Can Nutrition Unlock Vitality & Youth? | Featuring Beth Wright | Growing Young With William Louey
In this episode of Growing Young with William Louey, William meets with Beth Wright, a fitness and nutrition coach based in Hong Kong. The two discuss everything from supplements, food, sleep and more.
William Louey: Hi everyone, I’m William Louey. Welcome to my series called Growing Young.
Today we have Beth—Beth Wright. So good to have her with me today. She has been in Hong Kong for 16 years, and a lawyer in the beginning.
Beth: Yes. Twenty-five years of corporate banking, which has driven me down this path of health and wellness.
William Louey: I was driven into wellness for a different reason. It started off as a need to stay alive because my father died very young, my grandfather died very young, and my uncle also died very young. So I thought I was dying very young. To think like that at the age of 18—it made me realize I had better stay alive so I could do a little bit more.
Beth: That’s a real motivator for you to want to live longer, live better.
William Louey: Exactly. That was my motivation. And now it’s become a passion rather than a need. I discovered this wonderful clinic in London and they took my blood. They were able to tell me what I was lacking—vitamins, minerals. So I started replacing them to the exact amounts they suggested. That’s why I think it’s important to take exactly what you need, and not guess.
Beth: Yeah. Test, don’t guess.
William Louey: The only thing I need to improve on is my sleep. I know all the theory about sleep, but I just can’t help looking at my screens.
Beth: Okay, so my first question: do you track your sleep?
William Louey: I did. I used the Oura Ring and tracked it for a year. I know what caused the bad sleep—alcohol, MSG, and eating too late before going to bed.
Beth: Interesting. And what about the screens? Did you notice it when you were on your phone before bed?
William Louey: I think I’ve been on screens all my life—even before most people were looking at screens, I was already looking at screens.
Beth: The reason I ask about blue light is because it really impacts sleep. For me, with the Oura Ring, I saw the same: late nights, a glass of wine, late food. When I’ve had any of those, I often don’t wear the ring because I know it’s going to tell me what I already know—that I had a bad night’s sleep. But the big lesson I learned was how screens really affect me. So it’s worth trying, even for a month, to keep the phone out of the bedroom.
William Louey: Yeah, maybe I’ll give it a go.
Beth: I think you and I both agree that health has so many different facets: exercise, nutrition, movement, sleep, stress management, social interaction, happiness.
William Louey: Human interaction is very important. I really stress that.
Beth: In many ways, your fear of dying young has led you to live a really full life—fuller than most.
William Louey: Exactly. And that’s magic.
Beth: Always reframing to see the positive.
William Louey: I know a few friends who don’t want checkups because they don’t want to know what problems they have. For me, that’s madness. Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t. At least if you know, you have the opportunity to do something about it.
Beth: Exactly. Like you did with your clinic testing in the UK. Even though you’re in great shape, it gave you the missing pieces you could improve. I always remember this one quote: DNA loads the gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger.
William Louey: Exactly.
William Louey: I think stress is very important, and we have to learn how to deal with it.
Beth: How do you manage stress, personally? You run an enormous business, you’re busy with philanthropy, work, and family.
William Louey: Philanthropy keeps me happy because I’m able to help people. And I get to talk to people who are so clever they can change technology—or even change the world. Every day we have problems, and sometimes you just have to let them pass. If you can’t change it, let it go.
Beth: That’s great advice—easier said than done, but great advice. When I was in corporate law, I thought the job was everything. It subsumes you. You spend so much time thinking about what you should have done or will do, that you forget the here and now. I wish I’d known your advice 25 years ago.
William Louey: If you think of the past, you become angry. If you think of the future, you become anxious. Both are bad. Just live in the moment. Have a good conversation, have a laugh, and after two hours of laughing you’ve already taken so many good pills for your body—and it’s good for the abs!
William Louey: Talk about your beautiful book, Beth.
Beth: I’m honored to share it. It’s a collaboration with Ailen Davis, a recipe developer. It came from a passion to give women the opportunity to learn how to make recipes where we add nutrients to the plate—not about taking things away. It’s about happy hormones, the foods, vitamins, and minerals we need. We combined that with Asian flavors since Ailen is half Asian. The first half of the book is my contribution—education around nutrition and what women need at different life stages. And the recipes are a way to put that knowledge into practice.
William Louey: One of my weaknesses is that I hate veggies. Maybe this book will change my mind.
Beth: I hope so. It started as a simple 20-recipe book and became 60-plus recipes.
William Louey: These are very good. They contribute to society and people.
Beth: That’s the idea—to share an easy way to make food more nutritious.
William Louey: We’re going to make something together. I chose the easiest recipe because I’m not an amazing cook. We thought we’d do the smoothie bowl since I just bought some ingredients.
Beth: Should we do it in the kitchen?
William Louey: Yeah, that would be fun.
You can watch Growing Young with William Louey on William's YouTube channel