The Wellness Scoop

This week we’re discussing whether children’s taste preferences actually begin developing before birth, after a fascinating study found babies exposed to vegetables in the womb appeared more accepting of those flavours years later. We also unpack new research suggesting olive oil, berries and coffee may help support healthier ageing at a cellular level through their impact on telomeres, the protective caps linked to biological ageing. We also dive into the surprising old wives’ tales science says may actually be true, from cranberry juice helping prevent UTIs to why hot tea can cool you down and whether an apple a day really does help keep the doctor away. And in What’s Trending in Wellness, we explore the rise of “Stacey Face” and female looksmaxxing: the growing world of AI beauty-rating apps, teenage girls uploading selfies for attractiveness scores, and the increasingly dystopian collision of beauty culture, algorithms and artificial intelligence. For more from Rhi and Ella:  Order your copy of Ella's new book: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Quick Wins: Healthy Cooking for Busy Lives⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Order your copy of Rhi's new book: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Fibre Formula⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sign up to ⁠⁠Rhitrition+⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week we’re unpacking some of the biggest wellness questions and food fears taking over the internet right now. Are lentil crisps actually healthier than standard crisps? Are air fryers really toxic? And is coconut oil genuinely good for us, or just clever wellness marketing? We also dive into the yogurt hierarchy — kefir, Greek, skyr or natural — discuss algae-based omega-3 supplements, soy and hormones, and the growing confusion around what “healthy” really means online. Plus, we chat sleep deprivation, meditation training, dance classes, charity shop puzzles and the joy of wonky veg boxes. For more from Rhi and Ella:  Order your copy of Ella's new book: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Quick Wins: Healthy Cooking for Busy Lives⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Order your copy of Rhi's new book: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Fibre Formula⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sign up to ⁠⁠Rhitrition+⁠⁠ Get an exclusive 15% discount on your first Saily data plans! Use code Scoop at checkout. Download Saily app or go to to https://saily.com/scoop/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week we’re diving into the sandwich headlines taking over the news, after reports that one high street sandwich contains more salt than nearly five McDonald’s cheeseburgers. Rhi gives us the inside story from the latest Action on Salt research, why out-of-home lunches are often saltier than we realise, and how confusing nutrition comparisons can become when we reduce foods down to one nutrient. We also discuss the surprising health case for humble carrots, the fascinating study linking arts and culture to slower biological ageing, and the oddly specific number of daily steps researchers say may help people maintain weight loss long term. Plus, we unpack the latest wellness trends — from smart underwear designed to track your flatulence in real time, to an orchestra that performs entirely on vegetable instruments. For more from Rhi and Ella:  Order your copy of Ella's new book: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Quick Wins: Healthy Cooking for Busy Lives⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Order your copy of Rhi's new book: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Fibre Formula⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sign up to ⁠⁠Rhitrition+⁠⁠ Get an exclusive 15% discount on your first Saily data plans! Use code Scoop at checkout. Download Saily app or go to to https://saily.com/scoop/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week we answer some of your most thoughtful questions yet, from whether fruit sugar is actually something we should worry about, to how to approach calorie tracking if you’ve struggled with obsessive thoughts around food in the past. We also discuss sausages, healthier swaps, whether chia seeds really need soaking, how to build plant diversity while batch cooking, and whether you can still thrive nutritionally if you don’t enjoy fruit. Send your questions for our weekly Q&A to ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠ Recommendations: Garden inspo from Shirley Kemp Ella recommends giant cous-cous Listener Jenny recommends Sarah Ockwell-Smith's new book 'How To Raise a Gentle Man' For more from Rhi and Ella:  Order your copy of Ella's new book: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Quick Wins: Healthy Cooking for Busy Lives⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Order your copy of Rhi's new book: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Fibre Formula⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sign up to ⁠Rhitrition+⁠ Get an exclusive 15% discount on your first Saily data plans! Use code Scoop at checkout. Download Saily app or go to to https://saily.com/scoop/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week we unpack the science of appetite and what really drives us to eat: hunger, stress, habit, reward or simply the food environment around us. We discuss why eating well is far more complex than willpower alone, and the idea of “food-mind fluency.” We also break down the controversy around plant milks and children’s health, exploring the nutritional differences between dairy and plant based alternatives, plus the environmental trade offs. Plus, could aspirin really help prevent cancer? We look at the remarkable new research linking the common painkiller to reduced colorectal cancer risk and why some countries are already changing guidance for high risk groups. In What’s Trending in Wellness, we investigate the rise of peptides, NAD+ and injectable wellness therapies, before asking whether “natural Ozempic” is actually possible or just another oversimplified social media trend. Send your questions for our weekly Q&A to ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠ For more from Rhi and Ella:  Order your copy of Ella's new book: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Quick Wins: Healthy Cooking for Busy Lives⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Order your copy of Rhi's new book: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Fibre Formula⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sign up to ⁠Rhitrition+⁠ Get an exclusive 15% discount on your first Saily data plans! Use code Scoop at checkout. Download Saily app or go to to https://saily.com/scoop/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices