The Wellness Scoop - Sweet vs Savoury Breakfasts, Celeb Supplements & ACV Shots

Episode Date: February 19, 2026

This week on The Wellness Scoop, we’re answering your questions on breakfast smoothies, savoury breakfasts, blood sugar balance and the wellness habits everyone seems to be talking about right now. We unpack whether blending foods like oats and bananas actually changes their nutritional value, take a closer look at glucose-focused eating, ACV shots and food-order hacks, and explain what the evidence really says about managing blood sugar in midlife without extremes. We also discuss celebrity-backed supplements like NMN, what we know (and don’t know) about longevity claims, and finish with a calm, evidence-based look at deodorant versus antiperspirant, aluminium fears and how to think about everyday chemical exposure without panic. Send your questions for our weekly Q&A to [e-mail]. Order your copy of Ella's new book: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Quick Wins: Healthy Cooking for Busy Lives⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Pre-order your copy of Rhi's upcoming book: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Fibre Formula⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You don't need AI agents, which may sound weird coming from Service Now, the leader in AI agents. The truth is, AI agents need you. Sure, they'll process, predict, even get work done autonomously. But they don't dream, read a room, rally a team, and they certainly don't have shower thoughts, pivotal hallway chats, or big ideas. People do. And people, when given the best AI platform, they're freed up to do the fulfilling work they want to do. To see how ServiceNow puts AI to work for people, visit ServiceNow.com. Hi and welcome to the Wellness Scoop, your twice weekly dose of health and wellness inspiration.

And as always, we are both here as your host. I'm Ella Mills. And I'm Rihanna Lambert. We have got some incredible questions coming up for you on today's show. So thank you everybody for sending them in on our lovely new email address. Ella, let's do it. Ree, before we get into our questions, what are your recommendations for us this week? Mine is one that I have to say I didn't do for the whole of January very well unless I was working and that was get outside more. I don't have dogs to get me out on walks. So sometimes, you know, I really struggle with motivation to get outside. But this weekend, there was a rare moment where it

wasn't raining for once. You know, it's rained every day so far in the UK in 2026. I know. It's grim. I saw that as well. And in that window, that pocket did rain again after I'd done my job. but all, we've got this amazing big tree, a big oak tree at the bottom of the garden. I feel so lucky and it's where our squirrels live in every year. They come out of the oak tree and I just love it. But all the leaves fall on the garden every year. And every year I have to rake them up, pick them up, put them in a wheelbarrow, take them to the side, put them in the bag for the recycling tip, whatever.

And it took me about two hours to do this task. But wow, did my mood change, Ella. Good workout. Such a good workout. I'd inadvertently been to the gym on the same day because I hadn't managed to fit it into my working week. So it was too much. needed a lie down. I did.

But it made me take note of how much better I felt and also acknowledge how hard it's been because it's rained every day and because it affects our mood, because it's been dark. And my daffodils just give me such hope, Heller. I just look at little things in the garden. I'm like, spring is only actually a few weeks away.

My daffodils, I think they're coming. Yes, thank you. Do you remember a few weeks ago? Late bloomers. Yeah, if I get nothing, then I clearly have no green fingers. Look, I don't think I'm super green fingers. at least some that epidoles are.

They look like they might join us soon. Yay. And do you see how happy that makes you? Such little things and seeing a pop of colour and knowing that that's around the corner. So it's a bit of a holistic one for me. And then my other thing is that I got to record a video and you'll see it on my reitrish socials of Dr. Amir Khan.

I'm just so obsessed with him, Ella. He, in a healthy way, as in... Is he going to feel weird listening to him to him? He might do. I'm so sorry, Amir. But he knows. Guys, it is Valentine's Day after all. Sorry, Amir.

We are Animal Valentine's because we love animals so much. He's the president of the RSPB, so the Royal Society, the Protection of Birds. He does all of this amazing work to kind of reduce the environment that animals are currently kept in, you know, cages and transport. And we just share so much in common, food, health. And I just had so much fun. So actually, speaking to like-minded people, listening to our podcast, is definitely a must for social interaction. That's my thing. How about you?

Oh, my gosh. I so agree. Do you know what I have to say last week, the rain really got me down? It doesn't happen that often. And I'm like, I'll still go for a dog walk kind of gal. But it was like a swamp. And there was a moment I was like, oh my gosh. Where do you put the way?

I know this is such a stupid question. It's a dog owner. Do you wear like a big an arach? You can't take an umbrella if it's windy. And then you've got the dog. Do you have to put them in the bath? Well, it depends. The sausage in particular, obviously.

We've got a mini long head sausage. I mean, she's so small. Oh my gosh, she's so yummy. She's such a queen as well. She rules the rose. But obviously her tummy is so close to the ground. So we've got the other two dogs are spanials and they're like, they're muddy when you get back. But they just need like a toweling off sometimes even.

It's really just their legs. It's not bad. But because you can literally hear her like clapping in the mud. It's just like It's a belly Like squelges along I mean it's absolutely gold Because dogs don't stop clean

But you can also wash her in the sink Yeah because they don't lick themselves clean like cats Do they? Because I've got a cat And I have to worry about that They you have to wash them Yeah And they get absolutely filthy

Anyway one of them loves to Rond Fox Boot as well Which is as foul as it comes Anyways It's good for your gut microbes I remember what Tim Specter said One week That if you have a dog You are sharing those lovely muddy bugs

Well, my youngest is always Snogging the dogs And my husband was like, Don't do that. It's disgusting. They eat box food. I was like, well, exactly what I said. I was like, oh, this Lisa's good for her bugs.

Anyways, have you got any other recommendations for us this week? Do you know, I did start a new book, but I think I'm going to wait until I finish it before I give it a little shout out. So mine is literally just try and get outside and listen to your own advice. So for me, it is early bedtimes. I'm going to try really, really hard to, tonight, even if I'm in bed then winding down to just get into bed earlier. I love that. Good for you. Well, I gave you my two absolutely pathetic recommendations on Monday,

Bridgeton, in case you haven't seen it. That's not pathetic. That's legendary and a global hit. Thank you, Ray. And I started watching the summer I turn pretty. I feel like I'm so late to trends, because I feel like this was so popular a while ago. And I'm just so late to the party. And I always do this. I did it with Pol Dark over Christmas. I watched. Game of Thrones like five years after I come out or something. Anyways. That's a different subject game of Thrones. Have you heard about something called Younger? That's what on my list next. My makeup artist Melissa was saying I have to watch younger on Netflix. Oh, no. Apparently it's like the summer I term pretty or like the other thing that everyone's hooked to. I think I saw my friend Tessa watch. Oh, so I'll probably watch it in three years then. Yeah, maybe five, you know.

I will tell you, shrinking is, I don't know if you've ever watched it. It's Apple TV. Did you ever watch a show called This Is Us? Is that the one with the rabbi? No, that's nobody wants this. Oh no, it's Mandy Moore that's in This Is Us. She does all the soundtracks for the triplets. Yeah, she's an amazing singer for Disney. I thought This Is Us was the best, almost the best show I've ever seen. Just for the like emotional complexity in there, it tracks basically these triplets over decades and Mandy Moore is the mom.

And it's just a really, like it's the reality of life. And it captured with such emotional intelligence and depth, the kind of trials, tribulations, ebbs and flows of what it is to be a human and the highs and the lows, the losses and the winds. And it's so beautiful. And I've never found a show as good as that in terms of the emotional intelligence and shrinking, which is on Apple TV, the third season's just coming out at the moment. It has Harrison Ford and Jason Seagull's his name. Anyway, they're therapists and it's really warm and funny. But it has again some real kind of depth, some loss, some navigation again of like difficult things in life, but it does it with this kind of amazing warmth. Anyway, it's sort of

feel good, but it has a lot of meaning in it. It's not like the summary term pretty, which obviously has so far limited meaning. It's a rom-com. It's a chickflake-flake-it. It's super fun, where shrinking has a beauty in it anyway. It's brilliant. But if Harrison Ford's in it, and to make you laugh based on Harrison Ford, just YouTube, the Alison Ford, no, Harrison Ford and Alison Hammond interview that she did on this morning of Harrison Ford and also Ryan Goslin's in it and it is hilarious. You will watch it. Alison Hammond just makes me laugh. She is just a ray of sunshine as far as I'm concerned.

And that's just something funny. If you just need to laugh. You know Harrison Ford doesn't eat me for environmental reasons. I love that. We'd love that. Right. Shall we take our questions today from our listeners? Yes.

Our question one, it comes from Florence. So thank you, Florence. She said, I absolutely love the podcast. and how clearly you explained things, I can be really rubbish at eating breakfast. For making a breakfast smoothie often means I can get something nourishing in. I usually use oats and banana as a base and add dates, peanut butter, flax seeds and similar ingredients. I've seen loads online saying that blending foods like oats or banana reduces their nutritional value. I'd love to hear your thoughts. I love this. You're not doing anything

wrong by blending it at all. Nutritionally speaking, it's fantastic. It doesn't remove the fiber or the nutrients. You're still getting the vitamins, the minerals from all those delicious as foods. They're still there. Do you know where I think this all came from? Is, do you remember, oh gosh, I was going to say five years ago, I bet it was longer than that. Innocent drinks had a bit of a kind of feels like a bit of PR battle where they had become so popular and people were drinking so many of these cartons smoothies. And there was a lot of press basically then saying smoothies are bad for you because they were looking at sugar. They were looking at sugar content of things that were. And I only just remember innocent because it was

the biggest brands. It was often in the news at this time. And it was basically kind of saying these aren't the same as eating a banana or a pineapple. And I think it created this fear that homemade smoothies where like Florence you're adding flax seeds, oats, various other bits and pizzas that it's the same whereas actually is a very different process to make them. And one is just fruit and another like Florence's actually has got healthy fats and proteins and all the rest of it. And so I think that's where this misnomer on.

smoothies came from? I think that and glucose goddessing again probably didn't help. Yeah, 100%. There's a huge difference between a shop-brawls movie and a homemade one like you just said, Ella. The reason that the fear comes in is that it's the physical structure of foods that changes. So it does hit your bloodstream at a more rapid rate than if you were to eat the fruits in isolation, which I think is what's really important to know is that you're breaking down cell walls by blending, you know, in a blender. It just means that carbs can access your like the lock and key effect in your cells very quickly they can unlock it and insulin and they can

take off and do their energy role in your bloodstream really really quickly compared to having to actually chew the food and go through that digestive thing which is why you do want to be adding your nuts and seeds and healthy fats and proteins and not have only fruit not because you've got rid of the vitamins minerals or fiber of the fruit that's still there all those benefits are still there but you do want for kind of more sustained energy it's going to be gentler if you're including those other things. 100%. To make it a balanced breakfast, you have to remember how to make a balanced smoothie. You need some protein. You need extra fibre, healthy fats and your fruit. And then you use your

base, what plant milk you're using or cow's milk or whatever it is that you are choosing to blend your smoothie with. So yes, I wouldn't worry. I think that sounds like a delicious start. But what I would say is if you're having smoothies, try not to have them every single day of the week. try sometimes to chew because actually chewing is a really important process with our digestion and by having smoothies every day you are cutting that out so maybe have them four days out of seven in the week i find them so helpful always have on busy days where actually making a breakfast where you're going to get five plus different kind of plants and get that balance in just takes maybe a little bit more time than I actually have,

whereas I find a smoothie like you, Florence, I'm not like a massive breakfast person, but I know that by 10, 11 o'clock I might be absolutely starving and I'm not going to have time to get something good. I find smoothies so helpful. And same with the kids on. It's so colourful, aren't there? You can really mix it up.

You can make it fun. Like, what colour am I going to do today? Toasty. And then I have some like peanut butter toast on the side, which is so quick and easy. But then I've got this like, because I'll buy mixed bags of frozen fruit. and then frozen cherries and all these things.

And then having this to help them get 30 plants a week. In particular, I find smoothies as well as like a bean chili type thing. My two kind of wins in terms of helping families eat 30 plants because there's no way my kids would eat things like leaks like we talked about the other day. But I'll put it in a base of a chili or whatever. And then same with the smoothie. They're getting different blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, cherries, et cetera. I love that. And do you know what?

It leads on nicely to our question from Laura. Ella. Exactly. Okay. So Laura said, I love the podcast and how it will consist in your advice is. Thanks, Laura. I've recently ditched a very expensive greens powder. We're going to talk about this greens powder next week, which will be very interesting.

Laura has also said I worked with a nutritionist and now have a simple supplement routine that fits my life at 49. Your messages around regular balanced nourishing meals have really landed for me and especially after years of restriction and fads. So my question today is about diets and lifestyle. styles that focus heavily on glucose. My parents swear by savory breakfast, moving after eating, drinking apple cider vinegar shots and similar habits. I understand some of this overlaps with whole foods and regular eating. What about the rest of this? I wrote Rhea notes saying,

Rhee, can you tell us about sweet versus savory breakfast? Because I feel like this has been, I'd say a big debate, all things are relative. But like, I do think sweet versus savory breakfast has been a bit of a debate in the last year or so. And people saying, don't ever eat a sweet breakfast again, hence we talked about it on Monday, the steamisation of oats and oat-based breakfasters. I'd just rather people just got the breakfast in that contributes to their daily nutrition and fibre intake, you know, unless you are pre-diabetic or type 2 diabetic, you don't need to be as focused on sweet versus savoury, but it's figuring out what works for you. And I agree, Ella, a lot of the glucosentric habits, you know, that follow, they are sensible nutrition tips.

You know, it does make perfect sense, doesn't it, to have a savory breakfast and then you're going to have a very stable blood sugar balance, but is it realistic? And also then are you getting your fibre day? Are you getting fruit into your diet? Because actually we know that fruit's really good for you. And there's actually so much nuance here, you know, fiber individual variability to food. So I remember attending a lecture a while ago, and I think it was Tim Specter. Again, I've mentioned him quite a lot actually in the last few episodes. He was saying that he responded very differently to his wife with grapes when measured looking at blood glucose responses. And we have to remember that we have individual variability, but also large clinical studies using these CGMs, so continuous glucose monitors, you know, they're not fully accurate. I know we've discussed that before. You know, you sometimes need to test up to 70 times it's said to get an average reading that could possibly be accurate. But the predict study that we have consistently showed that everybody has such a different post-pranagal glucose response, a post-mill response. And our gut micro-voter help shape this.

you know, what garden do we have down there at the moment in our gut of bacteria? That also impacts how we respond to different foods. So I think what's really helpful here to think about is what type of day do you have ahead, I often say to my clients. If you have the type of day where you know you've got a lot of time to eat lunch or have a snack, I wouldn't be thinking about it as much if it were a sweet breakfast. But if you know you've got to survive quite a long period of time before the next meal, I tend to go more savory. That's a lot. could be a little tip for people just and then have my fruit as my snack that morning instead of as part of my breakfast. But this is overthinking food, Ella, I think a little bit. I think for most

of us it's just getting a healthy breakfast in. And I think it's just the simple things, like, sweet or savory, just think about like how do I make this in the simplest way, just rounded as possible. So, you know, you've got in your notes here, which is so true, like you could have just some like super refined bread with a fried egg on it. Well, it's savory, but the refined bread could still not be fantastic for you necessarily if you're then going to have a sandwich on the go and all the rest of it later. Yeah, exactly. Whereas you could have a bowl of porridge and that you've topped that with your sprinkle

of different flax seeds and you're some nut butter and some raspberries. And you've got a way more rounded breakfast there. Maybe you've even put some capier in it. And so I don't think you can kind of dogmatically say one or the other. I think it's just can you make it more rounded? So with the egg and toes, could you add a bit of avocado? Or could you have some berries on the side or etc? Anyway, so I think for me I would be thinking much more about like how can I, in the simplest

way possible, make this as rounded as possible. I agree. Remember that our responses are individual, not universal to food. Now, apple cider vinegar. Look, there's mixed research on this for and against. In fact, for some people, it can make stomach acid worse depending on when you're consuming it for other people it could be beneficial for gut bugs but i think a lot of the talk about this came a lot many years ago actually and i think it was in the fasting world as well and for people to

try and reduce the appetite which i thought was a bit of a diet culture type trend because it has died down now do you remember when it was absolutely everywhere i feel like this has come and gone in like certain different ways for a while and looking at up this is just as such limited research on this like there's a tiny bit showing it could lower inflammation but that's because of gut bacteria links like it's not even the apple cider vinegar it's just support your gut health lowers inflammation so which kimchi will also do yeah and not all of them were the same because you can get different quality apple cider vinegar's and it's the mother the main part of it um which you can also use in a salad dressing like apple cider vinegar is a fantastic ingredient i think in a salad

dressing it adds a really nice tang for example so it's definitely not saying aposide vinegar is not good. Abiside vinegar is actually an excellent ingredient, both for flavour and nutritional profile. But there's very limited evidence that's saying having it by itself as a single shot is beneficial. I think it was like for weight loss. I remember a lot of people were discussing it as a weight loss tool. And there was like two teeny tiny studies that weren't very good quality that pointed towards. Suggested it might. Yeah. So when you see it, there is a teeny bit of thing. As you said, really, there are a few small studies, a tiny bit of evidence. It's pretty weak. It's pretty mixed. And I would say, look, if it really inspires you and you feel

great doing it, I wouldn't say this is a trend to have any concerns about. But it is probably worth buying a raw, unfiltered, organic one that has the mother in and all the rest of it. Because if you're going to be shot in this, which isn't phenomenal for your teeth, have the most benefit it can do. I certainly wouldn't start doing it. But if you like doing it, there are many worse trends to follow. But remember, unique response to food might not agree with everybody to start a day with a shot of apple cider vinegar. So try in a salad dressing. Exactly. At Medcan, we know that life's greatest moments are built on a foundation of good health, from the big milestones to the quiet winds. That's why our annual health assessment offers a physician-led, full-body checkup

that provides a clear picture of your health today and may uncover early signs of conditions like heart disease and cancer. The healthier you means more moments to cherish. Take control of your well-being and book an assessment today. Medcan, live well for life. Visit medcan.com slash moments to get started. You all know me. I'm about adding more in, not cutting things out, no fads, no diets, just evidence and transparency. And right now in the UK, everyone, 96% of us, that's 96% are not getting enough fiber. It's one of the lowest figures in the world. and I couldn't ignore it. So we've spent years obsessing over protein and other trends and I'm delighted to share that after a year in the making, my new book, the fibre formula is available to

pre-order. I have answered every question from gut health and energy, cancers and heart disease to aging skin longevity and even microplastics. Built on over a decade of clinical research, it gives you my fiber formula, 30 grams of fiber a day, 30 different plants a week, 30 chews and 30 minute meals, plus 60 delicious minimally processed recipes to make it doable. I've done the hard work so the protein fibre and plant points are all laid out for you. I'm a small fish in a very big murky pond of wellness books and so your pre-orders really do matter and they help my message reach more people.

If you head to the link in the show notes or any bookstore or on Amazon where you can get 15% off and a lowest price pre-order guarantee. The next question we've got is from Brianna. And do you know that's one of my favourite names? I love that name. Brianna. It's such a lovely name. It has a really nice ring to it, doesn't it? This is a great question.

Does the order you eat your food matter? I always try to eat a balanced plate, but now that I'm in my 40s, I've struggled a bit with above average blood sugar. I've seen claims from wellness influences that eating non-starched vegetables and protein first can improve blood sugar control and reduce inflammation. what are your thoughts on this?

I think before we answer this, it's probably good to be clear. What I think Brianna's referring to is this trend where you would like, I don't want to spoil the answer first. I think it's a very odd way of living your life, but you would have like, yeah, some sort of protein or some more vegetables

before you eat the rest of your meal, which it's just a kind of dogmatic way of doing things to some extent. Now, if what you mean is you put out like a crudeate platter before dinner and everyone has a snack, fantastic. But there's something weird about like going out for dinner with your friends on doing this. I feel like we're getting at a very glucose centric subject today as well. The food order in research, and we've got to remember in controlled settings, can make a small difference to how we respond

to food and our blood sugar levels, but it's not a magic bullet. And I think it's more for people that really need to be addressing this. For instance, if you are type 2 diabetic, you know, it could enhance your responses to food. But, you know, we need a lot more research here. And there's some clinical studies using mixed meals that show that having more fiber-rich vegetables and protein before you eat refined carbs, like a piece of white bread or something, can benefit us by slowing the glucose rise a bit and the absorption of food. But what I would say is that we're all lacking that anyway in our diets, more fiber.

And actually, if we ate a meal that's already a balanced plate containing more of these fibroids, rich vegetables and foods that we know we should be making the heroes of our plate, then we'd all have better blood sugar responses anyway. So we know that the research varies because they use CGMs, continuous glucose monitors. We know they're not 100% accurate. And in real life, like Ella said, it's just not attainable. And I think this is drawing on the line for some people, it might be helpful, like I said, with a condition, but on orthorexia slightly, and we've mentioned that before in previous weeks where we are really, really trying to eat in a certain way. And if it becomes very rigid or you panic about what order you're eating your food in, it's really not psychologically

healthy. So that's my response to that, Ella. I just think we need to eat more fibre, get more protein from fibre-rich foods, try and get more pulses and beans in because that really helps of presperandial glucose responses and when just not eating enough of them. Totally. We've got to remember the joy of food, you know, and sitting down for a meal together and really enjoying. it. Now, do we want balanced plates most of the time? Like, yeah, that's going to make us feel really good. And so, you know, if you're having a pasta, lovely to have some, you know, protein with it in any kind, lovely to have some salad with it on the side. Like, for sure, let's build a balanced plate when we can. Lovely. But I think it's probably more overall balance we want to be thinking out versus getting

like too overly specific because it just then the level of structure required. I think it's hard to have the same level of joy with that level of structure as opposed to thinking like what should we make for supper oh okay I'm going to make this pasta arabiazza for example well pizza and then how do you can't it's all in one meal totally but let's have a lovely salad with it you know great that's a lovely thing to do but don't stress about it but i i worry it's just a bit too stressy it's too stressy everybody do what you need to do certain conditions always ask your health care team around you as well before you embark upon anything new of your diet so we move on to a theme ella our supplement theme today which i'm always delighted to cover i'd never heard of this supplement actually before we got

this question in from row there's so many now there's so many okay so row said i love the podcast and often share your insights and recipes with friends well we love that row thank you row has a question about NMN. I've seen lots about it on social media, including celebrities talking about taking it for aging and health. Does it actually make any difference to overall health or aging? I feel like I'm losing touch with the world from my social media hiatus. It's not a bad thing, Ella. I'm going to be honest. Missing out on watching strangers live their lives is not detracting from my own. No. What is NMN? Okay, so it's nicotamide monononucon. I know. It's nicotamide mononuclear clear tide. So it's having a moment. So it's like the precursor to NAD. You know, we've discussed

before when it comes. Oh, NAD plus. Yeah, NAD plus. So the little molecule in our cells and our mitochondria like a little wheel of cogs that turns to help us create energy. So cellular repair and energy. And, you know, this again, we've got animal studies. You can't relate that to humans that suggests that by boosting your NAD plus that could improve aspects of aging. But please remember what I've discuss with Ella before, the analogy that you can't just keep adding supplements to a broken engine, sometimes when we are older, we will not have a great metabolism. And just by simply adding the end product, you can't help the cogs turn any faster. That's so interesting. Doesn't make sense, does it? It does not make sense. I love that we're experimenting with it in

science. Believe me, if this works, Ella, I think we would both be injecting ourselves with a bit of all of it, to be honest. But small at the moment. short-term human trials show that M&M can raise blood NAD plus levels. That's it. So we don't have any other research in the fact that it might be supporting our energy metabolism and on a cellular level. That's all it's saying. So I'm amazed that we're at the point where this is being sold.

I find it mind-blowing that we can actually sell a supplement with no clinical, you know, large-scale RCT clinical research. It's also worth zooming back out that the levels every day are affected by our lifestyle. You know, sleep, physical activity, diet quality, fiber, again, I'm going to go on about it. Minimally processed foods, Keller and I discuss polyphenols. All of these things have a stronger link at the moment to NAD plus outcomes than taking the precursor in synthetic form because it just cannot work the same way. You can't just add an end product to something that's a bit broken. It's such great advice. I think when we talked about NAD Plus the other day, I think what we both said is it may turn out in five years from now or so when we have a whole body of evidence that actually, and then as part of this, this NMN and NAD Plus may actually be really important for longevity. It may be really supportive. There's definitely interesting very, very early signs to show this is something worth keeping an eye on and I'm sure it's being well researched right now. But as it's definitely.

it stands, as Re said, what we have got is huge amount of evidence to show that these kind of day-to-day pillars of health strongly influence NAD plus and as a result, NMN, in terms of that's the only reason you're taking it is to improve. It's quite Hollywood, Ella, isn't it? It strikes me as like the sort of thing that you're favourite actress or actors experimenting with in Hollywood. Well, apparently, someone said that this is what Kim Kardashian has taken. Oh, really? Is it? Google tells me Kim Kardashian has recently incorporated.

MNN into her wellness routine as part of a longevity strategy to maintain a youthful appearance and boost cellular health. You know what? This is just it. Who knows? Let's watch the space. Maybe she should take part in a clinical trial herself, Courtney K, Kim K, rather. And then we can ask you if you can contribute your data for society.

And you know, good old Brian Johnson, the like extreme biohacker. He likes this too. Why can't they contribute their data to research then? so we can actually figure out if it works or not. But again, it comes back to the same thing of like, it's very appealing when you've got limited time to focus on, you know, your diet and exercising to take a supplement. Like, it is so appealing.

And I'm the first person to say that, you know, I've said recently, like I've had some health challenges again, which has been frustrating. And, you know, I know I saw on the internet at the weekend, the influencer and, you know, she was saying, oh, I've had chronic health conditions for 15. years and now I take this peptide stack that we talked about the other day. Oh, yeah.

And also an AD Plus and a microdose of GLP1s. And all of my symptoms are gone and I'm totally healed. And it was this whole thing about all the different things that are taking. Anyways, it's so tempting. Like anybody who's struggling with any facet of their health, which on a continuum, almost all of us are, be it, you know, to some of these questions, having gained a little bit of weight, maybe as we get a little bit older, maybe it's lack of sleep, maybe it's stress. Maybe our hair's thinning.

Maybe our periods are irregular. Like maybe we've got tension headaches. You know, all of us basically have got something going on. And so the temptation when someone's like, this will change your life is so high. What works for me? Works for you. That's what they sell, don't they? Everywhere.

But also like taking a pill, takes two seconds. You don't have to change anything. Whereas we said like we know lifestyle factors, sleep, physical activity, metabolic health, diet quality, having a diet rich in fiber, polyphenols, when they process foods. as you said, that all is a lot of work. We know that. Because as we said, that's not how we collectively live anymore. And so you've got to work quite hard from your desk job to make time for all of that. And I just think it's so important to acknowledge it's so, so normal to think that these kind of quick fixes are appealing. But the research just isn't there yet on them.

But you know, if it was, you can trust us. We will let you know. I mean, me and Ella, we would definitely give it a go for you if we thought it would. And do you know the interesting thing, if we compare NAD plus to Aposide Vinegar today, right, two trans that we've talked about and two hybes is that, you know, look, the downside of Aposide Vinegar is, you know, taking lots of shots of it's not brilliant for your teeth. Generally speaking, like, you know, if it has a really positive placebo effect, it inspires you to eat well, is it inherently negative? Like, no, not really. It might have some benefits to your gut health. It's, you know, it's a good ingredient. It's not particularly expensive. You know, it's going to take you a while to chug through a

whole bottle. Whilst I think these trends are sold as magic bullets, which they're not, I don't think they're like fundamentally completely toxic. Whereas I think with the NAD plus type and peptide stacks and all of this, now we're talking about putting in things that are really expensive and really unreasonated. And long term outcomes, we don't know. And they actually impact the body in a way that up side of vinegar, you know, really doesn't. And I just think it's, I do feel it's really important to kind of just differentiate the, like, little trends, you know, people want us to talk about vibration plates or lymphatic massage or cider vinegar shots. And like, the only downside of these trends, generally speaking, is a little bit of money. But they're not crazy. Whereas when we're

talking about these more like longevity elements, we're talking about things that could really injectables. Toad, they could really alter your physiology, potentially. and they should be done with medical supervision. And we're going to finish today on a foodie question because we love it and this is especially I think relevant for you, Ella, from Simone. She said I've been getting into sourdough recently and made a pumpkin loaf with cinnamon, sugar, swell. I mean, how delicious that I love.

I know. I want to make that. I want to make it too. She said my question though today, moving from sourdough swiftly, is about deodorant and antiparoporant. I've always used aluminium-free deoderm. but still notice the odor. I recently switched to an antiperspirant,

and it works much better. But I've heard that aluminium clogs pores stops you sweating out toxins and can cause cancer. So quite big things there. She said, is there any truth to this? And is it worth switching back to natural deodorant? Can you comment on the sourdough love very quickly?

Just let us know how you're doing and then go into deodorants. I've had my mother this morning. I'm just loving sourdough. I need to now progress past just like a classic loaf and get in where you are, Simone, with like, I'm quite one in half term, maybe many kids. So, yeah, cinnamon rolls and all those sorts of things. I need to get to the next level, which is interesting.

I spent hours reading up on this, Simone, because I just fell down a rabbit hole with it. First thing to say is that just in case anyone wasn't sure, I certainly wasn't always clear on this, deodorant and antiperspirant are different. So deodorant is meant to reduce odor by targeting the bacteria, that causes the smell, but it doesn't stop you sweating. Like, you can still swear, but it's just not meant to be smelly if it's working properly. Whereas antiperspirin obviously is stopping you being smelly, but it's meant to actually also stop you from sweating as well.

And to be able to do that, they typically do use aluminium salts, and those aluminium salts temporarily blocked the sweat ducks. I do remember hearing that once, but you're right, the difference. We just don't know mainstream that that's the difference. No, exactly. So deodorants would never really contain aluminium because they don't need to block the sweat ducts because they're not designed to stop you sweating. They're designed to stop you smelling. Whereas antiperspirants, yeah, they're trying to stop you sweat as well.

Now, this has been, I feel like bubbling for years. This has been a concern that there's a possible link between aluminium in antiperspirants and breast cancer in particular. The theory behind this being that the aluminium from these aluminium salts could be absorbed through the skin. and particularly after shaving your armpits. And because the armpit obviously sits very close to your breast tissues, there have been questions raised about long-term exposure to aluminium. Now, I guess unsurprisingly, given that this is a huge topic, there has been a fair amount of research into it.

And when you look at the evidence as a whole, there is no clear or convincing proof that antiperspirant use causes breast cancer. So I think that's just really important to say. Large population studies have not shown, causal link. And major cancer organizations as well state that current evidence does not support antiperspirants as breast cancer risk factor. Now, there was some early lab studies that raised some theoretical concerns. These haven't translated into real world use or real world examples in these large studies. As you always say, Re, when we're talking about like very early lab studies or

animal studies, just because that shows something, it doesn't mean that it would translate into kind of real world large population. So as it stands, there is no mainstream evidence to show that using antiperspirin is going to harm you. So in that sense, where everything sits today is don't panic about it. I've seen a lot of this seller actually. It might have also come from the fertility area because I see a lot of things online. About endocrine disruptors. Yes, exactly. And I'm wondering if there's also, you know, we don't have the research yet, but studies being carried. out on that, I wonder. Yeah, I think the other thing, which is probably not more relevant, but very equally relevant, is that these often do contain kind of lots of different ingredients

and they can, some of them can have kind of some of these endocrine, these hormone disruptors in. And that's not to kind of be overly panicky about it. But I think when we zoom out, we do live in a world where we are overexposed. We know that to different chemicals across packaging, microplastics, food, personal care. There is, concern, as you said, really, like for example, in fertility world that we have got too many of these endocrine disruptors in our system and it's having an impact. This is all pretty early stage. So I wouldn't be stressing about your antiperspirant. But I think for me, personally, when I kind of step back from it all, I'm like, look, where it makes sense to use more natural options,

some cleaning products, some, you know, beauty makeup, and I can remove some paraben's, etc. I personally choose to do that, not because I'm panicked about it, but just because I'm know that we are, we have a lot of pollution around us, a lot of plastic, you know, it's a lot. It's overwhelming. I know that Ella and I, when we first did that first ever headline last year about plastics, it can seem incredibly out of control. I think the thing is, it's out of our control, a lot of the things. But if deodin is something that's in your control and you want to make a switch, I think that's probably a positive change because at the end of the day, you're not doing any harm to yourself by making that switch and just don't. And I think it's probably

we less potentially about aluminium salts and more about things that aren't using as many parabents, etc. So, re-recommended fussy a year ago, I used them. It's a geodron, so it doesn't stop me sweating, but I genuinely think it stops you smelling. And I haven't tried so many geodrons. You just have to scrub it off in the shower, at the end of the day, because it's quite thick. You do need to try and get it off each night when you shower or morning. But otherwise, I think it's fantastic.

Yeah, I don't smell when I use it. No, same. Thank goodness. We're in the same room a lot of the time. We don't notice anything. Yeah, we can both like just stink. I think someone will tell us. Amazing.

Okay, those are all our questions for today. Guys, thank you so much. As always, keep them coming. You know where we are? Hello at Wellnesscoop.com. We love it. Honestly, it's so diverse. It's such a great mix of questions.

And a lot of the time, you might think, oh, I'm sure they've already covered that. We don't mind. We love going back to topics, looking at what's new. So do just keep them coming in. And I hope you have a lovely rest of your week. and we'll see you on Monday, everyone.

Bye, guys.