The oldest bread that still exists today was baked 14,500 years ago in Jordan. We’ve eaten this staple for a long time, but rejecting bread because it’s ‘bad’ for you has become a modern trend. Should we be saying no to loaves and toast?

Bread: Historic staple, riot-starter, loneliness cure

Are olive oil shots a good idea? Should we dunk butter in our coffee? Is soy really “the most dangerous food for men?” and is chocolate actually a health food? (The royal pharmacist certainly thought so when he treated Marie-Antoinette’s headaches during 18th-century France with chocolate!). If health experts tell us we’re consuming too much salt, how do we balance that with cookbooks advising we season our food generously for flavour? And are we overlooking the health and cultural impacts of Indigenous ingredients? It can be tricky trying to consume the ‘right things’, and the forces that shape our diets go far beyond what’s supposedly ‘good for us’. On Should You Really Eat That?, food writer Lee Tran Lam untangles the mixed messaging about the food and drinks we consume – with the help of chefs, dietitians and other guests.

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Bread: Historic staple, riot-starter, loneliness cure

Bread: Historic staple, riot-starter, loneliness cure