The Food Chain

What does a life on tour do to a stand-up comedian's eating habits? And how do you stay healthy if half of your working life is spent travelling? Ruth Alexander finds out. If you travel regularly for work you'll know how hard it can be to hold onto good eating patterns. International flights, client dinners and the hotel's buffet breakfast can blow your diet out of the water. And that's before you consider the impact of sleep disruption, jet lag, late finishes and early starts. Plus a work trip may involve a big presentation, a stressful conversation or a performance of some kind. So what do nerves and stress do to your appetite? And can you eat to maximise your performance? Ruth chats to comedian Celya AB, currently three weeks into her UK tour and hears from Marisa Poster, boss of Perfect Ted Matcha who spends half of every month travelling – often taking long-haul flights. Plus South African dietician Nathalie Mat on how to handle stress and jet lag and the vital importance of travelling with good snacks. Produced by Lexy O'Connor, Sam Clack and Beatrice Pickup. Sound Engineer: Fiona Fairmaner.Image: A young woman in a business suit sits on the end of a hotel bed, gazing out of the window. She is holding a wheelie suitcase. Credit: Getty. If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected]

Weight-loss medication, or GLP-1s as they are also known, are designed to suppress your appetite - so how do you make every mouthful count? Ruth Alexander looks into what happens to the body on these drugs and what it feels like to take them. She learns why it's vital to change your diet to minimise side effects like nausea and constipation and to avoid vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Plus why what you eat before you start taking the medicines also matters, and how to give yourself the best chance of coming off them without regaining all of your weight. Ruth Alexander talks to UK based medical scientist Federica Amati, author of The Appetite Reset and US dietician Whitney Black who takes the drugs herself and specialises in supporting patients on GLP-1s. Whitney shares her real-life experience alongside Michelle Herum from Denmark, a busy mum of four who's been taking Wegovy for three years. Produced by Lexy O'Connor and Beatrice Pickup. Sound Engineers: Hal Haines. Image: Two donuts, one pink and one brown are balanced on a small plate in the foreground. A woman's hands are visible, holding an apple in one hand and holding up her other hand to reject the donuts. (Credit: Getty) If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected]

Is it more expensive to eat healthily? You might think the answer is simple: Yes of course, if you buy fruits, vegetables, beans and pulses and cook from scratch. But is it that easy? With the help of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, Ruth Alexander finds out where in the world a healthy basket of food costs the most, and why globally, billions of people are priced out of a nutritious and varied diet. She hears from Frances in Nigeria, struggling to afford healthy basics for her family, and from Aurora in the US state of Arizona, who is out of work and has lost the food benefit known as SNAP. She's being supported by the charity St Vincent de Paul.And even if you can afford healthy food, is it readily available within easy distance of where you live? Hear from the team running the mobile fruit and veg bus known as The Queen of Greens, tackling so called "food deserts" in Liverpool, North-West England. Plus your questions answered: How to eat well on any budget, with dietician Grace Derocha. Produced by Lexy O'Connor, Niamh McDermott and Beatrice Pickup Sound Engineer: Hal Haines Image: A woman with brown hair and glasses leans glumly on the handle of a supermarket trolley, contemplating the store's display of fruits and vegetables. (Credit: Getty) If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected]