BBC Radio 4/4 Extra/Sounds, and some podcast platforms, make available a series of programs called Sliced Bread. Wherein specific product claims, often health-related, are examined.
This week's was about sunglasses. But next week's is about Fat Burners.
It should appear here - probably next Thursday (21/07/2022).
Obviously, because I haven't heard it and have no idea what it will say. But given the repeated questions over the years about such products, I suspect quite a number of members might be interested to listen.
It might be interesting to glance at the list of previous subjects as several have potential interest. This is some of them:
• Manuka Honey.
• Meal Replacement Drinks.
• Blue Light Filtering Glasses.
• Personalised Vitamin Plans.
• Wagyu Beef.
• Sunscreen.
Please: Whilst I think it is put together with good intent and much is easy to agree with, don't take this post as an endorsement of everything he and his guests say. We still all need to listen and think and, maybe, look further ourselves.
As usual, I don't want to make any claims as to its availability outside the UK.
And if you are interested, and have sufficient storage space, do download the episodes you want. They can suddenly disappear - though the current series says it will be available for over a year.
[ Updated Friday 22 July 2022 ]
This Fat Burners program is not available.
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helvella
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Interesting. Thanks. I may take a look. My youngest son is always harping on about wagyu beef. I thought it was emperors new clothes! It’s better because it’s expensive and only available from Waitrose 🤣 so that could be an enlightening listen! As for fat burners… I have friends who have taken them and can’t go out anymore because they need to be by a loo! There must be better ways! Thanks again.
Oh that is awful (DNP). I thought I was stepping back in time to when they advocated giving yourself tapeworm for weight loss but seems the 21st century is even worse!! I will definitely be tuning into that podcast now!
As for Aldi… brilliant!! I just won’t tell him. He won’t want it then!! Lol.
Interesting I read yesterday about Canadian research into why slim people stay so slim.They took 15,000 people, so a good many. The results were so surprising that they were taken aback by the result. These very slim people did hardy any exercise but ate around 12% less than other people. I have always said as a slim person and a former runner that exercise
will not make you lose weight. The extreme lack of exercise was unexpected.
I listen to a lot of podcasts, and this made me wonder if I have any thyroid or health-related ones to share.
Probably the most exciting is that Tim Spector and the ZOE team have started a new podcast on the past few months, called: ZOE Science and Nutrition.
Mainly about nutrition and their own research, looks like they may be branching out to more different experts. So far it has been the most academic and research based one I've got. But also very practical and down to earth to things you can make use of in your own diet. It has already persuaded me to send off for some very expensive dark chocolate and not feel at all guilty about scoffing it.
Their website doesn't seem to point to the podcast episodes, so you'll have to search in your podcatcher ( that's what I always do anyway).
Another nice one is Feel Better, Live More with Dr Rangan Chatterjee, who many will know as he's often on TV. These has a bit more of a pop science feel. Usually he has an expert on each week who has written a book or pushes a particular theory. Some have been amazing, but it depends on the guest. His favourites are about exercise, but he also likes things like sleep Abd meditation. Dr Chatterjee's own health philosophy is solid common sense, and he is a bit more radical than a conventional doctor The only problem is these are all very long, so I now only listen to them if the topic super interests me.
Another website they doesn't point to the episodes so they need to be searched for
Just One Thing - with Michael Mosley, This one follows the gimmick that an ordinary person tests out something that has a (fairly well supported by science) health claim like eating oily fish or singing every day. Then they discuss it a few times during their experience. Briefly discusses the science to back it up, but this is more of a light listen and quite short. Keeps it very practical and the interventions are usually simple and small ones, so it does give you little reminders to do things. Most of them are things all health conscious people should do or are already doing anyway.
Maintenance Phrase, I'm not sure this will be of as much interest to ThyroidUKers. But it's probably my favourite of the health bunch so I'll mention it anyway. This is very "podcast-y", in that it is two sarcastic American journalists discussing things at length. This is exclusively about fad health claims, mainly things about weight loss, and is always a debunking where they go through the big problems and evidence against, and make fun of the thing. Often more historical examples that have cultural significant rather than as much lifestyle significance.
You could call it a fat positive show, as it is also about the experience of being fat and how we are bombarded with the idea it is a moral failing and we have to change ourselves. This is also the only podcast I'm mentioning with a female presenter/creator, which surprises me! This is the easiest listen of the health podcasts. It is journalistic and planned to be entertaining, so not pure science and practicality like the others. The only problem is that although these two are very critical of health claims they are also big believers in conventional medicine so they give me the occasional twinge.
As I am recommending a bunch of podcasts, here are a few more general interest recent shows members might enjoy:
Comfort Blanket, A lovely program by Joel Morris the comedy writer. Each episode a guest, usually a comedian or creator brings in a tv show or other media they love and find comforting. Then they talk in detail about what is great about it. Because it's made by people who understand writing and the production process they go quite technical and fine grained into how things function and why they're well done. Of course the shows people bring are always great ones, so it's also a reminder about that, usually from the 60s-90s, and they are always treated with great reverence and love. Some recent examples are Raiders of the Lost Ark, Wham, It's a Wonderful Life, The Hairy Bikers, and Star Trek: The Original Series.
The Trojan Horse Affair, This is a big, glossy, very well produced American podcast. It is a successor to Serial (and its previous successor S-Town), the show which really put podcasts on the map as a serious journalistic form. They're both made by the This American Life team (all extremely worth watching, too, if you haven't seen them before). This is a series deep diving journalistically into a single news story. It is told in the very reflexive, emotional style of this team, where the journalists are included in the story, and it's all about the experience they went through doing the research and surprises that came up on the way.
This style really shows you what podcasts can do, and is very entertaining and compelling. This one is particularly great for UK listeners, because they US-based team have been joined by a British journalism student to follow a story set in Birmingham. There are big themes about racism, and some of the incidents they record are really heartbreaking, showing nuanced detail of how racism and privilege happen in real time, impacting the two presenters are well as the interviewees.
Hehe, I'm tempted to write up a few more, but this has got far too long! I have listened to loads of podcasts throughout my illness so have got tons of recommendations. A few others members might like are Something Rhymes with Purple, show about words with Gyles Bran derry and Susie Dent, or You're Dead To Me, very funny history show with one of the history writers on Horrible Histories. It's an adult show, though. Each week has an academic historian expert guest and comedian to talk about an event or person from history (the expert plus comedian to make sure it is entertaining is a common podcast format!)
If you don't have a podcatcher you can easily find one for free on the App store or Play store, I am on Android and use Podcast Addict, and would recommend it. These are similar to what you'd use to play a CD, they can download the episodes for you, then you've got them on your phone or device and can play through them, pause, etc. I make a big playlist then listen to them non-stop a lot of the day.
The Zoe podcasts are very informative I listen on Google podcasts. There's also a series of longer videos on the Zoe YouTube page. I'll try some of the others you suggest. Thanks for the information.
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One patient's experience (Ramblings, Radio 4, 17 May 2018)
Radio 4 Inside Science - about iron supplementation
