Mikkipedia

People say that age is just a number. And I agree - it's how you live your life that determines how young or old you are. Part of that is of course what you eat. How you eat. How much you eat. And how you feel. On that note, in celebration of my 47th birthday, I'm giving you 47% OFF my subscription plans until end of play Monday.

Use the code MIKKI47 for this awesome deal on my FLOW (fat loss plan for women), my Man Plan (fat loss plan for, you guessed it, men), my real food plan and my athlete plan.

Find these options here and use the code MIKKI47 (it IS case sensitive)

Also - because I like to share what's on my mind... here's 47 things I've been thinking about.

Eating: is always ‘opportunity cost’
Most people need to eat more protein
Some women are afraid to eat meat for fear of gaining weight
There are good and bad foods, and eating them doesn’t make you a good or bad person
It’s not enough to eat one of those steam locked bags of vegetables at dinner and call it ‘good’
Weetbix shouldn’t be a meal. Neither should toast
Sometimes ‘good enough’ isn’t actually good enough - to reach your goals you have to do better
You can’t get everything you need from food
The people that take notice of the ‘eat less red meat’ messages are those that need to eat it the most
Most people could do with eating less carbs
20g of protein in a meal is not a high protein meal
Most people under-report the amount of alcohol they drink
For most people, they don’t need to be perfect, they just need to be consistent
Don’t rely on one source of truth for your nutrition advice
Getting your nutrition advice from someone whose course was a week long is fine, until something goes wrong.
Why call it a ‘cheat meal’ if you’re only ‘cheating’ yourself
If you have toast for breakfast and a sandwich for lunch, you need to rethink your nutrition strategy
Those small tins of tuna/salmon are not a high protein option
Most people have an opinion on nutrition because they eat.
You can’t be healthy at any size if you don’t exercise
Those snack choices on a short haul flight are unnecessary and you don’t need to be eating a cookie
If you care about your cholesterol, cut down on your carbohydrate intake
Not everyone needs to lower their saturated fat intake
In nutrition, there are people and organisations who have an agenda that isn’t related to your health
Red meat isn’t high in saturated fat, actually
Most processed food doesn’t contain saturated fat as it’s quite expensive
If you don’t exercise, you aren’t healthy, even if you are lean
You don’t need to be entertained by every single meal
Family history is a big predictor in a lot of disease-states, however your genes are not your destiny
It’s never too late to change
Be wary of anyone who speaks in black and white, and won’t change their opinion in the face of new information
Cardio is really important for your heart and long term health and it’s wise to do that alongside your resistance training
Muesli bars/granola bars aren’t a good snack choice
If you live in NZ you need to take a vitamin D supplement and you need more than the dose that we are allowed to sell
Most people don’t need to snack, but athletes could do with that fourth eating opportunity
The iron supplement you get from your doctor is not the only choice for iron
Why are there ‘kids menus’ at restaurants?
Your high blood pressure is as likely linked to a high carbohydrate load as it is your salt intake
Some women train just fine fasted
For some people, intermittent fasting is the best approach, even if they are women
Fruit isn’t a health food for some people
Butter trumps margarine
Your cholesterol level is less important than what your doctor thinks it is
Most people need a magnesium supplement
Keto for fat loss is not a high fat diet
You can’t get fit by eating differently. You have to exercise
‘Everything in moderation’ isn’t true for everyone

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Creators & Guests

Host

Mikki Williden

What is Mikkipedia?

Mikkipedia is an exploration in all things health, well being, fitness, food and nutrition. I sit down with scientists, doctors, professors, practitioners and people who have a wealth of experience and have a conversation that takes a deep dive into their area of expertise. I love translating science into a language that people understand, so while some of the conversations will be pretty in-depth, you will come away with some practical tips that can be instigated into your everyday life. I hope you enjoy the show!

00:07
Hey everyone, it's Mikki here. You're listening to Mini Mikkipedia on a Monday. And today I just wanna chat a little bit about the email I sent out actually on my birthday last week. So on Thursday, 4th of July, my birthday, well I thought it was 4.35, but apparently it was 5.30 p.m. I turned 47 and cannot even believe that I am 47. Like to me that is crazy. If you just think about like,

00:36
everyone around you and how you view your parents or your grandparents or your children. I guess just the ages with which we perceive ourselves to be, like 47 is not the number that I come up with. I'm not who I picture when I talk about being middle-aged, but essentially if I'm lucky, I am. So I wrote an email and a post around 47 things that I'm thinking about. I'm not thinking about these all of the time, obviously.

01:06
these are questions or inquiries that come into my brain, which I don't often share on social media, because some of which people don't love to hear, and there's a little bit of controversy around them. But of course, others are things that you hear me say all of the time. However, in light of those 47 things, I thought that I would just dive a little bit deeper into a few of them, not all of them. And of course I will put...

01:33
all of them in the show notes for today's episode if you happen to miss my post or you're not on my email list, just in case you're interested because hey, some of you might be. So one of the first things that I want to chat about was number eight on my list actually, and it is that you can't get everything you need from food. And in fact, this came on the back of an email that I was sent by Michael, thank you Michael, asking me my opinion on multivitamin supplements.

02:03
I guess supplements in general, because often you hear, one, you can get everything you need nutritionally from food. Two, supplements are useless and there's no point taking them, and particularly don't take a multivitamin. I don't believe any of that really to be true. I think there is a use case for a broad spectrum multivitamin, and definitely in certain instances. One, if you don't have an appetite for eating enough food to enable you to get the nutrients you need.

02:32
Taking a broad-spectrum multivitamin is a good idea because you're covering your nutritional bases. Two, if you're an athlete or if you are someone else under considerable physical stress, like through your work or something like that, if you're injured or ill, then there is an additional requirement for nutrients. And I do think I've chatted about this before, but equally, this is another good use case for a multivitamin supplement. And third, actually, is

03:01
If you are in a calorie deficit and in following a diet to lose weight, that is another good use case for multivitamin supplements because you're limiting your opportunity for nutrients. That's really just the nature of a diet when you're limiting calories. So, having something that covers your nutritional basis makes sense to my mind. But of course, you need to be smart about what you take.

03:25
You guys know I'm a huge fan of New Zest and they do sponsor our podcast and you can save 20% using the code MICAPEDIA actually. That Good Green Vitality powder, which I take daily, is a broad spectrum multivitamin and it's been formulated by experts, including our good friend Dr. Cliff Harvey, to provide nutrients in amounts that are synergistic to what we need. Now not all multivitamins are like that.

03:52
and if you get just a super cheap multivitamin from your pharmacy or supermarket shelf, they've basically just gone and put all sorts of different minerals and vitamins in there, which you're not necessarily going to be able to use. Best case scenario, worst case scenario is they've put them in amounts that are detrimental to your overall nutrient status. There are certain nutrients which compete for others in the body. For example, iron and zinc and calcium.

04:21
magnesium actually, these all sort of interact and use the same receptors to be taken up in the body. So if you have a high amount of calcium, for example, in a supplement, that's going to inhibit your absorption of iron. If you have a high amount of iron in a supplement and take your zinc alongside, that is going to inhibit your ability to uptake zinc. So you do have to be

04:49
when you're considering a multivitamin supplement. So whenever you see reports saying multivitamin supplements are useless, I mean, one, just always take something like that with a grain of salt, particularly if it's reported on the news. But two, not all multivitamins are created equally. And outside of the multivitamin supplement issue, from a nutrition standpoint in New Zealand alone, selenium and iodine are very difficult to get from the diet, magnesium,

05:18
almost no one gets enough magnesium from the diet, regardless of your calorie intake. Other trace minerals and micronutrients can also be difficult to obtain. On the base of it, despite the fact you hear some nutrition authorities saying you don't need supplements, that just shows that they actually, honestly, probably don't know what they're talking about. I don't say things like that lightly. However...

05:45
Outside of the nutritional components of food, there's everything else that comes with food. Someone did email me back to say when they saw my list, they were like, really loved your list. And when I read that you can't get everything you need from food, I think I took an unintended meaning from that and went on to say that what they got from that was that food will not meet your emotional and all of your psychological requirements either. And

06:13
Whilst I didn't write it in the vein with which this woman had taken it, again this is just such a valid point. We often use food to soothe. When we are angry at someone, when we are happy, when we are trying to work through complex problems, food is one of the things we use to distract ourselves and distract ourselves from hard work and work in the moment and uncomfortable feelings. But you can't get what you need from food.

06:40
food will only soothe in the moment, it is not going to solve the issues. And I think for a lot of people doing deep work and really unpacking what it is that they get from food can be a really good way to sort of move beyond this emotional eating component. And I really liked that I got that feedback on that particular point, and it is just such a valid one. So there were very, you know, there are so many ways with which you can't get everything you need from food.

07:07
And I think the more that people sort of think about it in light of how this woman had read it, I think that gives them the opportunity to explore deeper how they use food and not just to fill themselves up, but how they might use it in place of other strategies to help them cope. Definitely worth thinking about, I think. Now another one which I got a little bit of feedback from was

07:34
You can't be healthy at any size if you don't exercise. And this was number 20 on my list. And I think this is super important. And I had another one in the same vein, which was if you don't exercise, you aren't healthy even if you are lean. And this is so important. Like often we view body size as a means to illustrate health. But if you're not moving your body, you are not healthy regardless of your size. And

08:02
Particularly if you carry excess body weight, even if your metabolic markers at this point in time are quote unquote in the healthy range, it doesn't mean that they'll stay that way. And humans were designed to move and to be active. And if you don't have structured exercise in your life or you aren't living an active lifestyle, then you are not actually healthy. You are not optimizing your health. I know you guys know this.

08:29
I'm just going to run through it really briefly, but exercise helps with muscle mass maintenance and of course your metabolism. You don't burn that many more calories actually because you've got muscle mass on you, but the muscle that you have is much healthier. Interestingly, there is an association between intramuscular fat, fat within the muscle and overall health. And it's different if you're an athlete compared to if you are a sedentary individual.

08:58
that intramuscular fat is an energy source, particularly endurance athletes who have upregulated their ability to utilize fat as a fuel source. And it is part of the substrate that they use when they're out training. So fat adapted athletes, when they've measured it, have high amounts of intramuscular fat stored in their tissues, ready to use. The triglycerides are just fluxing through, so they're moving through the cells.

09:26
and they're being used as energy, and that is a really healthy thing. Intramuscular fat as a sedentary person is not healthy. It's linked to reduced muscle strength and function. It can interfere with muscle contraction and overall muscle performance. It's linked to insulin resistance and metabolic disorders. Healthy muscle tissue is crucial for our ability to uptake glucose from our bloodstream into the muscles and use it. And this also helps fuel

09:55
the exercise we're doing but regulate blood sugar levels. High muscle quality means more lean muscle tissue being laid down. Obviously this is gonna result in less intramuscular fat as well. And it improves muscle efficiency, allowing for better performance and endurance during physical activities. So for an athlete to have intramuscular fat, it's no issue and it's beneficial. For someone who isn't an athlete, they have more intramuscular fat and it...

10:24
is linked to more associated disease. And the thing is that you can't see this. So you can't look at an individual and know what their quality of muscle is. So a lot of people think that being lean or looking lean will equal health, but that just isn't the case. And of course, lastly, what I'll land on is that excessive intramuscular fat is associated with increased inflammation within the muscle tissue. And...

10:53
Inflammation, it builds the foundation for chronic disease over time. And chronic inflammation can also lead to muscle degradation and reduce muscle function. Having these higher levels of intramuscular fat as a sedentary individual can also elevate oxidative stress in muscle cells, leading to cellular damage, mitochondrial damage, and impaired muscle health. So you cannot be healthy at any size if you don't exercise. And being lean

11:21
does not mean that you are healthy. You still need to exercise. So that's why I wanted to include that point in these 47 things that I'm thinking about. Number 25 was that red meat isn't high in saturated fat actually. We always hear that one of the reasons to reduce red meat consumption is because it is high in saturated fat. Let me just give you the numbers on that.

11:45
If we're thinking about mince or ground beef, that might have about 30% fat, which might be your usual mince that you'd get from the supermarket, that's got about 8.1 grams of saturated fat per 100 grams. So sure, it certainly isn't low, but if you go for the leaner cut of meat, so the one that is 90% lean, you're going to halve about half that and it's going to be 4.5 grams of saturated fat in that 100 gram serving.

12:11
A sirloin steak has about 4.7 grams of saturated fat per 100 grams. A ribeye steak is quite high, and you'll know it's quite marbled, right? That's got 9.2 grams of saturated fat. And the T-bone steak has about 6.9 grams of saturated fat. Pork chop has about 3.7 grams. Pork belly is quite high, quite a lot higher in saturated fat because its overall fat content is higher.

12:39
Whilst it has 12 grams of saturated fat, overall actually, only about 40% of the entire sort of fat composition is saturated fat in pork belly. A tenderloin is very lean, it's got one gram of saturated fat. The other place where we find quite a bit of saturated fat comparative to say chicken would be lamb. So you get 8.4 grams in a lamb chop, you get 6.9 grams per 100 gram in a lamb leg.

13:08
and you get about nine grams in lamb mince or ground lamb. Oh, and if you have an eye fillet steak, you're getting about 3.2 grams per 100 grams. And the reason why I wanted to clarify that actually you don't get a tonne of saturated fat in meat is because it's so often painted as being a villain in our diet. And we're always told to cut back our saturated fat intake and...

13:35
For this reason, we need to cut back our red meat options. And if you regularly include red meat in addition to a variety of other food choices, protein choices, vegetables, it just makes up the bulk of a healthy diet. And saturated fat is so important for hormones, for our immune health, for our brain.

13:55
There are so many good reasons to include it naturally occurring in food. It just sort of rolls me up when I hear that red meat is high in saturated fat, so we've got to reduce it. But you guys know how I feel about that anyway. I just wanted to illustrate the actual amounts in saturated fat. And then in addition to that, we also hear that processed food is high in saturated fat. Well, processed food isn't high in saturated fat actually. For the very reason that saturated fat choices in the diet are

14:24
are actually quite expensive compared to the cheaper industrial seed oils. So the most common oils used in processed foods are soybean oil, which contains polyunsaturated fats, palm oil, which is half saturated fat, half poly and mono unsaturated fat. We've got canola oil, which is largely mono unsaturated fat. It's got a very small amount of saturated fat in there.

14:53
polyunsaturated fats including omega-6 fatty acids. Cotton seed oil is another really common oil used in processed food. Of the 14 grams of total fat, it might have 3.5 grams of fat per serve. Of saturated fat, very little of that comes from saturated fat. Then you've got palm kernel oil, which is very similar to palm oil actually.

15:17
And that does have a higher percentage of its calories coming from saturated fat. It's got 11 or it's got 11 grams of the 14 grams of fat come from that saturated fat. And obviously these are going to vary according to different brands. But I just wanted to highlight that the majority of the fats that you find in highly processed food are not saturated. And it's not saturated fat that is causing the issues when it comes to highly processed food. It is the combination of.

15:45
the fat, regardless of type actually, but not saturated, the sugar and the salt and the flavors and additives that are created to hijack our brain that make us eat more of that food and then have the potential to overeat because our brain thinks that it is filled with nutrients because they're designed to sort of mimic nature, but in fact it does nothing and it's just empty calories.

16:12
So that is another one that I wanted to include that I have been thinking about of late. And that is numbers 25 and 26 on my list of 47. And finally, I do just wanna end on number 28, which is that you do not need to be entertained by every single meal. Regardless of your dietary goals, we know that if every meal that you put together has a real hedonistic value that makes you want to keep eating it,

16:41
can be difficult to moderate your portion size. So for that reason, it is actually a really good idea to get used to and get comfortable with having meals that really just provide you with the protein and the fiber and the fats that you need with an appropriate amount of carbohydrate. And don't look for every single meal to be some sort of amazing textural sensory experience because that hedonistic value can lead you to overeat.

17:11
It doesn't mean that you can't enjoy what you eat. And I enjoy most of my meals that I have. But if I'm not gonna enjoy a meal as much, that's okay because I'm gonna eat again at the next meal. So there's another opportunity to have something else that I'm going to enjoy more. And I think so often, again, this comes back to almost my first point of, you can't get everything you need from food. Like food is fuel and absolutely we should enjoy it, but.

17:39
Don't put it on a pedestal and make it more than what it is. Just eat it and then move on. Alright team, well that's probably, I mean I could explain all of these and hey maybe I will in time but that's just a snippet of my list which I will pop in the show notes. And just FYI, I have a sale on for my birthday where you can save 47% on my fat loss plans, my athlete plan, my be more awesome.

18:04
just real food plan and you can purchase them in either 12 weeks or 12 months options. And you can save 47% by the end of today, Monday, if you're listening on a Monday. So pretty good deal. I run this sale twice a year, so absolutely make the most of it. Hit me up if you've got any questions. You can find me over on Facebook @mikkiwillidennutrition, Instagram @mikkiwilliden. That's where I am on Twitter and threads as well.

18:34
or head to my website mikkiwilliden.com and click on the mail plans and save yourself 47%. Alright team, you have the best week. See you later.

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