Stronger Minds

'Drinkable meals' are being touted as the future of food, with the makers claiming they are the perfect nutritional solution for time-poor, ambitious professionals. In this episode of the podcast I take a look at the world of drinkable meals. As well as giving an Honest Review, I look at the nutritional claims, get feedback from other users and think about what the rise of these products says about our changing relationship with food.

I'll be asking the following questions:

• What are they?

• Where did they come from?

• Are they food?

• What's the point?

• Are they any good?

• What does they say about how we think about food?

Heads up: this is a pretty nerdy episode, it's kind of an audio-documentary, so it might not be for everyone. But if the socio-politics and marketing of food are your thing then I hope you find it interesting!

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This episode is an urgent response to some very sad recent news about two high-profile individuals taking their own lives and some very worrying statistics. In the same week as the deaths of designer Kate Spade and chef and TV presenter Anthony Bourdain, a report was published in the UK showing that teen suicides are on the rise and have increased by 107% in London in the last 5 years, which is four times the national average. Recent research from the CDC showed that since 1999 the suicide rate in the US grew by more than 25%. Last week the funeral was held for Tim Bergling, also known as Avicii, who is also believed to have taken his own life.  

So, in this episode, I have teamed up with a colleague to help offer some support for people struggling with thoughts of self-harm or suicide or anyone worried about a loved one. Dr Sarah Vohra (@themindmedic) is a Child Psychiatrist, Columnist and Bestselling Author of Mental Health in Children and Young People and we discuss how to identify depression and suicide risk in yourself, children and adults. We offer strategies on how to intervene during the early stages of depression before it reaches crisis point but also describe what the priorities are if you believe someone is at imminent risk of self-harm or suicide. Crucially, we offer practical tips on how to have the very difficult but incredibly important conversation, how to ask someone if they are having thoughts of taking their own lives. We talk about what happens after an attempt and provide resources for people bereaved by suicide.

This was a heavy conversation even for us and we understand that these issues are very difficult to think about, talk about and listen to. So please, if you are concerned about yourself or someone else right now, do call emergency services immediately. This episode is for information only and should not be taken as diagnosis or treatment. It does not replace contact with a health professional. If you are feeling particularly fragile it may be best for you not to listen to this episode but to reach out to a friend or one of the resources that I have attached to the show notes that can be found on my website www.kimberleywilson.co/podcast. 

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In this episode I am breaking bread and breaking fast with Salma Haidrani.

Salma is a multi-award winning writer and journalist whose work focuses on contemporary faith, food, women’s health and social issues. She writes for national magazines and newspapers including i-D, Vice, Broadly, Cosmopolitan, Stylist, and Time Out London among others. Last year she was awarded ‘Young Journalist of the Year’ at the GG2 Leadership Awards and was the youngest winner of the ‘Best Feature’ award at the End Violence Against Women Media Awards for her work investigating so-called honour killings on British soil.

This episode was recorded during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan and, as a practicing Muslim, Salma describes what it means to her and how a month of fasting affects her relationship with food and her faith. Along the way we also discuss the 'rediscovery' and repackaging of traditionally ethnic foods as part of the wellness movement and how, as a result, she is reclaiming dates as part of her heritage.

At times this conversation may feel a bit challenging for some listeners. I hope you can stick with it because a) I think it is important for us to have our opinions challenged and b) we can only grow by making room for the experiences of others. 

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In case you have missed it, Kim Kardashian recently posted an advertisement on her Instagram account endorsing an apparently appetite-suppressing lollipop to her, at that time, 111m Instagram followers. Her caption under the photo said that the lollipops were ‘literally unreal’ and as I describe in the episode that comment couldn’t be more true. 

Much of the backlash about the post was linked to the effect that promoting a diet product would have on her followers, but I was also interested in the claims themselves. In this brief bonus episode I take a look at the evidence behind this apparently 'powerful weight-loss agent' that the makers claim provides 'spectacular' effects.*

*NB: Don't hold your breath...

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In this episode I am breaking bread with Pixie Turner. Pixie, who goes by the name Plant Based Pixie on social media is a nutritionist registered with the association for nutrition. She can be found across her social channels and often on the news debunking nutritional myths and promoting an evidence-based and balanced approach to nutrition. But it hasn’t always been like that.

For around three years Pixie was deep into the very side of wellness that she now tries to protect others from. At the same time she was building a name and a following as a wellness blogger, subscribing to ideas and practices that have no grounding in science despite her background in biochemistry. So how did she get drawn in and, maybe more importantly, how did she get out? In this conversation Pixie tells me her story, in which she describes, amongst other things, the differences between wellness trends in different parts of the world and explains how compelling it is to receive glowing praise from complete strangers.

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My guest is Renee McGregor. Renee is a Performance and Eating Disorders Specialist Dietitian. As part of her very impressive career so far she has been the dietitian for athletes at the London 2012, Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralmpic Games, and the 2018 Commonwealth Games. In addition, she is a member of the International Task Force on Orthorexia. Orthorexia is a relatively new mental health condition which is characterised by a dangerous obsession with clean or ‘perfect’ eating, and its rise has been linked to the growth in wellness bloggers and influencers promoting restrictive diets on social media.

In this conversation Renee gives some incredibly touching, and at times shocking, descriptions of the struggles of some of the people she has worked with, really illuminating the seriousness of the challenge of eating disorders and feeding problems and why she, I and others care so much that the information about food, diet and nutrition that is out there on social media is safe and accurate.

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In this episode I am breaking bread with Henrietta Inman. Henrietta is a pastry chef, author and cookery teacher, who specialises in whole and heritage grain baking. After graduating with a distinction from the Professional Patisserie Scholarship at Westminster Kingsway College she apprenticed at the prestigious 5 star Lanesborough Hotel in London’s Knightsbridge. She is the author of the book Clean Cakes and her second book, The Natural Baker, is released in March. In this episode we talk about the difficulties and controversies of applying the word ‘clean’ to food. She also opens up about having an eating disorder and how she is reconciling her relationship with food.

Henrietta is one of the gentlest, most self-effacing people I have every met and I found this conversation both brave and very touching and I am incredibly grateful to her for sharing part of her story with me and all of you. 

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My guest today is Thomas ‘Hal’ Robson-Kanu. Thomas is a Premier League and Wales International footballer and founder of The Turmeric Co. In this episode we talk about the personal experiences that led to him launching the family business that makes fresh blended turmeric shots, following a series of injuries that threatened to halt his career. We also discuss how he learned to manage his nerves on the pitch and how he copes with the pressures of top flight sports and the scrutiny that comes with being in the public eye. There’s also a little treat for listeners at the end of the episode so listen out for that. 

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My guest is journalist Felicity Morse who up until very recently was the online editor of the I newspaper, responsible for all the digital news content. She left that role just before Christmas to focus on investigating and writing about sex and relationships. Felicity is also exploring ideas around vulnerability and in this very honest conversation we talk about her experience of emotional eating and social media addiction. I am enormously grateful to Felicity for her openness and I hope you find the conversation as insightful and fascinating as I did.

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In this episode I talk about something that is part observation and part theory in relation to the way that some people think about food and their bodies. A growing number of individuals seem to be worried that a normal outcome of digestion is a sign of physical illness or moral weakness. Have we pathologised being full?

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