Why’s it so hard to be healthy? Why does everyone recommend a Mediterranean diet? Is diet or exercise more important? Is intermittent fasting actually useful?  

When the entire world’s collective knowledge is at your fingertips, why’s it still so difficult to answer the kinds of questions we’ve been asking for millennia? Nutrition and longevity expert Luigi Fontana says it’s because nutrition isn’t as simple as we’d like to think.  

Food is complex; it’s deeply tied to our emotions, our health and our sense of culture and community. How you eat is also influenced by a wider food system, one that profits most from the kinds of ultra-processed food Luigi recommends minimising.  

So, what should you eat?  

Luigi shares the results of his groundbreaking experiment, in which he’s investigating what a more proactive and holistic healthcare system could look like. He teaches you the core principles he teaches the subjects of that experiment, and introduces you to Marzio Lanzini, the Charles Perkins Centre’s chef-in-residence.  

If you want to dive deeper into Luigi and Marzio’s work, visit the CPC RPA Health for Life Program’s website. And if you want to make Marzio’s lentil Bolognese, you can find a video walkthrough here. 

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The Solutionists is podcast from the University of Sydney, produced by Deadset Studios. Keep up to date with The Solutionists by following @sydney_uni on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. 

This episode was produced by Liam Riordan with sound design by Jeremy Wilmot and field sound recording by Max Petrovic. Executive producer is Madeleine Hawcroft. Executive editors are Kellie Riordan, Jen Peterson-Ward, and Mark Scott. Strategist is Ann Chesterman. Thanks to the technical staff at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Media Room. 

This podcast was recorded on the land of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation. For thousands of years, across innumerable generations, knowledge has been taught, shared and exchanged here. We pay respect to elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.