The Wellness Scoop - Fitting In? Fries & How to Keep Your Holiday High 

Episode Date: September 15, 2025

This week, we’re unpacking the big stories shaping food, health and how we live. We start with a major BMJ study showing that eating chips three times a week raises type 2 diabetes risk by 20% but baked or boiled potatoes don’t carry the same danger. We’ll share why the way you cook them matters, plus the genuine health benefits of potatoes when they’re not fried. Next, a Guardian feature on “otroverts” — people who don’t feel at home in groups but aren’t introverts either. Psychiatrist Dr Rami Kaminski explains why this isn’t a deficit, how it can be a strength, and what it tells us about solitude, loneliness and connection. And from the Times, the science of the “holiday brain-boost.” We explore how holidays can slow cognitive ageing, why even short breaks matter, and the habits from naps to mindfulness and movement that help the benefits last for weeks after you’re home. Plus, the trends: Australia’s world-first ban on social media for under 16s, and the UK government’s plan to restrict energy drink sales to teenagers. Alongside all that, Ella shares her first weekend in the new house, picking homegrown fruit and veg and welcoming two new puppies, plus a listener story that reveals just how many ultra processed additives can be hiding in a single mini cupcake. Catch Rhi discussing UPFs and The Unprocessed Plate at Waterstones - London Gower Street and Chroleywood Library Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Welcome to the Wellness Scoop, your weekly dose of health and wellness inspiration. And as always, we are your hosts. I'm Ella Mills. And I'm Rihanna Lambert. And as always, we are diving into the headlines and trends. making waves in the world of health and wellness. And Rie, what have we got coming up for everyone in today's show? Oh, Ella, it's such a good one.

We have chips and type 2 diabetes risk, why being a misfit might be your superpower, the holiday brain boost that really lasts. And then we have Australia's ban on under 16s using social media and the UK's plan to ban energy drinks for teens. And of course, Ella's recap on her first weekend. in the new house puppies at all just a quick note before we get started we love all your questions that have been coming in for our weekly questions and answers episodes they are so fab so keep

them coming just a reminder leave the comments questions queries things you want to know more about in spotify and apple comments or send me an email ella at deliciousie ella dot com and as always we will try and cover as many as possible and those episodes will come out on Thursdays. Exactly. So Ella, let's start with a recap. How is your first weekend in a new house? You've just had so many life changes all at once. We really have. Yeah, we've done four nights in the new house. So we're officially countryside people now. I've just done my first commute into London. We got two puppies because we are mad. My husband said to me last night, it's very us to get two, not just one, the same week that we move.

It is chaos, of course, and it's one of those things. Like, if you look one way, it looks so idyllic and beautiful. And if you look the other way, it's a building site. So it's definitely a tale of two halves at the moment. But I cannot tell you how much we are enjoying the space, the calm, the peace. Like, obviously puppies get up in the middle of the night to go to the toilet and things like that. And last night, I was out at midnight at 2 o'clock in the morning. And it was a full moon and I was just outside.

And it was so beautiful. and I am so tired but so happy and we were picking apples and blackberries and the guy that lived there before us had left tomatoes in the greenhouse and grown corsets. There are pairs. I mean, it's like it's idyllic. I feel like I'm in my kind of ballerina farm era.

Yes. Oh my goodness. I love that account. And also it's like old school the good life vibes. You are living off the land. You are habiting on. I'm going to become a trad wife. She really is. But honestly, it's a dream to see you. so happy. And I didn't know that puppies didn't sleep through the night. You know, I don't have a dog. So I totally underestimated the fact that, yeah, you're sleep training. We're sleep

training, exactly. But it's fun and it's, oh, yeah, we're just, the kids are so happy and it's amazing. And we've also got a really interesting update for a listener. So I am loving getting your emails into my inbox every week, guys, for the questions and answers episode. And Sue sent in a photo, because obviously we have been talking, and obviously this is a huge area of research and her new book, all about ultra-processed foods. And I think it's really interesting when you start talking about it and becoming more aware. And you start, not like in an obsessive perfectionist way, but curiosity. And you start flipping over things and looking at what ingredients are in it. And it's so surprising. And Sue sent in a photo of a mini cupcake she was

given at work. After listening to the podcast, she started looking at labels more. And she sent it in to see what we thought. And it had 38 ingredients in a mini cupcake, of which 20, so 53% were UPF. So flavourings, colouring, stabilises, acidity regulators, glycerine, glucose syrup, invert sugar syrup, fructose syrup, partially inverted sugar syrup, dextros, five different e-numbers and two different emulsifiers. And it is quite extraordinary, isn't it? Anyway, she just wanted to point it out to us and I thought it was a really interesting example of just how odd our food landscape is because if you were baking at home, you know, however you choose to bake, but you're just talking about a handful of very, very simple ingredients.

to make the same cake, which would probably taste better. I completely agree. And of course, we're not disputing the fact that sometimes they are the only options. Like I use the example of if you're dairy-free or, you know, you've got allergies, you're at a birthday party. Often people haven't made two different cakes, have they? They'll make the traditional one and they'll buy these sorts of cupcakes. And that's okay. It doesn't matter if you have it every now and again.

But if you are consuming and buying these sorts of items really frequently, do really consider, like, Sue said those 38 ingredients in the back of the pack. I say, do I really need these right now? Or could I just wait and cook a batch at the weekend and then make them last throughout the week? And we had other questions on things like stabilisers. So we're going to be covering that as well in Thursday's episode. And as you touched on fruit and veg, I did my three ways with BlackBree's reel on socials. I am obsessed, Ella, but sadly I can see them going already on the bushes.

They go quick this year. They've gone so quickly this year. Yeah. We were obsessively picking them yesterday, made a BlackBree and Apple Crumble. As I said, I'm in my Tradwife era. I love it, though, but the ones in the shops that I've been buying are giant. Like, one of them was nearly as big as Zach's head. Like, the blackberries are so big.

I'm going to save the rest of my updates for Thursday, because I've got some really good ones and I can't wait. I think we should move on to the headlines that matter. A reminder, if you are new here, the headline section is where we take the biggest stories that have hit the news site. this week in the world of health and wellness and break them down for you so you know what actually matters and what doesn't and what health and wellness advice to take into your life. So headline one is eating chips three times a week raises type two diabetes risk by 20%.

I know. It's a new study that's had a lot of coverage and it definitely caught my eye. It was published in the British Medical Journal on how the way you eat potatoes affects the risk of type two diabetes. And I think in the UK, Ella, chips are a bit of a staple. They really are. It's funny. I remember it's one of those things I had no idea about until I worked in this industry. Obviously, I'm sure you were the same read that. There are kind of boards for almonds, you know, for potatoes and things like that. And there are companies. And I remember quite early on in my career being contacted by, I can't remember what the group was called, but like PR for potatoes essentially. Trying to get the word out there because because potatoes are so often made into chips and crisps and things like that. And those arts will come on to our favorite way as a nation to eat them. they often get this bad rap as being like unhealthy and they were trying to do kind of a PR campaign about how actually potatoes are really great for you and they're really great to cook with

and they've got loads of health properties so we'll come onto that later but it was this as an aside but it was just this funny moment early in my career and I was like oh my gosh there is money behind everything even PRing potatoes but this dates back to that old message of all carbs are bad you know like potatoes are seen as because they're starchy there's seen as oh just eat a potato it's a waste of nutrition or just make you put on weight, all these silly messages that are associated around it.

So Ella, let's dive into some stats because you've got some good stats and how many of us actually eat chips. Oh my gosh, we love potatoes as a rule actually before we even get to chips. So believe it or not, you know, I love these kinds of stats. Potatoes are the world's third most consumed crop after rice and wheat. And diabetes is obviously also a huge issue. So we're talking about something that kind of all of us eat and type 2 diabetes, which obviously this headline refers to which is so relevant, particularly in this country,

about 5.8 million people are living with diabetes, about nine out of 10 of those cases of type 2, which is obviously, again, this is what this headline is talking about, and that's obviously strongly linked to diet and lifestyle. And again, to give you a bit of a sense of how many chips then we're eating, I couldn't get the exact numbers, but here are a few stats that give a nice illustration of it. British consumers get through about 382 million portions of fish and chips every year.

So that's roughly six servings of fish and chips per person. We also eat six billion packets of crisps annually. And chip consumption has tripled since the 1970s, massively thanks to how easy to get popular frozen bags of supermarket chips have become. And according to the BBC, factory made chips and fries, which obviously is kind of the same thing, now account for about 3% of calories in a typical British diet. Now, I'm not a crisp person, as we've discussed before, I would buy a chocolate buck.

I love a crisp. So I wasn't aware of the cost of a packet of crisps now. And apparently, we were having this discussion with friends at the park over the weekend. You can't get a little pack of crisps for under a pound anymore either. So clearly, it's a profit industry. Yeah, it's a massive, massive industry. I have to say, I love a chip. I love a crisp before we get into this.

Oh, yeah. Oh, my gosh. Chips. But if I get chips, I don't like the Mackie D fry type. I like the traditional chunky type. Yeah, I like Chunky too. And I don't like ketchup information that no one really needs to know. My whole life, I've never loved ketchup.

Ella, we should go for plain boring chips. Fat chip dates. Okay, Rhie, what are the key findings of this study? What do people need to know? Okay, everybody. So eating chips three times a week raises the risk of type 2 diabetes by about 20% and eating them five times a week by about 27%. And that's eating potatoes, baked, boiled or mashed,

raises the risk only slightly. So basically you're better of eating a normal potato, which we know because it's beneficial for you. It contains good sources of carbohydrates and vitamin C rather than deep fat frying or processing the potato into crisps or chips. Replacing potatoes, though, with whole grains did lower diabetes risk by 8%. And I want to just caveat these findings by saying

if you have type 2 diabetes and you're looking at insulin resistance, there's certain types of carbohydrates and there's certain impacts on your blood sugars you need to look at. So for the general population that don't have diabetes, you don't need to worry too much about your potato consumption. No, and I guess the main thing that kind of, I think, in terms of what should people take home from this article, I think the biggest thing was replacing chips with whole grains,

reduce your type 2 diabetes risk by 19%. And I think that's a really actionable thing, which is that it's not about never eating chips again. We're all going to keep eating chips. I think both of us very much included. But if you think about having them maybe a few times less and replacing them with whole grains, that's an almost 20% reduction in your type 2 diabetes risk, which is absolutely huge. And this was a big study, wasn't it?

Yeah. And also, before we get into the study size, if however, guys, you replaced your chips with white rice, it actually raised the risk. So what we need to be doing, and this is actually quite an awful thing to say for so many cultures around the world, white rice is such a staple. But I need to remind you, it's what you put with white rice at a meal that makes white rice a good carbohydrate to consume. But for most of us, you just need more whole grains. The answer is more whole grains. So don't switch potatoes for white rice or chips for white rice. Definitely stick with whole grains.

And the study followed over 205,000 U.S. health professionals, Ella. So that's between 1984 and 2021. And they filled out food questionnaires every four years. So I have to say, we were always taught. this at university, data where yourself reporting food intake, there's so many caveats to that, you know, what do you remember? Do you remember what you ate for the full day, two days ago? Well, three years ago. I mean, they're doing it every four years. So, exactly. There's obviously room for error. So just bear that in mind. But I think the underlying message here

is clear, isn't it, that maybe we're just consuming too many chips and not enough whole grains because we're not getting enough fibre. Exactly. And obviously, as we said, like, we'll come on to some health benefits of potatoes in a set because I think it is worth showing that actually they can be a really nice part of your meal, but actually it's the frying them, so adding the extra fat, the salt, the compounds that form during frying and then eating that really regularly. That's what increases the risk of type 2 diabetes. So that's where the challenge is. Yeah, 100%. And of course, we're not going to demonise. Remember potatoes, please keep the skin on. Can I just emphasize how good it is to cook? Even your mashed potato, you know, keeping the

skin on. It's really good because they're higher in fibre and then you've got more potassium guys than a banana. And most people think of bananas as being the key source of potassium because you see at tennis player eating one at the side of the court, you know, that sort of thing. They also contain, I've mentioned vitamin C before, antioxidants, you know, B6 Ella. They also keep you quite full. I think potatoes are a really kind of hearty thing to have on your plate, especially this time of year. Oh my gosh, completely like a baked potato and you can make some kind of quick, obviously just can of baked beans or you can do some quick homemade baked beans. Give us three toppings. Give us three potato topping.

Oh, no pressure. I haven't prepped these guys. Can I say first of all before that? Skin on mash is so delicious. And if you do, what I would do is obviously you boil up your potatoes, keep the skin on, just depends how big they have chopped them into quarters or something. Then in a frying pan, fry up some garlic, loads of olive oil, lots of salt. And then you can do things depending who you're doing it, but like cumin seeds are delicious. If you fry those with your garlic before you add the mash and then just like a chunky skin on mash. I think you're never going to get it kind of pured and completely smooth. So don't try and emulate that. Instead, you want like a really chunky and delicious mash or a pesto one also delicious. Add a tablespoon

of pesto into it. But it's a really, really good side. Like we make lots of like crispy tofu fingers with skin on mash, like pesto mash, delicious combination. So I really recommend that. But toppings feel baked potatoes. I love like a homemade butter bean, baked beans essentially. And again, you're so simple, take an onion or a shallot, garlic, a little bit of olive oil, fry it up. Add chili if you like chili as well, delicious, or a bit of Horissa, a tin of butter beans and then a jar of tomato sauce. It's the easiest way to add flavour to it. Fry it all up, 10 minutes, amazing. Obviously, you can pop it on toast or a quick, like, jack of potato, absolutely delicious supper.

Or you could do, I've got to do three now. Sorry, don't worry if you don't have. The other thing you can do, if your veggie, again, is like a chunky, chickpee filling, quick in a kind of mini blenders, the easiest way to do it, things like red onion, coriander, loads of lime juice, chickpeas, etc, and kind of do a sort of tuna mayo type thing with your chickpeas. Delicious. And then obviously just with the kind of easy salad as well. Perfect. Ella, I'm very, very happy with that. Once as well, so my little ones have got a thing about mushy peas. You know, whenever you go out and you do have chips, they don't want the peas

marsh. Yeah, my girls hate mushy peas too. Isn't that funny? It must be a texture thing because I actually, my dad's from Nottingham and Mushy Peas is a bit of a thing. I love a mushy pee. I think we're digressing. Let's move on to Headline 2, which Ella is for you. Okay, so, also, I could kind of relate to this as well, but it says, don't like joining in, why it could be your superpower, because Ella and I often talk about the fact when we're off air, you know, it's nice to have a night in.

It's actually really nice to be able to say no to things. things and take time to yourself and really we prioritise our time, don't we, with our family, the business. But actually, some people spend their lives feeling out of place in groups. But this tendency comes with unique opportunities. So my mum actually sent me this article. It was from The Guardian. And I just thought it was a really interesting one to share because social anxiety is one of the most prevalent forms of mental health challenges at the moment. And obviously, as we know, as we've covered lots of times, collectively we are having a really difficult time with our mental health and people really

struggling. And I think because of the world that we live in today where we feel like we know so much about other people but we actually don't really know anything about them at all because we just see through kind of the vignette of social media and it's obviously a snapshot, a little snippet, it's not the whole picture. And I think we often think, or I often think, am I doing it right? Am I normal? Am I the only person that feels this way? And I think it's easy to things to kind of exacerbate and spiral and you feel like you're not the same as everyone else and that's not great for your mental health and I think this was a really interesting article in terms of covering that question and it was shared by a psychiatrist called Dr. Rami

Kaminsky and a teenager had come to them and they said I just feel weird like I'm not part of it which is odd as these are all my friends and they were referring to kind of going to a bigger gathering I know they like me and that they're happy I'm here but I still don't feel connected I often feel lonely or bored when I'm with many people and not when I'm with one or two close friends or when I'm alone. I don't like to say those things because it makes me sound like an alien.

Do you think there's something wrong with me? Ella, this was my whole school life. I didn't have, I just didn't fit in with anybody I felt. I used to go home and have these conversations with my dad and be like, there's something wrong with me. I'm not into what everyone else is into. And that was why I really wanted to cover this headline because I think that's exactly the experience

that so many people have, which is like, is there something wrong with me? and it's easy to kind of almost create a condition of it. And actually, it's really, really normal, but we don't often say things out loud. And the psychiatrist's answer was so interesting to this exact point. They said, in my 40 plus years, as a practicing physician and psychiatrist, I have worked with world leaders performing artists and professionals at the top of their fields.

And it often emerges that they have gone through life feeling just as this teenager described. The vast majority of these people have no psychiatric diagnosis. They aren't socially maladjusted or even socially anxious. It's just a really normal condition. And I think to my point, you often end up feeling like you're weird because you're different to other people. And he had this whole new theory of how we can describe people like that, which I definitely fall into this camp. Yeah, he kind of linked it back to Carl Young's concepts of extrovert. So one who faces outward and then introvert, one who faces inward.

I find this so funny because I've always called myself an extroverted invert. You just try and think I'm definitely a bit of both. But he made the point that the non-belonger is different. So their orientation is defined by the fact it rarely faces the same direction as everyone else. And that's why he coined the term otrovert from the Spanish word otter, meaning other. Yeah, so basically, you're not weird. There's nothing wrong with you. You don't have a condition.

You just prefer being with one or two people and not in a group. And I think that definition is just so important, which is as I said, why I so wanted to talk about some of the show. Because what he's saying is many otroverts or atroverts. who say have spent their lives assuming they must be just introverts because they don't enjoy big social gatherings. But actually they are really different. You know, introverts are usually quieter, more reserved, whereas otroverts can be actually quite gregarious and outgoing. An introvert might not be the first to speak up in a meeting, might be nervous to do so, but an otrovert will often speak up in a meeting, for example, very confidently. And unlike

introverts who tend to feel drained, even after long, deep one-on-one conversations, Otroverts actually gain energy from that. They value solitary time too, but not to detach or recharge more to avoid the disconnection they feel when they're in big groups. I mean, that is me to a T. And I have spent a lot of time. Like, I've gone to weddings or parties

and just hated every second of it and being like, is there something wrong with me? Am I socially anxious? You know, should I go and talk to someone? Am I just different for everyone else? Yeah, am I not right? And it's quite hard. And actually, you read this.

And you're like, no, it's okay. It's completely normal. There's nothing wrong. with you. It's literally completely refrained the entire conversation. I'm exactly the same as you, Ella. As a performer, I can put on a show. I can get on stage and be really confident, but it doesn't mean I enjoy like you being in large social gatherings. The idea of a music festival, which I know to so many people listening that everyone wants to go to Glastow, I am actually really not into it. I get really anxious about the idea of being in large crowds. I think this has offered an option to so many people like Arcello who felt that. whole lives, like there was something, you know, just not quite right. So many of us just spent years thinking we need to fix it and we didn't. And I think it's worth noting that social anxiety, like Ella said at the beginning, is a really common health challenge. And with AI and all sorts of technology coming, thank goodness we now have Otrevert. I know. Did you see, a quick aside

before we go into our next headline, the NHS actually came out this week saying, please don't use chat GPT, don't use AI as your therapist. This is not a good idea. And obviously, difficult thing to say because it's so difficult to get support from a therapist, but equally, it was interesting to see that. That was a headline we haven't covered this week, but maybe we will in the future. I think we have to. We were also getting things in the clinic with people searching for their nutrition one-to-one advice on chat GPT as well. So I think we definitely need to, let's go into it next week. Yeah, it is a really, really interesting one, yeah, how AI kind of will frame medical advice in the future.

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and see for yourself how Volvo's legendary safety brings peace of mind to every crisp morning commute. This September, leased a 2026 XC90 plug-in hybrid from $599 biweekly at 3.99% during the Volvo Fall Experience event. Conditions supply, visit your local Volvo retailer or go to explorevolvo.com. Okay, headline number three, I think very important for this time of year, how to unlock the holiday brain boost and make the mental benefits of a virtual. a break last long after your home. So if anyone has taken a little bit of time off this summer, this is so relevant. How can we take those benefits and keep them kind of eke out as long as possible? Re sent this Times article to me. And it was just, I thought it was so brilliant.

It's by the neuroscientist Dr. Joseph Jebeli. And he was doing this piece, as I said, it's called Make the Holiday Brain Boost last. And basically it just shows that holidays don't have to just make us feel good in the moment. They actually can slow cognitive aging. So holidays are a health prescription, essentially. But basically with the right habits, like short naps or mindfulness, you can actually extend the mental benefits you get from that holiday, that cognitive aging when you're back at work. And I think we all need to know how to do that. Oh, my goodness. Imagine if we could us all be on a permanent holiday. No, we'd be bored. You'd be bored, honestly. You're right. It takes away the excitement and that. It's almost like that saying,

too much of a good thing spoils, I can't remember how it goes, spoils the broth. There's definitely a phrase of too much of a good thing. And it's right. Then you've, got nothing to look forward to. And I always liked the phrase, you can't have Friday night without Monday morning. I mean, my Friday night's like cooking at home and watching Netflix, but like that's really nice for me with a face mask and maybe a bath. I love it. This is on my agenda tonight, actually. I'm going to make Monday night the new Friday night for me tonight. It's backed up by big data though, everybody. A meta-analysis of more than 3,000 holiday makers across nine countries found mental well-being spikes during vacations and stays elevated for up to

43 days afterwards. So that's basically better, you know, for your mood. That's six weeks of sharper focus. And better mood, exactly. And basically, you can even make very short break. So like a three-day weekend help. So the British Psychological Society reports that micro-holidays. So like those long weekends can lift mood, boost creativity for up to 21 days. So you don't worry. You don't need to like have a month in Bali to get these benefits. Like literally just an extra, you know, using a couple of holiday days across the year. to have a three-day weekend can genuinely really, really, really help. And as Rees said, there is a lot of amazing science to this.

Things like daytime naps, right? Yeah, 100%. So it links back to neuroscience that the daytime nap, even 20 to 30 minutes, has been shown to consolidate memory and lower stress hormones like cortisol. You know, mindfulness, movement, social connection are really important while you're away. And I think those are the things that give you a reboot. And I know that when I go away, like you said for the weekend, it's a change of scene. It really does do something for you. A two days can feel like a week.

It really does. And I think when we think about exercise, we often think about like going spinning or going to the gym. And actually when they again, there's a huge study in the journal of applied psychology. And they're looking at movement from holiday. And that's things like hiking, swimming, just going on a nice walk. And that reduced mental fatigue by 20 to 25 percent and boosted that post-holiday productivity as well. So if holidays go, they're not just fun. You need them. They're literally rewiring your brain. for better focus, better mood, it's amazing. And it doesn't feel like exercise when you're on holiday. It's kind of just part of the lifestyle that you adopt when you go somewhere else. But as we've all good things, guys, there is a catch.

If you jump straight back into work stress, the benefits fade really quickly. And sadly, this might be true for a lot of us. So a psychology today review recommends recovery days. So even one or two low stress, tech-free. Okay, let's just really emphasize the fact that tech-free, because tech can induce stress. So tech-free days after being away on holiday. a day, it do help sustain the gains. So without that, the brain boost actually could be shorter lived. That's quite depressing, isn't it? But I think the overall thing here is basically

like, it's back to what we always say, isn't it? Which is that we so often make wellness really reductive. We're like lift weights in the gym, eat broccoli. But actually what we're talking about here is the benefits, like just gently moving your body, social connection, which we know is so important for our health. And having some calm, stress-free time every day is so, so, so effective. So kind of bringing those, like, little bits of that holiday mindset into your life. So, like, this article was suggesting that journaling or reflecting or trying to save a moment's a bit more at home, you know, that mindfulness of just those things, that can extend

the well-being that you get from a trip by an extra 10 to 15%. So, you know, it doesn't have to be, as we said, like, a month in Bali. It doesn't have to be these kind of big gestures, but actually is just reminding yourself those little things, like having those moments of movement, that social connection, those chances to unwind to savor things to sit down and enjoy a meal with someone. They are so effective for our health. And if you can keep those up at home, you can keep your holiday benefits going even while you're at work. I love that. And you don't have to jump on an airplane. So just to emphasize to you all, this is staycations. It's anything like Ella said

that acts in that kind of way. Because actually, airports can also be quite stressful, I think. So anything that involves getting away a little bit and just doing something for you, like Ella said, can give you long-term cognitive health. And it moves us quite nice. into our trend section today. So I feel like our trend section covers the kind of the good, the bad, the ugly, doesn't it? Some weeks we're like, blueberries, they're going to change your brain, that's superfoods. Why is that? Where did that come from? And then other weeks we're like, oh, don't go near that trend.

And this is a very interesting one, I think, that Reeves brought to the show this week, which is Australia's ban on smartphones. Reid, tell us everything. I'm very late to the party and what's going on now over there. It's not technically a trend, but I saw it. And there seems to be a theme of under 16 bands, which I'm all for, by the way. And I think Australia sometimes can really lead forward in terms of making changes that the rest of the world sometimes should do. I know they were at one point with nutrition leaps and bounds ahead.

Also, we've got a lot of Australia listeners. So, hi, everybody, because I know that you send us some lovely messages on this. But this is about smartphones. So ultimately, Australia are going to pass the world first, the first in the entire world, law banning social media for anyone under 16. It officially became law in November 2024 and kicks off in December 2025. What's wild is that platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, there's so many Snapchat, YouTube, X, Reddit, all of them basically, have to block anyone under 16 from having an account. And with no parental approval allowed, or they could be. find, so they're finding them, Ella, up to 50 million Aussie dollars. So they're going to find

the big tech companies if they don't implement this ban for under 16s. It's such a serious movement, but I think it offers a level of protection that since that program adolescence came out, you know, the concern for so many people after they watch that parents, especially, we're really starting to understand that technology, especially social media use for under 16s, can be so detrimental. I mean, Is it positive for any of us? I mean, that's the question. But obviously, the amount of time spent online is so huge for teenagers.

Actually, there's something I was listening to recently that gave me such a helpful perspective on it, which is that I think, you know, we're all prone to comparing ourselves to other people, like we just talked about with our second headline in terms of thinking, like, am I normal, am I doing it right? But teenagers, that's where it really comes to a head, you know, where you start comparing yourself.

And coupled with the fact that we, are more helicopter parents than we used to be now. I think the tendency to be like, be careful is a lot higher than it used to be. Children used to have a lot more free range. Free range, they're not chickens. Free reign. Free reign. And, you know, you know, communities playing on the street together and things like that now.

And I think as a general rule, as parents were a bit more like, no, stay where we can see you, etc. You know, there's a trend of air tagging your children, for example. And so I think that they're kind of more sheltered. and then they, the result, generally, I'm talking so generally, a less resilient, and then you get to teenagehood where you then begin to really compare yourself and then you are given this device

that allows you to compare yourself to absolutely anyone who you know nothing about at the same time where you're not necessarily as resilient to be able to handle the huge challenge of that and it's a kind of perfect storm, which is absolutely terrifying. You know who it was. It was a psychiatrist called Tara Porter

who was talking about this and it was so, I found it. such a helpful way of thinking about why phones could be so challenging for that age group. And it definitely made me really, really think twice about things. And so I'm a huge advocate for this. And as I said, I think we all struggle with our phone use. I think we all struggle with addiction to it of comparing ourselves to other people without knowing the full facts. But then when you look at how vulnerable teenagers are, it just feels like 100% the right thing. But we just have to remember that our brains haven't matured till we're 25.

And I think the more and more I think about it, we are shaping their brain. and development and their mental health massively. And the critics actually argued, and I'm not sure I'm on board with this. It's almost like here when we try and make a change, the nanny state argument comes in. You know, like we've discussed before, it always crops up when we're trying to make a positive change on the nutrition landscape. Critics here have said they worry this ban could push kids into unsafe corners of the internet. So if you take away basically the social media platforms, people that are trying to connect and stay informed, or engage in positive activism could sadly end up in like a darker space on the internet.

But if we don't stop the social media platforms and the comparison, I just don't think it's much of an argument. No, that's where I sit and I think nothing's perfect in life is there. And ultimately trying to, you know, that's always that argument, isn't it? Like don't let perfect be the enemy of progress or don't let perfect be the enemy of good. And I think personally I would certainly apply that here and I don't think I would want my children using any. any social media up until that age, so I would be a huge advocate for it here. Actually, another headline that we didn't cover this week because probably wasn't quite right for us, but I thought it was interesting if anyone wants to read more with a push for schools

to move back to like pen and paper homework as opposed to everything on screens, again, because it's just pushing children to be so adept at screens and used to doing it for everything. So I thought that was really interesting. And a book recommendation. I wrote a forward for it actually. It's called The Smart Phone Solution by Dr. Martha. And it's amazing. She was actually on Lorraine speaking about it, how to help parents navigate smartphone conversations.

And I think we discussed Kate Winslett before on the podcast. She was very vocal saying, I just do not give my children a phone. And they do feel left out. But as a parent, I just say no. I mean, it's a huge conversation. Let's hope that the UK follows Australia's suit because it will make our lives easier if they're the ones putting the ban in and not us parents. So we're going to move from one band to another ban.

I know. That's why I thought it was a bit trendy. I was like, there's a lot of under-16 bans going on here. It does feel like there's quite a lot shifting in the worlds of health and wellness in terms of legislation, and it will be very interesting to see how this all plays out. But, Reid, tell us again about what bans coming in here with UK energy drinks. I mean, it's something Jamie Oliver tried to do years and years ago, but the UK government is planning to bans.

We haven't quite got there yet, guys, but the sale of energy drinks with more than 150 milligrams of caffeine per litre to anyone under 16. I mean, to me, it's just obvious that under 16 should not be having that level of caffeine. In fact, I think they already do this in major supermarkets, but it's kind of like the corner shops. You know where there's no regulation, any child can buy anything on their way back from school or on their way to school. But because there's real health risks, so let's talk about poor sleep, rising anxiety, tooth decay, one in five now I've got tooth decay children, even local obesity spikes. I mean, we're seeing public feedback before they make it. official basically, but I'm hoping that this one really gets air time.

It's interesting, yeah. So there's going to spend the next 12 weeks seeking public feedback on it. So I wonder what parental viewpoint will be. As you said, there's always the nanny state argument. But for me, I would much rather people just said, you can't have that under 16. It's really bad for you. It's much easier than just being the anomaly of saying to your children, well, I know other children can have it, but you can't have it, which is really difficult to do, isn't it? And as I said, it feels like a kind of smart evidence-based move, doesn't it? Yeah, 100%. Because when the campaign started, do you remember what happened with the Jamie Oliver one? Because it didn't go through. Yeah, so this was back in January 2018, I think, and he was urging

the government to legally restrict sales of energy drinks to under 16s. And he did that amazing documentary as well, didn't hear about sugar. And I remember being in, it was in the hospital. And I had no idea for this, but the number one reason for children having general anesthetic in this country was to have teeth removed for tooth decay, which I don't know. There's been, I guess there's like a number of moments during my career and during my personal interest in health and wellness that feel like kind of pivotal like there's aha wake up moments of like what is going on with our food our wellness landscape and that was definitely one of them because it was just on earth are we doing to our children and again I don't say that to any like individual parent because as I said it's so difficult when that is the landscape that's what's for sale that's what everyone else is eating to do it differently but it is just shocking but he can't He campaigned so hard. I mean, I'm such a fan of his. I think he's so impressive, really puts himself on the line.

But it didn't really go anywhere, did it? No, sadly it didn't. But basically from today, so to give you guys where we're currently at, so from September 2020-5, we've unveiled the proposal to ban these energy drink sales. I mean, I'd like to think this is going to happen. And it's through new regulations under the Food Safety Act that was founded in 1990, but it does depend on this 12-week consultation period now. and they suggest giving businesses

if this goes ahead basically six months to comply so as always it's going to take a while isn't it with stock and roll out oh I hope loads of businesses don't go doing two for one on energy drinks for under 60s can you imagine surely there's going to be more in place

I bet that gets pushed back though if I was a betting person because they would have to create new products to essentially sell to those people to fill that gap on shelf and to do that in sub six months is incredibly challenging This raises the conversation, which we definitely have to discuss one week. One of my close friends is a food lawyer, and she's currently been hired by one of those large companies to create health claims.

We talk about it very transparently. It's her job. This is what she does for a living. Functional beverages are rising, as in drinks that contain extra vitamin D added, or they're trying to put fiber into a sparkling beverage drink to say, well, if you drink our energy drink, it contains this amount of fiber. So they are going to probably find a way, yeah, to try and match this. I think you're right saying that, Ella, definitely. Definitely. But that will take more than six months for sure.

So I think it will be, even if this does come into force, I imagine that consultation, that will be one of the outcome. If I was a betting person, that would be one of the outcomes of it. But arguably, a fizzy drink with fibre in it is much better than an energy drink. It's not perfect, but it is better, although a reminder with the fibre added drinks, that it's not the same as getting fibre from. peas and broccoli and lentils. And as we always bang on about, because we're very exciting people, you do need that variety for your gut health and you don't get the variety. So you can't

drink like six cans of fibre added fizzy drink and have the same effect of 30, you know, you could get, even if you got to 30 grams of fibre from those drinks or from sachets and supplements, it's not the same as getting 30 grams of fibre from food. It's just not the same. You're not getting the same gut health benefits, not even a tiny beer. No, 100%. It just doesn't work that way. It comes down to our food matrix, the way our bodies are built and designed how the energy is absorbed. There's so many different questions there. So if you do have more questions, please do keep popping them in the Spotify reviews.

We read all of them. Ella gave her email address. World's easiest email address. Ella at Deliciousiello.com. There you go, everybody. So thank you so much for tuning in. We absolutely love hearing from you. We do.

Thank you guys so much. On Thursday show, we're going to be talking about stabilizers. We're going to be talking about mega-3s. We're going to be talking about night shades, all sorts of things. So come join us then. And as Rees said, send us your questions, queries. We will cover them all. And we just love being here with you guys.

Have a great day. Remember to eat some whole grains. Bye.