The Nutrition Couch

A new study found a common sunscreen chemical at surprisingly high levels in Queensland kids, and if you're a parent you've probably already seen the headlines. So what does it actually mean, and should you be changing what goes on your kids' skin this summer?

This week on The Nutrition Couch, Leanne and Susie cut through the alarmist sunscreen coverage with a calm, evidence-based look at the research. Then they unpack new research showing that the more you like a fast food brand, the healthier you believe it is, and the poorer your overall diet tends to be. Plus the 18-calorie burger sauce Leanne happily paid $8 for, and the truth behind the viral claim that you should never blend bananas and berries.

In this episode:

• What the new homosalate study really found in Aussie kids, why Australia allows more than double the concentration Europe permits, and what the TGA is saying
• Leanne's no-panic approach to choosing a kids' sunscreen, and why zinc isn't automatically the better option
• The melanoma story that shows why yearly skin checks and acting early matter
• New research on fast food brand loyalty, and why the "healthier option" on the menu can quietly give you permission to eat more of it
• What Susie is seeing in clinic with GLP-1 users and fast food
• Why fast food sponsorship in sport, from cricket to State of Origin, shapes what our kids think is normal
• Product review: Fropro Fit Sauce Burger Mayo, the nutrition panel, the ingredient list, and Leanne's cheeseburger salad hack for eating more veg
• Listener question: should you stop putting bananas and berries in your smoothie? Where the claim started, the tiny eight-person study behind it, and why both dietitians are still blending them together

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That bottle of tomato sauce in your fridge could be anywhere from 53% tomatoes to 87%. And the brand that comes out on top will probably surprise you.

This week on The Nutrition Couch, Leanne Ward and Susie Burrell work through the supermarket sauce aisle so you don't have to, then unpack the creatine sleep study that has been all over your feed.

The tomato sauce ranking every family needs
Leanne reveals which sauces have the highest percentage of tomatoes, which ones quietly swap sugar for sweeteners, and which "fancy" glass bottle brands are among the lowest in the aisle. She also shares the three brands to choose if buying Australian-grown tomatoes matters to you, because the top performers mostly aren't. Susie's top picks will be on our Instagram as a swipe-through so you can save them for your next shop.

Does creatine really give you 48 more minutes of sleep?
The headline is real, but the study behind it is far more specific than Instagram is letting on. Susie explains who was actually studied, why the benefit only showed up on certain days, and what it means for women in perimenopause and menopause. Leanne then covers a completely different line of research on creatine and sleep deprivation, which is very relevant for shift workers and parents of little ones, plus the one safety point you can't skip if you take more than the usual dose.

Plus:
Leanne gives her verdict on Susie's new favourite supermarket crumbed chicken, and a listener asks the hosts to settle a sister showdown: is carob actually healthier than chocolate? The answer comes down to one number on the label most people never check.

Got a specific supplement question? Join the Designed by Dietitians private community group on Facebook. Send us a DM and we'll share the link.

If this episode helped you, share it with someone who loves their tomato sauce.

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Most Australians buy crumbed chicken from the supermarket regularly. Very few have any idea that some of those products contain as little as 28% actual chicken.

This week Leanne and Susie go through every major supermarket crumbed chicken product on the Australian market, from Woolworths and Coles to Aldi and the big brands like Ingham's and Steggles, and rank them by actual chicken content. The results are genuinely surprising, and not always in the way you would expect.

Then they cover new CSIRO research on protein needs for women in the menopausal transition, and the specific data point that explains why so many women are eating well but still not seeing the results they are looking for.

In this episode:

• Every major supermarket crumbed chicken product ranked by percentage of actual chicken: the Woolworths products that come out on top, the Coles products that disappoint, the Aldi chicken schnitzel with only 28% chicken, and why the price you pay does not predict the quality you get
• Why Ingham's and Steggles crumbed products consistently fall short, and the one Steggles product Susie does recommend that is almost impossible to find outside of Costco
• Why crumbing chicken at home is always the better nutritional choice, what to use instead of standard supermarket breadcrumbs, and Susie's Bergen soy linseed crumb method
• The difference between a thin crust and a thick batter schnitzel and why it matters for the chicken percentage you are actually getting
• New CSIRO analysis of over 1,300 women in midlife: why most women in the menopausal transition are falling 35 grams short of optimal daily protein intake, what 1.2 grams per kilogram of body weight looks like in practice, and why breakfast and lunch are where women consistently fall short
• Why swapping dairy milk for oat milk and Greek yogurt for coconut yogurt can quietly remove 20 or more grams of protein from your day without you noticing
• The Alinas Bakehouse Seeded Brown Rice Gluten-Free Crackers reviewed: 52% seeds, five clean ingredients, almost three grams of fiber per serve, and why Susie is giving them five out of five
• Is it better to exercise in two 15-minute sessions or one 30-minute session? The research on accumulated daily movement, why the answer changes depending on whether your goal is cardiovascular health or strength building, and why the best routine is the one you will actually do consistently.

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GLP-1 medications are now so widely used that most people know someone who is on them or have been tempted to try them themselves. But the questions that come with these medications, how long, how much, what happens when you stop, and what about the black market options circulating online, rarely get answered clearly.

This week Leanne and Susie work through the most frequently asked questions they receive about GLP-1 medications, with straight clinical answers rather than pharmaceutical company talking points. They also cover a brand new 2026 study on pork and weight loss that will reassure anyone who has been told they have to give up pork to lose weight.

In this episode:

• Do you have to stay on GLP-1 medications forever? Susie's clinical answer, who actually needs long-term use versus who can come off them, and the weaning strategy she uses with clients
• Who these medications are and are not appropriate for: the specific thresholds around body weight, waist measurement, and family history that Susie uses before recommending them to a client
• How to prevent muscle mass loss on GLP-1 medications, why some degree of muscle loss is unavoidable in a calorie deficit, and why extreme calorie restriction makes this significantly worse
• Why rapid weight loss on GLP-1 medications causes the face and neck changes people are calling Ozempic face, and why slower, more gradual weight loss over six to twelve months is the better approach for every reason
• How to still enjoy food on these medications: why controlling the dose is the key, and what it should feel like when the medication is working properly
• Why retatrutide is not approved in Australia, what the TGA has said, and why the black market version being sold through beauty clinics and informal networks is not safe under any circumstances
• A brand new May 2026 study published in the Journal of Nutrition and Diabetes: what happened when habitual pork consumers followed a structured weight loss program, why 5.3% body weight loss is considered clinically significant, and what it means for how you think about pork in a healthy diet
• Why lean pork cuts are an underrated budget-friendly protein source, and Leanne's two favourite ways to cook pork that stretch a $20 to $22 cut into ten to twelve meals
• The Woolworths Potato Utopia duck fat potatoes reviewed: 91% potato, 2.9% duck fat, 188 milligrams of sodium, and a surprisingly modest nutritional profile for what is essentially an indulgent frozen side dish
• Is granola healthy? The honest answer, what to look for on the label, why portion size matters more than the granola itself, and the specific brands Susie reaches for

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Inflammation is everywhere right now. On Instagram, in wellness spaces, in your DMs. Everything from weight gain to brain fog to sore joints is being blamed on cortisol and chronic inflammation, and a growing number of people are convinced they cannot exercise, eat in a calorie deficit, or live normally because it will make their inflammation worse.

So is any of this true? And is an anti-inflammatory diet actually a real thing?

This week Leanne and Susie take on one of the biggest buzzwords in nutrition right now and give it a proper evidence-based look. They unpack what inflammation actually is and why the way it is being described online is often completely inaccurate, what the research on polyphenols and anthocyanins actually shows, and which foods are genuinely worth prioritising if reducing inflammation is your goal.

This episode is proudly brought to you by Queen Garnet, Australia's antioxidant plum. Leanne and Susie share the research behind Queen Garnet throughout this episode, and you can find the full range at queengarnet.com.

In this episode:

• The two types of inflammation and why they are completely different: why acute inflammation from exercise, injury, or illness is a normal and healthy response, and what chronic low-grade inflammation actually looks like and why it develops
• Why a single weekend of eating badly, a glass of wine, or a slice of pizza is not putting your body into a chronic inflammatory state, and the specific lifestyle patterns that do contribute to inflammation over time
• The misinformation that is actively harming people: why telling someone with PCOS that they cannot exercise or diet because it spikes cortisol and causes inflammation is not only incorrect but counterproductive
• Why the Mediterranean dietary pattern consistently outperforms every other approach when it comes to reducing inflammatory markers, and the specific foods driving that result
• A review of a randomized, double-blind controlled trial on Queen Garnet plum juice: what happened to blood vessel function and vascular inflammatory markers when participants consumed a high antioxidant juice alongside a high fat meal, even in a single meal occasion
• A 12-week randomized controlled trial on anthocyanin-rich foods and adipose tissue function: what researchers found about how polyphenol-rich whole foods may influence metabolic processes in fat tissue and why this matters for metabolic health
• What anthocyanins and polyphenols actually are, which foods contain the highest concentrations, and why the bright red, purple, and orange colours in fruits and vegetables are a direct indicator of antioxidant content
• The Queen Garnet Antioxidant Plum Nectar reviewed: why it has approximately six times the antioxidant content of blueberries, how to use it, who it is most beneficial for, and where to find it year-round when the fresh fruit is out of season. Available at queengarnet.com, with a 20% saving on subscription
• Practical daily habits that genuinely shift inflammatory pathways: extra-virgin olive oil, walnuts, herbs and spices, green tea, brightly coloured vegetables, and the case for seven to ten serves of fresh produce every day.

 

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Fast food chains are now launching burgers with 80 grams of protein and calling it high performance. But is that actually good for you, or has the protein craze officially gone too far?

This week Leanne and Susie answer the question the fitness industry does not want to talk about: how much protein is actually too much, what your body does with the excess, and why the race to push protein higher in every product on the market is starting to work against the very goals it claims to support.

Then they cover a brand new study published in JAMA Network Open that identified two very different dietary patterns linked to weight management through the menopausal years, including one that most people have never heard of and that contradicts almost everything being said about menopause diets online right now.

In this episode:

• The new Grilled High Performance burger range: 80 grams of protein, over 700 calories, and why Leanne thinks even her beloved Grilled has gone too far with this one
• How much protein the body can actually utilise in a single meal, why the old 30-gram rule has been updated by recent research, and what happens to protein calories your body does not need
• Why small women are often overdoing protein at the expense of good fats, and why the macronutrient ratio matters as much as the total protein number
• A brand new 12-year study of over 38,000 women from the Nurses Health Study published in JAMA Network Open: the two dietary patterns most effective at preventing weight gain through the menopausal years, and why their results are surprisingly contradictory
• The planetary health diet and the low insulinaemic diet: what they actually are, how differently they approach carbohydrate and fat, and what Susie thinks the contrasting results reveal about the two main metabolic subtypes in perimenopause and menopause
• Why there is still no single magic menopause diet, and why working with a dietitian to personalise macronutrient ratios to your own glucose regulation and metabolic response remains the most effective approach
• A high-fiber vanilla custard from the South Australian Gourmet Food Company reviewed: who this product is actually for, why inulin is not Leanne's favourite fiber type for digestive health, and why she would reach for kiwi fruit or oats first
• How to take collagen and creatine consistently every day without having to force yourself to drink a shake: the coffee method, the yogurt method, the supplement stack, and why the research really does require eight to twelve weeks of daily use before results appear
• Why collagen peptides dissolve perfectly well in hot drinks despite what you may have heard, and the simple trick for avoiding clumping

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If you have switched to oat milk because you think it is healthier than dairy, this episode has some important information for you. And if you saw Miranda Kerr's diet advice doing the rounds in the media this week, Leanne and Susie have thoughts.

This week the team does a full ranking of every milk on the market, from full cream dairy to oat, soy, almond, coconut, and the new high-protein dairy milks, covering protein, calcium, fortification, what to check on the label, and who each one is actually best suited to. Then they respond to Miranda Kerr's widely covered restrictive diet recommendations with the specific nutritional corrections the media cycle did not bother to include.

In this episode:

• Every milk ranked by protein, calcium, and overall nutritional quality: dairy milk, soy, oat, almond, coconut, high-protein dairy blends, and why the answer to which is healthiest is not what most people assume
• Why oat milk is higher in carbohydrate, lower in protein, and often sweetened without people realising, and why the barista varieties from cafes are frequently not calcium-fortified at all
• Why soy milk is Leanne's personal choice and her preferred dairy alternative for clients, including the phytoestrogen angle for women in perimenopause and menopause
• The one thing to always check when buying any plant milk, why 300 milligrams of calcium per cup is the number to look for, and what most people are missing when they pick up almond milk thinking it is a nutritious swap
• Miranda Kerr's diet recommendations fact-checked: no eggs, no kale, no sushi, no salmon, no sourdough, venison for breakfast, and caviar as a protein source. What is actually wrong with this, why it is a concern when mainstream media amplifies it, and why the foods she is avoiding are among the most nutritionally valuable you can eat
• Why you can absolutely cook with extra virgin olive oil and always could, and the claim about salmon and mercury that is not supported by the evidence
• The new Philadelphia Protein Cream Cheese exposed: why the regular light Philadelphia and the protein version are nutritionally near-identical per 100 grams, and why the only meaningful difference is that the serving size has been increased
• How to find leaner and cheaper cuts of meat as beef prices continue to rise, why pork is underrated as a high-protein budget option, why slow cooker cuts are one of the best investments in your weekly food budget, and what to do if the supermarket sells you a fatty cut you cannot use

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If you watched the ABC Four Corners food fraud documentary and felt unsettled but were not quite sure what to do with the information, this episode is going to help. Leanne and Susie cut through the noise, share their honest dietitian response to what was actually alarming versus what was sensationalised, and give you the practical takeaways that matter.

Then they expose one of the most misleading supermarket product launches in recent memory, and explain something most women who exercise regularly do not want to hear: the workouts you are calling strength training probably are not.

In this episode:

• The ABC Four Corners documentary Duped: what Leanne and Susie actually think, what the investigation got right about tomato products and country of origin claims, why supermarkets and food regulators are equally responsible for the lack of accountability, and what you can practically do to reduce your exposure
• Why claims of Australian-made or Italian-grown do not always mean what you think they mean, and which food categories are most likely to be affected by supply chain substitution
• The xanthan gum research: a new study linking this common food additive to mild colon inflammation and changes to the gut microbiome in animal models, what a large French cohort study of over 100,000 adults found about emulsifier intake and cancer risk, and who specifically should be paying closer attention to this ingredient
• Primo's new High Protein Ham range exposed: how they appear to have increased the protein content without meaningfully changing the product, why the World Health Organization classifies processed red meat as a carcinogen, and the much cheaper and far better protein sources Leanne and Susie recommend instead
• Why going to the gym and lifting weights is not the same as strength training, what progressive overload actually means and why most women are not doing it, and why Pilates with one-kilo dumbbells is not building the bone density and muscle mass the guidelines are recommending

The bone health case for proper strength training: how mechanical load stimulates osteoblasts to lay down new bone, why this matters more from your 40s onward as estrogen declines, and the most practical way to get started if you genuinely do not know whether you are doing enough

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If you have already done the hard work, lost a decent amount of weight, and are now staring at the same two or three kilos that simply will not budge, this episode is going to make a lot of sense of what is happening and exactly what to do about it.

Leanne and Susie break down the real physiology behind why losing the last few kilos is significantly harder than losing the first ten, why the strategies that got you here are not the ones that will get you there, and the specific changes that actually move the needle when you are already doing most things right.

Then they do the research nobody wants to do themselves: wading through the menus at Eljana, Grilled, Nando's, A Perto, Guzman y Gomez, Subway, Betty's Burgers, Fishbowl, and more to find the lowest calorie, highest protein options you can actually order without sacrificing the whole meal.

In this episode:

• Why losing 30 kilos is genuinely easier than losing three, the physiology of why the human body resists leanness, and why everything that worked before will eventually stop working
• Why going to bed slightly hungry is actually a useful signal when you are trying to lose the last few kilos, and why the fear of hunger is one of the main things holding people back
• Why eating earlier rather than eating less can be one of the most powerful and sustainable strategies for shifting stubborn body fat, and how to apply it practically around a busy family schedule
• Why some people need to do less exercise, not more, to finally see the scale move, and how to tell which camp you are in
• The role of the weekend in undoing five days of good eating, why most people are maintaining rather than losing without realising it, and the one change that breaks the cycle
• The lowest calorie, highest protein options at Eljana, Grilled, Nando's, A Porto, Guzman y Gomez, Subway, Betty's Burgers, Fishbowl, and KFC. Specific menu items named, calorie counts given, and honest advice on what is actually worth ordering versus what just looks healthy
• Why Guzman y Gomez burritos and bowls are significantly higher in calories than most people assume, and the menu hack that most people would never consider
• Why a well-chosen burger from Grilled or Nando's is often a better nutritional choice than sushi, and what to ask for to drop the calorie count further without sacrificing the meal
• The Arnott's Quattro Caramel and Peanut Bar reviewed: 140 calories, five grams of protein, 33 ingredients, and the honest debate between Leanne and Susie about whether it is genuinely healthier than a chocolate bar or simply better marketing

The vitamin C question answered with the actual evidence: does it prevent colds, does it shorten them, and is there anything better to take in winter if that is your goal

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If you or someone you know is on a GLP-1 medication like Ozempic, Wegovy, or Mounjaro and the results have plateaued, or the weight is starting to creep back, this episode has the explanation you have been looking for and it is probably not what your doctor told you.

This week Susie breaks down exactly why these medications stop working for so many people, what is actually going wrong metabolically, and what to do about it instead of just increasing the dose. Then Leanne takes over for a genuinely useful segment on the Coles and Woolworths home brand products both dietitians buy every single week, which ones are just as good as the branded version, and which ones they would never swap out.

In this episode:

• Why GLP-1 medications like Mounjaro, Ozempic, and Wegovy stop working: the two metabolic patterns Susie sees most commonly in her clients, and why increasing the dose is often exactly the wrong response
• Why dramatically reducing calorie intake without addressing muscle mass and exercise will always lead to a plateau, and the counterintuitive reason why eating a little more and reducing the dose can actually restart results
• Why muscular, active women are particularly vulnerable to GLP-1 plateaus, and how being in carbohydrate no man's land sabotages fat burning even when the medication is working properly
• Why these medications should never be given without dietitian support, and what to actually focus on if you want to come off them eventually without regaining the weight
• The Coles and Woolworths home brand products Leanne and Susie buy every single week without hesitation: rolled oats, canned legumes, passata, frozen vegetables, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, chicken breast bites, marinated chicken, and more. Specific product names, aisle locations, and honest reasons why
• Why the Coles Kitchen frozen grilled vegetables and the Woolworths chicken breast bites are non-negotiables in both shopping trolleys, and the specific products in the Coles Perform and Coles Kitchen ranges that keep making it back onto the list
• The Aldi Gourmet Protein Bar reviewed: 10 grams of protein, 37% nuts and seeds, less than a dollar per bar, and a price-per-protein calculation that puts most supermarket bars to shame. What the ingredient list actually contains and who this bar is genuinely suited to
• Continuous glucose monitors: who actually needs one, why Leanne and Susie have both turned down paid partnerships with CGM companies, and the specific situations where they might genuinely be useful versus where they are more likely to create unnecessary food fear

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