Nicola Guess: How To Tell What's BS in Wellness

Nicola Guess: How To Tell What's BS in Wellness

Author: Kollo Media, Caitlin Schiller July 27, 2026 Duration: 46:52
What if almost everything you're doing to "optimize" your health is, at best, doing nothing at all?Caitlin sits down with Dr. Nicola Guess—dietitian, Oxford nutrition scientist, and quite possibly the best BS detector in the wellness space. She studies blood sugar and diabetes for a living and dismantles nutrition nonsense for fun. The twist that makes her worth listening to: she used to believe the hype herself, so she doesn't lecture—she just sets the record straight.Together they run the wellness interent's current greatest hits through her unsentimental filter—the cortisol cocktail, apple cider vinegar, the glucose goddess, creatine for your brain, the whole "maxxing" carnival. Some of it survives. Most of it doesn't. There's a thread about the one supplement Nicola actually keeps in her cupboard, and another about why the genuinely good advice is doomed to stay boring forever.The best part: Nicola shares a debunking framework that you can use on anything at all, from a nutrition reel to a headline to a guy trying to sell you on extra insurance.ResourcesGuest's Rec: work on nutrition misinformation by Alex Ruani, UCL researcher Ben's Rec: Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat Caitlin's Rec: Calling Bullshit: The Art of Skepticism in a Data-Driven World by Carl T. Bergstrom and Jevin D. WestAlso mentioned: Dr. Guess's Substack, Dr Guess's Blog; Stuart Phillips (protein researcher); the Being Well podcast with Rick and Forrest HansonLet us know what you thought of this episode! Find us on Instagram at @simplifypod. Subscribe to our newsletter on beehiiv here. Also, you can email us at info@kollomedia.comThis episode of Simplify was produced by Caitlin Schiller, Ben Schuman-Stoler, and engineered by João Lucas in Berlin, Germany, for Kollo Media. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hosted by Ben Schuman-Stoler, the Blinkist Podcast is a series of conversations that feel more like a focused chat than a formal interview. The premise is straightforward: take the expansive concepts from psychology, business strategy, and personal development and translate them into practical, personal terms. Each episode sits down with a thought leader or entrepreneur, not just to recap their ideas, but to unpack the real-world application behind them. You’ll hear how these principles actually function outside of a book or a theory, focusing on the lessons that can be directly applied to your own growth and daily challenges. The discussions naturally weave through topics like productivity systems, the psychology of decision-making, and the nuanced realities of building a business. This isn't about abstract inspiration; it's about finding actionable insight. By making big ideas personal, the podcast serves as a companion for anyone looking to cut through the noise and extract meaningful, usable knowledge from today's leading minds. Tune in for thoughtful dialogues that prioritize depth and clarity, offering a tangible takeaway from every conversation.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Simplify
Podcast Episodes
Tiffany Dufu: Do What You Do Best, Drop The Rest (Refresh) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:42
Simplify is back on January 12, 2026! We’ve got a new look, we’re independent now, and we can’t wait to share new episodes with you every other Monday from January 12th onward. To warm you up, we’re reissuing 5 of our fa…
David Allen: Your Brain is Not a Hard Drive (Refresh) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:24
Simplify is back on January 12, 2026! We’ve got a new look, we’re independent now, and we can’t wait to share new episodes with you every other Monday from January 12th onward. To warm you up, we’re reissuing 5 of our fa…
Rhaina Cohen: Center Friendship and Thrive [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:53
You know a magical connection when you feel it—that undeniable magnetism that pulls you together for a fit that's as much like home as it is an adventure. We see these sorts of connections in romcoms all the time, but th…
Michelle Weise: Be a Skills Translator, AI-proof Your Future [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:54
Here's a chilling thought: experts are saying that we may soon be sustaining 100-year work lives. If that's true, then how many careers might we have? How will we know where to upskill? And how will we keep bagged lunche…
Jessica DeFino: Beauty Beyond the Bottle [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:22
Today, our guest is an award-winning beauty reporter and critic whom you might have stumbled upon while reading her super popular newsletter, The Unpublishable, which, as HuffPost says, "basically gives the middle finger…
Jessica DeFino: Beauty Beyond the Bottle [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:22
Today, our guest is an award-winning beauty reporter and critic whom you might have stumbled upon while reading her super popular newsletter, The Unpublishable, which, as HuffPost says, "basically gives the middle finger…
Dhiraj Mukherjee: Optimism Defines the Future [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:28
This week's episode of Simplify brings you a special collaboration: a conversation with Dhiraj Mukherjee, who is not only the entrepreneur behind Shazam (the app we all love and use so much!), but also a devoted impact i…
Dhiraj Mukherjee: Optimism Defines the Future [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:28
This week's episode of Simplify brings you a special collaboration: a conversation with Dhiraj Mukherjee, who is not only the entrepreneur behind Shazam (the app we all love and use so much!), but also a devoted impact i…
Cole Kazdin: Health is Not a Size [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:52
Although we're at the tail end of 2024's symbolic new beginning, we're still confronted with the flood of discounted "detoxes," "cleanses," gym promotions touting a "New Year, new you," and the latest buzzword, "resets."…
Cole Kazdin: Health is Not a Size [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:51
Although we're at the tail end of 2024's symbolic new beginning, we're still confronted with the flood of discounted "detoxes," "cleanses," gym promotions touting a "New Year, new you," and the latest buzzword, "resets."…