like My Fitness Power and things like that. So they're not niche tools. Like they're shaping how millions and millions of people eat, exercise, sleep. But there was some new research that came out in the British Journal of Health Psychology, which analyzed nearly 6,000 social media posts, about five of the most popular apps. So that included... $60,000, not just six.

Oh, sorry. $60,000. Wow. 60,000. And this was from a behavioral science researcher at UCL. And what it showed, so it was looking at five the most popular apps and posts about them. So it was included My Fitness pal, Strava, the running one, and WW, which we know is the rebranded Weight Watchers. And they used various different AI models to analyze this and her team pulled out just under 14,000 posts that expressed negative emotions.

And there were some really common themes where users were talking about irritation with, the constant nudges and calorie logging reminders, stress about red flag notifications that created shame and self-loathing when they were then, you know, getting those red flags or logging, quote-unquote, unhealthy foods. Disappointment when progress didn't match algorithm-generated targets and anxiety about rigid goals that they couldn't sustain in their lifestyles. It's huge and it echoes another major review that was actually published earlier this year by researchers over in Australia, which pulled together 38 studies and found growing,

concerns with obsessive behaviors. And I think we've always said this when it comes to disorder eating patterns. And it's one of the big things that, you know, my eating disorder team in the Retrition Clinic have always flagged. And that is that whenever we look at numbers, calories, trackers, anything that requires human attention to actively log and track, we can become very disordered in the way that we turn to them. And we can't control other areas of our life. So it can impact menstrual cycles, you know, hormones, stress, sleep, things that these apps don't take into account or understand enough about someone's lived experience in their past history. And before you know it, they can become the opposite of long-term sustainable

health. So I think if anyone's got a tracker, essentially, you know what's best for you. It can reap really good rewards for some people and be really motivating and such a good, you know, way of going into the future with how to look after your health. But for others, if it's remotely detrimental, I think we really need to address that. I couldn't agree more. And I think I want to end this episode on a positive, not negative, because I feel like we went from wellness washing to the disaster that's UPFs to please don't get obsessive. It was a big episode.

We knew that going through those three papers, it's the first time in history. This is actually quite a historical moment because it's brand new scientific papers about our entire food industry. It is, and I think my positive is that's try and create more community, more empowerment, more inspiration to support each other

because we know our little day-to-day habits matter. We know that genuinely, like, increasing our health span and our general well-being, it's going to be done because everyone's got lots going on in simple, incremental steps. And that's what we're here for, but that's what we need to support each other with. I think our community is really important. I think the positive, you know, the encouragement.

I look at the way you reply to each other under the Spotify reviews as well, the interaction. I think we are so blessed Ella to have such a lovely, we all just want to do small changes, positive community, things that we can pull and hold on to, because change is difficult and when there's a political change or such a huge health-related message like this that does require change in the infrastructure we live in, and we don't know how many years that's going to take, it can feel very overwhelming. Yeah, so maybe with some friends or colleagues, maybe it's something we can look at for next year, have a little group and just, you know, that's inspiring. each other like what recipe you're going to make for supper what are you going to batch cook this week maybe my leak soup i joke but like what's the little thing or like you know go for a walk at lunchtime and call a friend and have a little chat go for my alcohol scale that's one positive twist on a

depressing subject but there are so many things we can do and it's easy to be bombarded to switch off your phone put a podcast in your ears like the wellness scoop go for a walk you don't need to look at these apps and feel overwhelmed if your tracker's not causing you positive vibes let's say goodbye. Yeah, I totally agree. So on that note, goodbye. We will see you on Thursday. Come back for a chocolate review. We can't wait to see you then.