I attended my first Mac Nutrition University conference on Saturday. It was brilliant—great venue, great food, great people, efficient organisation and superb content. The weather was dreadful. Listening to true experts discuss current hot topics in the field of nutrition is always exciting, and I’ve already been trying to recount the information (as best as I can) to my clients.
Below are my key takeaways while they’re fresh in my mind.
Talk 1: Personalised Nutrition
Do not waste your money on “Personalised” Nutrition packages sold on novel data such as Glucose monitors, DNA testing and gut microbiome.
The research just isn’t there to support it well enough despite HUGE investment in this field.
The research studies cited by certain companies to sell their products are designed and manipulated in a way to sell. It’s “garbage science made to sound good.” Remember, people will do anything to sell you stuff. Don’t be fooled into thinking that an association with a reputable name or an influencer with a high follower count makes a product legitimate.
“Personalised nutrition” does exist but only currently in the form of your tastes and preferences and standard clinical factors e.g diseases, intolerances, gastrointestinal issues, allergies etc. There may be use for novel stuff like glucose monitors in things such as endurance sports in the future but for the general population at the moment, they are a terrible investment and you’re best focusing on a balanced and healthy diet.
Talk 2: Microplastics
Microplastics are another hot topic in the media at the moment. You’ve probably seen stuff on them in the ocean and increasing panic about our ingestion of them through our food. We’re inundated with terrifying statistics about how many millions of particles are being found in our, lungs, brains, faeces and even in placentas.
There’s no doubt that plastics are a real waste problem and linking the plastic problem to our health is a surefire way to get people to start caring.
There is evidence that microplastics can cause harm to humans but the context is extremely important here, and the dosages that most people are exposed to/ingest are minimal in comparison to some of the other waste products that we routinely ingest.
Should we be actively limiting our plastic consumption? Probably, but arguably to reduce its impact on the environment as a waste product rather than due to human health concerns. The detrimental link to our health is “immature science in a new field” that we are currently overly focused on. Having said that, if you do want to limit your exposure, avoid microwaving plastic containers and using teabags.
Talk 3: Obesity Management Medication
Here’s something that really shook me. It’s now more normal to be living with obesity than it is to be living at a healthy weight in the UK.
Understandably, fat loss medications are a big thing right now. Ozempic, Mounjaro and Wegovy are probably ones that you’ve heard of.
These drugs work. They’ve been used for years to manage Type 2 Diabetes and are now being used to treat obesity for health reasons. They work for weight loss by reducing hunger, making you feel full and by reducing “food noise”.
But the issue to me seems to be the privatisation of these medicines and the failure to draw a distinction between medicating for health reasons and medicating for cosmetic reasons.
Private companies want profit and whilst the criteria for weight loss medication on the NHS is extremely strict (they’re only offered in severe cases where an individual’s health is seriously at risk), on the open market, they seem to be readily available to almost anyone that wants to lose weight.
The potential problem here is that drugs need monitoring and the right care team in place to support the patient through the process. Weight loss done wrong can result in not only loss of fat but also muscle and bone density. Just reducing your calories through medication and not focusing on the quality of your nutrition, eating habits and proper exercise programming creates other problems. A failure to properly implement these things alongside medicated weight loss results in weight regain. In fact, when you stop using this medication you will regain weight, how much weight depends on the habits that you have changed during the weight loss process.
The drugs work but they are designed to manage obesity in much the same way that drugs are used to control hypertension and diabetes. Once on them, the intention is that you stay on them to manage the risk to your health. They’re not a quick fix for weight loss for cosmetic reasons, and used incorrectly, they can be dangerous.
