In this week's nugget two of our PBHP members, LJ Smith and Amy Roach, reflect on the highs and lows of trekking up Kilimanjaro and Everest Base Camp, and importantly, on how to optimise your enjoyment with plant-based fuelling.

If you'd like to support our work and be part of a growing community of like-minded people working towards creating a healthier and more sustainable future please join the Plant-Based Health Professionals UK following the link below: 

⁠⁠https://plantbasedhealthprofessionals.com/membership⁠⁠ You don't have to be a health care professional to join, but by doing so you’re not only supporting our work, you'll be improving your own health;  with membership starting from as little as £15 a year, join us now and be part of the change you want to see.

In this episode, we’re joined by Emily Angus R.D. to explore the science behind bone health and plant-based diets. Emily has a background in NHS clinical and renal dietetics and joined The Vegan Society in 2024, where she focuses on providing evidence-based nutrition information about plant based diets.

We discuss the nutrients that matter for maintaining healthy bones, as well as the important role of physical activity among other lifestyle factors.

We also tackle one of the biggest questions surrounding dietary patterns and bone health: could eating a vegan diet alter your fracture risk? We discuss the findings from the EPIC-Oxford study, why they attracted attention, and why interpreting the evidence requires a degree of nuance.

Finally, Emily shares some practical advice on what a bone-friendly plant-based diet actually looks like, and what she likes to eat for lunch!

So have a listen today - we are available on all the usual podcast platforms, and don't forget to share the episode with a friend.

Resources :

https://plantbasedhealthprofessionals.com/plant-based-diets-and-bone-health

https://plantbasedhealthprofessionals.com/is-dairy-necessary-for-good-health

https://plantbasedhealthprofessionals.com/getting-calcium-on-a-plant-based-diet-everything-you-need-to-know

https://plantbasedhealthprofessionals.com/a-guide-to-plant-based-milks-alternative-milks

https://www.vegansociety.com/resources/nutrition-and-health/bone-health

https://www.vegansociety.com/resources/nutrition-and-health/nutrients/calcium

To get NLMC tickets:

https://nlmc.org.uk/

If you'd like to support our work and be part of a growing community of like-minded people working towards creating a healthier and more sustainable future please join the Plant-Based Health Professionals UK following the link below:https://plantbasedhealthprofessionals.com/membershipYou don't have to be a health care professional to join, but by doing so you’re not only supporting our work, you'll be improving your own health;  with membership starting from as little as £15 a year, join us now and be part of the change you want to see.

In this week's nugget, Daisy and Clare highlight that it is possible to eat a low carb diet as a plant-based eater. That is, should you want to.

If you'd like to support our work and be part of a growing community of like-minded people working towards creating a healthier and more sustainable future please join the Plant-Based Health Professionals UK following the link below: 

⁠https://plantbasedhealthprofessionals.com/membership⁠ You don't have to be a health care professional to join, but by doing so you’re not only supporting our work, you'll be improving your own health;  with membership starting from as little as £15 a year, join us now and be part of the change you want to see.
References:

Jenkins DJ, Wong JM, Kendall CW, Esfahani A, Ng VW, Leong TC, Faulkner DA, Vidgen E, Greaves KA, Paul G, Singer W. The effect of a plant-based low-carbohydrate ("Eco-Atkins") diet on body weight and blood lipid concentrations in hyperlipidemic subjects. Arch Intern Med. 2009 Jun 8;169(11):1046-54. doi: 10.1001/archinternmed.2009.115. Erratum in: Arch Intern Med. 2009 Sep 14;169(16):1490. PMID: 19506174.https://plantbasedhealthprofessionals.com/low-carb-plant-based-diet-what-to-eat

In A Nutshell is back! We are delighted to bring you season seven of the podcast, starting with a truly inspiring guest, Drew Harrisberg, an exercise physiologist, sports scientist and diabetes educator who has lived with type one diabetes since the age of twenty-one.

So who better to help us make sense of the science behind carbohydrates, and their place in a healthy diet?

For people living with type one diabetes, carbohydrates can sometimes feel like the enemy. And with the explosion of low-carb and ketogenic diets, glucose monitoring and social-media advice around 'controlling' blood sugar, it's easy to come away with the impression that the fewer carbohydrates you eat, the healthier you are. But is that really the case?

Drew has taken a fascinating personal journey through different approaches to nutrition, including paleo, keto and ultimately a whole-food, plant-based diet. He shares what he learned from each approach, how his diet affected his blood glucose and insulin requirements, and why he ultimately moved away from keto towards plant-based eating.

But this conversation isn't simply about diabetes - it's about our relationship with carbohydrates more broadly. We explore why carbohydrates aren't inherently unhealthy, why a rise in blood glucose after eating isn't necessarily something to fear, and whether the current obsession with flattening glucose curves is distracting us from the bigger picture of dietary quality.

To find out more about Drew:https://drewsdailydose.com/To get your tickets for The Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine Conference:https://nlmc.org.uk/To sign up to the online plant-based nutrition course and the cancer course from The University of Winchester:https://www.winchester.ac.uk/study/short-courses/courses/Plant-based-Nutrition/https://www.winchester.ac.uk/study/Short-courses/Courses/Lifestyle-medicine-for-cancer-prevention-and-survivorship/Further reading:
https://plantbasedhealthprofessionals.com/low-carb-plant-based-diet-what-to-eat\

How do you stay healthy, strong and performing at your best- not just this year, but for decades to come?

In this episode of The Nutshell, we welcome two leaders in lifestyle and performance medicine: Dr Sharon McDowell-Larsen and Dr Regan Stiegmann, co-authors of Staying in the Game. Together, we explore the science of performance longevity and explain why the daily choices we make around food, movement, sleep, and recovery can help us maximise both healthspan and lifelong athletic performance.

Whether you're an athlete, healthcare professional, weekend runner or simply want to maintain your physical and cognitive performance throughout life, this conversation is packed with evidence-based advice.

We discuss why it's never too early-or too late-to invest in your future health and how the habits that support peak performance are often the same ones that protect against chronic disease.

More about our guests: 

Dr. Sharon L. McDowell-Larsen, PhD is an exercise physiologist, leadership performance expert and internationally recognised endurance athlete. She holds a PhD in Exercise Physiology from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where her research focused on exercise and immune function. During her career she has worked at the U.S. Olympic Training Center, taught graduate-level exercise physiology, and spent more than 25 years at the Center for Creative Leadership, helping senior leaders optimise health, resilience and cognitive performance through evidence-based lifestyle practices. Sharon is also a multiple national champion and Xterra and Ironman age-group world champion.

Regan A. Stiegmann, DO, MPH, FACLM, DipABLM is a board-certified physician in Preventive Medicine and Lifestyle Medicine, a former U.S. Air Force Flight Surgeon, and Associate Professor of Preventive and Lifestyle Medicine at Rocky Vista University. She holds a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) and a Master of Public Health (MPH), is a Fellow of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (FACLM) and a Diplomate of the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine (DipABLM). Dr Stiegmann is a nationally recognised leader in lifestyle and performance medicine, working at the intersection of human performance, preventive medicine and healthy ageing.

Together, Sharon and Regan are the co-authors of Staying in the Game: Leveraging Lifestyle Medicine to Elevate Health, Outsmart Aging, and Enhance Performance, an evidence-based guide featuring nearly 1,800 scientific references that explores how nutrition, physical activity, sleep, stress management and other lifestyle factors can help us optimise health, extend healthspan and maintain peak performance throughout life.

To get your copy of their book:

https://stayinginthegame.org/

To connect with our guests :

Dr Sharon McDowell-Larsen:  

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharon-mcdowell-larsen-4666a7a/

https://sharonmcdowelllarsen.substack.com

Dr Regan Stiegmann

https://www.linkedin.com/in/docstieg/

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to the podcast and leave us a rating or review- it really helps others discover the podcast.

To buy tickets to this years Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine Conference:

https://nlmc.org.uk/

To find out more about the International Board of Lifestyle Medicine Diploma:

https://plantbasedhealthprofessionals.com/lifestyle-medicine/get-certified-in-lifestyle-medicine

If you'd like to support our work and be part of a growing community of like-minded people working towards creating a healthier and more sustainable future please join the Plant-Based Health Professionals UK following the link below:

https://plantbasedhealthprofessionals.com/membership

You don't have to be a health care professional to join, but by doing so you’re not only supporting our work, you'll be improving your own health;  with membership starting from as little as £15 a year, join us now and be part of the change you want to see.

This week’s nugget leaves wholefoods behind as we look at food regulations affecting the marketing of some of the UK's most popular foods. We explain how recent updating of the UK’s nutrient profiling model (NPM) could push some foods into the High Fat Sugar Salt (HFSS) category and what the implications of this could be. Will Daisy be able to stomach bran flakes in a new, lowest free sugars form?

If you'd like to support our work and be part of a growing community of like-minded people working towards creating a healthier and more sustainable future please join the Plant-Based Health Professionals UK following the link below: 

⁠https://plantbasedhealthprofessionals.com/membership⁠ You don't have to be a health care professional to join, but by doing so you’re not only supporting our work, you'll be improving your own health;  with membership starting from as little as £15 a year, join us now and be part of the change you want to see.

References:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/nutrient-profiling-model⁠

⁠https://www.bda.uk.com/resource/bda-responds-to-the-application-of-the-new-nutrient-profile-model-consultation.html⁠

⁠https://www.nesta.org.uk/⁠

When we think about pandemic prevention, we may think about vaccines, surveillance and emergency preparedness. But what if the most effective way to prevent the next pandemic starts much earlier- by reducing the conditions that allow new diseases to emerge in the first place?

In this episode, we are joined by Esme Wheeler, a science policy and advocacy professional specialising in the connections between human, animal and environmental health.  

Given that most emerging infectious diseases originate in animals, we explore how the One Health approach reveals the links between how we farm animals, our relationship with wildlife, and the risk of future pandemics.

The conversation examines the evidence linking habitat loss, biodiversity decline and the expansion and intensification of animal agriculture with zoonotic disease risk. Esme sets out the case for addressing our human impact to reduce the risk of future pandemics and more.

To connect with Esme:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/esme-primrose-wheeler-aa275a23b/

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to the podcast and leave us a rating or review- it really helps others discover the podcast.

If you'd like to support our work and be part of a growing community of like-minded people working towards creating a healthier and more sustainable future please join the Plant-Based Health Professionals UK following the link below:

https://plantbasedhealthprofessionals.com/membership

You don't have to be a health care professional to join, but by doing so you’re not only supporting our work, you'll be improving your own health;  with membership starting from as little as £15 a year, join us now and be part of the change you want to see.

If you've ever felt the need to nod seriously when zoonoses are mentioned, but had the thought 'I'll look that up later', then this week's nugget could be for you. We're unpacking a little more about diseases that first infect animals and then pop up in humans. A bit of homework, if you like, before we get deeper into the issues in next week's full episode.

If you'd like to support our work and be part of a growing community of like-minded people working towards creating a healthier and more sustainable future please join the Plant-Based Health Professionals UK following the link below: 

⁠https://plantbasedhealthprofessionals.com/membership⁠

 You don't have to be a health care professional to join, but by doing so you’re not only supporting our work, you'll be improving your own health;  with membership starting from as little as £15 a year, join us now and be part of the change you want to see.

References:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950248926000040

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp048039

Animals, viruses, and us. ⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZq-OnumvtU⁠

In this episode, we are joined by registered dietitian and public health nutritionist Ginny Messina, MPH, RD, one of the most respected voices in plant-based nutrition.

We dive into the growing controversy surrounding plant-based meat alternatives and ultra-processed foods (UPFs). Are plant-based burgers and sausages really as unhealthy as some headlines suggest? Does the UPF label tell us everything we need to know about a food's health effects? And how should we think about plant-based meat within the context of an overall healthy dietary pattern?

Ginny is the author and co-author of several influential books, including Vegan for Life, and Even Vegans Die. She has spent decades helping people adopt nutritionally adequate plant-based diets grounded in science  In this episode she brings her trademark evidence-based and nuanced perspective to explore:

• What the science actually says about plant-based meat alternatives
• The strengths and limitations of the NOVA classification system
• Whether all ultra-processed foods should be viewed equally
• The role of plant-based meats in supporting dietary transitions
• Nutrient considerations for vegans and vegetarians
• How to separate nutrition science from social media sensationalism

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2025.1641234/full

To connect with Ginny: 

Website: The Vegan RD
https://www.theveganrd.com

Substack: Resistance Kitchen
https://theresistancekitchen.substack.com

Books:
https://www.theveganrd.com/mybooks/

Vegan Nutrition Resources:
https://www.theveganrd.com/vegan-nutrition-101/

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing, leaving a review, and sharing it with someone who may be interested in learning more too. If you'd like to support our work and be part of a growing community of like-minded people working towards creating a healthier and more sustainable future please join the Plant-Based Health Professionals UK following the link below:

https://plantbasedhealthprofessionals.com/membership

You don't have to be a health care professional to join, but by doing so you’re not only supporting our work, you'll be improving your own health;  with membership starting from as little as £15 a year, join us now and be part of the change you want to see.

A study published at the end of May provides more evidence that adherence to lifestyle recommendations endorsed by the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research reduces the risk of dying from any cause. This week's nugget explains more.

If you'd like to support our work and be part of a growing community of like-minded people working towards creating a healthier and more sustainable future please join the Plant-Based Health Professionals UK following the link below: ⁠

https://plantbasedhealthprofessionals.com/membership⁠ You don't have to be a health care professional to join, but by doing so you’re not only supporting our work, you'll be improving your own health;  with membership starting from as little as £15 a year, join us now and be part of the change you want to see.

https://plantbasedhealthprofessionals.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Cancer-factsheet-03.02.25.pdf

https://www.winchester.ac.uk/study/Short-courses/Courses/Lifestyle-medicine-for-cancer-prevention-and-survivorship/

https://acsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cncr.70437

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40361185/