The Dietitian Cafe

For today’s big dietetic debate episode, we are thrilled to be joined by two expert guests as we ask, is there a role for ketogenic diets in a clinical setting? Our guests both work within the field of ketogenic diets; one as a Senior Research Fellow and Specialist Paediatric Dietitian at UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, and the other as an advanced clinical practitioner, leading the Ketogenic Diet service at Royal Manchester Childrens Hospital.In this episode, we’ll start by recapping what the ketogenic diet is before moving on to discuss the use of the diet in a variety of clinical conditions, as well as some of the guidelines and evidence in this field. It's our pleasure to welcome to the Dietitian Café, Dr Natasha Schoeler and Victoria Whiteley. Natasha is a Senior Research Fellow and Specialist Paediatric Dietitian at Great Ormond Street. She specialises in the area of ketogenic diet therapies for neurological conditions and has worked on genetic laboratory and bioinformatics work, clinical trials, meta-analysis and qualitative research. She completed her PhD on genetic predictors of response to ketogenic diets in 2014 and I’m the Founder and Chair of the Ketogenic Dietitians Research Network.Victoria is a Dietitian working in an advanced clinical practitioner role, leading the Ketogenic Diet service at Royal Manchester Childrens Hospital. She has 19 years of experience within the NHS, specialising in Ketogenic diet therapy for the last 11 years since she set up the service at the Children's hospital. The service is one of the biggest in the UK supporting children and young people with drug-resistant epilepsy and those with underlying neurometabolic conditions. In addition to her clinical role, she is also heavily involved in research, and is co-Chair of the ketogenic dietitian's research network with Natasha. She is also a member of the medical board for GLUT-1 UK and a trustee for the Daisy Garland charity. She has recently embarked on a pre-doctoral fellowship with NIHR with the aim of completing a health economic analysis of the ketogenic diet in the management of epilepsy. Show Notes:Guest twitter handles:Natasha: @Natashaschoeler Victoria: @vwhiteleyUseful twitter accounts: @KDRN_online @matthewsfriends @thedaisygarland @ketocollege @BDA_Dietitians @BDA_Paediatrics Useful webpages: Ketogenic Dietitians Research Network: https://kdrn.co.uk/ Mathews friends: https://www.matthewsfriends.org/ The Daisy Garland: https://www.thedaisygarland.org.uk/Research papers:1.Use of ketogenic diet therapy in infants with epilepsy: A systematic review and meta-analysis. (2020). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32452537/ 2.Nice to know: impact of NICE guidelines on ketogenic diet services nationwide (2019). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31429508/ 3.Recent evidence on KD and cancer:a.Ketogenic diet in the treatment of cancer – Where do we stand? (2019). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7056920/ b.Cancer Treatment with the Ketogenic Diet: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Animal Studies (2021). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8219874/ c.Molecular Mechanisms for Ketone Body Metabolism, Signalling Functions, and Therapeutic Potential in Cancer (2022). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9694619/ d.Ketogenic Diets and Cancer: Emerging Evidence (2017). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6375425/

In today’s episode, we’ll be discussing the increasingly popular topic of nutraceuticals and exploring if they really are all they’re cracked up to be. We’ll chat to our guest about the basics of nutraceuticals, asking how they’re defined and regulated before looking ahead to what the future holds for this area of dietetics. We’ll also discuss the work our guest does with nutraceuticals in her role as a dietitian.To discuss this topic, we're delighted to be joined by award-winning consultant dietitian Sophie Medlin. Sophie is no stranger to the dietitian café podcast, having appeared on one of our very first episodes, and we are honoured to welcome her back! Sophie Medlin is an award-winning consultant dietitian with over 15 years of experience across the NHS, academic and private medical sector. During her time lecturing at King's College London, Sophie was inspired by the work of ground-breaking academic dietitians to start her own clinic - CityDietitians - so that the general public could access and benefit from their knowledge and expertise to improve their health. CityDietitians now offers a team of 11 specialist dietitians all with different areas of medical expertise. Sophie continues to lecture at universities across the country, supporting the education of new generations of dietitians. Alongside her clinical work, Sophie runs a consultancy business, formulating nutritional supplements and probiotic products. Using a combination of her academic knowledge and practical client experience Sophie builds her bespoke products to meet the highest standards to meet a range of dietary needs.Sophie is also well known for her media work and has been featured on TV programmes such as Inside The Factory, The One Show, How to Lose Weight Well, and many more. In 2023, Sophie featured as the dietitian in the groundbreaking gut health show “Know your Sh*t” on Channel 4. She is also recognised for her work dispelling myths and fads on social media and raising awareness of gut health issues. In her spare time (of which there isn’t much these days!), Sophie walks and runs with her beautiful dog Otis and enjoys weightlifting. She loves to cook and eat delicious food and find new restaurants with her friends and family as well as attending stand-up comedy nights.Show NotesSophie Medlin’s social’s:Website: www.citydietitians.co.uk Instagram: @sophiedietitian Twitter: @SophieDietitian HEIGHTS website: https://www.yourheights.com

In today’s episode, we’re delighted to be joined by the one and only Charlotte Stirling-Reed, best known to many as “The Baby & Child Nutritionist! Charlotte is a registered nutritionist, the owner of consultancy SR Nutrition and twice a Sunday Times bestselling author.In this episode we’ll chat to Charlotte about everything from the importance of toddlers developing a positive relationship with food and eating out and about with toddlers, to Charlotte’s work with Joe Wicks on Wean In 15.Charlotte has supported thousands of families with feeding their babies, toddlers and young children, especially since her audience has grown on social media. For parents looking for help with feeding their baby or toddler, Charlotte has created lots of free resources on this site to help at each stage of the feeding journey. Charlotte has written two books; “How to Wean Your Baby” which aims to give parents the knowledge to feed their baby with confidence and her most recent book “How to Feed Your Toddler” which is a complete guide to overcoming the common hurdles to help children develop a positive relationship with food. Show Notes:Charlotte’s website: https://www.srnutrition.co.ukCharlotte’s socials:Instagram: @sr_nutritionTwitter: @SR_NutritionFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/SRNutrition Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCY-ly4xy6JSeVskGEN2IIbg Tik tok: @srnutrition

In today’s episode, we’re discussing all things gut health and fibre. We’ll start by talking to our guest about their career before diving into today’s topic. We’ll discuss the latest research in the field of gut health, misconceptions around the topic and practical tips for diversifying the gut microbiome, for you and your patients. To discuss this subject, we're delighted to be joined by none other than registered dietitian and gut health specialist Dr Megan Rossi. Dr Megan Rossi, founder of The Gut Health Doctor, is considered one of the most influential gut health specialists internationally. A Registered Dietitian and Nutritionist for the last decade with an award-winning PhD in gut health, which was recognised for its contribution to science, receiving the Dean’s Award for outstanding research.As a leading Research Fellow at King’s College London, Megan is currently investigating nutrition-based therapies in gut health, receiving over £2.5Million in research funding and publishing over 30 scientific papers to date. Frustrated that her findings weren’t reaching the public and seeing fad and potentially dangerous misinformation on gut health being spread, Megan took to social media to share credible, evidence-based advice and has built an engaged community of over 390,000 people so far.Her debut book, Eat Yourself Healthy (UK, Aus & Europe) and Love Your Gut (US & Canada), was first published in September 2019 as an easy-to-digest guide to gut health and beyond, immediately becoming a Sunday Times bestseller. Her new book, Eat More, Live Well (UK, Aus & Europe) and How To Eat More Plants (US & Canada) was also an instant Sunday Times bestseller. Megan founded The Gut Health Clinic in London, where she leads a team of gut-specialist dietitians, as well as creating her own multi award-winning gut health food brand Bio&Me to bridge the gap between science and the food industry. Megan also has her own weekly column with the UK’s biggest selling newspaper, The Daily Mail, and regularly appears on UK’s most loved daytime TV show, This Morning.Show Notes:Gut health expert, Dr Megan Rossi, highlights the importance of diverse ingredients, in collaboration with PepsiCo Health & Nutrition Science. To find out more on PepsiCo’s product innovation and renovation work through the health and nutrition sciences team: www.pepsico.co.uk Dr Megan Rossi’s socials:Website: www.theguthealthdoctor.com Twitter: @TheGutHealthDoc Instagram: @TheGutHealthDoctor

In this episode, we shine a light on the dietetic speciality of inherited metabolic disorders. We sit down to explore the range of patients and conditions that dietitians manage in this speciality including phenylketonuria (PKU) and galactosaemia. We unpack the importance of diet in inherited metabolic disorders and discuss the advancements in management over recent years. Joining me today to delve into this topic are specialist inherited metabolic disorders dietitians Louise Robertson and Sarah Howe. In 2015 Sarah and Louise set up a dietetic blog called ‘Dietitian’s Life’ and have been working together ever since. The blog covers a mixture of general nutrition and PKU and has led to some amazing opportunities; in fact, they now have a regular column in the NHD magazine!Sarah has been working in Inherited Metabolic Disorders since 2010 and has never looked back. She qualified as a Dietitian in 2008, after completing a Biology Degree at York University, followed by a Post Graduate Diploma in Dietetics at Leeds Met University. Prior to this current role she worked in gastroenterology, oncology and haematology. Sarah has an interest in Glycogen Storage Disorders, Tyrosinaemia and Alstrom Syndrome and looks after these cohorts of patients in her role. In her spare time, she is a busy Mum of 3 children, loves to exercise, run, journal and is learning to play the piano. Louise is a specialist dietitian in Inherited Metabolic Disorders in Birmingham where she helped set up the service in 2008. She qualified as a dietitian in 2002 from the University of Surrey. Louise is also the dietitian for the Galactosaemia Support Group in the UK and she is on the committee for the dietitians group of the British Intertied Metabolic Diseases Group (BIMDG). She regularly presents at conferences at home and abroad, writes articles and with Sarah, coordinated and contributed to the new section ‘Inherited Metabolic Disorders in Adults’ in the 2015 and 2019 editions of The Manual of Dietetic Practice and the complementary ‘Case Studies’ book. Louise has 2 daughters, plays the cello in her local amateur orchestra and took up sewing during lockdown!Show notesBIMDG Dietitians Group: https://bimdg.org.uk/site/dietitians.aspNSPKU: https://nspku.orgGalactosaemia Support Group: https://www.galactosaemia.orgMetabolic Support UK: https://www.metabolicsupportuk.org/Dietetic Management of Adults with Phenylketonuria (PKU) in the UK: A Care Consensus Document: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8838652/Dietitian’s Life (Sarah and Louise’s blog): https://www.dietitianslife.com/www.facebook.com/dietitianslife/ Guest socials:Sarah’s Twitter: @metabolicSarah and @RunJumpScrap Louise’s Instagram: @dietitians_lifeLouise’s Twitter: @louisedietitian

In today’s episode we’re discussing the somewhat controversial legislation around calorie labelling on menus; unpacking the origin of this law and the evidence behind it. We’ll also explore the law’s impacts on public health and the food industry, as well as the consequences for those living with an eating disorder. To discuss this topic, I’m delighted to be joined by specialist dietitian and clinical advisor at the UK’s eating disorders charity BEAT, Sarah Fuller, and advanced specialist dietitian in obesity and bariatric surgery, Deepti Loomba.Sarah is a specialist eating disorders dietitian who has worked with children and young people with eating disorders for over 15 years. Sarah is a clinical advisor to BEAT the national eating disorders charity. Sarah has two research interests and has published papers in both areas, veganism in eating disorders and feeding under restraint in inpatient settings. Sarah is received funding from NHS England for her research and is currently working at Imperial College London for this. Sarah was also placed on the British Dietetic Association’s Roll of Honour in 2020 for her research into feeding under restraint. Sarah has a number of teaching positions at the Royal College of Paediatrics education regarding eating disorders, at Health Education England’s national eating disorders teaching programme and an honorary contract at the University of Northampton for their Child and Adolescent Mental Health master’s programme.Deepti is a specialist in weight management, hormone-driven conditions and Bariatric Surgery. She has worked as a Senior Dietitian and Weight Management Specialist Dietitian in a complex weight loss program where she supports other clinicians in ensuring that we continue as a team to provide optimal delivery of dietetic care to individuals. She has helped many individuals to better manage their type 2 diabetes, cholesterol levels, blood pressure and supports others in preventing and better managing their chronic conditions. She has achieved exceptional results as she believes it is not a one method that fits all as weight loss stems further than just to simply ‘eat less and move more’. She provides personalised care and shapes others knowledge to improve various markers of health. Deepti’s passion is to empower individuals to gain knowledge and confidence to manage their health conditions and to sustain habits for life long. She finds it incredibly rewarding to improve an individual quality of life and to help others reach their desirable goals.As a result of her progressive career in the NHS, digital healthcare and private sector, she has extensive knowledge in dietary counselling and supporting various conditions. She frequently supports those in achieving sustainable weight loss in the following areas: emotional eating, type 2 diabetes (inc. remission), polycystic ovarian syndrome, plant – based diet, metabolic diseases and can adapt to a cultural diet. She also maintains an active lifestyle and completed an additional qualification to become a personal trainer.Prior to this role, she worked as a leading dietitian in a GP setting this was commissioned by the CCG Provider due to the desirable health outcomes achieved across the board of Hayes Borough for all registered individuals to the GP Practice.Show Notes: Calorie Labelling information:https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-calorie-labelling-rules-come-into-force-to-improve-nations-healthResearch paper - Energy (calorie) labelling for healthier selection and consumption of food or alcohol:https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD014845/fullBeat’s website:https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/Guest socials:Sarah’s twitter: @ChattyDietitianDeepti’s Instagram: Deepti Loomba RD PT (@dietitian_deepti) • Instagram photos and videos

In today’s episode we’re discussing the law to ban junk food advertising online and before 9pm on TV; unpacking the origin of this law and the evidence behind it. We’ll also explore the law’s impacts on public health and the food industry. To discuss this topic, we're delighted to be joined by registered nutritionist and owner of The Nutrition Consultant, Charlotte Radcliffe. Charlotte Radcliffe is a registered nutritionist and has over 20 years’ experience in nutrition and health, strategy development, nutrition analysis, regulatory affairs, and food retailing/catering. She runs a highly successful nutrition consultancy (The Nutrition Consultant), which specialises in the provision of evidence-based nutrition services for the retail and hospitality sectors. Charlotte works with a wide variety of food brands both here in the UK and internationally, including many of the world’s most recognised restaurants, retailers, & manufacturers, along with innovation companies, charities, PR companies and the media.Show Notes: •Biteback 2030: https://www.biteback2030.com •Action on sugar: https://www.actiononsugar.org •Action on salt: https://www.actiononsalt.org.uk •Decrease in Obesity Among Primary Aged Children: https://digital.nhs.uk/news/2022/decrease-in-obesity-among-primary-aged-children-in-2021-22-latest-statistics-show •National Child Measurement Programme 2021/22 School Year Outputs-Action on Sugar:2022 News Stories - National Child Measurement Programme 2021/22 School Year Outputs - Action on Sugar•Banning Junk Food ads: Commitment Waning in the UK? https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/landia/PIIS2213-8587(22)00185-1.pdf Charlotte Radcliffe Socials:Website: https://thenutritionconsultant.org.uk Instagram: @the_nutrition_consultantTwitter: @Nutr_Consultant Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheNutritionConsultant/

In today’s episode, we’re going to talk about the importance of nutrition within the fire service, including discussions around food provision in the fire brigade and the impact of prioritising nutrition for firefighters. This episode will also explore nutrition-related health issues that firefighters may experience and delve deeper into the role of nutritionists and how they can support the health and well-being of firefighters. To discuss this topic, We're delighted to be joined by a Registered Nutritionist and Health Improvement Lead at The Fire Fighters Charity, Dr Greg Lessons. Greg’s unique academic and professional background prepared him perfectly for this role, as his MSc and PhD research resulted in the first UK fire station-based nutrition interventions, the first dietary assessment tool validated for UK firefighters and the first firefighter body composition reference charts.Greg is a Registered Nutritionist and currently has a full-time professional role with The Fire Fighters Charity as Health Improvement Lead. He was awarded his PhD in April 2021 and prior to this, spent three years as the first full-time nutritionist in the UK fire service (London Fire Brigade). Before this, Greg served London as a full-time firefighter for 17 years. He was awarded the student prize for ‘best original communication’ at the Nutrition Society Winter Conference in 2017, where he presented his first abstract. In 2019, Greg was named ‘Nutritionist of the year’ by the Caroline Walker Trust, following which he won the Public Sector Catering ‘Health and Nutrition Award’ for his work in the delivery of a clear health and nutrition strategy in the London Fire Brigade. Since February 2019, Greg has also been a part-time associate lecturer at London Metropolitan University where I have taught various areas of Human Nutrition.Show Notes:The Fire Fighters Charity:Website: https://www.firefighterscharity.org.uk/ Instagram: @thefirefighterscharityTwitter: @firefighters999Greg’s socials: LinkedIn: Greg Lessons PhDTwitter: @Greg_LessonsInstagram: @Greg_LessonsGreg’s research: Full access to Greg’s paper ‘Development of muscle mass and body fat reference curves for white male UK firefighters’ can be found here: https://rdcu.be/cyI9HPublished abstracts:•‘Development and validation of a novel food frequency questionnaire for UK firefighters’ https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/proceedings-of-the-nutrition-society/article/development-and-validation-of-a-novel-food-frequency-questionnaire-for-uk-firefighters/0B238FDBF8CD17C5071C389789183130#•‘BMI demonstrates poor validity against reference measures of proportional and central adiposity for classifying UK firefighter adiposity status’https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/proceedings-of-the-nutrition-society/article/bmi-demonstrates-poor-validity-against-reference-measures-of-proportional-and-central-adiposity-for-classifying-uk-firefighter-adiposity-status/F27EDF107EE76F878E47C5D0E21A82C8•‘A fire station-based dietary and lifestyle, controlled intervention for UK firefighter health’ https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/proceedings-of-the-nutrition-society/article/fire-stationbased-dietary-and-lifestyle-controlled-intervention-for-uk-firefighter-health/84F1A932F6EFCA092BA3655CDA4127F0•‘A kitchen-based cookery workshop intervention to ameliorate the fire station food environment’ https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/proceedings-of-the-nutrition-society/article/kitchenbased-cookery-workshop-intervention-to-ameliorate-the-fire-station-food-environment/24880066C918D16BE6706676836A70D9•‘A dietary and lifestyle worksite intervention to reduce high prevalence of overweight and obesity for London firefighters’ https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/proceedings-of-the-nutrition-society/article/dietary-and-lifestyle-worksite-intervention-to-reduce-high-prevalence-of-overweight-and-obesity-for-london-firefighters/B0C6F644FCAA0793C31A3C2AC6BBB6ED

After many of our dietitian listeners will have recently renewed for another few years with the HCPC, continued professional development (CPD) may well be at the forefront of your mind. In today’s episode, we sit down with two people - Donna Fielder & Jen Fielder who are actively working to make CPD a hassle-free task for allied health professionals. We’ll dive into the world of CPD, discussing if there are gold standard methods for recording, the main barriers to undertaking CPD and hearing our guests’ top tips for building a CPD portfolio to be proud of. Donna is a content producer for Julia Can Help, a platform designed to help allied health professionals (AHPs) record, reflect and report on their CPD. As part of this role, she's interviewed a wide range of AHP’s about their CPD experiences, and how this has supported their career progression. Jen graduated as a dietitian from the University of Surrey in 2002, before working for Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust at Addenbrookes Hospital.She moved to the south coast in 2003 to take up a position in the newly created Community Nutrition Support Dietetic Team. Over the years, she has progressed to become the Team Lead for the Community Nutrition Support Dietetic Team and the team has now expanded to provide community nutrition support services across East Sussex by a team of Dietitians and Dietetic Assistants. More recently, Jen has been successful in securing a secondment as Interim Professional Lead for the Nutrition and Dietetic Department at East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust. Her specialist interest areas include home enteral tube feeding, MND and the education and development of both established and student dietitians.Show Notes:For official guidance on CPD requirements for dietitians please visit:•https://www.hcpc-uk.org/cpd/ •https://www.bda.uk.com/practice-and-education/education/your-cpd.htmlTo explore how Julia can help you manage your CPD, and to sign up for a two-week free trial, visit:https://www.juliacanhelp.com/ or follow Julia on Twitter @CPDJulia or Instagram @juliacanhelp For guidance and inspiration on CPD activities check out the Julia magazine and resources webpage: https://www.juliacanhelp.com/magazine

In today’s episode, Harriet is joined by Dr Paul McArdle to discuss a topic that’s garnered multiple recent headlines – Artificial sweeteners. We’ll start by unpacking the basics including the history of non-sugar sweeteners and how they’re defined, before moving onto some of the myths and confusion surrounding this topic.Paul is a leading UK Registered Dietitian and a specialist in diabetes, weight management and mental health with over 20 years of experience. He's passionate about high-quality, evidence-based patient care and was part of the guideline development group for the 2018 Evidence-Based Nutrition Guidelines for the Prevention and Management of Diabetes in the UK. Paul combines both specialist clinical work and professional leadership within the NHS, with leadership roles at a national level in The British Dietetic Association, alongside freelance work in private practice.Show Notes:Dr Paul McArdle’s Twitter: @PMcArdleRDDr Paul McArdle’s website: https://www.paulmcardle.co.uk/training-consultancy/Dr. Paul McArdle, a registered dietitian specialising in diabetes, weight loss, mental health, education & training, is supporting the British Soft Drinks Association to raise awareness of the health benefits of incorporating non-sugar sweeteners into a balanced diet.For more information, head to the British Soft Drinks Association (BSDA) website: www.britishsoftdrinks.com/LNC-Sweeteners, or visit the Sweeteners Resource Centre: www.britishsoftdrinks.com/Low-no-calorie-sweeteners where a number of downloadable assets are available, with lots of questions on sweeteners answered. Information can also be found on the BSDA’s social channels:Twitter: @BritSoftDrinksFacebook: British Soft Drinks AssociationInstagram: @britsoftdrinks