The Wellness Scoop - ‘Natural’ Ozempic, Bean Power & How to Beat Headaches

Episode Date: November 24, 2025

This week we’re unpacking the stories that could genuinely shift your everyday health. We look at the three simple habits proven to stop morning headaches, from caffeine timing to sleep rhythms and jaw tension. We also dig into the new “natural Ozempic” capsule making headlines, explaining how it actually works in the gut, how it compares to GLP-1 injections and what the early research really shows. Plus, we explore the nationwide Bang in Some Beans campaign aiming to double the UK’s bean intake by 2028, why supermarkets are backing it and what the science says about beans for heart health, gut health and long-term disease risk. It’s a practical, evidence-led episode filled with useful takeaways you can put into your week straight away. 🎄 Order your signed, personalised copy of Quick Wins – add a Christmas message when you pre-order here: ⁠https://coles-books.co.uk/quick-wins-by-ella-mills-signed-edition Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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What will you do with your yes? Get the yes you've been waiting for at Capital One.ca.ca. slash yes terms and conditions apply welcome to the wellness scoop your weekly days of health and wellness inspiration and as always we are here as your hosts I'm Ella Mills and I'm Rianna Lambert and after a decade in the wellness industry we know it's overwhelming and confusing and that's why we created this podcast to cut through the noise and make healthier living simple fun and personal and we're just as always thrilled to be here it is a beautiful winter's morning today it's like cold and crisp and sunny and we're feeling full of beans we're actually

going to be talking about these that wasn't meant to be ironic we're particularly full of beans today no I love it so Ella what have we got coming up in today's show okay we are going to talk about the three everyday little habits that could stop morning headaches the truth behind the natural ozempic pill making headlines and the black market that's developing for weight loss drugs Why the UK wants us to be full of beans and eat double the beans that we are currently by 2028 The bath routine that could help support heart health and deeper sleep As someone that loves a bath

I'm excited about that one And the red flags that show you're doing too much exercise So a nice all rounder I'd say So Ella how has your week been? Do you know what, Rhie? It has been so 10 Like we had the nicest weekend We always record on a Monday morning.

We had the nicest weekend we saw my grandparents on Saturday for lunch, which I'm also really, my grandpa's 93, and he's an extraordinary man. My granny is 87, and I just feel that moment. I feel really grateful to still have them in my life, and we now live really near them. So that's so sweet. So we saw them. We had my nephews crisening. We had some really, like, old friend. I say old, and they're not old, but.

But they've been in your life a long time. To come stay with their kids on Saturday nights. We've just had this really fun weekend. Holesome. So wholesome. So it's just feeling great. And my sourdough, as I've been saying, I'll give you an update. It is so addictive.

I think I have quite an addictive personality, so I will say that. But it's just so fun experimenting. But my kitchen is boiling. We have an auger. The rest of the house is cold. The kitchen is like a hot room. Oh, my gosh, it's a hot room. And so I've been using chat GPT as my best friend every day to adjust my recipe.

accordingly because my kitchen is so boiling and I think what I've realised for sourdough is there's not really a recipe to follow you've got to kind of it's why people give it names to their starter and things I think because they're like a person it lives, it breathes,

you can't kind of do one thing anyway, I was chatting again with Chachybt on the train this morning about my loaf last night also realised like whilst doing our headlines a bit sourdough on the side totally I'm so obsessed with it

like amending up baking like a loaf of bread every other day and I eat half of it for my night time snack each day I'm like, how much bread's too much bread? Ella's bakery is the question we're all asking here. Maybe next week or the week I can bring you some. Anyway, it's so fun.

So I stay up all night thinking about that. And also the only thing I want to say on a work-related note was that, so as you guys have probably heard quick wins, which is my new cook book, which has meal plans and fridge rates and all your kind of easy cooking when you're busy. It comes out on the 18th of December, which is so exciting. But we are going to do a special event on the 16th of December. limited number of people so that you can come, get it signed, say hi, which will be so nice.

So I'll have the details, ASAP. I don't have them yet. But it will be central London, evening of the 16th of December. 630 to 8.30, pop it in your diaries. Don't forget that date. Oh, it's very exciting. I know. I can't wait. I love meeting people in real life. So if you can come, it's going to be really lovely. We'll have goodie bags. It'll be fun. Goodie bags too, Ella. I know. Love a goodie bag. I know. And also just one really quick wreck was, I know we're meant to save them Thursday, but it's so good. if anyone is having a lull in their week and they need some feel good.

The TV show, nobody wants this. Season two is back. It is so feel good. With the rabbi. With the rabbi. The hot rabbi. Yeah. Who I was had the crush of all crushes on.

Everyone says from the OC. I never saw the OC. I missed out on this epic chapter. Oh my gosh. You need to go back and watch it. Is that one I can start binge watching? Like I never saw Gossip Girl when it came out either. I was like a late.

Pursnery put OC above it. Okay. Oh my gosh. So apparently he is with, you know, the girl from gossip. girl and they're both in this series yeah she is a kind of cameo on it anyway it's so feel good nobody wants this season one also amazing season two just came out if you need something to make you feel good in life i love that i wasn't feeling that well the other day and i went to bed and binge watched it and it was that she ended up being like best day ever well i love that and i have

another pick-me-up a wreck which we normally do do wrecks on thursday but i've been starting my mornings with enya i mean what's fair i'm like really i feel like i should know what you you're talking about. Do you not know who Enya is? No, I feel like I'm late to something here. Enya is one of these incredible musicians where she kind of plays every instrument in the world and sings these amazing songs. You would know, is it on a rocko flow or on a rock? You would know these pieces of music if you heard them, but it's the most relaxing, amazing, gorgeous way to start the day. On Spotify. Yeah. Or in your Alexa, Spotify, Amazon app, whatever you've got. Don't worry because I'm going to play it to you after this podcast. Okay. We'll have it on tomorrow when we're getting

ready for school. Yes, because it's a really busy week. I'm also finishing shooting the book finally this week. I've been doing late night book edits and I've been hammering nails into my walls all weekend to like, I've been doing DIY in the house. I love it. What do you make it? Well, it's more that I'm getting ready for Christmas. I want displays and I've been inspired by Stacey Solomon. But let's let's move on to the headlines that matter. So welcome if you're new to the show. This is the reminder each week, Rea and I pick the stories that are making news, be that headlines, podcasts, Netflix type shows, anything that you see, we want to distill it down for you here. So, Rie, on the agenda this week, we're actually going to start with a piece that you were

contributing to in the Times because it was such a good one about voiding morning headaches. And I'd love us to cover it quickly, if that's okay with you. Tell us, how do we avoid them? Yeah, 100%. It was a good article in the Times with P to B, and it pulls out three really simple. habits that can make a difference and I often find actually in clinic that headaches is more common than we think and sometimes of course it's not to do with the food you eat there's so many factors right stress I mean I know hormones can cause um headaches muscle tension you know in your neck

that place in your shoulders I carry everything there yeah really bad um so the first one is sorry everyone and Ella's holding a coffee as we speak my third cup and it's 10 o'clock is it already no no don't tell me Sorry, Ray. Yeah, it's bad. I go three cups before 10 a.m. Haven't had any water either. Oh my goodness. Right.

So everybody, cut back on the caffeine. Living on the edge on a Monday. No, but if you are getting headaches, I would say someone's having around 200 milligrams of caffeine a day. That's roughly two cups, Alan, not three of coffee. And then goes without overnight. That sudden drop can cause blood vessels in the brain to dilate, which can trigger a headache.

And which is why some people in hospital, they use caffeine and time it around various treatments. sometimes as well. So even just bringing your last coffee a little bit earlier can help to kind of soothe that out. So the first one is mind your, mind your caffeine. Remember, green tea contains caffeine, but only around 30 to 70 milligrams in a cup, depending on the type of green tea, compared to an average coffee, which can be like 80 to 100. Keep your sleep pattern steady. I feel like we're practicing things we're all not preaching here. I mean, sleep is such an a regular thing for me and Ella, but it's a big one. If you are over sleeping at weekends

or you do shift work, particularly you're going to be more prone to headaches or you're travelling a lot. So jet lag, it all disrupts your circadian rhythm. This also has a knock-on effect on your gut bacteria because we know that has a circadian rhythm too. And then the cortisol rise, so that stress hormone that you need, which is naturally high when you wake up first thing in the morning to kind of get you out of bed. That's really impacted. So by having a routine, that really helps and that's why it's so hard for people that work shifts you know to have digestive normality essentially or regularity because you're constantly changing all the time it's so tough and I think the over sleeping at weekends is interesting as well because in that sense like

catching up on sleep which obviously isn't making anyone feel guilty or anything but that regular sleep pattern is gold for your health so trying to keep it roughly the same from weekdays to weekends because unfortunately your circadian rhythm, your gut bugs, your cortisol doesn't understand that it's a Saturday, not a Tuesday. I know. Let's do some sleep extra scoops actually. Maybe we can get a little tip because I think sleep is so key. And then this is something I also do. So I'm really not winning at this, but addressing teeth grinding or jaw clenching, I think it's something that subconsciously, a lot of us might do but don't realize. I know because my teeth were getting chipped. I had to go and get a night guard. But there's teeth grinding or clenching.

at night, which is common. It puts a lot of strain on the muscles around your jaw, and all that tension builds while you sleep, which is why some people may wake up with a headache. Now, when I used to be a soprano, our warm-up routine would be massaging these muscles. And do you do that in yoga? I'm obsessed with guashar in like face massage and doing those jaw areas. Yeah. So good. My whole Instagram algorithm right now is lymphatic drainage and like gooshar routines for your face and sourdose starters. It is so wholesome and wellness scoves. I've been dry brushing since you recommended it and mine is now just full of wicked. But we move on. So I think it's a really helpful headline because those tips we've just got to remember. So caffeine, sleep and teeth grinding could contribute to a

headache. Yeah. And you want to wake up full of beans, don't you? We really do. Okay. Headline one is such a nice one. And this time of year, if you're in the northern hemisphere, it's cold, it's dark. A bath is honestly, I think one of the most lovely self-care rituals you can do is something relatively simple and easy to get in. And there was a headline this week, why a hot bath is the secret to good health. Shows might be quicker and cheaper, but science says a long soak in the tub has significant benefits for your heart, sleep and mood. And I was just literally elated when we sent this to me. It's my favourite form of self-care. I need to start doing it more. But when I put the children to bed, It's my favourite thing to do.

I've even been known to write book edits in the bath. That's counterproductive because you're not actually counter chitty rub. You're not actually resting because I'm working. But my muscles are resting. And the article pulls together a really compelling body of research. And it's about passive heat exposure. So things like hot water immersion and how that helps our cardiovascular system. So it reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease.

And one, Ella, of the stronger studies comes from Japan. and it has about 30,000 adults in this cohort and they're all age between 40 to 59 and it's a long-term study. So they were followed for around 19 years. And those who bathed in a hot tub almost daily had around a 35% lower hazard of developing cardiovascular disease than those who bathed two or fewer times per week. So I need to work my bath game. Do you know what? We don't have a shower at the moment in our house. Oh, good.

You're doing it. And so I'm also, that's how we wash now. So I bath all the time. And so I was also thrilled to hear this, that it's having such a good effect. So is it essentially that the heat exposure is acting in a way a little bit like exercising to put it kind of colloquially for the cardiovascular system to help people understand it? Yeah, that's a really good analogy because when you do put yourself in hot water, your core body temperature rises by around one degree, which is why when people are pregnant,

they say be really careful of getting into hot tubs and saunas. But this triggers vasodilation, which is when your blood vessels open. up and get wider and that increases blood flows so it increases your heart rate improves your blood pressure the cell function which we call endothelial function and one paper even found that people bathing five or more times a week saw a significantly lower rise in blood pressure and markers of cardiovascular stress over time so you are making a meaningful physiological difference without any exertion like you do an exercise just by sitting in the tub. I love it. And I think especially in the winter and this kind of time we go up to Christmas where life is so busy and it's quite

hard to fit in healthy habits, it's quite nice to know. This like, as we said at the top, this kind of passive, you just sit back, you relax. I'm obsessed with Epsom salt baths. They just feel so relaxing. Or some really nice bubble bath. Neal's yard bubble bath, big fan of. And it's amazing. Obviously, we're not saying like you can skip exercise in general in favour of a bath. But it's a really nice add-on. Interestingly, so much of this long-term data comes from places like Japan and Finland where these hot water immersion, these baths, saunas, obviously in the Nordics, exactly, is a really big part of the culture.

And again, there's a lot of studies on how impactful that sauna culture, for example, in Finland is on health. So it's something I think we can probably take a lot more of in the UK. Yeah. So aim for a bath. around 40 degrees Celsius. I mean, that is hot, but lovely. Lasting around 10 to 20 minutes.

So it really isn't that long. I'd probably be in there longer. Ideally, three to seven times a week. And use it to complement the movement, not replace it, like Ella said. And please, just little thing, just remember to stay hydrated. I often find when I get out a bathtub or a swimming pool area, I'm so thirsty. You really need to stay hydrated and also check for any underlying medical conditions. But it's also inspiring me this piece, Ella.

It's making me think I really, really wish I had a sauna and I might look into mini ones you can fit. Have you got yours fitted? I've just ordered one for our new house. Yeah, I'm so excited. That will be me over Christmas just sitting. But I'm missing. I've done the cooking now.

I'm going to sit in the sauna. I love it. Which will be fun. And is there a lingery as well in terms of gut health, inflammation as well? Yes, of course. Because if you think about it, you are relaxing your body in general and you're improving the cellular function, both of those are really linked closely to systemic, you know, inflammation because blood flow in our gut

area is really key for nutrient absorption as well. And I don't think we talk about the gut-heart axis at all, really, but better vascular health will also support that circulation. And I think we need a lot more research here, to be honest, but also it might be useful for glycemic controls of blood sugar benefits too. I think we would see if we did more research into gut health and saunas, that could be really cool. We'd see huge benefits. I would be a willing discipline in that study. You can't outrun a bad diet. Yeah. It's not to replace exercise. It's not to replace good food. It's not to replace. But it gets a really nice tool in stress management as well. We talk about

that so much in terms of our kind of four pillars of health, diet, movement, sleep and stress management. And I think stress management is one of the most challenging things for people to fit in and the idea of like i love 10 minutes of breathwork or meditation or mindfulness but i so appreciate for some people that is really unappealing and sort of their worst nightmare and actually try and have those tools in place but something like soaking in a tub put on to nice music listen to a podcast put a show on your phone on that like prop it up somewhere actually it's such a nice way to relax so good for you to get out of that busy busy busy mindset and if you don't have a bath because I didn't for years in a flat in London.

It was just a shower. You can stay in the shower longer and turn up the heat for a little bit. So I think that would be helpful. Or your local gyms often have. Now, they've got way more facilities than they used to. On this like really wellness-esque algorithm I'm on, on Instagram, I'm also seeing loads of people get small inflatable kind of... Bathtubs.

They don't really like a bath tub. It looks more like a kind of hot tub or like an adult paddling pole. Cool. But it's tall. So your back is support. You could get one in Black Friday. And then people filling them up from the shower or, you know, from the sink or something and making a DIY bath setup. Anyway, I love watching them because then people get their like bath salts out and all their lovely bits and pieces.

Pop a good show on in the background. I'm relaxed just watching it. I wonder how you'd feel if you swapped with my Wicked algorithm for a day. I just don't think we should swap algorithms. I like Wicked, but I don't think I like it as much as you do. Anna, we are finally there with the big head. headline the Bang In Some Beans campaign. Yes, this was such a nice one.

So the Bang Insome Beans campaign, which has been funded by the National Lottery, aims to double the UK's consumption of beans. So we're talking about like baked beans, butter beans, chickpeas, all of the good stuff. They're aiming to double the consumption of that by 2008. And it's been backed by big names, Jamie Oliver, Hugh Fannie Whittingstall. But interesting, and I think really importantly, by the major supermarkets as well. And the thing is, obviously, having worked with major supermarkets for a decade or so now, unless they are behind certain shifts in our dire, it's never going to happen, as I don't believe,

because ultimately who they back and what they back in terms of feature space, it makes such a big difference. You think about it, you go into your local supermarket. When those feature spaces, those big walls of products are right in front of you and they have discount deals on and they've got amazing signage around them. You know, your rate of sale goes up like there's no tomorrow because it's so easy for people to pick it up, people are making it so much more appealing. And so I think the fact that all these supermarkets have got so behind it,

it's amazing. So Liddle has pledged to increase volume sales of all bean products by 50% by 2020A. Sainsbreeds aiming to increase overall sales of beans and pulses as well. M&S committed to increasing volume sales of those beans by 15%. And waitrose and Accardo have also said. they'll actively promote more legumes across their platforms. So it's like a really coordinated push from these amazing retailers to get beans front and centre. And I just think that's absolutely phenomenal.

It's one of the most positive, actionable, affordable things that you can possibly do in the health landscape in this country. And to see the change is just massive. And what I absolutely love is the fact that, you know, it's come from such a good place because we massively under-consumed beans in the UK. You know, most people eat less than one portion a week. And I know this because I've been researching for my next book, The Fiber Formula. In fact, that's really good timing. I'm so happy to see people take this on board because I was so nervous doing a fiber book. And despite the fact, they're one of the strongest predictors of long-term health because Harvard researchers, and this is an epic study, Ella, they followed more than 206,000 people for over 30 years.

It's just huge. And they found that people who ate more plant-based diets, which we talk about a lot, which is just the majority of your plate being plant-based, so vegetables, legumes, fruit, grains, especially including beans, had a significantly lower rate of premature death from heart disease, cancer and other chronic illnesses. And the Lancid's e-biomedicine found that eating one serving of beans, that's just one a day for eight weeks, dramatically improved gut health and several markers linked to cancer risk. And I further add, because there's so much day to hear everybody, that the Food Foundation report, that diets low in beans are associated with up to 9,000 premature deaths each year in the UK. So regular bean consumption, everybody, it's just linked with everything in lower amounts,

from type 2 diabetes to cancers, gut health. They're just such an easy way to boost fibre when only 96% of us are basically not eating the recommended 30 grams a day. 100%. And I think we've talked so much over the last few months about the state of the nation's health, the food industry, how difficult it is, but how important it is that we fundamentally shift, how we eat. And I think this was, it's just such a positive campaign in the fact that we've got obviously that amazing, really big names like Jamie Oliver involved. But as I said, the fact that this is backed by supermarkets with these clear KPIs in terms of increasing sales, which means

they will be giving these products, extra space and celebrating them and making them easier for consumers to find them. It's just unbelievable. Like, it's such an inherently positive shift. And this is what I just feel like we need so much more of we need to, you know, I've seen in every newspaper amazing bean recipes again over the last few weeks as this campaign landed to try and get people inspired to use these ingredients. Then you go into a supermarket and you see them on offer.

You see them easy to get hold of. You remember that recipe and how delicious it looked from that celebrity chef you love. What an amazing way to do. just gently, proactively, but in a really like positive celebratory way, gently nudge people to shift their diets. And I just love that we were talking before we started recording about like friends and family and diets changing. And I just believe so strongly that telling people what to do is so ineffective.

Like it doesn't work to stand up here and be like, you should eat less meat and you should eat more beans. But if we show people this delicious recipe that you can make and how easy it is and then you make the ingredients really available, really easy to get hold of, you know, make them cheaper. That has such a great impact. So I'm just absolutely thrilled. I am beyond thrilled.

And it's also good for the planet, everybody, because growing beans helps to fix nitrogen into the soil. And I think a lot of people hear these things on social media circulating about the state of soil, how it affects the produce that we consume. So basically, beans naturally fertilize everything. And they improve the structure of the soil. So they're far more planet-friendly as well than other food. product lines, which we know. And food production accounts for a quarter of global greenhouse

gas emissions. And it was pretty heavy last week. We were speaking about, you know, the Kardashians lollipops and... Magina lollipops and clostrum. And to go from that to just please everybody eat more beans, I just think this is thrilling. And, you know, a lot of greenhouse gases, like we said last week, come from the meat industry. So we can just get people to add a few more beans. You're helping your body and the planet. And like it takes three times more water, for example, to produce a kilo of beef than it does for the same amount of beans. It's 15.5,000 litres to produce a kilo of beef on average and only about 5,000 litres for the same amount of beans. So it's good for the planet. It's so, so good for your health and genuinely

it can be so delicious. And as I said, it's just the fact that we're then celebrating them making it easy to get hold of is that like 360 approach that I think will make a difference. I mean, I certainly used to think that kind of ingredient would taste really rank. I would not have been excited if you said to me. Oh, for dinner, I've got us chickpeas stew. Okay, I'm fine. I'd rather not. Like we said last week.

You should try it. Yeah, I think they're affordable, accessible, sustainable, that evidence bagged. It has to be one of the best headlines I think we've ever read in a year of the Wellness Scoop. Yeah, so roast your lentils still they're crispy, you know, pop them into a lasagna, tossed chickpeas into your salads, things like black beans and a chili, a tray bake, butter beans. Butter bean dips. So good. And it's obviously soup season. easy way to use in that.

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I think it's key because I remember when exercise classes first became, you know, really popular. It was like the thing to do. And cool. Yeah. But there was a moment when kind of Barry's boot camp, soul cycle, etc., took off, particularly in the US,

and you were seeing pictures of like... Forty-five. David Beckham at Barry's Boot Camp and the Victoria Secret models. And there was a moment where these kind of fancy quite intense classes became super cool. It was. Like a status symbol in a way. It was like a status simple. But now we know that overdoing it can cause, of course, injury physically, but also brain, fog, loss of libido and more when it comes to menstrual cycles for females.

And this was in the times. And I think we saw this, Ella and I and just thought, let's just dive into it because we saw the fever. from the episode where we spoke about hypothythamacal manorea and how helpful it was for all of you listening and so many of you have very bravely and thank you for that shared your feedback with us on the Spotify app a hundred percent and I think one of the things I wanted to say before we get into it as well is I think re and I talk about this a lot and I think it was a big part of starting the show and I think this headline is really indicative of it which is that we do have this very bizarre quite ironic dichotomy at the moment where we on one hand are kind of just inundated with wellness and on the other

hand and it's such a humongous billion or trillion depending what stats you use sized industry and then on the other hand our health is worse than ever and I think this is the same thing here so on the one hand we've got recent data from the World Health Organization showing that around 31% of adults so almost a third of adults worldwide were physically inactive this is data from 2022 that That number's rising. It's about 1.8 billion adults not meeting recommended activity levels. In the UK, as it stands, it's about one in three men, nearly one and two women who aren't exercising enough for good health. And then on the other end of the spectrum, we have this like explosion in exercise.

And it's kind of we've got more people than ever signing up for ultramarathons and marathons. We've got high rocks. I mean, people are so obsessed as a weightless for these exercise things. super heavy lifting programs. We said Barry's boot camp, peloton, all of this. And I'm not knocking any of that. No, it has a place. All of that can have a place. And honestly, exercise is phenomenal. It's so good for us. So good for our mental health as well, which is can't be underestimated. Well, age amazingly of your bone health. For sure. If you lift weights every week. But there's a kind of, we need to find, for most people, you need to find the balance in between

it all. And I think the temptation is to kind of do all or nothing sometimes. And that's what this article was highlighting that it can be tricky and there's a very interesting new survey that came out from David Lloyd here where a quarter of our adults avoid recovery when it comes to exercise because they feel it's unproductive and more than a third believe a rest day makes them less fit or slow their progress so some people are now kind of feeling they've got to train hard but then skipping the rest and the kind of balance which is just thought it was important to know I think we also for those people that are in the over-exercising camp they may not realize it or they're doing it.

It's very hard to replace the endocannoboids, the endorphins that you get in your brain from exercise elsewhere in your daily life, which can also be a contributing factor. And Dr. Lee Bell summed it up really clearly in the article. And he said, if you exercise too hard for too long, you hit a downward spiral. So it is like getting that high and following kind of this path. He said, more exercise isn't always better. And I loved his analogy that we all have a bucket of stress. and that if that bucket is already half full from daily life, kids, work, lack of sleep, emotional load,

it doesn't take much extra, you know, training stress for it to overflow. And, you know, there isn't a universal threshold when it comes to how much is too much because some well-conditioned people, I've got friends that can train, you know, five days a week intensely and feel amazing and be really healthy. But for, I know myself and Ella in particular, we know that we probably have like a day or two in us of probably more vigorous than other. and we prefer light intensity most days, like a long walk. But for other people, two days of high intensity work is already too much.

And Dr Bell said that, you know, it's really hard because it's not quantifiable in the same way for everyone. And what matters is how you respond. And that's what makes it difficult, Ella, because we're so used to prescriptive advice. And we almost look to others to give us that prescriptive advice. And I will say personal trainers, the majority of them, are not trained in nutrition as we know. but they're probably not trained on how much is too much for each individual. I think the his point with this kind of bucket is a really helpful way of thinking about it, which is like ultimately that's why there is no prescription because life ebbs and flows.

And like I think it's difficult to do, but it's that question of yourself. It's like, how much have I really got going on in my life right now? You know, do I have time actually to push myself in that stress from exercise? I have more than capacity to take it on because I don't have enormous amounts of stress and overwhelm. and the rest of my life, in which case, brilliant, push yourself there. But if you are full of cortisol and you are in a bit of a fight or flight mode too much the time and you are feeling generally speaking quite overwhelmed, quite stressed, then adding huge amount of stress through exercise, it's probably too much stress

and you need that gentler, lower intensity and more isn't always more. But I think that we're kind of led to believe with exercise that more is always more. And that was what I really loved. And they then went through these red flags, which I just thought were really important, for us to look at today. So really, we take us through the first one. Yes. So there are a few red flags to look out for. And I think the first one is that workouts suddenly feel harder. So it's the first thing a lot of us notice. If you're putting in the same effort, but everything just feels heavier, your breathing rates higher, your legs feel dead. You finish just feeling depleted rather than

that feel good feeling when you leave the park or the gym. And that's because the nervous system just isn't recovering between sessions and glycogen's. That's our stored energy around our muscles produced via the liver. Those stores are low and you're essentially training on empty. And the times pointed out that elevated resting heart rate is another sign your system hasn't reset. I think the point there is that like the nervous system isn't recovering and it's because you're putting so much stress on it around these sessions. Like it's not, hardcore exercise creates stress in the body. If you're then not stress the rest of the day, great. But if you then go, if you've been at your desk all day, super, super, super stressed, having had a stressful morning before you even got to work. And a

commute. And then you do a stressful commute. And then you do a stressful exercise. That is too much stress. And that's where more isn't always more. And your body just can't recover. And I think then your second red flag is this idea of like training most days with no real rest. And I think many people are training five days a week with no rest days and for most people again like we've got a lot else going on in our lives that's too much and almost taking that pressure and expectation off is quite nice high intensity workouts can create little micro tears for example on your muscle tissue and those long cardio sessions can create oxidative stress heavy lifting can stress your joints and tendons so you just need downtime to repair because you know your muscles grow by tearing and rebuilding

and repairing, and that's part of the process, which is why we get that delayed onset of muscle soreness, Dom's people say, you know, if you do a few squats one day and the next day, you're like, oh, it hurts to climb the stairs. That's normal, but it's not normal when you're not then resting that day for the growth to then take place in the repair. And the study referenced the widely used 10% rule, which is not increasing intensity or training volume by more than around 10% a week. So just take it at your pace. But so many people are because of these programs that are available on social media platforms or these Barry's boot camps programs. Many people jump from two sessions to five or they stack hit running and strength back to

back. And I think this is when training becomes a bit of a methodical thing. I've always said with sports nutrition, I think it's the same for PTs probably and anyone in this industry, that it has to become numerical and methodical to a degree as well as listening to your body because you have to structure it. otherwise you end up very easily not knowing when to stop and when to go. Completely. And I think the next ones that are really important is this disrupted sleep and low mood

and the low libido and hormonal changes. There's other things that recurrent injuries, but that's probably quite unsurprising. Like persistent fatigue, same. Again, unsurprising. You're not giving your body time to rest. But disrupted sleep, low mood and low libido and hormonal changes are really important flags, I think, from things that can happen when you're not. resting enough. Yeah, I completely agree. And I think the practical takeaway from this article,

really, really clear that over-exercising doesn't just stall the progress. It actually makes you slower and weaker and miserable long-term, just to put it there that we all need to exercise more, which is like Ella said at the beginning, there's such a disconnect between the two different approaches. We're not exercising enough. And then these wellness camps exist where everyone's overexercising and then where's the middle ground? I feel like I'm not doing enough every day and I know that all I need to do is walk another 20 minutes and sometimes it can feel so hard to do it. It's called active recovery sometimes like low intensity exercise can be helpful if you're in this rut basically of over-exercising. Just try and slow it down and walk one day

instead of hitting it again. Yeah, the low libido and hormonal change is interesting. We obviously talked about some of these hormonal changes that can affect your size. on our Q&A episode the other day, but essentially if you didn't hear that, when your body doesn't have enough fuel, it can downregulate hormone production to conserve energy. So if you do have menstrual cycles, that can sometimes mean amaranorea, so when you're skipping a cycle or having irregular cycles. But for others, it then shows up as changes in libido, because essentially your body's saying, you know, don't put the energy towards reproduction, and we don't have enough of it. And I don't think people would necessarily expect that. And it's the same sometimes with

your sleep, you can become kind of wired and tired. And it's different for men and women, because for women, this hormone depletion can be bad for their bone health. We have to remember that circulating hormones are protective for our bone density and they're really, really important, which is why as we go through perimenopause, menopause, you're more prone to osteopenia, which is halfway towards osteoporosis. So, you know, exercise is so fantastic. I wish I could do more, but we've got to be careful everyone, especially I find with these headlines. Let's check it in January because after Christmas, these programs are thrown at you. Totally.

And I think it's just that reminder, like, health and wellness isn't all or nothing. And I think that's the point in these extremes. It sometimes feels like either I've got to run an ultramarathon or I'm not going to exercise as opposed to what about an online 15 minute Pilates session. I did it the other day on my reformer. Love it. I did do one this week. But yeah, literally like roll out a yoga mat and do a 15 minute YouTube session.

Fantastic. Do that four times a week. There's so many free like 15, 20 minute workouts. 100%. You don't have to do these really intense things to win, essentially. Like, you know, to really genuinely improve your health. And I think that's, to me, the kind of permission tick that this article gives. And I saw in my friend Lucy's RWL app that they've even got workouts for people that are sedentary.

So also, if you have a mobility issue or you're disabled, just you can start. anywhere now and there's so many helpful free resources everywhere like sitting in a chair with your arm movement your waist your hips anything helps and it doesn't have to be huge a hundred percent and obviously like if you are an ultramarathon runner and you love it and you're training properly like that's phenomenal i think it's important to say like it's not knocking all of that if that's what your passion is and you do it really properly that's incredible i mean i'm in awe of you because i wish i could run i just can't such respect i totally agree like couch to 5k i still can't do it but for Most of us, to whom that's probably not where we're at in life, it's just important to know

to kind of tick your, like, I'm doing well with exercise box, you don't have to do something Instagram worthy. I think our trend section today is now one that we've focused on for a while, and it is to do with our weight, our body weight again, but it's the first natural ozempic pill for weight loss. Yes, so this is so funny I was reading about this And then I was getting ready for bed I was cleaning my teeth

My husband came to the bathroom And he was like Oh my gosh I've just been reading About a natural As Empeg Like a natural Mojaro A natural JLP1

And I was like What do you think I was doing on my computer The last hour I also read it I've been writing it up For the Wellness School Don't worry I'm all over it

But he was like Oh my gosh because look these drugs are everywhere and we're going to come on to that again at the end of this because there's a lot of black market development and kind of counterfeit products which is very interesting but I guess unsurprisingly we're going to just see more and more of this partly because let's be completely frank

this is an enormous industry an absolutely enormous industry I mean these drugs are so big that the Danish company Novo Nordisk I think that's how you say, who make Asmpic and Weggavi was responsible basically for all of Denmark's recent growth in GDP. Like, it's everything. I mean, the speed of these is just so enormous. They are having such a huge economic impact.

And as a result, let's be honest, the number of companies trying to develop things in this space will be absolutely huge. But this is the first thing I have read. And just to be clear, we are not endorsing this. It's just interesting to talk about. But it's the first thing I've read about that's touted as a quote-unquote, natural alternative. And essentially what's going on here, this drug is called L-cellar. And what it is, it's pitched as a kind of gentler, quote-unquote, natural alternative to your injectable GLP-1s like Azampegmanjaro. And instead of giving synthetic GLP1, it tries to stimulate your

body's own appetite regulating hormones, mainly called PYY, to a smaller extent still the GLP-1s, but essentially focus on this thing called PYY-Y. activating specialized cells in your lower gut, which are called L cells. You know, we've seen it all before in the hormone space with biodentical hormones and things like that. And there are loads of different peptide hormones and different cells involved in our digestive process for outer body. It makes us full. It makes us hungry. But before we get into the product, you know, I think we really have to understand the biology because our gut doesn't just absorb food. You know, it senses it, the right combination of nutrients, all of those whole foods

that we want to get more of and we need it to reach the lower intestine because that's where our gut microbes live and down in that area apparently they activate these L cells and the L cells then release the peptide YYs and the GLP1s and the fullness hormones that tell your brain that you've you've essentially had enough and to slow down digestion to stay full of for longer but the capsule apparently uses a special coating and blend of linseed coconut and MCT oils I am GBS to bypass the upper gut and reach the colon and the idea is to trigger these L cells

in the same way that Whole Foods were but I have to say I mean we just need tons of research on this but I'm not sure Ella it's really interesting I think the thing that to me was interesting about it is that with the GLP ones the premises is you stay on them forever

whereas what they're looking at with these sorts of medications you go on it and it starts to get these cells working it sort of changes the gut environment and retrains your appetite signals and so you don't need long-term medication. Now obviously if that worked,

that's actually really, really interesting versus a drug that you would be on for the rest of your life, which it seems all research is now pointing to actually for lots of people, if you start these gLP ones for weight loss reasons because you need it, I'm not talking about people with a lower body way,

then you would probably have to be on them for life. There may be long-term consequences, Whereas something like this with the way that it's activated, I think the interesting point of exploration is that it could be a shorter term solution. There has been some peer reviewed in GUT, in GUT, which is an important journal, and then also the British Journal of Pharmacology. And the idea, Gutt described it as a decoy bypass for appetite suppression, so it can help people feel full sooner and eat less.

But to your point, like super, super, super early days, there's been once more. 51 person consumer trial and the participants reportedly 8% fewer calories losing about 16 kilos or 13 pounds so nothing compared to a Zen pic and it's super expensive your three month causes 500 pounds

No way and it's almost like it's just another supplement Well I think to me the interesting thing here was that it's not necessarily about this particular drug but actually about potentially what it's exploring and what's to come and are there going to be all sorts of different versions of the GLP ones that are in place now

that stimulate different parts of the gut? And is there then potentially a shorter term solution for people as opposed to a drug they have to be on for life? I think it would work more for different weight categories. So, you know, for those people that are taking a ZemPEC that really shouldn't be that are already what is classified as a healthy BMI, would this type of natural, I put in verticomers, alternative be more impactful for them. And friend of the podcast, Giles Yo, he says that it would be wrong to frame this as natural as MPIP because it just isn't as powerful.

And he's said people with severe obesity will still need, you know, medical intervention like GLP ones. But it's good, Ella, like you said, I think for someone that is just a normal healthy weight, when I say healthy weight, obviously it looks different to all of us. Perhaps this is another option, but I really just want people to improve their needs. diets and I do feel like this is all distraction but obviously may be beneficial it's really there's it's a two-pronged thing it is a two-pronged thing and it's a fast-moving thing and I think to me it was just keen to kind of keep abreast of all of the developments in this weight loss space because it is such a meaningful part of the health and wellness and it's called l seller so let's watch this

space yeah and instead of focusing on the glp1s it's PYY so it's a different mechanism but again coming trying to stimulate fullness. But then it's really interesting because one article I read, they had three or four different journalists who had tried it and were talking through their experience. And there is this just consensus. And it's very similar to the different weight loss drugs, the JLP ones, where people's enjoyment of food has lessened so much.

And it's so simplistic to say, oh, I wish we could just eat healthier and change the food landscape because we know how complicated that is. And so that's a kind of deeply naive approach. But it is this kind of, again, it's this world of extremes. And COVID made it worse. Oh, it's so tricky. It's so tricky.

But anyway, it's very interesting to see just how much money, how much research is going into this weight loss space. Do we have a stat for how much is predicted for L. Seller? No, I mean, it's tiny at the moment. Well, there's only 50 people, I guess, in the study. Yeah. But I'm sure these aren't the only people. If this mechanism of appetite suppression works, it's very difficult to believe that the only people work. And also it's safety because our next trend, I mean, if we can get a safer option for people, that would be good, wouldn't it?

A hundred percent. I mean, this one, I think what we noticed this week was that there were like a humongous number again of articles focused in different capacities on weight loss drugs. So that one was focused on a kind of quote unquote natural alternative. Then there were loads of headlines, for example, Robbie Williams, the very, very famous singer, was talking about his experience on which. was he on? Was he? Mondaro. Monjaro, okay, and that he wanted to warn people about the potential risk of these drugs? Yeah, there's, I mean, if you look at the headlines everywhere, they're drastic, okay? It's not true. Some of them were like, they're making him blind, you know, just really out there headlines with Robbie Williams. But the telegraph ran a piece,

well, every paper ran a piece, to be honest. And it just said that, you know, he wanted to warn people about the risks. He was on stage basically singing that famous, she's the one, you know, song. And he always pulls up someone on stage. And he was saying he was doing this and he could not see who he was singing to. And he's saying, you know, what's happening to me? You know, I can't continue like this. And he said it was also, he was at an American football game and the players were just blobs on a green field. And he went to speak to some health professionals that were advising him. and apparently it could be down to the fact that he had been on Manjaro for a while. Yeah, so researchers from Harvard Medical School recently reported a potential link

between semi-glutides, so Zempic, Wegave, et cetera, and N-A-I-O-N, which is a rare untreatable eye condition caused by reduced blood flow to the optic nerve. Wow. And their analysis showed that patients taking these semi-glutides, these weight loss drugs, were four times more likely to be diagnosed with this condition. I mean, I just had no idea. You've spoken about eye health a few times. It's been really interesting, hasn't it?

Because it's something I just hadn't even considered. And the fact that this is going on now is scary because the black market for weight loss drugs as well is insane. Last week, the police discovered a major illegal factory producing black market weight loss drugs in Northampton. I know. And it led to the largest ever global seizure of trafficked weight loss drugs. And the hall was valued at over 250,000 pounds.

I know. a quarter million pounds worth of counterfeit weight loss drugs. And then the interesting thing, so there were like tens of thousands of empty pens, you know, the injectors ready to be filled. But there were more than 2,000 unlicensed. Retterutriotride? How do I say it? No, I've never come across that word before.

Retterutriads and terazepatide pens. Okay, so bear with us on those names guys. But those drugs are currently in testing, but they are not tested. they are not authorised. They have not been through any clinical studies. And those are a huge black mark at the moment. So I obviously, having them read that bit on the PBC, went to try and learn more about these drugs, the retitru trite. Oh, it's the next big thing. And apparently it's going to be the next thing. So Eli Lilly, which is a huge pharmaceutical company, they make Monjaro. So one of the other huge GLP ones, they are working on this retitru trite at the moment. I'm sure I'm not saying that

right, which is stronger than the current GLP1s in market because it targets three different hunger-related pathways instead of just one, which is why I was interested in this PYY thing that I think clearly there is just this enormous amount of money going into all these different mechanisms of appetites, oppression. But they forget the side effects. Totally. But also the important thing with these kind of counterfeit unlicensed versions that are for sale down the black market, yes, the drug companies like this are working on them.

But Eli Lilly, for example, has not completed their clinical trials. This drug is not licensed yet anywhere in the world. It is not safe to use, but illegal versions are being sold everywhere online. And are they being sold as pretending and masking as a ZemPic? No, they are literally marketed as the weight loss drug that's not been tested yet. Well, I'm not sure. I imagine they're not like, hey, get this. It's untested.

Get this untested nerd here on TikTok. Sexy bodybuilder vibes, you know, shred with me. I can't mention. selling it. It's like, here's a counterfeit drug. But yes, and TikTok is full of these videos showing weight loss using all of these unapproved drugs. And in the comment section, you've got the sellers, often coming from China, but obviously as we've seen in the UK as well, encouraging people to buy it directly from them. And I was reading an article where a chemist was explaining why it's exploding so quickly. It's what they were saying is basically now,

the thing is, is the chemical structure of all these drugs. Like, they're publicly available and therefore synthesizing a peptide like retitru-tride is basically as easy as following a recipe. Now, I'm sure it's not quite as simple. But yeah, and experienced chemists, like they can do it and they can make so much money, which is absolutely terrifying. I think if anyone's on these, like we really, really, really need to seek credible advice. And I know there's a few books, like this might be helpful people. I know Irma's just brought out a GLP one book and Rob Hobson on how to eat alongside

it because what I'm noticing hugely, obviously this is terrifying. Let's just bucket this. The fact that there's unregulated drugs in that mass quantity. Being sold on social media and targeted. To any age, anyone come by them. And then you're seeing that the licensed drugs are still potentially causing these vision losses. You know, so it's like we have licensed. And severe nausea, like side effects depression. Completely. So we can see in the licensed drugs that are approved for use, some really dangerous side effects. Also, some huge positives and they've been really beneficial to a huge number of people. So I'm not trying to kind of do a broad brush stroke here, but it's important to note, there are some, as Robbie Williams had flagged, some serious consequences.

Then at the same time, there is this enormous, you know, billions of dollars worth of research going into manufacturing loads of this. I just think over the next few years we're going to see this extraordinary number of drugs on the market. But at the same time, there's all this counterfeit versions. It's a really mad world. So black mirror. But at the same time, 96% of us don't get enough fibre. I know. What is going on with the world?

That's what upset me about, you know, it's a natural alternative. And actually, perhaps, you know, maybe we do need those now then to reduce the safety and the efficacy of it. I'm just astounded, astounded. It makes me really feel quite worried in a way, like anxiety worried about this. Because also, these TikTok influences, it doesn't even have to be the unregulated drug. It could be anything. Like anything could be in a syringe that you're injecting. You just do not know what is in that.

If you've bought it online from an unregulated source. I know. And kids are doing it. Teenagers are doing it. Yeah, with all these like, you know, how good to so many people would in natural a Zempex sound? Like it's really appealing. You know, it's great marketing. I just think be very wary.

Try and focus on your foundations. The beans. Get your beans, guys. By 2028. We'll all be eating beans every day. It's almost speaks to the exercise topic, though, of like, don't feel have to go to the extremes, you know, you don't have to go to extremes with exercise and you don't have to go to extremes with drugs. Like, get your foundations first. That's exactly

right, Ella. So I really hope you've enjoyed listening to today's episode. We have got so many headlines. It's the time of year where the wellness scoops going to ramp up a little bit because there's just too much to discuss. I know it's so fun. We'll be back on Thursday, guys. As always, we've got loads of daily-ish wins, which is great. We've got more about beating winter blues, some really nice expert tips on that we've got a little bit more multivitamins how to be happy yeah come back on thursday and learn how to be happy we'll see you then