Episodes

  • Food Composition Databases - how are they evolving? With Maria Traka (S3 E7)

    Food Composition Databases - how are they evolving? With Maria Traka (S3 E7)
    Jun 27 2024

    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 Stakeholder Engagement 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 from scratch – 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 nutritional databases 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 consumer influence 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 health benefit, let’s make it FAIR!

    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

    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.

    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

    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 info@nutritiontalent.com.

    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

    Help spread the word! Please share this episode with 1 person who you think might enjoy it.

    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

    Get in touch to find out more about our company, Nutrition Talent and how we could work together.

    Web: www.nutritiontalent.com

    Email: info@nutritiontalent.com

    LinkedIn: @NutritionTalent

    Instagram: @Nutrition_talent

    Twitter: @NutritionTalent


    Follow Anna

    LinkedIn: @Anna Wheeler

    Follow Danielle

    LinkedIn: @DrDanielleMcCarthy

    Show more Show less
    44 mins
  • Communication skills and motivational approaches with Kate McCulla (S3 E6)

    Communication skills and motivational approaches with Kate McCulla (S3 E6)
    Jun 5 2024

    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, giving information 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 the opportunity to highlight one of the daily themes “Celebrating Us”, specifically suggesting that Registered Dietitians and Registered Nutritionists have more in common than there are differences. Nutrition Talent embodies this in supporting both professions in our mission of inspiring and connecting expertise!

    Resources referenced:

    https://www.bctonline.co.uk/

    https://motivationalinterviewing.org/books

    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

    Would training to develop your communication skills be useful? Let us know what areas you would find supportive of your professional development.

    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

    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.

    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

    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 info@nutritiontalent.com.

    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

    Help spread the word! Please share this episode with 1 person who you think might enjoy it.

    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

    Get in touch to find out more about our company, Nutrition Talent and how we could work together.

    Web: www.nutritiontalent.com

    Email: info@nutritiontalent.com

    LinkedIn: @NutritionTalent

    Instagram: @Nutrition_talent

    Twitter: @NutritionTalent


    Follow Anna

    LinkedIn: @Anna Wheeler


    Follow Danielle

    LinkedIn: @DrDanielleMcCarthy
    Show more Show less
    41 mins
  • Vitamin D – The inside story with Professor Sue Lanham-New (S3 E5)

    Vitamin D – The inside story with Professor Sue Lanham-New (S3 E5)
    May 20 2024

    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 and happily 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 the establishment 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, Vitamin D / 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 the RNI?

    · how fruit and vegetables impact bone health? (Fun question - 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 this message across?

    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

    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: info@nutritiontalent.com

    LinkedIn: @NutritionTalent

    Instagram: @Nutrition_talent

    Twitter: @NutritionTalent


    Follow Anna: LinkedIn @Anna Wheeler


    Follow Danielle: LinkedIn @DrDanielleMcCarthy
    Show more Show less
    43 mins
  • Anna and Danielle go back to uni! (S3 Bonus)

    Anna and Danielle go back to uni! (S3 Bonus)
    May 1 2024

    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.


    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


    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: info@nutritiontalent.com

    LinkedIn: @NutritionTalent

    Instagram: @Nutrition_talent

    Twitter: @NutritionTalent


    Follow Anna

    LinkedIn: @Anna Wheeler


    Follow Danielle

    LinkedIn: @DrDanielleMcCarthy
    Show more Show less
    13 mins
  • Investors in the Food System with Rebecca Tobi (S3 E4)

    Investors in the Food System with Rebecca Tobi (S3 E4)
    Apr 10 2024
    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 collaboration and 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 the investor 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 food insecurity in January 2024 · around 23% of families with children under five experience food poverty Against this backdrop, we hear about one of the Food Foundation’s greatest achievements, a behind-the-scenes insight 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 Please pledge. 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 - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - 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: info@nutritiontalent.com LinkedIn: @NutritionTalent Instagram: @Nutrition_talent Twitter: @NutritionTalent Follow Anna LinkedIn: @Anna Wheeler Follow Danielle LinkedIn: @DrDanielleMcCarthy
    Show more Show less
    41 mins
  • Bridging human nutrition and animal nutrition Liz Leigh-Firbank (S3 E3)

    Bridging human nutrition and animal nutrition Liz Leigh-Firbank (S3 E3)
    Mar 20 2024

    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 back and drew on her extensive experience to land on her current position with Lintbells.

    It raises the question – are there any parallels between working 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 enduring friendship of Anna and Danielle!

    Nurture your network – and be open to the opportunities that arise as a result!

    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

    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: info@nutritiontalent.com

    LinkedIn: @NutritionTalent

    Instagram: @Nutrition_talent

    Twitter: @NutritionTalent


    Follow Anna

    LinkedIn: @Anna Wheeler


    Follow Danielle

    LinkedIn: @DrDanielleMcCarthy
    Show more Show less
    36 mins
  • Navigating Menopause with Dr Laura Wyness and Lynn Burns (S3 E2)

    Navigating Menopause with Dr Laura Wyness and Lynn Burns (S3 E2)
    Feb 26 2024
    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 – the absence 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 on mentorship, 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. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 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: info@nutritiontalent.com LinkedIn: @NutritionTalent Instagram: @Nutrition_talent Twitter: @NutritionTalent Follow Anna LinkedIn: @Anna Wheeler Follow Danielle LinkedIn: @DrDanielleMcCarthy
    Show more Show less
    53 mins
  • Nutrition Talent is 6! (S3 E1)

    Nutrition Talent is 6! (S3 E1)
    Feb 1 2024

    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 of remote 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 this journey. 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 6 years and beyond! How has your professional life changed over the past 6 years? What do you want to map out for yourself over the next 6 years? Feel free to let us know!

    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

    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: info@nutritiontalent.com

    LinkedIn: @NutritionTalent

    Instagram: @Nutrition_talent

    Twitter: @NutritionTalent


    Follow Anna

    LinkedIn: @Anna Wheeler


    Follow Danielle

    LinkedIn: @DrDanielleMcCarthy
    Show more Show less
    48 mins