What About Porridge – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode we discuss porridge and whether you should eat it as a regular part of a healthy diet.

We analyse the nutrient content of porridge, discuss the metabolic effects of a diet high in carbohydrates, and we dive into the case of 35 year old Robert whose symptoms include low energy and weight gain.

In this episode we discuss why we eat and what happens if we get it wrong!

We cover everything from macro and micro nutrients, to common signs and symptoms of nutrient deficiencies, and we dive into the case of 46 year old Diana whose symptoms include chronic acne rosacea, brain fog, and low energy.

In this episode we attempt to answer the question "what should you eat?” and lay out of set of principles for an optimum diet .

We also walk listeners through a 1-day optimum meal plan that meets all nutrient targets, apart from vitamin D.

We also dive into the real life case of Jemima, a 37 year old female with gut problems and low energy, and discuss how we identified and resolved the root cause of her problems.

In this episode we open up the mailbag and tackle the backlog of questions from our listeners.

We do our best to explain what it means to be “chronically healthy” and resilient, or anti-fragile. We discuss randomised controlled trials (RCTs), and how to use the strongest evidence to navigate the field of nutrition.

We also explain why nettles are NOT a “highly bioavailable source of iron”, but that dark chocolate with 70% cocoa content IS sufficient to reap the health benefits, and here both Chococo and Cocoa Runners get praised for their high-quality chocolate.

Then we cover how to eat healthily if you’re time poor or budget restrained, the benefits of nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) and NAD+ supplements, and we give some advice for women approaching perimenopause - mentioning Dr Sara Gottfried and Lara Briden who are experts in this area.

And finally, we lay out the 12 areas to focus on if you want to be healthy and live a long time.

Find out more on whataboutporridge.com

In this episode we dive into the murky world of vegetable oils, aka seed oils, or “industrial seed oils”, and we show why the oils most commonly used in cooking and industrial food production, such as canola, corn, cottonseed, soybean, and sunflower, might not be “heart healthy”, and might not be healthy at all.

We talk about the crucial role that dietary fat plays in our health, especially the health of our cells and cell membranes. We cover the biochemistry of fats, and frame the discussion by noting that the national dietary guidelines in the US and UK advise us to eat a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet.

The case against vegetable oils covers: concerns about cancers, oxidation and inflammation, toxic and volatile compounds, the impact of high omega-6 fats in the modern diet, and their poor nutritional profile.

We make the case that we should be limiting the consumption of omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), especially those found in processed foods, and we make the case that the safest oils to cook with are those that are fully saturated (and therefore cannot oxidise), i.e., goose fat, beef dripping and coconut oil.

Also in this episode, we compare our vegetarian one-day meal plans to see what challenges there are when you try to meet all of your nutrient needs on a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet.

In this episode we continue our 1-day meal plan series, this time focusing on vegan meals.

We explore another case from Ben's clinic, this time 43 year old “M”.

We discuss her symptoms that include chronic fatigue and stomach pains/ irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and we walk-through the steps taken to identify the root causes - discovering a gut infection and an autoimmune thyroid condition called Hashimoto’s thyroiditis along the way.

Join us as we explore this complex case involving everything from non-coeliac gluten sensitivity to a parasite infection.

In this episode we walk through a list of ten specific things you can implement that have been shown to slow the process of biological aging.

We discuss the fact that biological age is very different from chronological age, and is highly modifiable., and mention the well-known example of Bryan Johnson who has slowed his rate of ageing dramatically. We also talk about ways to measure biological age.

Things mentioned in this episode include:

• Bryan Johnson 90-day sauna experiment.
• A Financial Times article about the threat of lead poisoning.
• Andrew Huberman's deep dive into How to Build Strength, Muscle Size & Endurance.
• The advanced epigenetic test by TruDiagnostic.
• Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity, by Peter Attia.
• Life Force: How New Breakthroughs in Precision Medicine Can Transform the Quality of Your Life & Those You Love.

In this episode we discuss the role of diet in supporting athletic performance.

Aimed at amateur athletes, this episode covers macro nutrient requirements, including up-to-date guidance for protein intake to support muscle protein synthesis, metabolic flexibility and the role of fat and carbohydrate as it applies to exercise intensity, and we also look at the micro nutrients that are critical for supporting energy metabolism, and recovery.

We also explore the case of John, a 59 year old man who was lacking the energy to run. We examine his food diary and discover the reason that despite taking a few excellent supplements and taking up healthy pursuits such as sea swimming, his "nutrition gap" was sabotaging his health and athletic performance.

Things mentioned in this episode include:

The NHS vitamin D test.

An app that measures HRV.

Meal kits for “explorers”.

Ben’s favourite protein powder.

A high-quality mineral salt.

In this episode, we make the case for the Paleo diet, and lay out the evidence that shows that it's still the best diet for modern humans.

And we explore the reasons that so many people are fat, sick, and unhappy - something that's explained by the "evolutionary mismatch".

We also cover the release of the new US dietary guidelines, which finally spell the end of the low fat diet, and oh now much more closely aligned with the latest scientific research and our own view that we should all be eating a diet based on nutrient-dense whole foods diet.