Healthy or Hoax
Stacey Morrison looks at the latest food & fitness trends asking what's hype and digging into what the science says. In short: Do they work?
Episodes
Healthy or Hoax is a new podcast series from RNZ that looks at the new-fangled fads and tempting new trends and asks if they're really up to much. In short: Do. They. Work? Presented by Carol Hirschfeld, with help from food writer Niki Bezzant and a host of experts, the series will report on the latest things in food, fitness and leisure and ask if they're all hype or if they're actually good for you.
Kate Pereyra Garcia documents her three weeks eating coconut oil in part one of Healthy or Hoax, a new podcast series looking at the facts behind current health trends. Does it live up to the hype?
By Kate Pereyra Garcia
The proponents of coconut oil make a lot of promises.
So when someone was needed as a human guinea pig for RNZ's Healthy or Hoax podcast, I volunteered.
Lose weight, lower cholesterol and prevent wrinkles? Simply...
Carol Hirschfeld hits the gym for some High Intensity Interval Training and finds it can take you up a notch... If you fit the bill. So is HIIT right for you?
By Kate Pereyra Garcia
Watch a video segment from the episode here
Anyone who belongs to a gym has probably done it. Even those who don't have probably heard of it.
High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) has had a lot of media coverage in recent years for being a quick fit...
Greens powders are firmly entrenched as part of the smoothie craze, but in episode three of Healthy or Hoax we find out there's one ingredient in there you might not expect.
By Adam Macaulay
I usually have lots of fresh greens as part of my regular diet and you know what, I rather like eating them. So I volunteered when someone was needed to give greens powder a go for this Healthy or Hoax podcast.
The powder was supposed to give me...
A raft of new dairy substitutes are turning up on supermarket shelves, but in part four of Healthy or Hoax we ask: can they really be called milk?
By Kate Pereyra Garcia
On the surface almond milk is a pretty innocuous, even healthy, alternative to dairy milk.
But the name - those two words 'almond' and 'milk' - raise all sorts of questions. For example, how do you milk an almond? Even the best Kiwi cockie wouldn&...
Carol Hirschfeld gives flotation pods a try to see whether they could be an answer for those looking to de-stress.
By Kate Pereyra-Garcia
Watch a video segment from the episode here
On the surface, flotation pods sound a bit wacky: enclosed bath tubs with 30 centimetres of water and a lot of Epsom salts.
The water and room temperature are set at about 36°C - the average body temperature. You climb in, lie back and shut yourself off fr...
Would you be better off eating food raw, rather than cooking it. I mean, who needs fire?
By Kate Pereyra-Garcia
Raw food advocates say food not heated above 40 degrees Celsius is more 'alive'.
A raw food diet is a pretty extreme way of eating for those of us used to cooking dinner every night.
The key word being cooking.
Raw food advocates believe in not heating food above about 40 degrees Celsius. They also tend to be vegan...
It's been a long time coming, but the long-awaited second season of Healthy or Hoax is on its way with new host Stacey Morrison.
Stacey Morrison puts her body on the line to find out if coolsculpting - a non-surgical fat removal technique - can help you get the perfect figure.
By Liz Garton
Saddlebags, mummy tummies, bra pockets, double chins, hips, jibbly jobbly bits.
There are so many terrible names for the fatty bits that hang over the top of our pants or wobble when we wave.
Coolsculpting is a new(ish), non-invasive surgical technique which claims to remove...
Charcoal is credited with getting rid of gas, bloating, hangovers and generally helping us cleanse and detox. Healthy or Hoax finds out if the claims are backed up by science.
By Liz Garton
Experts say we're witnessing a hijacking with the current trend of putting activated charcoal in our foods, drinks and beauty and dental products.
Activated charcoal is made by heating unactivated charcoal to a very high temperature in the pr...
Studies show fasting could improve outcomes for a huge range of medical conditions... in mice. Do those benefits cross over to humans too?
By Liz Garton
Associate Professor Alexander Tups from the Neuroendocrinology and Brain Health Centre at Otago University said fasting looks promising for treating certain autoimmune conditions, reducing rates of cancer, improving general gut health and brain function and mental health too.
"T...
Shakti Mats made a big splash when they arrived in New Zealand a few years ago. But does lying on thousands of tiny spikes improve our health or is it just a painful hoax?
By Liz Garton
The Shakti Mat's arrival in New Zealand is a classic yarn.
Jonathan Heslop and his university mate George Lill were travelling in Thailand, they were on a particularly yoga retreat style beach, when a man came along with one of these mats. The ma...
Turmeric is supposed to help a range of ailments from arthritis to Alzheimer's. But is this spice the real deal or just fool's gold?
By Liz Garton
If you google 'health benefits of turmeric' you're going to come up with hundreds of articles proclaiming the spice as a new wonder drug.
But that 'cure-all' tag should be a red-flag, according to food and nutrition writer Niki Bezzant.
Bezzant told Healthy or Hoax ...
Can something make us feel better just by smelling nice? And if it can do that, could we get even more benefits from rubbing it on our skin or even eating it?
By Liz Garton
Essential oils have been used for thousands of years, but more recently we are seeing them used as home remedies for ailments, as skin care and even in recipes.
The latter is a trend that is seriously concerning some experts.
"It's not something that&#x...
Fermented foods have been around for longer than refrigeration, but recently they have developed a reputation for having numerous health benefits. We find out if that reputation is founded in reality.
By Liz Garton
The popularity of kombucha and other fermented foods, like kefir, kimchi and tempeh, has risen on the back of research which shows gut health is closely linked to general, overall health.
"We carry around about two ki...
The new season of Healthy or Hoax is on its way. Stacey Morrison not only hosts the show, but also faces her fears to trial some of the latest health fads.
Kim Kardashian made waist trainers popular and the recent Bridgerton Netflix series saw a bump in corset sales. Stacey Morrison discovers if squeezing our tummies into shape is healthy or just a very uncomfortable hoax.
Waist trainers claim to help you lose weight and tone your tummy, but these corset-like throwbacks might actually be causing more harm than good.
Kim Kardashian claims to give a waist trainer to all her friends who ha...
CBD beauty products are being hailed as a 'beauty game-changer' overseas, but they're still illegal here. Stacey Morrison finds out if we're missing a trick.
Cannabidiol beauty products are illegal in New Zealand, but overseas they're being described as a 'beauty game-changer'.
Lauded for their anti-inflamatory and antioxidant properties, some CBD products even have major celebrity backing, like Lord Jones' Happy ...
In a classic case of 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger...' Stacey Morrison confronts her serious aversion to the cold and enters a cryotherapy chamber.
In a classic case of 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger...' Stacey Morrison confronts her serious aversion to the cold and enters a cryotherapy chamber.
Wim Hof is part of the reason cold immersion therapy has become the hottest wellness trend of recent y...
Stacey Morrison finds out just how reliable home-based DNA tests for health and fitness really are.
You can buy just about anything online these days, including the key to living your best life.
Apparently.
Online DNA tests which claim they can give you insights into how best you can stay healthy and keep fit are growing in popularity.
There are dozens of options available and they cost anything from about $80 dollars for a simple heal...
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