Episodes
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Welcome to the Humans of Nutrition Podcast brought to you by Registered Nutritionists Anna Wheeler and Prof Danielle McCarthy.
In this podcast Anna and Danielle are delighted to introduce Maria Traka, Head of Food and Nutrition National Bioscience Research Infrastructure (NBRI) at Quadram Institute.
Danielle attended the Food & Nutrition NBRI StakeholderEngagement Event earlier this year. A key part of this stakeholder meeting was to generate discussion on how the McCance and Widdowson’s series of Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset (CoFID) is currently being used. Thanks to those who shared how this database informs their work - you can access our blog on the meeting here.
But we needed to hear more about the important work being conducted! As background, the Food & Nutrition NBRI was set up in 2023 and is a national coordinating ‘hub’ in nutrition and health and the leading national provider of new and continuously updated data tools and services vital for UK public health research and innovation.
Of course the Food and Nutrition NBRI did not start fromscratch – it is part of the evolution that traces back to pioneers of nutrition research, namely Robert McCance and Elsie Widdowson. Tune in to find out:
What has changed over the years?
Who uses food composition databases? For what?
How often are nutritional databases updated?
What needs to be considered to future proof nutritionaldatabases to stay relevant?
How do consumers influence what information may need to be captured on a nutritional database? (Inside scoop - Maria shares plans to include plant-based products in the dataset, a perfect example of consumerinfluence and future-proofing)
As nutrition professionals, we know how challenging it is to make the complex simple. Maria faces this challenge daily. For example:
How do we represent the range of different types of fibres that have different physiological impacts?
How do we keep pace with food reformulations?
We discuss nutrient profiling – an easy, accessible,at-a-glance way of categorising food. But what is getting lost in translation? Where do bio-actives sit? Additives? Processing techniques? UPF’s? What about environmental scores?
The complexity of the work of NBRI is obvious and real – how does Maria deal with these professional challenges? It’s a combination of values, vision, teamwork and being a realist.
Maria ends with a plea to make data FAIR – Findable,Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable. If you have influence in the food data space, and are invested in public healthbenefit, let’s make it FAIR!
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As nutrition professionals working in multiple contexts, we want to use our diverse experience to help organisations achieve their nutrition and health goals by providing them with the expertise they need, when they need it.
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Is there a nutrition topic you’d like to hear discussed? Or a ‘Human of Nutrition’ you think would make a great guest? Email us at [email protected].
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Help spread the word! Please share this episode with 1 person who you think might enjoy it.
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Get in touch to find out more about our company,Nutrition Talent and how we could work together.
Web: www.nutritiontalent.com
Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: @NutritionTalent
Instagram: @Nutrition_talent
Twitter: @NutritionTalent
Follow Anna
LinkedIn: @Anna Wheeler
Follow Danielle
LinkedIn: @DrDanielleMcCarthy
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Welcome to the Humans of Nutrition Podcast brought to you by Registered Nutritionists Anna Wheeler and Prof Danielle McCarthy.
In this podcast Anna and Danielle chat to their team member Kate McCulla, Registered Dietitian and Nutrition Development Manager for Nutrition Talent.
Kate passionately believes that health professionals need to invest in developing their communication and behaviour change skills.
Think about how you would like to be talked to if you were discussing a behaviour change with someone – especially on a topic where you are experiencing the (completely normal!) human experience of ambivalence (being uncertain about how you feel about change).
Would you respond better to:
1. Being told what to do, or
2. Being supported in a 2-way conversation that explores what is important to you and what your abilities and strengths are to help overcome barriers to change?
It is widely accepted that imparting knowledge, givinginformation alone, or telling people what to do does not support behaviour change. We need to couple our knowledge with communication skills in a way that enables action.
With a focus on practical and learnable skills, Kate gives an outline of communication skills borrowed from the world of motivational interviewing.
During Dietitian’s Week 2024, Kate also takes theopportunity to highlight one of the daily themes “Celebrating Us”, specifically suggesting that Registered Dietitians and Registered Nutritionists have more incommon than there are differences. Nutrition Talent embodies this in supporting both professions in ourmission of inspiring and connecting expertise!
Resources referenced:
https://www.bctonline.co.uk/
https://motivationalinterviewing.org/books
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Would training to develop your communication skills be useful? Let us know what areas you would find supportive of your professional development.
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As nutrition professionals working in multiple contexts, we want to use our diverse experience to help organisations achieve their nutrition and health goals by providing them with the expertise they need, when they need it.
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Is there a nutrition topic you’d like to hear discussed? Or a ‘Human of Nutrition’ you think would make a great guest? Email us at [email protected].
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Help spread the word! Please share this episodewith 1 person who you think might enjoy it.
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Get in touch to find out more about our company, Nutrition Talent and how we could work together.
Web: www.nutritiontalent.com
Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: @NutritionTalent
Instagram: @Nutrition_talent
Twitter: @NutritionTalent
Follow Anna
LinkedIn: @Anna Wheeler
Follow Danielle
LinkedIn: @DrDanielleMcCarthy
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Missing episodes?
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Welcome to the Humans of Nutrition Podcast brought to you by Registered Nutritionists Anna Wheeler and Prof Danielle McCarthy.
In this podcast Anna and Danielle chat to Professor Sue Lanham-New, Professor of Human Nutrition and Head of Nutritional Science Department at University of Surrey.
Sue’s research focuses on Vitamin D – she is passionate about helping people living with osteoporosis andhappily volunteers her time and expert knowledge to osteoporosis charities. A true “Human of Nutrition”!
Anna and Danielle step back in time, returning to the University of Surrey where they studied, became friends and first met Sue in the lecture theatre!
Fast forward to April 2024, and Anna and Danielle are back at University of Surrey, delivering a careers workshop to final year nutrition students in the morning, and catching up with Sue in the afternoon!
We hear about the ground-breaking research on Vitamin D that Sue leads on. At the start of this journey, the UK did not have an RNI for Vitamin D due to the assumption that we had enough sunlight in summer months to generate, store and utilise through the winter months. It’s clear that the evidence around Vitamin D moved on, thanks in no small part to Sue and her colleagues, leading to theestablishment of an RNI for Vitamin D in 2016.
Sue is generous in giving credit to her team, informing us about ongoing research projects such as the differing Vitamin D requirements in ethnic groups, VitaminD / iron interaction, and investigating Vitamin D supplementation in the management of acute respiratory tract infections. She is honest about the difficulties securing funding for research projects but demonstrates how resilience and determination pays off.
Here's the science bit – do you know:
· the difference between Vitamin D2 and Vitamin D3?
· their different metabolic pathways?
· which type is preferred for supplementation?
· your micrograms from your international units?
· what the RNI is?
· what the safe upper limit is?
· why, on food labelling, the NRV is set at half theRNI?
· how fruit and vegetables impact bone health? (Funquestion - Are tomatoes high in Vitamin D? Yes – if you ‘gene edit’ them!)
Listen in to find out all of the above and more!
Sue is offered a ‘magic wand’ – something she’d like to see change in the next 10 years. Her response is simple – for Vitamin D deficiency to be eradicated. Yet public health messaging around Vitamin D supplementation is not getting through – how can health professionals get thismessage across?
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As nutrition professionals working in multiple contexts, we want to use our diverse experience to help organisations achieve their nutrition and health goals by providing them with the expertise they need, when they need it.
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Get in touch to find out more about our company, Nutrition Talent and how we could work together.
Web: www.nutritiontalent.com
Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: @NutritionTalent
Instagram: @Nutrition_talent
Twitter: @NutritionTalent
Follow Anna: LinkedIn @Anna Wheeler
Follow Danielle: LinkedIn @DrDanielleMcCarthy -
Welcome to the Humans of Nutrition Podcast brought to you by Registered Nutritionists Anna Wheeler and Prof Danielle McCarthy.
In this bonus episode, Anna and Danielle reflect on their 20-year journey since graduating from the University of Surrey. Back on campus to deliver a careers workshop to current students, they discuss the nostalgia of returning and the memories it brings back.
They also share advice they would give their younger selves, emphasising the importance of determination, work-life balance, and confidence. The episode concludes with their hopes for the future of their careers and the nutrition profession.
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As nutrition professionals working in multiple contexts, we want to use our diverse experience to help organisations achieve their nutrition and health goals by providing them with the expertise they need, when they need it.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Get in touch to find out more about our company,Nutrition Talent and how we could work together.
Web: www.nutritiontalent.com
Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: @NutritionTalent
Instagram: @Nutrition_talent
Twitter: @NutritionTalent
Follow Anna
LinkedIn: @Anna Wheeler
Follow Danielle
LinkedIn: @DrDanielleMcCarthy
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Welcome to the Humans of Nutrition Podcast brought to you by Registered Nutritionists Anna Wheeler and Prof Danielle McCarthy.
In this podcast Anna and Danielle chat to Rebecca Tobi, Registered Nutritionist and Senior Business and Investor Engagement Manager at the Food Foundation.
Rebecca highlights the importance of collaborationand engagement with businesses and investors in promoting healthy and sustainable diets. If you’ve never really considered the role of investors in the food system and how this drives change, this podcast is rich with insight. Hear about opportunities and risks from theinvestor perspective, their interest in health and their long-term vision.
We talk about some of the work of the Food Foundation, and their particular focus on low income households and children. Rebecca shares some shocking statistics:
· almost 15% of households experienced foodinsecurity in January 2024
· around 23% of families with children under fiveexperience food poverty
Against this backdrop, we hear about one of the Food Foundation’s greatest achievements, a behind-the-scenesinsight into how their collaboration with Marcus Rashford came about, resulting in a government funded package of support of almost £4m, positively impacting the lives of 1.7m children - an incredible example of impact metrics.
Rebecca shares a working example of galvanising action and momentum, bringing together a range of stakeholders working collaboratively to “find the sweet spots where people agree”. The outcome was the Peas Pleasepledge. She also discusses the Plating Up Progress Report and the important role of disclosure and target setting.
We get a profound sense of the complexity of food systems and the challenges of driving change. Rebecca navigates this daily – she shares how she builds the resilience to keep rising to these challenges. A true Human of Nutrition.
References:
Broken Plate: https://foodfoundation.org.uk/publication/broken-plate-2023
Plating Up Progress Report: https://foodfoundation.org.uk/initiatives/plating-up-progress
Peas Please Initiative: https://foodfoundation.org.uk/initiatives/peas-please
End Child Food Poverty Coalition: https://foodfoundation.org.uk/initiatives/endchildfoodpoverty-campaign
Share Action: https://shareaction.org/
ATNI – Access to Nutrition Initiative: https://accesstonutrition.org/
FDTP – Food Data Transparency Partnership: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/food-data-transparency-partnership
Investor Coalition on Food Policy: https://foodfoundation.org.uk/initiatives/investor-coalition-food-policy
National Food Strategy 2021: https://www.nationalfoodstrategy.org/
Fare Share: https://fareshare.org.uk
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As nutrition professionals working in multiple contexts, we want to use our diverse experience to help organisations achieve their nutrition and health goals by providing them with the expertise they need, when they need it.
- - -- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Get in touch to find out more about our company,
Nutrition Talent and how we could work together.
Web: www.nutritiontalent.com
Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: @NutritionTalent
Instagram: @Nutrition_talent
Twitter: @NutritionTalent
Follow Anna
LinkedIn: @Anna Wheeler
Follow Danielle
LinkedIn: @DrDanielleMcCarthy
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Welcome to the Humans of Nutrition Podcast brought to you by Registered Nutritionists Anna Wheeler and Prof Danielle McCarthy.
In this podcast Anna and Danielle chat to Dr Liz Leigh-Firbank, a nutritionist and product developer with expertise in nutrition communications and strategy, food product development, regulatory and sensory evaluation.
Currently with Lintbells, an animal nutrition company that produces products for pets, it’s fair to say that Liz’s career path from studying Nutrition and Food Science at Surrey (the same as Anna and Danielle!) to her current role has been career pivoting in action!
Liz could give us a masterclass in navigating opportunities,making brave choices that balance both career aspirations and personal life as priorities change and circumstances dictate. At one point, Liz re-trained as a teacher – a living example of open-mindedness and forging your own path!
Thankfully for the nutrition world, Liz made her way backand drew on her extensive experience to land on her current position with Lintbells.
It raises the question – are there any parallels betweenworking in human nutrition and animal nutrition? The short answer is yes! It will be no surprise that we share challenges eg problems exacerbated by weight or joint pain and this can be impacted by diet. With reference to the work Liz does in product development, we learn about the commonalities:
· sustainably sourced ingredients
· nutrient composition
· safety
· evidence of clinical benefit
· adherence to regulations
· ending with a product that is acceptable and palatable
There are of course differences that are acknowledged,especially the complexity around demonstrating clinical benefit of products in human health, partly because of the relatively much wider diet variety compared to animals, and the challenges in developing a product for a different species!
We end with an acknowledgement of the power of friendship and networks – Liz and Nutrition Talent’s Anna were colleagues during their time at Unilever, and Nutrition Talent wouldn’t exist without the enduringfriendship of Anna and Danielle!
Nurture your network – and be open to the opportunities that arise as a result!
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As nutrition professionals working in multiple contexts, we want to use our diverse experience to help organisations achieve their nutrition and health goals by providing them with the expertise they need, when they need it.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Get in touch to find out more about our company,Nutrition Talent and how we could work together.
Web: www.nutritiontalent.com
Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: @NutritionTalent
Instagram: @Nutrition_talent
Twitter: @NutritionTalent
Follow AnnaLinkedIn: @Anna Wheeler
Follow DanielleLinkedIn: @DrDanielleMcCarthy
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Welcome to the Humans of Nutrition Podcast brought to you by Registered Nutritionists Anna Wheeler and Prof Danielle McCarthy.
Anna and Danielle chat to registered nutritionists, Dr Laura Wyness and Lynn Burns, about navigating perimenopause. This has become a hot(!) topic, bringing the conversation into the public domain, while creating an explosion of supplements and products targeted at women that may not be supported by evidence – ever heard of menowashing?
Laura and Lynn cut through the noise in their book, and we are delighted to share their insights in this critical area of health.
They noticed their clients were increasingly seeking advice about managing menopause and realised there was a lack of evidence in this area. They reference a text which spotlights the lack of data and research on women. Shocking.
What most women refer to as menopause is actually perimenopause. Menopause is a defined point in time – theabsence of a menstrual cycle for 12 months. Symptoms up to this point are multiple and varied (there are currently >40 recognised perimenopause symptoms), each woman will experience different symptoms at different severity. However, there are multiple health factors for all females to consider, even if you breeze through menopause without breaking a sweat (1 in 5 women have very few symptoms).
The aim of this podcast and Laura and Lynn’s book is to inform and empower women, provide practical support and advice, yet we cannot overlook the significant health risk that accompanies this life stage.
Did you know for example:
· 77% of women aged 45 to 64 have raised cholesterol, predisposing to heart disease
· Heart disease kills more women than breast cancer
· Hormone fluctuations can impact blood pressure
· Gut microbiome influences menopausal symptoms
· The health problems interlink eg gut microbiome impacts mood, sleep and heart health
· Menopause can exacerbate urinary issues, which, if not managed, can contribute to reduced activity (a health risk in itself), increased social isolation and even future falls; all of which can impact independence later in life.
The good news is that awareness of these potential problems can empower us to mitigate the health risk. Diet offers a key vehicle for this - we discuss this, and direct you to Laura and Lynn’s book to access a full range of diet tips and recipes.
We talk about our predecessors, how they coped with their perimenopause. Were their remedies ‘old wives tales’ or credible options?
What about employer’s responsibilities to make reasonable workplace adjustments?
We are left with no doubt that more research in perimenopausal women is needed, and tighter regulation of claims and marketing around products targeted at this group.
If you have aspirations to be an author, Laura and Lynn are generous with their advice and place high value onmentorship, giving particular credit to registered nutritionist Anita Bean.They call for more Registered Nutritionists and Dietitians to write science backed books – could that be you?
For further information:
·Eating Well for Menopause – Advice and recipes to improve your health and wellbeing
·Eating Well for Menopause: A course for Health Professionals (thinkific.com)
·Eating Well for Menopause - an introduction (thinkific.com)
Continue the conversation by sharing this with all the women (and men!) in your life.
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As nutrition professionals working in multiple contexts, we want to use our diverse experience to help organisations achieve their nutrition and health goals by providing them with the expertise they need, when they need it.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Get in touch to find out more about our company,Nutrition Talent and how we could work together.
Web: www.nutritiontalent.com
Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: @NutritionTalent
Instagram: @Nutrition_talent
Twitter: @NutritionTalent
Follow Anna
LinkedIn: @Anna Wheeler
Follow DanielleLinkedIn: @DrDanielleMcCarthy
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Welcome to the Humans of Nutrition Podcast brought to you by Registered Nutritionists Anna Wheeler and Prof Danielle McCarthy.
In this podcast Anna and Danielle celebrate Nutrition Talent’s 6th birthday!
To mark the occasion, they reflect on 6 themes that represent key areas of learning, growth and change during the past 6 years.
Listen in to hear what they have to share on:
The whole package and salary negotiations – The rise ofremote and hybrid roles, the importance of job satisfaction and enjoyment as well as salary, how we gauge our “value” as nutrition professionals and measure our impact.
Career mapping/ pivoting - Has the career ladder gone? Does this create its own opportunity? Hear about the power of the pivot and set your own goals!
Presenting yourself well - You are not just your CV. When given the opportunity, you should present the ‘whole’ you. What are your life and work experiences, and how, in the context of applying nutrition expertise, could this be valuable?
Defining success - Anna is clear on this. “It's been really important for us to enjoy our roles and it's something that we actually put front and centre in our business aims and objectives.” How do you define success?
Sustainability - Nutrition security is paramount and sustainability is increasingly being integrated into job roles and titles. An ideal area to upskill!
Data – We cannot ignore the exponential growth of AI and tech and the need for nutrition professionals to be part of thisjourney. Nutrition Talent’s consultancy is underpinned by data informed strategic thinking for successful outcomes. High quality data has value, and we shouldn’t be scared of it!
We'd like to say a big thank you to our community for being an integral part of our journey over our six years to date. We hope you can learn from these reflections - they have inspired and empowered Anna and Danielle to continue to grow.
The podcast ends with some forward thinking about the next 6years and beyond! How has your professional life changed over the past 6 years? What do you want to map out for yourself overthe next 6 years? Feel free to let us know!
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As nutrition professionals working in multiple contexts, we want to use our diverse experience to help organisations achieve their nutrition and health goals by providing them with the expertise they need, when they need it.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Get in touch to find out more about our company, Nutrition Talent and how we could work together.
Web: www.nutritiontalent.com
Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: @NutritionTalent
Instagram: @Nutrition_talent
Twitter: @NutritionTalent
Follow Anna
LinkedIn: @Anna Wheeler
Follow Danielle
LinkedIn: @DrDanielleMcCarthy
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Welcome to the Humans of Nutrition Podcast brought to you by Registered Nutritionists Anna Wheeler and Prof Danielle McCarthy.
In this podcast Anna and Danielle join in the chat with Emma Williams (Food, Nutrition & Health Consultant), Laura Wyness (Freelance Nutritionist) and Kate McCulla (Dietitian) in a (mostly!) light-hearted and Christmas themed conversation on a broad range of topics:
1. Our Christmas tipple of choice
2. Biggest professional achievement of 2023
3. What sparked most joy in 2023
4. Reverse advent calendaring! What we want to close the door on going forward.
5. Next career goal for 2024
6. Favourite festive food tradition
7. What “gift” we would like for the nutrition world in 2024
With a diverse range of guests, we get a diverse range of answers! What would your responses be?? We’d love to know!
At risk of spoilers, we include links to some resources referenced:
Nutritionists in Industry: https://www.nii.org.uk/
EIT: https://www.eitfood.eu/news/eit-food-to-receive-500-000-citi-foundation-funding-to-improve-food-security-in-europe
Food Connections Podcast: https://audioboom.com/channels/5080003-food-connections
Eating Well for Menopause: https://www.laurawyness.com/
But it wasn’t all work! You might also get some inspiration for your Christmas drinks cabinet!
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As nutrition professionals working in multiple contexts, we want to use our diverse experience to help organisations achieve their nutrition and healthgoals by providing them with the expertise they need, when they need it.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Get in touch to find out more about our company,Nutrition Talent and how we could work together.
Web: www.nutritiontalent.com
Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: @NutritionTalent
Instagram: @Nutrition_talent
Twitter: @NutritionTalent
Follow Anna
LinkedIn: @Anna Wheeler
Follow DanielleLinkedIn: @DrDanielleMcCarthy
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In this episode we speak to our first international guest,Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Barbara Ruhs, who joins us from Arizona, USA.
Barb tells us about the fascinating and diverse phases inher career which have included working on school meals, private practice, sports nutrition and retail, not to mention a position at Harvard.
We have heard time and time again from our colleagues in the field including our Humans of Nutrition podcast guests, how utterly fascinating people’s career journeys can be within nutrition, with all the twists and turnsand ups and downs. Barb shares another example of this and provides inspiration that following what you are curious about and passionate about can lead tonumerous opportunities across the food system.
Barb speaks openly and honestly about a change in herconsultancy work and how she is currently taking the courageous approach of taking the time to re-evaluate and consider what she wants to pursue next. Wetalk about having the confidence to pause and think ‘okay what's next for me in my career?’, something we are all likely to face at some point as we navigate our career paths.
We learn what’s happening in the States right now in terms of health policy and trends, including some innovative initiatives such as Food as Medicine, medically tailored meals and produce prescriptions; with Barb speaking honestly about their advantages and challenges. Skip ahead to 26 minutes to hear all about this.
We discuss the definition of ‘healthy’ from 41 minutes; and from 46 minutes Barb shares our passion for the utmost importance of having nutrition experts in all food organisations, and just how dietitians and nutritionists can apply their nutrition expertise to deliver impact towards health goals, including how health can equal good business and commercial benefits.
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As nutrition professionals working in multiple contexts, we want to use our diverse experience to help organisations achieve their nutrition and health goals by providing them with the expertise they need, when they need it.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Get in touch to find out more about our company, Nutrition Talent and how we could work together.
Web: www.nutritiontalent.com
Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: @NutritionTalent
Instagram: @Nutrition_talent
Twitter: @NutritionTalent
Follow AnnaLinkedIn: @Anna Wheeler
Follow Danielle
LinkedIn: @DrDanielleMcCarthy
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Welcome to the Humans of Nutrition Podcast brought to you by Registered Nutritionists Anna Wheeler and Prof Danielle McCarthy.
In this podcast Anna and Danielle chat to Alyson Greenhalgh-Ball, founder of Conscious Impact and an executive with over twenty-five years’ experience in the public health sector and across food systems - spanning healthcare, academic, commercial and non-executive director roles; and as a global nutrition lead within the food industry at the Kellogg Company.
Alyson is a board member for numerous private and public sector organisations, Vice-Chair of the British Nutrition Foundation and an active member of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2 Advocacy Hub.
Alyson has certainly packed a lot into her professional life to date, and she’s keeping up the pace now. Following years of career pivots, she modestly asserts that she has always done the same thing regardless of the role – that is “talking about health and food and nutrition”.
Starting from studying dietetics, Alyson has made an art out of spotting good opportunities, which has led her from epidemiology, through health technology, health communications and a global lead role within the food industry. She has now distilled her immense professional experiences, carefully considered where she could add value and impact, and created her own business Conscious Impact.
Along the way, Alyson has harnessed the power of “No” during her career, flipping the question “Why not?” to “Why?” to help guide her professional decisions. Despite her significant professional success, she’s not immune to imposter syndrome. Listen in to hear Alyson's tips on how to tackle this!
One of Alyson’s current passion projects is “Beans is How” - a campaign by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2 (SDG2) Advocacy Hub to double global bean consumption by 2028. An ambitious target, but with Alyson’s track record and position on the Advisory Council, she’s the perfect partner for the project. Find out more about the campaign here and access the newly published report: A Roadmap to Double Global Bean Consumption.
From trusting your instincts in determining goodopportunities, playing to your strengths while not being afraid to ask for help, to applying your skills and experience to a worthy campaign with a global reach…you’ll want to listen to this podcast!
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As nutrition professionals working in multiple contexts, we want to use our diverse experience to help organisations achieve their nutrition and health goals by providing them with the expertise they need, when they need it.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Get in touch to find out more about our company, Nutrition Talent and how we could work together.
Web: www.nutritiontalent.com
Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: @NutritionTalent
Instagram: @Nutrition_talent
Twitter: @NutritionTalent
Follow Anna
LinkedIn: @Anna Wheeler
Follow Danielle
LinkedIn: @DrDanielleMcCarthy
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Welcome to the Humans of Nutrition Podcast brought to you by Registered Nutritionists Anna Wheeler and Prof Danielle McCarthy.
Look at Matt Lawson’s CV and you’ll probably see under ‘Work History’ PFA Dietitian, The Football Association; Development Football Head, University of Nottingham; Team GB Dietitian, British Olympic Association. Under‘Skills & Experience’, you’ll find UEFA Licenced Coach. Get a chance to look in his little black book, and you may see names like Sven Goran Eriksson, Ellen White and Carly Telford, Sophie Bradley and Alex Greenwood (major shout out to England’s women’s football team, past and present!). Talking of which during this episode, Nutrition Talent’s Anna reveals a secret football ambition fromher 10-year-old self, and how she was an inadvertent women’s rights campaigner at this tender age – go Anna!
Matt still considers himself a dietitian, first and foremost.Just how did Matt become a top sports dietitian? He jokes that it was primarily because he “failed in (his) bid to be a footballer”! But this early love of sport triggered an interest in how the body works, how what you eat and drink impacts performance, leading him to the world of dietetics.
Matt talks about the common one-way system from dietetics towards clinical work, but he never let go of his true interest in sports and nutrition, choosing to go on to complete an MSc Nutrition with a dissertation in sports, then going on to study at Loughborough University to attain Sports accreditation.
We hear about his early days, the challenges of improvingthe diet (and by extension performance) of his first football club – faced with a team eating burgers and chips when he first met them, he certainly had his work cut out!
We are reminded that athletes are as human as we are –advice needs to be evidence based and individualised (seems so obvious now, but who considered that the dietary and performance needs of the striker would bedifferent than the defence?!!). And some of these athletes live with diabetes, coeliac disease, IBS, disordered eating behaviours etc. – “they're just normal people at the end of the day”.
There’s a multitude of other topics covered – supplements(banned or otherwise), recreational players and the opportunities to have a positive impact on nutrition and exercise at a grassroots level. Matt welcomesthe evolution and developments in sports science, which of course informs his practice, and ends with a wish – to see both England teams win the championships…tobe continued!
Listen to the full episode here, or wherever you usuallyaccess your podcasts!
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As nutrition professionals working in multiple contexts, we want to use our diverse experience to help organisations achieve their nutrition and health goals by providing them with the expertise they need, when they need it.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Get in touch to find out more about our company, Nutrition Talent and how we could work together.
Web: www.nutritiontalent.com
Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: @NutritionTalent
Instagram: @Nutrition_talent
Twitter: @NutritionTalent
Follow Anna
LinkedIn: @Anna Wheeler
Follow Danielle
LinkedIn: @DrDanielleMcCarthy
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Welcome to the Humans of Nutrition Podcast brought to you by Registered Nutritionists Anna Wheeler and Prof Danielle McCarthy.
We are delighted to introduce Dr Gillian Purdon, RNutr (Public Health), Chief Nutritionist, Public Health Nutrition, Food Standards Scotland, who is charged with delivery of statutory objectives to improve and protect public health, improve diet at population level via the collection and interpretation of population level dietary intake data (“if we don’t have the data, we have nothing to say”), then the roll out of public health messaging that is both independent and evidence-based, with a focus on prevention.
Of course, Gillian doesn’t do all this alone. Her team of nine Registered Nutritionists could be the largest team of nutrition professionals in any organisation in Scotland. Gillian and her team’s remit is broad, and the scale of the task is not lost on her – she says “When you look at people's diet, we're quite far away from where we need to be”. While campaigns can influence knowledge and opinion, they don’t always influence behaviour.
There are of course many reasons for this, and Gillian discusses the food environment and cost as being factors, putting an interesting spin on the often versed ‘healthy diets are more expensive’ by using a cost per calorie comparison – insightful!
On the hot topic of diets and sustainability, Gillian references the Climate Change Committee’s recommendations to reduce meat and dairy and reflects on how this might be implemented, while also being sensitive to health inequalities, how different population groups might be differentially affected by changes in a negative way.
We get introduced to Good Food Nation - an opportunity for the public sector to showcase what can be done at a whole food system level. https://www.nourishscotland.org/campaigns/good-food-nation-bill/
Gillian tells us about the importance of collaboration - with industry, academia, environmental science, legislators – stressing that no single body has all the levers to activate change, and understanding the unique perspectives of all stakeholders is key. We have an interesting discussion about the importance of choosing language carefully and Gillian provides a great example in her choice of words regarding supermarket promotions - “rebalance rather than restrict”.
We wrap up with words of wisdom for the nutrition professional who may be interested in a career in public health, and end with Nutrition Talent’s magic wand. What does Gillian’s preferred future look like for the health landscape of Scotland? – we’ll let you listen to find out!
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As nutrition professionals working in multiple contexts, we want to use our diverse experience to help organisations achieve their nutrition and health goals by providing them with the expertise they need, when they need it.
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Get in touch to find out more about our company, Nutrition Talent and how we could work together.
Web: www.nutritiontalent.com
Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: @NutritionTalent
Instagram: @Nutrition_talent
Twitter: @NutritionTalent
Follow Anna
LinkedIn: @Anna Wheeler
Follow Danielle
LinkedIn: @DrDanielleMcCarthy
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Welcome to the Humans of Nutrition Podcast brought to you by Registered Nutritionists Anna Wheeler and Prof Danielle McCarthy.
In this episode we have a brilliant in-depth conversation with Nilani Sritharan, Group Head of Healthy and Sustainable Diets at Sainsbury’s. Nilani tells us about her hugely varied role, which includes working on over 10,000 own brand products!
Nilani explains the importance of data and how personalisation can lead to opportunities to help customers navigate towards healthier choices. She also tells us how applied research such as in-store food environment trials can help us to understand the reality of customer behaviours in store and how the data can be used to identify hotspots for action to drive impact at a total diet level.
We hear Nilani’s insights on how to keep health at the top of an organisation’s agenda, even when there are other key drivers such as the cost of living crisis. She explains the importance of working with the third sector and with investors, who are all part of the same system and who can help drive the momentum for change – something that has been an area of real change over recent years.
Nilani kindly points us toward some reading in this episode. The links below will take you to more information from the organisations she mentions.
Access to Nutrition Initiative
Guy's and St Thomas's Charity and their impact for urban health
ShareAction
Despite being in a very senior role, Nilani kindly shares her own feelings of imposter syndrome and some fascinating insights into difficult decisions she has made in her own career and how those have made her stronger and built her personal resilience. She explains the vital role networking, coaching and mentoring have played in her own career and the importance of these at all stages, even as we become more senior.
We offer Nilani the Nutrition Talent magic wand and ask her what change she would like to see in the future regarding healthy and sustainable diets and her answers are truly inspiring.
Listen in to hear the full conversation.
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As nutrition professionals working in multiple contexts, we want to use our diverse experience to help organisations achieve their nutrition and health goals by providing them with the expertise they need, when they need it.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Get in touch to find out more about our company, Nutrition Talent and how we could work together.
Web: www.nutritiontalent.com
Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: @NutritionTalent
Instagram: @Nutrition_talent
Twitter: @NutritionTalent
Follow Anna
LinkedIn: @Anna Wheeler
Follow DanielleLinkedIn: @DrDanielleMcCarthy
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Welcome to the Humans of Nutrition Podcast brought to you by Registered Nutritionists Anna Wheeler and Prof Danielle McCarthy.
In this episode we hear from Markus Stripf, an insightful co-founder who built tech company, Spoon Guru, around nutrition expertise. “Our first hire was a nutritionist- there’s no point building something that’s technologically sophisticated but scientifically inaccurate”. He describes his team’s work as operating at the intersection between health and technology with a substantial part of the company made up of nutritionists. He talks us through what robust methodology looks like in the space of AI, food and nutrition- and how they deploy a ‘human in the loop’ approach- which refers to the inclusion of a qualified team of nutrition experts who constantly supervise the machines. Markus describes how they use this technology to work with some of the biggest retailers in the world.
Anna hits hard with her some of her questions: Is this our time to battle the bots? Should we be worried as nutritionists we’re going to be replaced? The response from Markus was not only reassuring, but inspiring and has since been the subject of many conversations between Anna and Danielle.
As nutritionists we would encourage our listeners to step into this world of tech and build their understanding and perhaps even consider working with those in this fast-paced sector to make sure what gets created is safe, accurate and really does help deliver positive health outcomes. We must ensure credibility underpins technological innovations and hope this podcast episode helps tick off some of the key phases and terminologies used to help our listeners explore this new world. Markus eloquently discusses these key terms in the context of food and nutrition, whilst also sharing some of the challenges and issues he has faced in the field.
Terminology tick list covered in this episode:
-Artificial intelligence -Gen (generative) AI-Data processing engine-Meta data-Hallucinations-Personalisation-Discoverable
Danielle has also recently penned an article on AI and nutrition for The Conversation which you may like to read.
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As nutrition professionals working in multiple contexts, we want to use our diverse experience to help organisations achieve their nutrition and health goals by providing them with the expertise they need, when they need it.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Get in touch to find out more about our company, Nutrition Talent and how we could work together.
Web: www.nutritiontalent.com
Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: @NutritionTalent
Instagram: @Nutrition_talent
Twitter: @NutritionTalent
Follow AnnaLinkedIn:@Anna Wheeler
Follow DanielleLinkedIn:@DrDanielleMcCarthy
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Welcome to the Humans of Nutrition Podcast brought to you by Registered Nutritionists Anna Wheeler and Prof Danielle McCarthy.
In this episode Anna interviews co-host, Professor Danielle McCarthy, who Queen’s University Belfast recently conferred with an honorary title of Professor of Practice, in recognition of her expertise in applying nutrition science.
In true Humans of Nutrition style, we focus not only on what this accolade means and how it came about, but also how it felt. Danielle talks openly about what this latest landmark in her career journey means to her, and she hopes, the profession. An interesting listen for anyone who has transitioned or hopes to transition between academia and industry, or between sectors; including the challenges and reflections that can come up. This episode is we hope quite a motivational listen given this big career moment was one Danielle didn’t actually see coming, but is proof in the pudding that listening to your instincts, and having the courage to move toward what feels right to you can bring you to places you never would have thought possible.
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As nutrition professionals working in multiple contexts, we want to use our diverse experience to help organisations achieve their nutrition and health goals by providing them with the expertise they need, when they need it.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Get in touch to find out more about our company, Nutrition Talent and how we could work together.
Web: www.nutritiontalent.com
Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: @NutritionTalent
Instagram: @Nutrition_talent
Twitter: @NutritionTalent
Follow Anna
LinkedIn: @Anna Wheeler
Follow Danielle
LinkedIn: @DrDanielleMcCarthy
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Welcome to the Humans of Nutrition Podcast brought to you by Registered Nutritionists Anna Wheeler and Prof Danielle McCarthy.
As we kick off series 2, and as we celebrate the ‘Humans of Nutrition’ podcast being shortlisted for the 2023 CN Award* for Nutrition Resource of the Year; we feel we can call ourselves podcasters! We reflect back on series 1, the feedback we have received from around the globe, how much we have learned from our brilliant guests, and we look forward to series 2.
We set the podcast up in 2022 as a platform for our profession – to hear from the amazing nutritionists, dietitians and other professionals working with us across different health and wellness sectors. One thing we are very proud of is sharing the reality from our colleagues within the field – hearing about the human experience, including the challenges and not only the successes. We will share more stories in this way in series 2.
If you would like to vote for us for the 2023 CN Award for Nutrition Resource of the Year, you can do so here by 20th July (and we would be very grateful!): https://nutrition2me.com/cn-awards/voting/
*The annual CN Awards were launched in 2010 by Complete Media & Marketing Ltd. (CM2) – publishers of Complete Nutrition (CN) Magazine. CM2 do not endorse any particular individual’s, group’s, organisation’s or company’s products, services, resources, views or opinions. For further details on the CN Awards, visit: www.nutrition2me.com/cn-awards
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As nutrition professionals working in multiple contexts, we want to use our diverse experience to help organisations achieve their nutrition and health goals by providing them with the expertise they need, when they need it.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Get in touch to find out more about our company, Nutrition Talent and how we could work together.
Web: www.nutritiontalent.com
Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: @NutritionTalent
Instagram: @Nutrition_talent
Twitter: @NutritionTalent
Follow Anna
LinkedIn: @Anna Wheeler
Follow Danielle
LinkedIn: @DrDanielleMcCarthy
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Covid has undoubtably brought dramatic changes to the workplace, with many more of us working remotely some or all of the time. There has also been a big shift as to where in the world we can work, including the increasing trend of being a ‘digital nomad’. Our Co-Founder Anna recently had a taste of the digital nomad lifestyle during a six-week working holiday in Madeira.
In this bonus episode of the Humans of Nutrition podcast, Danielle grills Anna about her experience – the pros, the cons and the tips for others considering a similar move, and of course what exactly is a digital nomad?
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As nutrition professionals working in multiple contexts, we want to use our diverse experience to help organisations achieve their nutrition and health goals by providing them with the expertise they need, when they need it.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Get in touch to find out more about our business, Nutrition Talent and how we can help you.
Web: www.nutritiontalent.com
Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: @NutritionTalent
Instagram: @Nutrition_talent
Twitter: @NutritionTalent
Follow Anna
LinkedIn: @Anna Wheeler
Follow Danielle
LinkedIn: @DrDanielleMcCarthy
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Welcome to the Humans of Nutrition Podcast brought to you by Registered Nutritionists Anna Wheeler and Dr Danielle McCarthy.
In this podcast Danielle shares details of her first ever experience of being front of camera in a TV shoot. An experience that absolutely changed her mind on how the media, companies and nutrition professionals can work comfortably together. There is no denying this was a ‘feel the fear and do it anyway’ moment for Danielle and in this episode she is absolutely honest about her experience. She shares tips on what really helped and went very well on the day, whilst also speaking openly about the challenges she faced. Worth a listen if you are a professional thinking about appearing on camera, or a company considering a way to raise your profile with your target audience.
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As nutrition professionals working in multiple contexts, we want to use our diverse experience to help organisations achieve their nutrition and health goals by providing them with the expertise they need, when they need it.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Get in touch to find out more about our business, Nutrition Talent and how we can help you.
Web: www.nutritiontalent.com
Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: @NutritionTalent
Instagram: @Nutrition_talent
Twitter: @NutritionTalent
Follow Anna
LinkedIn: @Anna Wheeler
Follow Danielle
LinkedIn: @DrDanielleMcCarthy
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Welcome to the Humans of Nutrition Podcast brought to you by Registered Nutritionists Anna Wheeler and Dr Danielle McCarthy.
In this podcast Anna and Danielle chat with Jenny Rosborough, Head of Nutrition at Jamie Oliver Limited, previously a Campaign Manager at Action on Sugar and prior to that a Senior Nutritionist and Programme Developer of MEND, a family weight management programme. A real custodian of nutrition and health, she blends being a campaigner and spokesperson who holds food system stakeholders to account, with driving commercial implementation of healthy practice at Jamie Oliver Limited. Jenny’s eloquence, knowledge of the evidence base, experience of policy, industry, and on the ground action alongside her passion for improvements in the food system and existing health inequalities is insightful and thought provoking. Our conversation was as spirited as we had hoped. Listen in to hear her thoughts on politics and how they impact the food and health landscape, the role of regulation in progress towards better health and how she personally takes on the challenge of implementation, working where the “rubber hits the road” at a time of inconsistency and stop start directives. As ever with our conversations, we seek to hear the human side and Jenny openly shares the merry-go-round and roller-coaster experience she has had as a Nutritionist working within and across the food system.
Unfortunately, the sound quality isn’t as good as we would have liked for this episode, but bear with us, it’s worth it for such an engaging chat!
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As nutrition professionals working in multiple contexts, we want to use our diverse experience to help organisations achieve their nutrition and health goals by providing them with the expertise they need, when they need it.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Get in touch to find out more about our business, Nutrition Talent, and how we can help you.
Web: www.nutritiontalent.com
Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: @NutritionTalent
Instagram: @Nutrition_talent
Twitter: @NutritionTalent
Follow Anna
LinkedIn: @Anna Wheeler
Follow Danielle
LinkedIn: @DrDanielleMcCarthy
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