In line with the recent World Day for Laboratory Animals on 24th April, we spoke with Savita Nutan, founder of Medicine Without Cruelty.

In this episode Savita highlights the suffering of laboratory animals, how unreliable animal experiments are, and how poorly they translate to human health outcomes.

As such Savita is committed to ending animal testing in science, medicine and dentistry.

Her organisation’s mission is to educate, advocate, and innovate, ensuring that scientific progress is achieved through humane and effective animal-free alternatives.

And it seems that innovative technologies are revolutionising research and testing offering accurate, ethical and sustainable solutions without needing to use animals, so tune in to find out more about this important topic.

To connect with Savita:

https://medicinewithoutcruelty.com/

Celebrating with chocolate can continue. Just make sure it's the dark variety (for maximum flavanoids), you're mindful of portion control, and that it's fairly traded.

https://foodispower.org/chocolate-list/

Katz DL, Doughty K, Ali A. Cocoa and chocolate in human health and disease. Antioxid Redox Signal. 2011 Nov 15;15(10):2779-811. doi: 10.1089/ars.2010.3697. Epub 2011 Jun 13. PMID: 21470061; PMCID: PMC4696435.

Tan TYC, Lim XY, Yeo JHH, Lee SWH, Lai NM. The Health Effects of Chocolate and Cocoa: A Systematic Review. Nutrients. 2021 Aug 24;13(9):2909. doi: 10.3390/nu13092909. PMID: 34578786; PMCID: PMC8470865.

This week we welcome nutritionist and founding member of Greencuisine Trust, Daphne Lambert, to the Nutshell.Daphne has cooked, studied, taught and written about food all her adult life. She has run a nutritional consultancy practice for over 25 years working with schools, colleges and organisations looking at ways to nourish well being. Through inspiring projects, courses and events, Greencuisine Trust works to improve the knowledge and understanding of the inter-relationship between food, culture, biodiversity, agriculture and the environment.

To connect with Daphne:

https://www.greencuisinetrust.org/

Nettle recipes!

Nettle pesto

150g nettle tops (top5/7 leaves)

25g shelled hemp seeds

2 cloves garlic finely chopped or handful wild garlic chopped

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes (optional)

approx 200ml olive oil

salt & black pepper

Bring a pan, large enough to take the nettles 1⁄2 filled with water to the boil. Add the nettles bring back to the boil and cook for 30 seconds. Drain through a sieve over a bowl to save the cooking water.

Immediately plunge the nettles into very cold water. As soon as they are cold, remove and squeeze them dry.

Put the nettles into a food processor along with the garlic. Process together for 30 seconds then slowly trickle in enough oil to make a soft paste. Stir in the nuts and optional yeast flakes. Season your pesto with salt and pepper to taste. Will keep well in the fridge for a couple of weeks.The reserved nettle water is a nourishing drink.

Nettle soup

serves 4

400g nettle tops

200g floury potatoes peeled if necessary & roughly chopped

1litre well flavoured vegetable stock

salt & black pepper

Plunge the nettle tops into boiling water for 30 seconds. Drain through a sieve over a bowl to save the cooking water for a nourishing herbal tea. Immediately plunge the nettles into cold water to refresh, drain and set aside.

Put the potatoes and stock into a pan and gently simmer with the lid

on until tender. Add the nettle tops to the pan, cook for a further 3 minutes, remove from the heat, cool slightly then blitz in a food processor. Return to the pan and gently bring back to the boil. If it seems too thick add a little more stock. Season as necessary with salt & black pepper.

Potato & nettle rosti

6 medium well scrubbed potatoes

2 large handfuls of nettle tops

olive oil

salt and pepper

Plunge the nettles into boiling water for 30 seconds, strain (reserving the water to drink) and refresh the nettles in cold water. Strain and with your hands squeeze the nettles dry then roughly chop.

Grate the potatoes onto a tea towel and gently wring out any excess moisture. Season well with salt pepper and mix in the nettles. Gently heat the oil in a frying pan. Pile in the potato mixture and press down well. Over a moderate heat cook until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Flip over and repeat on the other side. Transfer to a dish and serve cut in wedges

Links from today's episode:

https://plantbasedhealthprofessionals.com/21-day-challenge

https://plantbasedhealthprofessionals.com/rethinking-easter-choosing-lentils-instead-of-lamb

https://plantbasedhealthprofessionals.com/allergen-free-lentil-loaf

https://www.goodtogrowuk.org/charlesdowding.co.ukhttps://www.ukorganic.org/blog/articles/dirty-dozen-a-list-of-pesticide-residue-levels-in-food-from-pan-uk

In this week's nugget: Is supplementing with B12 unnatural? Is there a role for fortification? And how would I even know if I was deficient in B12? Our advice would always be to keep calm, and take the supplement....

Let's crush this myth once and for all that red meat is the go-to if your iron levels are low. You asked us for some straight-forward guidance on ensuring diets are iron replete, so we thought it was time to record an iron nugget, or should we say 'ingot'....

In this bonus episode, we talk to the directors Dan Richardson and Giles Alderson about the story of their joint film, Food for Thought. We wanted to think about what a film like this could do to motivate people to follow a healthy, plant-based diet.

To watch the film:

https://foodforthoughtdoc.com/