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Listen Here: For a full list of apps, go here. Or simply search “Sigma Nutrition” in your app of choice.Or listen directly on the Sigma website here. Introduction How should we think about diets that claim to optimise both human and planetary health? Can a single “reference diet” really balance the complex trade-offs between nutrition adequacy, chronic disease prevention, and environmental sustainability? These questions have gained renewed attention with the release of the 2025 update to the EAT-Lancet Planetary Health Diet. The original 2019 report proposed a mostly plant-based dietary pattern designed to improve population health while staying within planetary …

Listen Here: For a full list of apps, go here. Or simply search “Sigma Nutrition” in your app of choice.Or listen directly on the Sigma website here. Introduction Public nutrition policy plays a critical role in shaping population health through laws, guidelines, and programs that influence what people eat. In this episode, Emily Callahan, an expert in nutrition policy, talks about why public nutrition policies often fall short and what “success” looks like. She discusses how evidence-based nutrition interventions can stall due to political or practical barriers, and explore examples ranging from federal food assistance programs to sodium reduction initiatives. …

Listen Here: For a full list of apps, go here. Or simply search “Sigma Nutrition” in your app of choice.Or listen directly on the Sigma website here. Introduction They’re in our oceans, our air, our food, and now even in our bodies. Microplastics, once a distant environmental issue, have become a topic of urgent relevance in medicine, public health, and nutrition. The idea that tiny plastic particles are circulating through the food chain and accumulating in human tissues has sparked headlines, speculation, and concern. But how much of this fear is grounded in solid science? And how much is still …

Listen Here: For a full list of apps, go here. Or simply search “Sigma Nutrition” in your app of choice.Or listen directly on the Sigma website here. Introduction Global food systems have been increasingly subjected to financial speculation, leading to adverse consequences for growers, consumers, and public health. But what are the systemic vulnerabilities that impact food security, equitable access to nutritious food, and the broader socio-political frameworks influencing these outcomes? Understanding the financial mechanisms shaping food production and distribution is highly relevant for health professionals, policy makers, and researchers concerned with nutrition, equity, and global health systems. This episode …

Listen Here: For a full list of apps, go here. Or simply search “Sigma Nutrition” in your app of choice.Or listen directly on the Sigma website here. Introduction Emulsifiers are a ubiquitous component of the modern food supply, found in everything from salad dressings and dairy products to pastries and sauces. Traditionally regarded as safe by regulatory agencies, emulsifiers play a vital role in enhancing the texture, stability, and shelf-life of countless processed foods. Yet, in recent years, emerging research has prompted a reevaluation of this assumption, raising intriguing questions about whether regular consumption of these additives might have previously …

Listen Here: For a full list of apps, go here. Or simply search “Sigma Nutrition” in your app of choice.Or listen directly on the Sigma website here. Introduction Discussions around ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and their role in public health have gained significant traction in recent years. While some advocate for categorizing and regulating these foods due to their potential negative health effects, others argue that such classifications can oversimplify the issue and detract from more actionable dietary changes. In this episode, Dr. Duane Mellor, a registered dietitian and researcher, joins us to explore the complexities of the UPF debate. Rather …

So is personalized nutrition superior to standard dietary advice? Let’s find out…

So is personalized nutrition superior to standard dietary advice? Let’s find out…

With a number of countries having implemented a range of taxes or health levies, what lessons can we learn from these? And what does the best public health nutrition currently tell us about the likely effectiveness of different policies or interventions?

Over the past decade, the increasing uptake and acceptance of the Nova food processing classification system has placed focus on one of the categories in Nova; ultra-processed foods (UPFs). Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are products created from deconstructed (and recombined) food components, usually with the goal of creating a highly palatable, convenient, and profitable product. This typically means such products are high in nutrients of content (e.g. sugar, sodium, saturated fat, etc.). But in addition, they have other characteristics that may make them detrimental to health, particularly when they replace unprocessed or minimally processed foods in the diet. Dr. Gyorgy Scrinis, is on the podcast to discuss his work in the area.

Climate change has the potential to negatively impact the nutrient value of plants, soil organisms, food stuffs, via a variety of ways. Climate change puts food supplies at risk. Floods, droughts, more intense hurricanes, heatwaves and wildfires can drive down crop yields, destroy livestock, and interfere with the transport of food. And rising carbon dioxide levels from human activity can make staple crops like rice and wheat less nutritious.

Clearly the food choices one makes over time directly impacts health. However, choices are not made in a vacuum; that is, they are not always concious decisions made for rational reasons based on free will. Rather, the choices we make about food are shaped by the contexts within which they are made. The term “food environment” is used to describe the physical, economic, political and socio-cultural contexts in which choices are made about acquiring, preparing and consuming food.

Dr. Clare Pettinger is a Registered Dietitian, Public Health Nutritionist and experienced educator. Based at the Universtity of Plymouth, UK, Dr. Pettinger is actively engaged in community-focussed research around food systems, poverty and social justice. She is an enthusiastic ‘sustainability advocate’ involved in promoting environmentally sustainable diets for nutrition professionals and Allied Health Professioinals.

Today’s Topic in Focus: Public Health Policy vs. Individual Responsibility [07:29] In this episode Danny and Alan discuss the evidence for public health nutrition interventions, how health inequalities are driven by socioeconomic factors, and how ideology and simplistic rhetoric about “personal responsibility” can get in the way. References: Rose, 2001 – Sick individuals and sick populations Marmot, 2020 – Society and the slow burn of inequality Mozaffarian et al., 2018 – Role of government policy in nutrition—barriers to and opportunities for healthier eating Wright et al., 2017 – Policy lessons from health taxes: a systematic review of empirical studies Vallgarda, …

Listen on these AppsPodcast TranscriptsGuest Information Prof. Corinna Hawkes Professor Corinna Hawkes has been working for the past 20 years with UN agencies, governments, NGOs and academia at the local, national and international level to support the design of more effective policies throughout the food system to improve diets and prevent malnutrition in all its forms. She is currently Director of the Centre for Food Policy at City, University of London, UK, a Centre dedicated to shaping a more effective food system through education, research and engagement with the world of food policy. In 2018 she was appointed Vice Chair …