Modern Nutrition: Trends, Technology and Truth

Food is medicine, but navigating the noise around nutrition can feel overwhelming. 

As part of the "Health for a Long Life" mini-series, Barbara sits down with Madeline Mills, a highly credentialed registered dietician and certified personal trainer, for a grounded conversation about what we eat, why it matters, and how to make better choices at any age. Madeline brings both clinical expertise and refreshing common sense to some of the most talked-about topics in nutrition today.

What’s in This Episode:

• How Madeline's upbringing, adventurous palate, and early exposure to diet culture shaped her path to becoming a registered dietician
• Fiber diversity explained: why feeding different gut bacteria with a variety of plant foods builds a stronger, more resilient microbiome
• Why both protein and fiber deserve the spotlight, and how each supports long-term health in different ways
• Building and maintaining muscle mass as we age, and why that foundation has to start earlier than most people think
• Supplements decoded: a food-first philosophy and what the research says about creatine, magnesium, and omega-3s
• How AI can serve as a useful nutrition tool for meal planning and research without replacing professional guidance
• Lifespan vs. health span: the growing gap between how long we live and how well we actually feel during those years
• Why Madeline focuses on prevention over reversal when it comes to chronic disease and biological age
• Organic food labels demystified: the spectrum from 100% organic to "made with organic ingredients" and what it means for your choices
• Madeline's closing message: simplify, build balanced meals, and aim for 30 different types of plants each week