The Wellness Scoop - Gut Health, Supplements & Eating Well Without Obsession

Episode Date: January 8, 2026

In this episode, we’re answering your questions on gut health and everyday nutrition, focusing on what genuinely supports your body without tipping into overwhelm or rigid food rules. From fibre and fats to supplements and sweeteners, we unpack what actually matters and how to build habits that feel sustainable in real life. We talk about how quickly dietary changes can influence gut health, why small additions like seeds, fibre-rich foods and regular meals can make a noticeable difference, and what that tells us about how responsive the gut microbiome really is. We also break down the differences between omega 3, 6 and 9, how to think about seed oils without fear, and when supplements like zinc may be genuinely helpful, particularly after pregnancy. We also spend time on the emotional side of eating well. We discuss how to nourish your body without slipping into obsessive behaviours, how to navigate body image pressure and online trends, and why true health should support flexibility, enjoyment and resilience rather than control. Recommendations: Amandaland Christmas Special Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber Simon Cowell: The Next Act Poldark Order your copy of Ella's new book: ⁠⁠Quick Wins: Healthy Cooking for Busy Lives⁠⁠ Pre-order your copy of Rhi's upcoming book: ⁠⁠The Fibre Formula⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Don't spend your time on a wait list. Book a visit now at 905-947-990 or at amica.ca.ca.ca. Welcome to the Wellness Scoop, your now biweekly dose of health and wellness inspiration. And we're always your host. I'm LML's. And I'm Rihanna Lambert. And today we have got the questions from all of you, the juicy topics that we're going to be taking into 2226 with us. And this is our first listener question episode. Okay, so we're kicking off with a bang.

But just to remind it, if you have any recommendations for the community, things you want everyone else to know about, or questions, queries, topics for these Q&As, either pop them in the Spotify comments, the Apple podcast comments, or email them to me, Ella at deliciouslyella.com. We love hearing from you. But before we get into the show, we'll do our weekly recommendations. I feel like there'll be quite a lot because we've been offline for a few weeks. What have you got for us? What do we all need in our lives? Oh my goodness. Did you watch any of the Christmas TV, Ella, because Amanda Land is hilarious. No, I haven't seen it yet. And it's like right at the top of my to watch list is the Christmas Amandaland special because it has the Ab-Fab duo in, doesn't it? Joanna Lumley and Jennifer Saunders are just desperate to watch it. I laughed out loud. I just love programs like that really easy watch. You know, short doesn't take up too much time, but it's just classic. In fact, I wish it went on a lot longer. Ella, I also started watching and it's really not a program I normally would watch, but my husband put it on. It's called Super Pumped. And it's about the founder of Uber, Travis Kalanick. It's quite disturbing watching the way he decided to run the companies. It's about his attitudes towards women, towards relationships with his work colleagues, how Uber became such a massive entity that it actually is. And it follows his journey of, Well, there's a lot of misogyny, deceit. It's really, it's really dark.

There's actually been murders in Ubercabs. Oh, my God. I know. Okay, I really want to watch that. You've given me two very good recommendations. Okay. So those are my recommendations, adult watching. And Peter Rabbit the movie is just a classic I go back to again and again, Ella.

The children were literally sat with raw carrot sticks because they wanted to be like a rabbit, eating and watching Peter Rabbit the movie. How about you? I love the Peter Rabbit movie. It's so good. I really agree with that one. Yeah. I absolutely love it.

I mentioned on Monday that basically the whole Christmas period, we were sick. I touched word, all the word, did not get it. But my elder daughter had strep and flew at the same time. She actually ended up very, very poorly. She was ill for over two weeks. And then she was in bed the whole of Christmas Day and everything. Then my other daughter had it for about five days in the middle of that. And then my husband got her.

So I literally was in bed with her for most of the Christmas holidays. I watched all five seasons of Poldark, which I think is quite impressive. Oh my goodness. Okay, so I have so many things to say. First of all, that flu is the super flu going around. I had it when we went to Austria on holiday. I got it on day two. It is horrendous.

And for children, awful. It's horrendous. And then she had a strap infection at the same time. And it was really, yeah, it was. was a bit that felt quite frightening, actually, how ill she was. But anyways, Poldark was absolutely fantastic. One of those shows I have always meant to watch and ever got round to watching. Couldn't recommend it more highly.

And what's his name? Adrian, is it Adrian Turner? What, I mean, it is that handsome man. I know. Honestly, I watched it when it came out. And I love period dramas. I'm obsessed with Pride and Prejudice, Sonson sensibility, Poldark, you name it, I will watch them and it is a binge-worthy series and it really gets you. The story is fascinating and it actually

reminded me I cannot wait for the new Wuthering Heights to come out with Margot Robbie because that looks equally dishy. Yes, I'm very excited about that. We also watched one final recommendation for the day is the Simon Cowell The Next Act on Netflix. The reviews have been appalling like one-star kind of situation. My husband, like we were both mega X-Factor fans. It felt quite nostalgia, loved it, binged it in two nights. We absolutely loved it. It was just like fun, feel good watching and yeah, keep checking the band out on Instagram, seeing what they're up to. Do you know, I really enjoyed it as well. And I think there's a lot to be said for those reality TV shows. And, you know, one of my friends, Lucy Jones, she, her whole career was forged from

her time on X Factor. I think she got, I'm sorry, Lucy, I can't remember. I think she got to like the final or she like the semifinals final. with it. She did incredibly well. And she actually sang at my book launch, Ella, my plant-based book launch. But it shapes careers. And I think it's so nice for the public to see the formation of a music act that's not behind closed doors. Simon Cowell has done a lot for the way we consume media and TV in a really interesting way, I think. I know. I bet I loved it. So if you've been put up by the reviews, for Feel Good January Watchers, Simon Cowell, the next act, super pump the battle for Uber,

Amanda Land and Polduck. Those were our Christmas recommendations for you guys. And I have one foodie fact for you to not spread fear. So I've been seeing a lot of people saying, oh my goodness, Jason's sourdough is now off the menu. There are so many breads that I now can't have. There is nothing wrong with fortification

of flour. It's not the same as adding a preservative or stabilisers and different types of UPF ingredients that you can add to bread. And there is a reason that we add it because we have such high rates of spina bifida and awful deficiencies in this country

and that's why we fortify flour, Ella. Yes, we had quite a lot of questions on this, didn't we? So that's a kind of general start is that the change to flower regulation in the UK means that the flour used in bread needs to have this fortification in is reset. It's not something to be deeply concerned about as a collective.

It's probably quite helpful. Yeah, it's not going to be causing any harm to your health. It's a sort of fortification when we're, 96% of us aren't getting enough fiber or eating our plants. We definitely could all be doing it for a bit more of. So Ella, our first question today is from Joe. And she has wanted to talk about sweetness on that topic of UPS. She is. She's asked us, a spartamine. I never know how you say it. How do you say it, Ray? I just say a spartame. A spartame. You know, I used to say a spartame too. Do you know, I hear different scientists pronounce it all the time with different accents around the world. And

It just fairies, I wouldn't worry. But she said, I know it's bad, but could you give a rundown on what it is, why it's bad? Alternatives for squash, fizzy drinks for adults. And she said, my daughter loves squash. And it's really hard to find something without it that tastes nice. Exactly. So however you pronounce it, aspartam is an artificial sweetener. It's been in market for decades to sweeten foods and drinks, mostly because it doesn't add kind of want to put

It's in inverted commas, sugar or calories. And that's why it's so common in things like squash and fizzy drinks. You'd find it. I think that's what they use in Diet Coke, for example. You're exactly right. But I do feel that this is one particular sweetener that has been reduced in the past 10 years. So people are aware that it potentially is not beneficial for our health at all. And one thing that's really interesting is the World Health Organization now says not to turn to these artificially sweetened beverages as a

weight control. So we talked about calories before it reduces calories. It's not effective because you can still drink these sweeteners and crave more sugar. It's not going to diminish that aspect. My take on it as well for children, Ella, and I don't know if you agree here, you know, I like drinks like beaver or belvoir. People might pronounce it when you read the label. I think it's pronounced beaver. But things that don't have artificial sweetness in them that are just slightly lower sugar, they do exist out there and they've got natural fruit extracts in them. And I would prefer to give my child that now. That's my opinion intake over artificial sweetness. I don't like my children to have artificial sweetness. No, me neither. I would just much more happily give

them apple juice, just like a kind of orange juice. Marlute it with fizzy water. Exactly. That's what we personally do at home. And I think, you know, as we said, the evidence about a spartame is mixed at the moment, you know, technically regulatory bodies consider it safe within current intake limits, which is why it's in huge mass market drinks like Diet Coke. But there is emerging research that raises questions on the effect, particularly on the gut microbes, but also in terms of actually the metabolic health of some individuals and that it's not effective, for example, for weight loss, is it good for gut microbiome as well? And therefore, I think there is this general consensus that actually it's not necessarily a beneficial ingredient in the

way that it was originally intended for. And therefore, if you can, it's probably not something to be consuming in huge quantities. It's not something to be really stressed about. But I think the emerging evidence probably errs on the side of caution. Yeah, because currently we do have studies on a spartame. Most are in animal models, which I have my own issues with anyway. But aside from that, you can't relate that to humans. It's just not okay. And it does suggest that it does interfere of our microbes. Our microbes want to digest and absorb food. You know, we are built as human beings, and I don't want to use the natural fallacy with that everything we eat has to be what we used to eat thousands of years ago, because that's

not true. We have evolved and adapted, but we have not evolved and adapted microbiome-wise to consuming artificial ingredients, which is why we have such an issue with ultra-process food consumption and weight gain and lack of whole foods. And there is potential that these can really disrupt the everyday tasks that are microbes. And they have such a short lifespan anyway, Ella, these microbes are kind of gone in a day. You know, they're born, they multiply, they reproduce, then they die again. And it's just not good for them to have it frequently. So just be really wary. I'm not saying that we have concrete evidence that that is the fact, but I think it directly points towards that. Yeah, a reduced intake of it. So I think in

terms of kids, like, as I said, I think I would focus much more on 100% fruit juice. And you could do half and half with water or sparkling water with that. for your, depending how much you're consuming of it, or fruit water, you know, you're putting berries, citrus, cucumber, mint, et cetera in it for adults, things like kombucha or, as you said, but again, you know, got to point out cost comes into play here where you have the kind of more premium end of squashes with things like the Bellevue or however you pronounce their brand, which are delicious. They don't use artificial sweetness, but they are much more expensive. Well, that's the thing. It's the cost bracket as well. So, you know, making your own

things at home. I think the key is, if you're lucky enough to have young children that you're just starting on this journey is don't introduce the alternatives and really start off as you mean to go on. But it is difficult. When you go to parties, for instance, it's still the fruit shoots. I can't bear it, Ella, but the fruit shoots everywhere. And I have to just relinquish. And I do obviously let my kids have them because everyone else is drinking them. But they know and associate that it's not something they have at home. And I think it's the key is what you have at home should be different sometimes to what you have outside of the house. At the home, we make the decisions. Exactly. And that's all about this kind of fundamental balance

we always talk about in terms of like thinking health is our long term decisions and actions. It's not about any singular meal or day or week even. And therefore, those kind of general groundings that you have at home make all the difference. So I think that's where I would probably try not to include too many of those ingredients, but don't stress about it. If you're on holiday, you're out for dinner, you know, you want a type Coke, whatever it is. It's just trying to get that balance probably a little bit more rooted in natural whole food ingredients. Get some kombucha in your fridge at home if you're finding it hard to give up the Coke. But what I will say is that I think Coca-Cola is a really dividing thing.

There are hardcore full-fat Coca-Cola versus diet Coca-Cola people out there. I'd love to know what you are if you're listening. Yes, exactly. Let us know. Okay. Our second question comes from Amelia, who's saying, I'm wondering if you can talk about how quickly you can expect to see health benefits. from a change in diet. Three weeks ago, started taking a daily tablespoon each of flax seeds, pumpkin seeds and hemp seeds, and I swear my eyesight is improving.

I didn't add these seeds to my diet with the intention to improve my eyesight, and I generally eat quite health and eat so I'm surprised to see any effect and honestly wonder if it's even related. Could such as more addition make a big difference in only three weeks, or could it be placebo? But I think it's interesting this question will focus on the seeds, but I also like this idea of actually at a time of year where lots of people probably are trying to make positive tweaks their diet.

How quickly would you expect to see that come through? I love this question. One of my favourites that I think we have had because I notice my eyesight deteriorates when I don't eat well and it could well be a placebo or a thought process. But what I have to say is from researching for the Fiber Formula book, we know about microbes and how quickly they act to a change of diet. So within 24 hours to 72 hours, your microbes do.

respond quickly. And studies have shown that switching to that fiber rich, you know my 30, 30 formula, the plant diverse diet that can begin to shift the activity and changes the production of short chain fatty acids, which are the really beneficial components our gut bugs produce. And that changes over a matter of days. So think of it as waking up your gut bugs. And then within one to two weeks, which is what you've discussed here, you can see measurable changes. So you can literally write these down and start to see benefits. Your microbial composition from people that have studied our poo essentially and are looking at differences in our gut health, we see an increase in bacteria that thrive on fermentable fibres from your tablespoon of

flax. So from beans, whole grains, veg, fruit, nuts and seeds. And most people notice their stool. So their bowel movements become more regular, more frequent. They have less bloating. They have better appetite regulation. One thing I've noted in the clinic, At the very beginning, before we were really talking about gut health when I was studying at university, was the markable difference in all of my clients changing their diet within the four weeks, because I'd have them come back every four weeks initially, depending on the case. But they were all writing down bowel movement changes that were so beneficial and transformative. And then within two months, four to eight weeks, this is where those changes become meaningful and they start to last. and that becomes a sustained dietary pattern and that means moving forwards your immune health benefits.

Ella, it is, I cannot emphasize all it takes is a change of adding more things for a week consistently and you will probably see things differently. Excuse the pun for the eyesight, but you will. It's amazing that as well, isn't it? Which just shows, you know, actually it's so empowering to feel like you could start making shifts today and we're not talking about all or nothing shifts.

We're just talking about more plants, more plant diversity, more cooking at home, and you will, come February, start to feel a little bit different. And it's not going to all change overnight. I think that is a myth. But it's still really empowering to know that actually like every extra plant you get into your diet, every little walk you take, every extra bit of sleep you get, it is all going to make a difference. It is all really meaningful. and it does really, really add up. No, absolutely. What a positive question.

So our next question is from Joe. On the nutrition front, again, she's said, what are the differences between Amiga's 3, 6 and 9? And Ella and I talk about Amiga's a lot because, you know, well, I don't really consume much oily fish. Ella doesn't consume oily fish. So we know it's important that we need to get this, don't we in our diet elsewhere?

Exactly that. And I think Omega 3 is a topic that lots of you ask about. It's sort of a very newsworthy element of nutrition. We are going into this a little bit further as well next week with Professor Sarah Berry, who's doing a nutrition myth Q&A with us next Thursday, which is exciting. And that's going to tap into seed oils as well and the concern around seed oils in relation to omega-3 and 6 in particular. But, Rhee, can you just break down for us what actually is the difference?

Because I think we generally talk about amegas, but what is omega-3 versus 6 versus 9? 100%. And if any of you are on social media and you see people talking about anti-inflammatory diets, a lot of the time it's a diet that's high in omega-3s. So look at omega-3 as your anti-inflammatory essential. They're the type of essential fats. The word essential means we have to get them from our diet because our body doesn't produce them. And there are key types. If you're eating them from walnuts, any wellness scooper who's listened last year, welcome if you are new to the show. But we love talking about things like walnuts that contain this ALA, this al-a, this al-LNAway. acid which converts to omega-3. However, it converts very slowly to the types that we really need that are called EPA and DHA in our body. And you get that EPA and DHA from fish just purely because of the way it's absorbed in the body. But what's interesting is the fish absorb the algae in the sea. And the algae is what contains that amazing EPA and DHA. So you can cut out the fish, the middleman, and supplement. It's the one time I do recommend supplements with that EPA and DHA. And Amiga-3 is so important for our brain. 60% of our brain is made of these fats.

And it's almost like the building blocks, the preservation. I do often think the reason we have higher rates of neurodegenerative diseases, things like dementia in older generations, or we're talking rations in the war, that kind of generation where mental health really did decline was also because of a lack of these healthy fats in our diets, massively speaking. And you get the an oily fish, flaxseed, cheer seeds, walnuts, even rapeseed oil, which has had a bad rep, but I'll let Sarah Barry break that down next week for you all. And most people don't get enough. So that's the one we want. We love omega-3. Now, Amiga-6 is the controversial one, which Sarah will break down next week. But we do over-consume it purely because we eat a lot of ultra-processed

foods and the ratio in even pastries and things where we're using these oils and we're adding in a lot of products combined. We get a lot of Amiga-6. We do you. do need it. It is an essential fat, but we need it in a certain ratio. We need it for our skin to cheesy word, but glow. We need it to support our immune system. Anna's smiling. When I say that because I feel so out of place when I say, let's just make our skin glow. Because we know it's not that easy. But you get them in a lot of vegetable oils and processed foods. That's why. And it's not that it's bad for us. It's that we're eating too many ultra-processed foods. It's not the omega-6's fault. It's that they happen to be vegetable oil in all these ultra-processed foods. So just

Remember that omega-6 isn't bad, but you have to have less of it than omega-3. And part of the problem here is we always talk about is it's not so much what we're eating as what we're not eating enough of. And because generally speaking, most people do not get enough omega-3s in their life because we're not eating a huge amount of oily fish coupled with flaxis, steers, walnuts, etc. And we're eating a lot of ultra-process foods. What happens is that the balance of omega-6 or omega-3, generally speaking, isn't necessarily

optimal in most people's diets because of the ratio of ultra-process food to whole foods that we eat. So I think it's a helpful way of thinking about why people are so scared about vegetable oils. It's not that they themselves are the fundamental issue is the balance that we have in our collective diets where the problem really says. You have nailed it, Ella. That's exactly it. And amygnaine is helpful, but, you know, not essential. I don't even really discuss amegonine in clinic. I never really have because we make it ourselves in our body. It's cordillac acid. I mean, it's a wonderful healthy fat to have.

It's so beneficial. And there's lots of studies on alec acid when we talk about olive oil or we talk about avocados particularly because those are good sources for heart health and the benefits there. There's a lot of research on that. But what we want to do in our diets, everyone, just to sum up this question, is reduce the saturated fat. You get from things that are solid at room temperature like coconut oil, butter.

And you really want to reduce those. and you want to increase all the things you get from the foods that we all love on this podcast, which tastes so good, the seeds, the walnuts, the olive oil, the avocados. Rape seed oil, cold press, rapeseed oil, which I still find so bizarre that they demonise. But we'll get to there next week. I'm so excited to tell you about my brand new cookbook, Quick Wins, Healthy Cooking for Busy Lives. I wrote this one to make healthy cooking just simple when life is busy. So you'll find fridge ate suppers, one pound wonders and batch cooks that you can turn into two easy meals.

Plus we have eight weeks of delicious meal plans to complete with shopping lists. So all the thinking has been done for you. Every recipe also gives you plant points to help you eat more plants. You can get your 30 plants a week. It'll all help you feel great and just make healthy cooking feel effortless again. So Quick Wins is out now wherever you get your books. Ella, do you want to read out our next question from, wow, Nairobi? Yes, Sam is writing into us from Nairobi in Kenya and saying,

love you both in the door, the podcast. Thanks, Sam. I was inspired by the most recent episode where you both said no question is too small, so I've mustered up the courage to send this in. I know this may be a bit more of a complicated question, but there are obviously a lot of discussions right now about skinny being back in fashion. And concerns around the impact this will have on young people, particularly in the age of social media and this could lead to a rise

an eating disorder slash disordered eating. I wanted to ask what tips you both have in terms of finding a balance between making our food and way of eating more nourishing, which the podcast is so good at, yet not falling into orthorexic or obsessive behaviours related to eating clean.

I just thought this was such a great question and a very important question from Sam all the time, but again, especially in January, when we're seeing so much kind of pressure on diets and diet change, but we're also seeing a lot of celebrity culture at this time of year because that's award season and this time last year do you remember there was a lot of reporting on lollipop kind of body shapes being back in the media and this real shrinking

that we have seen in celebrity culture which I think you know you can't really hide from in terms of its existence and it is quite worrying I completely agree Sam and trying to find that balance between looking after yourself but not making it kind of so stringent that it takes over your life it's not always a straightforward process. Gosh, it's such an humongously nuanced conversation and one to tread very carefully with because you never really know what's going on with somebody behind the scenes.

Like we said, you see this in celebrity culture and I just want to really emphasize that you can't tell how healthy somebody is from their body shape or size, regardless of where that is on a spectrum of smaller, too larger. You just don't know. And everybody is built differently

where they store their fat on their body is very different. And orthorexia, I actually remember, this is how I first met Professor Tim Specter. I gave a lecture on orthorexia at the Royal Society of Medicine back in 2016, I think, and Tim was in the audience. And I think that's when I first connected with Professor Tim Spector. And we were having this conversation about the fact that this is an eating disorder that's not recognized in our diagnostic statistic manual, which we use for eating disorders. And remember, eating disorders are psychological illnesses. So it isn't really. a choice, you know, and sadly, a lot of the time healthy, there's a blurred line between

wanting to be healthy, but it becoming all-consuming and all you can think of every single day. And I think what's so lovely about the wellness group is we have this time to talk about those nuances and what you don't get in headlines in newspapers or 15-second Instagram reels is time for nuance, which is where the conversation can get lost. But what we see in the clinic is that patterns don't usually start restrictions. They do start. with those good intentions. And I, and I talk about that a lot. We actually shared some really worrying trends last year, didn't we, that we saw skinny talk and these terrible hashtags. I almost feel uncomfortable mentioning them actually. And I think we have to start asking ourselves

the question. Is this way of eating supporting my physical and mental health? You have to mention the psychology just as much as the physical. Yes, we need to eat more walnuts. But is it damaging my mental health right now? Do I just want that chocolate bar? And that is such a hard place to get to. And I feel like as we age, things for most people become easier in terms of making those life decisions. But it's so unknown sometimes. And true health is, you know, not fragile. It can cope with imperfection. You know, we're not meant to be perfect all the time. That's how I would describe it, Ella. I just think it's, you have to start asking yourself these difficult conversations. Yeah, I think that is such an effective question. It's a way of eating,

supporting my physical and my mental health. And I think it is the idea that we're so clear on that nourishing your body and the way that you eat should be adaptable to real life, stress, busy weeks, work, celebrations, illness, joy. Like your food choices, yes, can be driven by education that we need to eat our five a day and get more fibre because it's very important for our health for sure, but it shouldn't then be driven by fear, control, guilt as opposed to this focus on how can I look after myself for the long term and the enjoyment of that, you know, and I think if that balance is starting to slip and you've started with good intentions and it's now becoming so inflexible that you're maybe not wanting to be part of a social occasion,

for example, I think that's the moment to pause, to look for support because true health isn't fragile, as you said, where it needs to cope with imperfection, spontaneity, etc. We have to recognise our individual differences on this conversation massively. because, you know, our genetics play such a huge role or hormone production. You know, estrogen tends to promote fat storage for women around hips and thighs, but for some women, it can distribute on their arms

more than their legs. And I just want to remind people that we are so unique and internal health markers are different for everyone, you know, blood lipid, sugar control, everything. So we have to be unique and we have to embrace that. And I really think it's hard. So stick here with a wellness group. We'll remind you all the time

that health isn't perfection. And it leads us on to a question from Hannah. And she's actually said a really interesting point. She's emailing because we briefly mentioned zinc in the podcast. She said on Thursday, I'm not sure. I think it was just before Christmas, wasn't it? She said, I'm moderately deficient in this. And it was confirmed by a blood test by the GP.

So first of all, Hannah, well done for getting that confirmed via a blood test. You know, we can't just self-diagnose deficiencies. She said, I went to see him because my hair has been falling out for the last 10 months. Initially, I thought it was postpartum, but it hasn't improved one year after the baby was born. She said, I knew I needed help, and the doctor has prescribed me a high-dose zinc, which will hopefully correct the levels, but obviously she said, I can't stay on them forever. And now I'm really interested in finding out how I can increase my zinc levels without eating lots of dairy and meat. She said, although I do eat a bit of dairy and meat, I don't eat loads, and I don't want

to suddenly become reliant on it, as she said, it's really not for her. And she said, want to help support the hair that I have remaining. Please can you help me as this is really upsetting and I didn't know who else to turn to. Oh, Hannah. Honestly, I just feel so grateful for this community and knowing that we can be helpful to you guys because I so appreciate and then you go to Google and there's just a billion and one answers and what you listen to and what you not listen to.

So reminder, we're here to support in any way that we can. Before we get into where we can get zinc from in our diets, can you just remind us what zinc is. Why do we need it? What's it for? Yes, absolutely. Because the, actually, and just we'll get into the postpartum bit because I do think it can take up to two years for your body to feel back to itself again, which we'll discuss in a minute completely. But zinc, basically, the 101, is that, you know, it supports how we taste food, supports our immune system massively, our skin health, even our digestion. It's one of those crucial what we call micronutrients that we often forget about within our diet.

A lot of people always talk about vitamin C. They don't think about things like a mineral like zinc. And I actually remember, I put it in my plant-based multi because it's something that for some reason, plant-based eaters have a harder time getting adequate levels from. But that really doesn't have to be the case. So if you're pregnant and breastfeeding because of the demands of growing a baby

and producing breast milk, you are more likely to be at risk of deficiency. If you're stressed, this is interesting. interesting, stress depletes zinc. So you are more likely to have an issue there. And those have gut conditions. And that's purely because of malabsorption in the gut areas. So if you have an IBD, you are more likely to be at risk there as well as plant-based eaters predominantly. But they're everywhere in plant-based foods, which is so interesting. And things like seeds, legumes, whole grains, nuts, cacao. And what I want to say as a little tip is just think about

how you absorb it effectively, you're definitely going to be able to get it, but because they contain phytates, it can reduce absorption a little bit. It's not a massive thing. I don't normally tell people to worry about phytates, but if you have a zinc deficiency or you are one of those population groups, like you're pregnant breastfeeding or plant-based, just know that if you soak your grains, it can be beneficial. Lentals, beans, Ella soaks oats overnight. You know, it can really, really help there. Sprouted foods, really, really beneficial for zinc, fermented foods. Your sourdough, that can contain zinc, your tempe and eat those foods regularly. Don't look at them as occasional items. Sprinkle those seeds on everything. I got a loaf of sourdough out the oven

one minute before we started recording and I did feel... A bit jammy. I love it. Yeah, I did. I was like, this is on brand. I'd made turmeric shots and baked a loaf of sourdough before we set down and I was like, this is an on brand morning. It's so on brand. And I think Ella as well, just to backtrack a bit, do you just want to explain? Because we've both been through that. And just for any listeners that may not know, postpartum recovery is like no easy feat. And it can go on. I mean, I think it took me two and a half years to feel normal. It can go on a long time, as you said, kind of up to 24 months or so is completely normal. And in the world that we live in where we really want kind of perfection and instant wins and things like that. I think that can be

quite a difficult time period to actually be talking about. And obviously the reality is that whilst we know that there's lots of things that we can do to support our health and wellness, we all know it takes time. And I think with the best well in the world, that's really difficult when you've got a tiny baby, particularly if you're then juggling other things or other children or work, et cetera, as well. And so just kind of be easy on yourself. I think in terms of what your advice was there really. I think that also comes back to the more diversity you can get in your diet, the better when it comes to, not just zinc, but in terms of general vitamin and mineral consumption, even if you're eating well, if you're consistently eating the same meals, you're not

going to get such a broad spectrum of nutrition in your diet, even if those meals in themselves really healthy, it's like your five a day. Getting your five a day every day is excellent because it's really, really good to getting you close to your 30 grams of fiber a day for good gut health. but if the five a day is the same every single day in terms of kind of vitamin and mineral balance and diversity for your gut microbiome it's not going to be as effective so it's great but it's not as effective as if you can get that diversity in your diet absolutely and like you said you're nearly 12 months it's still I know it sounds crazy to think a year later but it's still relatively early days in terms of your body repairing I mean especially if you're breastfeeding as well

you've grown a human for nine months, you're then feeding a human from your body stores again for a prolonged period afterwards. And then your hormones have to restabilise. Your periods have to come back. There is such a lot that happens to the female body and hair loss and hairfall. What's interesting is when you're, I don't want to go off too much on a tangent on this, but I did write a pregnancy nutrition book and I looked at this so much because of fascination from my own benefit as well. But with hairfall, it's not that your hair is falling out unless you have a diagnosed deficiency. in this instance we're discussing here, it's that you hold on to hair throughout your pregnancy

because your cycles change. Our hair sheds naturally in different cycles every few years. But when we're pregnant, we hold on to hair, and then when you have the baby, the hair fall that didn't happen when your pregnant starts to happen all at once,

which is why we tend to get that line around the front of our head with baby hairs that can take up to 10 years to grow back to the normal length of your hair. It's a long time. Okay, so our final question this week is a sort of comment debate, thought-provoking writing from Laura in the Lake District. I got this just before Christmas and I thought we've got to include this. I think it's really interesting and I'm very curious to

hear what other listeners think and what you think great on this. Laura emailed in to say, I want to throw my two pee into the pot on eating well. I've been thinking about this a lot. Can we all just agree that it isn't that difficult? In the time it takes to throw oven chips, chicken nuggets in the oven and make some beans or peas, you could instead throw some chopped corsette, tomatoes, veg stock, also in the oven for 20 or 30 minutes and have a deliciously well-balanced meal. I think it comes down to confidence in the way we've been conditioned to think that we're all busy and stress and throwing these UPFs in the oven is okay. And it is just not all the time or even most of the time. Can we not just go back to when we were kids? My parents both worked full-time and we sat around a

table with a delicious home-cooked meal because all those UPS that were now out there didn't exist in the same way they do now. Our parents did it. Why can't we? Balance is also key. I eat at least 30 plants a week, most likely a lot more. At the same time, today is my birthday, and I've got the Colin, the caterpillar cake. It's not all or nothing. It's balanced, but the balance has to tip heavily towards healthy eating, and it's not that difficult. Anyway, controversial, I know, but I think it needs to be said, big up the beans. Well, Laura, first of all, happy birthday, of course, you've got your birthday cake there. I definitely appreciate the spirit of what you're saying. and you're right to those of us that had that upbringing that are educated in food

that know these things it does seem like a no-brainer doesn't it it does you think why but the environment we live in that you did mention in your question just isn't the same as it was 30 40 years ago it's very very different and the broken plate report that came out in the early 2025 did say that it's now twice as expensive to meet healthy eating guidelines compared with less nutritious diets. And also on a lower income bracket, you'd have to spend 70% of your average household income to even just meet the eat well plate. So cost has changed. Our food environment has changed. And we have, in my opinion, a generational shift of a lack of cooking that's being passed down from mother to son or daughter. I want to say this. And it's something that I think Rita Lobo

mentioned in the Lancet report I went to last year. And I mentioned this on the podcast. She said that also we've got such a shift in women entering the workplace, which is wonderful in the last 50 years or so, which is also at the same time that ultra-processed foods and convenience foods came in. So women previously were the cooks in the household. We all know this, that we were the housewives. And there's nothing wrong with that. But for women that now have a quality and want to go out and provide to that workforce, men haven't stepped up and taken on the role at home in the majority of cases.

So we've lost the art of cooking and the art of even understanding. You know, for instance, I taught my husband, I don't want to embarrass him, but he didn't grow up with a fruit bowl. And he didn't have a preference for fruits unless he bought it in a bottle. And he's been almost my biggest discovery over the last 15 years, my biggest achievement. But not everybody has an upbringing like this. And for a variety of reasons, I want to kind of just raise in this discussion, income brackets, education around food, government, the food deserts we live in where convenience foods everywhere, the emotional load, we're working harder than ever before, longer hours, never before, the overwhelm. I've got to use the word the overwhelm of these multitude of topics. I just want to explain that's why I think that it's not easy for some people. And that I couldn't agree with more. But I think the. overwhelm is a really big part of it. I think if you then move into a large section of the

population who are lucky enough to be able to buy the corsette or a tin of tomatoes or a bag of orzo, I think it's a combination of not necessarily having the knowledge and as you said, therefore, Laura, the confidence to say, okay, well if I do chop up, I don't know, there's something I'd be making recently where I'll cut peppers, red onion and tofu on a tray with some paprika, cumin, olive oil, salt, check in the other. for 20 minutes. Take it out once the tofu is golden, mix through some rice. I roast some garlic normally on the tray as well that I'm mashed into yogurt, chop up some avocado, squeeze of lime on the top. So very straightforward meal, but it's straightforward because I know how to make it and I have

red onion and I have peppers and things like that in the fridge. And so I just were confident doing it. I know when I changed my diet 15 years ago now, I'd never cooked in this way before. I didn't used to eat in this way. We didn't have a kind of plant first. diet. I really did find this all so overwhelming because I just didn't know where to start. I didn't know that I could do an also tray bake or I didn't know that I could kind of make a mushroom lasagna quite easily. Or become a UK bestselling author inspiring all of us to do it. It's a miraculous seller. Well, that part is miraculous. I certainly didn't see that coming. But I just didn't know how to cook these foods and I didn't know how to cook them in a delicious or simple way. And so I do really,

really relate to that. And that's where my kind of passion sits is that actually I do agree with you, Laura, that if you can buy those ingredients and you have them in your house, you're right, actually, you can make these traybakes and you can make these one-pot meals that aren't probably much more difficult than chucking some bits in the oven. And I think that's true. And I don't disagree with you on that. And I think there is sometimes we're so busy caveating things and saying, we know it can be difficult, we know it can be difficult, that we almost make it sound more difficult than it sometimes needs to be because actually it can be quite straightforward or you can do tomatoes and a tin of beans and some yoghurt and lemon and end up with a very, very quick

bean stew that you can serve with toast and you'll get your beans in there. So it's a kind of nuanced conversation and I think in some way you're right. If you've got those ingredients and you can buy those ingredients, we probably need to almost push ourselves harder to say, no, we can do this. It doesn't need to be complicated. This isn't Instagramable Michelin style cooking. This is simple nourishing day-to-day family cooking or everyday cooking. But I think it's important as we said that we're mindful that unfortunately eating well is now twice as expensive as it used to be. And that is wildly problematic. And also when you are incredibly busy and you aren't able to cook at home as a result, you're doing shift patterns, whatever it is. Unfortunately,

if you look at your kind of meal deals and things like that that that are available, those are incredibly unhealthy and generally speaking and so it's very difficult then to get a well-balanced meal do you think it's also traditions Ella what's so interesting is my dad

I'm just going to take this as a thing I echo everything you've just said and I hope that the wellness group is listening can see this as a yeah I can do this now that you feel empowered to do these changes like Ella just said I felt like a lot of us can and it's definitely inspired me even just hosting

this show Ella you know I know now I'm going to go and cook an orzo after. I forgot. That's a quick and easy thing to do. I'm going to do it. Thank you very much for this question. But I notice that there's traditional habits as well that come with health. And we know so much more in the last five years. That's actually a relatively short space of time when it comes to nutrition science and for it to infiltrate fruit to everybody in the general public. You know, my dad is still stuck over Christmas in the days of adding table salt to his roast dinner. And I just, he hadn't even tasted it yet his habit is to sit there. And I was like, dad, I've just cooked. this and on it went he went to the cupboard he got it out and sorry dad i know you're probably going to listen to this but i think it's an example of jet let there's so much salt on a roast dinner anyway but it's generational habits and shifts and we are at the forefront well i hope we are at the wellness scoop we're giving you the latest news but we're in a bubble i think we're in a lovely positive nice bubble and i really hope it becomes mainstream yeah i agree i think that's a really nice way to think about it. Well, thank you guys for listening. We love hearing from you. Any

questions, queries, things you want us to talk about. Send them in. We cannot wait. We will be back on Monday in your ears with the latest headlines. And then our Q&A's on Thursday. And next week, our big focus on our Q&A is all the nutrition myths, keto, fasting, etc. So we have all your questions around that coming up. We can't wait. Bye. Thank you for listening. Thank you.