The Wellness Scoop - Blood Sugar Spikes, Magnesium & Eating Well on a Budget

Episode Date: February 5, 2026

This week on The Wellness Scoop, we’re answering your questions on eating well in real life, especially when routines are disrupted, budgets are stretched and online wellness advice starts to feel overwhelming. We talk about healthy eating around shift work, whether fruit on its own really causes harmful blood sugar spikes, and how to avoid a whole food approach tipping into restriction or food anxiety. We also unpack the surge in protein-focused TV shows and “nutrient-dense” supermarket ranges, and what’s genuinely useful versus clever marketing. There’s practical guidance on fibre too, including how to lower intake temporarily when advised, and how to reintroduce it without gut discomfort. We answer a brilliant question on magnesium and sleep, cutting through supplement hype to look at what the evidence says and whether food can meet your needs. Finally, we explore smart supermarket shopping, whether budget and premium stores differ nutritionally, what’s worth spending more on, and where you can save without compromising health. Along the way, we share listener tips on affordable swaps and low-tox home choices. Send your questions for our weekly Q&A to [e-mail]. Recommendations:  Books: The Housemaid and Heart the Lover Podcast: The Rest is Entertainment Brooklyn Beckham’s Explosive Statement Tea: Dragonfly Rooibos Vanilla Tea Order your copy of Ella's new book: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Quick Wins: Healthy Cooking for Busy Lives⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Pre-order your copy of Rhi's upcoming book: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Fibre Formula⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With Amex Platinum, $400 in annual credits for travel and dining means you not only satisfy your travel bug, but your taste buds too. That's the powerful backing of Amex. Conditions apply. Investing is all about the future. So what do you think is going to happen? Bitcoin is sort of inevitable at this point. I think it would come down to precious metals. I hope we don't go cashless. I would say land is a safe investment. Technology companies, solar energy.

Robotic pollinators might be a thing. A wrestler to face a robot, that will have to happen. So whatever you think is going to happen in the future, you can invest in it at WealthSimple. Start now at WealthSimple.com. Welcome to The Wellness Scoop. You're now twice-weekly dose of health and wellness inspiration, and we are always here as your host. Good morning. I'm Ella Mills.

And I'm Reanna Labuton. And we're here today with all the wonderful questions and recommendations from you all. We can't wait. I have to say, I love how many recommendations you guys are sharing with us. Just a reminder, we have our very fancy new email address. Hello at Wellness-Scoop.com. Loving hearing from you guys. But really appreciate not just the questions, but recommendations for the community as well,

because we've got some good ones today. Same. Really good. So Ella, what are your updates first of all? I need them. Okay. I've got a few different recommendations to you this week. just read, I'll share more about it soon, the book Heart the Lover. Unbelievable. Read it in a day.

So recommend. I have to say I meant to start it before Christmas, but then my older daughter was sick. The whole Christmas night and said I binge to watch five seasons of Poldark, which, you know, I would say I also recommend. Would I get into Heart the Lover? Because I need book recommendations. Now I've started reading again, finally. It's taken me years to get to this point. It's fab. I'll bring it in for you. It is so, so good. It's actually. actually someone described it to me as like literary rom-com, which I would say it sort of is as in like it's very well written and it's by a brilliant writer. But it's also, it's not a rom-com, but it's like it's romantic.

It's a story of like love and humanity. And so it's an easy read, but it's very, very well written. Which is the opposite, I think. So I read The House Made also in 24 hours. Have you read that? No, but it's on my list. Should I bring it in? We'll do a swap.

Because it wasn't particularly. I watched the movie as well. Yeah. I'm going to go this week. Is it scary? So I thought it was a rom-com because I started reading the book and I just saw the eye in the keyhole and I was like, oh, she's just watching this couple living in their house. I had no idea. I have no idea what it's about.

It's a thriller. It's a thriller. Okay. I'll let you go ahead. I'm not going to say anymore. So am I. But if I managed to read it, I did convert from reading it. I read it in 24 hours as well in bed one night.

to being on the train the next day. Okay. There you go. I'll leave you with that. Oh, she's mysterious. My friend, Dinny was like, you have to get this book, so I got it. And yeah. I've just started reading yesterday, the wedding people.

Yeah, I saw it everywhere. I was like, oh, we really want to read that. And they sat next to a girl on the train who was reading it last Monday coming in. And I thought, yeah, that's got to be my next. Anyway, I'm about a third of the way through and loving it. My other recommendation for you guys today, we will not dive in and share our thoughts on the topic. anything today. But obviously there's been a lot in the news about the Beckham's and Brooklyn Beckham. You know I love the podcast, The Rest of Entertainment. It's so, so good if you do

listen to it. I really recommend it. But Marina Hyde, who's one of the two co-hosted, a solo kind of emergency episode on this, because it's the sister show of the rest of politics, and they do emergency episodes when, like, a bomb has been dropped on a country or something. hit something. So anyway, that made me laugh as their version of emergency. But anyways, it's short. It's like 16 minutes long. But she just offers some interesting insights.

Whether you're interested in the Beckham's or not, it's much more. I hope she showed empathy because I actually feel sad as a mother and of a son. I kind of feel sad about it. I totally agree. What she more did, which is why I recommend it, because I think it's interesting, it talks about the world. And I know we talk a lot about social media at the moment, but just the strangeness of that world, way beyond that family,

and the commodification of a kind of personal brand and the way that we commoditize and sell essentially, and not just big celebrities, like so many of us, our whole lives, and the way we show up online and we do, we kind of create these personal brands. And it's just an interesting look at the oddness and the kind of challenges that come with this commodification of our lives online. It was a very strange one, wasn't it?

ask for privacy at the end yet to have like 20 million. I don't know how many followers they have. It is a very, very strange one, but I feel sad about it. So I'm going to have a listen to them. Yeah, I really recommend it. As I said, it was just interesting reflection on a different facet of society today and this strangeness of growing up online and commoditizing our worlds and creating all these personal brands.

You wouldn't air your laundry, they say, would you, in the older days? And it's almost like today it's so normal. Do you know what? I spend a lot of time with my father-in-law, he's a very wise man. He is in his mid-80s. And look, there's a balance between it all. But he's really in my head at the moment because he's always sort of just saying, like, us younger generations, we just do.

We overthink everything we get too much. He always says how his granny used to say to him, darling, leave your feelings alone. Wow. But there's a facet of it that is true of like an ice, you know, I'll stew in my feelings. And then I'm like, get out of your own hair. Like these things don't matter too much.

Can't enjoy the world? Be distracted. Like read a book. It's because we're on the cusp. We are the first generation to have access to all of these thoughts about our feelings and how to navigate our feelings. And it's everywhere around us. But also then we kind of commodify our feelings because they're interesting to read about other people's feelings. And then suddenly we're all so stuck in our feelings and we're kind of really sometimes I do think, you know, we're kind of overthinking anxiety.

And it's like we all have anxiety. It's part of human disposition. And I'm not trying to kind of do it down because there's moments of like. where it's really challenging, but it's also just a kind of life is a... It is too much sometimes. Anyway, so yes, so heart the love of the book, and then the Rest of Entertainment, 16 Minter on the Beckham's. Thank you.

I really recommend both of those things. And we'll book swap next week. That's good. Yes. You got any other acts for us? I have loads this week, and I never normally have any. Oh, load us up. I know.

I know. Actually there. Guys, pens and paper. You're ready. Yes. I was going to talk about fiber, but I thought I did that Monday. You all know that I love fiber. She loves fibre.

It's done. I've said it. Making seedy chocolate bars are my new addiction. You know you had one with dates and peanut butter last year. Okay, what goes in? I'm going to call it a bird seed mix, but I love it. Yum, right? Get to your garden centre.

Get your birds mix. I mix all different seeds in a jar. I do it with my little one. He's only three and we shake it around. It's like sunflower seeds, lin seed flecks. You know, everything you could possibly imagine, pumpkin, put them in the seed jar. You just mix it on the tray with tahini, one spoon of maple. syrup, flatten it all down. You can add dates if you want or nut butter or chocolate, whatever

you fancy. And I've been doing with pistachia butter and chocolate and there's a recipe in the Fiber Formula book and I am just... And does it stick together? Yeah, sticks and binds. And then I've actually put it in the freezer just because I made it and I wanted it to last even longer. It's even better when it comes out of the freezer with that like crunch. So when you're snacking, you're getting tons of points in terms of fiber and diversity. Then I have another new obsession and I've always love this tea and I don't know why I never shouted it out before. Do you call it Redbush or Rubios or I'm obsessed with the vanilla one. There's this organic tea company. Oh, what's their name? Dragonfly, I think. Oh, yes. I know he made. Yes, it's not, it's not outwardly expensive compared to our

licorice and peppermint tea picks obsession. Oh, it's such a good tea. I had it last night as well. I mean, God, it's like been a 10-year thing for me now, this tea. I was just not gone anywhere. I'm obsessed with vanilla redbrush with oat milk. If you want something sweet at the end of the day, You know that, you know, you're not really hungry. I highly recommend, if you're not into the licorice one, we recommended, having a bit of oat milk and a red bush vanilla tea. Yeah, it's Dragonfly tea. You got it.

Vanilla, Robios. You can buy it on Amazon. You can buy it on just natural.com. UK. Lots of different options. I got it on a cardo, I think. It's also a two-star great taste award, which is a big deal. It must be deluscious.

So it was delicious. There you go. You know, maybe I should start touching these things. I am. No, it's so comforting. It's so delicious. And so our listener recommendations, the first tip is from Sophie, and it's on tea. So she said it. Yes, we actually had, you remember, maybe it was a month ago, whole conversations around squash. And my eldest loves raspberry tea. And same with this tip from Sophie. I had never thought to give my kids tea. Just let it cool down, obviously. My youngest isn't quite into it, but for my eldest is like the color of the water goes pink.

and it's quite appealing. It's so clever. So Sophie has said, I've started buying fruit teas, strawberry, raspberry, etc. I make a large jar of it with multiple tea bags and put it in the fridge.

My kids generally just drink water but love drinking this when they want something sweet and it helps us avoid sugary drinks slash squash. It's quick to make and also super cheap as you can buy supermarket own teas for just under a pound for 20 bags.

Our favourite is the Stainsbury's one. Thoughts a useful tip. It's such a great tip because we were talking with squash if you wanted to transition away from it that the kind of premium squashes that don't have the artificial sweetness and things in are really expensive. So that's a great tip. And there's flavours, aren't there?

You can get strawberry and raspberry and cranberry ones and all sorts of different flavours. I think that's fantastic. Yeah. It kind of goes on the iced tea vibe. They have in America, doesn't it, in other countries? And we're just not that big on it here. No, it's such a great one. And then our other listener recommendation comes from Kate.

And she said, I know Rie is very aware of reducing plastics and chemicals in her cleaning products at home. I have followed Nancy Bristwistle for a few years on social media and I highly recommend her for homemade natural alternatives for cleaning products. She uses a small amount of affordable products that you can use to make everything you need. They're plant-based, environmentally friendly, as well as giving neat tips and tricks for cooking and gardening. She's got some amazing user-friendly books, but also she has loads of content on socials. I can't recommend her enough. Can I just show you Ella?

Because you've love her, right? I'm obsessed. Can I just show you who she is? Because I think you're just going to go, She is the nicest, loveliest, like just savvy, incredible woman. Hang on, let me show you here. She's got a million followers. So are we using things like baking soda for cleaning?

Yeah, look. I know there's lots of us getting excited and looking forward to doing some planting in the spring. But for those just starting out, we might not have much in the way of kit, but we can start saving a few bits. This is a tray from the supermarket. It's already got holes in the bottom. Perfect little seed tray. I love her. Anyway, yeah, so she gives incredible tips and she's just so sweet.

So that is such a good shout to everybody. Nancy, we're here for it. Right, Phoebe. Phoebe says, I love the Wellness Scoot podcast. So thank you, Veebe. And I was just wondering if you could cover a topic on shift work and healthy eating as it can be difficult. I'm also concerned about sugar spikes. Does having fruit on its own like an apple without fat or protein impact your blood sugar levels or is it still better than having sweets?

I try to eat a whole food diet and I think I've become a bit obsessed with it I don't want it to lead to restriction and disordered eating do you have any tips on this Phoebe first of all thank you for being so honest and second of all I know Reha's got very strong opinions on this I'm going to hand straight over to her

but we have got to like just have such a blanket line underneath ever comparing an apple to a bag of sweets and that is the problem with a lot of these conversations around blood sugar is goddess conversations around blood sugar It makes you think that a banana is the same as a bag of Harrybo. It's not okay.

Yeah. There's a lot in that camp right now that I'm not happy with online because it creates fear like this around food. Okay, so let's put this into three different buckets. Let's go through shifts and body clocks. Then let's go through blood sugar. Then we can go through kind of trying to create the line between healthy eating and restriction. 100%. Shift works hard, really hard.

I've had clients in the clinic who are pilots before. and all I could do is give them tins of tuna and sweet one on an aeroplane and a tiny little cockpit at the front of the plane. It's so small. All sorts of surgeons that have different hours in hospitals to work around their breaks. And I think what you can do is work it for you. So first of all, you need to get into your two rhythmic patterns. What are your shift work patterns and then what are your day off patterns? And start to get a regular routine on those two different phases.

So depending on what job you have, both require rigid sticking to that routine where you can so you can get your gut bugs used to it because we have a circadian rhythm, our gut bacteria naturally, which means they work, you know, across the day depending on when we sleep and when it's light and when we eat. And our regular meal times really help our digestion. They help our blood sugar control. And the problem is on shift work. If we don't try and create these boundaries for ourselves, obviously it's really difficult when you're a surgeon.

You've been pulled into a certain op and then you can't get out. but if you can try and be as consistent as possible, rather than striving for perfection, then eating at similar times is the most important thing you can do. That's tip one. That's incredibly helpful. Thank you. Now, let's talk about anxiety of an apple versus a marsbar.

I think when we look at disordered eating and relationships with food, we have to really look at the fact that, you know, I don't want to buy into the nature fallacy thing, but an apple is a food from nature, it comes off a tree, It contains fibre. It contains hundreds of different amazing chemicals under the skin. Because of that fibre, pectins are really, I say, famous fibre. It's like a famous fibre.

Pectin is quite a famous fibre though. It is right. It is right. Thank you, Ella. I think it is cool. You can also get different colour apples. But no, on a serious note, the fibre slows a release of sugar into your system. And having an apple is a far better choice than a chocolate bar.

and if you really are concerned or you are maybe pre-diabetic or you're predisposed to blood sugar crashes and you want to stabilise and keep full of longer, add some healthy fats and a tiny bit of protein alongside your apple. That typically is nuts and seeds alongside it or an oat cake. Or chop it up and dip it in peanut butter. Delicious snack. Such a good snack. You can even freeze those and then take them with you and put them in the fridge when you're there as they're like got slightly more colder crunch.

But I think what we need to also look at is the fact that shift work is of course linked to health. So I'm really glad you are concerned about it because you are right. There was a lot of research that suggests that it's not great for blood sugar. So prioritize those fiber-rich foods, avoid heavy meals before you sleep. Because even though when you come back, it's daylight in the morning from a night shift, you are then going to be going to bed. So you don't want to have that heavy start. You want to have a lighter meal and then get back into your routine.

But for everyone, shift work or not shift work, when we're looking at these blood sugar spikes, I think it's probably just again an important reclarification. So it's normal. What happens in our body every time we eat is that we get a rise in blood sugar levels and then we've got insulin, a hormone that's produced in our pancreas that comes out and like a lock and key effect helps get energy into our cells and it's natural to go up and down. But you can prevent that spike from being really extreme. And I think that's kind of obvious that a chocolate bar, when you eat it, actually, depending on the bar, there can be some fat. So a white chocolate bar versus, I don't know, overcomplicate it, a Mars bar, you'll probably get a bigger blood sugar spike from the white chocolate bar than you would the Mars bar, depending on how much fat, saturated fat, which isn't good, by the way, is in either chocolate. Whereas eating dark chocolate, there's less sugar and there's some fats as well in the production of the chocolate. So it's not going to really spike your blood sugar.

To me the thing that's become confusing is that like all these things there's nuance and it's a scale isn't it? And I think ultimately where for one of a better word problem and I'll clarify that sits is a constant up down with your blood sugar. So you're spiking it right to the top. It's crashing down. You're spiking right to the top. You don't want that all day long. But for all of us it does go up and down like a roller coaster. It's just not like a big log flume versus a little kids right. Exactly.

And I think that's if you are eating oats and bananas and things like that, you will have a gentle rise because you've eaten. And those things as we know, our body loves glucose, contain glucose, it's going to give you a little ride. But ultimately we want to be generally having balanced meals. So you generally want a bit of healthy food. Or some protein on your plate anyway. And I'm not talking about like counting 40 grams of protein. I mean just like. Do you know why I think it came from Ella is online last year they were quoted.

saying fruit does not exist in nature anymore. And it was like this silly reel that went viral. Like the fearmongering of having a piece of fruit is just not okay because we don't get enough anywhere, like a third of adults get their five a day. We just do not eat enough fruit. Fruit's really good for you, gives you vitamin C, gives you fibre. And I would much rather everybody have fruit to feed their gut bugs than compare it to sweets and chocolate.

And I really feel where you're coming from because the fact that you've had to write into us with that question and just makes me feel like sad, but glad we're here. 100%. And if you do want to make the fruit a bit more filling and give you energy for longer, it is things like putting peanut butter. Even dark chocolate.

With your apple. Exactly. You have a little snack and it's your apple with dark chocolate and some almonds. That will just give you more energy or keep you fuller for longer than the apple on its own. But don't be scared about blood sugar from an apple for a normal, healthy individual.

Unless you're pre-diabetic or diabetic, there's no need to be too overly conscious of it. Now, Gopi has all. also got a lovely question for us. She said, I love this warm-in episode on my walk. I'd love to know your thoughts on all the latest TV shows that have aired on protein, health and also the new M&S nutrient dense range. Look, although sometimes, as Rhee was talking about on Monday with the show she was part of, there's a sensationalism that exists on a lot of these shows, it's great that we're talking about protein or that we're talking about health in general. The fact that it's becoming

mainstream, ultimately, I think it's probably inherently good. In terms of the nutrient dense range, just to give people a bit more background if you haven't seen this, basically, over the last few months, loads of supermarkets have been launching food ranges that are, they're nutrient dense, but essentially, I mean, it's very clever. They're aimed at people using GLP1. So Ricardo, for example, have launched a dedicated weight management section on this website that includes smaller portion things like 100 grand extra lean steak. I mean, that's huge, isn't it? a whole section on the website. Exactly, as well as high protein, high fibre ready meals and things.

They've done lots of this with press whole foods. I fact they're all doing it. You've got a start on co-op there as well. Yeah, exactly. So Morrison's, they've got small and balance range that was developed with a company called Applied Nutrition. Small and balance. Small and balance.

Yeah, they're more straightforward about what they're doing. Co-op has expanded. It's got good fuel range. Again, mini meals designed for people with reduced appetites. Ultimately, I actually think that was my general sentiment. I think this is fantastic. Ultimately, we know that getting a healthy meal on the go is very difficult, nigh on impossible in the past. Your meal deals and things like that are inherently really nutrient deficient, devoid in plaiters.

It might have been done for GLP ones. I think it's brilliant for lots of people that you can grab some of this stuff on the go. But also, it's not really fair because, I mean, I know that nutrient densers are separate thing. that's not calorie restricted. But the small and balance, for most of us, I don't need small. I just want a balanced meal. No, but equally we're getting to a point where like, I mean, but it is a huge shift.

Yeah, and stats vary where it's one and a half to two and a half million people currently on these medications. Obviously, as we talked about the other day, it's looking like if you start them and you're on them for life, we're about to have pill form, which means I think it's hard to believe the price will come down and it's likely that a huge proportion. don't they for a prescription. On some of them, but on others longer. But once it's on pill form, I think privately as well

will become much cheaper, likely will become more widely used. And so I think that it's obviously the right commercial decision to then have these products available. But equally, like, I was looking at some of the range that M&S one, for example, and it's like cauliflower, shwama and five bean hummers, nutty super whole food, 35 plant salad, salmon and green goddess crush, berry bliss bowl. It's all of these things like super seedy Oaty brand. It's so healthy. I think I used to buy that though. And so actually the nutrient

is kind of great. It is cool. And that nutty is the nutty one. I swear I used to buy that 10 years ago. It's the same salad just branded. Yeah, which is probably a great rebrand for it. I bet this stuff sells so well. So it might be for GLP once, but I feel like you're right, maybe you'd need two of it for someone else instead of just one. But also if we are going to have a huge proportion of the population taking these drugs, you aren't eating as much. And so you do need those meals to be nutrient dense is so important for your health. Yeah. And so I actually am a massive fan. I think it's really interesting. Like you said, I am a huge fan.

I just loved the name and the concept like Gopi said. I love the idea of focusing. I've always said it in Renourished my first book. I said nutrients, not numbers, because I've always been fed up with calorie counting. And before, let's have a look at the supermarkets two years ago. Everything was about the calories on the pack quarries. Now it's about the food.

fiber on the packs or the plant points on the packs and that's cool exactly and that's where I'd say I would say nutrient dense is the cleverest marketing of it because you speak to both people who want something nutrient dense because they're looking for extra health you're right that's genius I think that I mean that is genius marketing it's super clever whereas small and balanced is maybe off-putting to some people so I think it's genius but I'm a big fan yeah me too and it's really really important that we obviously try and look at these nutrients because my big concern for people in the clinic is if you're restricting your food intake over the course of a day and you're not eating the same, you are unlikely to hit those 30 grams of fibre a day. Your bowel movements will slow down. You

will experience more constipation and all sorts of other things. So it's really important. And with protein, you know, if you're not eating enough protein on JLP ones as well, with muscle mass, there's lots to consider. 100%. We know how hard it is already to kind of meet requirements of various different vitamins and minerals. So yeah, a huge fan. Everyone needs help with something. If investing is your something, we get it. Operators' financial representatives are here to help, with genuine advice that puts your needs first. We got you. For all your holistic investment and life insurance advice needs, talk to us today.

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reporting on the ground from where you live, telling the stories that matter to all of us. Because local news is big news. Choose news, not noise. CBC News. I'm so excited to tell you about my brand new cookbook, QuickWood. Healthy cooking for busy lives. I wrote this one to make healthy cooking just simple when life is busy.

So you'll find fridge sappers, one pound wonders and batch cooks that you can turn into two easy meals. Plus, we have eight weeks of delicious meal plans to complete with shopping lists, so all the thinking's been done for you. Every recipe also gives you plant points to help you eat more plants

so you can get your 30 plants a week. It'll all help you feel great and just make healthy cooking feel effortless again. So Quickwins, It's out now wherever you get your books. Okay, Kirsty has said, have a question. Apologies if it's already been covered. That is no problem, Kirsty.

I know how important fibre is and we should all eat more, but how would you go about doing this if you've been told to lower your fibre intake for a period of time and then how do you reintroduce it? And I think this is a really great question, obviously specifically for Kirsty, but actually, obviously, as we always says, 96% of us don't get enough fibre. So if people want you to add in fibre, we also get off to lots of questions saying, I've added loads in and I'm experiencing bloating.

So if you don't eat a huge amount of plant foods, you don't get loads of fibre and you're trying it up here, what is the best way it's gradually, right, where you want to add it in? 100%. Because I think this also, we have a kind of, we're on the cusp with fibre. I don't want it to become a subject that's fearful. You know, like for so many people, oh my goodness, how am I now going to hit my 30 grams of fibre a day? Oh, you know, to add one more pressure.

Exactly. I'm really aware of that. And I think obviously you can all pre-order the fibre formula, which will be really clear with step-by-step advice here. But to give you a bit of an insight, because I love the wellness scoop, is that in the Retrition Clinic, we're always really, really clear that fibre is important. But it's how and when you eat, which is why part of the formula is obviously the 30-2s and just being mindful about eating because sometimes we're so disconnected from how we eat our food.

Let's be honest, most of us are on our phones or we're watching a TV screen. Not me anymore. Ella's bricked out. Mark Allen now there. She's bricked her face. You're so, I love the smuggler brick out. I ate my lunch last week when I was working at home, just watching some, like, pigeons out the window.

I love pigeons. Did you see all the videos about pigeons? I could go off on pigeons, because I used to think they were rats of wings, and now I've learned all this history about pigeons. Anyway, and I watched these videos of the people going around. Someone right in asking for a question on Ruth's knowledge of pigeons. Save their feet from all the hairs.

You've got to cut them all off. Okay, I'm totally digress from my fibre goals. So yes, don't eat when you're... I'm so funny. When you're watching a screen, the key is not to see fibres good or bad because like I said, I really want to build healthy relationships of food. And every diet's different and every individual is different. And some will be more sensitive than others.

So it's slow, it's structured, and start with what I call gentle fibres. So rather than loading up on cauliflower, which, you know, could be more difficult for people to digest over something like oats or cooked veg. Make sure you introduce roasted vegetables first or well-cooked vegetables rather than starting off with a load of raw carrot. There's this like viral raw carrot salad going around at the moment.

Oh, the retinoid salad. They're like, eat your skin, held salad. I actually really want to try making it because I actually think it looks quite delicious. It looks delish. But for so many people, that's not a great first step to introduce when they're looking at increasing

their fibre intake. Because cooked vegetables are easier to digest. Way easy. Because you've broken down the cell wall of the plant and you've got to think about it when you heat something up. That's what's happening. or things like oats or berries, potatoes actually, especially when they've cooled down because

then you get more resistant starch when you reheat and you eat them again. That's the same with toast. So soak things to make them easier. If you know you are sensitive, soak your oats like Ella does with a porridge overnight. You've given us that hack to make it quicker to cook the next day as well. And for most of us, I think what's really, really key is just try and think around like three and five grams a day extra or per week. You know, it's not, doesn't have to be all over. So if you don't eat lots of veg, whole food, kind of plant, legumes, etc. at the moment. Do you love fruit to change everything?

Yeah, overnight. Just sort of three to five grams a week increase there. Which is also, I always like that idea. Again, if you're trying to change your diet, just add in one extra plant a day and let that build up. Again, in terms of also just like achievable in your lifestyle. Because one extra plant a day is literally adding an extra fruit to your porridge. It's adding an extra vegetable into your stir fry or whatever it is. that you normally cook. And they all contain different types and what was so interesting writing

the book. And I got this question on a panel talk last week, Ella. It really put me on the spot. Someone said, which food should I eat to get loads more just soluble fiber, I think, rather than insoluble, which vegetable, which fruit. And actually, fruits and vegetables contain hundreds of different strains of fiber and often they contain both. But there are some foods like porridge that are renowned for being soluble, which help push things through. And we've got to remember that fiber is just indigestible carbohydrate. It's basically food we can't break down that our bugs eat and if you just remember that I'm feeding those bugs when I'm eating these extra fruits or veg as well as it tasting good it's that positive headline

we did on Monday you know the outlook on life yeah the outlook on fiber if we can make it happy and positive we're feeding our zoos we're feeding everything inside I love that there you go go there you go okay our next question comes from martina hello firstly love the podcast thank you Martina is my go-to at the gym. Love it. I have a question about supplements for sleep. I struggle with anxiety and insomnia and I struggle to fall asleep and get high-quality sleep. So sleep, hygiene and minimizing daily stress are so important to me. I heard that people have been praising magnesium supplements and aiding sleep. However, I do want to fall victim to marketing and influencers online. There's so many different types of magnesium supplements, different

formulations and strengths, tablets, tablets, powders, gummies, etc. Do we need it? Is it helpful for getting better sleep and if so which formulations are best and more importantly can we get the magnesium we need through diet thank you in advance i mean ella you're experienced in this as well because you found it beneficial i think yeah well interestingly so i have had a few like you know all things are relative but um so on the grand scheme of things minor but some health challenges over the last six months or so i've started um working with the nutritionists that the re and i both know who who I actually worked for 10 years ago. And I did huge blood tests and stool tests and things like that pre-Christmas to get a really good sense of what was going on.

And even though, for example, like I eat a very magnesium-rich diet, magnesium is something if you eat a veggie diet or you eat lots of plants. It's very, very abundant. It's not a kind of niche, you know, really seeking out kind of one. It's not difficult to that. But my levels of magnesium were like rock bottom. and magnesium is very heavily depleted from stress, which I think is the interesting thing. And again, this is, I think, a great example about the nuance that's needed in health and wellness,

which is like it's so easy to say you don't need magnesium supplement, but actually if you're chronically stressed, maybe it would benefit you. Or, you know, everyone needs it. And it's like, no, because actually it's pretty widely available and you can get it through diet. But so there's not always one-size-fits that I am currently taking a magnesium supplement. And what I did was, which I wish more people had access to you, but obviously it's be able to pay for a test to find out because I don't want people to just blanket take a magnesium supplement

of a dose that you don't really know. You're just taking what an influencer said and then you'll end up with laxative effects or, you know, cramping and digestive discomfort. Also very important to be aware that if your gut health is impaired, you're not going to be absorbing your food effectively. So you could be eating. I've always said this for years.

The best diet in the world, but if you're not digesting and absorbing your food well, it's not going to be having the same impact. And that really directly links to stress in Ella's example. here. So I'm, thank you for clarifying that, Ella, because I think it's really important that people, people realize that there's so many different situations here, but there's different types of supplements. Should I go through like the types? I think that's really helpful because there are so many different conversations around magnesium on line at the moment. I definitely agree with that.

Yeah, and they differ on how well they're absorbed. They differ in quality. It's really difficult to decipher online these days. What's what? For example, you get magnesium citrate, chloride, lactate or a spartate, which tends to be more bioavailable or better absorbed than less soluble ones that come in forms of oxides or sulphates. So, I mean, those are the ones actually that are used as laxatives, sometimes medically, for support and organic forms, basically with, you know, the amino acids like magnesium glycinate, are generally better tolerated and may be chosen when you're looking at people with IBS or different digestive discomforts,

whereas those heavier like oxide or hydroxides may cause the diarrhea I've discussed or the cramping when they're taking at high doses, and the problem is online. Those doses vary wildly, and it's really hard. And I can't give you a blanket one over here now because everyone's so different, and it would be really unethical of me to say something that's, I just can't.

And the BDA, the British Diotic Association, which is what we tend to follow, especially with my gut health conditions in the clinic because a lot of them work alongside hospital teams as well. Just remember that try and make those dietary tweaks first. Like Ella said, stress plays the role first of all. Food like Ella, we've got loads. I mean, all of us love to wax lyrical here about pumpkin seeds,

almonds, whole grains, legumes, leafy greens. It's basically a healthy balanced diet, Ella. Yeah, exactly. That's what I mean with magnesium. It's actually pretty, if you eat lots of whole foods, a very plant-rich diet. It's super available in your brown rice and your lentils, your spinach. You said pumpkin seeds, almonds, whole-meal bread even. It's also in some fish, some dairy, some dark chocolate. But without the supplements, you know, you want to be getting up to 300

milligrams a day. Which does, you've got an example here. And your breakfast could be porridge with pumpkin seeds and almonds. For lunch, you might have a whole grain salad with some, including some beans and some spinach, some dinner. You could have some brown rice with some salmon and steamed greens, you can snack on some yogurt with cheer seeds or a banana. So that would give you, with no supplements, your daily recommended amount, but obviously appreciating here, that's a what would be quantified as like a super healthy day. And most of us, 60% of the population. Do not eat like that. No. And they have UPSs. And of course, they are stripped of a lot of nutrients because they're so highly processed. Not all of them, remember, there's many good and bad things

in this category, all in all. But I think really my concern here is how nuanced the conversation is that I hate that it's all over social media because yes a lot of us probably do need a bit more but the first step is change your diet and only if there's some underlying other issue do you then need to supplement because magnesium pulls water into your gut and when that water intake is too high especially from the supplements it can lead to the diarrhea and the nausea the cramping the bloating that people experience and like I went through with the different forms and types just be really cautious would be my overall message yeah and I think those different types to magnesium are important to remember because of the diarrhea side of things. So your magnesium glycinate

is one that's more. That's what you have, yeah. Yeah. And that's the one that's not so linked to diarrhea and kind of stool issues. Will you just give us a final line re on stress and magnesium? Because I think that's often why people are talking about it because obviously if you're struggling sleeping, it's not that it's always caused by stress, but often that's again a relationship. And so magnesium is interesting because that might also be affected by your stress. Yeah, because it's depleted. It's basically it's secreted from the body and I think we see this so often. We have to remember our body has to work in a constant state of homeostasis. So it's constantly balancing out. Yeah, it's balancing itself. And when you're stressed, the magnesium excretion increases and that's involved in pathways that help with our nervous system and our stress response. So maintaining adequate and taking that time is very difficult. And general guidance is really try food first and that's also in hospital environments dietetic advice everywhere you go i hope and if you see

somebody that says go and take this huge supplement before they've tried a dietary intervention or understood your health history that's a red flag but also sleep is a complex thing as well and so although magnesium can support sleep support is the word as part of many other things if you're super super were wired, a magnesium supplement won't knock you out. It's not like a sleeping pill. It could be part of, you know, if you're deficient. And then doing a, you know, calming breathing and taking a bath before bed and trying to get off your anything that stresses you out or devices or overstimulation, whatever. What meal did you eat before? Exactly. How late did you eat? A light meal a couple of hours before. And a wind down bath, a lovely book, a bedtime story. Sometimes we should just flip it and have

that porridge bowl for dinner and start the morning with that salmon and greens and brown rice. I mean, that would be a dream. I know, because it's hard to eat dinner early enough as well. I just don't. I just love my porridge in the morning. Anyway, that was a fantastic question. Thank you so much. And the next question we've got is from Aelin. And she said, I just want to say thank you for such a brilliant podcast. It's such a perfect mix of knowledge and fun and being genuinely down to earth. Thank you. And has said, especially in a world that feels pretty chaotic, a lot of the time. Your episodes are a real highlight of my week and I have a question about supermarket shopping. As food prices keep rising, I try to balance some things, you know, from places like Waitrose

or Remeness, which we know over in the UK are those stereotypically more expensive shops and then doing a bigger like main part of the shop at another supermarket like Liddle. She said on comparable products, for example, organic mushrooms from Liddle versus organic mushrooms from waitrose or regular berries from Liddle versus regular berries from a higher end supermarket. Is there a difference nutritionally? I know flavour can vary and that's fine. But would fibre polyphenols or other nutrients actually differ? I'm trying to understand what is worth prioritising spending more on, like is it nuts or

eggs, and what can I buy more affordably without losing nutritional value? Ella, you know all about how this food chain works. It's such an excellent question. Thank you so, so much. I'm sure it will be, well, hopefully the answer will be helpful for lots of people. I think there's two different parts. So the first is on the organic and then the second is kind of just general quality.

I did so much research into this to try and see if there was anything else I was missing. You know, and of course the higher-end supermarkets, you know, put a lot out there about how they source things and the, you know, special farms and all the rest of it. And there is a component of that that's true. But there's also just different models. Like Little and Aldi just run their supermarkets on a different model where instead of having an enormous amount of choice,

they have many fewer of an item that they buy in bulk. They therefore buy it for better pricing. They don't have to manage. You know, it's incredibly expensive for Tesco's and the like to manage dealing with so many different suppliers. You know, one buyer will have maybe 100 different suppliers that they're working with and everyone has a margin of that. So it becomes quite different, whereas Little and Audi,

they, you know, mostly its own brand stuff so they don't have to pay. other brands are margin and they're not buying eight different versions of the same thing. They're just buying one or two. So it means it really helps them keep their prices lower. So I'm sure a premium supermarket would say that it's better quality. It doesn't necessarily mean it's true. So I don't think you need to worry that you're going to have much less definitely not fiber because that's going to be the same in an apple.

But it's generally speaking like polyphenols and things like that. What you're just looking for is loads of different colourful, fruits and veg, it's unlikely that a strawberry in a kind of higher-end supermarket is actually going to be more nutrient-rich necessarily. So I think that's an interesting one and a lot of it just comes down to like the branding and packaging and the way things are sold and the marketing. What's been quite worrying for me to see is welfare of different animal farms around the UK. And you can have meat products that are coming from a specific place for one of those higher-end supermarkets, but actually they've had scandals behind them and you see them merging in the press.

And they supply meat to all of the supermarkets, yet there are still these issues. So I really think when it comes to, is the produce better? They all come from the same place, really, yeah. They often come from similar places. Yeah, it's not necessarily. Then when it comes to organic, there's lots of different information out there. But generally speaking, there aren't meaningful nutritional differences. So you've got some large reviews that have been done from places like Stanford or the British Nutrition Foundation.

And they haven't found a consistent link between eating organic food and better health outcomes. So, for example, this is old, but 2014, a massive study of over 600,000 women, so massive, found no difference in cancer risk, for example, between those who regularly eat organic food and those who didn't. So, yeah, there are some smaller studies out there that show sometimes organic foods can have slightly higher levels of certain nutrients, sometimes antioxidants, sometimes vitamin C, zinc, iron. Lots of that research is quite old. And I would say generally speaking, the answer sits on finding limited, meaningful nutritional differences. And cost is such a massive factor.

So most kind of UK data would show that organic foods on average, 75% more expensive. But that price differentiation ranges from roughly 10 to over 300% more depending on the product. I'd love an update, wouldn't you on that? would love to see more large-scale organic studies now because surely again in the last decade we've had changes in soil and all sorts of things yeah and soil health is a huge part of the conversation it's such a concern right now environmentally and a huge concern exactly so look I think this space will shift but I think my general sense is like there's no perfect way to do it the perfect way to do it is to eat as many different whole foods as you can and a balance to diet as possible and you've got to

do that in a way that's plausible and sensible for you. Do you know what I dislike about the conversation around organic versus non-organic is I feel like it's another barrier to people to eat well, like we discussed with the question we had, was it Monday or was it earlier? I'm losing the plot on that apple versus a chocolate pack of sweets. Was that Monday? We discussed that. I think that was about 20 minutes ago.

Was that 20 minutes ago? But, you know, when we go backwards and we think about that apple versus a pack of sweets and then you're looking at an apple versus a non-organic apple, you just need to eat the apple. I totally agree. Like a Yoda advice. Yeah, no, it's true. We're over worrying at that point. We're eating the apple.

We are. But also one final thing. Wash it. Of course. One vinyl thing as well, I think on that is like you also can buy organic sweets. And, you know, I think it's also important that we're not kind of overly fooled by that sort of thing. Like, that's really good branding. But, you know, just because it's organic, it doesn't necessarily mean it.

it's nutritious because we can buy organic biscuits and crisps and, you know, maybe the ingredient decks are a little bit better, but like, you know, let's eat an apple when we can and like enjoy sweets when we do it. But I think it sometimes all just gets a bit misleading. Oh, it's so misleading. And it doesn't always mean a completely cleaner deck either. You know, you can still have sulfur dioxide added to mango, have it dried and call it organic mango. Exactly. Okay. So we will leave it there. Questions for next week. You know where to find us? Hello at wellness hyphen scoop.com. We cannot wait to see you back here Monday And just remind it if you love the show

Please click follow, leave us a comment or review Share it with someone because it makes all the difference And we can't tell you how much we appreciate it Thanks for being here everyone. See you Monday. Bye