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#24 "Food is Medicine" is it enough?
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The Bean Talk – Episode 24: "Food is Medicine" is it enough?
This week, Riannon and Jeremy dive into the age-old question: can food alone really give your body everything it needs? From mineral-depleted soils and early harvesting to stress and modern-day nutrient gaps, they explore why even the most balanced diets often fall short in today’s world.
They unpack the key reasons so many people, even the health-conscious, end up with low iron, magnesium, vitamin D and more, and share how to build a realistic, supportive approach to nutrition using food and supplements.
Whether you're in preconception, postpartum, or just wanting more energy, this episode will help you understand where food fits in and when it’s time to go deeper.
Connect with Riannon and Jeremy on Instagram @mungbean_health or visit mungbeanhealth.com for expert support.
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Transcript
Introduction to The Bean Talk
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to The Bean Talk with me, Rhiannon, your fertility fairy godmother, joined by my trusted partner in life and in the mission of Mungbean Health, Jeremy. Here at Mungbean Health, we're on a mission to unlock the secrets of fertility and natural wellbeing one episode at a time.
00:00:16
Speaker
Hello and welcome to another episode of The Bean Talk with Rhiannon and Jeremy. Hi guys, and welcome back. we ah We've had a big weekend. We're pretty excited.
Exciting Upcoming Projects
00:00:28
Speaker
We're on a bit of a high We have had this massive mung bean photo shoot that was just all about the campaigns that we have coming up and things that we're working on throughout the first half of the year.
00:00:43
Speaker
And we've been working on some very exciting things behind the scenes. And I know people say that all the time, but seriously, it's just going to be a big year. Yeah. Planning ahead. We're like trying to really plan as far as head as possible. Yes.
Planning and Team Support
00:00:55
Speaker
I feel like sometimes you just get caught on that rat race, which I'm sure a lot of you understand that as well, where you're just trying to keep up. But now we're really positioning ourselves where we're able to look ahead. We've got more help in the warehouse, which is great.
00:01:11
Speaker
We have such a great team there. And yeah, I guess we're just continuing to allow people to help us. Yeah. or just finding the right people to help us as well, which is exciting. and we normally do our little bean and big bean. It's not a whole lot that's been going on apart from keeping a head afloat, but I've got a little bean, which is I've been taking my greens.
Micronutrients and Diet
00:01:32
Speaker
Now, when I was younger and when we lived in Sydney,
00:01:36
Speaker
i would always take my greens and i remember when i worked at the health food store and it was like a big thing and you definitely notice it in your skin like your complexion not dull like you you definitely do glow a bit more with the greens and there's a particular way to take them as well because there's so many out there that taste really gross but the the main purpose of them is to support digestion, your skin, bloating, energy. I'm really mainly just doing it as an additional superfood.
00:02:05
Speaker
This year, I really made a bit of a pact with myself. And I guess this is a big bean, pact with myself for the family that I really want to make sure we're getting in as many micronutrients as possible. So this looks like fresh herbs, powdered herbs or spices,
00:02:21
Speaker
Trying to put more into salad. So if we normally had lettuce, tomato, carrot, cucumber, I'm going to make sure I'm putting in the micro greens in there. I'm going to put some parsley in there. I'm going to put like coriander or just something to beef it up in a healthy way. Because we're often always looking at the macro nutrients like protein, fats and good carbs, but also from a micro level.
00:02:43
Speaker
anti-aging I'm thinking about us in 50 years and where we'll be and honestly getting those herbs and spices in is a nice little tip and trick not that Jeremy would really notice you probably notice it when you're eating it but that's just me doing that because yes I do the cooking most of time Unless I asked Jeremy to do Yeah, I cook the meat. Oh, yeah, Jeremy cooks the meat.
00:03:04
Speaker
Sorry. Jeremy is the meat cooker in a house, unless it's a stew or a yeah a so cooker. But he's the barbecue man. Yeah, barbecue duties. Actually. The kids love it. They do. They love a steak on the barbecues.
00:03:15
Speaker
If he's like, Daddy, can you make the steak with the salt on the barbecue? And then if you're like, sorry, darling, we don't have any gas for the barbecue. She's like, what?
00:03:26
Speaker
I don't like it. another barbecue, which she actually does like it, especially if you just like we cook it. And if I give him a bath or a shower or whatever and then come down, she's like, this on the barbecue.
00:03:38
Speaker
And we're like, no. And she's it still looks good. And then she'll taste it and be like, it's good.
Organic vs. Conventional Produce
00:03:43
Speaker
But definitely good quality meat makes all the difference there. That is something over the last, look, I've always tried to, but there's stages you go through where I guess when expenses are higher than normal or you're in a different area, like whatever it looks like for you, if you can't source it, I've really made sure that over the last couple of years that we are eating like a very good quality. And yes, it is So much more expensive. Unfortunately, it costs so much more to eat organic meats. I really try and get organic meat for us.
00:04:15
Speaker
And with the fruits and vegetables, I do a clean 15 dirty dozen. If you haven't looked at that, you can just Google it. Clean 15 and the dirty dozen. So the dirty dozen, you should try and get organic because they are real dirty and it's usually things like berries because they spray them with so much crap.
00:04:34
Speaker
So just try and do those small things. And I know, you know, organic meat is definitely an outlay, but it's an investment in your health health because then we are. Yeah, that's what I was going to say. It's a real investment doing the organic stuff, not for now, but for later.
00:04:50
Speaker
Totally. And people, people, obviously it's out of some people's budgets and I get that. But a lot of the time those same people will be, i don't know, smoking. And it's maybe if you cut out smoking and put that money towards the organic meat, it wouldn't be out of your budget.
00:05:05
Speaker
And you'd be like thanking your health. But that's just my opinion. Everyone's entitled to do whatever they like in life. But I
Is Food Alone Enough?
00:05:13
Speaker
see it that way. I think it is important. And obviously for the kids as well.
00:05:18
Speaker
Long tangent there. Thanks for staying with me. Yeah, was your Big Bean or Little Bean, was it? Yes, actually. Yeah, my Little Bean or Big Bean would be like getting the walks in.
00:05:31
Speaker
It's just a good one to just do all year round. i don't think you don't have to stop. It's not seasonal. You can do your walks whenever you've got a spare moment to go for a walk, which is great.
00:05:42
Speaker
Big Bean? Oh, Big Bean. Big Bean for you. Yeah. We're doing, Mungveen is doing throttes. Herbal throttes sprays. Yeah. We've got a kid's one and an adult one. You do need a consult for them.
00:05:53
Speaker
Maybe we should put them in our acute immune. Yeah. We need to set that up. I need a couple of sprays of these and good to go. They are so good and so fun. The kids and the adults one both taste nice. The kids is obviously a bit sweeter, but it's just herbal support.
00:06:09
Speaker
it isn't There's no sugars or anything in there. It's just like in the glycerol base and amazing for that immune system. Yeah, I think that's pretty big. a pretty big end. Yeah, that's a bloody good one.
00:06:19
Speaker
Jeremy's organising that, getting the bottles and everything together for that in the warehouse. My little project, know, source all the stuff to get that done. So cute. So, yes, if you're interested, please reach out. We can help you with that.
00:06:33
Speaker
So that sort of brings us into our topic today and what we wanted to chat about, which is food is medicine, but is that, is it enough really? Actually funny that just popped into my head is I remember your sister was like, I don't think I need to take any vitamins because I eat when she was like preparing for her baby.
00:06:55
Speaker
And for me, I'm like, that is just not, that's not right. And it just shows how uneducated a lot of people are because their the soils are just not what they once were so they don't contain the same vitamins and nutrients and we want to give our babies the best benefit or the best foot forward.
Nutrient Deficiencies and Farming Practices
00:07:16
Speaker
i personally disagree that food is enough, even if you're eating organic, because organic, remember, that's all about no pesticides. So you're not adding the extra crap on, but are the soils enough?
00:07:28
Speaker
You're going to get more, but is it enough? I personally don't think so. Being naturopaths, food is such a big part of not only our lives, but also our family's lives.
00:07:40
Speaker
And it's what we do in our daily pra practicing. Everyone's got to eat. It's all about good quality. Every client that we have, we actually do chat about diet with and utilizing our diet as a means to heal their bodies. So we teach them in ways that they can heal their bodies with diet. But is it really enough is the question that we continue to come back with.
00:08:02
Speaker
we're always told just eat a balanced diet and you'll get everything you need from that but i don't believe yeah who is doing that three times week doing all your micronutrients i know who's really doing that and some people can but like most people can't and some people might be ticking off the fish three times a week but then they're lacking something else like your berries for your antioxidants and your vitamins and minerals there's so much to it yeah ah know In an ideal, yes, that would be perfect and that would be the way that it is.
00:08:33
Speaker
But I guess some practitioners out there probably still do believe that we live in an ideal world, but unfortunately reality can smack you in the face a little bit. And I do not agree that the foods that we're eating today are like what they once were back in the day.
00:08:49
Speaker
And hey, there might be some people out there growing their own and really feeding the soil and they're going to be better off. um So much better off, but God, add it to the list. Who's got the time? Honestly, it would be lovely though.
00:09:03
Speaker
But yeah, in an ideal world where food is grown in the beautiful, rich soil, the biodiverse soils, harvested at peak ripeness is also an important one and consumed freshly, not frozen.
00:09:17
Speaker
if that's all ticked off, we should be able to meet most of our nutritional needs from diet alone. But this isn't our reality any anymore, unfortunately.
00:09:28
Speaker
And in a modern world, most of our food travels thousands and thousands of kilometres before it even hits our plates. It's grown in over-farm soils, exposed to many chemicals, herbicides, pesticides, picked before it's ripe, and that is to increase that shelf life.
00:09:49
Speaker
So the nutrient density symbolizes isn't what it once was or what it used to be. It's pretty sad. Yeah. But if we want to have avocados all year round, they've got to source them from other regions of the world, pick them early. So they're not getting that.
00:10:04
Speaker
And I guess eating seasonally is a great way to improve that nutrient content in the food. but it's still not enough. Our soils are some of the oldest in the world, and that's not necessarily a good thing when it comes to mineral content.
00:10:22
Speaker
Unfortunately, Australian soils have faced intensive farming practices that have further depleted essential nutrients, so sad, resulting in decreased soil, organic carbon stocks, and overall soil health.
00:10:38
Speaker
Studies have actually shown that levels of minerals like magnesium and zinc and calcium have significantly declined in our produce over the past few decades.
00:10:49
Speaker
One review even noted 19% drop. in magnesium levels in vegetables and a 29% drop in iron content in red meat.
00:11:00
Speaker
Unless farmers are actively remineralizing the soils, and most of them aren't, unfortunately, this probably comes down to cost and availability and all the things. The food simply can't provide what it doesn't contain.
00:11:14
Speaker
If it's not in there, how's it going to be in the fruit? If it's not in the soil, how's it going to get in there?
Challenges in Nutrient Retention
00:11:21
Speaker
I guess a good question is, what does this mean for your health?
00:11:25
Speaker
It means that even the most health conscious person can end up deficient in key nutrients. In our practice, we frequently see low magnesium, like huge. Most people are low in magnesium, zinc, selenium, iron and B12. Even in those people that do say, I eat really well. And we look at their diets and they are eating really well.
00:11:50
Speaker
Even if they are ticking the organic picture and getting in a balanced meal and all the nutrients, they can still be deficient. Incredibly health conscious clients who can't work out why they're experiencing things like, oh, fatigue, I'm so tired and I'm really good at sleeping.
00:12:07
Speaker
Like sleep's really something that I've always been good with. Or they might be experiencing things like anxiety or mood swings. Yeah, lot of children suffer from mood swings and they could be simple iron deficiency or something of that nature from just not getting enough food. And kids are quite picky too with their foods.
00:12:26
Speaker
So that makes it challenging as well. and That's where a supplement comes in to fill in the gaps. And as well, i always think of it like the step back. So if the mum's iron deficient, she has her baby who then is also low in iron, like say in pregnancy, sorry, mum's iron deficient.
00:12:42
Speaker
gets pregnant, drops even lower, has Bob doesn't get it up quick enough, or maybe isn't able to breastfeed or whatever that looks like. Babies then nutrient deficient or iron deficient.
00:12:53
Speaker
And then it will continue on that process. And unless we lift it up, but then maybe they're picky. They don't want the meat where you are. It's like all of that. Poor immune functions also are affected from Poor diets, hormonal imbalances, thyroid dysfunction, muscle cramps, headache, poor recovery from exercise. Yes. So you could be eating well and healthy and feeling all of those things, but you're not taking any supplements. You're just getting you know your nutrients via diet.
00:13:20
Speaker
And you're wondering why. And honestly, the list does go on and on. And if you're trying to heal your gut, balance your hormones, recover postpartum, because such a big, take such a big toll on our body or support chronic fatigue symptoms, you're going to need more, not less.
00:13:38
Speaker
You're going to need a lot more nutrients. And we see people come in that are so depleted. You're just like, oh, you poor thing. How are you suffering? Your vitamin D is low, your B12 is low, your iron is low. Your blood glucose is all unbalanced. Your thyroid's all wacky and it's because they all intertwine and there's a cascade that's happening and that's why. so yeah, you definitely need some more support there.
The Role of Supplements
00:14:00
Speaker
And this is why we are strong believers and naturopaths are strong believers in supplementation as a part of that picture.
00:14:07
Speaker
So we aren't discounting that diet is very important. You still need to eat. But when you're already in that picture of poor health or struggling, you just won't get enough out of just diet.
00:14:22
Speaker
And in the perfect world, it would be different, but this world is far from it. I think we can all agree. Magnesium, for example, is in over 300 enzymes reactions in the body. Yes, so magnesium is used in over 300 enzymes.
00:14:37
Speaker
processes in the body it's insane yeah which is insane so very important to get magnesium in but it's also one of the minerals most easily depleted by stress caffeine alcohol certain medications a 2012 study in nutrients showed up to 50 percent of australians consume less than recommended daily intake of magnesium Yes. And I think you could agree. Obviously you don't see the patients in clinic, but you'd see what a lot of them are ordering and what you're needing to order. It's like nearly every order has magnesium in it.
00:15:06
Speaker
Yeah. It's so important. And I guess this would feel like, God, okay. I thought I was doing all these things, right? Like it's overwhelming. And where do you begin? But I guess starting with testing where possible is always going to be important. If you've listened to any of our other podcasts, if you're one of our clients, you would know that we are very big on testing. That is something that I've had since the very beginning in our clinic.
00:15:28
Speaker
That is functional blood work usually. There is also hair mineral analysis, which we don't do a whole lot of but we ah in adults, but we are doing a bit more in children because obviously less invasive.
00:15:40
Speaker
But blood work in adults is really important. And this can give us, and your naturopath, a really good, clearer picture of what your body needs. So it's important for you to know, and also obviously your naturopath to treat.
00:15:51
Speaker
So once you have an idea of what your body is asking for, this is where the supplements and diet modifications will start. So we see what's going on and then we treat that specifically.
00:16:03
Speaker
There are some important things to essentially lay that foundation down to get started with. So while we're waiting on testing, we're always laying that foundation because naturopathic medicine doesn't happen overnight.
00:16:14
Speaker
Rarely does anything happen overnight, but specifically naturopathic medicine. So it's all about supporting yourself while we're waiting on those results as well. It's really essential to take supplements that are bioavailable as well. So in their highest absorbable form, that's what that bioavailable means.
00:16:30
Speaker
And we do like third party tested. This is a really important way to keep the good gold standard quality, which we are all about at Mungbean. We always are opting for the best. If we don't have the best, we will happily change to a different brand that comes in.
00:16:47
Speaker
For instance, with our fish oil recently, we have changed to one that is even more primo and we will continue to do our best to get the most premium fish oil that we can get our hands on.
00:16:59
Speaker
Because like with any supplement, you need it to be good quality. If you're going to be ingesting it, we want you to be taking the best. Yeah, especially for fish oil, we find that really important. And avoiding cheap synthetic forms that may not be well absorbed and are a waste of money.
00:17:15
Speaker
Sometimes they will just give you really expensive urine. Yeah. Because you'll be weighing them out you won't be absorbing them. And what good is that? And you've say you've gone to the you've gone in and you've spent 30 bucks on a supplement in the chemist.
00:17:30
Speaker
doesn't work. There's $30 wasted. You go to a naturopath, you get something prescribed, say it's 50 bucks. Yes, you're paying more than the 30 bucks. So it seems like, oh, it's more expensive than the other one. But there is a reason for that.
00:17:43
Speaker
You're going to absorb, you're going to use it. Anything from us is going to work for you. It's going to actually be doing things, whether you feel it straight away or not, in the background, things like fish oil, Or magnesium can often be doing a lot in the background, like magnesium, 300 bodily processes it is needed for.
00:17:59
Speaker
You're not always going to see it straight up of, oh my God, I'm sleeping like a baby. I started last night. Sometimes you will, but often it'll be doing all these other processes and things and your body will be honestly loving you for it.
00:18:11
Speaker
before it's actually telling you that it's loving you for it.
Choosing Quality Supplements
00:18:14
Speaker
Yeah, and that brings me back to the magnesium we got for the shop of for our online website, the TheraPure one, which is just a pure magnesium glycinate, which is a really good form, readily available, and the body just loves it. Yes. So if you're not one of our clients yet, you can go on to our online store, which is www.mungbeanhealth.com.
00:18:33
Speaker
And we did just get a pure magnesium glycinate on there. And this form is very gentle on the gut, which is great because magnesium can make some people feel nauseous if it's not the right form.
00:18:45
Speaker
or if it's too strong for them. So this is a very gentle on the tummy one, absorbed really well. And we use it a lot in clinic for cases of anxiety or sleep issues. So you can definitely go and get yourself some.
00:18:57
Speaker
And I guess, yeah, I guess you want to make sure that you're actually putting your money towards something again, like back to quality foods. It's all about an investment in your health. There's a reason that things are cheap.
00:19:09
Speaker
unfortunately. Ongoing work on your diet can also ensure maintenance and then it can also support the support that your supplement has provided. So if you think of it like a maintenance, say you're really low in iron and you've got to lift your iron up and then you can maintain with food and keep yourself at that optimal level.
00:19:27
Speaker
It's not like you have to do these things for the rest of your life. If there are major health concerns, really big hormonal imbalances, or you're going through a major change like puberty,
00:19:39
Speaker
pregnancy, postpartum, menopause, that sort of thing, then yes, you will be taking them for a lot longer. And like for us, we'll be taking supplements through our entire life. We'll never stop them. Exactly. It's just a part of the picture and we'll change it up throughout there. But there's some non-negotiables. Magnesium's pretty big. Fish oil is something that we'll continue to do. Just the base ones.
00:19:59
Speaker
Yeah. And vitamins and minerals. So if there are times that we're lacking things in diet, we'll get that in. And yeah. So always remember supplements are meant to supplement a good diet, not replace one. The best results come when used along whole foods. Yes, absolutely. Yeah, and alongside sleep, hydration, stress support, and always remember to move your body. And any exercise you can do is better than none.
00:20:25
Speaker
Yes, these things like our supplements and our herbs and that are all about fast tracking or supercharging everything. But you really want to make sure you've got those basics there, like you're sleeping enough You're eating whole foods and good quality foods. You're hydrated.
00:20:40
Speaker
You've got low stress and stress support and you're moving your body. They're really important factors there.
Follow Us for More Insights
00:20:47
Speaker
So thanks again for tuning in. And yeah, if you want to learn more, visit us on Instagram, mungbeanhealth.
00:20:53
Speaker
Absolutely, mungbean underscore health. You can DM ask us any questions. And yeah, just remember we want that diet to be there, but you can make it so much better and fill those gaps that you're missing with some great supplements.
00:21:07
Speaker
See you later.
00:21:11
Speaker
Bye. And that's a wrap on today's dose of wellness. I'm Rhiannon, your fertility fairy godmother. Thank you for joining us.
00:21:22
Speaker
Stay connected with us on Instagram at mungbin underscore health.