My husband once had the idea of opening a fruit and vegetable shop called “Little Packets Of Goodness”. Sadly the idea never came to fruition but I love the name! (Excuse the pun!)

Despite all the confusing, controversial nutritional advice out there, there is one thing that (pretty much) everyone agrees on. Vegetables are good for us!

Vegetables Contain Fibre That is Good for Us

They are packed with fibre that does more than just keep us regular. A recent “meta analysis” study from New Zealand stated that eating more than 30g of fibre a day reduces “all cause mortality”. (Dying from anything.)

For more details of the study, check out Dr Orlena’s Fit and Fabulous podcast, “How to Eat 30g of Fibre a Day.”

Vegetables are packed with vitamins and antioxidants. Colourful vegetables have antioxidants called “phytonutritients”. (Hence why people talk about “eating a rainbow”.)

Vegetables are also the mainstay of...

What is your biome? How does it affect your health? Your behaviour? And even your weight?

Dr Orlena chats to Lisa Kilgour, nutritionist to find out.

How to Lose Weight With Your Biome Podcast

Connect with Lisa

The Perfect Diet

The perfect diet for you is different from the perfect dier for your best friend. Just because something works for you, doesn't mean that it's going to work for anybody else.

We have to really listen to what our body wants and ask ourselves "Am I eating the best way?"

The Microbiome

We are 50% bacteria.

There is this huge ecosystem about equal to the number of cells we have in our body.

It is called a microbiome, a community of bacteria, parasites, and yeasts that when working well, they modulate our immune system, help balance our brain...

Today I'm super excited to be interviewing Doctor and Professor Miguel Ángel Martínez, one of the coordinators of the PREDIMED study.

He's taken time out of his busy schedule to tell us about the healthy benefits of olive oil.

Health Benefits of Olive Oil Podcast

See also: Health Benefits of the Mediterranean Style Diet.

Olive oil has been used for 6,000 years in the Mediterranean area where there are lower cases of cardiovascular diseases compared to Western areas and other parts of the world.

Tips in Choosing Olive Oil

• Make sure it's extra virgin
• Take note of the date of production. Ideally, it should be within one year of purchase
• Buy your olive oil locally

The Best Way to Consume Olive Oil

Make sure that you eat olive oil amongst a healthy diet.

Eat olive oil with lots of vegetables, fish, and legumes.

Author Bio

Dr Orlena is a health coach. She helps busy mums go from "I can't lose weight" to feeling fit and fabulous. Find out more about...

Podcast with Dr Ash

Introduction to Gluten

Gluten is a controversial area. Many experts think that gluten is hugely inflammatory and contributes to many diseases. 

We know that people with coeliac disease can't tolerate gluten. But what about people who don't have coeliac disease?

Should they exclude all gluten?

In today's episode Dr Ash explains what gluten is, how it can affect our bodies and what we should do to find our "gluten threshold".

What is Gluten?

A protein found in wheat, barley and rye.

What is Coeliac Disease?

Coeliac Disease is an autoimmune condition. It can be described as a “severe gluten allergy”.

People who are diagnosed with coeliac disease are on a life long gluten free diet. If you have coeliac disease and eat gluten it can affect your body and make you unwell. (Even if you don’t notice it.)

Coeliac Disease Is Difficult to Diagnose

Coeliac Disease (aka “Celiac Disease”) can be difficult to diagnose. Partly as the symptoms...

Recent Research Shows that Eating Lots of Fibre Decreases All-Cause Mortality

The paper “Carbohydrate quality and human health: a series of systematic reviews and meta-analyses” was published in the Lancet.

It showed that eating 25-30g of fibre a day decreases your risk of dying from all causes.

To quote from the study:

“Observational data suggest a 15–30% decrease in all-cause and cardiovascular related mortality, and incidence of coronary heart disease, stroke incidence and mortality, type 2 diabetes, and colorectal cancer when comparing the highest dietary fibre consumers with the lowest consumers.”

Some of the Benefits they Found Included Lower Body Weight

“Clinical trials show significantly lower bodyweight, systolic blood pressure, and total cholesterol when comparing higher with lower intakes of dietary fibre.“

“Risk reduction associated with a range of critical outcomes was greatest when daily intake of dietary fibre was...

Alcohol is widely accepted in society today. It’s considered normal to drink large amounts of alcohol because it’s fun and helps us to socialise.

We’ve all been there. I don’t know about you but I look back on my University years and my liver shudders. Medical students are some of the worst offenders when it comes to alcohol consumption.

Alcohol is Bad For Us

The sad thing is that alcohol is bad for us. I know many people don’t like to think about it but alcohol damages our bodies.

Much easier just to pour yourself another beer and forget about the consequences.

Alcohol is a risk factor for many cancers. Drinking alcohol in excess damages our livers, pancreas, hearts and immune system.

(For more horrible details of what alcohol can do, check out this article.)

See also: Reducing Your Risk of Cancer with Diet. Podcast Episode 11.

What is “Excess” Alcohol?

The problem is that none of us think we drink in excess. We think everyone else drinks...

A Lot of Heart Disease is Preventable

Today I want you to grasp this message! The vast majority of heart disease is preventable.

You can significantly reduce your risk of heart disease by eating a healthy diet and making good life style choices.

Dr Zarrin Shaikh, Consultant Cardiologist

Today, Dr Zarrin is talking about what to eat to prevent heart disease.

Next week she’ll tell us about lifestyle choices.

Protect Your Heart Through Diet Podcast Episode 4

World wide heart disease is the leading cause of death.

In the UK around 7 million people are living with heart disease.

Heart disease causes a quarter of all deaths.

This includes all “cardiovascular disease”.

In the UK the death rate is falling due to advances in medical technology. However, more people are getting heart disease due to life style choices.

Patients With Heart Disease Are Getting Younger and Sicker

Dr Zarrin tells a story about a 25 year old who she treated who had had a massive...

 Everything you need to know about the health benefits of the Mediterranean Style Diet (MSD). In today’s episode, I explain why I love the MSD. We look at the research papers that have lead to claims of health benefits. Then we have a think about how you can apply it to your life.

Health Benefits of the Med Style Diet Podcast

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 Why Do I LOVE the Med Style Diet?

• It’s super easy. Just make “healthy tweaks”.
• It can be applied to any cuisine.
• It’s supported by research.

Research show us the Health Benefits of the Med Style Diet

in 2011 the PREDIMED study (funded by the Spanish government) showed lots of benefits to the Mediterranean way of eating.

There was one study with many different papers. (Check out the links below.)

• Less weight around the middle (the dangerous fat aka “central adiposity”.)
• Less likely to get heart disease (specifically stroke).
• Less likely to get type 2 diabetes.
• Less likely to...

 “What is a healthy diet?” may sound like a simple question. But there are so many details to consider. One big question I hear people ask is “Should I cut out carbohydrates and gluten?”

In this article I have presented the arguments for and against each question so that you can decide which is the right decision for you.

I want to help you find the “way of eating” that suits you and your life.

Lots of New Nutrition Research Leaves People Confused

In the last couple of decades loads of interesting research has been done on nutrition.

We are starting to see how diet affects our health.

We are starting to see how diet affect individuals differently.

The more researchers find out, the more questions we ask.

It can be confusing wadding through research that often doesn’t give a clear cut answer.

Experts promote different "rules”. “Trend diets" come and go. (Remember Dr Atkins?)

Previous Recommendations Are Now Questioned

Many...