The Wellness Scoop - The 60-Second Secret to Health & Fibremaxxing

Episode Date: September 22, 2025

This week, we’re uncovering the groundbreaking science showing how just 60 seconds of vigorous movement a day could transform your health and even add years to your life. We’re also looking at the hidden dangers of gel manicures, and why boosting potassium-rich foods could cut heart failure risk by nearly a quarter. Plus, the Guardian’s biggest wellness trends of the year, from dopamine menus to creatine,  and our deep dive into fibremaxxing, the viral TikTok craze with over 160 million views that’s finally making fibre cool. Could this be the rare wellness trend that’s genuinely worth embracing? Catch Rhi discussing UPFs and The Unprocessed Plate at ⁠⁠Waterstones - London Gower Street⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Chroleywood Library Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When you're with Amex Platinum, you get access to exclusive dining experiences and an annual travel credit. So the best tapas in town might be in a new town altogether. That's the powerful backing of Amex. Terms and conditions apply. Learn more at Amex.ca. The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox is an eight-episode Hulu Original Limited series that blends gripping pacing with emotional complexity, offering a dramatized look as it revisits the wrongful conviction of Amanda Knox for the tragic murder of Meredith Kircher and the relentless media storm that followed. The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox is now streaming only on Disney Plus.

Welcome to the Wellness Scoop, your weekly dose of health and wellness inspiration. And we're here as your host. I'm Ella Mills. And I'm Rihanna Lambert. And as always, we're diving into the headlines and trends that are making waves in the world of health and wellness. And before we get into it, three and a half million downloads I checked last night. We haven't been going that long. I can't get over this. I know. Start of January. So it's unbelievable. So thank you guys. Thank you for listening. I'm really proud of that. Three and a half million.

It's a lot. But the fact that you actually want to hear what we have to say, honestly, I'm so humbled. I know. It's extraordinary. So we're just so grateful to everyone who tunes in every single week. And in that regard, we love your feedback. We love doing these two episodes a week. But we also wanted to just check in. If you guys have got any thoughts, feedback comments now that we've done a few of them,

please please tell us what you think what do you want more of what do you want less of how can we evolve it to better suit you just keep the feedback coming because this is really a community show this is all about you guys this is about you know making health and wellness more empowering more accessible more interesting exciting and if there's anything that we can do to better serve you essentially in that regard let's know I feel we're in it together I feel like that's the most comforting thing that most weekends if I get a DM from one of you or something saying I can't believe this is true definitely one for the wellness scoop you know I see all these things all the time Ella and I'm reading the Spotify reviews I read the good I read the bad you know

I read the constructive feedback all of it and I'm just so grateful so we will keep striving to do better to do better to give you the best most inspiring health and wellness inspo and in that sense re what have we got coming up today we have got one minute a vigorous activity could be all we need and add years to our lives. Then we've got, how safe is your gel manicure? So many of you are asking us about this and what you need to know about the hidden risks. Why a potassium-rich diet could cut heart failure risk

by almost a quarter. And the Guardian's big wellness trends of the year from dopamine menus to deep plain facelifts, so I'm really looking forward to discussing that, and a deep dive into fibromaxing, the viral trend that makes fibre. call. Who knew if Iver could be cool? First up, Re, how are you? We weren't together last week because the train strikes made

a bit of a nightmare. I was in the studio. Re had the journey of all journeys. So, ended up going back home. So it's so nice to be together. How are you on this sunny Monday? I'm happy. I said to guys. You say that like you've never been happy in your life. But you know, some weeks you really notice the difference, don't you, in your mood? And I was sat there on the train today, feeling calm. And I think what's made the biggest difference is implementing. I made a really conscious effort to implement being off my phone, reading a book before bed, all the things we've spoken about Ella. And I feel like it's made such a difference to my mood. How about you? I have to say I couldn't second that more. I'm like a different

person when I do things like limit phone use, read a book before bed, drink a nice cup of tea before bed, like really simple things, but those little mini acts of self-care. And when I keep them up throughout the day. I honestly, I am a different person and also just be honest, a better person and a happier person. And then laying the clothes out the night before, I even pat my keep cup this morning. I thought, I'm going to start Monday with a bang and like have a good day. But I do have a few things to share. Oh, tell us. So I have a book event on the 23rd of September at Waterstones in central London. And that's on, do you say Goa Street or Gawa? Gower. Gower. Gower Street. Do you know, when I first moved to London, I thought Marlabone was Mary Labone, because you don't know.

No, it's a weird spelling. It's a weird spelling. And I remember moving and thinking, what is this? So that's the 23rd of September. And then there's also one in Chorley Wood for those that are not in London up that way, Buckinghamshire Way in October. And the book I did read last night was from Anna Whitehouse. And I adore everything she stands for, campaigning for flexible working. And she really, you know, champions women.

But it's called Influenced. and what was so amazing Ella about reading this book was a real insight into the pros and cons of being online how women are viewed in the workplace, wow and especially as women get older so the main character in this book I think she's meant to be like 48 or something you know verging towards 50

and she had a teenager dealing with teenagers I got really into it so yeah but my week isn't exciting as yours Ella and for anyone who wants to come to your London event or your Chawleywood event can we pop the details in the show notes Yes, we can. Okay, fantastic.

Yeah, exciting week on Wednesday, our delicious yellow times, John Lewis, homeware, kitchenware collaboration launches. So that's the 17th of September. This has been like a two-year project. And so I can't believe it's going to be real and people can actually shop it. It was actually all meant to launch the 1st of October. But we've had just the most amazing reaction and like excitement from people for it. So John Lewis have managed to move the online launch earlier.

So that will be the 17th of September. And then in all John Lewis Stores, first of October. So you can shop it from Wednesday. It's going to be amazing. I can't wait. And we've got a celebratory lunch, like a press lunch that Rees coming to on Wednesday. That will be delicious as well. So I can't wait to you to get some bits.

How do you do it? Do you not just feel two years of working on something? It's almost like writing a book. But for two years, when you saw it, how did you feel? That's such a great question. Honestly, I can't wait to see it in store because it was such a long project. You'd see like one thing at a time. And so I've never seen all 60-something pieces together in the same place.

So on Wednesday at the event, that'll all be there. So that would be amazing. And then in store, obviously, at start of October. And I think it will be quite surreal, to be honest. Is it the type of thing you can buy, like, a few items from, or the whole set? Yes, exactly. You can buy just like the cute tomato candle holder for your table. You don't need to buy everything or, like, a kitchen notebook or you could buy the roasting tints.

You just get one thing. I need a new roasting tin, actually. I do need one. Oh, I think there's one in the goodie bag on Wednesday. Is there? Oh my goodness. I was going to buy one, Ella. And it's like a beautiful deep green. So yeah, that's the kind of highlight of my week. And for anyone who was listening to my puppy updates, the puppies now sleeping through the night. So I am a new woman. Oh, congratulations on the puppies and the launch. It must just feel amazing. They are the cutest puppies, by the way. I cannot wait to go and meet them. Oh, my gosh, they are so cute. We are having a lot of fun. I mean, it's complete chaos. But it's phenomenal. and we are still so happy in the country. Well, what a positive start to the week. Let's move on to the health headlines that matter.

A reminder, if anyone is new to the show, we like to pick three or four headlines that are making news, things that you would have seen in the press, wherever you get your stories from, and kind of break down what they really mean, what's clickbait and headline fodder versus reality and what you need to take into your life. And this, which isn't a good mood this morning, aren't we?

because this is such a positive one for people and it's one minute of exercise could add years to your life and that headline comes from men's health but there was picked up pretty much everywhere and it's one of those things that you like read it and you think oh is that too good to be true and often these kind of quite clickbaiting things

that's the case but this might actually be an exception and we're not saying like quit the gym forever but there's some very interesting new research coming out that's showing we can make meaningful improvements to our health through one minute exercise routines. It's just remarkable, isn't it? It was actually led the study by Professor Emmanuel Stomatikis at the University of Sydney who tracked nearly 3,300 Americans.

So large substantial study with an average age of about 51 who didn't really do structured exercise. So they wore risk trackers, you know, like what do you call it, wearable tech, to capture those daily movements. And I do think that one minute does seem achievable. But for me, it's still motivating myself. I don't know why. But even with my reformer Pilates machine, the one I've got at home, the fold one,

I have to still put it in my calendar to do it. Otherwise, I just don't do it. Yeah, no, I think we're all like have good intention to do lots of healthy habits. And then they don't actually happen because life is busy. And as a result, we get a bit overwhelmed and a bit lazy or just literally run out of time. But I think what was interesting to your point there is these were people who didn't exercise as such. say they didn't have a gym routine or go running or go to a yoga class or Pilates or whatever it is. They didn't do any of that. But they tracked their movements and what they saw was

really, really striking, which was that those who did just one minute of vigorous incidental activity. So it's completely non-deliberate, but they were doing things like quickly walking up an escalator as opposed to standing on the side and letting it take you up or chasing children around a garden, carrying heavy shopping from one place to another. All of that really added up. people had a 38% lower risk of dying over the six year period compared to those who did none of those things. And that minute didn't even need to be all at once, like even just half a dozen 10 second burst scattered throughout the day, counted and had this meaningful difference. And I think it is so interesting to think like as you go throughout your day, could you just kind of dial it up,

like walking quickly up an escalator? And there was, I always feel like I remember people saying, do little habits, like get off the bus and walk one stop. But I, actually this really speaks that that's true. Like if you got off, you know, if you get the bus to work or you get the tube to work or something like that, get off one stop earlier and power walk. And actually, that exercise is so meaningful. And it's so easy to think with health and wellness, it has to be all or nothing. Like you've got to go to Barry's boot camp like the celebs do or you've got to lift really heavy weights like you see people do online or you've got to get yourself to some glam yoga class where everyone's in matching athletic. And like, sure that all

of that's lovely but you don't have to do it to get some benefit and I just think it's really easy to cut yourself some slack like it doesn't have to be all or nothing and separate it from stress because I think I was thinking in my head then oh it's that quick power walk when you're late for a meeting but doing that in a calm way I don't know what's counterintuitive the level of cortisol rising your body because you're running late or the fact that you're walking what's doing harm and what's doing good I suppose in that moment so what we're really discussing is you know I walked up the escalator this morning up at Oxford Circus Tube, but it's scientifically called V-I-L-P-A,

which is vigorous, intermittent lifestyle, physical activity. So basically those everyday movements where you do board up the intensity. And I think just trying to power walk or making a conscious effort to, like you said, chase the kids or my friend, Tessa, I was going to save it for a trend one week, but I don't know if it's actually a viral trend, but she's jumping every day for a minute. Just like on the spot. She put an Instagram reel up, yeah, on the spot. And with some meaningful audio, you know, but said,

if you do this every day, it will change your life. You know, with the, like, really intensive music. And, yeah, apparently if you just jump on the spot every day for a minute, just like dancing in the kitchen, that's really good for you. But it is, gets your heart rate going, doesn't it? And I think this is what it's showing. And as I said, in a world where everyone's so busy, so overwhelmed, wanting to do their best, but really struggling on time,

motivation, emotional, overwhelm. It's just really, like, incentivizing to know that just, just, you know, running up the stairs is so much better and you're not not doing anything like you are adding to your health. Think of your heart health. Exactly. And interestingly, all of this research builds on some earlier work that the same research are published.

And in this study, what he showed was that in the oldest study, what he showed was that people who squeezed in three or four short bursts of vigorous activity each day. So that's only adding up to four and a half minutes. So again, we really are talking about like up an escalator one minute to get your coffee or whatever it is, we're not only 33% less likely to die of heart disease, but also 28% less likely to die of cancer or any cause at all. And those gains didn't look that different to people who were deliberately hitting the recommended 75 to 150 minutes of weekly exercise.

So just to kind of recap on that, basically people who were doing these little bursts of exercise throughout the day as they're going about their normal life, adding up to just shy of five minutes, got not dissimilar benefits from people who were doing a structured gym session and like absolutely as I said at the top not saying don't go to the gym there's so many benefits of all of this exercise but just don't be disheartened when life is busy and feel well I can't do it perfectly so I'm not going to do anything because actually that's not true so this is all about cardiovascular health I think and lower risk of yeah heart disease cancer early death that sort of thing I would still encourage if you're able to lift weights

or shopping bags, you know, something that's going to help your bones and your muscular skeleton as we age. But guys, I know people that go to the gym, that get so bored, they get stuck in a rut, and you're probably not seeing the benefits like when you first started. So I think this is a wonderful, wonderful idea for people that just want to do something small every day. The gym's expensive now as well. I think things are getting... 100%. So as a takeaway, basically, like, look at your mini moments and move with intensity. stack them up so even 10 seconds at a time and just remember that those small steps

like really really do add up so like do some dancing while your porridge cooks you know do a little bit of jogging on the spot while the kettle boys like it sounds ridiculous but totally toothbrush squats but like if you could add that up to five minutes that I genuinely believe every single one of us listening could do something for five minutes

across the whole day one minute at a time that is a meaningful difference So when it's getting darker, colder, harder to get up early in the morning, harder to motivate yourself, do not be disheartened, mini movement, everything still. I completely agree. So we move on, Ella, from wonderful exercise habits to manicures. How dangerous is your manicure? That was the headline from the Daily Mail. Gosh, honestly, what a way to scare every woman in the whole country. We had a lot of DMs about this one because I think there's a lot of fearful people. So if that's you, we've got you covered here today, don't you worry.

It was also picked up absolutely everywhere. And I guess not surprising because it's such a prevalent topic. But I was looking, trying to get some stats of like how popular are gel nails. And there were more than 50 million Instagram posts about gel nails, two million TikToks with hashtag gel nails. You know, they are so popular. And obviously just to recap, basically, that's when you have your like glossy chip-free nails that are hardened by UV or LED light

that last therefore for several weeks. So we're not talking about normal polish. We're talking about polish. Shalak. Exactly shalak. Which is also a food ingredient. I know. Yeah.

Which is what I found when I was researching the unprocessed plate book in a chocolate porridge, Quaker porridge pot, instant oats, I found shalak in it. It's kind of weird, isn't it? Very weird. Would you want to eat gel nails? There you go. There you go. So yeah, we're seeing some big questions in the beauty industry.

And from September 2025, which is obviously now, the EU, along with Norway and Switzerland, have banned a key ingredient in gel nails. Now, forgive me for the pronunciation. You can do it. It shortened as TPO. I can get that one. The long name is trimethyl benzoil. Yeah.

Diphenphyl phosphine oxide. Oxide. Do you want to go again? Diffenil phosphine. Yeah? Yeah. Can you do it from the top? Or diphenyl phosphine oxide.

I think it's diphenyl phosphine oxide. So trimethyl benzoyle benzoil, diphenyl phosphine oxide. side. It's a mouthful. Should we just do TPO? TPO, guys. TPO. Okay, so basically, salons across 29 different countries have had to take all products containing TPO off their shelves immediately, which is quite a big deal. It's huge. It's the bit of the polish that makes gels harden. So, you know, the shiny finish. It's like a photo initiator, basically, the spark that reacts with the light.

You know, that kind of ping moment that you see when people smile on a camera. on the nails, the light to set the polish. But small studies, basically, have linked it to quite huge areas. I must reiterate, this isn't animal studies here, but fertility problems. And regulators now classify it as a possible carcinogen, mutagen, and reproductive toxin. That's pretty out there claims. And scientists haven't shown direct harm in humans yet. So I just want to really exaggerate the fact, guys, this is in animal studies.

But I think it depends on which salon you go to as well and regulation. and there seems to be a huge lack of this, but the EU has definitely taken that precautionary stance because if there's any doubt, basically, it can't stay in cosmetics because, you know, if the product isn't applied or cured correctly, then the gel won't harden. And that means, you know, those uncured chemicals, like those acrylites can penetrate the skin and cause allergic reactions.

So it is definitely precautionary, and I think it's 100% for the best. And I have to be honest, Ella, I don't do gels anymore. I noticed a big difference to my nails a long time ago. And the only time I've ever done them is for a book shoot or something where I know that it's needed to last. But you could react to all kinds of these, what we call acrolates, you know, in future. So it could be an allergy. Yeah, exactly.

And so just as a understanding, so this TPO has been banned, as we said, in the EU, Switzerland and Norway. Here in the UK, there is no ban yet. So if you go in to get gels done at wherever you go, your local salon, you won't find any difference unless they've taken a really like precautionary preemptive stance as well but you wouldn't expect to see any difference but obviously because they are so popular and these polishes are so prevalent it was picked up by all the UK news as well in terms of the ban but we are looking at it my understanding is in the UK with a ban potentially expected in late

2026 so essentially a year from now apparently the government's already consulted businesses and scientists and most of them do support phasing it out here as well. But the idea is that they would therefore give salons brands enough time to switch, you know, giving them a year's grace essentially to have alternatives. There are alternatives out there, like big brands like OPI, OPI. They have things, for example, that don't contain this TPO. Other brands are reformulating. So yeah, there's lots of things and I think that's reasonable to think that there will be lots of products in the UK that are TPO free ahead of the 2026 deadline. But we obviously did an episode when was it like six months ago on fertility and endocrine disruptors and

I do think as you said this is all the early researches in animal studies not in kind of large human studies but it is concerning and certainly it's not an ingredient that I would be happy to use like as an ongoing and regular thing going forward I used to get them all the time You know, I look back and I just think we just didn't know anything. We weren't aware of what we're putting on our body. It makes perfect sense if you put something on your nails. Of course, something is going to happen internally. There's something tiny.

It might be considered safe. Like a lot of things, there's a lot of grey areas. And I'm no beauty expert, everybody. I don't know much about this. But it's also available in the US. So currently there is no restriction on this TPO in the States for everybody listening because it's allowed in all of the salons across all 50 states. So I think dermatologists have long flagged that these ingredients used to harden gels could cause, you know, allergic reactions.

Because I've got friends that have never been able to wear, you know, gel nails because they've had reactions to them. And you can fill that burning. You know, when you put your hands under the UV light, I also worry about my skin. I think should I be putting gloves or sun cream on my skin? Yeah, I totally agree. So I guess an answer to the Daily Mail's headline, how dangerous is your managule? I think as it stands, you can't say, oh, it's definitely a carcinogen. You should definitely never do it.

It's definitely not in a black or white territory yet. But it's hard to say that there's no risk at all because there are relevant early animal studies to show that there are potential fertility concerns, potential for allergies to form, potential concerns about UV exposure. and so I think it's probably prudent to not be using TPO very regularly if you can make that change. I agree. And if you are concerned about your fertility, just make a switch to regular polish instead of having a gel manicure. But let's watch this space. We'll keep you updated when we hear more. And I guess one just final note though on it is like I think we talk about this quite a lot on the show and I think it's probably relevant for so many of our listeners that it is a difficult balance between being kind of healthy and looking after yourself. minimizing UPFs and microplastics

and environmental toxins and all the rest of it and being a perfectionist where life isn't fun anymore because you're so obsessive about what's kind of going in on your body, your lifestyle and I think

I don't think there's anything in this study to show that getting a gel manicure once for your big wedding you coming up or a big holiday like I don't think there's anything to say oh my gosh stay clear never again ever touch it

I'll still do it as a one-off exactly so I think it's just again it's a flag to being mindful of something but not necessarily being obsessive. And I think that's sometimes a hard line here. Well, there's something about the timing, Ella, of how long the machines stay on. You know, sometimes when you go into salons and they hit it again and again and just keep your hand in there, surely that must be part of it as well, how long your hands are exposed to the UV and the chemical in the narvarnish. Yeah, good question. So, yeah, all of these, I think we need an etiquette on jailman. How do we go out to get a safe jailman?

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from $599 bi-weekly at 3.99% during the Volvo Fall Experience experience event. Conditions supply, visit your local Volvo retailer or go to explorevolvo.com. Okay, so for headline three, we're diving back into the world of nutrition and again, lots of positive take homes here. So the headline ran a potassium rich diet could cut heart failure risk by 24%, which is actually, again, as I said, quite an easy win. But before we get into the headline and what it means and what the research said, can you just give us a 101 and like, what is potassium, why does it matter, where do we find it? Yeah, because I think most people just think

bananas right you know yes tennis player eating bananas by the side of the pitch electrolytes they might be thinking you know lots of things spring to mind but it's a mineral and it's essential and it plays a role of our blood pressure as well it helps of all our body functions from our nerves our muscles which is why it's so important for tennis players to get an item and in fact there are other items that contain more potassium than bananas but I think most people need to understand that it helps move nutrients into the body's cells. And these are minerals. Remember, you've got vitamins, you've got minerals, you've got with different micronutrients. But most people do get enough. Please don't panic. Most people are

consuming it nearly every single day. And worth just noting, when you say it's essential by that, what you mean is that you must eat it to get it. Your body's not going to make the potassium that we need. So if it's not in your diet, then you are missing a very important mineral that helps take minerals. Absolutely. It also plays a role with fluid balance, you know, so you can get dehydrated really easily but remember most people eating a healthy diet you know like leafy greens we've mentioned bananas but sweet potatoes have them as well oranges even content i think people underestimate oranges lots of calcium and an orange and lots of potassium even you know lentils and beans can contain some it's just a healthy avocado spinach it's not a hard one to get to you said but i think

it's really i always think as i said i know people are overwhelmed and they're busy and i always think These are just nice little reminders that, again, like taking the time to make just a really simple tray bake tonight or whatever it is. It's so worth it because all of these different vitamins, minerals, obviously here we're talking about potassium. They're really important and they really matter. So it's worth taking the time. Okay, so this study basically showed that eating foods rich in potassium, so as we were just saying like avocados, bananas, spinach, oranges, etc. They can reduce your risk of heart conditions, hospitalisation and death by 24%. according to this study.

Yeah, absolutely. So it was a large-ish study, I would say, called the podcast trial. And it was presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Madrid, looked at 1,200 Danish patients with heart failure. So they basically already had problems. They had implantable defibrillators. So they were at high risk of dangerous arrhythmias.

Half of them were guided to boost potassium through foods that we're discussing here. you know, beech root, cabbage, baked potatoes, a healthy diet. Well, also, and this is a key here, Ella, that I think isn't highlighted in the headline, cutting back on high salt processed meats. Again, it comes up every week, high and saturated fat, high and salt. We know that predisposes people to heart disease, and the results they have were so striking that those who raised their blood potassium into a mid to high normal range.

And remember, lowering the salt had around the 24% lower risk that we discussed earlier of hospitalisation arrhythmas or dying compared to those that didn't change the diet at all. Yeah, and it's, again, as we said at the top, like it's quite an easy win because these are also like very normal mainstream foods, like adding some spinach to whatever you're cooking tonight using baked potatoes.

Beach root as well. Apalcardo toast. Yeah, do it. We can be a millennial cliche and get the potassium you need. And Professor Henning Bundengarde, who led the study, had a nice quote here, which was,

the human body evolved on a potassium-rich, sodium-poor diet, and obviously sodium-poor is what you're talking about in terms of cutting back on the high-salt-processed meats, because obviously they're very high in sodium-in-salt. When we were born and raised on the savannah, eating fruit and vegetables, now with modern processed diets, the more processed the food, the more sodium we see, and the less potassium, meaning the ratio has shifted from about 10-to-1

in terms of potassium to sodium to 1-2 in favour, so 1-Patium-2 sodium, a dramatic change. And I think that is so interesting. Like we're always here banging on about how we shouldn't eat too many UPFs and how we need to make our tray bake tonight and all the rest of it. But it is quite stark to look at that shift in ratio. And it's just one of many, many, many markers as to why the modern diet where we're shifting towards more food coming from ultra-process versus less,

as in the majority of our calories, why it's a problem. and this is just one of many, many examples. It also worries me, and I know I discuss this a lot, and I promise I've got something coming that I can't tell you yet that's going to help with this. But the more we get obsessed with high protein, lots of people are inadvertently consuming more processed meats or upping their animal produce intake,

which a lot of the time has a lot of salt, has a lot of saturated fat and things that aren't good for us. And we're just not focusing on the fibre and the plants that give us that potassium, essentially. And we're living in a modern world where our diets are just falling short because we're looking for gimmicks, we're looking for creatine powders

or collagen powders or high protein and we're just forgetting that we just need to cook more and here in the UK, the latest national diet nutrition survey showed that a third of teenagers and a quarter of adults are at risk of a potassium deficiency and that is purely like you said Ella because we are moving to the ultra-process food diet

where we've just moved away from including basic whole foods. Exactly. The European food safety authority is even highlighted potassium deficiency as a major diet concern across Europe. It kind of reminds me of when people used to get scurvy. Yeah, I know. In that sense. And I think what's important here to know as well,

like not to be depressing about it, but potassium's one of the easiest minerals, I think, to get in terms of your diet, to your point, like it's in so many very easily accessible, easy to cook, very familiar foods, like an avocado, like a banana, like a baked potato. Beans, lentils. It's not in these, like, needs.

superfoods or foods that we're like not 100% sure what to do with it's not like an iodine which is not widely available like potassium is such an easy mineral to consume but because 56 to 80% of our calories is coming from ultra-processed foods we're just missing these basics and I think that's the thing is that yes there are ingredients in ultra-processed foods like as per the listeners question last week on stabilizers and emulsifiers and things that aren't very good for us for sure but I think the bigger concern is that by eating those foods as the majority of calories for people is what you're not eating that's causing the bigger problem here and what you're not eating are your basic vitamins and minerals because you're just fundamentally not

having enough whole foods and I think that's the number one reason to try and minimize ultra-process foods and maximize whole foods. Yeah it goes back to my favorite nutrition saying which I think we've had for forever in the nutrition and diet to its community which is it's what you can add into your diet, not about what you're taking out. Just add in more fruit, veg, whole foods. You could even buy your packeted UPF item and on the side have a satsuma. That is a small health change that will make a difference. You know, we're not saying you have to go completely UPF free every single day. It's just not possible. And that's what I discussed in the book. I just feel like there's no practical guide. It was really frustrating when writing it because I was

thinking, everyone's talking about it. And there's no one telling you how to stock your cupboards or how to combine the approach. We have to be really kind. It's hard, isn't it? For sure. And also, like, when you're really busy, you know, maybe you're cooking for your family tonight. You've had a super long Monday at work.

But what you could do is even if what you're going to do for supper, it's just like simple pasta and a jar of tomato sauce because it's all you got head to face for. And I so get there. Just empty out as in drain. Sorry, not empty out. Drain a tin of lentils as well. And stir at the tin of lentils in with the tomato sauce. bought sauce. Exactly. Or some frozen peas. Like it doesn't have to be wildly complicated in that sense.

And just it adds the fiber. It adds protein. It adds more vitamins, more minerals. And then, you know, it could be like putting some peanut butter on banana slices for pudding. And suddenly you've added like so much more nutrition to the meal. But you haven't had to do any extra cooking. You haven't had to kind of buy lots of expensive complicated things. And actually it makes such a difference. So I think as well it's like, Where are your easy wins and always coming back to that because life is busy. But actually those tiny hacks make such a big difference. Well, that's where your new book's going to help. Yes, it's called Quick wins. Quick wins. But I always think about that, like when I'm cooking at home, is like what are those little things that I can do when I'm tired, when I'm short in time?

You know, I like make pancakes a lot for the kids, but I'll add nut butter into the pancakes or some seeds, etc. And it's really simple. Instead of just doing all flour, I'll do two thirds flour and a third oats into the batter. Again, it's not a huge thing. It's not a big upheaval. But it's just those little bits of nutrition. And if you can keep doing that in most meals, the difference that you'll make over the course of week is so huge.

And it's so easy, as we said at the top when we're talking about one minute exercise to think it's all or nothing. Every meal has to be perfect. I've got to get my five a day. It's just not realistic. But what I believe is realistic is like what's the one. improvement I can make. And it might be frozen peas. It might be a tin of lentils. Talking of frozen peas, I'm doing a post on frozen peas tomorrow. Are you? Yeah. Well, when this has come out, it'll be a week ago. But I love them. I love them. How to use frozen peas, more

inspo. Yeah. And the fact that they contain around five grams of protein. People don't realize that inside the fibre. Yeah, me too. And such a good way for kids to get protein fiber. But also, I need to chuck in here because I'm really worried people are going to go and now buy a load of electrolytes. Guys, you should not be supplementing. Oh, because they're low in Exactly. No. And actually, there's been a lot of hospitalisations from use of electrolytes. You know, that was the trend we discussed. And hospitalisation rates have gone up. We had a talk about it with the Association for Nutrition. Sorry, just to go from the top here. So we've got, so there's obviously this huge electrolyte trend at the moment. So you're, normal people, normal job, not like excessive exertion are going out buying electrolytes because we've seen these trends online. And then what's happening? Why are they ending up in hospital? This is exactly it because then their water retention fluid balance is off. And this impacts your kidneys and then impacts your heart health, your blood pressure.

And I don't think people realise by excessively taking electrolytes. Even more worrying, I saw a post on TikTok about being pregnant and people taking electrolytes. And I was like, do not do this. It's really, really worrying. And when you look at these minerals and supplementation, it's really risky because they play such a key role with our nervous system and intricacies of the body in that way. So it can be dangerous, causing heart rhythm problems, and in severe cases, cardiac arrest.

I mean, I don't want a fear monger equally, but I want to say to people, if you think you're worried about potassium, please eat it. You don't need to take electrolyte unless you're sweating tons and tons every single week and doing vigorous exercise. Do you know what? Here, I love a fearmonger. I'll tell you why.

Because I think it's really helpful to draw a line between like, yeah, it's a trend. know, like oats and pick, we talked about where you, you know, blend up oats and with lime juice and, you know, to try and keep you full and it's gross. And, like, wouldn't recommend because it's foul. It was so bad, guys. It was so gross. Ella made it for me. If you go back to episode one, oh, it was, I couldn't drink it. It was so hard, wasn't it? But as in, there's lots of things out there and that ultimately, like, there's nothing dangerous about doing it. Like, I don't think it's necessarily a great use of your money or your time, all the rest of it.

But then I think it is worth calling out actually this is not for every single person, of course, not everyone's going to end up in hospital, but actually there are trends out there that really aren't a good idea because they can actually cause damage. And electrolytes is one of them. And I think it's actually really helpful for you to point that out because, as I said, there's loads of trends we talk about that, like, we're necessarily recommend it. But the reality is that they're not that harmful. It's because they're not regulated. So you can buy a whole pack of them rather than a small dose in one packet. which is unlikely to cause severe harm, but it builds up. And I think some people are thinking, oh, I'll take one twice a day if it's that beneficial.

Oh, I didn't sleep while last night. I've seen all these trends. I'll take electrolytes in the morning or make me feel more hydrated. I think biohacking is one of my key concerns as well at the moment. There's a lot of that. And biohacking means figuring it out yourself, taking all these different supplements, trying all these different trends, which is okay to a degree, but it's when you cross the line. Yeah, and that's hard to know.

So, yeah, I think, as I said, genuinely, I'm not being like, let's be it bonga, but I think it's worth sometimes noting when actually, like, something really isn't recommended. Okay, so moving on to our trends where we like to pick what everyone is talking about and debunk that for you. And we've got fiber maxing today, which I'm really excited to talk about. And Reid's been talking a lot about fiber at the moment, and it's obviously something that's very exciting to both of us, but not normally that cool. but I saw this piece on The Guardian and they published it this summer and they basically pulled together a list of the biggest wellness trends for 2025 and I think obviously for both of us it's just always interesting to see what's kind of bubbling up in culture and health and wellness and these were

their picks and obviously it includes fibromaxing which will come on to number one dopamine menus so creating a personal menu of mood boosting activities from small quick winds like calling a friend to pick up main courses like a long walk in the park or even a rage room session so when you let out all your rage but that's all about kind of little things you can do to try and boost your happiness essentially a rage room session is that like screaming into a pillow or something it must be we'll have to do a full trend section on dopamine menus but I actually like dopamine menus I see those quite a lot on social and it is like what have you got time to do that will boost your dopamine to kind of boost your happiness essentially and I think that's a really nice idea the Mel Robbins let them

theory, which was obviously all about emotional detachment and lowering stress by simply letting people do what they're going to do rather than trying to control everything. We picked up on that a little while ago, I think, but again, the space for a bit more of a deep dive there. But I do sometimes find myself saying it where I'm like, just let them, let them be annoyed about that, let them go off on it. Like, don't get involved. And it is good for your mindset.

Okay, the other four, creatine, as we know, we've talked about this a lot, no longer just for gym bros, gaining traction for muscle preservation. Sorry, Ella. About creatine. Yeah, it was a pilot study. We don't have the evidence yet. Yeah. It's everywhere.

And people are starting to supplement it in higher doses than they should be. It's a very interesting one. And it's hard not to get tempted by these things as well. Okay, deep plain facelifts. That's what Chris Jenner did this summer when she suddenly looked like 20 years younger. I mean, she does look amazing, which is a more intensive and longer lasting procedure. And that's big, I think, on the kind of Chris Jenner Van Wank. That's getting a lot of attention.

I don't think we'll deep dive that one. But, okay. After watching Olivia Atwood's cosmetic surgery. Oh, the price of perfection. Yes. I tuned into one of, because I've been on her podcast before discussing gut health. And I thought, oh, I'll watch Liv's program. I just saw them peel back the face.

And I was like, I can't do it. I couldn't watch it. I had to turn it off. Yeah. Okay. Facilium husks, which we talked about the other day, dubbed nature's a Zempic, kind of supplementing soluble fiber. And then last for not least, their big trend for 2025 was fibromaxing.

And that is what we will deep dive today. But I think we've got to take dopamine menu, certainly for another week. And if there's anything else on that list, you guys want us to pick up in more detail, let us know. But, Rie, what is fibromaxing? I love this. And also, dopamine was Ella's inspo for this podcast. So when she did call me, the first thing she said was,

I really want to go into dopamine. So you did predict that. Yeah, it was just this sense, wasn't it, of like, everyone's talking about. But when you're seeing things on social, you realize everyone's talking about it, but you don't really necessarily understand what it is in depth, and is this useful for me? And I think that's exactly it. That's what I was thinking in terms of, yeah, dopamine. It's like, how can we break it down for people to be like, what's useful and what's not useful?

Which is reducing the screens, which is why I was so happy this morning, because I've got a bit more dopamine for me anyway. Yes, so fiber maxing everybody. So as the Guardian put it, as protein mania reaches a fever pitch, which I couldn't agree with more. Consumers are already looking forward to the next nutrition trend. And according to someone's social media, the future is all about fibromaxing, which is a trendy term for eating a lot of fibre.

And as one wellness influencer put it, fiber is super cool. I don't know who that was. Indeed, one study found a fibre-rich diet can improve heart health, yep, and reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, colorectal cancer, and you could give Facilium Husk a trial, just eat an apple. And I have to say, I'm so happy about this. and it's catching onks over 160 million views on TikTok, Ella, insane, fibromaxing. I hope it's becoming cool.

I'm doing a lot of research. I'll be able to share end of October what it is on this subject, and I can't wait. I think it's going to be really helpful for you all, but it might sound funny, but given that only 7% of UK adults do hit the target, Ella, I'm actually delighted that what we've been banging on about as nutrition professionals for decades and decades is getting traction. Yeah, as you said, we're kind of chronically deficient in fibre, and so it is quite exciting to make it cool. So we'll talk a little bit more about the trend in a sec, but really just, I think first of all, I know this is like your heartland.

Tell us why fibre matters. Give us that 101. So it's beneficial for our digestive health. I think we always say in clinic that everything starts with your digestion, how you absorb nutrients looking after it, the gut brain axis, you know, the interaction between your digestive area, the new things. learning about how our gut bugs train our immune system, all of that is crucial. And fiber is what feeds the good bacteria in our guts. And that comes from our diets, the different types. So when the bacteria in our gut foments fiber into short chain fatty acids, you get all those magical things happening which reduce inflammation, support immunity. So digestive health is number one. Number two is our heart. There's so much research. You know how high rates of heart disease are? It's the biggest killer in the UK for women. I don't think people realize that when we talk about

it a lot and soluble fiber like oats containing beta glucon is so so crucial even beans and apples have this property and lowering our bad cholesterol our low density lipoproteins you'll see it written down as LDL so you've got digestive health we've got heart health and then we've got blood sugar and energy so because it helps slow down the release of our food into our bloodstream we get steady at energy levels and we don't get that blood sugar roller coaster. I'm not going glucose goddess crazy with glucose spikes, as you know.

I don't think you will need to worry about that. But having more fibre can be really beneficial for helping our digestive system do what it needs to do. In a colloquial terms, it stops you from being so hungry. You know, when you suddenly are just like, oh my God, I'm starving, I'm so grumpy, I'm so miserable, because you just like get hungry a bit slower. It's so true. It's really, really true. You feel more steady.

and you feel satisfied satiety is like the other thing. You feel satiated because the meal's rich in fibre make you feel full. Now that's saying fuller for longer you can't put on packets anymore. I think M&S did a whole thing for ages years ago on Fuller for Longgo. You can't make that claim. But it does support your appetite regulation like Ella said, help you be less hungry. And those high fibre diets are constantly linked to, you know, risks of chronic diseases and life expectancy.

So with most of us getting around 17, 18,000, a day. We need to get 30 grams a day. I can't wait to share what I'm working on. And Ella, tell us more about the trend. Exactly. There's this huge gulf between what we're getting and what we need. And therefore, fiber maxing, taking over on TikTok is just absolutely fab. So basically, when you scroll through hashtag fiber maxing, it's literally as simple as telling you to eat more fiber. So you'll see like oat porridge, top with chia seeds and flax seeds. So it's again, it's like we were talking about a minute ago actually when we talk about potassium. It's like, what are those little extra ways to maximise fibre.

So I've already got an oat porridge. That's rich in fibre, but I'll add cheer seeds and flax seeds to take it to the next level. Or you're doing a pasta, but you switch your pasta for a lentil pasta and you toss in some beans. So again, you're like massively upping the fibre of the meal. Or you've got, again, you're like classic colourful bowls with those of veg, but then you're adding extra seeds to them, for example. So it's essentially like how can I maximize and just take to the next level the fibre content of my meal, which is a really nice way of thinking about it. It's not dissimilar to what we were

just saying about when we were talking about potassium and how do you just up your whole foods. I think it is like look at what you're eating and just think, what are the one or two things that I could easily quickly, quite seamlessly do to make this more fibre rich. And that's a nice example, like pasta adding beans, but using sometimes like a lentil pasta, for example, such a great idea. And in Quick Wins, your book, is that a focus as well, just trying to get in as much as you town really quickly. Yeah, exactly. You're like refrigerates and things like that. But I do think as I said, it's like

everyone's busy, you've got a lot going on. Instead of thinking you've got to kind of like reinvent the wheel and come up with a whole new way of cooking, take your staples and see how you can just make them better in like a simple, accessible way. And yeah, that example still sounds. Like if you're just going to use a jar of sauce and pasta

add a tin of lentils or like a handful of spinach stirred in as well and like your fibre maxing. So it's a very easy trend to get on board with actually and you see some creators even sharing like fiber in a day so instead of like what I eat in a day it's like how much fiber can I get in a day and they're getting like 50 or 60 grams of fiber in a day and as we said it's like there are some wellness fads out there that are completely do lally I think but this one is great it's like celebrating abundance and plant diversity rather than restriction and it's like very colorful and as they said I think it's quite easy to get

involved in you know like pimped you up your porridge with some cheer seeds, extra nut butter, some and berries like it's quite easy great an apple into it like all these ways to get more fiber now the only pitfall to watch out for and obviously we do get quite a lot of questions about this as well from you guys is bloating and tummy problems when you're suddenly fiber maxing so re can you talk us through that yeah the fiber in a day thing's really interesting I'm wondering if I should do a post on not exactly that because I still think it verges on what I eat in a day but I think showing how much fiber you can get in today is helpful but some of these creators are showing off that they've got 50 or 60 grams a day.

Now, back in the 1920s, 30s, we were consuming, believe it or not, 40 or 50 grams a day of fiber. And today, obviously with the rising UPFs, like we discussed earlier, we are really deficient in it. So if you jump straight away from having 15 grams a day to 50 grams a day, your digestive system is going, hang on a minute, I'm not used to this. Remember your digestive tracts a muscle, you know, it's constantly contracting to move things along. you will get cramps. You'll probably experience bloating with all the extra gas and the bacteria going crazy trying to figure out what to do with all this sudden beautiful food that they're getting. And if you're not hydrating enough, because fibre needs a lot more water to help process and digest in the body, if you're not hydrating, you will be in a bit

of discomfort. So I would start small and my big caveat is don't turn to supplements first. Everyone's talking about psilium husk. I think that's quite risky. I would much rather you try and build up the diet first. And you don't get the diversity benefits if you're relying on a supplement because you don't get that same. Obviously, the fibre in on itself is so good for lots of reasons and satiety and things like that. But for your full benefit, you do need your diversity.

So you're getting all sorts of different beneficial bacteria activity going on. And it's not going to, they can't just, your gut bugs can't just feed off for salium husks. And can I predict a trend? Yeah. I think people are going to start monetising Facilium husk massively. I totally agree. I think we're going to see it added to loads and loads of food products.

And I think that's frustrating. Like for me, that's frustrating because we're going to move away from the core value of again eating more whole foods and getting fibre in and nutrition and people are going to start buying Facilium Husk by the bulk. Yeah, and I think it's one of those shortcuts that's not really... Doesn't do the full thing.

Yeah, and I guess the thing I like about fibre maxing is I think it's a really simple. way of thinking like how can I just maximize this meal with nutrition and as I said it's like take your basic porridge and stir through a tablespoon of nut butter and grate an apple in through it and then pop some frozen berries on the top or something like that and you're adding a really meaningful amount of fibre but also you've got three different plants going in there which is obviously so good for your gut health as well you're getting different vitamins you're getting different minerals and actually it's going to add all of like an extra 30 seconds to the prep to make that

meal and lots of us have a bag of frozen berries or an apple on the countertop. And if you have cheer seeds at home, what a win with the omega three, the protein and the fibre. But remember if you have IBS or you have a chronic bowel condition, IBD, IBS, be really wary with these types of trends. So yes, we're talking on a public health level that we're deficient, but this doesn't mean that individually everybody has to follow the same rule of 30 grams of fibre a day. And I think that's such an important thing to mention as well that some of these trends you can feel quite pressurized or worried. You know, if you are someone living with a stoma, for instance, you know, you're thinking, oh my goodness, this is the trend.

How do I do this? This isn't a level for everybody is what I'm trying to say. Am I making any sense? Yeah, no, absolutely. But I think for most of us, we do need to do it. For most of us, I would say jump on the trend of fibromaxing. But to reason, like, just do it slowly, build up over time. don't go from 15 grams to 50 grams a day

you will probably not feel brilliant for it mix up your different fibres and your different ingredients so you're getting that plant diversity or easily then getting your 30 plants a week drink plenty of water and focus on whole foods first and foremost and just remember like it honestly is so easy

whole grain bread instead of white bread adding chickpeas into your favourite curry stirring oats into your smoothie like blending that in snacking on nuts and fruits like sprinkling cheer seeds as you said on porridge like focus on those quick easy wins before you buy the supplement try and do that because i just know they're going to be everywhere let's let's watch let's how long should we give it january after christmas yeah it takes time to develop new products but i agree yeah within

the next six to 12 months i i definitely agree with that but yeah so i think fiber maxing that's a 10 out of 10 trend from me agree me too love it that does conclude our episode today ella i've really enjoyed it me too if anyone does try that like mentality of maxing the nutrition in each meal, as we were talking about. I would love to hear how you get on. What are you adding? Yeah, just really like consciously thinking, what's the one beneficial ingredient I can just add to this meal to take it to the next level?

I would love to hear if you feel like that's helpful over the course of the week. So do let us know. Otherwise, have a great day. We will be back in your ears on Thursday, taking your questions. We've got some great questions coming up on Thursday's episode, haven't we? We have. We've got so many for you. We've got fasting.

Fasting was a good one. to soul seed cycling so yeah loads to come so tune in again on Thursday have a great day can't wait bye