Thinking Nutrition – Détails, épisodes et analyse

If you’ve ever been stopped dead in your tracks during exercise by a muscle cramp, you know you’ll try almost anything to make it stop. There have been countless theories and remedies put forward to explain and treat a dreaded muscle cramp, but science still has a bit of catching up to do. But there is one particular treatment that has been gaining traction by athletes as a secret weapon to treat cramps. And it is one that sounds more like a pregnancy craving than a sports supplement: it is pickle juice. Is this just another passing fad, or is there actual science behind downing a shot of pickle brine to uncramp a muscle? In this podcast episode, I’ll cut through the noise to look at the evidence and the surprising mechanism of how it may work and spoiler alert: it has nothing to do with electrolytes.

Links referred to in the podcast

• Pickle juice ingestion in electrically induced muscle cramps  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19997012
• AIS fact sheet on pickle juice https://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/nutrition/supplements/group_b/tastants/transient-receptor-potential-channel-agonists

Episode transcript
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Athletes are always on the lookout for a new sports supplement that could give them an edge. And there certainly are some sports supplements that deliver on their promises: creatine and caffeine are two clear examples. But a new supplement is starting to gain traction for its performance benefits: and that’s the humble mushroom. There's now emerging science suggesting that certain functional mushrooms, particularly the varieties of Cordyceps and reishi (also known as Ganoderma lucidum), may offer genuine benefits for endurance, recovery and immune function in athletes. In this podcast, I unpack the research behind these fungal supplements to see what's real, what's hype and whether these mushrooms deserve a spot in your supplement arsenal.

Links referred to in the podcast

• Review of the effect of mushroom supplementation on performance in athletes https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2025.1670416/full

Episode transcript
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Creatine is one of the most well-researched and effective sports nutrition supplements for improving exercise performance. So it is no surprise that interest in using creatine supplements to enhance performance during intense activity has grown dramatically over the last few years. One of the most common ‘use cases’ for creatine supplements is for muscle and strength gains. This makes creatine a popular choice by strength and power sports athletes, bodybuilders and recreational exercisers to supplement their resistance training. In this podcast episode, I dig deeper into what creatine is, how it may work and importantly: what the latest scientific evidence has to say about how it performs in maximising muscle gains.

Links referred to in the podcast

• IOC Consensus Statement on dietary supplements for use by high-performance athletes https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/52/7/439
• Systematic review of creatine supplementation and body composition https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39074168

Episode transcript
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Considered one of the world’s healthiest dietary patterns, the Mediterranean diet is linked to a host of positive health benefits. The theme of the diet is one abundant in fruits, vegetables, wholegrains, legumes and olive oil and where fish and poultry feature more often than red meat. From less chronic disease right through to a longer life, in this podcast I’ll dig deeper into the health merits of adopting some of the key themes of the Mediterranean diet for your own individual way of eating. 

Links referred to in the podcast 

• Umbrella review of the Mediterranean diet and health https://www.nature.com/articles/ejcn201758 
• Meta-analysis of the Mediterranean diet and cancer risk https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32770356 
• Mediterranean diet and bone health https://ajcn.nutrition.org/article/S0002-9165(22)02953-7/fulltext
• Clinical trial of the Mediterranean diet in pregnancy https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1002857

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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Vitamin B12 is an essential nutrient integral to the healthy functioning of the brain and nervous system. It is also involved in DNA synthesis and the formation of red blood cells. Because vitamin B12 is produced by bacteria in the large intestines of animals, plant-based foods are not a reliable source of vitamin B12 making people who follow a vegan diet a key at-risk group for deficiency. In this podcast, I’ll look at the roles of vitamin B12 and the main causes and consequences of deficiency.  

Links referred to in the podcast 

• Review on vitamin B12 and vegetarian diets www.mja.com.au/journal/2013/199/4/vitamin-b12-and-vegetarian-diets

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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Low-carbohydrate diets are certainly on trend today. And it is for diabetes that such diets have attracted a lot of attention. Low-carbohydrate diets have without question helped many people with diabetes keep their blood sugar levels more stable and even for some people with type 2 diabetes helped to even help to fully resolve their diabetes. In today’s podcast, I look at the history of dietary recommendations for diabetes. I’ll then look at what the scientific evidence says for how effective low-carbohydrate diets are for diabetes compared to other approaches. 

Links referred to in the podcast 

• Meta-analysis of low-carbohydrate diets in T2DM https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32638087 
• Review of different diets for managing T2DM https://ajcn.nutrition.org/article/S0002-9165(23)05440-0/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

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Iodine is a trace element that is naturally present in foods and is added to some types of salt. Iodine is an essential component of thyroid hormone which plays a key role in digestion, heart and muscle function, brain development and maintenance of bones. Getting enough iodine is important for everyone, especially infants and women who are pregnant. In this podcast, I’ll look at the roles of iodine, where it is found in food and what are the health issues with not getting enough of it. 

Links referred to in the podcast 

• Assessment of the effect of mandatory iodine fortification in Australia https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5133088

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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Sleep is like good nutrition for your brain. Poor sleep is like putting your brain on a junk food diet – literally. Now a growing pool of research is linking poor sleep habits and disrupted sleep patterns from shift work with adverse health problems that include obesity and metabolic conditions such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease. In this podcast, I’ll look at the sleep-health connection and explain what disrupted sleep could be doing to your food habits, hormones and weight.  

Links referred to in the podcast 

• Meta-analysis of the effect of shift work on the risk of obesity https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/obr.12621 
• Effect of sleep restriction on fat metabolism https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31484696 
• Effect of sleep deprivation on food choices https://elifesciences.org/articles/49053

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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Hangovers are the body's way of reminding us about the hazards of overindulgence. In this podcast, I’ll delve into what goes on behind the scenes to cause a hangover. I’ll then explore what science has to say about all those supposed ‘hangover cures’. And finally, I’ll outline the practical things that are in your control to help prevent and treat a hangover. 

Links referred to in the podcast 

• Alcohol, caffeine and its effect on attention and reaction time http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1360-0443.2010.03219.x/full 
• Systematic review of hangover treatments https://www.bmj.com/content/331/7531/1515

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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Feeling sleepy after a big meal? Is moving to the couch the only activity you’re capable of after Christmas lunch? You may just have been the victim of a food coma. Food comas are a real thing. And there is plenty of science to explain why the food binge you just took part in has done what it has to you. In this podcast, I explore the food coma in all its physiological and neurological glory and explain how you can help prevent it. 

Links referred to in the podcast 

• High-GI meals and sleep onset https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17284739

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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Twitter: CroweTim