
Mikkipedia
Mikkipedia is an exploration in all things health, well being, fitness, food and nutrition. I sit down with scientists, doctors, professors, practitioners and people who have a wealth of experience and have a conversation that takes a deep dive into their area of expertise. I love translating science into a language that people understand, so while some of the conversations will be pretty in-depth, you will come away with some practical tips that can be instigated into your everyday life. I hope you enjoy the show!
Latest episodes

Oct 17, 2023 • 1h 3min
Dan Plews talks training strategies for the endurance athlete
This week on the podcast 🎙️ Mikki is joined by returning guest Dr Dan Plews talking through training strategies that he’s currently interested in, the difference in the types of gels (i.e. maurten v other gels) and if they make a difference. Mikki and Dan revisit metabolic health and Dan chats about his race at Challenge Roth, and what he’s training for now. Dan Plews is an Applied Sport Scientist, Researcher, Coach and competitive Triathlete. As an applied Sports Scientist, Dan has worked closely with athletes who have won more than 25 World and Olympic titles in sports including rowing, kayak and triathlon. Dan was part of Rowing New Zealand’s preparations for both 2012 and 2016 in Olympic Games as a Sports Scientist.As a Researcher Dan has a PhD in Exercise Physiology with a particular interest in heart rate variability and 30 peer reviewed publications to his name. As a Coach, Dan has coached three professional Ironman Triathletes to sub 8 hour times including Terenzo Bozzone, Jan Van Berkel and Tim Van Berkel and more recently the 2022 World Ironman Champion, Chelsea Sodaro . Recently Dan founded endureiq.com an online learning hub for anyone interested in optimal long course Triathlon performance which has continued to go from strength to strength. If all of this isn’t enough, he was also the high performance manager for the recently successful Team New Zealand bid for the America's Cup.Dan Plews: https://www.endureiq.com/about-usEndure IQ: https://www.endureiq.com/
Contact Mikki:https://mikkiwilliden.com/https://www.facebook.com/mikkiwillidennutritionhttps://www.instagram.com/mikkiwilliden/https://linktr.ee/mikkiwillidenSave 20% on all Nuzest Products WORLDWIDE with the code MIKKI at www.nuzest.co.nz, www.nuzest.com.au or www.nuzest.comCurranz supplement: MIKKI saves you 25% at www.curranz.co.nz or www.curranz.co.uk off your first order

Oct 15, 2023 • 28min
Mini Mikkipedia - Belly Fat

Oct 10, 2023 • 59min
Dr Scott Lear - overcoming mental illness
This week on the podcast I speak to dr Scott Lear, professor in at Simon Fraser University on mental health, lifestyle strategies and speaking out in order to help foster awareness and acceptance amongst those around you. We spent most of our time discussing Professor Lear’s own depression diagnosis after several years of feeling down but for no (what Scott calls) good reason for it. We discuss the stigma that is attached to mental health diagnoses and the impact this can have on people talking about their mental health. We talk about the strategies he employed (both professional and also personal) to help recover from it and how important it was for him to receive treatment even though he was doing a lot of what is recommended we do to help our mental health (like exercise, diet etc). and how this led him to become interested in (and an advocate for) the impact that lifestyle has on mental health.Dr Scott Lear is a Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University and holds the Pfizer/Heart and Stroke Foundation Chair in Cardiovascular Prevention Research at St. Paul’s Hospital. He is also a member of the Division of Cardiology at Providence Health Care.Over the past 20 years, he’s been conducting research in the prevention and management of heart disease focusing on supporting healthy lifestyles and improving access to timely health care.In addition to publishing over 160 research papers, his work has been featured in various media outlets including The Vancouver Sun, The Conversation, The Heart and Stroke Foundation, CityTV and Global News. He also has an active blog and regularly podcasts on issues to do with health, including heart health, mental health and overall health. Link is below for his blog.https://www.sfu.ca/fhs/about/people/profiles/scott-lear.htmlBLOG https://drscottlear.com/category/patient-journey/
Contact Mikki:https://mikkiwilliden.com/https://www.facebook.com/mikkiwillidennutritionhttps://www.instagram.com/mikkiwilliden/https://linktr.ee/mikkiwillidenSave 20% on all Nuzest Products WORLDWIDE with the code MIKKI at www.nuzest.co.nz, www.nuzest.com.au or www.nuzest.comCurranz supplement: MIKKI saves you 25% at www.curranz.co.nz or www.curranz.co.uk off your first order

Oct 8, 2023 • 23min
Mini Mikkipedia - Shift work

Oct 3, 2023 • 57min
Prof David Dunstan - the negative effects of prolonged sitting and sedentary behaviour
This week on the podcast Mikki chats to Prof David Dunstan about the dangers of sedentary behaviour and prolonged sitting. They discuss what sedentary behaviour actually is and how this differs from inactivity. They discuss the physiological changes that occur when we are sedentary and how it impacts our cardiovascular and respiratory health, how it impacts on fat deposition and at a population level, what is the % of people who could be considered sedentary. They discuss the physical activity guidelines and if these are enough to offset the risks associated with being sedentary, and also discuss recent research investigating the relationship between Quality of Life markers, psychological health and sedentary behaviour during Covid. Professor David Dunstan is the head of the Baker-Deakin Department of Lifestyle and Diabetes within the Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition. He also holds the positions of Deputy Director and Laboratory Head (Physical Activity) at the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute. His research focuses on understanding the adverse health consequences of too much sitting and the potential health benefits resulting from frequently breaking up sitting time with active countermeasures. In particular, he has developed effective strategies to reduce and break up sitting time in adults with or at risk of developing chronic diseases and to support office workers to reduce sedentary behaviour in workplace settings. He is also interested in how best to implement efficacious ‘sit less and move more’ interventions at scale within healthcare settings for those living with or at risk of chronic disease. He was supported by external research fellowships for 16 years and has been a Chief Investigator on 18 nationally-funded studies worth approximately $17 million and 11 international studies from the UK, USA, Sweden and Finland worth more than US$20 million. Professor Dunstan was a Clarivate Highly Cited Cited Researcher in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021, placing him in the top 1% most cited for his subject field and year of publication. He has published over 340 peer-review papers and 5 book chapters and has a Scopus H-index of 79. Other highlights include: being an invited author on the 2016 Physical Activity/Exercise and Diabetes Position Statement of the American Diabetes Association; invited presentations at scientific meetings for the American Diabetes Association and European Society for the Study of Diabetes; and current Vice-President of the Asia-Pacific Society for Physical Activity (ASPA).Prof Dunstan: https://www.baker.edu.au/research/staff/david-dunstanReearch: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/D-Dunstan
Contact Mikki:https://mikkiwilliden.com/https://www.facebook.com/mikkiwillidennutritionhttps://www.instagram.com/mikkiwilliden/https://linktr.ee/mikkiwillidenSave 20% on all Nuzest Products WORLDWIDE with the code MIKKI at www.nuzest.co.nz, www.nuzest.com.au or www.nuzest.comCurranz supplement: MIKKI saves you 25% at www.curranz.co.nz or www.curranz.co.uk off your first order

Oct 1, 2023 • 19min
Mini Mikkipedia - Tackling fatigue

Sep 26, 2023 • 1h 7min
Prof. Peter Sterling discusses allostatic stress load and the implications for health
This week on the podcast Mikki speaks to Dr Peter Sterling about the allostatic stress load and its impact on health. The term “allostasis” has been coined to clarify ambiguities associated with the word “stress.” Allostasis refers to the adaptive processes that maintain homeostasis through the production of mediators such as adrenalin, cortisol and other chemical messengers.They discuss how Peter integrated his interests in neuroanatomy, physiology psychology and human behaviour/social issues etc. that then informed his career and the development of the stress model that considered social injustices. We also discuss how his informal anthropological research taught him about the stress response, and the pillars of health that he then wrote about. Dr Sterling’s book https://www.amazon.com.au/What-Health-Allostasis-Evolution-Design/dp/0262043300Research https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Xrgtce0AAAAJ&hl=en
Contact Mikki:https://mikkiwilliden.com/https://www.facebook.com/mikkiwillidennutritionhttps://www.instagram.com/mikkiwilliden/https://linktr.ee/mikkiwillidenSave 20% on all Nuzest Products WORLDWIDE with the code MIKKI at www.nuzest.co.nz, www.nuzest.com.au or www.nuzest.comCurranz supplement: MIKKI saves you 25% at www.curranz.co.nz or www.curranz.co.uk off your first order

Sep 24, 2023 • 25min
Mini Mikkipedia - Why is my Cholesterol high?

Sep 19, 2023 • 1h 12min
Metabolic health for the endurance athlete - with Dr Philip Prins
This week on the podcast Mikki speaks to Dr Philip Prins about the effect of low-carbohydrate diets versus higher-carbohydrate diets on athletic performance, why endurance athletes still need to care about their metabolic health, why there might be a bias against low-carb diets in academic research, and the implications of his research on us middle aged endurance athletes.Dr. Philip Prins is an Associate Professor of Exercise Science. Dr. Prince earned a B.S. in Kinesiology as well as an M.S. in Exercise Science from Georgia Southern University, and a Ph.D. in Exercise Physiology from the University of Pittsburgh. His research focuses on, among other things, the practical impact of lifestyle on metabolism and how metabolism impacts health, disease and performance outcomes. Among his many areas of expertise are nutritional ketosis, metabolic responses to exercise, and sports nutrition.Dr Prins can be found here: https://www.gcc.edu/Home/Academics/Faculty-Directory/Faculty-Detail/philip-prins Dr Prins Researchgate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Philip-Prins
Contact Mikki:https://mikkiwilliden.com/https://www.facebook.com/mikkiwillidennutritionhttps://www.instagram.com/mikkiwilliden/https://linktr.ee/mikkiwillidenSave 20% on all Nuzest Products WORLDWIDE with the code MIKKI at www.nuzest.co.nz, www.nuzest.com.au or www.nuzest.comCurranz supplement: MIKKI saves you 25% at www.curranz.co.nz or www.curranz.co.uk off your first order

Sep 17, 2023 • 20min