The Wellness Scoop - Can You Eat Your Skincare? Berberine & Female Probiotics

Episode Date: August 27, 2026

Can you really eat your way to better skin? Is berberine the natural alternative to GLP-1 medications that social media claims it is? And do intimate probiotics genuinely work?This week, we unpack the science behind the latest skincare trends, take a closer look at the growing fascination with berberine and separate fact from fiction when it comes to the vaginal microbiome. Plus, we discuss Marmite, cholesterol-lowering spreads, the Mediterranean diet, CoQ10 and why nutrition advice should fit around culture, family life and the foods we love.  The Way app link: https://www.thewayapp.com/wellnessscoop Send your questions for our weekly Q&A to ⁠⁠[e-mail]⁠⁠ For more from Rhi and Ella:  Order your copy of Ella's new book: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Quick Wins: Healthy Cooking for Busy Lives⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Order your copy of Rhi's new book: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Fibre Formula⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sign up to Rhitrition+ and join Beat The Bloat HERE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I am genuinely so excited about today's sponsor because it's the way. Honestly, if you have listened to me any time over the last few months, you know I have become a little bit evangelical about this app. And I honestly recommend it to everyone. My friends, my family, people on Instagram, everyone. And she recommended it to me, so it's true. I've heard so much about it. It's just because it has had such a big impact on me.

I've meditated on and off for 15 years or so now. but using the way it's honestly the first time we've become so consistent with this daily practice and I've just seen the most unbelievable results as a result of that the app is just incredible and what I love is every day you open it and there's a meditation waiting for you so you don't scroll that you don't have to choose between hundreds of options there's no wondering what to do it just takes you on a path well I think that's why it works so well because you know most of us just don't need more big decisions every day to make Ella know exactly that we've got decision fatigue, haven't we? So this is so nice because you just follow this path of meditation,

which is led by Henry, the founder, who's just the most amazing teacher. And he makes it seem somehow just incredibly simple, but exceptionally profound at the same time, which is a very rare skill. And I've been using it too. Yes, I've now finally begun a meditation journey and I've been doing some of the shorter practices on busy days because I completely understand why you talk about it so much, Ella. It really is a nice intro in for me. Yeah, it is and I'm so glad. Anyway, it's helped me feel so much calmer, less reactive, more present. It all sounds like huge claims, but I just say, please, please, please try it if you're struggling with stress or overwhelm.

You've just got to give it a go. And the lovely thing is that everyone listening can definitely try it themselves. Exactly. So you can get a 30-day free trial, so just try it every day for a month. It'll change your life. All you do is head to the way app.com forward slash wellness scoop. Yeah, that's theway app.com forward slash wellness scoop. Welcome to the Wellness Scoop, your twice weekly dose of health and wellness inspiration.

And as always, we're both here as your host. I'm Ella Mills. And I'm Reanna Lambert. And today is the wonderful episode where we take your questions and we give our recommendations. Let's go. We are going to be talking about whether you can eat your way to better skin. Is Berberine really nature's a Zempic? A female pro-barium.

We've had loads of questions on that, worth the money. The surprising truth about cholesterol lowering spreads, marmite, superfood or overhyped, how to apply Mediterranean diet principles to any cuisine, and obviously all our latest recommendations and some of yours too. So yeah, loads today. Bumper episode. Bumper episode. Now, Ella, I know you're in the midst of moving house.

Also, while she's moving house, she managed to host me and the kids. And we had the best day. We had lemonade outside. I felt like I was at some kind of spa and Ella made me a salad and it was, I mean, when I say spa, I mean, when you've got two children on a play date, that's how relaxed I felt. It was great. Well, they disappeared off and made a den, which is always the dream scenario. Anyway, no, we really deserved a relaxing day off.

She just worked so hard as unbelievable. And it was really lovely. So Ella, thank you for having me. But you have been very busy. So how are you feeling now if you had a better, a better week with moving? Yeah. Well, next time we talk, I will be. be settled and I can't wait but I have a recommendation guys for you that I'm like

bursting to tell you which is okay I don't know if anyone watched I don't even if I mentioned it I must have watched it a year or so ago on Netflix a show called the people we meet on vacation or people we meet on vacation. You did mention it yes yes oh my gosh so the lady who wrote those books she's called Emily Henry have you read any of her books Emily Henry no okay so I didn't know about her either, but I've been really struggling to get into a book over the last few weeks. I think probably just lots going on. And I've kept trying to read like intense books, like books where you have to work for it. And I just don't think that's really my moment right now. And then I love, I've mentioned her before, I love the writer, Pandora Sykes. I love her substact. She gives amazing recommendations.

And she basically had been on this binge, essentially, of these, I don't want to call them trashy, because they're actually really nice to read, but like light, easy, really. read rom-coms that are kind of a book talk, TikTok sensation at the moment. And I thought, okay, she loves them, I'm going to love them, went to Paddington the next day because I was in London, bought an Emily Henry called Happy Place. Oh my gosh, I read it in 36 hours. It was a happy place. It was so, it's such an easy read. It's a really cute rom-com kind of book. Like it's really, I don't know, I hated all the Colleen Hoover stuff. I just found it so dark. dark. Like, I don't want darkness and something. I think if you're going to tackle dark or, like,

heavy topics, you need to do it personally with a bit more sensitivity. I don't like that mixed into kind of rom-com vibes. I just find it weird. What's interesting is I was looking at the most successful, what was it I sent to you? Because I made a joke. Ella sent me a list of things. I was like, oh, all of them say murder, kill or die. Do you remember that one? We love like murder books. Yeah. Anyway, these are just really like light and cute. Anyway, so happy place. If you just want a book that will like distract you from the world

and make you feel warm and fuzzy, it's so good. And I've now bought all four of her other books. I'm so excited to read them. Just 10 out of 10 recommend. I love that. And hopefully you'll get a good night's sleep. So you can read that before bed tonight and help you switch off. But stop the caffeine now, Ella.

She's had her coffee. That's enough now. But I get so addicted to these books. so they can't sleep because I just like desperate to finish them. That's what happens to me. And then I end up staying later because I'm just so desperate to turn the page, just to get to another page, just get to another page. That's a good recommendation.

Thank you. On the flip side, I have a completely different recommendation. I haven't finished it yet, but it's a podcast series called We Call Her Emma. And it's from Tortoise Investigates and the Observer. And it's such an interesting. I'm halfway through the six episodes. But I so recommend it so far. I normally listen to kind of quite like easy to listen to podcasts,

like the rest of entertainment. What category is that we call her Emma? I don't know. It's basically trying to understand the wife of Assad in Syria and how you go from a London girl. She's born and bred in London to the heart of one of the world's most brutal dictatorships ever. She was quite sort of assimilated into Western culture. called her Emma, which is where the name comes from of the show. How do you go from that to the

heart of its dictatorship? And it's a really interesting investigation and it's a nice mix of like archive footage interviews and the journalist. Anyway, it's a really, it's just a really interesting investigation. I really recommend it. That's a good rat, Calla. I did something completely different. I've never done anything like this in my life before. I messaged that the day I did it, but I had a bust made of the bump. It's so cool. It's cool. Very unnerving to walk into someone's house, stand there completely naked.

Take up all your clothes. Take up all your clothes. And they go around you with this. It's called Studio Bus. They're featured in vogue and all sorts of incredible outlets. And they make the most beautiful sculptures. You can pick the color, you know, green or marble or whatever you do. But it's just a memory I wanted to get, you know, I won't ever be.

pregnant again. So I wanted to do that. And I have to say, they made me feel really at ease. I was a very nervous seller. It's not something I've ever done in my life before. Just go and stand like that in front of somebody else. She told me how to pose, you know. I think it's so cool. I remember seeing these after I was pregnant and thinking that's amazing. And I think also just, you know, on Monday we were talking about body image and, you know, feeling comfortable and empowered in our own selves. And pregnancy is a time refuse change of the body. And I think celebrating those changes, it's really amazing. I love it. I think so. I think it's really important as women that we look that everybody is different. And also for me personally, the changes are just, they're different every time, but similar.

But you know, your hips get wider. You get more areas of storage. There's all sorts of different things that happen when you become pregnant. So that's what I did. But I also did something very serious, Ella. I also went on that day as well to get my moles checked. and I think I spoke about that last time, but I have my results back. And I did have a lesion that I didn't know existed. And I think I shared that with you all last time. I just want to reiterate again how important it is to just get it checked. Then at least you can just get it removed or dealt with very, very quickly.

So you can ask your GP and say, how do I go about getting checked? Or you can visit clinics like that skin tell place. Great recommendation. We also have a recommendation from you guys, which is so nice called Nitting Ball. Adelaide, that was the subject of the email. A few weeks ago, you answered my question on the pod, which was about meditation and how I felt I wanted to get into mindfulness, but meditation wasn't a go for me. Ella recommended that I try other activities like mindful coloring. Well, I went to an op shop.

I think this is a charity shop, but in a different country, and got two knitting needles and some yarn for less than one Australian dollar, which is the equivalent apparently of about 50p in the UK. and I have started knitting very badly. What I've learned is that it's super easy to fall into a what the hell effect. By this, I mean when something isn't perfect, there's a temptation to restart and get it perfect. Knitting badly though is awesome. There's no pressure.

I can miss a stitch. I can somehow do a double stitch, knotted, messy thingo, but the whole point is the exercises to focus and enjoy it being present. It doesn't matter how it ends up. It might take me years before I ever gift a knitted item to a friend

or complete something that resembles some semblance of clothing, but I'd much rather knit badly and get lost in time doing that than scrolling endlessly on social media. So that's my rack. Isn't that a great rack? So good. Do you remember that? Who was it that knitted at Wimbledon? They were sat there with knitting needles. Do you remember it went viral? Well, it was Tom Daly that was knitting when he was doing his like, I don't know if it was the Olympics or Commonwealth games or, you know, like huge sporting event and he was knitting by the side of the pool. That was it. And it really resurfaced, didn't it? Nitting was like a real, a real cool trend. Thank you so much for sharing that. Do you know what? When we were on

holiday with some friends, our friend was doing this. It was like a kind of cross-stitch type thing. And she said the same thing. She said she'd bought it online and she was spending way too much time on her phone and she didn't want to do that with the kids. And so it kind of kept her busy. And it was, it's really cool. Anyway, I also just want to say what I also love that you've highlighted as well is this not needing to do it perfectly. Often when we have a hobby, we want to be really good at a hobby. You don't need to be really good at your hobby. It doesn't matter. It really, really doesn't matter everybody. We have a pick-up now that I think is really important to discuss. Oh, and I also forgot to say in September, I don't know whether to do it or not. I'm thinking of running a

fussy eating course for parents that are struggling with kids that might be fussy eaters. Just on a side note, anybody, message me if you're interested in that. And then Banana Gate continues Ella. I knew it would. Do you know, you know, in some of it, something goes so viral and it's so absurd and we were so cross about it, weren't we? I knew we'd get more. Okay, do you want to read that out? Okay, so we have an email from a listener who said, I've wanted to email in so many times, but your story about the banana in the smoothie has literally caused me to stop hanging the washing to make sure I do not forget to message you guys. Honestly, I'm just feeling way more confused about the wellness world after the banana in the

smoothie story. It is not the first time I've heard about the banana. Just a reminder, this is a viral video where this lady is saying to Mel Robbins, the very famous podcast host, an author that you shouldn't put bananas and blueberries together in a smoothie because essentially the banana will ruin the impact of the polyphenols in the blueberries. So some well-respected people in the industry have previously shared something along this line, mostly on their Instagram page. I've considered them really trustworthy in the past and seemingly balanced sources of information, even though I know they're selling me a product, so I'm not totally blind to that. but now I just don't even know where to turn to her advice.

I realize she may not be out to answer this on air because it's obviously controversial. I actually have removed the name of the account because I think this is probably better. But I'd appreciate knowing if the info that was shared is substantially different or if it is all just complete nonsense. I'm so confused. I'm pretty sure this person says they don't ever mix their banana and berries because it can minimize the impact of the polyphenols in the berries. Thank you so much for that message because I think everybody feels the same.

One thing that I just want to reiterate in the world of social media and especially nutrition is that everybody seems to think they're a dietitian or nutritionist these days. And, you know, you can have professors that don't specialize in the subject that actually some of their work does fall into a bit of food. Therefore, they end up discussing it or you get researchers in laboratories. You get general practice doctors that start talking about it on TV. And none of them have actually done any extensive training. in how to look at public health nutrition. So they get very excited when they discuss research. And often when that research is relayed to the public, it then misses the mark because

they're just discussing black and white like you would in a science laboratory. Yes, it's true. When you blend a banana and blueberries together, some of the key flavonels, polyphenols, those wonderful antioxidants, might vary in quantity. But it doesn't inherently make what you consume less worthy or bad. you get a whole host of other benefits too. And you probably also eat in isolation of banana from time to time and blueberries. And then sometimes you blend them together.

And I think what's often taken out of context with these larger accounts is that very point there, that, you know, they're discussing the bit of research and perhaps they should have somebody warning them about the consequences on the general public. But equally, some accounts just don't care. I just want to put it out there. They just want things to go viral. They think they're doing the right thing. There's a complete dichotomy on social media.

You'll get influences as well telling you that what I eat in a day video. Let's use that as a very good example here. Doesn't mean it applies to everybody else. And just because one laboratory study has showed this doesn't make it any less beneficial for everybody else. I could go on on one there. I just feel like the nutrition world, everyone thinks they're an expert because they eat. You know, look, ultimately there's so much nuance and everything as well. And as we said, like everything starts from something. But is your blueberry banana,

kaffir, hemp seed, almond butter smoothie pointless? No. There's still so much great stuff in there. Could a polyphenol in the blueberry will be slightly reduced? Sure. Does that mean you shouldn't have something which then has loads of fiber and lots of other vitamins and minerals and is going to make you feel really good. No. So I just feel like it's reductive and overly simplifying something which is highly nuanced and complex. Reductive. Social media is unable to deliver nuance and complex, individualized nutrition. And it will always keep delivering consistently reductive content. I saw more on the glucose page the other day that I was just wanting to bury my head in the sand from what I was reading. But we have a different recommendation here, which I think is about

celebrating a food that's been demonized and I'm all for that. It's from Nina in Scotland. Nina has said, I wanted to recommend my breadmaker. I need to get my breadmaker back out. I need to get back on that. I don't know if you've spoken about it before, but I've had it for six years. It's a game changer. I'm discovering all about the ultra-process food world. And I've stopped buying what I used to buy with the limited time and headspace I have. And she doesn't have the time to make it by hand. So she loves her breadmaker, Ella. She said, I usually make it in the evening, put it on a timer so I can wake up in the morning and the house smells like fresh bread. I mean, that's so, house on prairie vibes. I know. She said it's tastier. She can

chuck in different things like seeds, dried fruit, etc. Great for your 30 plants a week. And I just, I thought it's really good. Anyway, she recommended the Panasonic SD specifically R253.0. She said it's costly initially, but it's worth looking on marketplace and vinted or Facebook pages because it's often being sold so much cheaper there. She got her. as a gift, but loads of people ask for recommendation. She loves her. Anyway, I thought that was a really nice rack because actually, as you said, like bread can be one of those things, really, as you always say, can be demonized. It's actually amazing. Put some delicious beans on top, avocado, all sorts of yummy things. It's an amazing carrier for loads of nutrition. It's super,

super easy. But there is a, you know, there is a continuum. There is a hierarchy of bread from bread that's really very beneficial for you and bread that's slightly lacking. And actually, It's a really cool way to get great bread at home every day. Let's celebrate that. Oh, it's what I'm craving now. I'm getting hungry. Me too. I really want some bread.

Me too. Just with some nice bread and butter or bread and baked beans. And also, before I forget to include, I had reached out to get some more expert opinions on dental health because we've had so many questions as well about fluoride. I saw someone release a podcast recently, Ella, as well, that said, why don't use fluoride? Actually, what dentists suggest is very different.

So I've got a bit of extra information here about that. So let's go into that. My name's Dr. Broda, and I am one of the co-founders of Fala Oral Care. So ultimately, so many products on the market, what's really interesting as well is that we speak to people, for example, we just have a launch in Holland Barrett. They're so conscientious of their digestion, the skin, and then they'll use the standard toothpaste.

And the thing is with the standard toothpaste, a lot of the traditional ones contain SLF, titanium dioxide, and all these chemicals are really not great for your body. You know the ones, classic, three stripes, bright colors. Those are full of all sorts of colours and chemicals. What we wanted to do is create a ingredient-led brand that only has all of the good stuff and none of the nasties. With regards to fluoride, fluoride is obviously key in grubian to help prevent tooth decay, especially important in developing dentition.

And an adult dentition also helps prevent. but it's about the amount of fluoride. And obviously, you have on a topical level, it's in your pace, not the water, which is different, which is systemic. It's controlled. And the systemic debate is the one that people get a little bit upset about. Now, if people don't want fluoride, we're not opposed to it, but you have to have a certain amount of hydroxyappetite. Hydroxy appetite is the key ingredient, which forms the building blocks of enamel. It actually causes high gloss and shine to the teeth that's a bit like vitamin C for the skin.

It's really good for you. So if you have enough a hydroxy appetite, you don't need fluoride. That's the fluoride hydroxyapitite, same conversation that's going on. But the natural ones that don't contain any fluoride or not a high enough level, because about the efficacy, as you know, that's not good. With regards to probiotics, so you've got good bacteria in your mouth, bad bacteria, and just like anything like the products out there in the market for the gut, something that helps with the good bacteria is going to be good for you.

And we know as well that ultimately the balance of bacteria in your mouth that helps to contribute to systemic diseases. So if you have elevated proportions of certain types of bacteria contributes to inflammation, which is why there has been a link between the bacteria in your mouth, heart disease, diabetes, etc., dementia even. So it's really exciting stuff that's coming out there. And we also have a probiotic mouthwash as well. Hey, guys. So, yeah, just to answer these questions quickly, so number one on fluoride,

obviously one of the most hotly discussed topics in dentistry and oral care at the moment. For Parlor, one of our core reasons for existence is to improve oral health and dental decay is still one of the most prevalent diseases in the world. Around 40% of people in the UK have dental decay currently and it's the number one reason for children to have gem around the setic at hospital as to have their teeth taken out because of dental decay. So fluoride is one of, if not our best defender against dental decay with the modern sort of highly sugar-filled diet that most people have. And so it's really important for us that we are helping to reduce dental diseases with our goals with parlour. Obviously, we want to do that with the cleanest ingredient debt possible. So we don't want any ingredients in there that don't need to be in there. But fluoride is one that at the moment, based on the current science, we do believe that it does.

needs to be in there. We are investigating newer research on different molecules which could replace fluoride, but that is still very much new information. Number two on the oral microbiome side of things. So obviously the mouth is the start of the gut. The oral microbiome and the gut microbiome are very, very closely linked. There's actually evidence of the microbiome of the mouth actually having multiple different impacts on gut health and being linked with things like IBS. On top of that, the oral microbiome guides your risk profile around gum disease. And gum disease has got very, very strong links now with other chronic inflammatory conditions of the whole body. So diseases such as diabetes, where it has a bidirectional synergy, things like heart disease, Alzheimer's, so many

different chronic inflammatory conditions have now been linked with gum disease. So improving your microbiome, improving your gut health, really, really important for your whole body wellness. Next point on plastic, 20 billion plastic toothpaste tubes made every single year. That is obviously contributing hugely to the microplastic waste that we see going into our ocean and back into our bodies. And then finally, in terms of that natural toothpaste that you can use that are on the market, you just need to be really, really careful. The key thing with parlor is that we want to be as clean as possible. Every ingredient that goes into our products has to fight for its place in there, but that we're not removing everything that is important for protecting our mouths from

decay, gum disease, all of those different conditions that unfortunately are still far too prevalent. So what we don't want to see is people choosing something that makes them feel that they're doing something which is better for their health with a cleaner deck, but then actually seeing them increase the risk of decay, getting more cavities, more root canals, more pain, more problems, and more poorer health. So that's our position. on the ingredient selection. The first question today is from Angela. Angela has said,

first, can you enlighten us on what stanels and sterols are? I know they're an effective way to lower bad cholesterol, and I've been very conscious of adding more of them to my family's diet, and she said especially for my dad, who's been dealing with cholera and heart disease. I've read that reaching the recommended amounts of stanels and sterols is most easily done with foods that are fortified with them, but I found that the most accessible fortified sources are margarine spread.

And she's found this confusing, obviously because of the UPF conversations, I think she says, butter versus margarine. Are there equally rich plant-based and less processed sources of stanols and sterols? Or should I stop turning up my nose at margarine, especially for lowering back cholesterol? It is a good question. There's a lot of science there. It's a great question. Actually, Angela has two fantastic questions. The second one's about the Mediterranean diet.

But we're going to do that second, right? Because I think, let's unpack, first of all, what standolds and sterols even are. Can you give us a nice understandable overview, re? This, again, is why we shouldn't be demonising all foods and the distinction between certain people living with certain conditions and the power of what we have been able to do. So it is a really important distinction to understand. So plant sterles and plant stanels are naturally occurring compounds.

You find them in your healthy fats, your nuts, your seeds, vegetable oils, yes, controversial everybody, but they contain them, fiber-rich foods, whole grains, legumes, some fruits, veg. So they're structurally similar to cholesterol, but that's why they work because cholesterol has a role in the body as well. So when you eat them, they compete with cholesterol for absorption in the small intestine. So remember, that's the smaller, very long intestine, and that's where you absorb a lot of vitamins and minerals into your bloodstream.

And that's before your digestion goes into your large intestine. which is where your belly bugs and all sorts of things, the good gut bacteria, the microbiome reside. Then your liver pulls more of that bad cholesterol out of the blood and it makes phial acids and that helps lower the amount of bad cholesterol you've got circulating in your blood at one time. So that's why they have such a powerful role at reducing cholesterol because they actively remove, take and take them away from circulating your bloodstream. So the challenge is, of course, getting enough of those in and you can get those from those foods, which is why a lot of the time when we have, you know, I've got predisposed high cholesterol, but my ratio is good of HDL to

LDL, good to bad. You can't just look at the total cholesterol number and get an accurate reading. But although these compounds occur naturally in food, they are very small and I think to get the amount that you need, just like with studies that suggest supplements do X, Y, Z, you need to have quite a lot of them. And clinical trials to reduce cholesterol suggest you need 1.5 to 3 grams a day. So that's a really unrealistic amount of just spread, for instance, to have in your diet. But spreads then become crucial. So alongside your nuts, your seeds, your healthy fats, if you did just replace your butter in the morning for that stanle spread, I'd say that was probably a very good swap if you have raised LDL cholesterol because that's going to actively help reduce the amount. It's one of

the few nuances when it comes to buying these sorts of items in the health world that is backed up by scientific research. So, for instance, there's been large systematic reviews and international cardiovascular guidelines that consistently show if you consume two grams of plant sterols or stanols daily, they do lower cholesterol by up to 12% within three weeks. So you notice, you notice. differences very, very quickly. But it's the context. I'm sure Ella will explain the minute as well, that, you know, we are trying to minimize overall ultra-processed foods in someone's diet. And if you don't have a history of heart disease and you're not predisposed with cholesterol, you don't need to be opting for these marg spreads at all. And perhaps that's when the butter is in smaller amounts

is good for you. But you have to remember that the traditional butter that's not as processed or has gone through as many degrees of processing as high and saturated fat and quantity still matters. So I could go off on that there, Ella, I think, but what I'd say is for this particular individual, a spread is probably a good addition to lower if they've got a diagnosis like that to lower it with heart disease.

But for other people listening who don't have that issue, you're going to get your standards, your sterols from a plant-rich diet. Yeah, absolutely. for instance, I never usually use personal examples about my own diet, but I will give you this, because I have high cholesterol. Genetically predisposed, I eat so many nuts and seeds and all, you know, all of the healthy fats in the diet, I don't eat a lot of saturated fat in general from the rights. I get it from the good source. You know, I'm a nutritionist. I know what I'm doing. I will opt for the plant's sterile, stanell spread most of the time, even though I don't enjoy the taste because, I know the research behind it and what it's doing internally to my body. It's one of the few examples, I think, of UPF genius for some people. And they're so demonised. Also, as you said, it's all about the nuance. And this is the big challenge, isn't it? Is there's not a one-size

fits all. Whereas for other people who have no history of that, you're probably better, as you said, plant-rich diets, you're getting it in naturally, but then actually a little bit of butter on your toast is probably better than the UPF version. So, yeah, no one-size-fits-all. Right. Another question that we had from Anshua, which is really good, I think, is regarding the Mediterranean diet. She said it seems to be the most studied and recommended heart-healthy diet. But it sounds to me to be very exclusively Eurocentric and I struggled to implement it when cooking for my dad. He was more attached to Southeast Asian cuisines and the standard American diet. How do we incorporate the heart-healthy parts of the Mediterranean diet into other cuisines?

Ella, I think this is a great question for you with your recipes and cooking. And I think again, it just goes to show that that must feel, if you live in certain parts of the world, that must feel so out of reach. But also, I just want to say there are other cuisines that are equally noted to be healthy. Asian cuisines have wonderful elements to them. Nordic diets are fantastic if you live in Scandinavia. What I will say in America is that the standard Westernized UPF heavy diet is probably not the one to be aspiring to. So tweaks would be recommended. Yeah, exactly.

prioritising the Asian-inspired dishes, I think, in this instance, over that for sure. I mean, look, the Mediterranean diet, the most study diet in the world, you're absolutely right, but the principles Mediterranean diet. And that's why you then see studies being like, the Atlantic diet, yeah, the Nordic diet, the Icelandic diet, you know, is the healthiest diet in the world. And obviously, those aren't Asian diets, but they're all, and I'm not trying to be reductive, and to please take this the way it's intended. There are actually all variations on the same thing, which is that what we're talking about is cooking from scratch, home cooking, loads and loads of different, brilliant fruits and vegetables.

Now, in certain Asian diets, we've got more soy products. In those diets, you know, in the Nordics, we've got more wild berries and, you know, different types of fish or like herring, which may not be as consumed in other parts of the world. But ultimately, what we're talking about, enjoying meals together, having many less unsaturated fats, It's not heavy on processed meats. It's not heavy on UPFs or excess sugar. You've got fish in lots of those diets, oily fish. You've got nuts and seeds.

You have whole grains. And you've got veg, fruits, beans, pulses in different shapes and forms. And so ultimately, I think you can take those principles and apply them to any type of cooking. Absolutely. I completely agree with Ella. Like just, yeah, use the olive oil. Switch your cooking ingredients to olive oil. try and replace your protein once or twice a week with some edamame beans from the Asian diet inspiration.

You know, they're the healthy fats there or perhaps get some feta cheese and try and replicate a Greek salad with ingredients. You know, you can get locally to you. And really, you know, you don't have to live and breathe Mediterranean. You know, I definitely don't. It is adapting. You know, I wouldn't classify a standard porridge bowl in the morning that we have over here in the winter as a Mediterranean. and staple, but that still has the same benefits. So it's really about getting as much color as possible and all the plants, all the flavors, like Ella said, all the plant points.

Okay, Julie in Dorset says, my question, Marmite, good or bad, you've never mentioned it, love the pod. Do you like Marmite, first of all? You know, they say love or hey, it's very good branding. I mean, whoever came up with that is created. Genius. Genius for Marmite. My eldest and I, love marmite. As a kid, I would have cheese on toast with marmite when I was poorly. And in my first trimester, that's what I had. That's what you wanted. Yeah. What about you? I'm medium, which isn't really like... How? I know. Surely that's not. Like, I kind of like it. There's a moment for it. Do you remember twiglets? Did you love twiglets? No, I didn't like twiglets. I found them a bit much. But a little marmite here and there, I like it. But I don't love it. So yeah, I'm an anomaly.

Yeah, do you know what, though? Because it's distinctive. It's very, very strong. Right. Is it good for us? Let me give you a tsunami, the flavour palette that's created on our tongue. It's rich in several vitamins. It's known for its B vitamins, I think, because it can be fortified.

So it is processed a degree. You know, it's fortified with B12, which is great if you're vegan and you put Marmite on your food, especially to get extra B12 there. But the B12, remember, it's in addition to the pot. it's not naturally produced from the fermentation process, but I wouldn't worry too much about that. Fermented food, Marmite is, but it doesn't also make it a probiotic. So sadly, it's not containing loads of living bacteria. But it is fermented from brewer's yeast, which a lot of people use in cooking when you're making,

it's breads, isn't it, things of brewer's yeast. You know, you start with a process off, and that's how we get to Marmite at the end. It's rich in beta glucons. Now, beta glucans, lots of you may have heard from oats. It's the very famous component, the soluble fiber that's really beneficial for heart health. So I think Marmite in the right amounts could be considered a little bit healthy. I hate labeling, but you know, why not add a little bit of marmite on your food if you love it? People put it in pasta, don't they?

So basically a summary is kind of if you love it, crack on. If you don't love it, though, don't worry. You're not like missing out on kind of core health benefits you can't get elsewhere. And if you're moderate, then doesn't matter. Just give or take, whatever, with Ella. I'm curious about anyone else is like a moderate Marmite person. I mean, I don't love it like I have it every day. It's in my cupboard because my eldest lunchboxes for camp, he just likes marmite sandwiches.

With cheese or just marmite? Just marmite. So I have to put the protein separately because obviously a nutritionist head or are you getting your protein today? You've got your carbs, you've got your flavour, get your veg. But then I'm not worried everybody about how much protein he gets. gets because I know he gets it up. Next question is from Mina. She's from Utah and she loves our podcast and has been listening to it on morning

walks with her dog. In the most recent episode, she said I spoke about, oh, my periora dermatitis and how I was treating it. And it's got her thinking of a recent trend she's seen Ella on TikTok where influences have been showing off their skincare snack plates. Did this the other day or eating their skincare. These plates usually consist of raw vegetables, lots of carrots, fermented foods and more. I also recently watched a video by YouTuber.

I'm so sorry, I don't know who this is, but Mina Le, who deep dived into this topic, how it closely ties into the girl dinner trend and the pros and cons to a tour. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this topical trend, and are there benefits to certain foods for skincare? Part of me knows you've mentioned in the past that it's like an illusion of supplements, you know, the benefits that you can't just target a certain area with what you eat. But what are your thoughts? Yeah, love this question. There's so much to talk about, isn't there?

The Girl Trina trend is a whole separate kettle of fish, I feel like. Eating your skincare is interesting, though, because there is a link. Now, there's a huge genetic component of all of this as well. But there is a real link between what you eat and the health of your skin and how it looks for lots of people. Although, as I said, we're all different. There's a huge nuance, and genetics also play a big part. Ella's completely and utterly right. It's interesting because I did a video on the retrition page that said,

Eat Your Skin Care, but I deliberately didn't do raw plates of foods like I'd seen on this trend. I showed one of the chocolate brownies that contain pistachios and walnuts, you know, alongside your yogurt bowl or traditional meals to showcase that normal, healthy, balanced meals are good for your skin. Now there's lots of interesting things and we've had Dr. Thithi discussed this before. Anjali Marto's another fantastic dermatologist that speaks about this. But as children, our skin in our teenage years can actually potentially be influenced by our gut microbiome and our diet in our youth. And the types of foods we were exposed to because we have something called the gut skin access,

which is currently being researched heavily. And we know that everyone, we harp on about it. we wax lyrical plants, fiber, plants, fiber, just the more we nourish our microbes, it's not just training your immune system, it's also looking at that gut skin defense. There's some research that suggests whilst it's emerging and we need more human data, that foods that we've known for years like vitamin C, you'll see it in skincare products, you know, vitamin C, it's an antioxidant, it helps with cells. Vitamin A helps the turnover and renewal of cells.

We know that, but what we're looking at more is now not just foods, like omega-3, which also good for glowy skin, but the general roughage, the fiber that feeds the gut bugs, because that skin axes is incredibly important. And what lots of people are now doing is overdoing their skincare. So you're damaging your barrier, your skin defense by plowing on too much. So what I found really interesting, I know you mentioned my experience of peria or dermatitis, which probably lasts about two months. I got on it very quickly after about three weeks because it was so out of the blue for me, was that I'd loaded my skin with too much at a time where my skin was changing hormonally because of pregnancy, because there is an interaction with our hormones,

our gut, and our skin consistently. It's the largest living organ that we have our skin. I think we forget that often. So my advice is it's not an individual food. It's an overall diet that looks after our gut health that in turn could potentially look after our skin. That's so helpful, Ray. It really is. So yeah, so many different. reasons to get those different plants into your life every week. Right, our next question comes from Laura, who has said, I just want to say a huge thank you. The Wellness Scoop is my absolutely favorite podcast and brightens up my mornings. I've got a question on CO-10 supplements and what your thoughts are on those because is this a supplement we need to have or can we get the same amount

from our diet? If so, which foods would you recommend? I'm 41 and trying for my third baby and have read that it's a good supplement to take to boost your egg quality. What is CO-Q-10, Ray? So, Co-Q-10 is another sort of enzyme that we get in our foods. You can think of it like a vitamin or mineral, but it is abundant in lots of foods that are generically stereotypically healthy, like oily fish, nuts, seeds, Brazil nuts, things like that. Spinach that Miranda Kerr, as we discussed, was that Monday?

On Monday would not be too happy with me mentioning that. But it's incredibly important, but it's fat soluble, which means you'll see a lot of, like, there's a nice flaxseed blend that I use that actually talks about it. Rie, when you say fat soluble, what you mean is you want to be having those foods with fats, just some olive oil or some avocado or you said nuts intrinsically have fat. But you want to make sure, I mean, we want to have fat in all our meals anyway, don't we? Yeah, no, 100%. And that's where you get it with the natural sources. So it's not technically a vitamin, like vitamins, AD and K that are also fern. fat soluble that you need olive oil with or something to help it be bioavailable. But it is something

and a key component that has been discovered to be incredibly helpful, this co-enzyme. So I've got a voice note from a dietitian that specialises in fertility and she is up to date with all of the latest research and I thought it would be really helpful to get her insights into what we currently know about this for you with co-enzyme Q10 and fertility. Hi guys, my name is Roe Huntress. I'm a specialist fertility dietitian and author of deliciously healthy fertility. So talking about co-enzyme Q10 or CO10 as it's otherwise known, it's basically an antioxidant that our bodies naturally produce, but also we can find it in small amounts in food and we can also get it from supplements as well. And it plays an important

role in the mitochondria, which is essentially the energy producing parts of ourselves. So interestingly, with co-Q10, as we age, the levels of health, CO-10 in our body tend to decrease. And there is a lot of interest about the role of CO-10 in fertility and for good reason. And basically to date, research has shown that CO-Q-10 has the potential to improve the quality of both our eggs and our sperm cells. And one of the main reasons for this is that being an antioxidant, it can help to reduce oxidative stress. So the oxidative stress can be damaging to the egg and the sperm. So therefore, this antioxidant in CO-10 can help to improve the quality. And research has actually also shown that KU10 supplementation may actually

improve pregnancy rates for women who are undergoing IVF. So in terms of can you get enough of it from your diet, so it is naturally found in some foods, but actually the amounts are quite small compared to the doses that we see in fertility research. So if you're wanting to get this benefit from KU10 for fertility, generally we need a therapeutic dose that you would get from a supplement. So it can be a worthwhile choice. There is some evidence to back it, particularly. in women who may be age 35 plus. But like with any other supplement, it isn't a magic bullet and it won't guarantee success, but it can be part of the management plan when we're looking to optimise fertility. If you prefer not to go down the supplement route and you just want

to focus on food, you can do this as well, but think about all the antioxidants that you're able to get from your diet. So plenty of fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, spices, those kind of things. Your overall diet can also play a role in supporting healthy eggs and fertility. Our next question, interestingly, it just seems to be such a hot topic at the moment because it's about Burberine. We have covered this. If you go back three episodes, three Thursday episodes, you will see a much longer deep dive. But Sophie said, can you tell us a bit more about Burberrying? Everyone's saying it's just like a GLP1.

What is that about? I don't believe it, but I need your take on it. So we went through the research, as I said, a couple of weeks ago. but there's just so many questions for me in the inbox about berberine at the moment. And I was trying to figure out why. So I went on TikTok and there's all these videos on there of people kind of like showing almost a before and afters of berbering gummies. And like there's one that I can see. It's like when the berberine is berberining.

Burber is berberining. Or like 12 real ways to reverse insulin resistance. And it's like walking, practicing good sleep hygiene, you know, quick. it's sugar, stop snacking. You know, you kind of see where it's coming from. Take berberine. Oh, no. So it's obviously is really being touted as something that it's not.

People get very excited, especially in the weight loss supplement world. Years ago, lots of people taking glucomalcoma, I can never say it correct. Oh, yes, I remember that. Yeah, that, you know, we go through phases because a bit of research may come out that suggests that there's one area that helps a weight loss. And we all jump on X world. So excited. There might be an easier way.

And before you know it, well, nowadays there's TikTok to do that job for you. It becomes a viral comparison to a Zenpick. We started the Wellness Group without Zampic, do you remember? So now we're on to Berberine-type diets. But there isn't any research. There's a few examples of like cherry-pick things, like a 2022 systematic review and meta-analysis. So it takes lots of different research, groups it together. They found an association with a small reduction in body weight and BMI.

But it was modest, and I've got to be honest, what were the participants eating? I think if you were going to summarize it, there is absolutely no comparison between Berberian and GLP ones. None, literally none, none, completely different kettle of fish. We're actually going to talk about GLP ones and some actually really interesting updates, not good ones on Monday. But the way it works, and it is not always necessarily the best possible way, but it is highly effective. It works in a completely different way. it's a totally different premise. Burberene is a compound, naturally occurring plant compound,

has been used in traditional ways for centuries, but it literally has nothing to do with GLP1. They work in completely different ways. They're created completely differently. The level of impact they have is absolutely, fair to say, really like, incomparable. It's so negligible that I would say this is a big waste of money. And it's almost like when everyone got very excited about Beobab.

Spirulina, wheatgrass. Spirulina, wheatgrass, barley grass, baobab, now berberine, you see it in supplements. Meringa had a moment. That was my weird. Do you remember I was, what do you call it? My identity was taken AI'd. What was that called? Oh my God.

Yes. They made like a dupe of you in AI and you were selling people, Moringa. It's not funny, but it's quite funny. It is funny now to laugh. But at the time, I was like, devastating. I think I was one of the first people to be taken by AI to sell Moringa. to you all. Hopefully none of you did fall victim to that. We managed to get a lot of it removed. But it's happening to doctors everywhere now as well still with GLP-1s of these sorts of supplements.

So what you're seeing may not actually be real. It may also be, there's a term for it. I can't remember. But GLP-1s are so powerful. You cannot replicate that. Yeah, the peptide response. So your GLP-1s resulted up to seven to eight days of reduced hunger from signaling and suppression in certain areas of your brain as a response to taking these peptide hormones, a food can last a minute tops, maybe two minutes maximum, of a feeling of remote satisfaction. And berberine doesn't even come in food form. You're predominantly just taking a pill, which equally, who can even measure that effect? Ria, I really want your thoughts on this, and I really want our listener's thoughts on this.

And Sophie, this is not reflective of you and your question in any shape or form. But what I wonder, because we have so many of these sorts of questions in the inbox, and there are so many headlines on like natural variations on GLP-1s, do you know what I actually wonder? I wonder if because, as we always say, this conflation between aesthetics and a certain body image ideal, which is getting thinner and thinner, as we talked about Monday, and true kind of health and wellness and physiological wellness. I kind of feel like everyone wants to have a GLP-1 version.

They don't necessarily want to take the drugs, but they're kind of like, is there a way? It can have the same effects? Like, can I get really skinny too? And I think a lot of it is subconscious, but I almost think, and it's Sophie, this is nothing to do with you. But I think it's a cultural thing where we're all like, is there a shortcut to being really slim? And can I find it? And it's like this desperate panacea that we're looking for.

And I think we kind of have to, I don't want to say call that out, but I think we have to maybe acknowledge that that is happening at the moment. I think we have to be honest with ourselves and realize that when alternative weight loss methods come up and they look like they're manageable and easy and something that everybody could do. Why do we all want to jump on them? The curiosity of it. I mean, I can relate in a, not me personally, but I speak to women that are pregnant or about to give birth or postpartum. And I have had a few people say, well, I'm just going to be taking JLP ones once I get to X month postpartum. There's a lot of pressure on body image these days.

Do you know what I think we should do is I will definitely speak to Professor Giles Yomor on this subject as well? Because I know there's a lot of things we're going to be discussing, aren't we, about GLP-1s coming up. Let's get some more opinions and voices on this discussion because it's definitely a big one that needs to be had. Yeah, I'm curious. And you guys might not want to answer it in the comments or something. But if you email us, like, are you feeling a bit of that pressure at the moment? Because as I said, it just feels like there is this constant, like here's a natural. version, you know, is there, there something in the ether that's making people feel more

pressure at the moment? I mean, it is the most incredible modern advancement of medicine just to shine it that way because now JLP ones are being looked at not just for weight loss. So there are so many nuances to this massive subject. It makes perfect sense the supplement industry is jumping on board something that's wildly successful and trying to create their own way of making money from you. So we do have one final question today from Nicola Ella, which is actually about products marketed at women again. So her question is, are intimate female probiotics a load of rubbish, or do they genuinely help with the health of our vaginal and urinary microbiome? The thing that makes me particularly sad about these adverts is the way they're making women feel like, you know,

bad smells are not a natural part of our body. I was really shocked to read one advert. and she's put in brackets for her V-flora that opened with, I think my boyfriend cheated on me because of how I smell. Oh my gosh, it's just so awful. They are using our self-worth and sexual insecurities

to sell their products. After a long narrative, the advert finished with he brought flowers home yesterday. He hadn't done that in over a year. I'm not saying her V-flora fixed my relationship. I'm saying it broke the loop that was breaking me.

What an advert campaign. I have not seen any of these. Another advert she's written says, roses are red, violets are blue, my V tastes sweet and it smells great too. And that's from a better vitamin company. I'm furious at that, just reading that out loud. It says these adverts make me so angry,

like women don't have enough to deal with already when it comes to how we feel about ourselves and our appearances. I'm afraid it's one of those topics that feels embarrassing to talk about, but it would be great to dispel any myths that you may have to help your listeners from Nicola. Nicola, thank you. I love it when people message in with things that people might be nervous to talk about because like the fart one the other day, we're just humans. Like we got to talk about all sorts of parts of our body. And thank you, Nicola. Do you remember read us early on in the podcast talking about the Courtney Kardashian lemmy purr vaginal probiotic gummies? And then I think she did a lollipop version as well, all about, yeah, making your vagina delicious through. I mean, I've never heard such nonsense since all my life.

I didn't link two and two together, if I'm being honest, when we were discussing that. But now it makes a lot more sense. That was the first big one I ever saw. But now I've Googled it. I've Googled vaginal gummies. And I'm getting, there are so many vaginal gummies. I can't believe it. This is a whole new area.

Yeah. So who better to ask to discuss this with you than the incredible Dr. Philippa Kay? She's one of my favorite health professionals out there that speaks so eloquently. and she will tell it as it is. She's the author of The Science of Menopause. Over to you, Philippa. So I think the first thing to say is that the idea that as a woman you smell, you're disgusting, that you're dirty and smelly,

is a really misogynistic idea that has really fed into women's shame about their bodies that we know from evidence actually has a negative impact on health and their ability to seek health care when they need it. Your vagina doesn't smell like a bunch of roses because it's not a bunch of roses. Everybody will have an odor, but it shouldn't smell offensive. So someone that is trying to offer you something by advertising through shame as many. of these people do, including the fact that the advert that the person mentioned was opened with, I think my boyfriend cheated on me because of how I smelt. There's a real problem with that messaging there. The second point, though, around the question is whether or not vaginal

probiotics works. There is some promising, but it's very limited evidence that specific strains of vaginal probiotics may be able to help support vaginal health in the future. Right now, we do not have large-scale definitive proof of the benefit. There are some studies that suggest that specific strains like lactobacilli might be helpful, and actually we want the vagina to be colonised with lactobacilisil. And there are small trials which essentially show that the lactobacilai, help maintain the acidic pH in the vagina, and that in turn may be helpful. So there are limitations in what we know, and some research has shown in healthy women,

or probiotics show little or little direct measurable effect on the natural vaginal microbiome. Added to this, if you have a probiotic sold as a dietary supplement, and it might not be regulated in the same way as a medicine is. If you are struggling with itching, irritation, dryness, if you think that the smell has changed and is problematic, then seek medical advice. And if you truly think that your boyfriend cheats on you because of an issue to do with your genitals,

then aside from it, getting medical advice, perhaps we also might need a new boyfriend. Amazing. Thank you so much. I have to say while we were listening to that, I kept Googling. And I'm pleased to say the first thing that came up after all that ads on Google for me was there is no evidence that vaginal gummies can alter vaginal taste. Do you know, it's really, really horrifying how these things can really take shape and spiral. But women are picked on at every single angle. That's what I've really taken from that. I am absolutely horrified at what we are marketed and how we're exploited. Yeah, I totally agree. Well, I hope that. was helpful. We love being here with you guys as always. Thank you. Any questions you have, you want us to answer hello at wellness hyphen scoop.com. And also please share your recommendations with the community with us so we can share them because we absolutely love hearing those two. I think I might start knitting badly soon. I would love to try knitting. I did cross stitch at school,

but knitting, I would love to try that. Thank you everybody. We've got lots of big discussions to come. Thank you again for tuning in. It means so much to Ella and I, and we will be back on Monday. Can't wait. See you then, guys.