Thinking Nutrition

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are common with women about 30 times more likely to develop one than men. The bacterial infection of a UTI can cause painful burning sensations when urinating, frequent and strong urges to urinate, and changes in the composition of the urine. Antibiotics are the most common first-line treatment for UTIs, but there is growing interest in the role that nutrition-related treatments can play in reducing the risk of developing a UTI in the first place. Enter the most common self-prescribed and best-researched treatment: the humble cranberry. In this podcast, I’ll look at the evidence for cranberries in all their forms for helping to reduce the risk of developing UTIs.

Links referred to in the podcast

• Cochrane review of cranberries and the risk of developing UTIs   https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD001321.pub6/full

Episode transcript
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Tendons play a vital part in helping us move. They are a collagen-infused super-strong bridge that connects muscles to bones allowing you to move your limbs. When overused, overloaded or damaged, these same tendons can cause us a lot of pain and movement impairment. Outside of the well-defined medical treatments and physiotherapy rehabilitation programs that assist with recovering from tendon injuries, there has been growing interest in the role of specialised tendon-targeted nutritional supplements in aiding repair and recovery. And for good reason, hydrolysed collagen is a key component of many of these supplements. In this podcast, I’ll look at where the evidence stands for nutritional supplements helping with tendon healing.

Links referred to in the podcast

• Review of nutritional supplements in the management of tendinopathy https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37146985
• Review of collagen peptide supplementation on joint injury and recovery https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8521576
• Collagen supplements: the science behind the health benefits https://www.thinkingnutrition.com.au/collagen-supplements-health
• Systematic review of the effect of collagen supplements on skin ageing https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/15/9/2080

Episode transcript
To access the full episode transcript, go to the following link and select the individual podcast episode and then click on the ‘Transcript’ tab https://thinkingnutrition.buzzsprout.com

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Do you want to lose weight, boost your metabolism, improve your digestion, detox your body, and have glowing skin all while keeping your body nicely alkalised and in balance? You can. All you need do is start each day with a glass of water with the juice of a freshly squeezed lemon in it. I mean water is good for you. And lemons, being a fruit, are good for you. So why not combine the two and get a quantum level of health-boosting synergy? Okay, so now for a dose of reality as I explore the whole lemon water trend and pull apart those amazing health claims to see what is hype and what is reality. 

Links referred to in the podcast

• Effect of lemon juice on the glycaemic response to bread https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35013789
• Effect of lemon juice on kidney stone recurrence https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8683665

Episode transcript
To access the full episode transcript, go to the following link and select the individual podcast episode and then click on the ‘Transcript’ tab https://thinkingnutrition.buzzsprout.com

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In recent years, there has been a surge of interest in the potential negative health effects of lectins. What are lectins? They’re a type of protein found in many plant foods such as legumes, wholegrains and some fruits and vegetables. If you take YouTube clips and popular diet books on their word, then these lectins are harmful to human health and are a major driver of inflammation, weight gain and many chronic diseases. Of course, to believe all this, you need to suspend the reality that humans have been eating these foods for thousands of years and it is only in modern times that we have been hit with all these major health problems. But hey, we need to blame it all on something I guess and lectins seem like a great way to sell books and get website clicks. In this podcast, I’ll explore the role of lectins in the diet, the alleged health risks, and counter that with the health benefits of eating lectin-containing foods.

Episode transcript
To access the full episode transcript, go to the following link and select the individual podcast episode and then click on the ‘Transcript’ tab https://thinkingnutrition.buzzsprout.com

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It is something that all regular and not-so-regular exercisers have experienced: muscle pain and soreness in the days following a particularly hard training session. It is the price paid for the benefits exercise, especially resistance training, can have on growing muscle mass and strength, stability, glucose tolerance and bone density. The list of ways that people deal with exercise-induced muscle soreness is long, but in this podcast, I’ll explore one aspect. And that’s how protein helps with the recovery process and how it can be doing you good even if the aches and pains don’t feel any less.

Links referred to in the podcast

• Meta-analysis on the effect of protein supplementation on exercise-induced muscle damage https://www.nature.com/articles/s41430-022-01250-y
• Review of protein timing https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1550-2783-10-5

Episode transcript
To access the full episode transcript, go to the following link and select the individual podcast episode and then click on the ‘Transcript’ tab https://thinkingnutrition.buzzsprout.com

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Olive oil is a core staple in a Mediterranean-style diet. And it is for good reasons that it takes a central place as a ‘go to’ salad and cooking oil in kitchens around the world. In this age where too many foods are dubiously anointed with the title of ‘superfood’, extra virgin olive oil may just be one food deserving of this name in the oil category. In this podcast, I’ll look at the unique properties of olive oil and delve into what the scientific evidence says about its health benefits.

Links referred to in the podcast

• Olive oil consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2022.1041203/full
• The PREDIMED Study https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4030221
• Coconut oil consumption and cardiovascular disease risk https://academic.oup.com/nutritionreviews/article/74/4/267/1807413

Episode transcript
To access the full episode transcript, go to the following link and select the individual podcast episode and then click on the ‘Transcript’ tab https://thinkingnutrition.buzzsprout.com

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If you’re active on social media in the health and nutrition space, it’s very likely you’ve seen health advice over the last few years warning you about the evils of seed oils. These seed oils are toxic don’t you know? And they’re blamed for a whole host of health ills such as inflammation, lowered immunity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer and more. But the reality about seed oils is far less scary and there are few health concerns you need worry about. And likely quite a few health benefits to be gained by having them. In this podcast, I’ll look at what seed oils are, explain where all those health warnings have come from and put this all into context for what it means for your health and the foods you choose to eat.

Links referred to in the podcast

• Blood levels of omega-6 fatty acids and cardiovascular disease https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30971107
• Cochrane review of omega-6 fatty acids and cardiovascular disease https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD011094.pub4/full
• Dietary fats and inflammatory markers in IBD https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33084958

Episode transcript
To access the full episode transcript, go to the following link and select the individual podcast episode and then click on the ‘Transcript’ tab https://thinkingnutrition.buzzsprout.com

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Nightshades are a group of plants that belong to the Solanaceae family. They include some very commonly eaten foods such as tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and potatoes. These foods have been eaten for centuries by many cultures around the world and are considered a staple food in many traditional diets. Despite this, if you go digging into ‘health and wellness’ advice on the Internet, you’ll sometimes come across health warnings about nightshades. Digestive issues and inflammation feature prominently. In this podcast, I explore the evidence for any health harms arising from eating nightshades and put this into context for the many health benefits that they also provide.

Episode transcript
To access the full episode transcript, go to the following link and select the individual podcast episode and then click on the ‘Transcript’ tab https://thinkingnutrition.buzzsprout.com

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From the common cold right through to the flu, it is something most people are faced with many times over in their life. And all of us could do with less coughing, sore throat, runny nose, body aches and fatigue in our lives. Our gut microbiota plays an important part in our immune system, so scientists for some years have looked at how changing our gut microbiota could influence respiratory tract infections. In this podcast, I’ll look at the current state of play for the role of supplemental probiotics, prebiotics and synbiotics in tackling acute respiratory tract infections.

Links referred to in the podcast

• Systematic review of probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics for respiratory tract infections https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35948276

Episode transcript
To access the full episode transcript, go to the following link and select the individual podcast episode and then click on the ‘Transcript’ tab https://thinkingnutrition.buzzsprout.com

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What we eat is increasingly recognised as an important element in influencing fertility. With almost one in six couples experiencing fertility problems, knowing more about lifestyle factors such as diet that can alter this has major consequences. Most research in this area has focused on specific nutrients or food groups. But we don’t eat foods or nutrients - we eat whole diets which are described as dietary patterns. In this podcast episode, I profile new research into the area of dietary patterns and fertility to see what clues it can give to an optimal ‘fertility diet’.

Links referred to in the podcast

• Dietary patterns and fertility in two large cohorts https://ajcn.nutrition.org/article/S0002-9165(23)03668-7/fulltext

Episode transcript
To access the full episode transcript, go to the following link and select the individual podcast episode and then click on the ‘Transcript’ tab https://thinkingnutrition.buzzsprout.com

Connect with me
Instagram: doctimcrowe
Facebook: Thinking Nutrition
Twitter: CroweTim