Season two trailer: Should You Really Eat That?

02/06/25 • 3 min

It can be tricky trying to consume the ‘right things’, and the forces that shape our diets go far beyond what’s supposedly ‘good for us’. On the second season of Should You Really Eat That?, Lee Tran Lam continues to untangle the cultural, social and nutritional confusion around the staples in our diet – with the help of chefs, dietitians and other guests. On the menu this season are chocolate, soy, butter, olive oil, salt and Indigenous ingredients.

Previous Episode

Seafood: Cooking inspiration, mercury magnet, cultural storyteller

Our taste for seafood goes back a long time. We’ve been snacking on shellfish for more than 100,000 years. And the foods we gather from the ocean (whether it’s mussels or seaweed) are typically loaded with nutrients. But today, people might reconsider these staples because of environmental, ethical or health concerns – so should you limit your consumption of ingredients that are hauled from the sea? In this episode Lee Tran Lam speaks with chefs Ben Shewry and Chris Jordan, as well as Dr Evangeline Mantzioris.

Next Episode

Chocolate: Food of the gods, romantic gesture, dog poison

In 18th-century France, the royal pharmacist treated Marie-Antoinette’s headaches with chocolate. This sweet even appeared in European hospital prescriptions! Medicinal use of chocolate goes back thousands of years: its main ingredient, cacao, was used to treat snake bites by ancient Mesoamerican societies, for instance. Today, we see headlines about chocolate supposedly being a health food – but is it really? And can blocks and bars be a platform for good in other ways? In this episode, Lee Tran Lam talks to nutrition expert Saman Khalesi, chef Juan Carlos Negrete Lopez and proud Wiradjuri woman and chocolatier Fiona Harrison.