The Wellness Scoop -  Should You Eat Differently With Age? The Additives Ban & School Food Shake-Up

Episode Date: September 21, 2026

Should the way we eat change as we get older? This week, we look at the foods and nutrients that become increasingly important through our thirties, forties, fifties and sixties, from fibre and protein to supporting our heart, bones, gut and muscle health. We also unpack Tesco’s decision to restrict or ban 114 additives from its own-brand foods. Is this another sign that concerns around ultra-processed food have gone mainstream, and does fewer additives necessarily mean healthier food? Plus, we look at the biggest overhaul of school food in more than a decade, including more vegetables, wholegrains and pulses, and tighter rules around fried foods, sugary puddings and processed meat. And finally, after our recent conversation about GLP-1s and the pressure to be thin, you got in touch. We share some of your experiences of food noise, body image, postpartum pressure and the complicated feelings these drugs are creating even for people who don't medically need to lose weight. 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

Hi and welcome to the Wellness Scoop, your weekly dose of health and wellness inspiration. As always hosted by us, I'm Ella Mills. And I'm Riannan Lambert. And after a decade in this wellness industry, we know how overwhelming and very confusing it can be. So that's why we're here with our podcast to cut through the noise and make healthier living, simple, fun and personal. This is the first time we've been in person together for so long and it feels so nice. We needed it. We needed it. We also just had, not sponsored, an absolutely excellent lunch. Shout out to Farmer J. You know there have been all of these salad bars and kind of, we talked about them before, the trend of like bougie salad bars all over London. It had never been there before, but I texted Rigg, so we didn't have much time. And I was like, I always think it's really good. Should we try? Absolutely. Chef's kiss as my children keep using.

Oh, do they? Except once it says chef's kiss, and the other one goes, Chef Patissier. And I don't know what that means. but she must have won her at one point heard the word patisserie like a French yeah but anyway I love it so it was chef patissio fantastic I did have the most incredible tofu curry I was yeah pretty blown away because I thought it was just a cold grab and go and it had all these hot delicious options I know and also I remember when I first started cooking things like tofu and you're feeling like oh this is so gross tofu is a really hard

ingredient I has someone who's cooked it almost 15 years that's true I don't think it's the easiest ingredients cook wood. So whenever someone does tofu well, I'm like, you know people often say if you go to Italian restaurant and like the spaghetti Pomodoro or the Tiramisu, like the basics are excellent. You know it's excellent. I feel like if you're going to cook tofu well, it's going to be good. On tofu, I have so much to tell you. But first, let's go into what's coming up in today's show. Okay, we seem to have the world's longest show and the world's shortest what's coming up, bullet points I'm realizing now. So guys, there's so much more to talk about. But we have some amazing updates from some very interesting groundbreaking research straight from Paris for us, which we're

excited about. But we're going to talk about a headline talking through whether we should eat differently through the different decades of our life. Why Tesco is banning and restricting over 100 UPF ingredients that is groundbreaking and incredibly exciting and I can't wait to talk about it. The biggest school food shakeup in a generation, loads to talk about there. R. is literally fresh from Parliament. Priya, Tofu, a little journey that we just had. So she's got the most up to say information on that, which is very exciting. And then we have loads of community feedback from you guys on food noise, the pressure to be thin, GLP-1s. And so we're going to delve into that, which I'm really looking forward to. But Ree, before you tell us about the

groundbreaking research you've got from us fresh from Paris, tell us about your baby moon. How are you? I mean, she's really pregnant, guys. I'm out of breath when I walk down the stairs. In Parliament this morning, the whole room left. And, you know, the stairs are still quite steep. It's an old building. Of course. You know, you've got a lot of steps when you get inside. And yeah, I was quite out of breath. But I had a baby moon, which was actually the first night my husband and I have been away together in several years by ourselves. You know, it was amazing.

We stayed at the Mandarin Oriental. I mean, it was just a dream in Mayfair, the most incredible hotel I've probably ever been to. But I was so poorly in the evening. I had the most amazing lunch. But I'm realizing now my stomach has very little room. And the issue is when you're faced with a feast. that you really want to eat and you forget that you are so heavily pregnant

is that you pay the consequence for that later on. So it consisted of room service in the evening of rice and tofu was my tofu element. It was cooked beautifully and I had the best time, thank you. But it has been such a busy week. So before I get into Paris, Ella, how about you? How about me? Really feel like Ria's absolutely 100 miles an hour

at the moment was heavily pregnant in my... I'm definitely not on either camp, but I'm good, you know what? So as you guys know, we moved to house a few weeks ago. And I kind of really knew it's the right decision, but I just found the moving, the changes, really unsettling. And I just, I don't know. I think also some very long school holidays. I just didn't really feel myself.

I wasn't sleeping while. I just felt very like, ooh, on edge. And I just feel like I'm coming out the other side and it feels so nice. I just feel like I'm much more myself again. And the kids, this is week two at their new school. Like, they went in today so happily. We had such nice play in the playground there after school. And they were riding their bikes on the little lane by the house.

And it was just a sense of like, okay, we're really like finding our feet. We're settling. Everyone is so much calmer. And it just, yeah, we're good. Do you how I can tell you're on the way up is that you posted a cheer pudding? And I was like, she's back because I had an amazing one at a hotel the same day. I had this like incredible matcha mango. Oh, that's your dream.

Oh, it was absolutely my dream. But I saw and I thought she's got her mojo back. She's back on the chip puddings. I know. And our old dog, I say old, because I just feel like it's an important part of the conversation. But our very old dog is really on his last. Very, very sad. I think he's probably even in his last week now.

And that's just obviously been heart-ranching. It's so sad. And you just don't really, I don't know. It's so strange posting on social media being like, Yay, this is so great when you're like, I just don't feel that way. Yeah. I don't know. But also, I don't really necessarily want to share like all the ins and outs.

Of your vet visit. No. Yeah, exactly. So I always find that's a very weird thing. So I just don't really post at that point personally. I think sometimes it's the best way to be. But it's what makes that world so strange, isn't it? The online world.

We'll all be thinking of Austin this week. I know. We'll be thinking of him. I can brighten your day a little bit with some updates. Yeah, the news from Paris. Okay, so I had the most surreal opportunity to interview Professor Wilhelm DeVos, who is the founder and he is the original researcher to discover the strain of bacteria within our guts called Accamensia, which we've discussed on this podcast before.

Give us a reminder like the top line. What is Accomensia? Accomensia is almost like a garbage truck that comes out at night that cleans up your gut and helps your gut lining, junctions stay tight. I think that's the best way to describe it. Not that he would describe it like that. No, but the colloquial descriptions are so important. Yeah.

And the reason we need these nice, firm junction linings in our gut is because... To keep us well, keep our immune system functioning, but now the new research we have is that it's linked to weight in a way we never previously thought. So obviously, we know that 4% of adults in the UK get enough fibre. so we know we're not really feeding our gut bugs the right food anyway. 86% of school-aged kids are not getting enough fibre and I'll get on to that later. But we have to remember the food for our gut bugs to help them thrive.

So we even have acumency within our guts. There will be people that have very low counts or barely anything in terms of optimal gut health in the majority of the Western world because of our diets being so poor. But the reason this is so important and I sat down, I got the opportunity to interview Wilhelm, who is just such an... For me, I was... A real inspiration. It's a real inspiration.

You're sat in front of somebody that literally discovered a strain of bacteria. It's funny because for some people would be like, I sat in front of Harry Styles. And you're like... I sat in front of the, like, yeah, the most innovative gut microbiome researcher. Yeah. And he was flying back to Helsinki that day where he's from. And it was a very interesting conversation. but I also interviewed the chief R&I officer at Donon,

which of course is one of the massive companies. Looking at gut health. Look at gut health. You may remember I went to the opening of their one biome lab where they were looking at AI twins last year. So he published a study back in May in Nature Medicine, which he's now allowed to talk about. Mr. Accomensia.

Wilhelm, yes. Wilhelm, if you do listen to this, please know I have the utmost respect for you. But Mr. Accomensia is a great name. It kind of is. very cool name. Acumencia, muncephila, which found that if you supplement a specific dose, even pasteurized. So that's what's so remarkable about this. Of this specific gut bug, you are more likely to keep weight off after a weight loss journey. And I think the reason this has been so unbelievably groundbreaking is because it potentially shows that alongside the use of GLP1s,

how important the dietary aspect is, first and foremost, but what solutions could potentially be on the horizon for people that fall into the trap of yo-yo diets, but also just to help the fact that, you know, one in three children are now obese in primary school age here, and with adults, we seem to see regain and rebound in, you know, drastic quantities. So it was a long conversation, basically discussing the fact that we now know that it helps improve in. insulin sensitivity. So this one gut bug alone is having a direct role with our insulin, with our appetite signaling. And, you know, the strongest effects were shown in individuals that initially had low baseline level of acumencia and then they went on to supplement and the results were

pretty incredible. So lower weight we gain compared to the placebo group. It was just absolutely incredible Ella. And what can you do to just like day to day increase the acumency in your stomach? Well, you can't pinpoint one specific gut bug, obviously, with diet, but your overall diet matters. And I know that we talk about it. We talk about it in a breadth of reasons actually on this podcast from 30 plant points being beneficial at low and risk of cancer, living another year, having more sleep. I'm trying to think of all the headlines we've covered for a variety of plants. But for me, really, It's that, you know, these plants in a variety of colour and fibre feed our gut bugs.

And we definitely, definitely concretely know that watch this space because Acomensia represents like a new science-based solution for long-term weight management, which I think a lot of people would be really fascinated to hear. And it's interesting because I gave a lecture last night at 8 o'clock to my weight loss journey on Re Plus. And I was talking about the fact that I love to see a plateau in weight loss. people probably be surprised to hear that yes so like i had a little slide lecture slide of you know a linear line which is what most people expect they expect your weight loss journey just to keep going down down down because you're changing things in your life but actually what i initially doing clinic is i get people to eat better in the first four weeks i don't count any calories i've always done this for weight loss for years because you want to improve your gut microbiome you want to get the health markers in

and then you want to see that plateau because that plateau means you've stabilized and you're able to tolerate this incredible new amount of fibre and you're definitely supporting your gut and everything's working well which means when you now make changes and you start to implement an energy deficit somewhere or a lifestyle change or a small tweak your results will be more efficient to more long lasting because you've actually fixed the gut bacteria and this sort of research kind of backs that up so it's a safe method let's watch this space it's so interesting as you said in the world of GLP once it feels even more relevant. Okay, so if we move on to our health headlines that matter, the first one we want to talk about

today and Rhee has the most up to the information. She's freshly back from Parliament this morning, which as we all know, she's always very nonchalant about, but it's very, very cool. It's exciting. Which is that we have just had announced the biggest overhaul of school food in a generation, daily vegetables, more whole grains and pulses, and less pizza-fried fruit and sugary puddings are coming to school menus across England, which is really interesting, but really give us the most up to day. Or do you want to do that at the end? Do we want to go through the info, then the

live conversation? How do you want to do it? Do you know what I think is quite a good place to start with this, is that the headlines that have emerged from it. And what Ella and I initially discussed, because I got an email late Sunday evening that this is embargoed, everything's going to happen Monday morning. And I was like, right, here we go. Is that the press ran with the very similar headlines to when the pilot kind of initial ideas for these school food guidelines came in with we're taking away again, didn't they? It wasn't positive? I feel like most of British media always tends to go down the angle of banning food. Yeah, I totally agree. So just as exactly as a recap, so you might remember a few months ago, we talked about this because earlier in the year,

the government announced some proposals for school meals and how they could overhaul them. But they were then going to go through this consultation process to understand what's possible and then to get a lot more specific. But both times, and so now we're in this place of much more specific on what's actually going to be implemented and we'll go through what that actually looks like. But I totally agree. It was all this. It was kind of the sense of this is bad, you know.

It was like, don't take our turkey twizzlets away. Like, you know, how. Jamie Oliver did that. Yes. It's exactly like, oh, our poor children won't have so much dessert. It's awful. I know. And it's really disappointing to see second time around the media is still leading with those types of headlines.

First of all, that was, and I think that's also confusing the public. I just want to reiterate that this is a once-in-hour lifetime change to dietary food standards in the UK that we probably won't see again for a very, very long time. It's taken 25 to 30 years to get to this point right now. And just to explain, you know, we currently are in a position where children have not. never been more unhealthy in this country. And that is something that has to be at the forefront. And everyone clearly agreed. So the schools that they were trialing these results with, they did make certain tweaks. For instance, in secondary schools, they backed down from just saying one dessert

a week and they're offering two because they know the transitions harder. They've also given secondary schools another year to implement things because they know it will take a bit longer. In primary schools, I think one of the biggest changes was that originally they were going full pelt 100% a whole grain and they've actually backtracked and said we don't mind white rice because bread now has to have at least four grams of fibre and we know that across the course of what we offer in a school you can still have your white rice because the topping that goes alongside it is great so they really have taken a lot of time a lot of care and a lot of consideration in how they implement this and I think the only things they're taking out and even with deep

fat frying, it doesn't mean kids can't have fishy Fridays. They're still going to have that because they're flash fried on site and then they're just baked when they get to the school. It just means schools won't have deep fat fries. There's no need to double fry. No, exactly. Or chips might be oven baked instead, which exactly, and it's just the scale, as we said, like a third of children under 11 in the UK are now overweight or living with obesity. tooth decay is the leading cause of hospital emission among five to nine year olds. So this is really important stuff. So what's really changing, number one, is reset, no more deep fat frying on site.

Chips, for example, need to be oven baked, as we said. Really important one. It feels obvious, but there must be fruit or vegetables at every meal. And I think what's really important here is that what they were explaining is that that doesn't include, like, hidden, chopped carrots and lasagna. It must be the proper portion exactly of broccoli. next to the lasagna, which is absolutely brilliant. And even the grab and go meals are going to have to meet the similar fruit and vegetable requirements.

And at breakfast clubs is the goal, because breakfast clubs is a bit more vague. But just on the fruit and veg factor, they have acknowledged, and I spoke to the representatives from the Department of Health as well yesterday morning before going into Parliament today, that there will be food waste. And initially, when you roll out anything new, but I think what we have to remember is that the key age ranges that this is really going to be absolutely life-changing for is those starting school this year, next year, that will notice the real benefits of this and we're going to start seeing a healthier generation. And with our current government wanting to lift children

out of poverty, you have to put them on something that at least nourishes and provides. So I think one of the other things, many, many fewer sugary pudding, so Sweden desserts can be limited to once a week in primary schools. And they will be made of. So, every dessert has to be baked with fruit. Yeah, so it would be a crumble, for example. Exactly, or a sponge that's got a chocolate brownie with beetroot. I mean, how wellnessy is that? But that's what the schools

are now going to see. I know. Do you know what? It's even interesting. I actually said to my children yesterday, we were driving home from school and I said to them, do you know the government are now going to say that at school, you can't have pudding more than once a week and they're like, what? Because they've gotten quite used to having putting at school all the time. And I was like, yeah, because you're not meant to have sugar all the time.

And it's so interesting anyway. More beans and lentils, so at least once a week. What's happening with this is that even once a week, that includes in meat options. It's not just for the vegetarian isolated options. They are putting beans and lentils alongside traditional curries, meat dishes, things that are offered for people. So they're going to start eating them hopefully without noticing or they will get used to it. How groundbreaking is that? As you said, if you look at primary school at age children who are still probably a little bit more mad,

valuable. Yeah. This is amazing. Yeah. Only having pudding once a week fruit four times a week is brilliant. And what we've been waxing Lericklanders Scoop, Ella. Things like sausage, chicken nuggets and ham, restricted to once a week, which is absolutely amazing. That's a big win. It's a huge win. I could have a joy when I read that. I completely agree. And then breakfast is going to have rules. Obviously, breakfast clubs are huge. Yeah. Hazaries and fried eggs off the menu. Serials are going to have a sugar cap. So things like cocoa pops no longer. chocolate spread not allowed. What's so interesting is with the trial, the consultation period, originally they wanted sugars and cereals to be no more

than 5 grams, but they've had to increase it to 5.5 grams because it was quite difficult to actually reach that alongside a piece of fruit in the morning and all the other different calculations that they're doing, but it does mean no rice Krispies, it means no cornflakes. I said to read this earlier,

like I remember my mum saying, and I'm sure she won't mind me saying, you know, she used to get Rice Krispies for me and my brother and that was what we were allowed for breakfast like Monday to Friday and she'd save the sugary cereal that was the weekend tree and obviously having absolutely no idea that Rice Christmas week's really quite sweet

Yeah, just low in fibre and no nutrient density. And thinking that they were like really good and it's so interesting. Anyway, I'm such a fan. I think this is absolutely amazing and there's also going to be an emphasis on accountability like we know this isn't easy but schools are going to have

to publish their food policies and menus online and monitoring arrangements. being developed with the food standards agency. So theoretically it should be easier for parents and government to see whether standards are being followed. And so loads of you listening are often like, how can I influence my school? Well, this is going to make it so much easier. You can now hold them accountable.

So schools should be publishing the menus. I do actually have a voice note from Joe Rawling who created with the Food Foundation this incredible video Ella. I don't know if you saw it the day everything came out. but they had a load of celebrities and influencers attend what they thought was going to be like. Is Angela Hartnett? Angela Hartnett, an amazing chef, a famous chef,

and they were going to have this amazing dinner prepared by her. It was going to be incredible. But actually, they essentially served like really beige, really bland school food to highlight how much it needed to change. Yeah, and no one wanted to eat it. It was quite an amusing watch. It was a very good publicity stunt. And they've also created some guidelines for schools

to help them, you know, make these changes. They are big changes for schools to make. They're mega and for parents to get used to. And for children also to get used to. They really are like it's a having pudding taken away that much, having it replaced away fruit, suddenly having a chickpea on the menu, having your ham taken away. Like ultimately as we look at, you know, I know there's individual needs.

But as we look at the population as a whole, it inherently feels absolutely brilliant. But it's not, I don't think it's straightforward. No, change isn't easy and it will take time to implement. and they have allowed for that time. But ultimately, let's see what Joe has to say before we continue. Hi, my name is Joe Ralling, and I'm head of campaigns at the Food Foundation. We're delighted to see the new school food standards announced this week by government, and there's a lot of great stuff in there.

Whilst we know that there are some schools already who are delivering really nutritious and great food, others don't. And it's important that our kids right across the country are all given the opportunity to, to eat nutritious and great food in school. The new standards are increasing fibre. For the first time, there is a requirement to serve beans and pulses, which are a real little superfood, and that's going to be great for our kids.

There'll be less sugar, a little bit less fried food, a little less processed meat, and obviously lots of fruit and vegetables. This is so important because this is exactly what our kids need. Children need to be able to not be hungry so that they can concentrate in school and learn and thrive and grow to their full potential. So overall, this is great news. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity really for us to really see and improve the health of our children right across the country.

The other good news is that there's help available for schools. The school food project have set up a digital hub, which is full of online resources and teaching videos to help train those catering staff. in schools to deliver these new school food standards. So if you'd like to see your school, sign up and go to schoolfoodproject.org. You just register helpers at hand for every school. Thank you so much, Joe. I think it's, do you know, there's a lot of work still to be done. And as we said, regulating this is obviously one of the big things.

And a lot of pushback I've had Ella talking about in Parliament this morning. it comes down to financials. Fruit juice was even questioned in an article I've just been asked to contribute to in the Daily Mail. Why have they taken fruit juice off the menu? Why is it just water or milk or a plant-based alternative? And it's because even 150 mil of fruit juice at lunch takes your overall quota of natural sugars you can get in a meal above what it needs to be. And it's just unnecessary. And I really feel like we're starting to get with the times a little bit more.

The one area I want to see improved and that's why I was at Parliament this morning is breakfast clubs. So currently they're almost going to publish a list of what's allowed and what's not allowed. And I know that some companies are doing amazing things. Like I know Warburton's improved the fibre in their loaves

and people that provide foods for breakfast but there's no monitoring. I want to see baked beans on a breakfast menu. I'd love to see eggs because you can't have nuts in schools. There's no nut butter option. So what are they going to spread on the toast? Yes, exactly. Because you can't have pure jam now. You can't have chocolate spread. No. So, you know, there's going to be always questions parents have,

and we completely understand that. But look, we have to remember that this means that three million children will have access to free school meals that are actually fairly decent. And also, you know, my understanding is it's, you know, children often need to be shown something 10 times to become interested in it or like it. And as we know, this is an amazing opportunity to have when you just have like chickpeas to get to know a chickpea. Yeah. And I actually sat down with Pepe Delazio, who, he represents headteachers around the country. And he knows the plight of how hard this is going to be. Was he there this morning?

He wasn't there this morning. He was there at an event I sat down for last week on this before these guidelines came out. There have been a lot of chat. Gosh, there's been a lot of chat around this one. Our Ophster going to regulate. Is it up to the governors? It is a massive, massive thing. But he genuinely argues that schools do need more investment.

and catering facilities. And I do understand that. And also the training. I mean, some of the school chefs probably have never made a lent or dial before. Well, you know, some of these dishes are completely and utterly out of the current, let's just deep fry a burger and put it on a plate. Type of process a lot of schools will have. No, as you said, change isn't easy.

Well, we just want to say a really big thank you to the charities like bite back that, of course, work so hard. The Jamie Oliver group always shine a light on it. food matters. I work with the food foundation and veg power and it's campaigning for something that I know it is not easy and it's worth also saying that this is England only. So the rest of the UK does things differently, don't they like Scotland? Yeah, exactly that. Okay. Our second headline is actually very similar. This is quite a short one, but it's very interesting move. Tesco bans more than 100 additives in processed food crackdown. What a headline. What a headline. What a headline.

I actually think there was one in the sun that was called banative. It's just full of bands everywhere. I feel like perhaps that's why the media took the school food a bit negatively as well. And I, you know, look, we have always talked about it that when we come to like changing our diet, we should focus on the positives. And, you know, I still believe so strongly in that. But equally, you need a little bit of carrot and stick, don't you, ultimately? But this is really interesting.

I mean, I have much less so now, but I used to sit in a lot of retailer meetings. And I have to say, I remember sitting in a Tesco meeting. This is a long time ago now. It was like three or four years ago. It's quite a very senior person in there. And I remember them saying this like passion that they had as a company and how they really, really wanted to kind of take the mantle forward and how much responsibility they felt.

And I remember thinking, oh, it's the first time I've really heard someone. You know, obviously, of individuals when they agree, but in terms of the kind of total organization. And it felt so exciting. Anyway, it's amazing to see this. So Tesco has announced it's restricting or banning, 114 different additive. from its own brand foods as supermarkets respond to growing consumer concern

about ultra-processed food. Obviously, Tesco is our biggest supermarket in this country and they had last year 65 editives that were either banned or subject to restrictions obviously so that's almost a doubling of that. Some of them, for example, artificial colours, artificial sweetener, aspartum. I never know how you say that.

Do we have this every time of Spartum? Yeah, a Spartame. A Spartame. Yeah. And MSG. Yeah. which is so interesting. And then it's also creating or kind of has updated.

It's suppliers sort of terms or guidelines to show that you can only use additives where it really is necessary for food safety, shelf life or quality and in the most minimum amount needed, which I think is also really, really interesting to see. It's just fascinating. I felt like I said at the beginning, we are on the cusp of such monumental change. I feel like we've had enough. We've gone so far down a rabbit hole where the health is just declining, declining, declining, that nobody now wants to be on the wrong side of history. Let's start with that.

This isn't just a privileged conversation anymore because with companies like Tesco coming out and, you know, of 80% of their shoppers telling the retailer that they want to reduce their, you know, ultra-processed food intake, they are actually listing. It's not just brands like M&S because I feel at the beginning, if we'd had this conversation a year ago,

I'd have said, I love what M&S are doing, but I do feel that it is... It's more exclusive, isn't it? It is for a certain shopper, a demographic that boroughs Tesco, I feel, hits a broad range of public. They're the biggest retailer, so obviously what they do

is going to have the most disproportionate effect for anyone else. Although I said this to you earlier, really, when we were together, I was so impressed by M&S. I have to say, sorry, I wasn't always like a big M&S fan? I don't know if I was saying.

I don't know. I didn't necessarily get the obsession with it. But there's one very near me now and I went in yesterday with the kids and I was just looking at a lot of their ingredient decks and like the, you know, the kids wanted a kind of Calipo type product and they had the same packaging kind of thing. But I think it was like three ingredients. It's like orange sugar, water and some vegetable pulp. And I was so impressed. It's absolutely unbelievable.

Anyway, I totally agree. This to me is really exciting. It genuinely feels like there is this moment where we're reaching a tipping point. in terms of the change in health. And I was just so interested to see Tesco do that on that own accord. Yes. And actually what's so interested, do you remember when I went to that Tesco round table event? And they were discussing, because obviously they've done lots of initiatives over the year.

They've tried to give schools fruit of vet. You know, they're trying to do the right thing. But they really felt like a general consensus in the room that they want to lead the way. And they're opening the door and saying, can other retailers come and work with us? If we all did this. I know, but I think it kind of makes them, doesn't it? Like if you were sitting in one of the other retailers offices today, it would probably be like, okay, we have to follow Sue, don't we? So I think it's mega.

Anyway, I think more than anything, I think it's a really big green shoot. I don't think it's even a shoot. I think it's like a little. Firework. Yeah. Not the right analogy. Yeah. It's a nice big lily plant.

Yeah, something's happening. It's definitely happening. And just to remind you all the reason that we're having these discussions is even though it is still debated that I think there's a little. little questioning now that diets that are high in UPFs are repeatedly associated with obviously high risks of obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and poor health outcomes in general. I mean, you could dispute it as a scientist or you like, but we know even what we spoke about at the beginning. We've got microbiome research that we just need to eat better and we need to help people do it. So well done, Tesco. I am genuinely so excited about today's sponsor because

it's the way. Honestly, if you have listened to me anytime over the last few months, you know I've become a little bit evangelical about this app and I honestly recommend it to everyone. My friends, my family, people on Instagram, everyone. And she recommended it to me, so it's true. I've heard so much about it. It's just because it has had such a big impact on me. I've meditated on and off for 15 years or so now, but using the way, it's honestly the first time we've become so consistent with this daily practice. And I've just seen the most unbelievable results as a result of that.

The app is just incredible. And what I love is every day you open it and there's a meditation waiting for you. So you don't scroll, that you don't have to choose between hundreds of options. There's no wondering what to do. It just takes you on a path. Well, I think that's why it works so well

because, you know, most of us just don't need more big decisions every day to make, Ella. No, exactly that. We've got decision fatigue, haven't we? So this is so nice because you just follow this path of meditation. which is led by Henry, the founder who's just the most amazing teacher, and he makes it seem somehow just incredibly simple, but exceptionally profound at the same time,

which is a very rare skill. And I've been using it too. Yes, I've now finally begun a meditation journey, and I've been doing some of the shorter practices on busy days because I completely understand why you talk about it so much, Ella. It really is a nice intro in for me. Yeah, it is, and I'm so glad. Anyway, it's helped me feel so much calmer, less reactive,

more present. It all sounds like huge claims, but I just say, please, please, please try it if you're struggling with stress or overwhelm. You just got to give it a go. And the lovely thing is that everyone listening can definitely try it themselves. Exactly. So you can get a 30-day free trial, so just try it every day for a month. It'll change your life. All you do is head to thewayapp.com forward slash wellness scoop. Yeah, that's thewayapp.com forward slash wellness scoop. Okay, our third and chunkiest headline of the day is an article that Rhee was contributing to in the Times, which I thought was perfect, thought you guys would be so interesting. We've gone from crunchy to chunky headlines.

You remember our crunchy mum stuff there. Crunchy moms. I love that. How to eat for your age, the key changes to maximise your health. Obviously longevity, huge topic in the world of health and wellness, but interesting to look at whether our needs shift decade by decade. Yes, and of course, there's an element. of common sense here that of course as we age, we should adapt accordingly, but no one really

has time to catch up with those adaptations or even think about it. You know, life definitely moves at a million miles an hour, but our nutritional requirements, they definitely change. We'd say at university, it's nutrition through the lifespan. That's what the module would be called. And you look at different decades of your life and how a different micronutrient intake varies. But we're looking at this on a broader time frame now. So it's not too late. I don't think people talk about it that much. Like I don't think that this idea that you'd need to eat specific things once you hit your 50s, for example. I don't think that's general knowledge at all. I agree it's not general knowledge. Yeah. And it's not ever been sexy enough because longevity conversations weren't around

for anyone to even take an interest in. So let's delve into it. It means it's not too late everybody. You can make these changes. First of all, I'm a bit fed up of hearing that your peak was in your 20s. Obviously now we're in our 30s. I'm like, I don't want to hear that. I definitely wasn't at my peak in my 20s, for goodness sake. No, we're going to peak in our 60s. Yeah, I mean, every decade's a chance to have a peak moment, everybody.

Our 30s, let's start there. This is a difficult decade because I feel like you're either juggling your career, work, family life, and lots of different challenges that come with it. However, you're still quite metabolically resilient and you still have a fair amount of lean muscle, hopefully. And you definitely want to be encouraging. So the things that we'd really focus on here, and actually, I wanted to bring it up on the onus group,

but I didn't. There's been a few headlines about vitamin D coming into question. Yes, we need to talk about this. We do, which we will bring up maybe another time. Maybe next week we'll do a bit of a deep dive into that. Shall we? Let's do that. Yes. I'm making a note right now while you tell us about our 30s.

Thank you very much. Okay, so points to remember in your 30s. It's not, sorry, every time I move everybody when I'm recording, the chair I sit on creaks and I'm already significantly heavier with a baby, so I feel like I'm just like creaking around at the table here. But think plant diversity and not just five a day was my first point. Like I've mentioned already, you want diversity to support your bacteria. This is a positive nutrition approach. People in their 30s right now we're brainwashed with calorie counting and restriction. I want you to undo all of that and have a real think about diversity and adding more. Vitamin D, we have to remember that it's not just lack of exposure with the weather in the UK.

As we get older, it's also our ability naturally to synthesize it from our skin. So because our skin is aging as well, we need to remember that that's why we do need that supplement in the winter months. And I will discuss that next time because I know. that's been in the headlines. Iron, I really want to go there for women, and we've mentioned it before, but iron stores throughout our lives is so important. Already we have a massive issue of the fact that we were marked the same as men in blood test results and that the criteria that was up until, I'd say, a year or two ago looked at

as an iron deficiency, the mark has moved, and we just weren't taken into consideration. For women, it's just so crucial, and by the age of 50, large, because menstruation deplete stores, let alone going into early menopause for some women, you need to be getting more on your diet. Sardines, I know they're trendy, but they're great. Think edamame beans.

Dryed apricots, tahini, cashews. Again, a varied, rich diet. But I'd say more of us need a supplement iron than we probably realise. And it's quite a difficult supplementation to get right. Because it can give you quite bad tummy problems, right? Yeah, depending on the form and how bioavailable, it actually

is. Interestingly, anecdotally, I was largely deficient and now my stores are back up to just the lower end of normal because I've been taking supplementation throughout the pregnancy. So it is effective and it does work if you can find the one that works for you. Then let's talk about fertility. We're having babies later and later. But if you are thinking about fertility, you do need to start earlier than you might think with things like the little micronutrients like zinc that I don't think many people think about a lot of the time and B vitamins are up and highlighted for men. And we're learning more and more here about, you know, the fact that even though we're born with all our eggs as women, we can impact the quality of those eggs stored within our body. And men have a sperm turnover

every 90 days. So their dietary changes, I mean, you can measurably track them. So that's 30s. Amazing. And then as we get into our 40s, this is when actually we want to start, as you said, thinking that it's never too late to make changes like this is the decade where you really can lay really positive foundations in terms of like really increasing your health span above your lifespan as such, just how many years you feel amazing. And one of the most interesting studies here found that eating more nuts, whole grains and pulses in your midlife was associated with a greater chance of reaching 70 free from major chronic disease and with good cognitive physical and mental health, which is obviously what we all want. I mean, we've had a lot more research come out over the

past two to three years. Now the interest in longevity is there. That 40s is actually a time that does predict, not to put too much pressure on it, but really predicts your later life outcomes more than we'd previously thought. And obviously there's a huge variation there, be it if you're a man or a woman as well, of course, with perimenopause symptoms and things that women have to tackle there. But for men, heart health suddenly changes. You know the old saying that people would say about men that were not. naturally, you know, metabolically quite lean. Oh, just you wait, just you wait till you hit your 40s and it'll all go around your middle. You know, people used to say, it's like a grandma's

saying, I can't remember the phrase. Yes, I know exactly what you mean though. But you know, it is true that heart health becomes more important at cardiovascular risk. It really shows up in your 40s and that means thinking about those unsaturated fats, the good type of fats. We talk about a lot on here and also alcohol. We become more sensitive to our alcohol. toleration as we age anyway, but it becomes more impactful. Which is why people say, oh, I can't hold my drink. You know, you have two drinks and you feel hungover, whereas in your 20s, like have eight margaritas, a couple of pizzas and feel okay the next morning.

Or the cold pizza the next morning as well, left over in the fridge. But yeah, because an NHS survey found that 34% of men aged 45 to 64 were drinking still above the 14 units a week and they're drinking, they just haven't changed their habits to adapt to how sensitive their body is. And I do feel that risk there for men is really important to mention because women

we talk about our health. There is still that difference where we're aware of hormonal changes now, we're really talking about menopause. I wanted to bring up the whole manopause conversation as well. I haven't really heard much about a manopause. What happened to the manopause? Is that mid-life crisis

from which being really rude? No, it was absolute uproar. There was a feature on this morning. I should probably save this for an extra scheme, but I'll give a brief skim where Brendan Cole, he used to be a strictly come dancing dancer, has launched a podcast called the manopause because he believes men also have a manopause. And women are an uproar like, you can't just give us the menopause, can you? You have to just have a manopause. The whole like having a midlife crisis as opposed to having a medical event. I think I need to look this up. I might be being mean. I don't think you're being mean.

I also was a bit like, I really don't think you should have named it manopause at all. But it caused a bit of controversy. So let's bring that up another time. Okay. Manopause also making notes of to come back to you. But for women, 40 is really important as we get towards perimenopause. Menopause be thinking about inflammation basically. Keeping your gut happy.

And thinking about this sort of more anti-inflammatory Mediterranean-style diet to really support yourself. And that's, as we said, things like olive oil, tomatoes. berries, nuts, sees, mega-3 fats. Well, the omega-3s are the key things. So I think that's something to really highlight for women in their 40s because we're still of the generation, the 30s to 40s, where it was restriction before, you know, oh, you're going through the perimenopals and menopause now.

You have to restrict what you eat, whereas actually... Because you're going to gain weight, right? Yeah, there's this massive association. And actually, it's the opposite. I need you to think more carefully about the nourishment of your... I would call it clean eating if it weren't associated with the conundated with the connotations it is, I would say you just need to think more about your diet. I feel like in America, guys, tell us if I'm wrong.

I think in America they still use this like eat a cleaner diet without all of the kind of loaded nature. Now you can't say it in the UK because it has this kind of association with eating disorders and anorexia and obviously really concerning things. What we mean is exactly like lower your intake of UPFs and massively up your intake of lentils and chickpeas and lovely green salads and tahini and sunflower seeds and all these lovely foods. I know, I know. The language, the use of language has become very tricky to navigate. It has.

It definitely has. And then I moved on to your 50s, which is where menopause is in full swing for women. And also gut health changes because we have something called the Easter Ballone, which is the gut microbiote. Say that again, read, the Easter Balloon. Or Easter balone. Easter balone. I've never heard of it. I hope I did pronounce that well.

But that's what we're now calling the estrogen cells and the connection between the female estrogen hormone that resides in the gut and the interaction it has with our gut bugs. Interesting. Yes. And we know that sadly, as we age, and I only know this from researching the fiber book. This is a bit I put in the fiber formula that our gut diversity declines in our 50s. massively at the same time our estrogen decline. So women have like a double plummet. So what you're eating becomes so much more important. It really does. And also I feel it's a neglected age because people just leave you to sort of crack on. And at the same time, it's when bone density

issues start appearing. It's all linked to this decline in muscle mass, in bone density, in estrogen, in our gut health going down. And with that dive in gut diversity, it impacts your immune system directly because they reside and communicate every single day. So it's associated with low grade inflammation chronically. So consistently, because if you are not getting the 30 grams of fiber debt cannot emphasize how important fiber is. I feel like it's all we talk about. But you're really not helping. And most people have just focused on protein. Yes, protein is key because of muscle mass, but it's easy to hit. People know how to get protein at breakfast, lunch and dinner. And you don't need to have masses of it. I think Ella and I have busted that many a time. But really, this

estrogen decline impacts your bone health. And remember, one and two women over the age of 50 do you have osteoporosis and the poor bone health, which is quite terrifying. Yeah, it really, really is. And then 60's similar thing. Basically, as we get older, the quality of our nutrients and the diet that we follow becomes increasingly important. So, for example, the World Health Organization estimate that your metabolic rate falls. by roughly just under 3% per decade in men and 2% in women, which means you're eating kind of 2,300 fewer calories or you're needing 200 fewer calories a day than when you're in your 20s.

Less. Exactly. And as you're saying, then at the same time you're having a poorer absorption of certain vitamins and minerals. It's all a little bit less efficient. And so actually it's not necessarily about eating less. It's about making each meal kind of count more. It's that nutrient dense term that's being thrown around a lot at the moment.

And so actually in order to get the nutrient density, you've got to reduce the UPFs. Because it's just, you know, again, like if you think in your 20s, you're super active, you're metabolically very active. You can probably get away with a higher UPF content while still meeting lots of the requirements of whole foods. You can just get more into your life. Whereas actually, if your appetite's getting decreasing, again, every meal has to mean more. What's also a bit of a catch here that I don't think I discussed in the article because there just wasn't enough of a word count is that, your taste buds change as you age. Yeah.

And most people, when they reach their 60s and 70s, have a desensitized sort of palate. And they end up adding more salt and they end up adding more sugar and reaching for those rich items. I mean, we all see it in our grandparents. You know, it's one of the first things we're taught about care home nutrition at university or palliative care is that flavors are incredibly important. And actually, that leads to our downfall because we're then not consuming the food.

foods or the right amounts of nutrients that we do actually need. But, you know, for women, of course, bone health is still so important. And I just want to really reiterate that, you know, fortified milks are great, brown rice, dried figs. You know, everyone goes about prunes when you get older. I mean, lots of dried fruit. Why just a prune? I don't like prunes either, do you? I love rehydrated prunes. How weird is that? I didn't have ever had a rehydrated prune. I would put them in the bowl of water and the next day they taste really good. I do love plums. though so I do love... I have to give them a go.

Yeah, I love a plum crumble. So I love a date. You should put prunes in crumble. That's my homework. There you go. Homework there. But there's one interesting study from the uni of East Anglia

and it was for men actually and the focus was on vitamin C and muscle in their 60s and more than 13,000 adults found that people with the highest dietary or blood levels of vitamin C had a greater muscle mass. So what I think is so interesting

is that if we keep our nutrition optimal, you can still, it's not just protein. Protein obviously is the building block, but it needs these other elements. Vitamin C. Well, think of collagen. You need collagen and vitamin C work together to keep a structure and all these antioxidants. So I personally loved this article and found it very, um, but as I said, I don't think, and it's, it was so great. I don't think that there's a huge amount, again, let us know what you think. I don't think there's a huge amount of knowledge on how you need to kind of gently shift. Obviously, eating lots of fruits and vegetables, important but there are specific things to be thinking about each point. I worry massively about meadow washing. I really feel as a woman. It happens every time we have amazing changes in break foods and research. There's always people that jump on it and take it too far. But there's so many unqualified voices parading as nutritionists and they're not and people giving health advice

and dietary advice for the menopause. It's this crucial time. You might feel differently about this week, but I was talking to someone the other day in this industry and they were saying they find it quite frustrating because almost people walk in now. It's like, I said, I have been struggling to sleep a little bit. And people are really great to be like, it's probably perimenopause. And I'm actually... Really? Mm.

And look, I can't tell you right now. It's not, but I'm 35. So it's, and I haven't had any other changes. So it's probably a little bit early for that. Just a little bit for Ella, I'd say early that, honestly. But it's interesting. But it's interesting. This person was saying they see it all the time where there's so much about it now

that it's almost like becomes the first port of court. And it's obviously important that we're much more empowered and knowledgeable about these points of our lives. For A, people get them terrified. Or B, we start having it. It's this like catchall. It's like, oh, you're struggling. Sleep must be perimenopause as opposed to cortisol issues.

Some people sail through the menopause and don't have any symptoms at all. I mean, obviously so many don't. I'm so glad that we're going to walk into it with our eyes open. Yes. But anyway, I thought that was really interesting idea. she said this idea that like she just sees it all the time where people are so quick. It does impact sleep massively the perimenopause. I mean gosh, us women, we're not giving it easy. Hence the frustration on the manopause podcast. So let's move on to our trend this week.

Yes. So we were speaking a few weeks ago about all of the articles on Areanda Grande and all of the changes that we're seeing, particularly in Hollywood, the shrinking bodies, the increasing use of GL1s. apparently it's almost 9% of the UK population who have tried them at this point. And we asked how you felt. And we had so many emails and questions and comments and thoughts on this that we really wanted to share because actually this was really important for us to talk about and for people who are feeling alone in this. And so we thought actually we'd have a continuation of that conversation for our trend this week. So I'll read the first one, which is from an anonymous listener who said, I won't lie. If I could quickly be a smaller size than what I am right now, I would happily take that. This is both for societal reasons as well as generally feeling better in a smaller body.

I'm a healthy BMI. I'm in general good health and I would say I'm pretty strong. So really there's no need for me to lose weight, particularly not via any means that will compromise my overall health. But, and this is a big but, knowing that there is now medication which helps to quiet and food noise is a really tricky topic for me. I have struggled for years with disorders eating and whilst I now eat well plenty of fibre, adequate protein for my size activity levels etc my food noise levels are probably as high and disruptive

as someone who fits in the population of being suitable for a Zen pic it takes up so much of my brain space despite doing so much work on nervous system regulation regular therapy and even a career change and truly it is affecting my ability to also enjoy other normal things in life feels impossible to turn off

and I really love to have access to something to be able to dial it down I just wish I could enjoy food in normal quantities, be able to stop eating one in full and not fantasised and obsessed over every meal. So whilst I strongly agree with everything you say about weight loss medication only being suitable for certain populations, I have an indescribable feeling, perhaps close to jealousy, that I'm not allowed this medication because my physical health being normal, when mentally it would be a total game changer. And I thought this was so interesting, she said, for me, the curiosity about Zempick is likely twofold. Of course there are physical effects in the form of quick weight loss, but I'm sure that's so. many others would also happily take it for the cognitive impact.

I have a few initial thoughts on that. And I first of all, don't think you'd be a normal human being if you weren't curious about a drug that offers that sort of thing. And everybody is dealt with pressures of societal expectations in your body. I totally agree. And that's why I feel like these were such important messages and we've got more to talk about. Because I think so many people listening are there,

just being like, well, I know I don't really need it. but my genes are a bit tighter than they were, you know, a few years ago. And I would love to be half a stone lighter. And I bet loads of us would. Like, you know, if you could easily, you know, wear your pre-pregnancy genes type things. Well, they're targeting postpartum women now, which I think is really scary because you are so vulnerable. But I also want to add on this, that if you are fantasizing over food and it's taking up the majority of your space every day, The term food noise verges on the eating disorder voice in the head,

and it's quite hard sometimes to know what is a disordered eating voice versus what's a food noise voice. The two are quite blurry. Because when I think about food noise in the ozempic sense, it's the idea that like I used to take the train from Paddington, for example, and you walk into Paddington, you're really tired. You've had a long day. A little stressed about this, a little overwhelmed,

maybe slightly low blood sugar. It's been a while since you eaten. And right in front of you is the Millie's cookies. Is that still there? Yeah, and then next of that it's like Hotel Chocolate and Amazing Chocolate. And then next to that is like KFC or whatever. They're everywhere. And then you walk into W. Smith's to grab a bottle of water.

And there's a wall of sweets. And like you are tired, you are stressed, you're quite hungry. And you are literally met everywhere you turn with a kind of UPF option that's really quite appealing. And that's what I think about food noise. That's often what I'm thinking about is when it's like, I don't really want you, but you're screaming at me. I think that's beautifully explained Ella, because here, I think you've said, I just wish I could enjoy food in normal quantities,

be able to stop eating while I'm fuller, not fantasize and obsess over every meal. That is a very different thought. That is verging on what most people don't identify in themselves as a disordered eating voice because all you can think about is the next meal. It's all consuming and it really stops you being able to be flexible of your life and enjoy a meal to your full. So it's confusing for everybody this term and this definition, actually. Thank you for sharing that with us.

It's something we discuss, well, it's something I'll discuss in a clinical time. And then the next one is from Joanna. Yeah, and Joanna said you asked listeners in your most recent podcast to give feedback on the pressures of being skinny and gLP ones. I do all things holistically and from nature wherever I can. I believe in the beauty of human biology and supporting this. For me, the pressure to show up in the world looking like I'm on gLP ones and have had Botox and fillers, etc., etc.

but do it all within my world remaining healthy, fit and happy. I feel like it's taken the intuition and goodness for my lifestyle to focus once again on aesthetics. The pressure is a 34-year-old female that's had kids and lives well, but doesn't aspire to have foreign objects, medications, and their body is a daily confrontation. And again, like, I totally get it. Like, I think it is really, I think I bet almost all our listeners feel an element of this. Because people look like they're anti-aging in the media. They're not progressing forwards.

is Helen Mirren who's very vocal. And Cameron Deers, have you seen? I love Cameron Deers at the moment. She's almost done a Pamela Anderson and I'm embracing my aging. I don't want to look a certain way. You know who else has done that as well? It's Helm McPherson.

Oh, she's had her controversial moments. But yeah, she saw her the other day. I mean, she looked amazing. Yeah, of course. She looked her age. Yeah, but that's what I mean is that it's becoming really difficult for us women to navigate a world of how women look because of all the extras.

as everybody is really dystopian. And if you have so many the extras, you look so different to someone of that actual age. And that all becomes really, really overwhelming. And what I really appreciate, and I totally actually relate to, honestly, Joanna, is this, like, I don't want to have those things either. But then when everyone around you is,

you're like, it's quite hard not to appoint second guess yourself. And also, when you don't conform to it, so for instance, I can't believe I'm bringing this up on the podcast, but I had a kind of trolling comment. You know, every now and again they come, being on the internet. And someone said, you know, you look so different in all of your images. You must have had filler.

And I was like, no, I'm just age. I'm just older. I'm just older than I was 10 years ago and I'm pregnant and I'm tired. And obviously, I probably look very different in my face. I don't have the puppy fat anymore in my face like I used to have. But that's how scary that people think I should look the same as I did 10 years ago. Yes, I've had a few people who are like, you're really different. And I'm like, well, I'm 10 years older.

Yeah, not saying. I've got two kids now. Exactly. And then we had one more message and also anonymous who said, I have three months postpartum speaking to what you just spoke about, and actually had to delete Instagram because it was taking me down a rabbit hole of comparing myself to how I kept in shape during pregnancy type videos and how I was supposed to bounce back afterwards.

There's a lot of those on the algorithm, Mella, and I've been serviced for you that are clearly eating disorders while pregnant. And she said, that said to her. of my co-workers have recently had babies and are now on GLP-1s to lose the baby weight. Another colleague is using GLP-1s purely for weight loss. They're all in their early 30s. What concerns me most is that as far as I know, none of them are prescribed medications. They're all getting them through the black market.

I was told you can order them from the UK and have them delivered by post. None of my colleagues have particularly healthy diets to begin with, and that certainly hasn't changed while using the drugs. They've just taken extra vitamins to compensate. However, that doesn't necessarily help. One of the girls are now vitamin B deficient and how much. has irregular periods. Having a history of an eating disorder myself, I find this whole situation very difficult. I'm only three months postpartum, so obviously above my pre-pregnancy weight.

But even I sometimes find myself thinking that I'd be willing to go on these drugs just to lose that extra way. I eat very healthily and very active, so I know how ridiculous that sounds, but that's honestly the reality of how much pressure there is right now around weight. My biggest concern is that we women seem to access these drugs so easily and illegally, and yet people don't seem to be scared about using them. We don't worry enough about maintaining muscle. muscle eating properly because being slim can feel so much more important to us than being healthy. And sadly, I do think that's the truth of it. Even for me, I have to actively reason with myself not to go down that route remind myself of what's actually important. I think we're entering

really dangerous territory here. It worries me the conversation around these drugs has become so focused on weight loss while the potential impact of our health, nutrition, etc., is under threat. And I just, I couldn't agree more with what you've said. And I thought this was so important to bring to the show instead of our regular trend section because I, as I said, I bet there are so many people listening or friends of your friends and your colleagues who feel the same way who do not need these drugs

who know that there's downsides to these drugs who wouldn't be able to get a legal prescription for these drugs either but there is such a focus on aesthetics again and I say again because I do think there was a period kind of five, ten years ago where health felt so much more focus on actual health but it's because there's an option now

that GOP ones weren't there before and it does feel like a panacea. And I really think, like I said, it's the curiosity of the human body, isn't it? You think, oh, well, there is a way. Totally. And then you're like, look, I can then look like Candle Janna. You know, I don't think anyone doesn't have like a slight sense

in them where they're like, oh, well, that's quite appealing, isn't it? And I think it's just so important to normalise that. So that no one listening feels on their own in this and that this pressure is there and it's communal. But the more we talk about it, I think the more we can say, like, no, none of us want this. Like, we all want to kind of, grow old as like healthy and lovely.

And we want to look great. Of course we do. There's a balance between you all. There is a balance. I thank you for sending those in everybody. They're incredibly personal and you're in a safe space. Of course, with all of us listening. We just want to support one another.

So it is such a sensitive time for us all to navigate. But, you know, sometimes I think what really helps is that we need to focus on what we can actively positively control and you know coming from the individual that's giving it all the talk who still stays up at night watching how my war box should be filled ella just to say you know we're not we all have um thoughts and feelings around this but this in particular for women right now I'd say it's there for men too I just feel with women and aging there still is a complete disparity when it comes to women versus men with aging I think always Ultimately, there's just a disproportionate pressure on women in terms of how they look.

Yes, there is. Whatever age. I think, you know, it's not that there's no pressure on men and there'll be specific men who feel it more for sure. But I think if we look at the cultural conversation around aesthetics and image and body image and the way that we show up every day, there is infinitely more. And I think has always been more pressure on women. And I just, yeah, I thought it was really important to note that like no one's alone. in feeling that pressure and we're all in it together. We are.

Let's talk about it and be open about it. And I hope that's what this show can do. Well, it's good actually because on Thursday we're going to be discussing in our extra scoop how you can rebuild trust with your body. Exactly. We didn't actually plan that, but it's the most perfect segue between the two episodes this week. It is. We're going to talk about fiber powders as well, the truth around those, what works, what doesn't,

what's going on with resistant starch. Iron levels, again, there's a bit of a link on today. Whether you can reverse the effects on a healthy childhood diet. loads of things. Being an introvert and an extroverted world, loads to talk about. We can't wait. So we'll see you on Thursday, guys.

See you then. Keep your questions coming. Don't you wish you could just hit skip on the worst parts of your life? You know, the same way you can skip an ad? I get it. I'm Siaiaa and I live in Ice Cove. I've made some questionable decisions

that didn't end up the way I planned. And today, I'm still figuring it out. Somehow things usually get worse before they get better. Apparently, that's. That's how I roll. So bundle up and come along for the bumpy ride. Stream a new episode of North of North Tuesdays on CBC Gem.