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How useful is body mass index (BMI)?

Carrying too much weight is linked to poorer health. But just how much weight is too much? Body fat can be measured in several different ways, with each method having its own pros and cons. Body mass index or BMI is by far the most common one as it only relies on knowing your height and weight. But with that simplicity comes flaws as those easy results can sometimes be misleading, which is why the widespread use of BMI is troubling. In this podcast, I’ll look at the different ways that body fat assessment can be made and explain why you should take any BMI label it may give you with a grain of salt.

Links referred to in the podcast

BMI calculator

Diagnostic performance of BMI to detect obesity

Is cinnamon a super spice for blood sugar control?

Cinnamon is a spice that has been used around the world for thousands of years. It is far more than a food accompaniment. It’s the use of cinnamon as a medicinal agent that has scientists interested because of unique compounds found in cinnamon that appear to offer some unique health benefits. In this podcast, I’ll look at those health benefits with the spotlight firmly placed on how cinnamon may help people with diabetes keep their blood sugar levels under better control.

Links referred to in the podcast

Meta-analysis of cinnamon and blood glucose control (2012)

Meta-analysis of cinnamon use in type 2 diabetes (2013)

Meta-analysis of cinnamon use in type 2 diabetes (2019)

Meta-analysis of cinnamon and weight loss trials

Chocolate and its many health benefits

Chocolate. It’s sweet, it’s tasty, we desire it and crave it. It is a food that brings immense pleasure and enjoyment. And in case you were looking for any more valid reasons to eat it, scientific research now confirms that it can be good for you. In this podcast, you’ll learn about the heart, exercise and brain health benefits of chocolate.

Links referred to in the podcast

Meta-analysis of chocolate and cardiovascular disease

Dark chocolate and exercise performance

Dark chocolate and mental health

Cocoa and cognitive performance

Detox diets: their pros and cons

Detox or liver cleansing diets have been around for many years. With astonishing claims of rapid and easy weight loss, improved health, and more energy, they offer the ultimate quick fix to get you healthy again. In this podcast, I’ll give you the essential guide to detox diets, look at the claims made versus the reality and outline my list of pros and cons for anyone considering going on a cleanse.

Links referred to in the podcast

Review of the evidence for detox diets

Choice review of detox diets

The perils of highly processed foods

”Just cut out processed foods if you want to be healthy”. It’s an easy throw-away line loved by nutrition wellness influencers on social media, but such advice shows naivety for what happens to food in its journey to our plate. Almost everything you eat to some extent has been processed, and not all processed foods are bad for the body. Now nutrition researchers are better defining the world of processed foods and here, it is the new term of ‘ultra-processed foods’ that you will be seeing used more in the future. In this podcast, I look at what defines an ultra-processed food and explain how they are now recognised for the unhealthy addition they make to your diet.

Links referred to in the podcast

NOVA classification system

Ultra-processed foods and obesity

Ultra-processed foods, health and mortality

Clinical trial of ultra-processed foods and weight gain

This is your brain on blueberries

What’s blue, round, sweet, grows on a bush and can boost your brainpower? If you answered blueberries, you would be right. Or that should be: ‘mostly right’. The ‘brain-boosting’ part needs a bit more science to catch up to the headlines, but it is looking promising that blueberries may be one food worthy of the ‘superfood’ title. In this podcast, I’ll look at the science behind how blueberries can help keep your brain healthy and functioning well throughout life.

Links referred to in the podcast

Clinical trial of blueberries and brain function \

Berries and cardiovascular disease risk factors: meta-analysis

Frozen versus fresh blueberries

Fish oil and rheumatoid arthritis

Treating IBS with diet and supplements: what does the evidence say?

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is one of the most common gastrointestinal complaints. Characterised by abdominal pain and bloating and alternating periods of diarrhoea and constipation, this chronic condition can go on to cause anxiety, depression and severely affect the quality of life of a person suffering from it. With no one single identified trigger or treatment, IBS can be a minefield for a person to try and get on top of. Diet changes are one area that can have a positive impact on IBS and in this podcast, I look at the evidence for different approaches from supplements such as peppermint oil right through to the very promising research on low-FODMAP diets.

Links referred to in the podcast

Review on diet and supplements for IBS

Meta-analysis of low-FODMAP diet and IBS

Low-FODMAP diet versus traditional advice for IBS

Mindfulness and IBS

How to keep up with nutrition research

Want to keep up with the latest developments in nutrition research? Nothing beats curating your own information-gathering network from a variety of credible sources. But where to start? If you want to keep up with breaking nutrition research like a boss, then this podcast is for you. I’ll let you know the key journals to subscribe to, the best search databases to use, and profile some of the best secondary sources that do a lot of the curating for you.

Links referred to in the podcast

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Annual Review of Nutrition

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Journal of Nutrition

Nutrition Reviews

Obesity Reviews

PubCrawler

Science Daily

Medscape

Examine

Effect of diet and exercise on the risk of caesarean-section

How to decipher a research paper

Nutrition is based on science. And while the science may not always agree and even change over time, just like all scientific fields of research, without credible research to inform your views you are really just flying blind in the wind at the mercy of feelpinions and what your social media news feed shows you. The base of all scientific research is the communication of it through research papers published in peer-reviewed journals. In this podcast, I’ll show you how to delve beyond the title of a research paper and instead apply a critical filter to all parts of the research study. Developing this skill will allow you to form your own view of how much influence to give to a research study, rather than be led astray from those seeking to influence you.

Links referred to in the podcast

Research study design online tutorial

Examine.com guide on how to read a scientific study

Got zinc? Foods, functions and deficiencies

Zinc is an essential mineral which is needed for the proper growth and maintenance of our body. It is a key factor in helping hundreds of enzymes work and is needed for immune function, wound healing, blood clotting, thyroid function and much more. While rare, zinc deficiency in a country like Australia can occur and there are certain groups particularly at risk. In this podcast, I’ll outline the key roles of zinc, what the consequences of deficiency are and give you suggestions on the best food sources and supplemental forms of zinc.

Links referred to in the podcast

Zinc and the common cold

Breastfeeding and the infant microbiome

Tracking diet trends with Google Trends

Diets are like clothing fashion trends: they come into and out of style. And if you wait long enough: back into style again. One of my favourite pop culture research tools is Google trends. Google trends keeps a global finger on the pulse of what’s hot and what’s not in the world of nutrition and diets. And tracks this over time based on the popularity of search terms. Now a research team has mined this wealth of data to produce a snapshot of the ever-changing diet trends with some surprising results.

Links referred to in the podcast

Popularity of diets using Google Trends data

Popular diets compared Diet and association with cancer mortality and cancer recurrence

My top nutrition myths

Can a slow metabolism be blamed for most people’s weight gain? Is celery a negative calorie food? Does microwaving food destroy nutrients? The answer to all of the questions I just posed is ‘no’. Welcome to the world of nutrition myths. Nutrition is a field where someone can be seen by the public as an ‘expert’ simply because of the way they eat and the benefits it has had for them. So, is it any wonder that nutrition is also an area that is ripe for the propagation of all manner of myths and falsehoods? Some of these myths are born from a base of science, but as science advances, these myths should be called out for what they are. In this podcast, I’ll go over some of the more popular myths I’ve come across and explain where the truth really lies.

Links referred to in the podcast

Review on exercise and food intake

Perceived healthiness of a food and amount eaten

How what you eat affects your mental health

You are what you eat, but when it comes to your mental health, what you eat can have a profound impact on your mood and how you feel. Welcome to the rapidly moving world of nutritional psychiatry which is uncovering the key links between diet and mental health. And it could just be that it is our gut microbes, through acting as psychobiotics, that are the stars of the show here, so long as they are kept fed well.

Links referred to in the podcast

Fruits and vegetables consumption and life satisfaction

Nutrition intervention in depression: the SMILES study

Nutrition intervention in young people with depression

Meta-analysis of diet in depression and anxiety

Meta-analysis of fish oil and depression

Meta-analysis of fish oil and anxiety

Meta-analysis of vitamin D in depression

Why antioxidants in food are overrated

Antioxidants. They’re a food marketer’s dream. With promises of helping to keep your waistline slim, your heart healthy, and your brain sharp, is there anything these wonder molecules can’t do? Blueberries, dark chocolate, green tea and whatever happens to be trendy in the juice bar scene makes for a great reason to eat something delicious that can also be good for your health. But the time of antioxidants has come and gone. Nutrition science has moved on and now promotes the benefits that thousands of other natural chemicals found in foods can have – most with nothing to do with their antioxidant activity. In my latest podcast, I outline the role antioxidants play in the body and explain why food is much more than antioxidants when it comes to health.

Links referred to in the podcast

Antioxidants in the prevention of cancer: meta-analysis

Shift work and the risk of obesity

Magnesium: foods, functions and supplemental forms

Magnesium. It is a key mineral in our body and needed for more than 300 different chemical reactions. It is also essential for muscle contractions and nerve transmission while also keeping your heart beating steadily and your immune system strong. In this podcast, I’ll outline the key functions of magnesium as well as cover the different health conditions where magnesium is thought to play a role such as heart disease and high blood pressure, diabetes, muscle cramping and poor sleep quality. And then I’ll look at the main food sources of magnesium and critique the merits of the many different supplemental forms of magnesium.

Links referred to in the podcast

Cochrane review of magnesium and muscle cramps

Magnesium L-threonate in people with Alzheimer’s disease

Cooking skills in young adults and later life diet behaviours

Are raw food diet claims overcooked?

Eating only raw foods has emerged as a popular dietary trend. Proclaiming an emotive health message, it is enough to make you think twice before next adding heat to your food. But fear not because on the scales of health, there is little to tip the balance in either direction. In this podcast, I look at the claims made about raw food diets and put these into context for the many health benefits that cooking food offers.

Links referred to in the podcast

USDA Nutrient Retention Database

Review of cooked and raw vegetable consumption and cancer risk

Study on how cooking preserves antioxidant content of foods

Early life eating habits

Sports supplements essentials: beta-alanine

The sports supplement market is big business, but the reality is that most of these supplements have little evidence for a benefit. It is not all negative news though because there is a small group of supplements that are backed by science and which can play a performance-enhancing role in some athletes. In this series on sports supplements, I will profile this group of supplements and for this podcast, the spotlight is on beta-alanine.

Links referred to in the podcast

IOC consensus statement on dietary supplements and the high-performance athlete

Sports Dietitians Australia

Sports supplements essentials: sodium bicarbonate

The sports supplement market is big business, but the reality is that most of these supplements have little evidence for a benefit. It is not all negative news though because there is a small group of supplements that are backed by science and which can play a performance-enhancing role in some athletes. In this series on sports supplements, I will profile this group of supplements and for this podcast, the spotlight is on sodium bicarbonate.

Links referred to in the podcast

IOC consensus statement on dietary supplements and the high-performance athlete

Sports Dietitians Australia

Sports supplements essentials: beetroot juice

The sports supplement market is big business, but the reality is that most of these supplements have little evidence for a benefit. It is not all negative news though as there is a small group of supplements that are backed by science and which can play a performance-enhancing role in some athletes. In this series on sports supplements, I will profile this group of supplements and for this podcast, the spotlight is on beetroot juice.

Links referred to in the podcast

IOC consensus statement on dietary supplements and the high-performance athlete

Sports Dietitians Australia

Sports supplements essentials: caffeine

The sports supplement market is big business, but the reality is that most of these supplements have little evidence for a benefit. It is not all negative news though as there is a small group of supplements that are backed by science and which can play a performance-enhancing role in some athletes. In this series on sports supplements, I will profile this group of supplements and for this podcast, the spotlight is on caffeine.

Links referred to in the podcast

IOC consensus statement on dietary supplements and the high-performance athlete

Sports Dietitians Australia

Sports supplements essentials: creatine

The sports supplement market is big business. And it is no wonder that athletes gravitate to the pills, powders and potions on the market for the promises they make of enhancing training and race day performance and allowing them to get the jump on their competitors. The reality is that most of these supplements have little evidence for a benefit. It is not all negative news though as there is a small group of supplements that are backed by science and which can play a performance-enhancing role in some athletes. In this series on sports supplements, I will profile this group of supplements and for this podcast, the spotlight is on creatine.

Links referred to in the podcast

IOC consensus statement on dietary supplements and the high-performance athlete

Sports Dietitians Australia

Water, water everywhere

How much water do you really need, and is possible to drink too much? In this podcast, I explain why the advice to drink ‘8 glasses of water each day’ is a myth that needs to be busted. And then I’ll outline that while even though it is very rare, it is possible for a healthy person to drink too much water with the consequences of this being potentially life-threatening. So, endurance athletes take note, this could apply to you.

Links referred to in the podcast

Hyponatraemia in marathon runners

Frozen fruits and vegetables and diet quality

Your guide to vitamin C

Vitamin C is a vital nutrient for health. It is central in the functioning of the immune system and building strong bones, skin, and blood vessels. Yet despite vitamin C being abundant in fruits and vegetables, it is also one of the most popular supplements taken, despite widespread deficiency in the population not being an issue. In this podcast, I’ll look closer at the roles of vitamin C and uncover the evidence for some of the many health claims made about it.

Links referred to in the podcast

Cochrane review of vitamin C and the common cold

Eating speed, weight gain and metabolic syndrome

Reasons to love your legumes

Want to know what the one food that is truly deserving of the title ‘superfood’ is? It is legumes. Packed with nutrients, offering a host of health benefits and good for the environment too, you’ve probably been overlooking these foods for years. It is time to give them another look. Oh, and they also store really well, making them ideal doomsday prepping foods which is on-trend in today’s times. In this podcast, I’ll talk about the foods that make up the legume family, uncover those health benefits and give you tips on how you can get more of them in your diet.

Links referred to in the podcast

Legumes and heart disease risk meta-analysis

Legumes and body weight meta-analysis

Legumes and blood pressure meta-analysis

Posture and food perception

Drink tea and carry on

People all over the world have been drinking tea for centuries, and for good reason. A growing field of research has shown that tea has a role to play in reducing the risk of many chronic diseases. And on top of that, a good cup of tea has a real calming and relaxing effect – just what we need in these stressful times. So put the kettle on, sit back, and relax, as I explore in this latest podcast the health benefits of tea.

Links referred to in the podcast

Tea and risk of type 2 diabetes meta-analysis

Green tea and cancer prevention review

Green tea and weight loss review

Tea and risk of depression meta-analysis

Blueberries and heart health

Shedding light on vitamin D and your immune system

Vitamin D is well-known for its role in building strong bones. But increasingly, research is revealing the importance of vitamin D in protecting against a host of health problems. Serving a dual role as both a hormone and a vitamin, it is the sun that is the main source of vitamin D with few foods being reliable sources of it. In this podcast, I outline the key roles played by vitamin D, profile the growing number of health areas linked to it especially as it relates to immunity, and discuss how you can keep your vitamin D levels up. That last point is especially important in today’s times with self-isolation now trending as 2020’s word of the year.

Links referred to in the podcast

Vitamin D supplementation and acute respiratory infections

Gratitude and healthy eating

All things sweet: sugar and your health

Sugar. We eat too much of it, but how worried should you be about what it is doing to your health? While there can be considerable debate in many areas of nutrition science, along with conflicting recommendations on what we should eat, sugar is one food that everyone unites on in acknowledging that we eat too much of it. In this podcast, I explore the different ways that added sugar can sneak into food, explore the truths (and lies) about some of the health claims made about it, and give you tips on how to eat less of it – all with no ‘12-week sugar detox program’ needed.

Links referred to in the podcast

Sugar and body weight meta-analysis

Sugar and hyperactivity in kids meta-analysis

Whole fruit and energy intake

The science of soy: health, harms and hyperbole

Soy. It’s one of the most polarising of foods. A casual search of the Internet will uncover first one article lauding it for its health benefits, while the next article will class it as food of the devil with eaters of it condemned to a hell of hormone-related disease. To help you make sense of the conflicting messages about soy, I’ll dig deeper into some of the key health areas linked to eating soy foods. And then I’ll clarify just how much credence you should give to both the health claims and the health alarms about it.

Links referred to in the podcast

Umbrella review of soy and isoflavones consumption and health

Meta-analysis of soy and cardiovascular disease

Effect of soy on reproductive hormones in men

Effect of soy on thyroid function

Soy-based infant formula

Diet and cancer risk

Do you need that protein supplement?

The protein powder supplement market is big business. Popular in the world of sport where muscle growth is a priority, the marketplace is dominated by glossy pictures of cut models and an ever-expanding list of claims for how these products will pack on the muscle. So, do the bros at the gym have it right in that you need these supplements if you’re serious about the gainz, or could plain old boring ‘food’ do the same job? In this podcast, I dig deeper into the world of protein and muscle growth and see what the research says about protein supplements and then put this into context for what it means for the typical sportsperson.

Links referred to in the podcast

Review and meta-analysis of protein supplementation and muscle growth

Review of nutrient timing in exercise

Soy protein supplementation in resistance training

Pea protein supplementation in resistance training

Vegetarian versus omnivore athletes

Diet intervention in young adults with depression

Got iron? Foods, functions and insufficiencies

Iron. It’s one of our most important essential minerals and sits at the heart of oxygen transport and energy metabolism in the body. In this podcast, I put the spotlight on iron, outline its key functions and explore the food factors that control how much of it we absorb. Because iron deficiency ranks as one of the world’s most common nutritional disorders, I go into detail of the consequences of this, how deficiency is tested for and importantly, how it can be managed with diet and supplements.

Links referred to in the podcast

Iron status in vegetarians

MJA review of iron and vegetarian diets

Feeding vegetables to fussy eaters

Eating for two: you and your gut bacteria

There is nothing bigger in the world of nutrition and health at the moment than the gut microbiota. With potential far-reaching health implications, one of the best ways to keep your gut microbes happy is to feed them well. In this podcast, I look at some of the health areas being linked to the gut microbiota. And then explore in greater depth one area, which is that of body weight regulation as the focus for this episode. And then I’ll drill down into letting you know the types of foods and nutrients that feed your gut microbes best.

Links referred to in the podcast

Pilot study of faecal transplants in obesity

Probiotic supplementation and weight loss

Change in microbiota with diet changes in African Americans

Rapid changes in microbiota with diet changes

How fermented foods benefit your health

Fermented foods are a hot food trend right now. But it has been an overnight success thousands of years in the making. In this first part of an ongoing series theme on all things gut health, gut bacteria and the gut microbiome, I explore the world of fermented foods, describe the popular ones and most importantly: look at what science has to say about their health benefits.

Links referred to in the podcast

Sauerkraut and IBS

Kimchi and blood lipids

Kefir and health benefits review

Sourdough bread and gut discomfort

Association between gut microbiota and personality

Dairy and bone health review 2018

Dairy and bone health review 2019

Coffee and its surprising health benefits

Coffee. For some, it is deserving of its own essential food group. But is coffee more than just a way to achieve functioning human capacity first thing in the morning? You may have seen media headlines in the past warning about health risks of coffee. But now that the science has matured, coffee turns out to be one of the most surprisingly positive health stories of recent years. Forget about the latest superfood trend, coffee is where it is at. In this podcast, I’ll look closer at those health benefits and give you the validation you’ve been seeking to justify your caffeine habit.

Links referred to in the podcast

Review of coffee and health

Caffeine use in Parkinson’s disease

Sports Dietitians Australia fact sheet on caffeine

Caffeine and the risk of miscarriage

Intermittent fasting in sport

Blue Zones: secrets of the world’s long-lived

What’s the secret to a long, healthy life? The answer here does not lie in exotic Himalayan berries, green smoothies, or jumping on the latest fad diet bandwagon. Instead, take a step back and learn from the habits of those in the world who already have the answer. Called ‘Blue Zones’, these are areas in the world where more people enjoy remarkably longer, healthier lives than anywhere else on the planet. In this podcast episode, I’ll outline their key health habits and of course bring in what science has to say about it and then put it practical terms for how to implement this in your own life.

Links referred to in the podcast

Fruits, vegetables and happiness

Diet and telomere length

The user’s guide to intermittent fasting

Intermittent fasting is currently one of the world’s most popular health trends. Characterised by alternating periods of food absence followed by periods of normal eating, promoters of intermittent fasting claim that it is the ‘metabolic key’ to unlocking weight loss, reducing inflammation, cutting the risk of diabetes and heart disease and maybe….even extending your life. This show covers what intermittent fasting is, how to do it, and what the evidence says about that long list of health claims.

Links referred to in the podcast

Intermittent fasting vs traditional dieting for weight loss

Review of the effects of intermittent fasting on health, ageing and disease

Fasting during cancer treatment

Children’s food choices after watching a healthy cooking show

Making sense of nutrition confusion

If you want to be less confused about just how to make sense of conflicting nutrition messages that you hear about each day then you’ve come to the right place. In this podcast, I’ll unpack what makes nutrition appear to be such a confusing area. But importantly, I’ll help set you straight in knowing how to make sense of it all.

Links referred to in the podcast

Industry conflict of interest in research

Review of dietary patterns and health

Avocado and oxidised LDL clinical trial