Sliced Bread

Latest Episodes:

Sliced Bread - Series 4: Massage Guns Jul 28, 2022

Show notes

Can massage guns from the likes of Theragun, Pulse Roll and others brands, help you warm up before exercise and recover more quickly after it?

Massage guns are one of the biggest-selling fitness devices of the past few years. They have a vibrating silicone head that delivers percussive pressure onto the muscle.

Manufacturers claim ‘vibration’ therapy increases bloodflow and helps the user warm up before exercise, perform better during it AND ease soreness afterwards. But does it?

Listener Clare got in touch after she bought one following a tip-off from a friend that they could help relieve aches and pains after a run (including a bad back) as well as her husband’s sore shoulder.

Greg Foot finds out if those claims are true by speaking to manufacturers, leading physiotherapists and scientists involved in the latest research.

This series, we’re testing your suggested wonder-products. If you’ve seen an ad, trend or fad and wonder if there's any evidence to back up a claim drop us an email to sliced.bread@bbc.co.uk or you can send us a voice note to our new WhatsApp number: 07543 306807

PRESENTER: Greg Foot PRODUCER: Simon Hoban

Sliced Bread - Series 4: Fat Burning Pills Jul 21, 2022

Show notes

Is there really a pill that can help you burn fat? Sticking to a good diet and exercising to lose weight takes hard work and discipline, so what if there was something you could take that could do some of that work for you?

Listener June got in touch wanting to know if this is the case, or if it’s too good to be true? Are there really pills being sold online and on the high street that can help you burn fat, or speed up your metabolism?

Greg Foot investigates, hearing from some people who’ve tried them, scientists and dieticians about what exactly is in these pills, and asking if there is any evidence to back up their claims that they can burn fat.

PRESENTER: Greg Foot PRODUCER: Kate Holdsworth

Sliced Bread - Series 4: Sunglasses Jul 14, 2022

Show notes

Do more expensive pairs better protect your eyes? Whether you’re hoping to catch some rays here in the UK or heading abroad for summer sun, you’ll want to think about protecting your eyes from the harmful UV in those rays. But how much do you need to spend on sunglasses to keep you safe?

Listener Wayne got in touch wanting to know the answer. He also wondered whether darker tints better protect his eyes, and asked what the term ‘polarised’ means, and whether he should ensure any new pair are exactly that?

Greg Foot sets out to investigate, testing sunglasses ranging in price from £2.50 to over a hundred pounds - do they deliver on their UV protection? The results are surprising...

PRESENTER: Greg Foot PRODUCER: Simon Hoban

Sliced Bread - Series 4: Manuka Honey Jun 30, 2022

Show notes

A small jar of this sticky stuff can cost anything from around ten pounds to over a thousand. Some brands claim it can help with sore throats, skin problems, hay-fever and poor sleep. Other producers curiously make no health claims at all about their manuka products. So what’s the buzz about and is there any science behind it?

Listener and beekeeper David got to get in touch to ask whether manuka honey can boost the immune system, and if it has any benefits over and above the ordinary honey from his bees produce.

Greg Foot gets stuck in to find out, talking with two microbiologists to learn why manuka honey is different and if there’s any truth to some of those sweet sounding claims.

Presenter: Greg Foot Producers: Julian Paszkiewicz & Kate Holdsworth Researcher: Darcy Tapley

Sliced Bread - Series 4: Air Fryers Jun 23, 2022

Show notes

It seems like everyone’s talking about air fryers. They were recently dubbed the product that defined 2021, with sales up by 400%. But how do they fry with air?

Listener Sally in Harrogate has another question too: at a time when the cost of living is rocketing will cooking with an air fryer save her money?

And, because they use little to no oil, is cooking food in an air fryer also “healthier”?

Greg Foot investigates, speaking to a food scientist at Imperial College London and the BBC’s Good Food Magazine, to find out whether the claims being made around air fryers live up to the hype or are just marketing BS.

PRESENTER: Greg Foot PRODUCER: Simon Hoban

Sliced Bread - Series 4: Air Purifiers Jun 16, 2022

Show notes

Air purifiers have become one of the most popular home gadgets in recent years and you can spend hundreds of pounds on the top-end models. They promise to remove harmful pollutants in the air, reduce the symptoms of allergies and help you breathe more easily in a more healthy environment. But what's the evidence around how effective they are?

Listener Laura, a respiratory doctor, got in touch wanting to know whether they work and even if they could help some of her patients in their daily lives.

Greg Foot investigates the science behind the product, speaking to experts to find out just how many pollutants are being pulled from thin air, the effective range of air purifiers and whether there are any downsides to how they work.

PRESENTER: Greg Foot PRODUCERS: Kate Holdsworth and Julian Paszkiewicz

Sliced Bread - Series 3: Carbon Negative and Carbon Offsetting Jun 09, 2022

Show notes

Brands are promising to plant a tree for each can of beer, tshirt, or pair of trainers you buy, offsetting their carbon emissions so they can put an attractive ‘carbon negative’ sticker on a product to show green they - and you - truly are. But how effective is a new forest at offsetting a company’s emissions, what does ‘carbon negative’ really mean, and how do they go about proving they’ve achieved it?

Trees are just one type of carbon offset. Another, albeit promising but expensive, option is Direct Air Capture. Could that be the future of long term carbon offsetting? Greg Foot finds out.

PRESENTER: Greg Foot PRODUCER: Simon Hoban

Sliced Bread - Series 3: Meal Replacement Drinks Jun 02, 2022

Show notes

Huel and Soylent are two of the best known names in ‘complete nutrition’ drinks. More of us are trying them and you can now get pre-made bottles of these concoctions in the food aisle in supermarkets. Firms sell them as an instant alternative to breakfast, lunch and dinner too.

But how ‘nutritionally complete’ are these liquid lunches?

Listener Tom admits snacking on one in the middle of the afternoon but has questions. Does the fact they start as an ultra processed powder affect how healthy they are? Is it possible to live on them and nothing else?

Greg Foot investigates. He talks to a registered dietician, a researcher on a new trial into these products, and Huel's co-founder and Head of Sustainable Nutrition, James Collier.

In this series, we’re testing your suggested wonder-products. If you’ve seen an ad, trend or fad and wonder if there's any evidence to back up the makers' claims drop us an email to sliced.bread@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Greg Foot Producer: Julian Paszkiewicz

Sliced Bread - Series 3: Electric Toothbrushes (& Water Flossers) May 26, 2022

Show notes

Take a look down the aisle of any high street chemist and the array of electric toothbrushes on offer is as dazzling as the teeth they promise to give you. You can pay upto £500 for the latest versions whiose myriad features include interactive apps that give you feedback on your brushing technique.

The market is dominated by two big brands, both promising a ‘professional’ clean: Oral B, whose iO brush has an oscillating action and Philips’ Sonicare, which uses tens of thousands of vibrations every minute to clean your teeth.

After having to pay a lot more for private treatment because she couldn’t find an NHS dentist in her area, listener Holly got in touch to ask whether getting an electric brush might save her trips to the dentist in future. And wouldcould a more expensive brush really clean her teeth better than a cheaper electric one? Or even the trusty traditional (and far cheaper) manual one she currently uses?!

Greg takes to the dentists chair to find out, testing both the Oral B and Philips brands as well as one of the latest trends – water flossing, which claim even better results than regular flossing with tape or interdental brushes. Is it the best thing since sliced bread? Or marketing BS?

Greg guests this episode include a dental expert who's been studying electric brushes since their inception and the consumer group Which? who ranked electric toothbrushes in a recent consumer test of their own.

This series, we’re testing your suggested wonder-products. Seen an ad, trend or fad and wonder if there's any evidence to back up the claim? Tell us! Drop us an email to sliced.bread@bbc.co.uk .

PRESENTER: Greg Foot PRODUCER: Simon Hoban

Sliced Bread - Series 3: Blue Light Filtering Glasses May 19, 2022

Show notes

According to some businesses, the laptop, phone and TV screens we use every day are causing us big problems.

They claim these devices emit concentrations of "harmful blue light" which leaves us with tired eyes and poor sleep. One firm goes even further by suggesting this may contribute to a worrying long term condition, macular degeneration which leaves you with a permanent black hole in the centre of your vision.

Their solution? A pair of trendy looking spectacles which claim to filter out this blue light.

Listener, Sophie spends roughly 12 hours a day at a screen of some sort. She bought a pair but isn't sure if they work. So she's asked Greg to look into them and find out.

We get answers from two leading lights in the science of our eyes. Professor John O'Hagan has been a public health scientist for 46 years and is Visiting Professor in Laser and Optical Radiation Safety at Loughborough University.

Greg also meets sleep expert Russell Foster, professor of Circadian Neuroscience at the University of Oxford who's been researching body clocks for 38 years.

We put the evidence directly to Dhruvin Patel. He's the boss of one of the largest blue light filtering brands, Ocushield which turned over £2m last year.

How does he respond? And will Sophie keep using her trendy specs?

This series, we’re testing your suggested wonder-products. Seen an ad, trend or fad and wonder if there's any evidence to back up the claim? Tell us! Drop us an line to sliced.bread@bbc.co.uk .

Presenter: Greg Foot Producer: Julian Paszkiewicz

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