The Wellness Scoop - Food Guilt, IV Drips, Matcha Shortages & Healthy Ageing

Episode Date: July 2, 2026

This week we're talking about food guilt, supplements and the growing pressure to optimise our health. We explore how to break free from all-or-nothing eating, whether social media is distorting our perception of what healthy living actually looks like, and why some of the most powerful habits for healthy ageing are often the simplest. We also unpack the rise of IV vitamin drips, discuss whether coconut or soy yoghurt is the better choice, answer your questions on vitamin D supplementation, peanut butter powder and matcha, and share practical advice on raising adventurous eaters and reducing food waste at home To get 30-days free on The Way App, head to 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 here to check out Rhitrition+ new Food Freedom course: ⁠Rhitrition+⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This spring, denim gets a softer, lighter update. Introducing Old Navy's drapey denim wide leg, a new fit that moves with you. It's everything you want denim to feel like for summer. Easy, breathable and effortlessly cool. With a fit that creates natural movement and a wide leg that feels modern, not overwhelming. Plus, that signature, wait, for this price, moment. Old Navy's drapey denim wide leg. I am genuinely so excited about today's sponsor because,

it's the way. Honestly, if you have listened to me anytime over the last few months, you know I've 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. No, 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 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 thewayapp.com forward slash wellness scoop. Yeah, that's thewayapp.com forward slash wellness scoop.

Welcome to the Wellness Scoop, your weekly dose of health and wellness inspiration. And we're both here today as your host. I'm Ella Mills. And I'm Rihanna Lambert. And today we take the most pressing questions that you have and of course your recommendations in the world of health and wellness. So Ella, let's dive into it. We are going to talk about IVs today. Are IV vitamin drips worth the hype? You probably guess what we think on that. Some vitamin D questions that you guys all need to have the answer to. How to stop swinging between restrictions?

and overeating, does social media reflect real life and how does that impact you? Raising competent eaters, some comparisons of different plant-based yoguits, you've had lots of questions on peanut butter, some bits on matcher and all your recommendations. So we have got so much to delve into. And Ree has an update for us on the plastic movement at the House of Parliament, which is very, very exciting. But Reeve, first of all, what are your recommendations, anything that we all have to have in our lives? I feel like it's just survival recommendations right now when around Europe at the moment we have this unprecedented of course of global warming heat wave and it's happening in every major city, town in Europe. So lots of don't fear smoothies and fruit, you know, fruit juices. I actually did a post on that today.

Just get those sorts of items in. Salads are not just leaves. They can be, we talk about this a lot, but I did a nice rice salad the other day, new potato salads. I chuck a can of beans in with some onion in a pan, fried off, then add it to your salad bowl, lashions of olive oil, a bit of salt. I mean, just go for it. Just try, try, try, keep hydrated. That is the honesty, the only recommendation I really had.

I tried to sing the other day. And honestly, when all your in pregnancy, when everything's shifted up and your organs have moved, you can't really feel, I don't know how opera singers do. I have friends in professional operator and companies who have sung up until. like week 30 in pregnancy. And they have the most incredible ethos. But for anyone doing deep breathing, even in the heat, and I'm pregnant, I just found it so hard, Ella. It really just hit home to me how it's such a practice.

You have to really, really think about the placement of your breath work. When there's a heat wave and on top of that being pregnant. That's a waffle from me. How about you? I always love your waffles. How about me? I just finished a fantastic book, actually, called The Name. I've noticed at like top of the charts everywhere

I think I've said this before I love to browse Paddington W.H. Smith's for books when I've got time for my train I'm like such a loser I can't handle being late for things and so I'm like always at the train station 25 minutes early so that Paddington W.H. Smith is a big perusing place for me

now they know they'll be on the lookout you'll see me there anyways the names and then lots of you guys recommended it it's a really interesting book it's not uplifting by any stretch of imagination and really important. Note that the kind of central premise in so many ways is about domestic violence. I say central premise.

No, it is based on a story which does heavily feature the impact of domestic violence. The interesting thing that this book does is that it speaks to this idea that there are moments in people's lives and everybody's lives where one decision could have so many different impacts and one decision that you make can, not all decisions we make, but can completely alter the trajectory of your life. And essentially what it does is it takes this moment in time about the naming of a child. That's the whole premise of the book.

And the three different names that can be chosen and the impacts of that. And then it tracks this person's life and this family and how they revolve around this person on the basis of these three different decisions. And it's so interesting. And then at the end in the epilogue, it's like, okay, but now we've even.

and imagine like what happens go back in time like if this decision was made and that decision was made and just these tiny little moments in life and actually when you you know it's the bus flight effect isn't it when you work backwards from it they can actually completely alter your trajectory I think we all have that in our lives don't we I mean I think about it like my husband met my dad in the gym and like if they had never met in the gym we would never have met and that's because they both went to the sauna at the same time that day I mean it's so random and my dad's very chatty so like got chatting to him you know if I'd never gotten ill and then I'd never read this really really random book about healthy eating like I wouldn't have changed my career and then again

I wouldn't have met my husband I wouldn't have had my kids I wouldn't have met you and this whole life and anyway I like we all have those things in our life but so it's a really interesting premise it's not but it is a really beautifully written book it's actually a debut novel incredible success that that's having so it's a very difficult topic but it's a really interesting concept It's incredibly well written. It's a weird thing to say you really enjoy, obviously, on that subject matter. But I really enjoyed the book and the premise of the book and the framing of the book. And probably not for you right now, Ray.

But I do, I really recommend it. I think it's having an appreciation for the path life can take you on. I think it sounds exactly like that. Like you said, it's something, it's almost like that sliding doors film, you know, different moments. It's exactly that. And I've never read anything that captures it in such a good way. But we all have that in our lives. I think it's a really interesting thing to explore.

And it's nice to look back and feel grateful for those moments, actually, that took you from A to B because we can so easily forget. That's a lovely recommendation. Thank you. I now have a quick voice note from Lisa Oxenum, and she is the ex-Beautian Star Director from Mary Claire. She is doing a lot of work at the moment trying to give us a voice for a plastic-free, it's called plastic-free babies, actually, the movement.

She went to government, and they had a big, roundtable discussion and chat. And she's going to give you a better overview than I can now because I know a lot of us on the Wounderskepe have been very interested in the subject of plastics, microplastics where we're at. But the fact we're actually in government discussing it now means there's obviously more to it than perhaps we're all privy to. So let's hear what Lisa has to say.

I went to a parliamentary event for the plastic-free babies campaign this week. And it focused on microplastics and plastic-associated chemicals during the first. just 1,000 days. So from conception to a child's second birthday. And I think what struck me most was the tone of the conversation. This wasn't about parent blaming. The room had scientists, doctors, campaigners, parents, people from policy and industry. And the message that I heard throughout was that parents are already overwhelmed. and we shouldn't be left to navigate invisible chemical risks on our own. The first 1,000 days really matters because that's when most of the development is happening.

It's happening so fast. Brains, hormones, immune systems, reproductive systems, and it's really the foundations for lifelong health. And that's all being laid down at once during this time. So the concern isn't about visible plastic waste. It's the chemical reality of plastic itself. Fallates, PFS, flame retardants, plasticisers, microplastics. These can migrate or leach from everyday products, especially with heat and sterilising and wear and tear,

prolonged use, you know, being used in additional. washer. And the concern is when plastic is in contact with heat, with food, with liquids, and with babies, mouths and bodies, bottles, teets, dummies, tithers, formula prep equipment. And then plastic plates and cups going through the dishwasher. Then you've got food pouches. Then you've got synthetic bedding and cot mattresses. One line, somebody said in the briefing that no parent should need a chemistry degree to buy a baby bottle. And that's exactly it. If there's something that's being sold as normal and affordable, parents assume it's safe. So there are practical things that they were talking about that families can do where it's realistic. So not heating

milk or food in plastic, avoiding repeated high heat sterilising where possible, choosing glass, choosing stainless steel, medical-grade silicone, or choosing natural fibres where we can. I'd say that the biggest point of the evening was that this cannot sit with parents. The campaign is asking the UK government for a fast-track cross-government court for evidence, bringing existing science together with industry and healthcare expertise. so safer plastic-free alternatives then become the norm, not premium products that only some families can access. And that's really the heart of it for me.

Parents don't need more guilt. We need better information, clearer labelling and affordable choices. I just don't think a safe baby product shouldn't be a lifestyle upgrade. It should really be the baseline. I've been covering issues like this through my journalism and on my YouTube channel because I think transparency around everyday products is becoming one of the biggest health conversations. So the call to action for this campaign is look at the plastic free babies resources, follow the campaign, write to your MP and start asking better questions of brands and retailers. safer baby products really should be the norm and not the luxury. Thank you so much, Lisa.

I did hound her on social media for a review. I saw she attended and I said, you know, I really just want to know what's going on. And I think it's nice to know that it's actually been taken seriously, Ella, lots of things in our environment right now that can potentially change to make things more accessible for those that, you know, can't afford to go completely plastic free at the moment. There's so many issues there, aren't there?

There really are. No, it's amazing. I've been following that campaign online actually. Fantastic. Okay, and we have more recommendations from you. So Hannah has got in touch to recommend something for us, she said, in an attempt to get my five-year-old to eat some omega-3s when he doesn't eat oily fish, I wanted to sneak some cheer seeds into his diet. He's a very slow eater. Oh my gosh, my daughter is such a slow eater. It's unbelievable. And so we struggle with breakfast and getting out on time. Me too. Our saviour on both fronts, the mug cake. I blitz in a little hand blender oats, banana, chia and flaxseeds with a teaspoon of baking powder and some oat milk. Pour it into two mugs, one for me, one for him, microwave for two mints.

We serve it with raspberries, a little maple, maple, syrup, dark chocolate variety. And not only are they delicious, but you can eat them quickly, they fill us up. And we've both had a good amount of nutrients to start the day. Love that. Thank you so much. It's so nice when you give us all of your recommendations. And the second one is The Beauty on Disney Plus. It starts out feeling like a thriller or murder mystery, but it develops into a really powerful commentary on the rise of unattainable beauty standards. So the pressure to look perfect in the growing popularity of miracle injections and treatments such as JLP 1s, peptides, etc.

I thought it was brilliant done. And then finally a small win inspired by the podcast here. So I used to binge quite a lot in the car on the drive home from work, often stopping to buy something sugary when I was tired and hungry. After hearing about the snack tins, snack tinsella coming in, I now make myself a little snack box every day to keep in the car with berries, dates, dark chocolate. And it's been a game changer. Thank you both for creating such a thoughtful, balanced and genuinely helpful podcast.

Lots of love. And that recommendation there is from Izzy from Durham, North East England. Isn't that lovely? I know. I thought that was so nice, so nice to hear about the snack tins. I so agree with you, Izzy on it. Like, when you're starving and you're knackered at the end of the... the day and like you're in a petrol station and there's loads of sweets and chocolate in front

for you like who doesn't want it like it's so normal and then but if you've not hungry because you've got like lovely things that you're still really enjoying it's so effective so I love that I'm so happy for you and I really am excited to watch the beauty that's on my list for this week and I really needed something to watch because I finished all my shows did you finish the campus one no I haven't watched like yeah because Matt doesn't want to watch it have you watched it off campus well I've got lots of opportunity doing lots of solo parents recently, so perhaps, but I'm still so stuck in desperate housewives and there's so many of them. Right, our first question of today is from Nina.

And this was brought over from last week because it was her 60th birthday and she had a question for us, Ella, on vitamin D. So should I look forward to Mondays and Thursdays? And my question is, I take a vitamin D supplement which contains D3 and K2. It contains 10,000 micrograms of vitamin D. Is that too much? Also, I take a vitamin B12 spray. I'm probably one of your older listeners as I've had my 60th birthday,

but I love everything and anything about food and nutrition, which can make me age better. Well, what a lovely framing of thinking about these things. Read, tell us about how much vitamin D we probably want. And also, obviously, is boiling hot and the sun is shining. Do we need it in the summer? Well, that's the question. If you have darker skin naturally and the different amounts of melanin

that we all can have. And if you're wearing a lot of sunscreen, some people might still actually need it all year round, even in this insane heat wave, because not all of us will be sitting in it. Actually, it can be too hot to go outside. This is what happens in the Middle East, of course, in areas where it's very, very hot that you spend a lot of your time indoors. But I would say that dose is considered extremely high, well above what I would suggest as a maintenance dose, unless you've had guidance from your GP that says you are actively deficient. You can get measured for this. They will test it for you, your blood. So you can always push for that when you go to your general practice or of course you can pay for a private blood test for that sort of thing.

We generally recommend safe levels because, let me explain, vitamin D is fat soluble. So the danger is the high doses you're taking can build up over a long period of time in your body that can create toxicity. So we suggest 400 to 1,000 micrograms daily for maintenance periods. And There's a lot of those sprays out there. Then there's the addition of K2, which I looked at a lot because obviously I developed a vitamin D range that before I far pregnant, I was hoping to release this September. You might have to backtrack on that now. It's only so much one woman can do. But K2 was marketed alongside vitamin D because of its role in calcium metabolism.

We don't actually have the goal standard research to suggest that is the case to combine it in the supplement yet, which might sound shocking to some of you. well, how is it out there everywhere? Why are people talking about it? This is a classic example of nutrition science not catching up yet. The media reporting are people jumping on bandwagons because it's so unregulated that before we've got bodies of robust, reliable research, we're pumping things into supplements. So just be careful. And then should I go on to B12 quickly, Ella?

Yes, please. B12 sprays can be useful when we get older, of course, because that absorption can decline. But again, it depends on your diet. I would say, generically speaking, I don't know, on a one-to-one level, but unless you're on a vegan diet or predominantly plant-based, you probably don't want to be taking additional sprays like this because it can put extra stress on your digestive system and certain medications as we age, they can start to interact.

So my major concern there is just to air with caution before taking so many different supplements and to always just get a base level at your GP, because if you've got your B12 measured and it is water soluble, then I would suspect it probably is okay if you eat animal produce as well throughout the week. But what you need to focus on? More protein, weight-bearing exercise, just walking more each day, get more calcium in your diet.

That does increase as we age. It is very important. Vitamin D supplements, 400 to 1,000 micrograms. Maintaining muscle mass. We talk a lot about weight-bearing, didn't we, on Monday, Ella. That's key. Absolutely love that. Okay.

our next question is from Kathy, who said she loves listening on her morning dog walk. Love that. Kathy's a biomedical scientist and she really appreciate the research that we put in and she's got two questions for us, right? First of all, she has quite a small family. It's herself, her husband and their 10-month-old daughter. And because of our portion sizes, she only uses part of the bed when she's cooking. For example, she said, I might make a curry using half an onion, a pepper and a sweet potato, then need to find another meal later in the week that uses up the rest. I sometimes feel this limits my ability to reach the goal of 30 different plants a week as of course she's trying to avoid food waste and use out what they already have. Have we got any tips for her for storing the ingredients but also making it easier to increase

variety? She does batch cook but terrible remembering to take the meals back out of the freezer and use them. I definitely know that feeling. I know I do that. You find one, don't you at the back? And then she said secondly our daughter joined their family through adoption. So congratulations to you. Unfortunately, she didn't have the best start both in utero and enjoy.

during the first seven months of her life. We also missed her initial weaning journey and understand that she was weamed primarily on very sweet fruit, purees and rugs dissolved in milk. Following your discussions about how pregnancy, nutrition and early food exposure can influence later food preferences, is there anything that they can be doing now

to support a positive relationship with food and encourage a born range of taste and textures as she grows? Kathy, what amazing questions and huge congratulations on your daughter, joining your family. Rie, shall we just, quickly talk about the using up of ingredients maybe and variety and then we can go on to the second

part of the question yeah definitely you lead with that ella and then i can obviously tackle the nature nurture debate with food exposure so kathy first of all obviously goes out saying amazing even to be thinking about getting 30 different plants a week i mean i totally know what you mean in forgetting to use up batch cooking but i do find it an easier way for me personally to use like the other half of the onion, for example. But what I tend to do is actually I don't put that. If it was just going have two portions of it, I wouldn't actually pop it in the freezer. I would just personally be using that other half for like work lunches, you know, taking them to the office or something or having them if you're working at home one day because it just means you don't have to think about lunch

during a busy day, which I personally really, really appreciate. And I think in terms of otherwise using them up, I would then be focusing on like a soup, for example, you know, that was an easy way to put your half of an onion in, another bag, the rest of your sweet potato bag, for example. But if you then want to be adding in extra plant power on top of that to get your 30 plants, I would be thinking about, for example, like, you know, if you've used a tin of chickpeas in the curry, could you use some of the other sweet potatoes and roast them for a salad and you could roast a tin of lentils and so they're nice and crispy with it. So you can be using some of the same base ingredients like a big bag of sweet potatoes, but layering in other things, a tin of lentils here, a tin of white

beans there, for example, that's something I personally find really, really helpful. And then just little things, like, I don't know, I've been making recently, like seed mixes. It's literally just pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and I had some leftover pine nuts, so I put them on, and I roasted them with a little bit of soy sauce, and sometimes I do chili, sometimes not, little bit of olive oil, just roast them for like 15 minutes, let them cool completely so they're crispy and I pop them in a Tupperware and then I'll sprinkle that on different things. And again, that's just three different plant points, which is an easy way to just gently nudge it all up. I love that Ella. It's it's so nice to have inspiration that we can definitely lean towards. And to reassure you as well, Kathy, you know, there is a huge, huge amount that can be done when you're raising children with their food environment. You know, the same. The same. You know, the same. start that you quite rightly said was tricky and working on that will be will be a small challenge I expect and we've got to be kind on ourselves as well because you can do so much and just being a positive role model around food in itself is humongous and children can be

very adaptable. It's just repeated exposure and it's a very frustrating message for parents to hear oh just keep going 10 to 15 times or keep rejecting the food. Eventually if you keep continuing to offer wide varieties of flavors, colors and textures, you will, even if they only have one spoon as you're working off when you're weaning and all the way up, it's still impacting your child's microbiome, which is building from exposure to the food environment just as much as what the child may have been born with or without. So there's so much you can do. I would say try and get bitter foods in now as soon as possible, alongside those perhaps that are already accepted.

Things that are listed as allergens, get them in as early as possible as well and test them very safely. You can read up on all of that, of course, on the NHS website too. Eating together as a family, like I said, you are the best role model, don't label foods as good or bad. I think you just sound like the most fantastic woman wholeheartedly for this fantastic question anyway, and texture needs to be encouraged as well. And it's very tricky when the children are weaned a certain way.

And 10 months is still such an unpredictable time. I think until children are older anyway, it's always an unpredictable journey with food. Don't be fooled by what you see on the internet. No one's got it nailed down. Ella's shared her experiences in here. I've shared mine. No child is perfect at all. There doesn't exist.

But the more textures, so not just offering smooth foods that you can introduce like a breaded side of fish or something, you know, something that's got a bit of substance to it as well. something that's a bit rougher, lentils, alongside mashed up avocado oats, things that have a lot of texture will help. But ultimately, you have the most beautiful opportunity to have a lovely relationship with food and positive food environments. It's never too late. And in fact, 10 months is very early, I think. You've got this. Really, you're fantastic.

I love that. Okay, our next question comes to us from Inez, who says that she feels stuck in an all-or-nothing cycle with food. She said, I try to eat perfectly than ovary and feel guilt and frustration. How can I build a more balanced, intuitive relationship with food? I think you, first of all, I know, I thank you so much for sharing. And second of all, I don't think you're alone in that in any shape or form. I think one thing that's so important, and Reid's got an amazing voice note from us, from a fantastic psychotherapist to dive so much more into this.

But just one small thought from me, I think I feel quite strongly on this. For all of us, for everybody, I think we've got to kind of remove the word perfect. when it comes to any habit that we have in our life because it's impossible. First of all, there's no such thing as perfect. You know, some people will tell you, you know, to follow the Nordic diet. Someone will follow the Mediterranean diet. Someone will do the green Mediterranean diet. As you know, we talk about this all the time. There's lots of variation on these things. Some people are going to be a big advocate of a little bit more animal produce. Some people are going to be of less. Like, there's no such thing as perfect. We're all different. We have different lifestyles. We have different needs. We have different

days we have different emotional weights or lack thereof at different chapters in our lives and I think if you're trying to do it perfectly quote unquote you're probably putting in a kind of totally insurmountable amount of pressure on yourself and no one can do anything perfectly in any aspect of their life for more than about 20 seconds and also perfect so subjective anyway I mean so I think it's so important obviously the foundations are the whole food diet a key we know that we know we need our fiber and our plants and all the rest of it. But it doesn't, you don't have to be, no one has to be perfect. Exactly. I love that, Ella. It's so true. Perfect doesn't exist. And we've all got a different thought process. We're all built differently and we frame things in different ways. So I have a

wonderful voice note from the psychotherapist of the founder of the Pathway Clinic, Helen Burke, who can go through this in more depth from a different perspective that actually I probably haven't thought of sometimes before. Hi, Ella. Hi, hi, Re. Thanks so much for having me on. and asking me to help answer, Innes' is very vulnerable and beautiful question. Hi, Innes, I want to start, if it's okay with you, at the very beginning of life, which might sound quite random, so bear with me, but I do think that's where the answer to your question lives. So in the very first hour of life, a newborn baby, if they're left alone and just placed on the mother's stomach post-birth, they do what's called a breast crawl. And it's in this very act,

of a baby latching on to the breast and the very first act of feeding that something profound happens, it's not just about nutrition, it's the first experience of love. So being held, being seen and being responded to, equates to being fed. For that baby, food and love are the very same thing.

They are inextricably and intrinsically linked. They're woven together from the very moments of any human being's life. So holding that in mind, that wiring doesn't leave us, it stays with us for life. So when we find ourselves in a complicated relationship with food, this all or nothing cycle you're describing, I always want to gently ask, what is this really about? Because it's not about the food. It's about our relationship with ourselves ultimately. If we think about food equating to love and that we've learnt that before we

even had words, so when we restrict food on some level, we're restricting love from ourselves, we're withholding it and then the pendulum swings and we overindulge and that's often not hunger either that's us trying to fill something fill the void in our stomach because there's potentially a void in our heart or trying to push feelings down to numb them or suppress them because we don't quite know how to sit with them so this cycle of restrict overindulge guilt restrict again it really is a cycle of punishment and reward a cycle of self deprivation and then self-soothing and underneath it all a deeper question that I want to ask gently, which is what are you actually hungry for? So how do we begin to break this cycle in answer to your question?

The answer isn't another food rule. It isn't more discipline or more willpower because that's just more restriction or more withholding of love from yourself. The shift begins with curiosity instead of judgment. So when you reach for food and you're not physically hungry, pause just for a moment and ask yourself, what am I really feeling right now? What do I actually need? Not to stop yourself, just to know yourself a little better in that moment. Begin to separate the feeling from the food, not perfectly, but gently over time, and start to find other ways to meet those emotional needs,

to comfort yourself, to soothe yourself, to fill yourself up that aren't food, whether that's connection, rest, movement, creativity, or simply sitting with the feeling long enough to let it past and perhaps most importantly, Ennis, start to practice giving yourself love directly, not as a reward for eating well, not withheld as punishment, just as something you are worthy of unconditionally, because that's when this cycle is really stopped. If this feels like something that runs deep, I'd also really encourage you working with a therapist who specialises in relationship with food and the emotions that lie beneath it, because you deserve real support with this and not just strategies. The food is just the message.

and it's been trying to tell you something important. Sending you loads of love. Thank you so much, Helen. It's so insightful. I think it just reminds us that food is never black and white. There's so much nuance when it comes to food. And so I cannot thank you enough for sharing your insights with us today. And also just to mention,

that's why I'm building these food freedom courses on the Retrition Plus community that I've developed because I feel we've all, we've all got things to tackle and we'll be working with, of course, our psychologists and dietitians there as well. The next question, Ella, is Cherie Wheeler from the States, USA. She has a question that we've been waiting to come on to, Ella, about Ivy drips marketed for health, longevity and even beauty benefits. I'm curious to hear your thoughts. Do you think these treatments are actually safe? And is there any real benefit that justifies the cost of them, too?

Okay, this is such a great question. and they have been such a trend for a little while now. They have been literally, yeah, everywhere. Somehow I've ended up on a mailing list for one. And they, I keep getting emails from them. And it's like, it's so insane that kind of, you know, this will change your life. And being completely honest,

I remember having like a real struggle just, you know, I've talked about this with burnout and it was a few years ago and I was just like so low in energy. And I remember being like, oh my God, I can't go on like this. Like I'm just so burnt out. I'm so tired. I'm trying to juggle so much. I being like, what's my magic answer? What will help me? And I remember being like, well, people keep talking about IV drips. Maybe this will help me. I did so much research. And at the end of it, I was like, I actually don't think I've ever come across a trend that has literally no evidence.

Like, actually, there's so many things. Like, I'm not advocating really. Don't worry. A cortisol cocktail. At least you're getting some hydration. Like, at least, you know, coconut water. Like, with this, I was like, this is, these are so. expensive. Obviously you're putting, you know, something into your bloodstream. You've got to be super careful, you know, any contamination issues, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But also, you are spending a huge amount of money on like just really, really expensive pee. I mean, there is literally, there is no data for this whatsoever. That was where I got to. And I did a lot of research because then I became very interested in it. Well, no, of course you are because every celebrity seems to be doing it

or posting videos of themselves doing it. It's so ingrained in their world. That was it. I was seeing is everywhere and I was like well I need some help like maybe this will help me in after like a while I was like what the hell like how can something with literally not a strand of evidence allow this industry to exist even on TV shows like medic TV shows I can't remember if it was grey's anatomy or another one but there was one clip that was criticised heavily because you've got the junior doctors going off shift being filmed hooking themselves up to the medicinal ivy drips that they of course because IV nutrition does play a key role if you are dehydrated to go to hospital, you've got hypersis in pregnancy, malabsorption conditions, you know, GI chemo, all of it.

It can save lives for that purpose. But when you're already at an optimum status and you have, I mean, who is measuring, first of all, these concentrations of vitamins in this sort of drip? Who even suggested that these water soluble vitamins should be inserted in this way? who is inserting this to begin with, there's risks of infection at the site, vein irritation, inflammation, people have had allergic reactions to the ingredients, then it causes electrolyte imbalances if the formulations, like I've said, are inappropriate, which I expect for the ones that are on the lower price range that are more accessible to the general public,

probably have the highest risks because I don't think, what I'd like to think, celebrities probably have a doctor they use or someone on call. I'm not condoning it at all, but I'm sure they're using a trained healthcare professional you'd like to think to insert these things to begin with. But yeah, evidence there is none. Like Ella said, if you're concerned about deficiency, you get tested first. I know people want to try things and it's completely your prerogative. We're not saying you can or can't do something, but we're just saying in terms of it

being something that everybody feels they should be doing. There's definitely no reason to be doing it if that makes sense. And I don't like those flashy Instagram posts. I think they're irresponsible. And I don't think the influences sometimes that take the paid jobs and realize their knock-on impact because they're not trained health professionals. They don't realize, they don't know.

They might think it's utterly harmless because in their world they're thinking, oh, I'm just helping people by saying this has helped me. And I don't think they realize the bigger impact, Ella. Wow, and they always need new content. And, you know, it's important to always remember that. Like, you know, that's their job is to have something new to say. Yeah.

and it's good content. But it really, it really, really, like, I would go so far than really. Like, I think that there's all sorts of trends we talk about that. It's like, look, there's not a huge amount of evidence here, but, like, if you, you know, Oat Zempec,

it was disgusting. It's not, like, loads of, there's no evidence behind it, but, like, if you want to try blending oats to keep you full, like, be our guess. Like, you know, it's not, it's not delicious. It's not necessarily going to have a huge impact,

but, like, it's not dangerous. It's just a bit gross. Whereas with this, it's like, this is so expensive and takes time and you, you know, it looks flashy and fancy. But to me, this is where I'm like, please, please don't do it because if what it is is you're just absolutely exhausted, like an ivy drip won't fix that. But we want it to fix it and it's the ultimate culture of quick fixes. And I find these really, really, really frustrating. I completely agree, Ella. So our next question is from Juliet, from Sydney, Australia.

She said, I wondered, and this links on nicely actually, I wondered if what we see in social media post is actually representative of real life. Do you think people are more influenced through conversations with people and friends about what food to eat in the supplements? Or sadly, are they affected by social media? Let's hope social media isn't at all representative

of real life, she's said to end it. So it's almost like a kind of, what is our thought process, Ella? Because we're very for the ban that we've just had in the UK because we don't think it's all that great, do we? No, I mean, look, I would say, and they are always exceptions to this,

so, you know, be aware of that. But I would say, as a general rule of thumb, no, social media is in real life in any shape or form. And I think what's so important to remember, and I'm not criticising anybody for this, because I think it's actually an amazing way that a lot of people, and lots of, you know, stay-at-home moms have been able to create income streams

so I'm not kind of inherently against the economy. I've benefited from it as well. We both have. But you have to remember, we all have to remember that like the way that social media works, you have to have something new to say. If you don't have something new to say or something that's kind of quote unquote interesting,

different catches people's attention, your account will not perform. So you have to remember, like even if it's just a new lip balm, influences people on social media, always have to have something new to tell you or to talk about, which means that essentially it's an inherent thing to, like, dramatize something or make a mountain out of a mole hill or to sell you something, because they can't just be, like, I've eaten the same thing every single day for the last week.

I haven't done anything new this week. I'm wearing the same clothes I've worn for 10 years. Like, I'm watching the same series four times in a row. Like, I'm not reading a new book. Like, all of these things, like, I've eaten the same breakfast every day for four years. They can't do that. Like they have to be like, I bought a new top. I have a new lip balm.

Like, this is my new makeup routine. Here's my new workout routine. I'm going to change your life. This has changed mine. Yeah, but if they don't have something new to say, so they always have to have something new. And as a result, it's not real because that's not what real life looks like. And real health is so much about repetition, you know,

and just doing the same things that work for you again and again. But that's not very good content. So I'm not criticizing anyone for doing it. but I think it's a really, personally, I think that like, inherent search for newness is a really important, like, frame and lens to have when you look at socials, because that is how they make money. Yeah, social media is almost like a vessel now in most fields for trends. Like, you know, we discuss on the wellness group, the trend for longevity optimization.

It is a selling platform, essentially, I think. There's two aspects of it. There's Ella and I have been on, like, the first people online. So it was very different back there. It was about building a community. But that has shifted. That's not so much the case anymore. I feel it's become this massive marketing vessel, of course,

for people to get what product they want out there. And influences are a massive part of that. There are exceptions where wonderful conversations can be evoked and causes can have awareness raised. Like we discussed the Kickout Big Soda campaign on Monday. And hopefully you get some nice voices behind nice campaigns every now And again, you'll get people like Ella and myself on there. But a lot of the time, people want to have a career from this world.

And it has to be extreme, like Ella says, to gain any traction. So I agree with Ella. I don't think it does reflect reality in most of the areas online. And use it of a pinch of salt. And there are obviously some gems, but between us, we, that's why we love podcasts because we have long format to discuss things. No, I completely agree with that. But I do think we're very influenced by it.

Yeah, because it's really, because we create compelling stories of like, yeah, this has helped me, so it may help you. Do you know, I couldn't think of anything. Like Ella said, sometimes I can't think of anything to post. Even though as a nutritionist, I could just tell you a little about iron. It just won't get in the algorithm because it's not interesting enough. But I just made orange juice at the weekend. I thought, you know what? I've got a video of that.

I'm just going to talk about why we can't demonize juice. But I genuinely sometimes think, how do these people come up with these ideas for content every single day of the week that's just extreme? It's really difficult. I'm racking my brain sometimes, right, Ella. But I digress. We must move on to the next question. So Laura has said it's such a mind-filled sometimes of what is the healthier option between certain things that are portrayed on social media. So we've got a nice thread here.

And this one we thought we had to discuss. She's seen a lot about peanut butter powder. Is it best for us to have this? or is it the real stuff? Now, I have the same question, she said, we're full fat dairy versus low fat dairy. Ella, I know this is something you will have seen a lot of. Again, it's a version, of course,

of processing of foods and marketing, all sorts of things. Could you give us your guru insights on peanut butter? Yeah, although interestingly as well, there is this big return, and there's lots of stats on it, a big return to full fat dairy, interestingly. I think that comes on the back of the UP. PF conversations and people becoming aware of the fat that often, particularly in like yoghuts and things like that, other things are then added sometimes to compensate for it, which is very

interesting. But yet, there's huge return to full fat dairy in this country. Peanut butter powder is often used in food manufacturing and also in protein powders, which is interesting. And essentially, what you're doing is removing most of the oil from it so that it can become a powder, because obviously it's very fatty if it has the oil. generally it then makes it much, much higher in protein per gram. So that's why it's then used as a protein powder. That doesn't make it healthier. Nor does I would say this is the classic thing of like I would say it probably then tips into a UPF bucket. But I wouldn't say it's a bad thing. Like, you know, if you are struggling to, you know, include enough protein in your diet

and I'm talking about kind of normal amounts of protein, not like overdoing it and you find smoothies really helpful vehicles and a peanut butter powder, I personally think is a much, more flavor-wise appealing and flavor-enhancing addition versus most protein powders. Like, great. It's just kind of how you use it, to be honest. But like, I would personally just use a peanut butter because I prefer it. Yeah, I felt this was almost, it was something I actually saw many years ago. I remember seeing peanut butter powders popping up as a calorie controlled type program that fitness influencers were using. Yes. Do you remember with those like body composition things and I would see a lot of that in clinic back then,

Fitsbo type people using it because of the lower fat content. But I agree. I think having the whole item you enjoy and love yourself in moderation is always better than loading up on these things. Also these peanut butter powders could often have added sugars and multitextrons and things for taste. Obviously different brands will vary. And I think the argument's the same for low fat, full fat dairy when it comes to nutrition

because, you know, for me it's more about the fat percentage that works for your body if this is a choice that you are deciding between, both can have a place. It's when the lower fat versions are pumped with extras that it becomes a different conversation, like the lower fat things that are offered with extra sweetness, which just you're better off having the actual Greek yogurt with some added honey on the side itself. I say this about children's lunchboxes all the time. You know, you see those strawberry-flavored yoghuts. I'd much rather people just add some strawberries in honey and have it alongside an actual bit of yogurt. So for most adults, it's about really finding out what works for you. There's no good or bad, but we really

want to be having a look at the ingredients we consume if it's a frequent food item. Great advice, Therri, as always. Okay, and our final question of the day comes from Nicola, who said, I've got a question on matcha. I've been drinking matcha for a while now when in coffee shops, but yesterday in Costa, I saw them making it, and they simply squirted a green liquid into a frothy milk. But I thought this was a powder. What is the liquid? I think she means she thinks match is a power. how do what's the liquid. Therefore, what's the liquid? It just reminded me of all the sugar syrups they put in drinks.

Also a glanced matcher on the shelves and supermarkets. But honestly, where do you even start with making it yourself? They seem to very in price a lot. Thanks for your podcast. And can you shared any info on the above? Ella, do you want to explain what those liquid things are? Because, you know, there's flavours now that you can get lavender matcher. I saw in Starbucks.

In Pret, on my little go-to, on the way to studio, I always get an iced matcher or something. And they've got always different flavours. and variants that I'm assuming obviously have added flavourings and sugars within them. And that's probably what the pre-ready mixed matcha, do you think is? Yeah, I think it's going to be like a matcher concentrate essentially. And I would say, like, they're going to do that differently in different coffee shops. Like, I definitely know, particularly when we used to another, some like really great quality,

small, independent coffee shops that also use to liquid because obviously if you're making it again and again and again all day. You've got to make it an efficient process. And so that would normally be like a pre-made but in-house kind of match a concentrate that then they can blend into the drinks much, much quicker. And you can still do that with proper matcher. But I can't speak to what happens in a kind of big chain. But you can probably not be surprised if it's mixed with more kind of syrups and flavors and things like that. I can't say exactly what what they use obviously because it speeds it up, but it obviously makes it oftentimes more kind of quote unquote delicious, like lots of those big chains actually not referring to Kostner, I haven't tried their matcher, but some of the other big chains

where I have tried it, they end up being just so sweet. And it's because there's often a lot of yap syrups added to the liquid. So it's a bit confusing. I do think it's inherently always a red flag if it's already in a liquid, but I think if it's very, very sweet, then maybe a bit more of a red flag in terms of the quality of matchy used. The quality is everything, because all the science on matcher, and some of you may remember I used to work in this area. Many moons ago, I used to sample matcha and looked at all the research when I was training for a company called Tea Pigs, that LRR, actually loved their licorice peppermint tea. I was an intern. Oh, it's so good.

Yeah, I learned a lot on that internship when I was at university. essentially all of the science you can see it in the color of your matcher if someone's not stored it airtight in the fridge once opened you lose that antioxidant potential you can see that awful color kind of like yellowy grass color green rather than vibrant green that's also an indicator of your quality of matcha as well because the science is interesting it's because you consume the whole leaf you at a tea bag you put individual leaves in the tea bag and let your osmosis process happen and diffusion into the water whereas with matcher it's a You're adding the ground leaf powder, which means you're absorbing all of those concentrations, particularly catechins, that are particularly important for your brain health. We've studied these areas here for their antioxidant potential. And then also the calming impact of the caffeine. The reason it's very different to coffee is because of a particular amino acid called al-theonine, which also has a role and interacts with our GABA process within our brain.

So there's all these benefits to matcher, but commercial matcher, widespread matcher, the cost of match arising now, Ella, if you could give us some global stats on that as well, because obviously we know it's huge. That dull colour is such a key no-no for whether you're getting the benefits of what you're paying for, but also, like Ella said, the syrups. Yes, exactly. As Rees said, we've talked about this before, but Match has kind of gone mad. The global matcher markets are estimated now to be somewhere somewhere between three and four

billion pounds annually, which is huge. But forecasts are saying that in dollars, it could be up to $79 billion by the early 2030s. So huge demand. And as a result, obviously the prices go up. And so big chains are probably going to be not necessarily buying the highest quality because it's a bit expensive and it's likely often diluted with other things. It's very difficult for your find a bit of the question when you're in supermarkets, know what to do.

I would be honest and say, unfortunately, not always, but there is something in pricing or matcher because good quality matcher where you get the health benefits. It is an amazingly long, fantastic process to create. the product and it's not a cheap process and so not that you have to buy the most expensive one but often there is something where you do get what you pay for unfortunately and that ceremonial grade is what you quite want to be after I agree Ella it's it's a really difficult so you want something to be accessible to all but then you lose the innate culture of where matches from and there is a there is a case sometimes of do we have too much of a good thing do we deserve

have access to this much of a good thing. You know, it's like the same argument I have with bees and honey and the price point for, you know, the ultra-process refined, squeezy plastic jars, which is just honey we should not be consuming. That's an environmental issue as well. And the quality and there's no benefits to it versus an expensive jar. But it prices people out. And, yeah, Matcha is one of those expensive ingredients.

And I think that was really good to discuss, actually, and go into the nuances on that. We had, again, a wonderful episode. and we've got such a good one coming up on Monday, haven't we, Ella, next week? We have, so we'll see you guys then. My favourite matcher brand is OMGT. It's a female-founded, British brand. It's really amazing quality. We're all about female founders, obsessed with that.

Ella, thank you. I say Ella, thank you. Everyone, thank you. We love the wellness scoop. Thanks for being here. Have a fantastic day, guys, and we'll look forward to seeing you soon.