9 Minutes to Better Health with Dr Nick Fuller

That’s a wrap on season 1. Thank you everyone for listening to the show. Stay tuned for season 2 coming soon!

What we eat and how we eat is a large part of the obesity problem and the growing waistlines we see today. It’s very hard to resist the foods we love and there are very good reasons as to why. First, there’s the food manufacturers themselves that have an uncanny ability to create food that smells, tastes, and looks delicious. But it’s not just the crafty work of the food manufacturers, we also have our ancestors to thank. As hunter gatherers we evolved to seek out high energy, nutrient dense foods, which gave us best bang for our buck. Food wasn’t always available, and it was hard to come by, so we gouged when it was available. Fast forward to today’s environment - our genes haven’t changed but our food environment has. The added fat, salt and sugars in these processed foods trigger addictive-like eating behaviours.

How do you prevent the cravings? And how do you prevent the associated weight gain that comes with your favourite foods? Join Dr Nick as he takes you on a deep dive into the studies to find out.

Relevant studies and resources can be found here:

Coeliac disease is an auto-immune disorder triggered by the consumption of gluten; a protein found in wheat, rye and barley, to give products such as bread their elasticity and texture. When people with coeliac disease eat gluten, they damage their small intestine and can’t absorb nutrients from food. They end up with unpleasant side effects such as itchy skin, heartburn, diarrhoea, bloating and constipation.

Despite the increase in gluten-free products in shops and people avoiding it, the disease only affects 1 per cent of the population.

Gluten is unsafe for those with coeliac disease BUT is it an issue for the rest of the population? Is going gluten-free a good idea? Join Dr Nick as he takes you on a deep dive into the studies to find out.

Relevant studies and resources can be found here:

More people than ever are turning to a vegan diet for a vast variety of reasons – these include ethical, cultural and health reasons. A vegan diet is a type of vegetarian diet that means abstaining from all animal products. This means no meat, poultry or fish. It also means no by-products such as eggs and dairy products. Basically, you’re left to eating fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds and legumes, which can make it quite challenging to meet your nutritional requirements for a variety of vitamins and minerals.

The research identifies six nutritional alarms when turning vegan. Join Dr Nick as he takes you on a deep dive into the studies to find out.

Relevant studies and resources can be found here:

Fussy eating is very common in young children and peaks around the age of 3. Fussy, picky, selective, or choosy eating refers to an unwillingness to eat familiar or new foods, and a lack of diet variety – typically less than 20 different foods in your child’s diet.

This can be a huge stress for parents because if the fussiness persists, it can lead to poor growth and development, nutrient deficiencies, and constipation. Plus it’s really annoying.  

The literature shows that almost half of all children will go through a fussy eating period and it’s a normal stage of development. Most kids are selective eaters. And if you think about it, it makes perfect sense, because it’s this food “fussiness” that ensured the survival of our ancestors, thousands of years ago. We sought out foods high in sugar and fat as these foods gave us best bang for our buck during times of food scarcity. And we rejected unfamiliar foods and bitter flavours - such as vegetables - to avoid ingestion of potential toxins.

Over time, our genes haven’t changed, but the food environment has. Now we’re spoilt for choice – you can find your favourite foods on every block and our kids scream out for the stuff. But as the studies show, while the genes that determine food fussiness have been passed on from our ancestors, it’s not our fate, and there’s some simple tips to deal with our kids unwillingness to eat new foods.

Join Dr Nick as he takes you on a deep dive into the science to find out.

Relevant studies and resources can be found here:

Metabolism is a term that describes all the chemical reactions in your body that keep your body alive and functioning. It’s most often used to describe your basal metabolic rate, or the number of calories you burn at rest.

Think of your metabolism, like your car. If you fill your car with poor quality fuel or you let it run out of petrol, it will have no power and won't operate efficiently. The same can be said for your body. If you neglect it, it will be sluggish and you’ll burn less calories at rest. And this is not a favourable position to be in, as it makes it hard to manage your weight.

Many factors can affect your metabolism including your sex, age, lifestyle and weight. And it definitely slows down as we get older. BUT, the good news is, there are things you can do to speed it up. Join Dr Nick as he takes you on a deep dive into the science to find out.

Relevant studies and resources can be found here:

Alcohol offers a mixed legacy to our society, having long been used in a broad range of social, cultural and religious contexts. In fact, we’ve been drinking fermented beverages for about 10,000 years.

In Australia, per capita alcohol consumption has been decreasing over the last 50 years. But even though Australia has seen a general reduction in alcohol consumption, it still contributes to a significant amount of disease as reported by the World Health Organization. In fact, it’s linked to more than 200 diseases, including cancer, heart disease and liver disease.

And that’s due to the active ingredient found in alcoholic beverages - a simple molecule called ethanol. This molecule affects the body in many different ways. The one we’re most familiar with is how it affects our thinking. It interferes with the brain’s communication pathways, and can affect the way the brain looks and works. But it also directly influences the stomach, heart, gallbladder, and liver, and increases the amount of cholesterol, triglycerides, and insulin in the blood all of which impact our health and weight.

BUT is it all bad news or are there some benefits from drinking alcohol? Can it be part of a healthy lifestyle? Join Dr Nick as he takes you on a deep dive into the science to find out.

Relevant studies and resources can be found here:

One of the biggest challenges in life for women relates to menopause. Typically, women reach menopause, which marks the end of menstruation in a woman’s life, between the ages of 45 and 55, but it can happen much earlier or as late as 60. Most women put on about half a kilo of weight every year during this period of life. This is especially important because considering the average life expectancy of women in developed countries is 81 years, women will spend about 40 per cent of their life in post-menopause, and the weight gain you experience during this time will put you at increased risk of disease.

So, how do you prevent the weight gain that comes with menopause? Are hormones to blame? Join Dr Nick as he takes you on a deep dive into the science to find out.

Relevant studies and resources can be found here:

Fats are an important part of a healthy diet. But some are better for you than others.

Trans fats are bad for our health, as are a lot of saturated fats. Mono and polyunsaturated fats should make up most of our fat intake. But when it comes to saturated fats, it gets complicated. Not all foods containing saturated fat are equal and therefore not all are bad for our health.

What are the different types of fat? In which foods do you find them? And which fats should you be avoiding for optimum health and a healthy weight? Join Dr Nick as he takes you on a deep dive into the science to find out.

Relevant studies and resources can be found here:

Good nutrition during pregnancy will help to keep you and your developing baby healthy. But, it's not just the quality of food you need to focus on, the quantity is important too. You need to eat much more than you normally do and it will result in weight gain. Irrespective of your weight when you fall pregnant, it's healthy to put on weight during pregnancy and vital for the growth and development of your baby. However, many struggle to lose pregnancy-related weight and this can result in long-term obesity and related serious chronic conditions.

So, what parts of your diet do you need to focus on when you're pregnant? How do you shed the kilos postpartum? Join Dr Nick as he takes you on a deep dive into the science to find out.

Relevant studies and resources can be found here:

This is a topic that is relevant to all of you, if not now, it will be in years to come. And that’s because we are an ageing population. By 2051, nearly 25% of the population will be over 65 years and 5% will be over 85 years. There are many considerations as we age but one of the most important is lifestyle, particularly diet. As you become older, your diet needs are different to when you were younger because your body stops working as well as it once did. For example, it’s not as good at producing the hormones and enzymes that are required to absorb the nutrients from the food you eat. Consequently, you become more susceptible to nutritional deficiencies and the poor health outcomes that follow.

There is no debating that preventative health strategies (for example, a healthy diet and a healthy weight) that are adopted in early life have the greatest effect on preventing disease, but as discussed in this week's podcast, you’ll also improve your health, reduce your risk of disease, improve your quality of life and reduce your risk of dying early, through the adoption of healthy eating in later life (i.e. over the age of 65).

So, what parts of your diet do you need to focus on as you age? Join Dr Nick as he takes you on a deep dive into the science to find out. 

Relevant studies and resources can be found here:

There’s intense debate about what type of diet is most effective for weight loss — those with a focus on protein, those that emphasize carbohydrates, or those that focus on fat – and its been going on for decades.

But what we’re particularly interested in today’s podcast is carbs. For decades we’ve been told to stay away from them. Originating in the 1970s with the evolution of the Atkins Diet, this has since morphed into our well-known diets, for example, Paleo and Keto, which advocate the cutting of carbs.

BUT are carbs bad for your waistline and health? Will they hinder your weight loss journey? And should you be cutting them from the evening meal?

Join Dr Nick as he takes you on a deep dive into the science to answer all these questions.

Relevant studies and resources can be found here:

Coffee is one of the most popular beverages worldwide and recent estimates suggest that more than 50 million cups of coffee are consumed daily, worldwide. There’s a lot of research to show that it does more than just wake us up – coffee doesn’t just contain caffeine, it’s also packed with nutrients, such as antioxidants, which are good for our health. It's also stated to have weight loss benefits. BUT, does coffee or caffeine help us burn more fat? Will it speed up your metabolism? And will it help you on your weight loss journey?

Join Dr Nick as he takes you on a deep dive into the science to answer all these questions.

Relevant studies and resources can be found here:

Dairy products are made from cow’s milk. Cow’s milk contains approximately 87% water, 4.6% lactose (carbohydrate), 3.4% protein, 0.8% minerals (e.g. calcium, magnesium, potassium) and 0.1% vitamins. It’s also a source of fat (4.2%) which is predominantly saturated and consequently it's one of the biggest contributors to saturated fat in our diet. In fact, it contributes to approximately one-fifth of total saturated fat intake consumed which is where the potential problem lies. Because one of the biggest risk factors for heart disease is saturated fat intake as it increases our bad cholesterol level (otherwise known as our LDL or low-density lipoprotein cholesterol). 

BUT are all saturated fats equal? Is it OK to have full fat dairy or do you need to be sticking to skim or low fat dairy? And is dairy going to make you fat?

Join Dr Nick as he takes you on a deep dive into the science to answer all these questions.

Relevant studies and resources can be found here:

Almost all physiological and biochemical processes within the human body follow a circadian rhythm. So, what's the best time to exercise for maximum reward? What time should you exercise to lose weight? When do you burn more fat while exercising?

Join Dr Nick as he takes you on a deep dive into the science to answer all these questions. 

This chat will also see you get off the couch with his simple tips to get moving and stay active.

Relevant studies and resources can be found here:

The advice on eggs has changed considerably over the past several decades leading to much consumer confusion. One minute they're on the menu, the next they're not. 

But are eggs bad for us? Do they increase our cholesterol intake? Should we be limiting our intake? And how many is too many?

Join Dr Nick as he takes you on a deep dive into the science and explains why there’s been so much confusion over the past several decades when it comes to eggs.

Relevant studies and resources can be found here:

The number of people struggling with their weight has doubled since 1980 – If we look at Australia, for example, approximately 2 in 3 people are now considered overweight. Consequently, we turn to diets, often spruiked by big-names celebrities to lose weight, and many of these diets promote eating little in the morning or skipping breakfast entirely. Intermittent fasting is the current fad we are all talking about, and it often means breakfast is the first to be scrapped from the menu in an attempt to cut calories from the diet and shorten the eating window throughout the day. 

Should you be skipping breakfast? Does it matter how much you eat at each meal? And should you eat your evening meal before 6pm?

Join Dr Nick as he takes you on a deep dive into the literature to find out all the answers.

Relevant studies and resources can be found here:

When it comes to weight loss supplements and pills, there's no shortage of them on the market. These are products that you can buy off the shelf in a pharmacy, supermarket and even some convenience stores. However, the biggest issue is that unlike pharmaceutical drugs, evidence for a weight loss pills safety and how effective it is, is not required before it hits the market. The owners of these supplements are only required to hold, but not necessarily produce, evidence substantiating their claims. 

Join Dr Nick as he takes you on a deep dive into the literature to find out which pills actually do what they say.

Relevant studies and resources can be found here:

This is a topic we often don't like to talk about. BUT, our poo, or poop, is a normal part of the digestive process and something we shouldn't be shy of. It's also very important to discuss because many of you listening will struggle with your bowel movements and this is often a result of poor lifestyle choices. 

Have you ever wondered why it's brown? Or whether yours is healthy?

Join Dr Nick as he takes you on a deep dive into the literature to explain the fun science behind all of this, as well as learn about what you can do to improve your gut health.

Relevant studies and resources can be found here:

Parents are often intimidated when it comes to introducing common allergens like eggs and peanuts to their babies. Particularly for those who have a family history of allergies - which affect one in every 10 kids under four - it can be very scary to get started on foods that may cause a reaction. 

Different theories abound, but what does the science say about when best to introduce and when to avoid?

Tune into Dr Nick’s chat as he breaks down the literature in less than 10 minutes and provides some simple tips to ensure your child is getting the nutrition they need.

Relevant studies can be found here:

Recent data suggests that people are drinking, on average, a bottle of soft drink EVERY day. It’s clearly an issue, but is it all bad news for our health and waistline? How much of the stuff can we drink before it becomes an issue?

Tune into Dr Nick’s chat as he breaks down the literature in less than 10 minutes.

Relevant studies can be found here:

When it comes to health and wellness, there’s no shortage of research and opinions. How do you wade through all this information; well, that’s where Dr Nick Fuller, a leading obesity expert from The University of Sydney, comes in and breaks it down for you in less than 10 minutes per episode.

Tune in as Dr Nick Fuller tackles topical health and wellness subjects that you can apply in your everyday life, such as:

Will soft drinks kill you?

Does meal time matter?

How should you eat to age gracefully?

Will caffeine speed up your metabolism?

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