The Wellness Scoop - Should You Bin Your Supplements? How to Supercharge Your Gut & Are Sweeteners Safe?

Episode Date: September 28, 2026

Should you really be taking vitamin D, magnesium, collagen and the rest, or are we wasting our money on supplements? We unpack the latest debate and why the NHS is warning against taking health advice from wellness influencers. We also explore a fascinating new discovery about how plant proteins could help feed your gut microbes, and new research linking the common sweetener xylitol with heart attacks and strokes. Plus, why reading could be surprisingly powerful for your brain, from childhood right through to older age. The Way 30-day trail: https://www.thewayapp.com/wellnessscoop Send your questions for our weekly Q&A to ⁠⁠[e-mail]⁠⁠ Pre-order your copy of Rhiannon's brand-new cook book for kids: ⁠'Ready, Set, Cook!' ⁠ For more from Rhi and Ella:  Order your copy of Ella's new book: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Quick Wins: Healthy Cooking for Busy Lives⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Order your copy of Rhi's new book: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Fibre Formula⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sign up to Rhitrition+ and join Beat The Bloat HERE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Wellness Cube, your twice weekly dose of health and wellness inspiration with the two of us. We're always your host. I'm Ella Mills. And I'm Riannan Lambert. And after a decade in this industry, Ella and I both know how overwhelming and confusing this space has become to navigate. And that's why we're here with our podcast to cut through the noise and make healthier living, simple, fun and personal. This is such a jam-packed episode three. We have got to get through so much day, so. much juicy stuff. I'm so excited. I just have to preface skies. Unfortunately, my eldest sky is really poorly. She's very, very high temperature and tonsliters. So we were meant to be in person, but we're not, we're online and I have got her in bed next to me tucked out with her bunny. I also have my windows

open to help call us all down. So if you hear a little bird cheeping, chipping, chirping, chirping, chirping, singing, general merriment in the background, or there is a lane nearest a little car passing or a gentle snuffle from her. I'm really sorry. This is just, you know, the forever juggle of trying to be a great mom and also do a job that I love. Oh, no. I mean, I think we'll fill you in in a minute on what we've been up to, but there's been a lot going on. I think this time of year is always full of, I think, massive upsdowns and also seasonal bugs that come and go. And Ella, I'm very open to the occasional bird song and things in the background.

So, you know, let's embrace it. Let's tell everyone what we've got coming up in today's show. Okay, not to be dramatic, guys. should you be in all of your supplements. We have Rees Vitamin D update that we promised. The surprising new ways to feed your gut are sweetness really safe. Why reading can protect your brain and the amazing tricks behind journaling. And a very clever campaign getting kids to eat the rainbow.

We also have an update on how many junk food ads everyone saw during the World Cup. And I am still seeing ferret in face everywhere. Absolutely everywhere. Since we discussed it, I'm exactly the same. So Ella, before we get started, I know we've also got some good listener feedback actually in our Monday episode today. And you've had a really heavy week or two, haven't you? Yeah, so I said my dog was really poorly.

He unfortunately passed away last week. So, yeah, 10 days or so before this comes out. So it's been, yeah, tough time. And then just after that, Sky got really sick with a really bad bout of tonslitus. So we're probably not winning the last few days. But there we go. that's life. It's ups and downs. And actually I'm sleeping really well again, so I feel like I can handle it all. I feel like when you're not sleeping, life is hard to handle. Yeah, I know it really is.

But we're all really sorry Ella. I think anybody that knows grief and has had a pet pass away as well will definitely be thinking of you right now and understands that it's just, it's part of your family. It literally is like part of your family. And it's waking up to a completely new family dynamic each morning, which you've not had before, let alone telling the girls. He was the noisiest dog. He, like, talked. He literally would just, like, talked to us with the house. He's so quiet.

The other two dogs were so quiet comparatively. But anyway, I did see, as I said, the top ferretin face, though, Rhee, on a different note, literally everywhere, the Guardian yesterday saw had a piece ferretin face, the new health scare taking social media by storm, seeing a pallid, washed out face in the mirror, prepare to be diagnosed. Do you know what's so interesting is? I'm now seeing even TV shows almost like the same concept of the wellness scoop, you know, cropping up everywhere and lots of people talking, well, in a way, I suppose we do.

It's good that we're busting through all of these crazy myths. It's just how they start. You do wonder how they start. We've actually got a little bit of listener feedback, first of all, to start our episode with today as well, about colourful fruit and a link to my favourite Disney characters, Ella. Yeah, this was so cool. This is from a listener that we've got in the Netherlands. And there's a huge supermarket chain there called Albert Hine,

you know, like a Saints, Brutal Tesco sort of thing. And they had a TV ad where they've created a challenge for kids to eat the rainbow. And our listener sent us the poster to show. And it's basically like you've got 30 different fruits and veg paired with characters. So it's snow white with an apple, Cinderella with a pumpkin. Winnie the Pooh has a melon. Mike from Monsters Inc. has broccoli, dory, you know, from Nemo. It's got blueberries.

And Remy from Ratatooie has an aubergine. And then kids tick off this list as they go. And then there's a seasonal guide as well showing what's in season each month and examples of what a portion could look like. And I just thought, again, how cool is that? Like if I gave that to my girls, the gamification of eating these things. And if their favorite character is, you know, or their favorite movies like Nemo, the desire to eat blueberries to eat like Nemo is so much higher.

I love seeing all these things. I think, you know, we criticize a lot. companies for not doing the right thing and I think it's so important to shout out when they are so we really appreciated that thank you yeah I absolutely could not agree more I also think it's important as adults we raise these discussions with ourselves and just have a little think to ourselves because I've been a corporate recently of not not maximising my nutrition the way I normally do and it's always a really good reminder even when I see these things to tell myself come on re try and get back on it what little addition can you do today it doesn't have to be huge so

let's move on Ella to our health headlines that matter. Wait, no really. You haven't told us where you've been up to. And I feel like you always have to a lot at the moment. Pause right there. We're not skipping you. I have to just add on to that and say, you know what? I was the same like while we were moving house and the world,

it was just so much going on. I was rubbish with my nutrition. As in I just ate lots of like crackers and toast and, you know, like snacky bits and just passed to a tomato sauce. like just lazy and that's normal i don't i'm not like criticizing myself for it like was very busy that's all you know you don't have any forks in the house like you go with what you can do but you i didn't feel great for it and i really noticed a huge impact on my digestion as well and so i've been kind of back re-text me she was like i can see your back feeling yourself again

because you're back on your cheer pudding and then interestingly re i don't have great digestion like i never have it just you know it's a little ibsy kind of um innateness obviously in me my whole life. And I actually tried adding facetium husks in after we were talking about them the other day on top of the gamification of my 30 plants a week. But just to see if it supports like just better bowel movements and digestion. And I have to say just having half a teaspoon today at the risk of TMI, I am having much better bowel movements as a result. Honestly, I can believe it. And that's a really sensible amount to experiment with as well. I think the real risk is when people just pile on heat tablespoons without realizing you need a lot of water to help that go down.

It's really impactful, little changes that we definitely can make. And I've been feeling very, very similar for different reasons. Obviously, when you're so heavily pregnant, everything's been pushed up. So all your organs and everything inside your body has completely and utterly moved. And I'm starting to get nauseous on my iron supplementation and all these sorts of things that I'm trying to adjust in tweaks. It's just being really aware of your body, isn't it? And knowing what you need.

So I'm also going to be up in my flax, cheer, husks, sorts of porridge bowls, I think, in the morning at the moment to try and combat that. But behind the scenes, Ella, so I clearly forgot to update everybody. My business isn't just, you know, showing up in the clinic or... At Parliament. But, you know, these are really, really, yeah, cool places, which I do often think, oh, if only my kids. kids understood the history in that building. Whenever I go to somewhere like Parliament, the architecture and the history blows me away. You know, you just think how many people through the past hundreds of years have stood inside these walls. That in itself is quite

breathtaking, but I digress. We also do a lot of consultancy, which means sitting with companies, some who are massive in this country, who want to do the right thing. And I think it's really important to explain this because Ella will understand being in the food industry and my perspective is just to offer the nutritional health what I foresee and how I think companies can improve as a consultant. But to make any change to formulation independently as a company, you take a hit. You have to weigh up the financial challenge of how it's going to impact your employees or your profit margins, but also make a change for the greater good. And it's just not it's not easy. It really isn't. And then dissecting this crazy world right now. So yeah, I went up north,

quite far up north. I went to Bolton to consult for this one particular company who really want to do good. And it's really lovely to hear. But when I heard the profit and the money and the, you know, the barriers to change, gosh, Ella, it was eye-opening. It's huge. And it's so real. And the impact on shelf stability, on shelf life, on consumer expectations, exactly. And it's huge. And it's so real. And it's so real. It's huge. And it's so real. It's, Exactly, as well as the impact on margin, like you've always got to remember using real food costs infinitely more, generally speaking, because you don't have the same kind of homogenization. Often it changes the way that a process works. It makes it more complicated. It adds in another step. And all of that costs a lot of money. And it might just be one penny here or there, but that adds up to an absolutely extraordinary amount and has huge, huge impacts. And also, you have to know it's going to be commercially viable that people are going to actually buy it. That's the gamble. Exactly. And so actually all these people's jobs rely on the success of these products. And if you take something successful out of market, because it's the right thing to do, but you put something that's infinitely more costly for you to make. So your margin's small and you lose huge amounts of sales, then you put people's jobs at risk. So it's so multifaccent. It's such an interesting area. It really is. And when I'm able to share more with you all, I absolutely well. But what was really heartwarming was to know that we're all sat in a board.

room for three, four hours having these discussions because everyone just wants to do the right thing, but they don't feel supported on a government level. It's up to the individual businesses at the moment. And that's really difficult to do. So yeah, my week's been busy, Ella, but now I can say it, it leads us on to our headlines that matter how important advertising can be. Oh my gosh. Okay. So do you guys remember a few months ago we were chatting pre World Cup about the sponsors, our viewpoints on the sponsors and kind of what it says, especially to younger children in terms of the association between fast food or UPFs and the mega sports stars, the praise we had and collectively had for Ronaldo when he said like, go away to Coca-Cola drink water, which was

actually from the past but got resurfaced. Anyways, just came out as of the morning of recording some stats that were done by researchers at the University of Bristol and at Oxford. And they were looking at junk food advertising during the World Cup that we just had this summer. And now we're not talking about junk food. We're talking about junk food. So that's mostly kind of McDonald's in this instance and things like Coca-Cola, alcohol and also gambling. So when we put these three things together, that branding was seen roughly every seven

seconds during live play. There was recorded 65,722 appearances, a junk food and drink branding alone. across the 104 matches, so an average of 576 per match. And junk food and drink branding was visible for over 28 hours or over 16% of total match time. So Coca-Cola most often, then McDonald's Parade and Lays crisps. I can't get over those numbers. It's actually astounding. And you know what?

I'm sure this is just the norm, right, to these people. This is why they invest in these types of momentous world occasions where everybody tunes in. but it just goes to show how important it is because junk food branding appeared around 10 times more, even than gambling advertising. Now, both are major concerns, of course, but because so much of it was on pitch side and stadium hoardings, it falls outside. So there's like this kind of loophole of our advertising standards in the UK that say pre-9pm, there are restrictions.

But actually, if it's just on the side of the pitch and it's not like a TV ad or something, Is that how it works, Ella? There's like a differentiation between the two. Yeah, exactly. I think that's what it is because it's part of like the kind of displays around the sides of the pictures. Anyway, yeah, FIFA obviously defending themselves saying the majority of its revenue is reinvested back into football, including health and well-being programs. I'm sure it is.

And you know what? Look, I'm not defending it, but it's the same as we just talked about with huge corporations when it comes to food and drink. Like there is, you've got to balance out making change with the economic real. realities of running these companies and various different programs, infrastructures. But equally at the same time, it's just so depressing. There's so much. There's so much I could say. It's so much.

But I think there's also one pick up. We Should Get in Ella on this episode that you popped in that you found here. Oh no, did I pop this one in? It was Action on Salt and Sugar. Yeah. This one came from, Uri, because I know you work with the Grieve Action on Soul and Sugar. Yeah. Exactly.

and they did some research with Queen Mary's University in London, and they were looking at 104 children's yogurts that are sold in supermarkets here, and they found just one in 40 low in total sugar, kind of low enough to be good for kids in total sugar. Sugar levels, surprise, price, varies hugely with the highest containing nearly four teaspoons of sugar plus serving, and around one and five products were estimated to provide at least a quarter of a four to six-year-old's daily free sugar limits. But they get away.

with it because on the front of the pack they say it contains calcium it's got added fortification do you know what's so frustrating a lot i just to on a little market as we're talking about marketing and when i was sat around this table we were looking at children's skews so ideas for um nutritious items for children and we really discussed the use use of cartoon imagery so you know the the tv show that everyone loves like even i love watching it bluey blue is so good blue is excellent there's a Bluey movie coming, can I just say? Is there? That will be my postpartum cinema trip. I cannot wait.

Bluey is genuinely quite good in terms of its morals and it's actually real reality and... Emotional intelligence. Now, there is a cereal bar that I was analysing with Bluey on the front of it. Absolutely horrific. And probably the worst ingredients I've ever seen all forms of different glucose syrup, dextrose syrup.

There was nothing beneficial for children in this particular cereal bar. But because it's got bluey plastered all over the front of it as a kid's cereal bar, you can imagine how many parents just perceive that that will be good for that. I think it's actually outrageous that that's even allowed. I really think licensing with characters, like we said, should be maybe a new rule just for fruit and vegetables, like our lovely initiative from our listener over in the Netherlands

instead of what we're getting here at the moment and what we're seeing. Honestly, I was so infuriated, Ellie. You should have seen my face when I read the, ingredients on the back of this bar. Anyway, one in 40 yoghuts being acceptable in terms of low and sugar is just not good enough. Come on everyone. We can do better than that. Yeah, and it just highlights like the minefield for people when you're shopping and also the confusion of things that you think are good for you. That's always the thing that I always come back to you. I'm like actually my kind of bug bears so much less with Harryboe. Like I'm not here like championing Harryboe,

but I just think we all know what it is, right? I don't think anyone's confused by it. And I think my frustration with things like these yoghers are when they're actually packed with sugar, they're packed with UPFs, they're really not very good for us. And then they have all these claims on them, high in calcium, like good for your bones. And then they've nice cute branding and you think,

oh, this is great. It's yogurt, it's got calcium. And actually it's really not. And I find that's where I get really annoyed because I just think it's so misleading. It's deception. Sweeties aren't misleading. I know they're not very good for us, but I don't think they're misleading. I don't think we all understand them. And I think we all understand them. and I think that's the bit that I find really frustrating is on the kind of more like foods that actually can be obviously like natural yoghers are so good for us and so that's the confusing bit.

It's the same with there's a Syrabah in the UK with the word nature in the title and you know that makes you assume that it's this you know natural better off version and it's not. The food industry is an absolute mindful which leads us on to headline one actually because we're discussing foods that we do. do need to be prioritising today. So we've got these foods may be better for your gut than you realize. So this is a new study that was led by researchers at Princeton. And they've been looking at Ella, different types of plant, protein, fibre and what actually does feed our gut microbes. Because remember, that's why we get annoyed with deceptive marketing. None of the stuff in those yoghirts is going to feed your microbes in the way that other foods will, which we're about to discuss. Yeah, look, we're talking about our favorite thing. We're talking about beans today.

but this was really interesting. So there were two studies, as you said, led by the researchers of Princeton. They were published in nature metabolism and PNAS. And what we're really talking about here is basically the gut microbiome is a relatively new science. Like we're discovering more and more about it all of the time. This wasn't something like 20, 30 years ago, right, that scientists knew a humongous amount about. And I think one of the things the scientists are still really trying to understand exactly how the different parts of our diets and the different things, that we eat actually shape the microbiome and not just the microbes that live there,

but actually what they're eating and how that changes the various different compounds, the metabolites, the things that they produce for us. And so in these two studies, the researchers were using something called stable isotope tracing. And they're basically kind of tracking, labeling different nutrients. They're following them around after they're eaten and they're seeing what they're turned into. It's like an air tag. They're basically putting an air tag on these things and then trace. tracing it, tracking it. And what they then discovered is that certain plant proteins behave

really differently in the gut. And they kept talking about this idea of proteins imitating fiber, which I find quite confusing way of explaining it because when you say proteins and you're thinking like chicken or beef, and this is talking exclusively about plant proteins and really our legume family here. And as you always explain, one of the reasons the fiber is so important in our gut health is that we can't fully digest it. And that means part of those foods, so part of your chickpea travels all the way through to the large intestine and that's where our gut bacteria can use it as fuel

and they can have a feast and have a party with it. And these, the plant proteins can act like fiber and contain fiber and do this in the same way. And so it's really different. Unlike animal protein, they're not broken down and absorbed earlier on in our digestive system. And this is what's interesting is the really, is the research has found that they think certain plant proteins

resist this digestion too. They reach the large intestine where they become available to eat. And what they then do is alongside kind of fibre. And as I said, we're really talking about here, peas, beans and soybeans, is that they shift the metabolism of the gut microbes into a more favourable direction, resulting in many more beneficial metabolites being produced. Yeah, it's really, really interesting. But also I think it's what we've always said, which is that those plant foods, the amazing ones, your peas, your soybeans, your legumes that contain protein and fiber are so beneficial for your overall health.

There's kind of no negation to eat them. It's a really just positive way to get nutrition into your body. So let's put this into a real life context for everybody. So think about chickpeas and cauliflower together. The cauliflower obviously provides fiber. The chickpeas give you both the fiber and the plant protein. But the differences, the researchers didn't test that specific meal. It was the different compounds of plant foods that may reach our gut together.

It's about that combined approach and interact with our microbes in complementary ways, essentially. So basically, when our microbes don't have enough to eat, there's also an interest in flipside to this. So our gut bacteria needs food. We know that. And that's what we talk about a lot on the wellness group. You know, what you feed does feed the whole living microbiome. inside our body, the microbiome. So when there wasn't enough dietary fuel to eat, essentially the bacteria could term proteins made by our bodies instead. So there's like a conversion,

which we know happens with animal protein in terms of turning animal protein into glucose, but we're now looking at that similar pathway in the gut with plant proteins. So they found in mucus that protects our intestinal lining all of this data. And if you're not sending enough food down to our gut bugs, they're going to start looking elsewhere for dinner, just like what happens when you starve your body essentially as well with our fat stores. So they've got their own ecosystem that's happening every single day when they're hungry, when they're getting food, what type of food they're getting and how they survive. So over time, this type of microbial activity could be really negative.

So, you know, you don't want to affect that protection, that lining of the gut, which is why it's so, so important to constantly eat in a way that suits your body. You know, all these fad diet, starvation, low calorie, it's all about the quality of your food. But the study doesn't prove that a low fibre diet damages your gut. It's more an explanation for why we constantly need the right type of quality diet and the right type of fuel, Ella, rather than saying, yeah, this study doesn't say alone 100% if you're not having these chickpeas and beans and peas, it'll affect your gut, but what they did see when they air tagged. I like that analogy. It's like the modern age. Yeah, it's like following your suitcase when you

travel. And if they didn't have enough food to eat, first of all, when they had enough food to eat from these, particularly these protein fiber combos, they produce extra beneficial metabolites that are so good for us. But when they didn't have them, they did start looking elsewhere. And if that it does mean they start consuming the proteins in the mucous lining that protects your intestinal lining, we don't want that. So we can't say 100% that will happen if you don't have enough fibre at the moment. But that is one of the key things from this research, which was so important, I think, as a reason to be like, no, these foods, oh, they really, really, really, really mean a humongous amount. It just goes to show that starving your body in any way, shape, or form and the

organisms that need the fuel is just not good for our health long term. And I would love to see how this research now progresses alongside the role of intermittent fasting, like the time windows and all those sorts of things that are shown to be potentially beneficial for the gut. But how long is too long? You know, I'm thinking in my head about this research. And it's absolutely fascinating because, you know, we really just need to try and shift society's viewpoint of protein, I think, in general. Yes, it's beneficial. But we do need more plant proteins. And that's why. Again, in the school standards change that we discussed last week, they are introducing, you know, plant proteins into meat protein dishes. You know, every school will have to add some, you know, lentils or beans or something to a lasagna, which is a massive whim. But do remember, beans aren't just protein or fibre. It's also about all the way it talks and interacts over microbes and the food that it offers. We have to remember the amazing variety on offer to us.

There's a lot more going on in our tummy. and our intestines, then we actually even realize every single day. For sure, look, and I think if you love like a more kind of conventional and more protein heavy diet, it's not about quitting that all tomorrow. But if you could start kind of maybe doing, you know, in one meal, half lentils and half animal protein, or you could start even just like a few times a week, one of your meals in a day, you actually have a plant protein source as the protein instead. That would be an amazing place to start. It doesn't have to be all or nothing.

No, I think that's really the big takeaway. It's not all or nothing. It's just about getting those extras in. We've talked about the Way meditation app a few times now because we're obsessed. And I've just looked at my stats and I'm on over 3,800 minutes of meditation with them so far this year. I've actually done it almost every single day for six months now, normally 20 minutes a day. And I cannot tell you the difference it's made to my life. I just feel this amazing sense of inner calm. even when life is chaotic and I don't think I've ever had that before. I feel less reactive, more grounded and just more peaceful in myself. It's become one of the most important,

unmissable parts of my day. It really is and now you finally got me onto it too and I started using it because I wanted something to help me unwind at the end of the day. So I've actually been doing the meditations before bed when I'm finding it hard to switch off and it's really helping me get to sleep so it's become a nice way to shut down at the end of the day.

Yeah, and you guys, seem to be loving it too because as a community you've now done over a quarter of a million minutes of meditation on the way, which is just incredible. And I think you're loving what I love and reloves, which is how simple it is. You don't choose between hundreds of meditation and keep scrolling. You just do one after the next. You follow the path, each one led by the same person, the founder, Henry. Exactly. You just literally open the app. Press play and do the next one. And I think it's the whole simplicity, which is a huge part of why I've actually, manage to stick with this every single day. Yeah, so if you haven't tried it yet and you'd be wanting

to get into meditation to help you with overwhelmed sleep or just finding a slice of peace and calm in the day, you get a 30-day free trial with us, you just go to the wayapp.com forward slash wellness scoop. Yes, that's the wayapp.com forward slash wellness scoop. Now, headline two is something that I do think also links massively to gut health to, but here we're discussing it in the context of our heart health. So we have from the Guardian headline that came out that said sweetener used in chewing gum and jam is linked to strokes and heart attacks. I stopped when I saw this headline. I did find it very interesting to see because obviously there's this perception still, I think, unless you're a wellness scupor, that sweeteners equate health. Yes, exactly. Which they just fundamentally don't.

As you said, some research showing they're not very good for our gut health. The World Health organization recommends against using non-sugar sweeteners at all, particularly like as a way to control weight, it's 2023 guidelines concluded long-term use. Not for children. Doesn't appear to reduce body fire and adults for children, while some potential evidence suggests potential associations even with high risk of titular diabetes, cardiovascular disease, mortality. So there's no nutritional value. There's no reason to use these things. Essentially, they're not, they're not very good for us at all. And xylato, interestingly, which is used a lot, in so much as a sugar sweet.

Now, I think it's one of the ones that I see the most, particularly in these kind of, like, wellness products. Oh my God, Ray, I bought this product. I bought a, I used to love turmeric lattes. Yeah, me too. Oh, my goodness. They've got it in Gales now, you know. I love to.

With a shot of espresso, a dirty one. Oh, my God. Oh, so yum. And anyway, I saw online this turmeric latte mix, and I was like, oh, yum, I'm going to get that. I bought it. I cannot tell you. It was so disgusting.

And it was sweetened with all these art of, sweeteners. And I had a monk fruit sweetener. It was so sweet. I mean, I actually have quite a sweet tooth. Like I love things like honey and dates and all the rest of it. But this was like a such sharp sweetness. It like went, oh, it's like ping. I threw it away, which is I know it's very wasteful. It was disgusting. When your diet doesn't contain a lot of artificial sweetness, when you suddenly taste a bit of it on the palate, like that cereal I remember telling you about for children, which is so unethical, by the way, you should not be marketing sweeteners at kids. I was horrified.

Like the taste of it on your mouth is far from it. Just to remind everybody as well that sweeteners have probably the most scientific evidence backed as a place for diabetics or pre-diabetic use purely because of the effect on insulin in your blood. But for everyday public items, it seems to be pumped into wellness products, which is what we're discussing today. Was that cereal surreal? Was it that one? No. That's the most disgusting thing I've ever had.

Yeah, no, this one was called... We don't normally slag off brands, but I will say that don't buy it. It's so rank. It's unbelievable. And it has so much... Again, it's shown to be like all these health claims and protein, all the rest of it. And I remember them sampling it at Whole Foods. And the kids wanting to try it.

And we all tried it. And we were like, oh, my gosh. Just so much artificial sweetness that it's like... It just tastes weird. So gross. I was asked to promote that. Yeah. And then you get these high protein cereals.

It's a very strange, strange. marketplace. Such a strange taste. It tastes so different to normal sugar. No, it does. Because remember that sweeteners are designed to be a thousand times sweeter on your taste buds. So when added to food, drinks, by the way, it's in oral care because actually it's more beneficial for your dental health than other sweetness use, which is why some people put it in toothpaste. So despite the growing use in all of these products, Ella, the long-term health impacts haven't still been widely studied. And I find that really disappointed when you think about how long they've been around. So in the largest study of its kind, this is what came out.

Researchers looked at over 17,000 people, and they found that higher blood levels of xylitol were associated with an increased risk of a major cardiovascular event. So the researchers compared a quarter of people with the highest levels of this sweetener zylitol in their blood with 25%. with the lowest. And those with the highest levels, Ella, were nearly 60% more likely to die or suffer of a heart attack or stroke within six years. It's just this association. And then even after 30 years, because they were still looking at, they were still 18% more likely to have experienced one of these cardiovascular related events. So they're now discussing researchers that obviously there's so many factors to take into account here, your BMI, your age, your overall diet. But they're perhaps

is a link that wasn't previously understood fully with blood pressure and heart disease and sweetener use. And then the researchers looked at the middle groups too. And again, they found as you were just alluding to, read this dose-dependent relationship, so the higher the level of zyatols in the blood, even for the middle users of, or consumers of the, the higher the rate of cardiovascular events. And the association was seen regardless of age, sex. It was seen as independent from underlying factors like our BMI, blood pressure, diabetes, lipid levels, all of which could be something that maybe makes you consume these low-calorie products.

It's really, really interesting. And the possible mechanism as to why it might be happening, looking at previous research, they found that Xiontol can increase the ability of platelets to form clots. That's what's so interesting, isn't it? Yeah, it's the big caveat, but remember it was observational, and I'm always really cautious by observational studies because you know you can't account for so many other factors so it could show an association between high levels and cardiovascular things

but it can't you know prove that it's the direct cause what I will say also Ella for any dog owners at home xylitol is extremely toxic to dogs and too much as with everything it seems in this wellness industry they pump in can cause laxative like effects and poor digestion No, that's in humans. In dogs, it can kill them. Toxic, yeah. Sorry, I meant to then say, and in humans it can cause really bad digestion. But yeah, for dogs, I mean, it's toxic.

How horrendous. And if your dog accidentally eats like one of these products lying around, because doesn't that happen quite a lot? I don't have a dog, but that happens, right? Oh my gosh, Austin, our older dog, yeah, the doggy that died very sadly. He was the greediest dog. I honestly would say that separate lived. was and he was insatiable and he would eat anything, anything lying around. So he would eat any of those, any product contained Zyatol, he'd be like, yum. And yet, even in small amounts, it can create dangerously low blood pressure seizures, potential liver failure.

I always thought to myself when I found that out, like if a small amount of Zylaidol can kill a dog, it's probably not amazing for us. Like, I know there are some things that are different, but like I didn't see it as a sign to like consume loads of it. I know grapes are poisonous to dogs and that's different. But I think in this case, I was like, oh, that's interesting. On a biochemistry paper, if you look at the molecule of sugar, and then you look at how people change a bond here or there and move a carbon here,

and they recreate a structure of a sugar essentially or a molecule, and to scientists, it can seem so harmless because you're just thinking, oh, I'm just, you know, how interesting if we just change the structure of this thing. And there's a complete separation almost from. from lab to plate sometimes. And I think it really is unhelpful for the public when we're trying to think about what these things actually, like what is an artificial sweetener?

Like, where has it come from? It's just a bit of manipulation of a few bonds in a lab to create a alcohol-type derivative of something. It's honestly, it is wild when you simply say, it's bad for our digestion and excess. Surely that means our gutbugs do not like these sweeteners. let's watch this space for more research. Yeah, exactly. In Zayatol, like Arithmatol, it's such a hard word saying lots of these other sweeteners. Again, like too much of them in us in people, gas, bloating, diarrhea, laxative effect.

So yeah, it's Aylaetol, I think. We don't say that a lot, but I think I wouldn't be consuming a lot of Zyloat. No, it's one of the things that in a dental product in small amounts, probably you can get away with, but in food, I just don't understand why it's going into food-related items and products. It's a very strange choice of sweetener to pop in. Now on to headline three today, Ella, any type of reading is the most marvelous medicine that says scientists. It reminds me of George's marvelous medicine. That's obviously the play on words. Yes, I was seeing the exact same.

So that was in The Times, and they were looking at a report from research at the University of Cambridge that was published in psychological medicine, which was bringing together evidence from various different trials. and surveys looking at thousands and thousands of adults and children. And the message is lovely. Reading is really good for us, every stage of life. And the nice thing actually for everyone listening is it doesn't matter what you read. It could be a comic, a magazine, a novel, like an interesting long read, a substack in a news letter you love, a newspaper, a nonfiction book, a fiction book.

It actually doesn't matter, basically across the board, just reading as a whole was linked to so many benefits from brain development, better memory, lower stress. potentially slower cognitive decline later in life. And in children, there's some of the research which is showing it actually might even change their brain. Well, this is why it's so concerning that reading rates are so low in this country as well now and why it's such a tragedy actually as well. We discussed this previously, but it's one of the easiest ways to enhance a child's learning is to get them to do as much reading physically as possible. And we know that at school, but we've now got MRI evidence suggesting that the brain structure does change so you can improve.

prove the connectivity between different areas of the brain, how much it speaks to one side to the other. And in children age seven to 11, so just eight weeks, Ella, of a reading program led to an increase in grey matter volume. And then we go on to further data from 10,000 children, which found that those who began reading just for pleasure earlier in life, which I do wonder what percentage of children do that now. I'd be very interested to know. Had better memory, did better at school, and this is quite groundbreaking, had fewer mental health problems. Yeah, it's so interesting. Interestingly, they then did better in maths as well, maybe because of this connection between memory, language, executive function. Well, that didn't work for me and I was an avid reader,

but my eye've always been terrible at maths, yeah. The good news, the benefits seem to keep going as we got older. Slightly different, obviously, but there was, again, it was associated with lower stress, greater empathy, which I always think is really interesting, understanding kind of different people's points of views, better well-being and less loneliness as well. And we know that's such a kind of a important factor of our health and be such a kind of pressing issue of the world today. But looking at older adults who regularly read books, newspapers, magazines, they had a 33% lower risk of developing Alzheimer's in the data that was reviewed. This is my goal. As I age, as I age, but, you know, once I get past the whole, my kids are

at school and I have a different type of life ahead of me. You know, when they kind of get bigger, I really want to read more and I'd love to do because I have more time with my life book clubs. And I'm just convinced that with neurodegenerative diseases, those types of things that are just so beneficial for us. I just think it's something to really look forward to. But of course, start at any age, any age, everybody. Just let's try and read more. So that's a nice little inspiration for today, guys. I remember actually when I said what's coming up and journaling, I was like reading and journaling. Journaling is next week. There's a really interesting study to pop in next week. Sorry, guys. I've got excited, but there's lots to talk about next week on journaling. So it was just

reading today. But let's all read a book. Let's eat some chickpeas and let's lighten up on the xylitol. Exactly. And remember, the reading doesn't have to be a huge war or peace novel or something that's absolutely known. All Pride and Prejudice. It can be a comic, a magazine, anything fun. Now, let's move on to what's trending and wellness. Okay. There's so much to chat about here today. so we needed to get on to this. So first of all, the NHS have warned, don't trust wellness influencers on supplements. So side note, the annual UK supplement market

is apparently now worth 3.6 billion pounds. It's a wild. I feel like that's important context for what we're about to talk about. And Bupa, you know, which is the private healthcare service. They have just published some data from their well-being index. So that was a survey of just over 8,000 UK adults. And what that showed, with 72% of people in the UK now take at least one supplement,

a third take at least three every day. On average, they spend about £19 a month on things like collagen, creatine, fish oils, turmeric, magnesium. Nearly half say they're spending at least £10 a month on things that they've seen on Instagram or TikTok. And some are spending more than £200 a month. But, read, this to me was the keystam. It's in 10 people who buy supplements online

so they're cutting back on things like groceries. That's the key thing to make clothes or eating out in order to be able to afford the supplements. So we might be at a point where we're cutting back on buying real food in order to buy supplements. Yeah, it's all social media driven. 25 to 34 year olds take more supplements than any other age group. And I think that's what speaks volumes.

It's because that's where they go and perceive that that's their daily news feed, their information that they're being served and a third believe that influencers have more up-to-date health information than doctors. Do you what I find so wild is Ella, was it you that sent me that screenshot of that terrible supplement saying that we're the answer for

GLP-1s? We're going to help you. I don't know how that marketing is even allowed. The issue we've also got everybody with unqualified wellness influencers and obviously the NHS can warn and warn about it but that age bracket aren't looking at the NHS for their information so they're not getting told this.

But what you really have to remember is that they, because they're not qualified health professionals, they can say anything and not be held accountable. And it's only unless somebody complains or eventually it gets or escalated to a certain point where you can get these things down. So you've got hundreds and thousands of companies just plucking things out of thin air to market their product purely on social media, not on the shop shelves, because they can get away with saying certain things and claims. It's so unethical, Ella, I struggle.

But then you can make so much money. As we said, this is a multi-billion dollar pound industry. But this is what links us on to the bit that we promised you, which is all this confusion around vitamin D. And essentially, not to spoiler it, but this is the crux of the issue, which is that there is a very small amount, and I mean small amount of vitamin D that is clinically important

as far as kind of research goes. but what is not important and what we do not need is the excessive quantities that are then sold and they're peddled by all of these companies who are making an absolute fortune and that is why you then have this confusion where people come on and they say you don't need all this vitamin D and you don't need all that vitamin D but doesn't mean you don't need any vitamin D. So Ella and I were going back and forth a little bit yesterday thinking how we should present this particular one because just to explain,

Vitamin D is important and it is a public health drive in the UK. We give it to babies on the NHS for free if you're in a certain category. If you're breastfeeding, you need to add drops all throughout our lifespan around the winter months in the northern hemisphere. We know that we could do with getting vitamin D and that we're not getting enough. Now, for some people, depending on the colour of your skin, it affects the absorption. So you may need to take things all year round or not with the amount of melanin you possess. and synthesis of vitamin D happens under the skin. Now, the reason it's been brought to the headlines, I don't know if I like how it's been done, but it's because of a new book that has come out. And I'm

actually, or for the transparency, I even played a clip the other week, didn't we, of the collagen discussion. I think it's so important everybody's awareness is brought to this, but we should not be bashing the fact we need vitamin D. It's the amount. Yeah, that's exactly right. So essentially there's Dr. Zan Van Tulligan, who's Dr. Chris Van Tulligan's twin brother, you know, who wrote Ultra Processes People. He's got a new book out about the supplements industry. And I think generally Rui and I huge fans of this. And as you said, you played this clip about the factories in China are grinding up donkeys for your collagen powder kind of thing. And then he wrote this piece in The Times, all part of the promotion of the book called Why You Should Bein Your Supplements.

And he said, perhaps in no other area of medicine has been so completely overturned my career two decades of trials on vitamin D show there's no benefit to taking vitamin D supplement except for people with a genuine deficiency. But when you actually go on to read everything that he says is what he's saying is that essentially we're being promised that vitamin D can do things. It can't do. Like we're being told it's going to stop cancer. It's going to do this. It's going to do that. And actually when you really, I think when you can start to read a bit more around the edges of what he's saying and not the clickbait element that people are pulling out, it's essentially. that it doesn't live up to the wellness industry's miracle claims. It doesn't boost immunity or

enhance the health of already well people, you know, just as like all of these other things can't do miracle things. Like collagen can't. Collagen can't suddenly make you reverse the clock. Yeah, suddenly be 20 years younger. Like it's just, it's impossible. And I don't think what he's saying is no one ever needs vitamin D. He says himself he gives it to his kids. But I think it's just been taken out of context. and what he's saying is I understand it. And interestingly, there was an article in The Economist, so the Economist's chief health writer does a column every week. And this week, it was about vitamin D.

Interestingly, my mum forwarded it to me. And she was like, talk about this on the Wellness Scoop. And that was called the dubious evidence for Sunshine Supplements. Their lead scientists had written about it. And essentially concluded the same thing. This is just from the economist. The conclusion is that a minimum amount of vitamin D is a necessity, but taking more is unlikely to do much more good.

If you live way north or south of the equator, if you have darker skin, if you spend most of your days indoors, you don't get much vitamin D from your diet, fish, eggs, red meat, or contain a little bit, then supplements might be a good idea in winter. For everyone else, it's probably better to save your money. It can't cure all. And I think that's actually where this all gets so muddy and complicated is the wellness industry in re you can talk about this.

It's so helpful. The quantities that people are then selling in vitamin, D is not what you need. And this idea that vitamin D can cure everything, it can't. And I think that's like the ultimate, like, myth of the wellness industry is that if you buy one thing, it will cure everything. And it can't do that. Like, it's impossible.

Do you what's so interesting is at the consultancy job I was discussing at the beginning of the podcast, I said, you know, they asked me, what do you think we should put vitamin D claim on our product? And I was like, no, I don't think, you know, the public need that fortification from the food alongside the advertising we've currently got for taking the 10 microgram dose. Now, I've got a lot of experience of vitamin D. Obviously, I used to have my own vitamin D brand before I became a very busy pregnant person that can't maintain life, can't do it all. And I loved it. And I absolutely passionately loved producing high quality things. But what was so soul-destroaring was seeing the margins

and the company is producing not high quality impact for vitamin D sprays doses that are massively above the recommended 10 microgram dose. And it looks appealing to the consumer because you see lots of zeros above your 10 or 10,000 here and 1,000 here. And oh, it's got added K2 or it's got added magnesium. Therefore, this vitamin D is superior to another one. And what else can I pump in my vitamin D? The marketing for it, because it's got genuine health claims behind it, like Ella and I always say, there's an underlying area of truth. And that in itself is dangerous when other supplement companies with no regulation can build upon that underlying level of truth and take it out of context and deliver a product to you that essentially is harmful because vitamin D is fat soluble. It builds up on your body over time.

You don't just excrete it like your vitamin C or your orange fizzy drink thing that you pop and then you, you know, you weir it out and your urine's bright yellow. You do not get that with vitamin D. There is risk of toxicity and people taking too much. That's factor number one. But Rie, I was just looking up some various different brands that are sold kind of quite widely. And lots of them will have like 100 micrograms, for example, per dose. So we're talking about 10 times more. It's really interesting.

and other ones have at least double. That's what I mean. And then you've got arguments. You've got some people that aren't credible health scientists out there saying, actually the dose 10 microams isn't enough. But the whole point of a public health campaign, because you have to have something that's safe on a blanket level to distribute across the whole country is the minimum to keep you in a healthy status

to prevent deficiency in those months when it's harder to get. And for some people that they might be living, with a condition where they can't step outside much, or you know, you might have always slavid on factor 50 and you're blocking that absorption. You know, there's so many reasons why some people might potentially need more. If you're deficient, your doctor will prescribe your higher dose. But the issue that I see is because there's an underlying level of truth, wellness influences everywhere and these other companies are able to just wax lyrical about vitamin D. And then there's the links, the associations between studies on immunity. You know, it supports

your immune system is the thing you should say. But you've got people that have jumped on that and said, oh, take vitamin D. Stop getting a cold this winter. Or take vitamin D. It's going to help reduce your risk of cancer and all these sorts of things. And of course, when your body's in optimum status with any nutrient, it could be D, B, C, iron, magnesium, you're reducing your risk of things anyway because you're keeping your body in an optimum nice homeostasis, like a nice balance. If you're deficient in something, it's going to elevate your risk of something. That's just the way our body works. That's why we want to keep you healthy. But I cannot bear these claims, Ella. I cannot bear it. But I also am not a fan of this particular piece. I guess it's very

clever because it's going to sell a book. It's timely in September because we all do need to start thinking about our vitamin D supplementation. Everyone's aware of the level of truth and it's causing mass confusion. But what I don't want this article and this widespread coverage to do is prevent people from taking their 10 micrograms. Prevent them from taking those 100 microgram, 10,000 sprays, but don't stop taking your 10 micrograms in the winter months. But also kind of, I think what this has done when you read between the lines and the whole kind of should you've been all your supplements thing, I do think there's something in that there's so much in simplicity. And like we we're talking just to round this off at the beginning. Like both of us, lots of bits going on,

as is so normal, our lives ebb and flow. No one gets everything, quote, unquote, right all the time. But, you know, both of us were kind of neglecting our like day-to-day little easy wins of nutrition. And actually, when you go back to that, that will do so much more than anything else. Like, even just the simplest things, I don't know, the last few mornings, like, you know, the porridge I've made for the girls, I've soaked. whole jumbo oats overnight in milk and then they've cooked them with mashed banana, frozen blueberries, some cheer seeds, some hemp seeds, some peanut butter and I'm like that that's jam packed. Yeah, that's going to do more for you than many other things. Yeah, exactly. So what I do like, yeah, like Ella's said, is that this has raised awareness,

hopefully, but I wonder what generations read this press and I'm hoping wellness scupers out there this has helped give you some clarity because the supplement index, a lot of it is a facade and a money-making industry. And I'm really actually grateful for these headlines on the flip side. There's so many ways to address headlines. Like I said, it's frustrating, it's infuriating, it could do harm to the public health messaging of vitamin D, but equally it has shone a spotlight on an industry that's needed it for a very, very long time. And that is if you're spending more money on your supplements than food, there's something that's gone wrong there. Unless you have a specific health condition and you've been

advised to do so. I totally agree. Focus on the chickpeas instead. Yeah, focus on those ones that are protein and fibre-rich foods. No, obviously food is not a panacea either. It's everything and balance everyone, but interesting. The UK advice, just to let you all know, hasn't changed. We do still recommend the 10 micrograms. The government has confirmed, as recently as June this year, there are no plans to change that. And there's also an ongoing second review, so our scientific advisory committee of nutrition in the UK that's going to specifically look at whether the current recommendations are adequate for people with higher melanin concentrations. So we're going to see a bit more on this later on this year or potentially early 2027 on what we're concluding with this

particular public health measure. But this was fought for for so many years to get this vitamin D out there in the public domain and to get awareness up. So I hope we don't backtrack on our 10 micrograms. Okay, thank you for listening everybody. Yeah, I told you it's going to be a big one, guys. Amazing. And then we are going to be back on Thursday. As always, we have got so much to talk about on Thursday as always. So we will see you guys then. I can't wait. Bye.