Bitesize Nutrition

Nick Littlehales is a leading elite sport sleep coach and founder of the R90 Technique used by elite athletes, players and coaches to redefine sleep for improved performance in work, sport and mental wellbeing. Nick is also author of SLEEP The myth of 8 hours, the power of naps and the new plan to recharge your body and mind.

Eat to sleep is one of our most popular webinar/seminars, and I wonder if over the last year has your sleep pattern changed? I asked Nick about:

1. 90min sleep cycles and stages of the cycle
2. Tips for falling asleep after getting into bed

Nick mentions during the episode:

His book SLEEP read or listen https://www.sportsleepcoach.com/collections/sleep-by-nick-littlehales

His 10 session audio coaching course https://www.sportsleepcoach.com/products/redefine-your-approach-to-sleep-10-step-course

The R90 Technique + Nick explains video https://www.sportsleepcoach.com/pages/about-r90-coaching

Dawn Wake Simulator SAD Lamps light therapy https://www.lumie.com/

Hi tech light therapy https://humancharger.com/

Blue Blockers light therapy https://www.swanwicksleep.com/

About Nick

Sport Sleep Coach was founded by Nick Littlehales, after many years working within sleep and elite sport, with the aim of providing a simple and achievable technique that any individual can apply to their life for improved sleep. Later named the R90 Technique, this approach has been beneficial in improving not only sleep, but recovery, performance and mood.

The R90 Technique consists of the 7 Key Sleep Recovery Indicators (KSRIs) that contribute to an improved sleep approach. Outlined in Nick's book Sleep, this revolutionary technique has been helping elite athletes, sports teams, high achievers, businesses and individuals all over the world.

Nick's previous experience working within the mattress industry has also led him to develop the R90 SleepKit, the perfect product combination to compliment the R90 Technique. The SleepKit can be built up, layer by layer, to suit each individual and with a mattress that is personalised to your body type, your perfect sleeping environment is now possible. Travel SleepKits are also available, so you can take your R90 set up with you, wherever you go.

Follow Nick on the following social media channels:

Website: www.sportsleepcoach.com

Twitter:@sportsleepcoach

Instagram: @_sportsleepcoach

FB: sportsleepcoachuk

YouTube: Sportsleepcoach

In Sleep part 3 we sit down with Lucy to delve a little deeper into the benefits of sleep, and if it's quality or quantity which is more important.

We also look at the effect of insomnia on health - implications for shift workers, clinical evidence of incidence of heart attacks during daylight savings and just one hour less sleep per night, and any possible links to sleep reduction and dementia (an increasingly emerging area of information).

If you've got kids – whatever age - then this episode will make a lot of sense. As a Nutritionist and mum of a 6 & 7 year old you may think I've completely got our meals nutritionally balanced with clean plates every time….. My kids tastes are very different and one loves nothing more than processed food. Don't even try to go there with vegetables! Some meals are more successful than others, and when researching kids recipe books one day I came across Little Cooks Co.

My guest today is Helen who is also a Registered Nutritionist. Helen is mother to Artie and the founder and Director of Little Cooks Co. When her son Artie began weaning she was overwhelmed and excited by the opportunity to help his development and wellbeing through food. Helen began her own research into how she could give him the best start in life through the food, but there were a lot of conflicting messages. It was at this point that Helen decided to quit No10 and Little Cooks Co was born!

Helen's goal is to help families make healthy choices for their children and themselves and remind them that nutritious food doesn't have to be boring! Most importantly, it is about the time spent together, creating those memories in the kitchen that will stay with them for life.

So armed with plenty experience, who better to answer some questions about childrens nutrition:

1. Why some children don't like veg & tips to help kids eat veg?
2. Quick healthy breakfast & snack suggestions
3. Healthy evening meals popular with kids
4. Key kitchen ingredients
5. Tips for parents juggling work/running business whilst still wanting to cook something health with/for kids

About Helen and Little Cooks Co:

Little Cooks Co is the UK's first healthy cooking kit for kids! Sending monthly recipe boxes to children full of healthy baking recipes and all the dry organic ingredients to make them. They are on a mission to teach children to love cooking and eating healthy food and to create happy family memories along the way. They are very proud of our partnerships with two incredible charities: Magic Breakfast and Feeding Britain. Through these charities, every box we sell provides breakfast and dinner for a child who might otherwise go hungry. Ensuring children have enough food to eat is fundamental to our mission and we could not be happier to be support these inspirational charities in their work!

Follow Helen and Little Cooks Co on the following social media channels:

Website: www.littlecooksco.co.uk

LinkedIn: @littlecooksco

Twitter: @littlecooksco

Instagram: @littlecooksco

FB: @littlecooksco

The benefits of omega-3 are far reaching, including effects on stress, anxiety, mood, and sleep to name just a few. In this overview episode Dr Alex shares her knowledge on the role of omega-3 and:

1. The influential role of diet
2. How omega-3 influences the brain/gut in terms of serotonin and dopamine
3. Suggested frequency/dose of omega-3
4. The beneficial vitamins and minerals to improve absorption

There's further information about the role of omega-3 in stress management in our Improving resilience webinar, information about anxiety and mood in our Brain food webinar, and information about sleep in our Eat to sleep webinar.

Dr Alex Richardson

Dr Alex Richardson is internationally known for her research into the role of nutrition (especially dietary fats) in brain development and function, and its implications for human behaviour, learning and mood. She has over 90 peer-reviewed publications, and is author to one of my favourite books – They are what you feed them. Her current research centres on the role of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in mental health and development.

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Disclaimer: The information in this podcast is for educational purposes and should not replace medical advice. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat any medical condition. If you have a diagnosed medical condition, you should consult a doctor before making any major changes to your diet. Some supplements may interact with medications and you should check with your GP before commencing any supplement programme.

Part two of the Dr Adam Collins episode includes:

1. Gender differences between eating before or after exercise
2. Which food source is better by gender around exercise
3. Ketogenic diet and intermittent fasting.

It's January, and usually around now there's lots of focus on becoming healthier, including healthier weight. This year there's a bit more pressure too – increased risk of Covid-19 symptoms in people who are obese. So if your focus for 2021 and beyond is to be a healthier weight and maintaining it, then this podcast episode is for you.

I want to introduce you to perhaps a new term - "rebound weight gain". Many of us may at some point have achieved our goal weight but were unable to maintain it resulting in low self-esteem and frustration. Today I've Dr Adam Collins with me – Adam has lectured on the MSc Nutritional Medicine course I attend and his PhD was on energy expenditure and body composition. His current research includes exercise intensity and energy balance, intermittent fasting, meal timing and composition. So who better to explain about rebound weight gain and answer some very popular weight management questions.

1. What is rebound weight gain?
2. What are the known mechanisms as the body tries to restore its lost weight?
3. Often people plateau, can we override this?
4. Does when you eat matter as much as what you eat?
5. What about Intermittent Fasting

About Adam

MSc in Nutrition & Metabolism and a PhD focusing on energy expenditure and body composition. My on-going interests lie in obesity, exercise nutrition, body composition and energy metabolism all as can be applied to weight loss/maintenance and metabolic health. Current research includes exercise intensity and energy balance, intermittent fasting, meal timing and composition. Specifically the use of carbohydrate manipulation for metabolic health

Follow Adam on Twitter @nutriffic

Tim Spector – epidemiologist, researcher & writer on the microbiome, nutrition & genomics and whose Zoe symptom tracking app is providing vital information about the Covid-19 virus.

Tim is also well known for his approach to personalised nutrition. In his latest book - Spoon-Fed, why almost everything we've been told about food is wrong - Tim tackles some pretty controversial topics including calorie counting, the allergy epidemic, gluten-free, why coffee can save your life, and nutrition for mental health. Today we're going to chat about two of these topics – caffeine, and the role of the microbiome in mental health

So the 1st myth is "drinking coffee is bad for your health"

1. What does the evidence suggest is the safe upper limit to number of cups of coffee per day?
2. Is it OK to drink mostly coffee/tea and nothing else each day?

"food only impacts the health of your body, not your mind"

1. I've heard you on other podcasts discussing wild salmon as a good source of omega-3. If we are limited to supermarket shopping how can we best support our health with omega-3 i.e. is it tinned wild salmon?
2. What natural probiotics in the form of fermented foods do you regularly add to your diet, and what are the easily accessible and affordable forms for general public?
3. A good place to start for improved mental health is variety – eating 30 different plant species per week. Do you have a link to examples of these types of foods – perhaps you've used an infographic on social media we might include in the show notes or could you give us some examples?
4. If you were in charge of public health & nutrition which 3 major changes would you make to improve diets and health of the nation?

About Tim

In the course of research, Tim Spector has been shocked to discover how little scientific evidence there is for many of our most deep-rooted ideas about food. much of the current advice about food and nutrition is dangerously inaccurate, misleading and often downright wrong

In twenty-two short, myth-busting chapters, his latest book Spoon-Fed reveals why almost everything we've been told about food is wrong. Tim pays special attention to the scandalous lack of good science behind many medical and government food recommendations, and how the food industry holds sway over these policies and our choices.

Spoon-Fed forces us to question every diet plan, official recommendation, miracle cure or food label we encounter, and encourages us to rethink our whole relationship with food.

As a scientist, within the last few years, Tim focused all his energies in researching the microbiome, the large community of microbes that live in our gut, skin and body. Although the research is new and ongoing, we already know that these beings play a highly important role in our health and the current epidemics of obesity, diabetes, allergy and even depression.

A small trail over the internet will expose you to thousands of theories on what to eat and what to exclude to be thinner, healthier, and happier. Following three years of exhaustive research, his book The Diet Myth was born, dispelling many nutritional myths and asking how our diets can improve the health of our gut microbes.

Tim believes that Diversity, both in the food we eat and the microbes we feed is the key. The trillions of microbes in our gut play an important role in digesting food and producing a number of chemicals vital for a strong immune system. We know that the greater the number of different types of microbe the healthier we can be. This microbial diversity is achieved by eating a wide array of real and fermented foods, not excluding them.

Tim Spector is a Professor of Genetic Epidemiology and Director of the TwinsUK Registry at Kings College, London and has recently been elected to the prestigious Fellowship of the Academy of Medical Sciences. He trained originally in rheumatology and epidemiology. In 1992 he moved into genetic epidemiology and founded the UK Twins Registry, of 13,000 twins, which is the richest collection of genotypic and phenotypic information worldwide. He is past President of the International Society of Twin Studies, directs the European Twin Registry Consortium (Discotwin) and collaborates with over 120 centres worldwide. He has demonstrated the genetic basis of a wide range of common complex traits, many previously thought to be mainly due to ageing and environment. Through genetic association studies (GWAS), his group have found over 500 novel gene loci in over 50 disease areas. He has published over 800 research articles and is ranked as being in the top 1% of the world's most cited scientists by Thomson-Reuters. He held a prestigious European Research Council senior investigator award in epigenetics and is a NIHR Senior Investigator. His current work focuses on omics and the microbiome and directs the crowdfunded British Gut microbiome project. Together with an international team of leading scientists including researchers from King's College London, Massachusetts General Hospital, Tufts University, Stanford University and nutritional science company ZOE he is conducting the largest scientific nutrition research project, showing that individual responses to the same foods are unique, even between identical twins. You can find more on https://joinzoe.com/

Follow Tim on the following social media channels:

Website: tim-spector.co.uk and www.joinzoe.com

Instagram: @tim.spector

Twitter: @timspector

Reading articles containing unhelpful messages about vegan nutrition is frustrating. Whether you're a seasoned vegan or simply curious about totally plant-based nutrition Heather a Dietitian from The Vegan Society is here to bust some vegan myths:

1. What does a well planned vegan diet look like?
2. Do any specific vitamins & minerals require special attention?
3. What are good sources of calcium and what's vegan cheese made from?
4. Best sources of vegan protein?
5. Do we need to eat complete protein with every meal?
6. Vegan sources of omega-3?

Here's the links we mentioned in the episode:

• Vegan Eatwell Guide: https://www.vegansociety.com/sites/default/files/uploads/downloads/The%20Vegan%20Eatwell%20Guide_2.pdf
• HEART UK resources aimed at people with high cholesterol: https://www.vegansociety.com/news/blog/lets-talk-about-cholesterol-and-vegan-diets

About Heather/The Vegan Society:

Heather is passionate about eating well and keeping fit. She trained to be a dietitian because she wanted to combine her love of science with a desire to help people, and she loves food! She worked in the NHS from 2010 to 2016, specialising in diabetes from 2013. She is now using her dietetic skills to support the work of The Vegan Society.

The Vegan Society is an educational charity founded in 1944 to raise awareness of veganism and support existing vegans. Their work includes running public campaigns, engaging with policymakers, conducting research and working with manufacturers to correctly label their products as suitable for vegans. They are a membership organisation, and they support the vegan community with guidance and information on plant-based nutrition and vegan rights.

Follow Heather/The Vegan Society on the following social media channels:

Website: www.vegansociety.com/nutrition

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-vegan-society

Twitter: @herbiheather @TheVeganSociety

Instagram: @theoriginalvegansociety

FB: https://www.facebook.com/TheVeganSociety

Reading articles containing unhelpful messages about vegan nutrition is frustrating. Whether you're a seasoned vegan or simply curious about totally plant-based nutrition Heather a Dietitian from The Vegan Society is here to bust some vegan myths:

1. What does a well planned vegan diet look like?
2. Do any specific vitamins & minerals require special attention?
3. What are good sources of calcium and what's vegan cheese made from?
4. Best sources of vegan protein?
5. Do we need to eat complete protein with every meal?
6. Vegan sources of omega-3?

Here's the links we mentioned in the episode:

• Vegan Eatwell Guide: https://www.vegansociety.com/sites/default/files/uploads/downloads/The%20Vegan%20Eatwell%20Guide_2.pdf
• HEART UK resources aimed at people with high cholesterol: https://www.vegansociety.com/news/blog/lets-talk-about-cholesterol-and-vegan-diets

About Heather/The Vegan Society:

Heather is passionate about eating well and keeping fit. She trained to be a dietitian because she wanted to combine her love of science with a desire to help people, and she loves food! She worked in the NHS from 2010 to 2016, specialising in diabetes from 2013. She is now using her dietetic skills to support the work of The Vegan Society.

The Vegan Society is an educational charity founded in 1944 to raise awareness of veganism and support existing vegans. Their work includes running public campaigns, engaging with policymakers, conducting research and working with manufacturers to correctly label their products as suitable for vegans. They are a membership organisation, and they support the vegan community with guidance and information on plant-based nutrition and vegan rights.

Follow Heather/The Vegan Society on the following social media channels:

Website: www.vegansociety.com/nutrition

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-vegan-society

Twitter: @herbiheather @TheVeganSociety

Instagram: @theoriginalvegansociety

FB: https://www.facebook.com/TheVeganSociety

There's been much media speculation and sensationalization around vitamin D and Covid-19 but it's important to remember advice should be evidence based.

Vitamin D is essential for good health and low status may be exacerbated during Covid-19 due to increased time spent indoors. A 2018 study identified almost 20% of UK adults have low levels of vit D. In particular, 39% of 11-18 year old girls were deficient. Updated PHE advice in April 2020 advises 10mcg daily even through summer months. People at high risk of vit D deficiency are people whom are frail or housebound and where clothing covers most of skin when outdoors. BUT vit D is just a small part of good health.

My guest today is Pf Susan Lanham-New and she's one very busy lady – hugely in demand with her extensive knowledge of vitamin D. Sue has written over 235 publications, is a lecturer on the MSc Nutritional Medicine course which I am close to completing, and is also Head of the Nutrition Science Dept at University of Surrey.

Questions

1. Is vit D necessary?
2. Can we obtain all the vitamin D we need from the sun?
3. Can vegans rely on D2?
4. Is 400IU/10mcg enough?
5. Side-effects of high doses?
6. Aside from immunity, why else is vitamin D important e.g. cancer, rickets, osteomalacia?

About Susan

Professor Susan Lanham-New is head of the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Surrey and is a registered Public Health Nutritionist (RPHNutr). She completed her BSc in Exercise Physiology at the University of Chicester and her MSc in Human Nutrition and Metabolism and PhD in Nutrition and Bone at University of Aberdeen. As a PhD student, Sue was awarded a PhD Scholarship by the Nutritional Consultative Panel, and has three times won the Young Investigator Award at the World Osteoporosis Conference, at the National Osteoporosis Society Conference, and at the Joint Meeting of ECTS and IBMS. Currently, Professor Lanham-New's research focusses on the nutritional aspects of bone health, including specific projects such Interaction between diet and sunlight exposure on vitamin D status in Caucasian and Asian women (D-FINES) study, Extent of vitamin D deficiency in Saudi Arabian women and boys and girls, Impact of veiling on Vitamin D status in Kuwait adolescent girls: impact on bone mass and Protein and bone health: systematic review and meta-analysis. Professor Lanham-New is a member of the Academic Assembly Policy Committee, an Editor-in-Chief of the Nutrition Society Textbook Series and a member of NS Publications Committee.