If you’ve ever felt like food is constantly on your mind — even after eating — you’re not imagining it. This week, we unpack the growing phenomenon of food noise and why it’s more than just willpower.
Inside this jam-packed episode of The Nutrition Couch, Leanne and Susie dive into:
- What food noise really is — and why it’s affecting more women than ever
- The link between GLP-1 medications (like Ozempic) and reduced food chatter
- Meal timing, circadian rhythm, and how eating earlier may improve fatigue and metabolism
- A product review of Greens Protein Pancake Mix — is it worth it?
- The 5 supplements worth considering in peri and menopause (and what to avoid)
Plus, we share practical advice to help you feel more in control of your hunger, energy, and body — without falling for overpriced gimmicks or restrictive plans.
🎧 Whether you’re navigating perimenopause, thinking about medication options, or just tired of the mental gymnastics around food… this one’s for you.
—
👉 Want a science-backed protein, hot chocolate or creatine designed for women’s health? Explore our range at designedbydietitians.com
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Whether it's craving something even though you've only just finished
a meal, or you're constantly thinking about food. That food
noise is real. And on today's episode of The Nutrition Couch,
we deep diet food noise and why some people have
it and the ways that you can turn it down
for good. Hi, I'm Leanne Wood and I'm Sissy Burrow,
and together we bring you The Nutrition Couch, the weekly
(00:23):
podcast that keeps you up to date on everything that
you need to know in the world of nutrition and
as well as food noise. We have some new research
that takes a closer look at meal timing and energy levels.
We've also found a new higher protein breakfast option that
some of you may love. And our listener question is
all about what to take if you're in pery or
in menopause. So to kick us off today, Susie, you
(00:45):
found a great new study that talks about food noise
and it is something that both you and I hear
a lot from our clients. And it's certainly not something
that I would say affects everybody, but certainly for those
that it does, it's a real burden, I would say,
because it's that constant, almost like intrusive thoughts about food,
like it's just thinking about food all of the time,
(01:07):
constant food cravings, to the point where some people say
it's all consuming, like they're constantly thinking about food, They're
obsessing over it, They're constantly thinking about when it's my
next meal. It involves cravings, it's triggered by seeing ads
on TV, what other people are eating, even things like
meal delivery apps. All of that, I would say, contributes
to food noise. Just this constant mental.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Chatter in our mind. What should I eat?
Speaker 1 (01:30):
When should I eat? Should I eat that? Should I
not eat it? Am I being good? Am I being bad?
All of this is what as dieticians we would consider
food noise, and for some people it is really overwhelming
and it is quite a burden. So and there's not
a lot of you know, there's not a lot of
research and science behind what food noise is, but it
is certainly something that is clinicians. You and I both
(01:51):
see clients regularly. We hear from our clients all the time,
and it really matters because it can really take a
mental toll on you after a long time. Because it's
that mental food chatter. It tends to drive emotional eating.
It makes cravings a lot harder to.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Deal with, and it just makes sticking to.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
A healthy lifestyle really difficult long term because people without
meaning to like, despite their best intentions, often end up
sabotaging their weight loss efforts because they're constantly thinking about food,
They're constantly surrounded by food. They're finding it really really
difficult to actually stick to their you know, their meal
plan or what they've sort of designed for themselves in
(02:27):
order to lose weight. They find it really difficult to
actually stick to that because there's just so much food
chatter and food noise around. How do you feel about
food noise? Obviously, I think you're very similar to me,
where you would have a lot of clients who really
experience this and really struggle with it as well.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
I think that the term food noise has really gained
momentum since the growing range of gop one medications because
one of the standout things that uses of those medications,
things like Manjaro Ozmpeak will say is that it kills
the food noise. To be honestly, and I hadn't heard
of food noise prior to this last few years, but
(03:05):
certainly it's been described you know, like you said, it's
that constantly thinking about food. It's when is my next meal?
Like you've just eaten something that should be satisfying and
then you're still looking for something else. Kind of preoccupies
your thoughts. And certainly there was an observation that that
didn't affect everyone in that same way. And so what
we've come to understand is with this new range of
(03:25):
medications is it appears it's likely an insulin linked experience.
So if you're over secreting insulin, it's going to drive
every one of the body's cells to seek food and
then quite possibly the appetite regulation hormones that specifically the
golp one medications target.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
So for me, it's like.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
Any area of nutrition and food and eating behavior, it's
pretty complicated. It's not a matter of you've got food
noise you don't. You know, some of it may be
just behavioral. You know, if you grew up in a
household where your mum would overly restrictive with food, perhaps
you know food is more of a trigger point for you.
Every single person listening will have a different experience, but
(04:08):
I think for that subgroup of clients who have blood
glucose regulation issues have got significant abdomino ob city can't
lose weight easily and get good results with GLP medications.
It tends to be because it doubles that food noise.
So it's just putting an actual definition or a summary
point on it. And I think, as you know, if
we look at what's happened with these medications even in
(04:30):
the past five years, they're advancing all the time. We
started with single actions, now we've got dual actions. They'll
continue to improve and as that happens in pharmaceutical worlds,
we will come to further understand exactly what it is
and whether it's a genetic predisposition. But as a take
home message for anyone listening who says it's just me, like,
unless I'm one hundred percent strict all the time, I
(04:52):
can't lose weight, and then as soon as I take
my finger off the pulse, even for a minute, I
just put it all back on. If you are struggling,
you don't need to be a shame that sometimes you
may need extra help and there are options available for
that now. And that's with the argument, you know, the
judgmental that comes and says, oh, you should be able
to lose weight without medication. Well, that's a short I
would have could everyone's different, and if you do have
(05:13):
that predisposition and underlying hormonal issue which is largely genetic,
there's no shame in getting some help. So I've got
a client at the moment and she's trying really hard,
you know, but the weight loss is quite slow and
there's a lot of food noise around, And I said
to her, look, you don't have to make a decision
on medication right now, but I'm saying to you, if
you know that you're trying really hard, and no matter
(05:35):
how hard you try, the food noise won't be dull down.
There's no shame in getting a bit of support. That
is what medication is there for. That is why we
use cholesterol lowering medication, or if you've got prediabetes, so
if you've got a mood disorder, there are medications for
a reason, and for the right people, they can be
used extremely effectively. So I'm not pro or con medication.
(05:56):
It's individuals, but i would say I've certainly got client
some of my books who have struggled with weight for many,
many years, and these THESEJLP ones are revolutionary because they
do dull the food noise and they've never been able
to achieve that before. So yeah, I think that it's
different ways of looking at it. But it's not just
liking sweet stuff for you know, feeling like you should
(06:17):
reward yourself with treat it's just that constant bunter that
makes it very difficult to eat a healthy, balanced diet
and not be constantly looking for more.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
Yeah, I agree, and like you, I've got a handful
of clients utilizing these medications for exactly the same reason,
where they just say the food noise is just absolutely gone.
It makes it so much easier to stay on track,
to eat what they need to eat, and just not
have that mental gymnastics of the back and forth constantly
all day long, thinking about should I eat it?
Speaker 2 (06:42):
Should I not? What about this? What about this?
Speaker 1 (06:44):
It's just so much easier to stay on track. Because
the way that these medications work, and certainly we're seeing
more and more research coming out about them, is that
they actually act on different regions of the brain that
help to regulate things like hunger and satidy, and the
dopamine hit the rule ward based as well, and that's
why so many people report just feeling mentally free from
(07:06):
like food obsessions.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
So it is really really.
Speaker 1 (07:09):
Interesting and I think we will see more and more
research coming out about it, because, like you said, like
when we went through when I went through UNI, you know,
a decade ago. Now, it didn't it wasn't a topic
that we covered food noise. It was just like it
was all about discipline, it was all about motivation, you know.
But now we know that it's so much more than
just willpower. Losing weight is so much more than just willpower.
Because I've been doing a little bit of research in
(07:31):
terms of ultra processed foods and how they act on
the different areas of the brain. And this is where
some of this food queuing and some of these food
noise comes together as well, because a lot of the
brain imaging and they've taken people and they've given them
brain mriys, and what they show is that some individuals,
some people who are more sensitive to food cues, more
sensitive to this food noise, the different areas of their
(07:53):
brain respond differently from seeing different types of food stimuli.
It's not even eating these foods, it's just being showing
pictures a picture of a milkshake, a picture of a
bowl of hot chips, a picture of some chocolate. They
respond differently and that reward based area of their brain
lights up just from seeing some of these pictures. So
that food noise for a lot of people is so
(08:15):
much louder and it's a lot harder to ignore because
food is constant. It's in our environment all of the time.
You might not be eating it, but it is constantly
in our environment. So helping to reduce the exposure to
some of these food cues by you know, not going
down every single aisle in the soupermarket or choosing to
do your grocery order online and getting it delivered. If
you struggle with, you know, going to the soup market
(08:37):
and buying everything when it's you know it's there, it's
half priced, it's really you know, appealing. So there's a
lot that you can do to reduce the food cues,
which does also help to contribute to a reduction in
the food noise without utilizing medication. But like Susie said,
you don't need to be ashamed about it. These medications
are there for a reason. If that's what you feel like,
you need definitely have a discussion with your doctor. But
(08:59):
ensure that you using that with a dietician who has
experienced in that area to make sure that you're getting
the best results, and when you stop this medication, the
results that you did get actually last long term, because
that's a big issue where people will take the medication,
lose ten twenty kilos, stop it and put all the
weight back on again, which isn't actually ideal long term.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
Yeah, And I think the interesting thing for all of
us is we're in this phase now where we've got
the new generations of the drugs which are dual acting,
and then so of people when we're not talking about
people who want to lose five kilos, you know, we're
talking about twenty thirty forty kilo losses and you know,
allocating six to twelve months for that. But I haven't
had a lot of clients who have come out the
other side and weaning down on dose and weaning off
(09:42):
long term and seeing what happens with the food noise.
So this is a work in progress that we're all
working with. So as a rule of summer, try and
keep the doses as low as possible and working with
more exercise and good quality diet. And then my plan
is to sort of get my clients to goal and
then gradually reduce dose and wean off and then what
(10:02):
is the million dollar question is does the food noise
return or do you need a light sort of insulin
sensitizer light metform and to keep it under control. So
this is all very very new, but it's really good.
You know, Leanna was quite emotional, very very unwell today,
quite emotional already I already had a little cry, but
just hearing one of my clients talk about how it's
changed her life. You know, she's in her late sixties,
(10:24):
she's battled with weight and pre diabetes, and the joy
she feels because for the first time in her life
she's been able to lose a lot of weight. You know,
I can tell you firsthand that for the right people,
when used in the right way, these medications can be
life changing. But as we've said many times on the pod,
for every you know client or two we've had great
results with I've had eight who have used it and
not got the results because they haven't been using it
(10:46):
the right way. So it's certainly not a quick fix,
and it's certainly not something I would ever even suggest
for anyone who needed to lose even twenty kilos or less.
It really is for much more significant weight loss or
pre dispositions to type two and pre diabetes, that these
are really made for, all right, Leanne I came across
a buzz headline which I loved, and it was talking
(11:08):
about circadian rhythm and fatigue and the link between time
restricted eating and fasting and experience of fatigue. And I
loved that because how many people do you know who
are tired? You know, particularly as they'll speak through the
second half of the day, they're getting really exhausted off
and too tired. They'll get home and you know, have
dinner claps in front of the TVs, not sleep great,
(11:30):
not wake up in time to go for exercise, and
just living this really highly strong life that is just
burning the candle at both ends. And this was a
theoretical paper that took a closer look at the interaction
between the circadian rhythm and how it can impact fatigue.
And I think that it's sort of more data to
(11:51):
suggest the timing of our calories is really really important
and really goes against sort of that old school approach
of let's fast all day and then just have one
meal at night, which I know a lot of men
still do, thinking that it's better for us. But there's
more and more evidence building to show that that's actually
not the case. There's a lot of evidence to show
physiologically there's benefits of eating in the day and fasting
(12:12):
at night. So it was published late last year in
Science Bulletin, a very respected scientific paper, and it's basically
a theoretical model that looks at what goes on in
muscle mass and metabolism in terms of strength and how
our bodies feel each day when they don't have calories around.
(12:32):
And the argument is that when you don't sort of
if you time restrict aat and do the old school
sixteen eight sixteen eight, yes, so I'm just not in
my game today. The sixteen eight pattern where you sort
of don't eat all day really fails to take into
account the metabolic benefits that come from the circadian rhythm.
And so they in RAP studies now they do haven't
done a lot in humans yet, but in RAP models
(12:54):
of physiological function, so that the muscle has a very
key role to play in the general feeling of fatigue.
Whereas when they've time restricted feeding rats, that eight hour
window in the day, so say eating everything between ten
and six or eight and four, and significant benefits when
(13:14):
it comes to metabolic health, and that indirectly impacts the
function of the muscle cell, which is linked closely to
our experience of fatigue. So if you think about it,
people will present with weight gain, low energy, they're struggling
with chronic disease, heart disease, they're not feeling like energize.
(13:35):
And the argument is that as soon as you then
restrict the calories in the day, it puts more pressure
on the muscle mass, which actually makes experience of fatigue
worse and continues to exacerbate that cycle. So yeah, basically
looking at the key thing to support metabolic flexibility through
the lifespan is in general, for most people allowing a
(13:56):
longer fast overnight at least sort of eight, if not
ten to or fourteen hours, even up to sixteen. There
are significant benefits that come from that, not only from
metabolic health perspectives, but from our experience of fatigue and
energy regulation. So I just thought it was really really interesting,
and I've been using this a little bit with some
of my busy women who are up really early and
(14:18):
they're hungry in the day, so they might have at
one breakfast, early lunch, second lunch, but then they're not
even hungry for that much dinner, And I say, don't
worry about that. You know, we're very programmed to we
have to have three meals a day, and you shouldn't
skip dinner. But if your day is such that you're
up at the cracker door and you've got small children,
you train early. If you get to four five o'clock
on aren't hungry, there's nothing wrong with not eating if
(14:41):
you've had adequate calories through the day. So really paying
attention to your natural hunger and fullness signals and even
allowing you know, I try and get my clients to
do one long fast each week just to kind of
give the muscle a break from eating. But yeah, I
thought it was interesting just the relationship, because you'll often
see clients if they come early and they've got a
lot of weight to lose, inevitably they're not eating in
(15:02):
the morning, they have a late lunch, and then they
graze all afternoon and overeat at nighttime and then don't
wake up hungry. That's a very common pattern, and this
model theorizes that that is making everything worse, not only
when it comes to metabolic fitness, but our experience of fatigue.
And when your muscles aren't feeling good, they're not physiologically
in a position to fight disease, they're not you know,
(15:24):
maintaining fitness with glucose metabolism, and they're going to make
any experience of fatigue far, far worse. So I'd say
anyone listening who sort of has that pattern routinely, as
a little experiment to start by shifting things forward, you know,
try and have something within two hours of eating. Then
try and eat every three to four hours, and then
try and allow for at least twelve if not for
(15:45):
hours overnight without food. And even though it might not
be a specific weight loss prescription, there's a number of
metabolic benefits that will come from that style of eating
without restriction or strict diets or anything like that.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
Yeah, and there's also a lot of research when god
active that a good overnight fast is really beneficial just
to give the gut a bit of time to rest.
And if you're having a really big, heavy meal at nighttime,
then you're trying to go to bed, your body's busy,
Dutch trying to digest all.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
Of that food, and it's not really doing a lot of.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
That repair and recovery like it should be doing, and
it can for some people prevent them from getting into
that really deep rim type sleep as well. So, like you, Susie,
I've always been a fan of my clients eating regularly, unless,
of course.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
They've just got really weird schedules.
Speaker 1 (16:26):
You know, they might be a pilot or there might
you know, be a shift worker, and so of course
we change up the timing based on their work schedules.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
But for most of my ladies.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
Particularly when it comes to hormones we're talking about perimenopause metopause,
there is so much more research coming out that they
do better being fed early and being fed regularly throughout
the day.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
Intimate and fasting.
Speaker 1 (16:45):
From a hormone perspective is not great, So I rarely
ever fast my clients like you, Susie, And certainly there's
a lot of research and Doctor Sacy Simms is one
of the leading researchers in the female physiology and hormone
space as well, and she is very much a fan
of feeding females early and regularly throughout the day, particularly
if you're someone who's a morning exerciser actually waking up
(17:06):
and having a little bit of fuel, a little bit
of protein, a little bit of carb, not a huge meal.
It might just be a scuba protein powder and a
madial date or two just to fuel that workout and
to get the real performance benefits out of that workout
is so much better than doing that workout fasted. Can
you train fasted, yes, but you're not doing your body
any favors in doing that. And then if again you've
got to fast to all lunch, you're not doing your
(17:27):
body any favors in terms of recovering or refueling your
muscles afterwards as well. So it really is becoming more
and more apparent, particularly for females from a hormone perspective,
and that's pretty much everyone forty plus. Let's be honest,
we're sort of entering or we're learning more and more
about perimenopause, and we know it's sort of this for
most people, this average ten year kind of period before
(17:48):
we clock into menopause, that we should be eating regularly
throughout the day because it's just so much better than
having a huge, heavy meal at nighttime. And for a
lot of us, that food at nighttime. Isn't the best
sort of calorie mix or calorie load. You know, it
tends to be a lot of sugar, a lot of alcohol.
If we go out, we tend to have large, you know,
a couple of courses of meals, and it's just not
great from a metabolic perspective either. So again I think
(18:11):
it's a really interesting study. Yes, it was done in mice,
so we probably need a few more studies, some human research.
But like everything research is, it's very expensive, it takes
a very long time, and so we just sort of,
you know, take each each research paper with a little
grain of salt, and if you know that, you you know,
over each at nighttime don't feel great, wake up feeling
a bit heavy and slodgy, and really find it hard
(18:32):
to start your day, or wake up feeling tired despite
you know, a good seven eight hour sleep. It might
be time to try something different, move all of your
nutrition forward, but have a larger meal at breakfast, a
decent meal at lunchtime, and a lighter meal at dinner,
and just give that a go for a few weeks
and see how you feel. Don't even stress about weight loss,
just see how you feel from an energy perspective and
a brain form a cognition perspective, and if it helps,
(18:54):
it's basically and he cause one study. You can do
a little kind of study on yourself and just see
if it helps. You really got nothing to lose. But
we are certainly seeing more and more research coming out
about circadian rhythms and the bodies chronobiology, using that body's
body clock to really tell us how we should be
matching our nutrition throughout the day. And certainly there's a
lot of research for females that we should be eating
(19:15):
regularly throughout the day. All right, Well, our next one,
Susie's found a great little protein pancakes. Well, shouldn't say
great yet, we haven't done that, we haven't done the review.
So she's found some protein pancakes. I believe they're available
in coals and woolworst they're the Greens brand Greens Deluxe
Protein Pancake Shake three hundred and twenty five grams, so
(19:36):
just a standard protein bottle of pancake bottle. Five dollars
for a bottle, so they're more expensive than the standard
pancake mixes, but they are promoted as forty percent less
sugar with nine grams of protein is serve an austrain
made and owned. So if we dive into the ingredients,
first ingredient is wheat flour, so definitely not gluten free.
(19:57):
Second ingredient is sugar. Third ingredient is wheat starch, followed
by soy protein isolate. So that's how they're getting the
additional protein in there. Got malto adection in there, raising agents,
non fat, milk solids, anti caking agents, thickeners, natural flavors,
and salt. So certainly what we'd say is more of
a definitely probably an ultra processed food, I would say,
(20:18):
but it has been obviously formulated by this company to
meet the demands of consumers. Are you being a lower sugar,
higher protein type of pancake? For me, I don't waste
money on pancake mixes. I personally, if I want pancakes,
I'll make them at home, and i'd probably use a
sprinkle out designed by dietitians protein powder in there to
boost my protein, or I'd pair it with a bit
(20:39):
of higher protein yoga or a bit of ricotta or
cottage cheese. But for some people they might like the
convenience of a pancake mix So let's go through the
nutrition panel. So per serving and there is how many
servings is in a is in the thing? You assume
at least four four so four servings per package and
roughly makes three pancakes in a serving. So nutrition wise,
(21:01):
you've got just shy of eight hundred kilodel, so roughly
sort of two hundred dish calories, six point four grams
of protein in a serf, thirty eight grams of carbohydrate
with nine point two grams of that being sugar, less
than a gram of fat total, so very low fat
as you would naturally assume in a pancake mix, and
four hundred milligrams of sodium a serve, which is not
insignificant for.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
A pancake mix.
Speaker 1 (21:23):
I mean, if I made pancakes myself at home, I
wouldn't add any salt to that. That's interesting, But six
point four grams of protein a serve, it's not high, like,
do you know what I mean? I would still like
if that was one of my clients, having that their
goal was weight loss, I'd ideally want minimum twenty grams
of protein at a breakfast, ideally thirty, particularly if they're
training in the morning. So I would still be pairing
something like this with a bit of cottage cheese, some
(21:44):
high protein yogurt, something else to boost up that protein.
Because nine grams are SERF. Isn't more than standard pancakes. Yes,
but to me, it kind of defeats a purpose from
paying a bit more for a protein pancake mix unless
I'm going to get at least you know that fifteen
twenty grams of protein. I just don't really think it's
enough because you still need to pair it with other
higher protein ingredients to get that protein in overall, and
(22:07):
it's not something we really stress about for kids. Like kids,
most kids eat enough protein. Their protein requirements are really
really low, so it's not like I'd be recommending these
for kids. Maybe for growing teenagers, but I personally don't
really see a purpose to them because I would just
rather make some healthier pancakes at home that are lower
sugar and get my clients to pair that with a
(22:27):
bit of high protein yoga or with a bit of
recoder or something on the side.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
How do you feel about them?
Speaker 3 (22:32):
Yeah, I think it's a good example of food companies
targeting protein in their marketing. But when you take a
closer look, it's not always as good as it seems,
so they've got I think, over fifty grams of carbohydrate
per serve, which is massive. That's almost four slices of
bread per serve, which is just huge carbohydrate load for
(22:52):
just nine grams of protein. And I think that in general,
you can make a pretty good protein pancake just with
regular homeal flour and some ricotta, or a spoonful of
designed by dietitians, actual protein vanilla, which comes up really
well in pancakes. So yeah, I thought it was an
interesting one. The ingredient list is relatively clean, but I'm
like you, for that amount of carbohydrate, it's still a
(23:14):
really energy dense food and I would be spending extra
on it. We were a bit sad, actually, because remember
they used to have the Coals brand buttermilk pancakes or
really good nutritional mix, and they're not available anymore. So
I think we compiled our product manual about three years
ago of all the top supermarket foods in each category,
(23:36):
and we're about to launch our revised one, which is
slightly different. It's the top two hundred foods across all brands,
so there might be five breads, not just two, so
that will be out very soon. But yeah, certain foods,
because like those pancakes that Coals used to make aren't available,
they do turn I think the other thing is that
protein pancake mixes in supermarkets are really expensive. I would
(23:57):
say I don't think they're necessarily worth it. I think
that if you want to increase your protein, like you said,
either add rocoder or even better cottage cheese, or if
you've got protein powder, that's a much better way of
doing it. And our protein powder comes up really I
don't really love pancakes, but the our vanilla protein, digestive
and women's hormone come up really well in pancakes. So yeah,
(24:17):
just save your money and don't think that they're better
because yet it's way too much carbohydrate.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
Yeah, you can make pancakes with a Scuba protein powder,
an Eggle two and a bit of mash banana and
just a little bit of cinnamon and they come up
really really nicely, just spright off on a little bit
of extra Version olive oil. So like you, I'm not
going to spend five dollars something on a protein pancake mix.
I'd rather just make it myself at home because all
I put in my pancakes is homeal flour, some eggs,
and a dash of milk and a little bit of
cinnamon or a bit of vanilla, if I've got it
(24:40):
in my pantry, so they're not. Most people have that,
you know, those ingredients in their own pantry. It only
takes five minutes to whip it together. So for me,
I really don't think it's that convenient having it in
a mix like that. I think it doesn't really take
too long, and most people have the ingredients in their
pantry and you can make it far better without the
additional sort of additives that the supermarket bread tend to have.
Speaker 3 (25:01):
True list of question, I'm in menopause, what supplements should
I be taking? And this is off the back of
every second ad that comes through on my Instagram feed
is about supplements for menopause. And I think every Tom
Tick and Harry has got a brand which is selling
various pills and potions or targeting Perry and menopausal symptoms.
And I would first of all say, just be really careful.
There's a lot of stuff being sold that you don't
(25:22):
need under the guides of relieving symptoms. And when you
look at the data there's not huge amounts of data.
You know, some of the strongest data for reducing menopausal
symptoms like hot flushes and night sweats is to increase
in take of extraversional ifoil. That's the truth, So you
really can get ripped off. But I think there is
a few things that routine me we do recommend or
(25:42):
have growing evidence based for them. I think one of
the key ones that springs to mind is vitamin D.
It's that time of year where up to twenty five
percent of austrains will have low vitamin D levels. We're
inside a lot more. It's hard to get some on
the skin, your fair skin, you probably cover up, and
certainly low vitamin D isn't good for a number of
metabolic variables or disease risks. So that would be one
(26:04):
that routinely I would suggest unless clients are really high,
it's a no brainer to add that. And don't forget
if you're taking vitamin dates. If that sobal vitamin, you
do need to consume it with food with your eggs
in the morning or dinner. It won't absorb optimally if
you I'll just have it before bed and you haven't
got any nutrients on board. I don't routinely supplement calcium,
and the reason is it's not good just to concentrate
(26:25):
and have more and more of big nutrients. I will
really work with my clients to optimize calcium in taking
their diet using special yogurts and milks. It's not actually
that hard to get up to twelve hundred with a
couple of key foods like unhold tahini and edimrmae beans
and a fortified milk and yogurt. But if I do
have clients who are not fans of dairy, certainly I
(26:46):
might look at adding some in, but then I'd be
very careful. I certainly wouldn't make a dose it just
for the sake of it. There's growing evidence that create
in and we'll disclose we do have a supplement company
that we do make creating, but we do that for
a reason. There is growing evidence to show there's huge
benefits for women in their forties and beyond, particularly as
we store seventy to eighty percent less creative than men.
It's involved energy regulation. Piers to have a link to
(27:09):
mood helps to optimize body composition. So adding three to
five grams per day is a smart choice, particularly if
you're not feeling your best. And I think the other
thing that comes up more frequently as women are moving
through their forties and beyond is some daily fiber supplements.
And certainly if your tummy isn't behaving itself and you
don't have about motion regularly, you might have a long bow,
(27:29):
long gut, you might have a sensitive tummy. You might
have reduced your carbs down, you know, whether it's a
meta mucil, a cilium husk some are brand, or a
sort of tummy formulation that you add in to get
your bows moving. That is something that I also may
go to, but it's really not a long list. I
don't routinely supplement unless there's a need to, you know,
(27:51):
perhaps a Meaga threes. You know, the menopausal years are
pro inflammatory. That is why all of a sudden, if
you've had cholesterol or diabetes, that will all come on
and you're a weight abdominantly. Certainly, if you're not a
big fish eater, and I think really should be eating
Amiga threes at least every second day. I do consult
to tas ou Ll Declare, but I consult to tass
Out because salmon is very good for us, and a
Mega three that's the richest in salmon, but you can
(28:13):
use sardines, you can use tinfish oysters, even whitefish like
barramundi is a sauce. So I'd be bumping out my
seafood and take to at least every second day. And
if not an a Mega three supplement certainly won't hurt
you and not a bad idea. But I don't like
to see clients spending hundreds and hundreds on supplements either,
because you know, it's silly to pay a lot of
money for the same product. But there are sort of
handful of ones that will come up more frequently in
(28:36):
conversations with my clients.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
What have I missed?
Speaker 3 (28:38):
Land?
Speaker 1 (28:39):
I had a list of five, but it's not like
I'm going to say everybody in perry or menopause needs
to take all five. So these are the ones that
I routinely will either put my clients when I or
swap them to a better quality brand, or really look
closely at their diet to be like, are we actually
getting in enough?
Speaker 2 (28:54):
Can we do more through diet?
Speaker 1 (28:55):
Or like you, if that is not a dairy person,
it's really difficult to get I think the researchapause is
thirteen hundred milligrams of calcium a day. Like you're just
not going to get anywhere close to that if you
don't have darea, it's really difficult. So, like you, my
first one is calcium and vitamin D. I put them
together often if you're not really getting much vitamin D
and a lot of people also in metopause struggle to
get calcium.
Speaker 2 (29:14):
So there are a lot of good brands that will.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
Do a calcium and a vitamin D supplement together because
it's really important from a bone health perspective. Vitamin D
is good for mood immunity and also helps with that
calcium absorption as well. And calcium of course is important
for maintaining the density of your bones and starts to
the bone density declines postmenopause as well. I also had
amiga threes really good for brain function, inflammation, heart health.
(29:37):
Is a small amount of research that amiga threes may
help with things like mood swings and joint aches as well.
So again food first, of course, but again if you're
not someone who likes seafood, you might have an allergy,
you might be vegan. Go for an algae oil is
really important to get some of those plant based amigasim
next creatine like you. Of course, it's actually five grams
a day for perian metopause is what the research says.
(29:59):
So three a day under forty, five grams a day
over forty. Basically think of it like that. Really, as
Susi mentioned, muscle strength and metabolism, brain health, cognition, brain
fog super super important. And then my last one you
didn't mention, but I am really a huge fan of
in the last few years, is magnesium. So magnesium is
there's just so much more and more research coming out
(30:20):
about it. A blood test doesn't often indicate if you're
low or you're borderline and magnesium because ninety percent of
your magnesium is found inside the cell. A blood test
test what's within your blood, So a lot of times,
unless your magnesium is critically critically low and you're in
hospital and you need like a you know, a blood infusion,
you're not going to know if you're low, and most
people are because sadly, most magnesium is found in things
(30:42):
like dark green leafy veggies, legumes, nuts and seeds. And
we know that Australians simply just do not eat enough
of those types of food. So most people, and I'm
not even joking, a low and magnesium and they just
don't know it, but they're suffering because they've got poor sleeps,
they've got muscle cramps. It's in facting bone houth as well.
Magnesium works alongside calcium and vitamin D as well, so
(31:03):
I really like to use magnesium a few different types
of site trade if you're struggling with boughs and digestion,
or magnesium glycinate or bysglycinate from a sleep and a
muscle recovery perspective as well. So most of my clients,
because of the effects of sleep and restlessness and muscle
cramps and night sweats that you know, the hormones have
a lot of my ladies are taking some form of
(31:24):
magnesium and feeling really good for that. So it's not essential,
but if you know you're someone who doesn't regularly eat
legumes and nuts and seeds and dark green leafy veggies,
you're probably not getting in enough magnesium through your diet.
And I would say that's probably ninety percent of busy women.
And then my last one, which is not essential, but
some of my ladies do enjoy taking it is either
(31:45):
collagen or a protein powder, because again we know that
it can just help supplement the diet from a skin elasticity,
a hydration perspective, and a muscle mass and a metabolum perspective.
Speaker 2 (31:54):
So it's not essential.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
You can certainly eat that through foods, but again it's
more of a convenience option, like some people just prefer
to use a protein powder because it's a convenient source
of high quality protein for very low calories.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
It's not needed, but it is.
Speaker 1 (32:07):
It is convenience, and if you're a busy woman, that's
what a lot of my clients are using. Not all
of them altogether, I'd say a lot of times it's
two to three of them out of that list, but
certainly they're the most important nutrients i'd be looking at
in perian metopause and certainly through your diet first if
you can, if not looking for a reputable brand to
help supplement that diet. Maybe it's not long term, maybe
(32:29):
it's not forever, but it might be just sort of
utilizing it on and off through different periods like winter,
for example, when we don't tend to get as much
sunlight or do as much walking. You might want to
supplement a bit of vitamin D in winter. Alrighty well,
that brings us to the end of another episode, episode
three hundred and one of the Nutrition Couch. If you know,
Alak Susi said, if your diet needs a little bit
more work or a further supplementation, we have our own
(32:51):
range of scientifically formulated proteins, hot chocolates and creatines, and
soon to come also a few more new additions to
the range. So it's designed by dieticians dot com. Thank
you for you sport, thank.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
You for listening.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
Share the podcast with your friends and we will catch
you in next week's episode.
Speaker 3 (33:06):
Have a great week.
Whether it's craving something even though you've only just finished
a meal, or you're constantly thinking about food. That food
noise is real. And on today's episode of The Nutrition Couch,
we deep diet food noise and why some people have
it and the ways that you can turn it down
for good. Hi, I'm Leanne Wood and I'm Sissy Burrow,
and together we bring you The Nutrition Couch, the weekly
(00:23):
podcast that keeps you up to date on everything that
you need to know in the world of nutrition and
as well as food noise. We have some new research
that takes a closer look at meal timing and energy levels.
We've also found a new higher protein breakfast option that
some of you may love. And our listener question is
all about what to take if you're in pery or
in menopause. So to kick us off today, Susie, you
(00:45):
found a great new study that talks about food noise
and it is something that both you and I hear
a lot from our clients. And it's certainly not something
that I would say affects everybody, but certainly for those
that it does, it's a real burden, I would say,
because it's that constant, almost like intrusive thoughts about food,
like it's just thinking about food all of the time,
(01:07):
constant food cravings, to the point where some people say
it's all consuming, like they're constantly thinking about food, They're
obsessing over it, They're constantly thinking about when it's my
next meal. It involves cravings, it's triggered by seeing ads
on TV, what other people are eating, even things like
meal delivery apps. All of that, I would say, contributes
to food noise. Just this constant mental.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Chatter in our mind. What should I eat?
Speaker 1 (01:30):
When should I eat? Should I eat that? Should I
not eat it? Am I being good? Am I being bad?
All of this is what as dieticians we would consider
food noise, and for some people it is really overwhelming
and it is quite a burden. So and there's not
a lot of you know, there's not a lot of
research and science behind what food noise is, but it
is certainly something that is clinicians. You and I both
(01:51):
see clients regularly. We hear from our clients all the time,
and it really matters because it can really take a
mental toll on you after a long time. Because it's
that mental food chatter. It tends to drive emotional eating.
It makes cravings a lot harder to.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Deal with, and it just makes sticking to.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
A healthy lifestyle really difficult long term because people without
meaning to like, despite their best intentions, often end up
sabotaging their weight loss efforts because they're constantly thinking about food,
They're constantly surrounded by food. They're finding it really really
difficult to actually stick to their you know, their meal
plan or what they've sort of designed for themselves in
(02:27):
order to lose weight. They find it really difficult to
actually stick to that because there's just so much food
chatter and food noise around. How do you feel about
food noise? Obviously, I think you're very similar to me,
where you would have a lot of clients who really
experience this and really struggle with it as well.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
I think that the term food noise has really gained
momentum since the growing range of gop one medications because
one of the standout things that uses of those medications,
things like Manjaro Ozmpeak will say is that it kills
the food noise. To be honestly, and I hadn't heard
of food noise prior to this last few years, but
(03:05):
certainly it's been described you know, like you said, it's
that constantly thinking about food. It's when is my next meal?
Like you've just eaten something that should be satisfying and
then you're still looking for something else. Kind of preoccupies
your thoughts. And certainly there was an observation that that
didn't affect everyone in that same way. And so what
we've come to understand is with this new range of
(03:25):
medications is it appears it's likely an insulin linked experience.
So if you're over secreting insulin, it's going to drive
every one of the body's cells to seek food and
then quite possibly the appetite regulation hormones that specifically the
golp one medications target.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
So for me, it's like.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
Any area of nutrition and food and eating behavior, it's
pretty complicated. It's not a matter of you've got food
noise you don't. You know, some of it may be
just behavioral. You know, if you grew up in a
household where your mum would overly restrictive with food, perhaps
you know food is more of a trigger point for you.
Every single person listening will have a different experience, but
(04:08):
I think for that subgroup of clients who have blood
glucose regulation issues have got significant abdomino ob city can't
lose weight easily and get good results with GLP medications.
It tends to be because it doubles that food noise.
So it's just putting an actual definition or a summary
point on it. And I think, as you know, if
we look at what's happened with these medications even in
(04:30):
the past five years, they're advancing all the time. We
started with single actions, now we've got dual actions. They'll
continue to improve and as that happens in pharmaceutical worlds,
we will come to further understand exactly what it is
and whether it's a genetic predisposition. But as a take
home message for anyone listening who says it's just me, like,
unless I'm one hundred percent strict all the time, I
(04:52):
can't lose weight, and then as soon as I take
my finger off the pulse, even for a minute, I
just put it all back on. If you are struggling,
you don't need to be a shame that sometimes you
may need extra help and there are options available for
that now. And that's with the argument, you know, the
judgmental that comes and says, oh, you should be able
to lose weight without medication. Well, that's a short I
would have could everyone's different, and if you do have
(05:13):
that predisposition and underlying hormonal issue which is largely genetic,
there's no shame in getting some help. So I've got
a client at the moment and she's trying really hard,
you know, but the weight loss is quite slow and
there's a lot of food noise around, And I said
to her, look, you don't have to make a decision
on medication right now, but I'm saying to you, if
you know that you're trying really hard, and no matter
(05:35):
how hard you try, the food noise won't be dull down.
There's no shame in getting a bit of support. That
is what medication is there for. That is why we
use cholesterol lowering medication, or if you've got prediabetes, so
if you've got a mood disorder, there are medications for
a reason, and for the right people, they can be
used extremely effectively. So I'm not pro or con medication.
(05:56):
It's individuals, but i would say I've certainly got client
some of my books who have struggled with weight for many,
many years, and these THESEJLP ones are revolutionary because they
do dull the food noise and they've never been able
to achieve that before. So yeah, I think that it's
different ways of looking at it. But it's not just
liking sweet stuff for you know, feeling like you should
(06:17):
reward yourself with treat it's just that constant bunter that
makes it very difficult to eat a healthy, balanced diet
and not be constantly looking for more.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
Yeah, I agree, and like you, I've got a handful
of clients utilizing these medications for exactly the same reason,
where they just say the food noise is just absolutely gone.
It makes it so much easier to stay on track,
to eat what they need to eat, and just not
have that mental gymnastics of the back and forth constantly
all day long, thinking about should I eat it?
Speaker 2 (06:42):
Should I not? What about this? What about this?
Speaker 1 (06:44):
It's just so much easier to stay on track. Because
the way that these medications work, and certainly we're seeing
more and more research coming out about them, is that
they actually act on different regions of the brain that
help to regulate things like hunger and satidy, and the
dopamine hit the rule ward based as well, and that's
why so many people report just feeling mentally free from
(07:06):
like food obsessions.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
So it is really really.
Speaker 1 (07:09):
Interesting and I think we will see more and more
research coming out about it, because, like you said, like
when we went through when I went through UNI, you know,
a decade ago. Now, it didn't it wasn't a topic
that we covered food noise. It was just like it
was all about discipline, it was all about motivation, you know.
But now we know that it's so much more than
just willpower. Losing weight is so much more than just willpower.
Because I've been doing a little bit of research in
(07:31):
terms of ultra processed foods and how they act on
the different areas of the brain. And this is where
some of this food queuing and some of these food
noise comes together as well, because a lot of the
brain imaging and they've taken people and they've given them
brain mriys, and what they show is that some individuals,
some people who are more sensitive to food cues, more
sensitive to this food noise, the different areas of their
(07:53):
brain respond differently from seeing different types of food stimuli.
It's not even eating these foods, it's just being showing
pictures a picture of a milkshake, a picture of a
bowl of hot chips, a picture of some chocolate. They
respond differently and that reward based area of their brain
lights up just from seeing some of these pictures. So
that food noise for a lot of people is so
(08:15):
much louder and it's a lot harder to ignore because
food is constant. It's in our environment all of the time.
You might not be eating it, but it is constantly
in our environment. So helping to reduce the exposure to
some of these food cues by you know, not going
down every single aisle in the soupermarket or choosing to
do your grocery order online and getting it delivered. If
you struggle with, you know, going to the soup market
(08:37):
and buying everything when it's you know it's there, it's
half priced, it's really you know, appealing. So there's a
lot that you can do to reduce the food cues,
which does also help to contribute to a reduction in
the food noise without utilizing medication. But like Susie said,
you don't need to be ashamed about it. These medications
are there for a reason. If that's what you feel like,
you need definitely have a discussion with your doctor. But
(08:59):
ensure that you using that with a dietician who has
experienced in that area to make sure that you're getting
the best results, and when you stop this medication, the
results that you did get actually last long term, because
that's a big issue where people will take the medication,
lose ten twenty kilos, stop it and put all the
weight back on again, which isn't actually ideal long term.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
Yeah, And I think the interesting thing for all of
us is we're in this phase now where we've got
the new generations of the drugs which are dual acting,
and then so of people when we're not talking about
people who want to lose five kilos, you know, we're
talking about twenty thirty forty kilo losses and you know,
allocating six to twelve months for that. But I haven't
had a lot of clients who have come out the
other side and weaning down on dose and weaning off
(09:42):
long term and seeing what happens with the food noise.
So this is a work in progress that we're all
working with. So as a rule of summer, try and
keep the doses as low as possible and working with
more exercise and good quality diet. And then my plan
is to sort of get my clients to goal and
then gradually reduce dose and wean off and then what
(10:02):
is the million dollar question is does the food noise
return or do you need a light sort of insulin
sensitizer light metform and to keep it under control. So
this is all very very new, but it's really good.
You know, Leanna was quite emotional, very very unwell today,
quite emotional already I already had a little cry, but
just hearing one of my clients talk about how it's
changed her life. You know, she's in her late sixties,
(10:24):
she's battled with weight and pre diabetes, and the joy
she feels because for the first time in her life
she's been able to lose a lot of weight. You know,
I can tell you firsthand that for the right people,
when used in the right way, these medications can be
life changing. But as we've said many times on the pod,
for every you know client or two we've had great
results with I've had eight who have used it and
not got the results because they haven't been using it
(10:46):
the right way. So it's certainly not a quick fix,
and it's certainly not something I would ever even suggest
for anyone who needed to lose even twenty kilos or less.
It really is for much more significant weight loss or
pre dispositions to type two and pre diabetes, that these
are really made for, all right, Leanne I came across
a buzz headline which I loved, and it was talking
(11:08):
about circadian rhythm and fatigue and the link between time
restricted eating and fasting and experience of fatigue. And I
loved that because how many people do you know who
are tired? You know, particularly as they'll speak through the
second half of the day, they're getting really exhausted off
and too tired. They'll get home and you know, have
dinner claps in front of the TVs, not sleep great,
(11:30):
not wake up in time to go for exercise, and
just living this really highly strong life that is just
burning the candle at both ends. And this was a
theoretical paper that took a closer look at the interaction
between the circadian rhythm and how it can impact fatigue.
And I think that it's sort of more data to
(11:51):
suggest the timing of our calories is really really important
and really goes against sort of that old school approach
of let's fast all day and then just have one
meal at night, which I know a lot of men
still do, thinking that it's better for us. But there's
more and more evidence building to show that that's actually
not the case. There's a lot of evidence to show
physiologically there's benefits of eating in the day and fasting
(12:12):
at night. So it was published late last year in
Science Bulletin, a very respected scientific paper, and it's basically
a theoretical model that looks at what goes on in
muscle mass and metabolism in terms of strength and how
our bodies feel each day when they don't have calories around.
(12:32):
And the argument is that when you don't sort of
if you time restrict aat and do the old school
sixteen eight sixteen eight, yes, so I'm just not in
my game today. The sixteen eight pattern where you sort
of don't eat all day really fails to take into
account the metabolic benefits that come from the circadian rhythm.
And so they in RAP studies now they do haven't
done a lot in humans yet, but in RAP models
(12:54):
of physiological function, so that the muscle has a very
key role to play in the general feeling of fatigue.
Whereas when they've time restricted feeding rats, that eight hour
window in the day, so say eating everything between ten
and six or eight and four, and significant benefits when
(13:14):
it comes to metabolic health, and that indirectly impacts the
function of the muscle cell, which is linked closely to
our experience of fatigue. So if you think about it,
people will present with weight gain, low energy, they're struggling
with chronic disease, heart disease, they're not feeling like energize.
(13:35):
And the argument is that as soon as you then
restrict the calories in the day, it puts more pressure
on the muscle mass, which actually makes experience of fatigue
worse and continues to exacerbate that cycle. So yeah, basically
looking at the key thing to support metabolic flexibility through
the lifespan is in general, for most people allowing a
(13:56):
longer fast overnight at least sort of eight, if not
ten to or fourteen hours, even up to sixteen. There
are significant benefits that come from that, not only from
metabolic health perspectives, but from our experience of fatigue and
energy regulation. So I just thought it was really really interesting,
and I've been using this a little bit with some
of my busy women who are up really early and
(14:18):
they're hungry in the day, so they might have at
one breakfast, early lunch, second lunch, but then they're not
even hungry for that much dinner, And I say, don't
worry about that. You know, we're very programmed to we
have to have three meals a day, and you shouldn't
skip dinner. But if your day is such that you're
up at the cracker door and you've got small children,
you train early. If you get to four five o'clock
on aren't hungry, there's nothing wrong with not eating if
(14:41):
you've had adequate calories through the day. So really paying
attention to your natural hunger and fullness signals and even
allowing you know, I try and get my clients to
do one long fast each week just to kind of
give the muscle a break from eating. But yeah, I
thought it was interesting just the relationship, because you'll often
see clients if they come early and they've got a
lot of weight to lose, inevitably they're not eating in
(15:02):
the morning, they have a late lunch, and then they
graze all afternoon and overeat at nighttime and then don't
wake up hungry. That's a very common pattern, and this
model theorizes that that is making everything worse, not only
when it comes to metabolic fitness, but our experience of fatigue.
And when your muscles aren't feeling good, they're not physiologically
in a position to fight disease, they're not you know,
(15:24):
maintaining fitness with glucose metabolism, and they're going to make
any experience of fatigue far, far worse. So I'd say
anyone listening who sort of has that pattern routinely, as
a little experiment to start by shifting things forward, you know,
try and have something within two hours of eating. Then
try and eat every three to four hours, and then
try and allow for at least twelve if not for
(15:45):
hours overnight without food. And even though it might not
be a specific weight loss prescription, there's a number of
metabolic benefits that will come from that style of eating
without restriction or strict diets or anything like that.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
Yeah, and there's also a lot of research when god
active that a good overnight fast is really beneficial just
to give the gut a bit of time to rest.
And if you're having a really big, heavy meal at nighttime,
then you're trying to go to bed, your body's busy,
Dutch trying to digest all.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
Of that food, and it's not really doing a lot of.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
That repair and recovery like it should be doing, and
it can for some people prevent them from getting into
that really deep rim type sleep as well. So, like you, Susie,
I've always been a fan of my clients eating regularly, unless,
of course.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
They've just got really weird schedules.
Speaker 1 (16:26):
You know, they might be a pilot or there might
you know, be a shift worker, and so of course
we change up the timing based on their work schedules.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
But for most of my ladies.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
Particularly when it comes to hormones we're talking about perimenopause metopause,
there is so much more research coming out that they
do better being fed early and being fed regularly throughout
the day.
Speaker 2 (16:44):
Intimate and fasting.
Speaker 1 (16:45):
From a hormone perspective is not great, So I rarely
ever fast my clients like you, Susie, And certainly there's
a lot of research and Doctor Sacy Simms is one
of the leading researchers in the female physiology and hormone
space as well, and she is very much a fan
of feeding females early and regularly throughout the day, particularly
if you're someone who's a morning exerciser actually waking up
(17:06):
and having a little bit of fuel, a little bit
of protein, a little bit of carb, not a huge meal.
It might just be a scuba protein powder and a
madial date or two just to fuel that workout and
to get the real performance benefits out of that workout
is so much better than doing that workout fasted. Can
you train fasted, yes, but you're not doing your body
any favors in doing that. And then if again you've
got to fast to all lunch, you're not doing your
(17:27):
body any favors in terms of recovering or refueling your
muscles afterwards as well. So it really is becoming more
and more apparent, particularly for females from a hormone perspective,
and that's pretty much everyone forty plus. Let's be honest,
we're sort of entering or we're learning more and more
about perimenopause, and we know it's sort of this for
most people, this average ten year kind of period before
(17:48):
we clock into menopause, that we should be eating regularly
throughout the day because it's just so much better than
having a huge, heavy meal at nighttime. And for a
lot of us, that food at nighttime. Isn't the best
sort of calorie mix or calorie load. You know, it
tends to be a lot of sugar, a lot of alcohol.
If we go out, we tend to have large, you know,
a couple of courses of meals, and it's just not
great from a metabolic perspective either. So again I think
(18:11):
it's a really interesting study. Yes, it was done in mice,
so we probably need a few more studies, some human research.
But like everything research is, it's very expensive, it takes
a very long time, and so we just sort of,
you know, take each each research paper with a little
grain of salt, and if you know that, you you know,
over each at nighttime don't feel great, wake up feeling
a bit heavy and slodgy, and really find it hard
(18:32):
to start your day, or wake up feeling tired despite
you know, a good seven eight hour sleep. It might
be time to try something different, move all of your
nutrition forward, but have a larger meal at breakfast, a
decent meal at lunchtime, and a lighter meal at dinner,
and just give that a go for a few weeks
and see how you feel. Don't even stress about weight loss,
just see how you feel from an energy perspective and
a brain form a cognition perspective, and if it helps,
(18:54):
it's basically and he cause one study. You can do
a little kind of study on yourself and just see
if it helps. You really got nothing to lose. But
we are certainly seeing more and more research coming out
about circadian rhythms and the bodies chronobiology, using that body's
body clock to really tell us how we should be
matching our nutrition throughout the day. And certainly there's a
lot of research for females that we should be eating
(19:15):
regularly throughout the day. All right, Well, our next one,
Susie's found a great little protein pancakes. Well, shouldn't say
great yet, we haven't done that, we haven't done the review.
So she's found some protein pancakes. I believe they're available
in coals and woolworst they're the Greens brand Greens Deluxe
Protein Pancake Shake three hundred and twenty five grams, so
(19:36):
just a standard protein bottle of pancake bottle. Five dollars
for a bottle, so they're more expensive than the standard
pancake mixes, but they are promoted as forty percent less
sugar with nine grams of protein is serve an austrain
made and owned. So if we dive into the ingredients,
first ingredient is wheat flour, so definitely not gluten free.
(19:57):
Second ingredient is sugar. Third ingredient is wheat starch, followed
by soy protein isolate. So that's how they're getting the
additional protein in there. Got malto adection in there, raising agents,
non fat, milk solids, anti caking agents, thickeners, natural flavors,
and salt. So certainly what we'd say is more of
a definitely probably an ultra processed food, I would say,
(20:18):
but it has been obviously formulated by this company to
meet the demands of consumers. Are you being a lower sugar,
higher protein type of pancake? For me, I don't waste
money on pancake mixes. I personally, if I want pancakes,
I'll make them at home, and i'd probably use a
sprinkle out designed by dietitians protein powder in there to
boost my protein, or I'd pair it with a bit
(20:39):
of higher protein yoga or a bit of ricotta or
cottage cheese. But for some people they might like the
convenience of a pancake mix So let's go through the
nutrition panel. So per serving and there is how many
servings is in a is in the thing? You assume
at least four four so four servings per package and
roughly makes three pancakes in a serving. So nutrition wise,
(21:01):
you've got just shy of eight hundred kilodel, so roughly
sort of two hundred dish calories, six point four grams
of protein in a serf, thirty eight grams of carbohydrate
with nine point two grams of that being sugar, less
than a gram of fat total, so very low fat
as you would naturally assume in a pancake mix, and
four hundred milligrams of sodium a serve, which is not
insignificant for.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
A pancake mix.
Speaker 1 (21:23):
I mean, if I made pancakes myself at home, I
wouldn't add any salt to that. That's interesting, But six
point four grams of protein a serve, it's not high, like,
do you know what I mean? I would still like
if that was one of my clients, having that their
goal was weight loss, I'd ideally want minimum twenty grams
of protein at a breakfast, ideally thirty, particularly if they're
training in the morning. So I would still be pairing
something like this with a bit of cottage cheese, some
(21:44):
high protein yogurt, something else to boost up that protein.
Because nine grams are SERF. Isn't more than standard pancakes. Yes,
but to me, it kind of defeats a purpose from
paying a bit more for a protein pancake mix unless
I'm going to get at least you know that fifteen
twenty grams of protein. I just don't really think it's
enough because you still need to pair it with other
higher protein ingredients to get that protein in overall, and
(22:07):
it's not something we really stress about for kids. Like kids,
most kids eat enough protein. Their protein requirements are really
really low, so it's not like I'd be recommending these
for kids. Maybe for growing teenagers, but I personally don't
really see a purpose to them because I would just
rather make some healthier pancakes at home that are lower
sugar and get my clients to pair that with a
(22:27):
bit of high protein yoga or with a bit of
recoder or something on the side.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
How do you feel about them?
Speaker 3 (22:32):
Yeah, I think it's a good example of food companies
targeting protein in their marketing. But when you take a
closer look, it's not always as good as it seems,
so they've got I think, over fifty grams of carbohydrate
per serve, which is massive. That's almost four slices of
bread per serve, which is just huge carbohydrate load for
(22:52):
just nine grams of protein. And I think that in general,
you can make a pretty good protein pancake just with
regular homeal flour and some ricotta, or a spoonful of
designed by dietitians, actual protein vanilla, which comes up really
well in pancakes. So yeah, I thought it was an
interesting one. The ingredient list is relatively clean, but I'm
like you, for that amount of carbohydrate, it's still a
(23:14):
really energy dense food and I would be spending extra
on it. We were a bit sad, actually, because remember
they used to have the Coals brand buttermilk pancakes or
really good nutritional mix, and they're not available anymore. So
I think we compiled our product manual about three years
ago of all the top supermarket foods in each category,
(23:36):
and we're about to launch our revised one, which is
slightly different. It's the top two hundred foods across all brands,
so there might be five breads, not just two, so
that will be out very soon. But yeah, certain foods,
because like those pancakes that Coals used to make aren't available,
they do turn I think the other thing is that
protein pancake mixes in supermarkets are really expensive. I would
(23:57):
say I don't think they're necessarily worth it. I think
that if you want to increase your protein, like you said,
either add rocoder or even better cottage cheese, or if
you've got protein powder, that's a much better way of
doing it. And our protein powder comes up really I
don't really love pancakes, but the our vanilla protein, digestive
and women's hormone come up really well in pancakes. So yeah,
(24:17):
just save your money and don't think that they're better
because yet it's way too much carbohydrate.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
Yeah, you can make pancakes with a Scuba protein powder,
an Eggle two and a bit of mash banana and
just a little bit of cinnamon and they come up
really really nicely, just spright off on a little bit
of extra Version olive oil. So like you, I'm not
going to spend five dollars something on a protein pancake mix.
I'd rather just make it myself at home because all
I put in my pancakes is homeal flour, some eggs,
and a dash of milk and a little bit of
cinnamon or a bit of vanilla, if I've got it
(24:40):
in my pantry, so they're not. Most people have that,
you know, those ingredients in their own pantry. It only
takes five minutes to whip it together. So for me,
I really don't think it's that convenient having it in
a mix like that. I think it doesn't really take
too long, and most people have the ingredients in their
pantry and you can make it far better without the
additional sort of additives that the supermarket bread tend to have.
Speaker 3 (25:01):
True list of question, I'm in menopause, what supplements should
I be taking? And this is off the back of
every second ad that comes through on my Instagram feed
is about supplements for menopause. And I think every Tom
Tick and Harry has got a brand which is selling
various pills and potions or targeting Perry and menopausal symptoms.
And I would first of all say, just be really careful.
There's a lot of stuff being sold that you don't
(25:22):
need under the guides of relieving symptoms. And when you
look at the data there's not huge amounts of data.
You know, some of the strongest data for reducing menopausal
symptoms like hot flushes and night sweats is to increase
in take of extraversional ifoil. That's the truth, So you
really can get ripped off. But I think there is
a few things that routine me we do recommend or
(25:42):
have growing evidence based for them. I think one of
the key ones that springs to mind is vitamin D.
It's that time of year where up to twenty five
percent of austrains will have low vitamin D levels. We're
inside a lot more. It's hard to get some on
the skin, your fair skin, you probably cover up, and
certainly low vitamin D isn't good for a number of
metabolic variables or disease risks. So that would be one
(26:04):
that routinely I would suggest unless clients are really high,
it's a no brainer to add that. And don't forget
if you're taking vitamin dates. If that sobal vitamin, you
do need to consume it with food with your eggs
in the morning or dinner. It won't absorb optimally if
you I'll just have it before bed and you haven't
got any nutrients on board. I don't routinely supplement calcium,
and the reason is it's not good just to concentrate
(26:25):
and have more and more of big nutrients. I will
really work with my clients to optimize calcium in taking
their diet using special yogurts and milks. It's not actually
that hard to get up to twelve hundred with a
couple of key foods like unhold tahini and edimrmae beans
and a fortified milk and yogurt. But if I do
have clients who are not fans of dairy, certainly I
(26:46):
might look at adding some in, but then I'd be
very careful. I certainly wouldn't make a dose it just
for the sake of it. There's growing evidence that create
in and we'll disclose we do have a supplement company
that we do make creating, but we do that for
a reason. There is growing evidence to show there's huge
benefits for women in their forties and beyond, particularly as
we store seventy to eighty percent less creative than men.
It's involved energy regulation. Piers to have a link to
(27:09):
mood helps to optimize body composition. So adding three to
five grams per day is a smart choice, particularly if
you're not feeling your best. And I think the other
thing that comes up more frequently as women are moving
through their forties and beyond is some daily fiber supplements.
And certainly if your tummy isn't behaving itself and you
don't have about motion regularly, you might have a long bow,
(27:29):
long gut, you might have a sensitive tummy. You might
have reduced your carbs down, you know, whether it's a
meta mucil, a cilium husk some are brand, or a
sort of tummy formulation that you add in to get
your bows moving. That is something that I also may
go to, but it's really not a long list. I
don't routinely supplement unless there's a need to, you know,
(27:51):
perhaps a Meaga threes. You know, the menopausal years are
pro inflammatory. That is why all of a sudden, if
you've had cholesterol or diabetes, that will all come on
and you're a weight abdominantly. Certainly, if you're not a
big fish eater, and I think really should be eating
Amiga threes at least every second day. I do consult
to tas ou Ll Declare, but I consult to tass
Out because salmon is very good for us, and a
Mega three that's the richest in salmon, but you can
(28:13):
use sardines, you can use tinfish oysters, even whitefish like
barramundi is a sauce. So I'd be bumping out my
seafood and take to at least every second day. And
if not an a Mega three supplement certainly won't hurt
you and not a bad idea. But I don't like
to see clients spending hundreds and hundreds on supplements either,
because you know, it's silly to pay a lot of
money for the same product. But there are sort of
handful of ones that will come up more frequently in
(28:36):
conversations with my clients.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
What have I missed?
Speaker 3 (28:38):
Land?
Speaker 1 (28:39):
I had a list of five, but it's not like
I'm going to say everybody in perry or menopause needs
to take all five. So these are the ones that
I routinely will either put my clients when I or
swap them to a better quality brand, or really look
closely at their diet to be like, are we actually
getting in enough?
Speaker 2 (28:54):
Can we do more through diet?
Speaker 1 (28:55):
Or like you, if that is not a dairy person,
it's really difficult to get I think the researchapause is
thirteen hundred milligrams of calcium a day. Like you're just
not going to get anywhere close to that if you
don't have darea, it's really difficult. So, like you, my
first one is calcium and vitamin D. I put them
together often if you're not really getting much vitamin D
and a lot of people also in metopause struggle to
get calcium.
Speaker 2 (29:14):
So there are a lot of good brands that will.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
Do a calcium and a vitamin D supplement together because
it's really important from a bone health perspective. Vitamin D
is good for mood immunity and also helps with that
calcium absorption as well. And calcium of course is important
for maintaining the density of your bones and starts to
the bone density declines postmenopause as well. I also had
amiga threes really good for brain function, inflammation, heart health.
(29:37):
Is a small amount of research that amiga threes may
help with things like mood swings and joint aches as well.
So again food first, of course, but again if you're
not someone who likes seafood, you might have an allergy,
you might be vegan. Go for an algae oil is
really important to get some of those plant based amigasim
next creatine like you. Of course, it's actually five grams
a day for perian metopause is what the research says.
(29:59):
So three a day under forty, five grams a day
over forty. Basically think of it like that. Really, as
Susi mentioned, muscle strength and metabolism, brain health, cognition, brain
fog super super important. And then my last one you
didn't mention, but I am really a huge fan of
in the last few years, is magnesium. So magnesium is
there's just so much more and more research coming out
(30:20):
about it. A blood test doesn't often indicate if you're
low or you're borderline and magnesium because ninety percent of
your magnesium is found inside the cell. A blood test
test what's within your blood, So a lot of times,
unless your magnesium is critically critically low and you're in
hospital and you need like a you know, a blood infusion,
you're not going to know if you're low, and most
people are because sadly, most magnesium is found in things
(30:42):
like dark green leafy veggies, legumes, nuts and seeds. And
we know that Australians simply just do not eat enough
of those types of food. So most people, and I'm
not even joking, a low and magnesium and they just
don't know it, but they're suffering because they've got poor sleeps,
they've got muscle cramps. It's in facting bone houth as well.
Magnesium works alongside calcium and vitamin D as well, so
(31:03):
I really like to use magnesium a few different types
of site trade if you're struggling with boughs and digestion,
or magnesium glycinate or bysglycinate from a sleep and a
muscle recovery perspective as well. So most of my clients,
because of the effects of sleep and restlessness and muscle
cramps and night sweats that you know, the hormones have
a lot of my ladies are taking some form of
(31:24):
magnesium and feeling really good for that. So it's not essential,
but if you know you're someone who doesn't regularly eat
legumes and nuts and seeds and dark green leafy veggies,
you're probably not getting in enough magnesium through your diet.
And I would say that's probably ninety percent of busy women.
And then my last one, which is not essential, but
some of my ladies do enjoy taking it is either
(31:45):
collagen or a protein powder, because again we know that
it can just help supplement the diet from a skin elasticity,
a hydration perspective, and a muscle mass and a metabolum perspective.
Speaker 2 (31:54):
So it's not essential.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
You can certainly eat that through foods, but again it's
more of a convenience option, like some people just prefer
to use a protein powder because it's a convenient source
of high quality protein for very low calories.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
It's not needed, but it is.
Speaker 1 (32:07):
It is convenience, and if you're a busy woman, that's
what a lot of my clients are using. Not all
of them altogether, I'd say a lot of times it's
two to three of them out of that list, but
certainly they're the most important nutrients i'd be looking at
in perian metopause and certainly through your diet first if
you can, if not looking for a reputable brand to
help supplement that diet. Maybe it's not long term, maybe
(32:29):
it's not forever, but it might be just sort of
utilizing it on and off through different periods like winter,
for example, when we don't tend to get as much
sunlight or do as much walking. You might want to
supplement a bit of vitamin D in winter. Alrighty well,
that brings us to the end of another episode, episode
three hundred and one of the Nutrition Couch. If you know,
Alak Susi said, if your diet needs a little bit
more work or a further supplementation, we have our own
(32:51):
range of scientifically formulated proteins, hot chocolates and creatines, and
soon to come also a few more new additions to
the range. So it's designed by dieticians dot com. Thank
you for you sport, thank.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
You for listening.
Speaker 1 (33:02):
Share the podcast with your friends and we will catch
you in next week's episode.
Speaker 3 (33:06):
Have a great week.
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