The menopause can cause all sorts of changes in your body – weight gain, hot flushes, sleeplessness and joint pain amongst others. Can what you eat help ease these symptoms?

Officially a woman has reached menopause after 12 months without a period, however the transition itself can take years.

Many women are prescribed hormone replacement therapy to tackle some of these symptoms, but lifestyle changes can also be helpful.

In this programme we’re joined by three women who have experienced menopause and found some benefits in food. Elizabeth Ward is a registered dietitian based in the United States. She co-wrote a book called ‘The Menopause Diet Plan, A Natural Guide to Managing Hormones, Health and Happiness’. Fiona Staunton is a trained chef in Dublin, Ireland, who offers menopause cookery courses called ‘Fiona’s Food For Life’. Sue Mbaya is a Zimbabwean living in Ethiopia, she works in policy and governance, and presents the podcast ‘Pause for Menopause’.

(Picture: woman using hand held fan. Credit: Getty/BBC)

Produced by Beatrice Pickup.

Presented by Ruth Alexander.

Aeroplane food doesn’t have the greatest reputation. Though it might be easy to blame an airline for serving lacklustre meals, the problem is more complex.

Ruth Alexander discovers how the physics of flying wreaks havoc on our senses, the extraordinary lengths airlines have gone to try to dress up their food offering, and what it’s like to be the one serving you at your seat.

And, she asks, will it ever be possible for all passengers to enjoy a tasty and nourishing meal in the air?

Culinary historian, Richard Foss, chef-patron of Kitchen Theory, Jozef Youssef, and flight attendant, Kaylie Kay, join her for the ride.

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected]

(Picture: Child wearing headphones, eating food on board a plane. Credit: Getty/BBC)

Producer: Elisabeth Mahy

Many chefs reach global status, with international demand for their latest book. Spare a thought for the translators, tasked with making their recipes accessible across barriers of language, culture and cuisine.

Translating a recipe isn’t as simple as getting the dictionary out, you need to understand the different terminology and ingredients used in each country, whilst staying true to the original dish.

We speak to Rosa Llopis, a Spanish translator who specialises in gastronomy and has translated a number of cookbooks. Cristina Cigognini is an Italian translator who usually specialises in literary translation of novels, but brought her skills to two cook books published by the chef Yotam Ottolenghi. Nawal Nasrallah is an Iraqi living in the US who translates medieval Arabic food texts, bringing those historic recipes to new audiences.

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email [email protected].

Presented by Ruth Alexander.

Produced by Beatrice Pickup.

As Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II marks 70 years on the throne, we find out how you get a royal warrant.

It’s an official seal of approval granted to the suppliers of goods and services to the Royal household.

In London we visit one of Britain’s oldest cheese shops, Paxton & Whitfield, established in 1797. Managing director James Rutter tells us about the royal warrants the business has held since Queen Victoria was on the throne. We also visit Windsor, home to Windsor Castle one of the Queen’s many properties and Windsor & Eton brewery, which was awarded a royal warrant in 2018. Owner Will Calvert tells us what it takes to get this royal recognition.

Royal Warrant holders can’t tell you much about what the royal household buys or likes, we try to fill in the gaps with royal and social historian Caroline Aston, features writer for Majesty Magazine.

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected]

Presented by Ruth Alexander.

Produced by Beatrice Pickup.

What do writers eat to stoke their creative fires?

George Orwell is said to have had a penchant for plum pudding, while Agatha Christie was partial to sipping cream while at the typewriter.

Food is fuel for an author but also serves as inspiration; often finding its way on to the page.

In this episode of The Food Chain, Ruth Alexander speaks to novelists Avni Doshi and Abi Dare about their relationship with food and drink and how that influences their writing.

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected]

(Picture: Image of an apple and two bananas on a laptop screen. Credit: Getty/BBC)

Producer: Elisabeth Mahy

Thinking about how food passes through your body may not be something that crosses your mind, but for people who have had stoma surgery, they’re aware of it at every meal.

(Picture: Woman with stoma bag. Credit: Getty/BBC)

Producer: Sarah Stolarz

Wheat is one of the most important grains worldwide: you’ll find it in bread, biscuits, pasta, sauces, sweets and more besides. Indeed, take wheat products off supermarket shelves and they would look rather bare. But recent global events – not least the war in Ukraine - have caused crop prices to soar.

Ruth Alexander charts how a humble grass grown in the Fertile Crescent became a commodity traded worldwide, and she explores whether we have become too reliant on this “mega crop” for our food supplies – and what alternatives there might be. She talks to Cathy Zabinski, professor of plant and soil ecology at Montana State University, US; Frank Uekotter, professor of environmental humanities at the University of Birmingham, UK; and Augustine Sensie Bangura, CEO of Sierra Agri Foods, Sierra Leone.

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected]

(Picture: An ear of wheat blowing in the wind. Credit: Getty Images/BBC)

Hot sauce can inspire fervent passion in its devotees. It’s a global obsession that translates to billions of dollars of sales a year. But with so many on the market, how do you create a taste that becomes a global hit? In this programme, Ruth Alexander explores the origin stories of two iconic brands – Sriracha and Lao Gan Ma. How did these sauces - born in humble circumstances in Vietnam and China in the 1980s - come to sit on dining tables around the world today? We explore their extraordinary stories and ask what their popularity tell us about changing global tastes.

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected] 

(Picture: Large red chilli. Credit: Getty/BBC)

Producer: Sarah Stolarz

Contributors

Stephanie Li, blogger and YouTuber at ‘Chinese Cooking Demystified’

Andrea Nguyen, cookbook author and publisher of Vietworldkitchen.com

The man with carefully sculpted six-pack is everywhere: in Hollywood action films, on magazine front covers, in your social media feed, on dating apps. And so are the online ads telling you how to get the look. But what does it really take to get a washboard stomach? This week, Ruth Alexander hears from three men about the reality of getting ‘ripped’ and how much of it is down to what you eat. They reveal how deeply the experience can affect your relationship with food, your loved ones and yourself

(Picture: Male torso ripped in half. Credit: Getty/BBC)

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected]

Producer: Sarah Stolarz

Contributors:

Graham Isador, writer

Florian Gaffet, massage therapist

Matthew Todd, author ‘Straight Jacket: Overcoming Society’s Legacy of Gay Shame’

Can the love of eating meat ever get in the way of a relationship?

You may have heard the phrase ‘the way to someone’s heart is through their stomach’, but what happens if the foods they eat are wildly different from yours?

Tamasin Ford explores what it’s like to date a carnivore. Not just someone who eats meat, but someone who loves meat. Someone who has been brought up to eat meat in every meal.

We speak to two couples whose diets can sometimes be the source of their most heated arguments to find out how they navigate meal times and social events. Can tolerance win out over frustration?

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected]

(Picture: Steak on a plate. Credit: Getty/BBC)

Producer: Sarah Stolarz

Contributors:

Barbara Friend

Molly Savard

Charlie Pears-Wallace

Joe Deeney