The Best of Both World's Health and Performance Podcast

Is it impossible to eat well in Singapore? With Charlotte Mei Nutritionist

• Matt Winter and Paul Macaulay and Charlotte Mei • Season 1 • Episode 9

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Join us in this exciting episode as we dive deep into the health and nutrition scene in Singapore with the brilliant Charlotte Mei! 

Paul and Matt kick things off by asking tough questions: Is Singapore facing a health crisis with its love for plastic bags, salty hawker food, and rising diabetes rates? How can we eat healthier when dining out? Charlotte shares her expert advice with three practical tips for making better food choices at hawker centers and how athletes should fuel themselves differently.

Next, we unpack the growing obsession with gut health and the microbiome. Is it really as important as social media claims, or are we overhyping it? With colon cancer being the most common cancer in Singapore, Charlotte gives us crucial insights into the role our diet plays in long-term health.

We also explore the hot topic of Nutrigrade, plastic bag usage, and how chronic pain links to poor nutrition and inflammation. Charlotte offers real-world strategies to combat these issues and boost your overall well-being.

Whether you're in your 20s, 30s, or 40s, this episode is packed with practical tips, expert knowledge, and a deep dive into what it takes to live a healthy life in Singapore.

Don't forget to subscribe, give us a thumbs up, and rate us on your favorite podcast platform!

Welcome back to episode nine of The Best of Both Worlds, Singapore's very own health and performance podcast, with me, Matt Winter Doctor of Physical Therapy with training and functional medicine and Paul McAuley, senior podiatrist. Otherwise known on TikTok. You know it as the legendary Paul the Podiatrist. How we doing Yeah. Very well. Looking forward to today. Today we're joined by a very special guest in Charlotte Mei, a nutritionist. So who are you? I'm. Why should people listen to you? Well, hello. Thanks for having me here. First of all, I am also both your patients. yeah. very excited to be here. Finally chatting about nutrition. I think, you know, I, I've spoken to both of you separately about the topic. so what was your question? I cannot remember. Hahaha. Who are you? Who am I? Why should people listen to you? Oh, man, that's such a tough question. Why should people listen to me? well, look, I'm a nutritionist, accredited in the UK and Singapore. I've done this for. Gosh, I cannot believe ten years now. and my mission, really to help people improve nutrition literacy and improve their relationship with food and their body. Because if you think about it, we eat several times a day. But I don't know about you mates in the in the UK, but here in Singapore, what's not been taught how to eat? We don't learn that in school. even if you go to the school canteens and you look at the food that the kids are eating, and there's a lot of work that can be done there. So, my mission is to really help people understand that a little bit better. God, don't go to the school canteens in the UK its even worse. Didn’t Jamie Oliver do like a whole revamp Not for my school and also you. I’d hate to tell her what school you went to but our school is absolutely unbelievable. And yeah, it's a that state school. But we had really, really good restaurants in, in school. So I was very lucky. Did they deliver to your castle? Shut up mate come on my mums watching Anyway yes So we're talking all things, performance but through the lens of nutrition today, particularly talking about how we can optimize nutrition in Singapore. So very relevant to your mission. We're excited. So but apart from knowing Matt from, being patient how else do you know Matt? We did this thing. Hey, Matt, a while ago, I think it's called Augustman. You want to tell us more about that? Not really no absalutly stitched me up There is a trace somewhere on the dark web. all of us say it was a long time ago. I think that's enough. I think so too. Let's. Let's not go there. You go on from that. And so Charlotte how are you out of ten? I would say, eight out of ten. Look, Matt, I've got a pain in my knee. but it's okay. We'll talk about that later. You almost ruined my day yeah. Good. Eight out of ten. And really excited to be here. Fantastic, fantastic. And how are you feel about. I was four out of ten. I'm now six. permanent residence was rejected. you know, doctors in healthcare's, you know, employ ten Singaporeans. Company pays GST, but don't worry about it. So I don't need it. I'm still here to serve the people. but, you know, comment down below if you think I should have got my PR This podcast will help you with that. I hope so, I hope so. So yeah. But anyway, on a good note. talked about my mum doing strength training her strength age has come down from 70 to 64 in 3 months. So get in the gym You need to take a leaf out of her book. I do How are you mate? How are you out of ten? I am Yeah, 10 out of 10 Yeah, having a good day. Chirpy Yeah. Life’s been good you know The social’s really popping So it's good to see. Here we go shall we rock on? Well, before we get started with regards to the socials, if you're on YouTube, you know, give us a thumbs up. Make sure you subscribing as more people have subscribed to us, will help us produce more and better content. So thank you very much for that. Here we go then. Let's deep dive in. On the face of it, I live in Singapore. Should be struggling. We're eating in hawker centers full of soul sugary foods, MSG, drinking coffee out of plastic bags. It has the second highest rate of diabetes in the world. and working in the hospital. I've never seen so many diabetic amputations. What's going on here? And is Singapore really in trouble? Well, I don't know what you're talking about because we're in the running to be the sixth, blue zone country in the world, aren't we? Unbelievable Which is questionable. Questionable? I can see some aspects, right, as to why we're on that list. and I think a lot of what you're talking about, like eating in a rather a lot of what you're talking about, like drinking coffee out of plastic bags. I think a lot of that is cultural, which is really hard to change. There are so many habits, like the way we cook our food. I think Malay food in general, they add a bit more sugar. I was just reading about this the other day, and apparently the food in this region of the world is sweeter to help our bodies, regulate better to the heat and the humidity. Not sure how true that is, but very interesting to to to understand that. But it's tough, right? And you can say the same thing about other countries in the world. For example, I'm half French. I'm not saying that the French people eat croissants for breakfast every day, but that's not, you know, the best way to go about the first meal, that you have in the day as well. So there is work to be done for sure. I think with diabetes, that's something that's slowly coming down. the government's pretty good at, you know, putting out all these, messages to help push people in the right direction. But a lot of it has to do with education. And that's why I'm so passionate about helping people understand food better and how to make informed choices, because a lot of the time, people don't know what they don't know. You don't, you know, you're brought up drinking. You're brought up to drink Milo for breakfast every day, thinking that that's what's going to power you. so I think it's all about really getting people around stuff like that. Yeah. Yeah so if we, if we go to Hawkers, what's the best food to eat? and are there any healthy options? Oh, yeah. Absolutely. I think people forget that they still have agency when they eat out. you can still make, you know, tweaks to your orders. So in general, when I go to eat at the hawker center, there are 2 or 3, stalls that I, you know, beeline for one is the Nasi Padang or the Economy Rice store, because that's basically building your own plate. You get to choose what to put on your plate. And sure, we cannot control what type of oils they use or how much salt, but at least we can choose our macronutrients, right? You can ask for lesser rice for a quarter of your plate with rice. the other quarter with some good quality protein, a mix of animal and plant protein, and the other half with, you know, vegetables or just plant foods. Another one is, is fish soup. So with that, you get lean protein. you just ask for a little bit more vegetables. You can't control how salty the soup is, but, you know, you just try to make these tweaks, and your meals are not all consumed at the hawker center. I know in some cases they are. But don't forget that you can still make these, better choices at the hawker center. It's not all doom and gloom and also, I just want to asterix this. We don't have to eat well 100% of the time. I think we have to remember that we are humans. I like to, talk about Pereto Principle here. I think 80% of, the results you get comes from 20% of what you do. And to flip that as well, try to eat while 80% of the time in 20%. Remember that life happens, right? we like our treats as well. And so I want to remind people not to be too strict with their diets at the same time. So say I’m going to this economey rice store what kind of principles can I take in there? When I'm thinking about putting our plates together. To keep it like let's keep it really simple. What do they do? Yeah, absolutely. So what I usually tell people is take the plate, split it. split it half down the center, and then split one of the half in, quarters. So you've got half of your plate that you want to fill with colorful leafy vegetables? one quarter with rice. Try to go for whole grain rice if that's an option that you can afford. And then the other quarter with lean protein. And there's different types of protein. I mean, I used to eat in economy rice a lot in the hospital, think I lost a lot of hair because of it. But anyway, the I think the choice of meat, because there are different types of meats there does not matter as well. I mean, there's a lot of talk about processed meats and the problems there. So what kind of meats can people be going for at the store to make that a more healthy meal? Yeah, absolutely. I think we talk about Whole Foods quite a lot. as much as possible, try to choose whole food options with meat, try to go for, you know, maybe sliced, beef or ground pork, for protein. I love always choosing a tofu option. I think that's something that we have in this part of the world that is not celebrated enough. When I was living in the UK, I missed having good, you know, soy options like Tempe and tofu. And we have that in abundance here. And that's a great source of lean protein. So I like to get, you know, one soy option and one meat option. for the amount of protein, like, say per meal. What would you recommend for Yeah, I think this is a very interesting one. A lot of people, if you go on Instagram, everyone's talking about, yeah, eat more protein this and that. But I always like to go look, I'm one of them too. But I like to answer the first question, which is how much do you need? and even the the officials cannot agree on what's needed. You you'll hear something like eat 1.2g/kg of body weight. You'll hear 2g/kg of body weight. so I like, at least for myself, I'm looking to maintain my my muscle mass. I aim for a 1.5g of protein per body weight, and just try to split it up into three meals across a day on average. Maybe try to aim for 25g of protein if possible. Yeah, but at the same time, I don't like I like to make nutrition practical for people. So I don't want you downloading. No, you know Fitness Pal app. And you know whip out your calculator every time you're eating a general rule of thumb I know it's a little bit archaic, but my word it works. Just visually try to aim for palms, palm size worth of protein every single meal, and people forget to eat protein in every single eating location. I don't just say meal because people think breakfast, lunch, dinner, but here in Singapore we love to snack, we love to have our supper. And in those occasions as well, it's so important to have protein. And what is that? Is that because, it affects how other food is metabolized, or is it because we need that constant source of refueling our tissues and building recovering? What's what's the reason of having protein in every single meal? Yeah, I think we need like our body needs that constant, source of protein. And research has also looked at people who ask, you know, let's eat. Let's say you need, you know, for, for the sake of this conversation, 100g of protein. It looked at people who just consumed it all in one meal, let's say breakfast and thinking that, oh, you know, like your body would just, like, drip feed it to your organs throughout the day. It doesn't work that way. You do need it at every single point of the day. another thing that I really love about protein is that it can keep you fuller for longer. So this aspect of satiety and a lot of people, they can have a whole plate of, you know, noodles or rice and you'll feel full from it. But shortly after you'll feel hungry again. You're like, oh, why am I a little bit peckish? I just had a whole plate of rice. And that's usually because you haven't had enough protein. So carbohydrates digest really, really quickly. Protein and fast digest a lot slower. And so that's what you want to have in your meals as well so that you get fuller for longer. there’s something thing to do with if you, when you have that big mass amount of rice and then your blood sugar goes up and then suddenly it drops off and then that's when you want that second portion. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. So protein fiber as well helps to taper that. Yeah. And the excess protein. So I think my understanding is if you take in more than we can metabolize, which is probably 50g now. So the full amount that goes into producing energy anyway just a little bit slower. I mean we can convert protein into something into glucose. Essentially if we create a new agenesis. So that's not a wasted protein, excess that we take in for people to worry about taking in too much. We still use it. I can't comment on that that confidently. But unless you're taking, protein powders and supplements and stuff like that, it's really hard for people to eat protein in excess. So, I do corporate nutrition workshops and I usually talk about protein. And the main question I get is, what if I eat too much and it's almost like. Don't worry, you. Know, like it's likely that you're under eating more than you're over eating protein. Yeah, yeah. And so if like we're fairly more athletic, so you like the gym are you encouraging people to go to the gym and like maybe train a lot more to eat a lot more protein than the 1.2g per kilogram for sure. If you're building muscle. and if that's your goal, you definitely want to be feeding your body. Well, and, you know, maybe hitting about 2g/kg of body weight would be ideal. Yeah. And would you recommend, taking protein shakes? Lots of those people. that's a really interesting one. So I, I love the idea of protein shakes. I take that myself, but I see it more as a supplement. I think with a lot of these types of foods, people forget to take a food first approach. They go, oh, but I'm taking the supplement all, but I'm taking my protein shakes. But we still want to get food from whole food sources first. And if, for example, you have a small appetite and so you can't eat as much or you don't have time to get in a proper meal, then that's where protein shakes can come in. Yeah I think probably the good and bad thing about Singapre is that protein shakes are so expensive here I like to get them cost a lot. So you better just go down to fair price. and grab some chicken. Bang it in the air fryer And blend it out seven eleven have got those eggs. Oh, yeah and those chicken I don't know what they don't like that preserve it. But it's something I would start. I eat atleast two of those a day. Yeah. Lucky. Yeah. Look at you now Doing very well More muscle mass than you Leave it As we'll find out soon. so let's make it simple. Let's lay out the fundamentals. A lot of our listeners between 25 and 45, what can this group of people do fundamentally to enhance or, or make the best of a health for the rest of their life? Well, there's some fundamentals we can build up. Yeah, absolutely. I think for me, some key things, which is I've mentioned one, eat protein in every single meal. when we're talking about fat, try to, prioritize fat from whole food. plant foods. So things like your avocados, you're nuts. Your seeds, your, olive oil, for example, try to eat fish, especially oily fish, at least twice a week. I think that's something that we're not prioritizing here in Singapore. That's a great source of omega three fatty acids, great for a lot of aspects of your body, especially anti-inflammatory. and make sure that you're getting enough fiber that's not you know, that's something that we're really struggling with here in Singapore. and so an easy way to try to attain that, I try to give people a little bit of a challenge, try to aim for 2 to 3 different colors of food on your plate at every single meal. And I'm talking about natural colors, so Skittles, M&Ms don’t count. or another one. You know, if I can just throw this at the both of you, think about how many different plant foods you eat in a week. So there's this sort of 30 plant food challenge, that perhaps you both can try going on. Yeah, we can definitely try to get on those farm boxes like you that. Oh, yeah, I know, that's great. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, I definitely I mean, I get these pre-made meals but I fit three they're pretty good, but it tends to be the same vegetables. in each one it tastes good, but, yeah, I'm only getting probably five different ones throughout the week And, you know, we really want to focus on diversity when it comes to our meals. A lot of people say, oh, but, you know, I meal plan and I make sure that I get my carbs, protein, fiber and every single meal. But you're eating the same thing every single day. And if we actually talk about gut health, we definitely want that diversity. So aiming for different colors and different foods throughout the week will be really important. So if I can just summarize all of that, it's it's going to be boring as ever. There's a thing about nutrition I tell people like nutrition is really boring and it's unsexy. But my word, if you stick to the basic principles, it works. So at every meal, make sure that you're getting good quality carbohydrates, whole grains as much as possible, good quality protein. Try to, you know, change it up from animal protein to plant protein. Get your vegetables in vegetables, aka fiber a.k.a. color and you good to go! I'm hearing a lot more about fiber recently. What what's the benefits to it? You know everyone says, oh we know it helps you poo and we’ve talked about that a little bit with Rachel in previous episodes. I think we kind of understand all of the benefits in terms of like glucose control, how does it help our gut microbiome? It does. Can we can you share a little bit more about fiber. Well, how much time do we have? so fiber is amazing. I love fiber so much that I actually did my thesis on this topic. Yeah. So yeah. I just don't anymore. So. All right. yes, it can improve bowel movement to a certain extent, because if you just focus on consuming more fiber but you're not upping your liquid intake, you're going to be backed up in there. I had a bit of an issue last year Yeah, I literally awful for about five days. But it went on for weeks. I ended up going to Jessy for a massaged to help me but yeah, look, I have nothing less at the moment. I was on a different meal prep, that, they just didn't. There wasn't enough vegetables in it Yeah, it was like no vegetables. so yours was the opposite then It was just chicken and rice Yeah. So you had no fiber? Yeah. And then so when Charlotte said if you had too much fiber But then I But not enough waterI But then I went and started taking the excess. Psyllium Psyllium husk Psyllium husk Yeah thats the one so I start taking that And then yeah then it got bad Yeah. Because I had too much to fast and no water Yeah. That's what happened Yeah. So there you go. Living proof that. don’t do that Yeah and it taste like sawdust So definitely do that Yeah. Because you take because you've tasted sawdust. Yeah. Yes. probably have At Uni, cricket initiation probably all of us. probably done a lot worse that sawdust Anyway back to your thesis, Charlotte, sorry. no, no, no, this is not my my thesis. but on that note, psyllium husk is actually really well researched for constipation. But like you said, you can't have too much at one go and you need to pair fiber with a lot of liquid. but fiber is also great. There are two types of fiber insoluble and soluble and they have their own, you know, roles in, in overall health. It also helps with, heart health. It helps with, like you said, glucose control. Again, fiber doesn't. We don't really digest fiber. It doesn't really break down. but it actually slows down the, the whole rate of digestion, the absorption of glucose. and in your gut, it does a lot of incredible stuff, especially when we're talking about prebiotic fibers. it helps to basically access food for the organisms in our gut. and that's really what we want for overall gut health. so we've got so far we've got protein, we've got fiber, we've got big complex carbohydrates. We mentioned good fats from different sources. And you mentioned oily fish. Can you give some examples of what is actually good and can you have too much as well. Yeah. Good one. So on that point about too much, that's a question I have as well. And I don't have the answer because there aren't any guidelines out there for how much omega three fatty acids we should be consuming. but we all know that in general, the population is not consuming enough. when it comes to oily fish, we're looking at things like mackerel, sardines, my two favorites. Tuna, rolls in the local context. And that's why I always like to stress on, we want to look at things like pomfret, cod. we also can get fresh mackerel in the supermarkets, canned options are great as well. I never rule those out and think we have to be real. Like, yes, you know, we are talking about unprocessed foods, etc. but sometimes we do need food to be convenient. you know, canned food has come a long way. The technology has improved a lot. And as long as you eat, you're reading the ingredients list, you're happy with what's on. It's totally fine to eat. Obviously, don't rely on it every single day, but it's totally okay to open a can of sardines on your salad or in your pasta, and you're good to go. The omega three fatty acid is that good for like reducing your cholesterol Yeah, it can do that. It's good for brain health or anti-inflammatory. it's great for women as well, especially, at certain points of the menstrual cycle. and we're not having enough of it. You know how some people talk about omega six fats or seed oils and all that kind of stuff, which I think is a huge distraction. but when it comes to omega six and threes, we want to just, even out the ratios. So people are not having enough threes. And that's why we are encouraging people to have more fish. And if you are, vegan or vegetarian, you can look into taking more nuts and seeds. so walnuts, flax seeds, seaweed is a good source of that as well. but nothing as good as fish. Yeah. And also had recently that omega three is somewhat protective, in muscle also preventing muscle loss as well. Oh was. It. Yeah. That's I mean, I didn't know until this week. so I haven't actually delve deep into that, but that's something else that it seems to be helping to see it’s good for brains it’s anti-inflammatory you said cholesterol and heart health and maybe even preventing against muscle atrophy which is awesome So talking about fiber I think it's something really important to address is the colon cancer is the highest or the most prevalent cancer in Singapore, specially in men. And second in women. why do you think that is? And is fiber got something to do with it? Oh, hugely. Yeah. I mean, if you're not consuming enough fiber in your diet, you're not having, regular about bowel movements that can definitely contribute to it. But that's not the only reason why, the numbers are so high. We also have to look at things like, I mean, overall diet, right. But processed meats, that's another one, that can contribute to the rise of colon cancer as well. What are some processed meats that you see a lot of Singaporeans eating that you think might be some of the culprits? Oh, that's interesting, because when I think of processed meats, I think of, the diet in Europe because they have a lot of your hamonds and, yeah, your bacon. your salamis, your pepperonis and stuff like that. I would say in Singapore, probably sausages. in Chinese cuisine, especially Cantonese food, they use this thing called la cheong, which is our version of processed sausage. like. Yeah, which is our version of sausages and, things like bakwan over Chinese New Year. I love it. Yeah. So I look at it, I just think I've got cancer. Just, like, honestly, I can imagine you like eating it and so much. My joints, Oh, they're inflamed. I know, I put myself straight down to the GI clinic. It’s like, awful charred meats as well? Yeah. That's another one. How about fish balls? The fish balls. Well, they look bad. They look bad. The texture. Look, I, I'm totally with you. And so I actually went down this rabbit hole, and I to the point that I went to learn how to make fish balls because I wanted to know what went into it. Now, the really, really good ones, it's just 100% fish based, like you're literally beating the hell out of fish paste, and then rolling into a ball. some of them out there contain some flour, but I think the more processed ones, they'll have a longer ingredients list. But it's predominantly fish Unbelieve. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, I just didn’t trust way it looked And it also taste it tastes It does not taste like fish. You would taste it, taste it thinking its processed. Yeah. Well great. Yeah. It's not. It is still considered a processed food. But I think it's also important to consider that, the accessibility of food. Right. Not everyone can buy like a fresh, you know, piece of fish. And so fish balls, the next best thing for them. I often get dragged to, Korean barbecue and steamboat. Yeah. And, okay, before I get there I feel unwell yeah. So like Thats a lot of processed food, isn't there? I mean, is that good? Is it bad? Not necessarily. I always feel like you can make better choices. I love steamboats because you can actually get a lot of good protein, unprocessed ones. So it depends who you're going with and what you're ordering. So you can get lots of vegetables in there. great leafy greens. yeah. She's got to order well, and not be tempted by, like, the deep fried tofu and the processed meats and stuff like that. So I. Yeah, I don't know where are you going and who you're going with. And they'll go with my girlfriend. yeah. We've got friends. I think, everyone out of the office. Yeah. No, I can't say that. Okay Charlotte So we've spoken about protein for muscle we’ve talked about oils. bone health I see this age 25 to 45 is us investing in our future of health. this is the time we can maximize our bone health too what are your biggest recommendations. This is an area that I'm struggling in. Apparently, everyone will find out soon. Want me to a more community? I totally feel you. I recently did a Dexa scan, and, apparently, I. Okay, my, you know, bone mineral density is all good, but I'm low in vitamin D, which absolutely sucks considering how much I'm in the sun. but people forget that. Or maybe some people don't know that you reach peak bone density in your 30s. And this is so important for women. And I think a lot of people, especially here in Asia, I hear like, oh, you're so young, it's okay. Eat whatever you want. But this is actually the time. Exactly like what you said. We're investing in our future, so we do have to start now. When it comes to bone health, we're talking about vitamin D we're talking about calcium. And, you know, I want to asterix this as well. When we talk about calcium, people think, oh, I just got to drink more milk. dark green leafy vegetables are a great source of calcium. I spoke about sardines earlier with sardines, especially canned ones. The bones are incredibly soft and you can consume them. Fantastic source of calcium. When we have our soy products here in Asia. Tofu or even soybean milk. The art fortified with calcium. those are great sources. So, you know, make sure that you're eating widely as well. and those with I would say are the key things, but also strength training. I think that's really important. We want to talk about bone health. And impact as well. Right. So so I didn't clearly have enough of I have now this week a lot of impact I’ll tell you that Okay. So calcium vitamin D, magnesium as well, which you also get from green leafy vegetables so two birds one stone. great. Yeah. Okay. That's a good start. So if we summarize that section for our listeners, can you give me three key points, to maximize our health between 25 and 45? Yeah, I would say, at meal times. Let's keep it simple again. Visualize that plate split in half. Split one of those half into two quarters. Make sure that you're getting, wholegrain carbohydrates for a quarter of your plate. Lean protein, second quarter, and then colorful vegetables or fruits and the main half of it. And secondly, not to overcomplicate it, Think of the 8020 principle. I think a lot of the time people think it's an all or nothing approach. and if you failed one day, all like, that's it. I'm going to go back to my old ways. But eat well, fresh, unprocessed, on packaged foods 80% of the time, as much as you can, and 20% of the time, go have your cake, your coffee, your drinks. That's totally fine as well. and thirdly, I just I know this is not really nutrition related, but that all can't work if we're not sleeping well, if we're not exercising. I like to look at health and from a holistic point of view. And so we can't just talk about nutrition in isolation. Yeah. Fantastic Charlotte That's what we like to hear Absolutely love it let's move on a little bit. we touched on it slightly early on in the podcast. Plastic bags. They are the bane of my life. When you go to BreadTalk, you get a plastic bag for each of your little things. They put that in a bag, and then they put that in another bag. I don't need a bag at the back. They ruin the environment. Well, I know it's a tradition in Singapore to drink hot drinks and plastic bags. we love those traditions and the cultures that make Singapore so interesting. is it safe? Are we really ruining the environment? I know, you know, environmentalist. Yes I am. Oh, you are an environmentalist. I thought we've discussed this before. You are? I'm very passionate about this topic. Right. Well. Let's go. Oh, that's why they're up. There they go. But. Okay. Go, go. Look, I really don't know how safe it is, but we are living in Singapore. And I would like to think that, you know, the FSA, all the, you know, big bodies out there have sort of approved this idea of putting hot drinks in plastics. is it somehow releasing microplastics into our system? I don't know, we don't even know if having microplastics in our system is as bad as it sounds. because typically we can trust our body to actually flush out that, you know, all these foreign bodies that we don't need. They're just basically isn't enough data, in that space to talk about this, it's hard to say if it's harming us. Is it harming the environment? 110%. I think we have been so used to living this convenient lifestyle for things to be, you know, packaged, beautifully packaged in three layers for, I don't know, be it hygiene or whatever. It is convenience. But I, you know, on my channel, I talk a lot about these little day to day, habits you can inculcate to reduce your overall consumption of just items in general. plastics, a great one to start from. And, as much as possible, if you can, you know, bring your own cup. I know this is huge in places like Europe, in the UK, where people are a bit more conscious of the space they take up the, the, the just the material they use in their everyday life. So the little things like that, that we can do to reduce our overall consumption of these single use plastics. Yeah. I mean, we know well, a while ago, probably about ten years ago now in the UK, they took away these to get your beer cans. they would have this plastic holding the capsule and they took it away. And I look at the, the plastic bags here, with the little loops around them, the drink here. And I know that loop could so easily go into the sink straight on a fish neck. you know, it's going to kill it just like that. These can holders used to do so. Yeah, yeah, it's terrible, but still, still it. If you want to see something funny, go to our Instagram and see the sketch that we’ve done I loved it. we enjoyed filming it. It was good fun. Yeah, yeah. Thanks, Charlotte. I think that's very balanced. So from my point of view, I think you're right. We need to focus on the big things in nutrition. That are easy to change, the low hanging fruit. I think this plastic thing. Definitely. There's more research coming out. there's a lot more animal studies. Not a lot of human studies at the moment. I think a lot of what I would love for the listeners is that they educate themselves. And anyone listening go, I have a look, do a Google go on a Google Scholar search and have a look. I think some of the links, to to brain health, cardiac health, reproductive health, developmental health in children especially, you have much more susceptible to these now nanoparticles. We can take it. And I've seen like autopsy data with finding nano microplastics in anything from the heart to the penis. And we are storing them. I don't think we know the full implications yet, but please, like, if you're listening to this, like, go and educate yourself. There's so much out there now. And I think what we're all about on the podcast is like empowerment, right? And, and so please go have a look. Yeah. Well, can you remember the first time you drank from a plastic bag? when I first came to Singapore for that pass, it's me. It's not holding me like this because I'm thinking, oh my God its hot and its plastic. And surely it's going to come out of the bottle, right? like literally so scared, so scared, yeah. but yeah, it was quite crazy. They didn't. So I’ve never seen anything like it Yeah. Yeah. That's true. I think it's really easy to feel anxious about stuff like this, you know, microplastics, etc. and we blame it on the plastics, but we also forget all the pollutants we're taking in on a day to day basis. So sometimes I find the microplastic conversation very similar to maybe like the seed oil conversation is just a distraction from the bigger picture. and I think a more productive question to ask is how can we in the meantime, while we don't have enough data, how can we look to reduce our plastic bag? Or how can we look to reduce our consumption of plastic? And also how can we make plastics better? Now, that's not our area of expertise. So we can focus more on the on the former. I guess what we with the environment, we're probably helping our own health. 100%. Yeah. Even through our diet. Yeah. Yes. should we move on to something else we love in Singapore? the Nutri-Grade system. So when you've obviously you know how to view coffees together and, chat about podcasts and other things, look to the menu, deciding whether we get coffee, orange juice or Coca-Cola. And you look and you say orange juice, C grade Coca-Cola, C grade Well, I even a vegetable smoothie. Yeah. Or milk. Yeah. Or the coffees. I mean, the coffees as well. This is. This is more annoying to me. The plastic bags, because they. I feel like Singapore is like they've had a great idea. Great intention. I love the intention. and I commend that but the Nutri-Grade system is purely place based on sugar content and saturated fat. First of all, ignoring that some saturated fat is very beneficial. but ignoring the other micronutrients in those drinks. So I was at a Common Man name dropping and, they had, a lovely light vegetable smoothie. C grade And as you say, like the bubble tea can also be C grade as well. So we're not we're not. It doesn't seem to be considering the rate at which that sugar is absorbed and that's affected by what else is in the drink like fiber It doesn't consider the micronutrients. So I think it's very misleading and reductionist. 100%. I'm with you. It also doesn't consider whether or not it's added sugar or naturally occurring sugar. And that is the part that really annoys me because when we're talking about naturally occurring sugars, although yes, it does contribute to your overall sugar intake, it's different to added sugars, and added sugars is what we might want to spend more attention, you know, and trying to reduce that, it is frustrating when I see that an orange juice, a C grade, and something else is incredibly processed is of the same grade or sometimes even better, because maybe they rely on sweeteners, for example. So exactly like what you said, I think it's important to, you know, just think a little bit further. Consider the sources of the sugar. What else does that drink contain that you could benefit from? it's good in the sense that it kind of just like lights, the first, you know, bulb in your head to think like, oh, this is actually a C. Can I make a better decision as opposed to before when we didn't have any of those people are just blindly ordering drinks. So I just hope that people are not getting too obsessed about it. but, you know, think a little bit further than just the grades I was going down the menu. Water, please. Yeah. and not tap water ether here So I’ll be Not in plastic bottles ether please. No can’t be having that Just air Dust. sawdust. you're a special. so Matt and I deal with people who are in pain every day, and there's a link with gut health and chronic pain. and, of course, Matt was talking about this research. how can patients adapt their nutrition to reduce their inflammation and improve that pain? Yeah, usually when we talk about inflammation, it's omega three fatty acids. that's what we want to focus on. So once again your oily fish try to get that at least twice a week. nuts and seeds. Seaweed. but first of all, it's just having a good overall diet. Again, it sounds boring. but that's what we want to aim for. I think that's the, you know, the baseline, you know, sleeping well, getting enough hydration. All these things are key. And for some people, are there certain foods that are worse for them than for others? So we hear a lot about food sensitivities these days. Some people seem to react dairies, gluten and things like that, and that can set off inflammatory reactions as well. Is that something that you counsel your clients on as well? Is that relevant? I don't do stuff like that. also because I don't do 1 to 1 consultations, I am hearing a lot about that. And my main piece of advice is seek help from a dietitian who can actually do of, you know, like a proper food diary with you, do a proper elimination diet. I think the most dangerous thing is when someone just goes to do an allergy test. And what's likely to happen is say, you'll be told that you're, you know, allergic to these 20 things, when that might not be the case because it's incredibly sensitive. doing a food diary is the number one thing to do, in my opinion. you don't have to do it every single day. If your symptoms are really bad, you can do that. But just looking at what you tend to eat over the weekdays and the weekends maybe take, you know, two weekdays, one weekend, and be incredibly honest with yourself because in food diaries, that's where we see people. I mean, you tend to hide certain things because you maybe not consciously, but you just forget that you have this, I don't know, maybe two, two candies, that could actually be contributing to some of your symptoms. And a lot of the reactions are delayed as well. So they're not necessarily straight. Often, like we we hear a lot about, you know, say peanut allergies. And these are these IgE responses that people react to immediately. The some of these responses can be a few hours later or even the next day. I mean, I, I don't tend to give specific advice now, but when I was doing a lot more nutritional stuff, I noticed patients in pain, but they also had skin rashes and they tend to be fatigued a lot. Look, have you considered just try and coming off dairy for example, very common intolerance, lactose intolerance in Asia, Southeast Asia. and the skin clears up and the joint pain goes away. And that I’m not advising that people do that now. But there is there is certainly something to it. And I would agree with you on functional medicine nutritionist GP thats trained in this perhaps. I would highly recommend. It and also see a therapist. I think a lot of it could, you know, boil down to stress. I think we speak about that quite a lot. Sometimes I come in to see, I'm like, I've got this pain and that pain. You're like, yeah, you're just too stressed. I mean, obviously that's not that's not the main reason, but it it could be, you know, one of the main reasons for a lot of people, especially in this part of the world. What I was the question I think I've asked you saw is probably what else is going on in your life. Like how are you. Yeah. Right. So I think yeah. The other question is to which is why we say how are you at a time. Right. Exactly. I need to ask my patient how stressed they are. out of ten in the last week. I know to be honest most patients say at least seven out of ten whereas a previous said, the stress often doesn't get that high. So I’m very lucky So omega three fatty acids considering maybe food intolerances that you're looking at stress as a cause overall sugar intake aswell? Oh yes. That's definitely one to consider. And I guess that for me goes into the bucket of your overall diet, to make sure that nothing is you're not you know, you're not consuming anything in excess, you know, nice. And then in terms of like supporting healing, do you talk about, something we've seen in the literature recently with soft tissue, healing and tendons, college and working with vitamin C for tendon, tendon health. Is that something that you think is important or is that something you think about? It's something that I am slowly opening up to, to be very honest, because for the longest time I've been very skeptic, skeptical about collagen and how the body actually utilizes the collagen that you consume either through food or supplement. But yes, collagen plus vitamin C, there is emerging research in that space. All right. So if we move on to one of our favorite sections, the pet peeve section, so it's a pet peeve of your profession. what are your pet peeve be Charlotte? Oh gosh. How many points can I add to this? So you know, as many as you know what you just see if you boil it. Let's get into one of this. I think for me, it's misinformation, you know, now we've got your ChatGPT, you've got social media. There are so many people out there spreading misinformation and it is really frustrating, especially in our spaces, when it really has to do with someone's health. And you could have this, you know, maybe influencer who is speaking in this is really confident matter. And like I only eat meat. You know, I'm on this keto diet. I have butter at every single meal. Plants. You know, it's a huge lie. And that really, it undoes all the work that we've been doing. And that's frustrating. So we can't stop that. We can try to drain it out with our content. That is evidence based. but I would like to encourage people out there to really, you know, think twice about what you're consuming, try to go to the source, ask yourself, how true is this? Yeah, I think definitely follow you on Instagram. I love how you filmed the video. You're talking to eating at the same time your doing so much how can you do that I can't I if you're watching my shoe in the hand. Yeah. I can't even eat properly I mean, if I just eat I'm dropping it everywhere and talking, eating and presenting that. Very talented. Yeah. So do you want to give a shout out to your Instagram handle? Yeah. The Charlotte Mei and my nutrition podcast ‘In A Bite’. so I've got two seasons. The first one, I mean, you're just going to hear me drone all about, you know, food. I, you know, it's sort of like my FAQ about nutrition. So I talk about things like microwaving food. Is it really that bad for you, MSG, etc.. frequently asked questions. Yeah. Can we ask now? You know about this, right? Is it to late? Can we ask? We can touch on that in a little bit. but season two, I actually speak to other health professionals, so I speak to, like a neurosurgeon, a dietician that specializes in a women's health, a TCM specialist. So traditional Chinese medicine, because, you know, as we all know, health is not about one discipline. We got to look at multi disciplines. So yeah that's the that's a podcast. Surly there’s room for a physio and a podiatrist at some point Absolutely The good thing about the pod your podcast is this bite size Hey Hey Funny I knew it, I knew you had it in you My pet peeve? All right we’re letting you have one today I don't normally get one You love moaning No But that's what the English do the best. And I'm surprised you haven't got more, No, I just think we've really sort of over complicated nutrition and a little bit, And I think it's become quite a scary area. I definitely have been through periods of time that, like, sort of obsessions about different areas of nutrition, and I don't think it's served me well. so what I've loved today is that you really kept it simple. And I think just nutrition is also like, like exercise has become something that we get very emotionally attached to. And I think we need to take a step back and be committed to consistency in society. detached from the immediate. results of it. Yeah, absolutely. I like using this analogy of looking at your overall health as a theater production. your everyday habits, the food that you eat. your sleeping habits, you know, exercising. These are your starring actors and actresses, and you want to get that down pat. You want to make sure that they've got their script right. They're consistent on the day to day basis. And then you can look into the supporting actors like your supplements, your prebiotics, probiotics and all these peripheral, you know, items. That's what people tend to focus their intention on when perhaps they're still, smoking excessively, not getting enough sleep, not managing stress, not eating enough fiber. So let's focus our attention on these, you know. Lead actors Yeah lead actors as they go Right. So then final final final question. Do a final sort of part of the podcast that we also love. It's our magic wand section. Not like that. so what is your one wish for our listeners and, community in terms of nutrition? Oh, wow. I love this question. I would say, and this again is going to sound so basic and so boring, but it's so important to listen to your body. I think we've come to a point where we have forgotten how to listen to our bodily cues. Are you hungry? Are you full? a lot of the time we have lunch because it's lunchtime, but are we actually hungry? Are we listening to what our body needs? A lot of the time, women, for example, we go through our menstrual cycle when we're at the point where our body actually biologically needs more food. And that's why we have cravings. We try to downplay that. We're like an an and I don't eat that much. But listen to your body. If you're feeling hungry, your body's telling you something. So to be, you know, to tap into that a little bit more. What your body's saying at the moment Matt since your Dexa scan That I’m struggling. And so I just need to rethink about my life reevaluate Reevaluate everything I'm doing. Eat more protein basically Yeah, work harder Charlotte thank you so much. I think you've really sort of simplified this for us. and I hope you're taking the fear out of some of these nutritional decisions that people are making. hopefully there's a few actionable points that people can take home and start to implement that straight away. So thank you Absolutely. I'm glad to have shared that to, you know, have shared this platform with you guys as well. So thanks for having me on Very welcome. So that's all from us from episode nine of The Best of Both Worlds podcast, Look after yourselves keep things simple. Remember pull the big levers in nutrition to. See you soon Lovely And also make sure that you like, subscribe to our channel. and also give us a follow on Instagram. Thanks a lot. We'll see you next time.