Humans of Nutrition Podcast

“As food, health and technology converge, what challenges and opportunities are emerging for business leaders?”

Anna and Danielle explore a range of topics and themes.  It’s not a conversation about technology replacing people – it’s about the need for a better nutrition infrastructure to support organisations navigate increasingly complex systems.

Anna and Danielle reflect back over 8 years of Nutrition Talent and muse over 8 key themes that have contributed to their entrepreneurial success!  Change is a central theme.  In a health landscape that continues to evolve rapidly, Nutrition Talent continues to evolve too – so in the next 8 years and beyond, Anna and Danielle can continue doing what they love: connecting expertise, driving change and generating real impact.

Hear about the latest trial on ultra-processed foods (UPF) – the UPDATE trial – directly from the principal investigator and trial dietitian. Investigating the effects of ultra-processed versus minimally processed diets following UK dietary guidance on health outcomes, what might you expect the study outcomes to show?

How many hours training does the typical medical student receive on nutrition?  Do doctors avoid addressing nutrition due to lack of confidence or lack of time?  With the recent NHS 10 year plan for England placing more emphasis on prevention, now is the time to make preventive education as mainstream as possible within modern healthcare – a space Nutritank is already filling.  Meet two of Nutritank’s champions – Dr Iain Broadley and Alice Elizabeth Benskin.

In this engaging conversation, Lewis Wallis shares his journey balancing a full-time role in the nutrition industry with pursuing a PhD.  We get unique insights from both his research and regulatory roles, covering a broad range of topics including digital food environments, emerging ecosystems, nutrient profiling models, “meta-scores”, UPF’s and more!

Anna and Danielle explore how health and nutrition are central to food business strategy. They discuss CEO pressures, HFSS policy, retailer influence, and future trends like digital food environments. Emphasising collaboration and the role of nutrition professionals, they argue that now is the time for companies to invest in health to build strategic advantage and drive lasting change.

We were delighted to speak to Lucy Jones, Chief Clinical Officer with Oviva, a company transforming the way people access chronic disease care through technology.  The conversation has a particular focus on GLP-1RA’s as a weight loss treatment but there’s more! Everything you need to know about GLP-1 with a bit about digital technology, AI and working as a nutritionist or dietitian in this space – listen in!

Anna and Danielle bring you up to date with Nutrition Talent activities since they were last on the airwaves, a bit of a ‘warm-up’ for our Humans of Nutrition Series 4!

Data – love it or hate it, it forms the backbone of the work of nutrition professionals, and we, like the data, need to keep pace. Maria brings us up to speed with the data-driven work of the Food and Nutrition National Bioscience Research Infrastructure, the leading national provider of new and continuously updated data tools and services vital for UK public health research and innovation.

Kate McCulla, Registered Dietitian, tells us about the high value she places on continual development of communication skills and outlines some actionable skills taken from the world of motivational interviewing.  How do you want to present yourself when having a conversation about change? How would you like to be spoken and listened to if you were struggling with change?

Professor Sue Lanham-New takes us on a Vitamin D journey, from establishing an RNI for Vitamin D as recently as 2016, the current exciting research being undertaken in this area, the challenges of securing funding for research projects, together with insight into her personal traits and characteristics that make it all possible!

Anna and Danielle reflect on their 20-year journey since graduating from the University of Surrey.  Back on campus to deliver a careers workshop to current students, they discuss the nostalgia of returning and the memories it brings back. They share advice they would give their younger selves, emphasising the importance of determination, work-life balance, and confidence.

Rebecca Tobi takes us inside the complex world where food systems, stakeholders and nutritionists intersect.  We get a fascinating insight from the perspective of the investor – their interest in health, risk perspectives and long-term approach. This necessary long-term vision required to impact health can differ from the approach of policy makers and business cycles. How does it all come together?

Dr Liz Leigh-Firbank guides us through her fascinating career in nutrition and how her lack of conformity to linear career paths, courage in seizing opportunities and pivoting as required led her to the world of animal nutrition.  Working in product development, you might be surprised to hear about the commonalities between the animal and human process!

Dr Laura Wyness and Lynn Burns, Registered Nutritionists, talk about the hot(!) topic of menopause. In their book, they empower women to mitigate the health risks of this life stage through diet. They call out the dearth of research in women in this age range, and the rise of ‘menowashing’. Help us continue this important conversation by sharing with all the women (and men!) in your life.

Nutrition Talent celebrates its 6^th birthday and to commemorate the occasion, Co-Founders and Directors, Anna and Danielle, take us on a reflective journey of the learning, growth and change they have witnessed and experienced over the 6 years of Nutrition Talent, under 6 themes of package and salary negotiations, career mapping / pivoting, presenting yourself well, defining success, sustainability and data.

In our final podcast of 2023, we look forward to Christmas with guests Dr Emma Williams, Dr Laura Wyness and Kate McCulla in a (mostly!) light-hearted and Christmas themed conversation on a broad range of topics, from professional achievements of 2023, career goals for 2024, punctuated with talk of festive traditions and favourite Christmas tipples! Merry Christmas from Nutrition Talent!

Our first international guest, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Barbara Ruhs, joins us from Arizona, USA. Hear what’s happening in the States right now in terms of health policy, trends, and innovative initiatives. We connect over a shared passion – the importance of having nutrition experts in all food organisations, and how health can equal good business and commercial benefits. We couldn’t agree more!

Alyson Greenhalgh-Ball’s nutrition career has led to multiple and varied high level roles and her ambition continues to grow.  Currently investing energy in her own business Conscious Impact, Alyson is partnering with SDG2 in the campaign “Beans is How”, an initiative to double global bean consumption by 2028. Spanning her early professional career, navigating adding value, making an impact and dealing with imposter syndrome, it’s an inspirational episode.

We speak to Matt Lawson, (PFA Dietitian, The Football Association) about his professional journey from studying dietetics to landing some of the country’s most coveted sports nutrition roles. It was a steep learning curve – his first encounter with a football club was a lunch meeting (you’ll be surprised by the menu!). We hear names of famous sports personalities but are left with the message that athletes are human too – living with medical conditions and need individualised and evidence-based support. All in a day’s work!

Listen to Dr Gillian Purdon, Chief Nutritionist, Public Health Nutrition at Food Standards Scotland, on the opportunities and challenges of delivering on statutory objectives to improve the health of the Scottish population. For Gillian and her team, dietary intake data is currency in this landscape. We learn how they merge this data with the evidence base, working collaboratively with a range of stakeholders.

We talk to Nilani Sritharan, Group Head of Healthy & Sustainable Diets at Sainsbury’s.  Hear how large corporations keep health at the top of their agenda, and the importance of collaborations with the third sector and investors as drivers for change. Nilani shares personal insights around the importance of networking, coaching and mentoring in career development, finishing with an inspiring look to the future of health and sustainability.

We talk to Markus Stripf, Co-Founder of tech company Spoon Guru.  We learn what robust methodology looks like in AI, food and nutrition, and how they deploy a ‘human in the loop’ approach – which refers to the inclusion of a qualified team of nutrition experts who constantly supervise the machines. A fascinating insight into an innovative world of new possibilities.

Anna interviews co-host, Professor Danielle McCarthy, who Queen’s University Belfast recently conferred with an honorary title of Professor of Practice, in recognition of her expertise in applying nutrition science. Danielle talks openly about what this latest landmark in her career journey means to her, and she hopes, the profession.

As we kick off series 2, and as we celebrate the ‘Humans of Nutrition’ podcast being shortlisted for the 2023 CN Award* for Nutrition Resource of the Year; we feel we can call ourselves podcasters!  We reflect back on series 1, the feedback we have received from around the globe, how much we have learned from our brilliant guests, and we look forward to series 2.

Covid has undoubtably brought dramatic changes to the workplace, with many more of us working remotely some or all of the time.  There has also been a big shift as to where in the world we can work, including the increasing trend of being a ‘digital nomad’. Our Co-Founder Anna recently had a taste of the digital nomad lifestyle. In this episode Danielle grills her on her experience.

Danielle shares details of her first experience of being front of camera in a TV shoot.  An experience that changed her mind on how the media, companies and nutrition professionals can work together. This was a ‘feel the fear and do it anyway’ moment and Danielle is honest about her experience. She shares tips on what helped and went well, whilst also speaking openly about the challenges.

Anna and Danielle chat with Jenny Rosborough, Head of Nutrition at Jamie Oliver Limited. Listen in to hear her thoughts on politics and how they impact the food and health landscape, the role of regulation in progress towards better health and how she personally takes on the challenge of implementation at a time of inconsistency and stop start directives.

Dairy, nutrition and sustainability is the topic of this episode in which Danielle and Anna are joined by Zoe Kavanagh, Chief Executive of the National Dairy Council in Ireland, a dairy farmer funded organisation. Zoe shares her view that sustainability is a big opportunity for dairy to restate itself as a highly nutritious food source produced responsibly at the centre of public health.

Anna and Danielle chat with Cathy Capelin, Head of Health and Sustainable Diets at IGD who shares research from IGD’s innovative collaboration with Asda, Sainsburys and the University of Leeds which identified what was successful and just as importantly, what wasn’t, in changing shopping behaviours within retail settings. We also discuss HFSS implementation, great collaborations and career challenges.

In this episode with Sarah Berry, prepare to have your mind blown open to possibility! We chat to Dr Sarah Berry about the latest developments in the transformational research being completed by the ZOE Team and the phenomenal PREDICT studies. We discuss the frank realities of what life is like juggling being a mum, a world class academic running multiple studies, and part of an exciting commercial venture.

In this podcast Danielle goes on the road to chat with Jude Bailie, Director of the Warehouse, a place and space that helps support people in crisis, including housing a social supermarket. Jude shares what she believes those inside and outside of the community sector, who want to help everyone have access to healthy sustainable food, could and should do to improve the system.

In this podcast we chat to our guest Barbara Bray who was awarded an MBE in 2019 for ‘Services to Food Nutrition’.  Barbara has 20 years’ experience working in the nutrition and agri-food sectors. A lot is covered in this episode. From nutrition smart agriculture, nutritional needs for those in their 40-50s, the role of social science in health and wellness and that trip to Buckingham Palace!

In this podcast we hear all about our podcast co-host and co-founder of Nutrition Talent, Anna Wheeler.  In this interview with Danielle, Anna answers some big questions that professional Nutritionists face; How can we best communicate a complex science like nutrition? How do Nutritionists avoid being seen as the naysayer in an organisation? And the biggy: What is it like being a Nutritionist for Coca-Cola?

In this podcast we delve into the career of our podcast co-host and co-founder of Nutrition Talent, Dr Danielle McCarthy. Interviewed by her fellow co-host Anna, Danielle reflects openly about her experiences across her career to date. She shares what areas she feels are critical to consider at this time and what she believes is needed for progress to be made.

In this podcast Anna and Danielle share insights from their journey as Co-Founders of Nutrition Talent.  They share how it all began, the professional and personal considerations that instigated their entrepreneurial leap, where it is now and their thoughts and hopes for the future of Nutrition. Listen in to hear their honest, very real perspectives of their Nutrition Talent journey so far.

In this trailer you will hear a little bit about us, what we do and why we’re launching this podcast.  In this podcast we will delve into the world of Nutrition, interview expert guests from around the world and openly share our experiences and expertise.