Should You Really Eat That?

SBS Radio

Should you really add olive oil or salt to your coffee, or microwave your tea? Can rice and bread be that bad for us if we’ve been eating these staples forever? Which seafoods are sustainable? And should I say no to cheese boards? It can be so tricky trying to consume the ‘right things’, and the forces that shape our diets go far beyond what’s supposedly ‘good for us’. On Should You Really Eat That?, food writer Lee Tran Lam untangles the social, cultural and nutritional confusion around the food and drinks we consume – with the help of chefs, dietitians and other guests.

  • 36 minutes 26 seconds
    Butter: Bakery essential, insult inspiration, wedding gift
    Not that long ago, butter had its health-villain era. Margarine reigned and fridges were stocked with ‘I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter’ and alternative dairy spreads. But in recent times, we’ve seen tech-bros ‘biohack’ their coffee with butter, and butter boards and butter sculptures leave a sunny glow on social media. Is there a scientific basis for this change in dietary trends? And what about the cultural role of butter, beyond health fads and online virality? In this episode, Lee Tran Lam talks to baker Anu Haran, butter-maker Pierre Issa and food and nutrition scientist Dr Emma Beckett.
    26 February 2025, 10:02 pm
  • 31 minutes 38 seconds
    Soy: Traditional craft, miracle crop, male threat?
    Is soy “the most dangerous food for men?” This question was posed by a viral Men’s Health article and, like the #soyboy insult, it plays into modern fears that soybeans emasculate bodies. But is there any scientific validity to this online panic? And does it tell the full story about this crop known as ‘green gold’ – and how it’s shaped cuisines across the world? In this episode, Lee Tran Lam talks to restaurateur Yoora Yoon, chef Jung Eun Chae, cookbook author Tony Tan and dietitian Dr Evangeline Mantzioris.
    19 February 2025, 10:00 pm
  • 23 minutes 12 seconds
    Chocolate: Food of the gods, romantic gesture, dog poison
    In 18th-century France, the royal pharmacist treated Marie-Antoinette’s headaches with chocolate. This sweet even appeared in European hospital prescriptions! Medicinal use of chocolate goes back thousands of years: its main ingredient, cacao, was used to treat snake bites by ancient Mesoamerican societies, for instance. Today, we see headlines about chocolate supposedly being a health food – but is it really? And can blocks and bars be a platform for good in other ways? In this episode, Lee Tran Lam talks to nutrition expert Saman Khalesi, chef Juan Carlos Negrete Lopez and proud Wiradjuri woman and chocolatier Fiona Harrison.
    12 February 2025, 9:01 pm
  • 3 minutes 47 seconds
    Season two trailer: Should You Really Eat That?
    It can be tricky trying to consume the ‘right things’, and the forces that shape our diets go far beyond what’s supposedly ‘good for us’. On the second season of Should You Really Eat That?, Lee Tran Lam continues to untangle the cultural, social and nutritional confusion around the staples in our diet – with the help of chefs, dietitians and other guests. On the menu this season are chocolate, soy, butter, olive oil, salt and Indigenous ingredients.
    6 February 2025, 12:20 am
  • 33 minutes 18 seconds
    Seafood: Cooking inspiration, mercury magnet, cultural storyteller
    Our taste for seafood goes back a long time. We’ve been snacking on shellfish for more than 100,000 years. And the foods we gather from the ocean (whether it’s mussels or seaweed) are typically loaded with nutrients. But today, people might reconsider these staples because of environmental, ethical or health concerns – so should you limit your consumption of ingredients that are hauled from the sea? In this episode Lee Tran Lam speaks with chefs Ben Shewry and Chris Jordan, as well as Dr Evangeline Mantzioris.
    15 November 2023, 10:00 pm
  • 26 minutes 52 seconds
    Cheese: Calcium source, place marker, vegan inspiration
    Our love of cheese is so vast, it can be plotted across the planet. From Gorgonzola in Italy to Oaxaca in Mexico, many places are famous for their wedges and wheels. But can you go overboard with a cheese board? And what if you don’t eat dairy at all? Lee Tran Lam wheys it all up with cheesemaker Giuseppe Minoia, chef Shannon Martinez and dietitian Dr Evangeline Mantzioris.
    8 November 2023, 10:00 pm
  • 30 minutes 9 seconds
    Coffee: Caffeine hit, productivity booster, wedding custom
    Around the world, people drink coffee – whether it’s sweetened with condensed milk in Vietnam or spiced with cinnamon in Mexico. It powers us through our workdays, deadlines and boring office meetings. Maybe that’s why it’s the most socially acceptable drug we consume – but is there a limit to how much we should have or what it can really do?
    1 November 2023, 10:00 pm
  • 25 minutes 20 seconds
    Tea: Scandal water, life saver, yum cha essential
    Tea is the most-consumed drink on the planet, second only to water. Originally consumed for medicinal reasons, a well-brewed pot also helps with break-ups and bad news. But are there certain instances where we should put our teacups away?
    25 October 2023, 10:00 pm
  • 28 minutes 50 seconds
    Bread: Historic staple, riot-starter, loneliness cure
    The oldest bread that still exists today was baked 14,500 years ago in Jordan. We’ve eaten this staple for a long time, but rejecting bread because it’s ‘bad’ for you has become a modern trend. Should we be saying no to loaves and toast?
    18 October 2023, 10:51 pm
  • 24 minutes 7 seconds
    Rice: Dietary staple, daily greeting, and nutritional villain?
    When dietitian Susie Burrell named white rice as something she’d never put in her shopping trolley, food writer Lee Tran Lam was intrigued... and a little confused. Rice is the star of so many national dishes and it feeds half the planet! "Have you eaten rice yet?” is even a greeting in many parts of Asia. So should we really be avoiding these grains? In this episode Lee Tran chats with nutritionist Dr Evangeline Mantzioris, and restaurateurs Palisa Anderson from Chat Thai and Little Lagos’ Adetokunboh Adeniyi.
    11 October 2023, 10:00 pm
  • 3 minutes 5 seconds
    Introducing Should You Really Eat That? A new podcast that makes sense of food confusion
    It can be extraordinarily confusing keeping up with what foods are ‘good’ for you. Should you actually put olive oil or salt in your coffee as recent food trends suggest? Is white rice a no go? And which seafoods are actually sustainable? In Should You Really Eat That? host Lee Tran Lam explores the cultural, social, and nutritional confusion over the staples in our diet.
    27 September 2023, 3:48 am
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