Mad Diet

10/04/2026

Iodine deficiency is on the rise in the UK. Lowering IQ, shrinking height, and increasing thyroid disorders.

Low iodine intake affects infertility, miscarriage, fatigue, and weight gain. Let’s not forget dry skin and brittle or thinning hair – sound familiar?

Sea salt only has trace amounts of iodine and the pretty Himalayan stuff has got almost none.

We’re consuming 50% less milk and two-thirds less fish than our grandparents did 50 years ago. Fish suppers replaced by burgers and pizzas and new plant milks now all the rage.

Is it time we got iodine back on our plates? That starts by eating fish, drinking milk, or supplementing our diet with seaweed. www.maddiet.co

Iodine deficiency is on the rise among people in the UK, the US and Australia. A century ago this led to drops in IQ, height and thyroid health – and the modern fancy salt fad may be leading to a resurgence, says columnist Alice Klein

09/04/2026

Cereal for breakfast. Sarnie for lunch. Biscuit at tea break. Tatties or pasta with dinner.

That’s four doses per day for the majority of folks in the UK.

Now, go and look at the diabetes, dysbiosis, and PPI usage since 1990 and you’ll find a very interesting parallel.

Let’s not forget thyroid disorders as this stuff blocks selenium too!

Our guts are gubbed. Our insulin growth factors have gone haywire. And every man and his dug is popping proton pump inhibitors because suddenly we’ve all got GERD!

This is the low hanging fruit. The elephant in the room.

Are regulators too feart or too glaikit… or are they in cahoots with Bayer and Syngenta? www.maddiet.co

Analysis of government data revealed the amount of glyphosate being applied to UK crops has risen from 200 metric tonnes in 1990 to more than 2,200 metric tonnes in 2024

09/04/2026

Our farmers are already sitting on a glut of barley they can’t sell – so why the hell do we need this stuff? Let me explain…

Most of our barley is produced for the whisky industry in a fully sustainable loop.

It goes from farmers to maltsters to distilleries and then the spent barley (draff) feeds our cattle. Straw leftover from barley fields is also reused as bedding for livestock.

This is why our farmers don’t need to buy genetically modified crops from the Amazon! Scotch beef is grass fed in summer and topped up with spent barley during winter.

But since the big orange jobbie started playing roulette with tariffs, the whisky industry has taken a big hit.

Gen Zedders would rather take ket and sip on mushroom lattes so less folk are drinking whisky too.

Our distilleries are holding too much stock, maltsters are paying off staff, and barley farmers are in crisis with nowhere to sell their crop.

So, these biotech boys need to go back to the drawing board and take their gene-edited barley elsewhere.

In the meantime, we can all do our bit buy eating more Scotch broth and barley bannocks.

Gifting a bottle of whisky at birthdays and dinner parties will help prop up our farmers too. www.maddiet.co

A gene-edited barley designed to cut emissions and boost feed efficiency has become the first crop approved under the UK’s new precision breeding rules.

04/04/2026

Oily fish was a big part of our diet right up until the 1970s. Just one portion of herring provided 600-800IU of vitamin D along with those vital omega-3 fatty acids.

Silver darlings on our plates not only protected heart health but helped keep the dreaded dementia at bay.

This latest study from the University of Galway is a timely reminder on the importance of vitamin D for brain health.

Dementia rates have sky-rocketed since the 1970s and it’s time we got the stats back down!

We eat two-thirds less oily fish, our weather is still dreich, and now we slap on sunscreen when it’s taps aff in summer.

Is it time we got enough vitamin D throughout our lives to help keep our brains sharp in old age? www.maddiet.co

The researchers cautioned that the findings do not prove cause and effect, but described the results as ‘promising’

02/04/2026

This is really good news for us in the UK. Here’s why…

We rely on Spain big time for fresh produce – especially during winter. Long gone are the Lanarkshire greenhouses so we now import most of our fruit and veg.

It’s not just lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber and peppers – we get most of our brassicas from Spain in winter too.

Broccoli, cabbage and caulies don’t do well in cold, dark months – and that’s why Pedro’s latest announcement matters.

Now, I’m no fan of politicians but this guy is making all the right moves. Standing up to bullies, calling out injustice, and ensuring farmers have the means to produce food.

Spain is also 83% self-sufficient in fertiliser. We sit below 40%. Our farmers are left scrambling for diesel and nitrogen whilst proactive nations take decisive action.

If we hope to circumnavigate the big orange jobbie it means getting our ducks in a row.

That starts by supporting our farmers, unchaining our natural assets, and rebuilding our greenhouse infrastructure.

Ed’s windmills may be jam tomorrow but we need to heat and eat today!

In the meantime, we can breathe a sigh of relief - at least when it comes to veggies - all thanks to our neighbours in Spain.

Lowering the price of food and fuel is absolutely achievable when leaders do the right thing. www.maddiet.co

The Spanish government has approved a support package for farmers that includes direct aid to help Spanish farmers buy fertilisers.

01/04/2026

The placebo effect is a massive problem for big pharma. Failed clinical trials with billions wasted because folk taking a sugar pill magically felt better simply by believing it would work.

Yet the power of belief has been part and parcel of medicine for thousands of years.

Ancient Egyptians combined magic and herbal remedies as a powerful form of healing. Incantations bestowed on the patient when they took the medicine – almost like an auld form of NLP.

This practice was also adopted in Celtic medicine with Scottish folk healers speaking certain words whilst stirring herbal decoctions three times before giving it to the patient.

Our ancestors believed that 3 was a magic number and that stirring medicine 3 times made it more powerful.

This fascinating new study reminds us that mind over matter is a real, measurable phenomenon. The power of belief may make a big difference to our physical and mental health.

New randomised controlled trial conducted by psychologists at the Università Cattolica in Milan well worth a swatch. www.maddiet.co

Taking a fake supplement (actually a placebo) for 3 weeks can lead to both physical and cognitive improvements in older adults: this is the power of the placebo effect revealed by research conducted by psychologists at the Università Cattolica at Milan; the placebo works even when the persons takin...

30/03/2026

Thank you for your feedback on my Sunday story. Blown away by the number of messages and emails sent to the office.

Women my age often feel the slow creep of irrelevance – especially when what you have to say is no longer fashionable or goes against the grain.

These days, most health and nutrition content is generated by AI and posted on here (or published on Amazon) by people who know heehaw about food science, agriculture, or orthomolecular medicine.

With the help of ChatGPT anyone can pretend to be an expert. ♫Peter Thiel knows about the antichrist♫ but I’ve been down the rabbit hole too and am firmly in Sophia’s camp!

Everything on this page and newsletters sent via email are penned by me. No AI, no chatbots, just me sitting with a dram (often in hotel rooms when away on work) sharing insights in the hope it may help.

Nowadays, very few folks see my posts on here and the page is still restricted. Sharing peer-reviewed data during the beer bug debacle has lost me major brownie points with the Zuckerbots.

So, given the huge response I will make the effort to email a wee Sunday story every week.

I’ll keep churning out the truth if you take the time to read it.

Thank you for making an auld burd feel relevant.

Suzanne.x

PS – you’ve got to watch the latest season of South Park. Ye’ll be reaching for the Billy Connolly incontinence knickers! 😊

29/03/2026

Cold. Dark. Dreich.
So how did our ancestors stay healthy?

These 6 simple foods were the difference.
But today they've almost disappeared from our plates.

It’s in your Sunday email — please check yer inbox.

Have a great day despite the weather! x

28/03/2026

Roasted veggies not only taste better but are more nutritious too.

Take carrots. Most of us boil these in a pan. But when carrots are baked in the oven it releases up to 70 times more beta-carotene – that vital precursor to vitamin A.

Half of women in the UK have a genetic variation that inhibits the conversion of beta-carotene to preformed vitamin A.

So, if we’re not eating the likes of liver, pate, fish oils, or mackerel, we need to consume a lot more veg to get our vitamin A quota.

Vitamin A deficiency is a key driver of eyesight problems. Falling short on this so-called “anti-infective” vitamin also impacts immune function too.

Carrots, tomatoes, tatties, cabbage, and a bunch of other veg are far more nutritious when baked in the oven.

Is it time for more traditional meals like rumbledethumps, colcannon, and bubble & squeak? www.maddiet.co

Researchers at the University of Seville's Food Colour and Quality Laboratory have studied the effects of different cooking methods used for tomatoes and carrots (in the oven, microwave or air fryer, amongst others) on the amount of carotenoids that are potentially available for absorption by the bo...

26/03/2026

Sugar, artificial sweeteners, plus a long list of additives – and what about the dose? Most kiddies’ vitamins don’t even hit the NHS-recommended level which expert agencies say is too low.

The Endocrine Society recommends 1000IU of vitamin D3 per day for kids. Youngsters carrying extra weight may need even more.

Also, most kids’ formulas contain synthetic vitamin D2 which does heehaw for immune support. And the top UK brands don’t include magnesium – vital for activating the sunshine vitamin.

Parents need to look beyond clever marketing, cartoon characters, and ‘paid for’ celebrity endorsement.

Because we live in a country where it’s fifty shades of grey and our children deserve better. www.maddiet.co

Six out of eight leading brands in our review contained well below the NHS-recommended daily level of vitamin D

25/03/2026

Companies that make this stuff factor in the cost of litigation and fines to the price of their products.

That’s why Bayer (Monsanto) doesn’t bat an eyelid at forking out over $11 billion in cancer lawsuits.

Any farmer still using glyphosate needs to take a long hard look in the mirror.

Council officials should do their homework before spraying it on kiddies’ playparks!

If we don’t stop using this poison - we’ll all end up paying the price.

That’s why we need to support organic farmers and producers doing things right. www.maddiet.co

Each year, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is responsible for an estimated 1.1 to 1.4 million deaths worldwide. Now, scientists have found evidence that the spread of AMR isn't always driven by bacteria evolving to resist the antibiotics themselves: rather, certain weedkillers can have the same effec...

23/03/2026

Newsletter going out at 10am this morning on that massive new study linking processed food to infertility.

I break down which everyday food additives are driving thyroid dysfunction, hormonal imbalances, and infertility in women — and why it’s often the chemical cocktail doing the damage.

You’ll also find easy steps to reduce exposure and how to support your hormones.

Please check yer inbox (or spam folder). Have a great Monday!

Suzanne.x