One of the best guides to food variety is colour. And for colour, it is a group of natural plant chemicals called anthocyanins that are getting a lot of attention for their beneficial effects on our brain. Anthocyanins are the pigments that give red, purple, and blue plants their rich colouring. They’re responsible for putting the ‘blue’ into blueberries and a bunch of other berries as well as some foods with bright red-orange colouration. In this podcast, I’ll look at the science behind how these anthocyanins can help keep your brain healthy and functioning well throughout life. 

Links referred to in the podcast

• Blueberry supplementation and cognitive function in older adults https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28249119
• Systematic review of effects of anthocyanins on cognition, vascular function and cardiometabolic risk factors https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34204250

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Weight loss supplements are big business. Fat burners, fat blockers, metabolism boosters, appetite suppressants – these are just some of the popular kinds of pills, potions and herbal concoctions that fly off pharmacy and health food store shelves. But how effective are any of these products? That’s what I’ll explore in this podcast.

Links referred to in the podcast

• Systematic review of herbal supplements for weight loss https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31984610
• Systematic review of dietary supplements and alternative therapies for weight loss https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34159755
• Weight-loss supplements loosen dietary control https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24096084

Episode transcript
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Chromium is an essential trace mineral that is most closely tied to helping insulin work to lower glucose levels. That means you will often see it as a recommended supplement for people with diabetes. In this podcast, I’ll look closer at what chromium does in our body, where you find it in foods, and unpack the numerous health claims made about it in helping control blood sugars and even shed excess body weight.

Links referred to in the podcast

• Effect of chromium supplementation on glucose control in people with T2DM https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32730903
• Meta-analysis of effects of chromium supplementation in people with T2DM https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34237387

Episode transcript
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All manner of diet and exercise hacks are claimed to ‘boost your metabolism’, but what, if anything are they really doing to your body? In this podcast, I’ll explain what exactly is meant when you hear the term ‘metabolism boosting’, the factors that you can and can’t control that alter your metabolism and explore how much we can really blame our metabolism on weight changes.

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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Sugar addiction. Carb addiction. Junk food addiction. It seems we’re in the middle of a food addiction epidemic. But everyone is addicted to food to some degree; just try not eating for a day or two and you’ll crave the stuff. So, here it is a case of contrasting the deep physiologic survival need we have to eat versus the desire for specific types of foods. But can we really elevate what someone may consider a food addiction to that of a drug or gambling addiction? In this podcast, I’ll explore if food addiction really is a thing.

Links referred to in the podcast

• Systematic review on the evidence for ‘food addiction’ https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/10/4/477
• Ranking of foods based on ‘addictive potential’ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25692302

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 there was a particular way of eating that could give you the best chance possible of keeping your mind healthy and sharp into older age, would you want to adopt it? Well there is, and it is called the MIND diet. Designed by medical researchers to help reduce the risk of dementia and loss of brain function as you age, the research base into it is growing. In this podcast, I’ll look closer at the evidence behind the MIND diet and give you all the key foods that are part of it. 

Links referred to in the podcast

• Outline of the MIND diet https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/what-do-we-know-about-diet-and-prevention-alzheimers-disease
• Review of MIND diet and cognition in older adults https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33989093

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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You are what you eat. This is more than a trite phrase, as this mantra may have some direct relevance to the area of skin protection from UV sun damage. And here, it is the carotenoid family of vitamin A precursors which give many fruits and vegetables their vivid rich red, orange and yellow colours that could be getting into our skin to prevent the oxidative damage from the sun. In this podcast, I’ll look closer at those carotenoids and profile the latest research on how they could protect your skin. And as an extra reason for why you may want to eat more of these foods, I’ll explain why they could even help you get a date. 

Links referred to in the podcast

• Review of carotenoids in skin protection https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/phpp.12690
• Change in skin tone from eating more fruits and vegetables over 6 weeks https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/10.2105/AJPH.2011.300405 
• Carotenoid skin colouration and attractiveness https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Fruit-over-sunbed%3A-Carotenoid-skin-colouration-is-Lefevre-Perrett/6e81e0652bcc638acb9f16401b82bc2dfbaed856

Episode transcript
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Going ‘all in’ on plant foods is a trend that is showing no signs of slowing down. But for those who are all about the muscle gainz for their sport and health, should you be concerned that your hard-won muscle growth is being compromised because you’ve embraced a mostly plant-based life? In this podcast, I’ll delve into the key differences between animal and plant-based proteins, the main supplements on the market for each, and profile the latest research on how people fare for muscle growth when weight training on a vegetarian versus an omnivore diet.

Links referred to in the podcast

• Differences between vegetarian and omnivore endurance athletes https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27854281
• High-protein plant vs animal protein diet for resistance exercise https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33599941

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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Turmeric has been used in traditional Asian cultures for thousands of years as both a spice for cooking and for medicinal uses. Now medical science is backing up many of the traditional health claims made about turmeric and the compounds it contains. In this podcast, I investigate the turmeric story, outline why the focus seems to be on the bioactive compounds such as curcumin contained in it, what the research says about the many health conditions linked to it, and give you some guidance on the different supplemental forms available. 

Links referred to in the podcast

• Systematic review of curcumin and arthritis 2016 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27533649
• Systematic review of curcumin and osteoarthritis 2021 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34017975
• Curcumin and turmeric and effect on blood lipids https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29020971
• Curcumin and effect on exercise https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32282223
• Curcumin and depression meta-analysis https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31423805

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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Are you tired and worn out all the time? Are you always feeling tense and anxious? Do you crave salty foods? Then you could have adrenal fatigue. Well, that is to say, you could have it if it was actually recognised as a legitimate medical condition. In this podcast, I’ll explain what your adrenal glands do, look closer at the alternative health diagnosis of ‘adrenal fatigue’ and compare that to known medical conditions that do affect your adrenal glands.

Links referred to in the podcast

• Systematic review to substantiate if adrenal fatigue exists https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27557747

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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