The Wellness Breakdown

Ultra-processed foods or UPF’s are foods that have undergone heavy processing using largely manufactured ingredients on industrial-scale levels. This usually means using methods like hydrogenation and moulding and chemical additives such as preservatives, stabilisers, emulsifiers and artificial sweeteners. These foods are typically calorie dense and low in nutritional value. Examples include crisps, cookies, cakes, many breads, ready-meals…the list is long, but they also include the so-called 'healthy' options like some milk alternatives and plant based foods. 

The general consensus is that ultra-processed foods are unhealthy and have been associated with an increased risk of myriad chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity and heart disease. However how bad can they be for our health?

That is the challenge for this week’s episode as Rose asks Eve to go all out on junk food for a week. 

The rules: Eve has to eat almost exclusively UPF’s for 7 days

Can Eve make it through the week or does she literally feel sick of it? 

Listen in to find out!

This season is kindly sponsored by Ancient and Brave. Head to https://ancientandbrave.earth

This podcast is produced by Elisa Kennedy

Thank you for listening and if you like the show please give us a good review and follow us so you don’t miss an episode - just click on the show page and press the plus sign.
 
We also love hearing from you, so if you have a story you want to share or a suggestion or question you can email us at [email protected] or contact us on Instagram @the_wellnessbreakdown @rosemaryferguson_ and @evekalinik

We're also over on You Tube - youtube.com/@thewellnessbreakdownpod 

DISCLAIMER: All the advice and recommendations in this podcast is  given generally.  If you feel like you have any contraindications to anything we recommend please check with your healthcare provider first. 

With the increased interest in the concept of fasting we wanted to push this to the extreme and explore water fasting - a type of fast during which you cannot consume anything other than water.

There are a few reasons why people might fast including religious reasons as well as prepping for medical procedures but in the realms of health benefits it is most commonly used for weight loss and ‘detoxing’. Whilst neither of these have been substantiated with scientific evidence there have been a small amount of studies linking its ability to help support the process of cellular renewal and potentially improving blood sugar management.

The rules: For 24 hours Rose can only consume plain water. No herbal teas or any other liquids. She must try to drink 2-3 litres of water during the 24 hours.

Whilst Rose is both an advocate and a seasoned faster, using various types of fasts in her practise, she has never attempted a full on water one which makes her the perfect person for this challenge. 

But will this be a bridge too far, even for Rose?  Listen to find out!

This season is kindly sponsored by Ancient and Brave. Head to https://ancientandbrave.earth

Rose also discussed her online workout challenge - for more info go to 
https://www.muscleandstrength.com

This podcast is produced by Elisa Kennedy

Thank you for listening and if you like the show please give us a good review and follow us so you don’t miss an episode - just click on the show page and press the plus sign.
 
We also love hearing from you, so if you have a story you want to share or a suggestion or question you can email us at [email protected] or contact us on Instagram @the_wellnessbreakdown @rosemaryferguson_ and @evekalinik

We're also over on You Tube - youtube.com/@thewellnessbreakdownpod 

DISCLAIMER: All the advice and recommendations in this podcast is  given generally.  If you feel like you have any contraindications to anything we recommend please check with your healthcare provider first. 

Love them or loathe them Brussels sprouts are synonymous with Christmas and so we thought an entire episode dedicated to them would be suitably festive. They also pack a pretty mean punch flavour and nutrition wise being that they are high in powerful compounds such as Indole-3-carbinols and sulforaphane that have been linked to myriad positive health benefits. They are also rich in raffinose which, although good for our gut bugs, is kind of the reason for their less…erm..’festive' gassy side effects. 

We wanted to test Brussels sprouts to the max so in this challenge both of us have to eat Brussels sprouts every day for 12 days. They can be cooked in any way we want but we do need to have them daily. 

Does this reaffirm Rose’s adoration of the little green fellas or does she actually feel green herself after 12 days straight on the sprouts? And can Eve actually complete one challenge this season? 

Listen to find out!

This season is kindly sponsored by Ancient and Brave. Head to https://ancientandbrave.earth for more info.

Some of our suggestions for tasty sprouts throughout Christmas!



Raw honey glazed Brussels

Ingredients

1 lb. Brussels sprouts, cleaned and halved
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 c. good quality balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp. raw local honey
1 tbsp. dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced
Himalayan salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Method

In a large skillet over medium heat, heat oil. Add Brussels sprouts, cut side down, and cook 3 to 4 minutes, until golden on the bottom. Add ¼ cup water and cover. Let Brussels sprouts steam until tender, 3 minutes. If the skillet seems dry, add more water a tablespoon at a time.

Remove sprouts from skillet and set aside on a plate. Add vinegar, honey, mustard, and garlic and whisk to combine. Bring to a simmer and cook until thick and syrupy, 6 to 8 minutes. Return sprouts to pan, toss to coat, and heat through, 2 to 3 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.


Shredded lemon maple sprouts 

Ingredients

Zest of 1 lemon, plus 3 tbsp. lemon juice
2 tbsp organic maple syrup 
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic
1/2 to 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes, depending on spice preference
1 tbsp. Extra-virgin olive oil
1 lb. Brussels sprouts, shredded
salt 
Freshly ground black pepper
Toasted slivered almonds, for serving

 Method

In a food processor or blender, combine lemon juice, anchovies, maple syrup, mustard, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Blend until smooth. (Alternatively, finely mince the anchovies and garlic and whisk into remaining sauce ingredients.) Set aside 2 tablespoons of the sauce for serving.

Heat oil in a 12” skillet over medium heat until shimmering.Add Brussels sprouts and shake pan to settle them in an even layer. Cook undisturbed for 5 minutes. Add all but the reserved 2 tablespoons sauce to the skillet and season with salt an

Thank you for listening and if you like the show please give us a good review and follow us so you don’t miss an episode - just click on the show page and press the plus sign.
 
We also love hearing from you, so if you have a story you want to share or a suggestion or question you can email us at [email protected] or contact us on Instagram @the_wellnessbreakdown @rosemaryferguson_ and @evekalinik

We're also over on You Tube - youtube.com/@thewellnessbreakdownpod 

DISCLAIMER: All the advice and recommendations in this podcast is  given generally.  If you feel like you have any contraindications to anything we recommend please check with your healthcare provider first. 

In this episode we rope Rose’s husband, the brilliant artist Jake Chapman, into a four week intensive yoga challenge to help address a long-standing injury.

The rules:
Jake has to follow an online yoga programme every day for 4 weeks using the infamous ‘yoga with Adrienne’.

Can getting his ‘ommm’ on help Jake to be more aware of taking care of his body and support injury recovery?

You don’t want to miss this episode!

This season is kindly sponsored by Ancient and Brave. Head to https://ancientandbrave.earth for more info.

For more info on the classes Jake took visit www.yogawithadriene.com


This podcast is produced by Elisa Kennedy

Thank you for listening and if you like the show please give us a good review and follow us so you don’t miss an episode - just click on the show page and press the plus sign.
 
We also love hearing from you, so if you have a story you want to share or a suggestion or question you can email us at [email protected] or contact us on Instagram @the_wellnessbreakdown @rosemaryferguson_ and @evekalinik

We're also over on You Tube - youtube.com/@thewellnessbreakdownpod 

DISCLAIMER: All the advice and recommendations in this podcast is  given generally.  If you feel like you have any contraindications to anything we recommend please check with your healthcare provider first. 

Hyberbaric Oxygen Treatment (HBOT) has been associated with improving a diverse range of conditions, mostly used for post surgical and injury recovery. More recently though it is being used to provide anti-inflammatory and immune support in conditions such as asthma. Essentially it involves sitting or lying in a pressurised chamber and breathing in approximately 95% of concentrated oxygen under atmospheric pressure which is reported to increase cell function and repair on a cellular level.

We were super intrigued about this and so was our third guest of the season, the amazing Jo Good, radio presenter, broadcast journalist and YouTube sensation. Jo has suffered from really bad bouts of asthma since having COVID so we thought she would be the perfect candidate to go into the chamber!

The rules:

Simple really. Jo must complete two HBOT sessions at The Vital Practise in W1 @thevitalpractice https://www.thevitalpractice.co.uk

Can HBOT be a way to help Jo back onto the road to recovery? And does her inner skeptic actually have a change of perspective after going into the chamber?

Listen in to find out!

This season is kindly sponsored by Ancient and Brave. Head to https://ancientandbrave.earthfor more info.

You can follow Jo Good on her You Tube channel Middle Aged Mibx here:
https://youtu.be/fj1DEyOp690

This podcast is produced by Elisa Kennedy

Thank you for listening and if you like the show please give us a good review and follow us so you don’t miss an episode - just click on the show page and press the plus sign.
 
We also love hearing from you, so if you have a story you want to share or a suggestion or question you can email us at [email protected] or contact us on Instagram @the_wellnessbreakdown @rosemaryferguson_ and @evekalinik

We're also over on You Tube - youtube.com/@thewellnessbreakdownpod 

DISCLAIMER: All the advice and recommendations in this podcast is  given generally.  If you feel like you have any contraindications to anything we recommend please check with your healthcare provider first. 

Strength training has become a lot more popular with the rise of so called ‘Fitspos’ on social media and the hashtag ‘gains’. Vanity aside though strength training has myriad health benefits in that it can help to protect joints from injury, maintain and improve bone density and muscle mass, as well increased range of mobility. Given its increased rise in health and fitness we wanted to put this to the test. No fancy gym kits or snazzy classes needed but just tried and tested exercises. 

The rules:

Based on a structured whole body online training programme which includes using a combination of weights and body weight resistance exercises. Rose has to do 3-4 sessions per week of 45-60 minutes per session for 6 weeks.

Does Rose surprise herself and find a new way of exercising? Listen in to find out!

This season is kindly sponsored by Ancient and Brave. Head to https://ancientandbrave.earth for more info.

This podcast is produced by Elisa Kennedy

Thank you for listening and if you like the show please give us a good review and follow us so you don’t miss an episode - just click on the show page and press the plus sign.
 
We also love hearing from you, so if you have a story you want to share or a suggestion or question you can email us at [email protected] or contact us on Instagram @the_wellnessbreakdown @rosemaryferguson_ and @evekalinik

We're also over on You Tube - youtube.com/@thewellnessbreakdownpod 

DISCLAIMER: All the advice and recommendations in this podcast is  given generally.  If you feel like you have any contraindications to anything we recommend please check with your healthcare provider first. 

Well to be clear we are not talking about the hallucinogenic ones but medicinal mushrooms that include reishi, cordyceps and lion’s mane to name a few. These medicinal mushrooms have been around for centuries and traditionally used for their health promoting benefits including helping to manage stress and anxiety, reduce inflammation and even heralded as promoting longevity. Scientific studies tell us that this is potentially due to the many bioactive compounds including immune modulating effects. This is why they have also been associated with supporting immune system health and the reason why we have decided to ask our next guest, Rose’s daughter, Elfie to take on the challenge. Elfie has had a longstanding history with her immune system health so we reckon she is the perfect candidate for this one!

The rules:

Elfie has to take a mushroom complex in capsule format as directed. We have also encouraged her to also use mushroom teas alongside to give her an extra hit. Because these do take a while to kick in the challenge is for 6 weeks. 

Can mushrooms hold the secret to getting Elfie’s immune system finally back and firing on all cylinders? 

Listen in to find out!

The brands used and mentioned in the episode are below

@mushrooms_4life

@myco.nutri

@dirteaworld

This season is kindly sponsored by Ancient and Brave. Head to https://ancientandbrave.earth for more info.

This podcast is produced by Elisa Kennedy

Thank you for listening and if you like the show please give us a good review and follow us so you don’t miss an episode - just click on the show page and press the plus sign.
 
We also love hearing from you, so if you have a story you want to share or a suggestion or question you can email us at [email protected] or contact us on Instagram @the_wellnessbreakdown @rosemaryferguson_ and @evekalinik

We're also over on You Tube - youtube.com/@thewellnessbreakdownpod 

DISCLAIMER: All the advice and recommendations in this podcast is  given generally.  If you feel like you have any contraindications to anything we recommend please check with your healthcare provider first. 

Collagen has been knocking around for some years and often with some outlandish claims, as well as a whole lot of products on the market which makes it really tricky to navigate. We wanted to get to the real potential benefits for collagen and the how’s, why’s and when to take it, so for this week we are delighted to invite Kate Prince, founder, and Jo Woodhurst, in-house nutritionist at Ancient & Brave to share their collagen pearls of wisdom!

Can collagen really deliver some of the promises that have been made? And why is it so important to buy a credible and responsibly sourced brand like Ancient & Brave?

If, like us, you had so many unanswered questions you are going to get so much from this episode!

This season is kindly sponsored by Ancient and Brave. Head to https://ancientandbrave.earth for more info and for their range of collagen powders and other products discussed in the episode. 

This podcast is produced by Elisa Kennedy

Thank you for listening and if you like the show please give us a good review and follow us so you don’t miss an episode - just click on the show page and press the plus sign.
 
We also love hearing from you, so if you have a story you want to share or a suggestion or question you can email us at [email protected] or contact us on Instagram @the_wellnessbreakdown @rosemaryferguson_ and @evekalinik

We're also over on You Tube - youtube.com/@thewellnessbreakdownpod 

DISCLAIMER: All the advice and recommendations in this podcast is  given generally.  If you feel like you have any contraindications to anything we recommend please check with your healthcare provider first. 

Like Dry Jan, Sober October, is nothing particularly new. However there is a massively rising trend is the amount of people that are deciding to shun alcohol altogether and opt for a completely sober life. You guys don’t need us to tell you that excessive alcohol consumption has some really negative health associations so can these periods of abstinence help to reset our relationship with it? Or can they actually feed into more of a binge-purge cycle? This is what we set out to uncover in this week’s episode and this time it is Eve taking on the challenge. 

The rules

Simple. Eve can’t drink any alcohol for the month of October. 

Well…we’ve already given spoilers here so you know Eve didn’t really stick with this but what were the feelings and patterns of behaviour that were triggered? Listen in to find out!

This season is kindly sponsored by Ancient and Brave. Head to https://ancientandbrave.earth

Some of the brands we mentioned…

Noughty https://noughtyaf.com 

Clean Co https://clean.co 

Wild Idol https://wildidol.com 

This podcast is produced by Elisa Kennedy

Thank you for listening and if you like the show please give us a good review and follow us so you don’t miss an episode - just click on the show page and press the plus sign.
 
We also love hearing from you, so if you have a story you want to share or a suggestion or question you can email us at [email protected] or contact us on Instagram @the_wellnessbreakdown @rosemaryferguson_ and @evekalinik

We're also over on You Tube - youtube.com/@thewellnessbreakdownpod 

DISCLAIMER: All the advice and recommendations in this podcast is  given generally.  If you feel like you have any contraindications to anything we recommend please check with your healthcare provider first. 

Many of us are familiar with the mantra ‘5-a-day’ and whilst that takes into account the amount of fruit and veg we should be eating it is missing a key component when it comes to gut health which is diversity. 

We know that the path to a healthier and happier gut is one that is diverse as this feeds many more good microbes in our microbiome. The way to achieve this is eating a wide variety of plants and this is where the new ’30-per-week’ phrase comes in.  

This week we rope in our first guest of the season, the incredibly inspiring Julia Samuel MBE, renowned psychotherapist, author, and podcaster. 

The rules

Julia has to meet the quota of 30 or more different types of plants per week which can come from fruit, vegetables, whole grains and nuts & seeds. Herbs and spices also count but since these are typically used in much lower amounts think of one measure of spice as a 1/4 portion. Each plant item only counts as once in the week even if Julia eats it every day. She can consume fresh, dried, canned or frozen so no restrictions there. 

We want to know if bringing some more variety into the plant foods we eat could be THE most important thing we do for our gut health? And how doable is it actually in a busy and convenience driven world?

This season is kindly sponsored by Ancient and Brave. Head to https://ancientandbrave.earth

For more info on our other episode sponsor Bimuno click here https://bit.ly/3TBvTPd 

Check out Julia Samuel MBE @juliasamuelmbe and her podcast Therapy Works https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/therapy-works/id1646616622 

And for Chefs in Schools head here https://chefsinschools.org.uk 

This podcast is produced by Elisa Kennedy

Thank you for listening and if you like the show please give us a good review and follow us so you don’t miss an episode - just click on the show page and press the plus sign.
 
We also love hearing from you, so if you have a story you want to share or a suggestion or question you can email us at [email protected] or contact us on Instagram @the_wellnessbreakdown @rosemaryferguson_ and @evekalinik

We're also over on You Tube - youtube.com/@thewellnessbreakdownpod 

DISCLAIMER: All the advice and recommendations in this podcast is  given generally.  If you feel like you have any contraindications to anything we recommend please check with your healthcare provider first.