health benefits

How much caffeine is too much? In this episode of Extra Catch with Shaun Stafford, we're taking a deep dive into caffeine. Is it actually bad for you? How can I optimise it for performance? And when does its overuse become too dependent?

Olive oil is a hot topic. We first dived into the benefits of olive oil back on episode 99 with Dr Simon, but I thought it was time for an update.

Today you’re going to learn about:

Why Olive oil is so healthy

The evidence for Olive oils benefits

How much Olive oil you should be consuming every day for benefits

How to choose a quality Olive oil

The minimum polyphenol content you need to look out for

Whether “cold pressed” means anything

Cheap and fake olive oils and whether they have any value

Dr Simon Poole is in the studio and on YouTube you can watch our taste test with 5 different olive oils. He shows me the techniques behind how to smell, taste and grade olive oils and how you can do this at home too!

Dr Simon is an internationally acclaimed expert in the mediterranean diet and lifestyle, and the nutrition of extra virgin olive oil. He has more than 30 years experience as a medical doctor, he’s a teacher and researcher in Cambridge, widely published in academic journals, and is author of award winning books including The Olive Oil Diet, The Real Mediterranean Diet, Diabetes for Dummies and Diabetes Nutrition for Dummies.

We also taste test his own olive oil called “Positively Good For You” that isn’t available for purchase at present, but watch this space because considering the flavour, quality and price of the oil, I expect to see it on shelves soon.

🎬 Watch the podcast on YouTube here

📱 Download The Doctor’s Kitchen app for free*

🌐 View full show notes, including guest details, on our website

*The Doctor's Kitchen App gives you access to all of our recipes, with specific suggestions tailored to your health needs and new recipes added every month. We’ve had some amazing feedback so far and we have new features being added all the time - check it out with a 14 day free trial too.

Do check out this week’s “Eat, Listen, Read” newsletter, that you can subscribe to on our website - where I send you a recipe to cook as well as some mindfully curated media to help you have a healthier, happier week.

🥗 Join the newsletter and 7 day meal plan

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We would love to get your feedback on the subject matter of these episodes - please do let me know on our social media pages (Instagram, Facebook & Twitter) what you think, and give us a 5* rating on your podcast player if you enjoyed today’s episode

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This one's all about mushrooms - not so much your chestnut, button or portobellos from the supermarket, but more the likes of lion's mane, reishi and chaga. These much-feted fungi are claimed to offer all sorts of benefits, from relaxation to disease-fighting properties. We've had loads of questions about products containing them, particularly around mushroom coffee. Is there any evidence that it's better for you than your regular brew? Listener Leon is fond of it - and wants to know if there's any science to back up his inclination. To get him some answers, we hear from a registered nutritionist and a mycologist (fungi expert) who's just written a book all about medicinal mushrooms. So are they the best thing since Sliced Bread?

If you’ve seen an ad, trend or wonder product promising to make you happier, healthier or greener and want to know how it stacks up, then email us: sliced.bread@bbc.co.uk or send a voice note to our WhatsApp number: 07543 306807

PRESENTER: GREG FOOT PRODUCER: TOM MOSELEY

View the Show Notes For This Episode

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Today, we're zooming in on a groundbreaking study that comes from Stanford University and was recently published in JAMA Network Open. The researchers put a vegan diet head-to-head with an omnivorous diet in twenty-two pairs of identical twins. The buzz around this study has been immense, sparking conversations everywhere—from social media to professional circles. Adding to the excitement, this research forms the basis of a new Netflix documentary called "You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment." 

In this episode of my Health Bites series, I discuss the many conflicts of interest, funding sources, and hidden agendas that were not fully disclosed but could have had a major hand in clouding the study's conclusions and real-world applications. We’ll also get into the Netflix docuseries itself—what they got right vs. what they got wrong, as well as the Functional Medicine approach to diet and how we can feed our bodies to create health while taking care of the planet in a healthy, sustainable, and ethical way.

This episode is brought to you by Rupa Health, Momentous, and Happy Egg.

Streamline your lab orders with Rupa Health. Access more than 3,000 specialty lab tests and register for a FREE live demo at RupaHealth.com.

Head over to livemomentous.com/mark for 20% off creatine, collagen, and all of their best-in-class products.

Shopping for better eggs shouldn’t be confusing. Look for the yellow carton at your local grocery store or visit happyegg.com/farmacy to find Happy Egg near you.

In this episode, I discuss (audio version / Apple Subscriber version):

• Why nutrition research is so confusing (7:26 / 5:36)
• Overview of the Stanford study design and findings (11:57 / 10:07)
• Issues with the study design (27:10 / 24:10)
• Conflicts of interest and ethical considerations with this study (38:19 / 35:19)
• Other research on vegan diets (44:44 / 41:44)
• What the Netflix documentary got right and wrong (1:00:23 / 57:23)
• How to eat for your health and the environment (1:08:43 / 1:05:43)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Green powders are everywhere and I’m often asked whether people should invest in getting a green powder to consume every day. And as somebody who drinks a green powder in the mornings, this was a great opportunity for me to do a dive into whether my habit is evidence based!

We’re going to discuss:

• The science behind the claims: Can green powders help with immunity? Gut health? Weight loss? Energy improvements?
• Can they replace eating vegetables?
• Issues with green product formulation and reading labels
• What you need to be aware of before buying 
• How to get maximum benefit from green powders, the best green powders out there & my top tips for choosing the right one for you

🎬 Watch the podcast on YouTube here

📱 Download The Doctor’s Kitchen app for free

🌐 View full show notes, including guest details, on our website

You can download The Doctor’s Kitchen app for free to get access to all of our recipes, with specific suggestions tailored to your health needs and new recipes added every month. We’ve had some amazing feedback so far and we have new features being added all the time - check it out with a 14 day free trial too.

Do check out this week’s “Eat, Listen, Read” newsletter, that you can subscribe to on our website - where I send you a recipe to cook as well as some mindfully curated media to help you have a healthier, happier week.

🥗 Join the newsletter and 7 day meal plan

📷 Follow on Instagram

🐦 Tweet me

We would love to get your feedback on the subject matter of these episodes - please do let me know on our social media pages (Instagram, Facebook & Twitter) what you think, and give us a 5* rating on your podcast player if you enjoyed today’s episode.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if vegetables are poison? What if, instead, humans evolved to consume an animal-based diet of steak, liver, brain, testicles, eggs, butter, and milk?

Shirtless influencers on TikTok and Instagram have acquired millions of followers promoting the carnivore diet. They say studies linking meat consumption and heart disease are flawed — and plant foods are making people sick.

Likewise, meatfluencers say the livestock industry has no significant impact on the climate crisis despite abundant evidence suggesting otherwise.

No controlled studies have been published confirming the advertised benefits of the carnivore diet. Yet, its popularity online is undeniable. Endless Thread looks at how social media cooked up the anti-establishment wellness trend.

You can find our transcript, with links and additional resources, here: www.wbur.org/carnivore

Credits: This episode was produced by Dean Russell and Ben Brock Johnson. Mixing and sound design by Emily Jankowski. Ben Brock Johnson and Dean Russell are the co-hosts.

Image Credit: Peter Dazeley/Getty

There’s a chill in the air as the winter months come around again. But the cold isn’t always something to fight or guard against. With a little bit of care, you can invite the cold into your life - with real benefits for health and mood. In each episode of this new podcast series, Dr Michael Mosley uncovers the science behind a different way you can harness the power of the cold, alongside the very latest research and atmospheric sound design.

In this episode, Michael goes for a jog on a chilly day, and finds out how exercising in colder weather can allow you to go further than on a hot day, enabling you to work harder, for longer, with less effort.

Guests: Dr Chris Tyler, University of Roehampton Hannah Pallubinsky, Assistant Professor at Maastricht University.

Series Producer, Sound Designer and Mix Engineer: Richard Ward Researcher: William Hornbrook Science Producer: Samantha Lewis Production Manager: Maria Simons Editor: Zoe Heron Specially composed music by Richard Atkinson (Mcasso) A BBC Studios production for BBC Sounds / BBC Radio 4.

It’s that time of year again! Join Robert and Joe as they discuss some of this year’s Ig Nobel prize-winning scientific studies and papers – honored as always for first making us laugh, then making us think. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kombucha is pretty popular right now. But what is it exactly and where did it come from? The answers await you!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In today’s episode, the incredible Patrick McKeown, international bestselling author of ten books on breathing and founder and CEO of The Oxygen Advantage, a world-leading breathwork training program, breaks down all things breathing.

This is not a lecture; it is a masterclass. His decades of research will blow you away, so let’s slow down and learn from the best in class.

You need this, and I need this. Why? Because you and I have been breathing all wrong.

Today Patrick is revealing the 5 ways breathing through your mouth hurts your health and leaves you feeling more anxious and stressed.

You and I are getting coached by the world's leading expert on functional breathing for better health, more focus, less pain, better sleep, and, honestly, a better you.

This is information that should be shouted from the rooftops. AND taught to parents, teachers, and health professionals everywhere.

These steps are so simple, and yet they’re incredibly impactful on ALL parts of your life: your work, your ability to play and have fun, and your relationships.

Best of all, this advice is ZERO-cost to you.

You will learn:

• What happens when you breathe through your nose.
• How breathing through your mouth stresses you out.
• How breathing through your nose improves your memory and focus.
• What your breath has to do with back pain.
• How nose-breathing boosts your immune system.
• What sleep apnea in children has to do with special education needs.
• 3 simple yet powerful exercises that will leave you breathing easier.
• Why the hell should you want to tape your mouth shut.
• The study that found shallow breathing can lead to anxiety.
• An exercise that will help you get more oxygen into your lungs.
• Why your exhalation is the most important part of relaxation.
• How breathing the right way can stop snoring.
• Why the way you breathe during the day impacts your sleep at night.

The science proves that the quality of your breath determines the quality of your life.

So let’s dive in.

Xo, Mel

In this episode:

• 3:15: Why do we breathe, anyway? Seriously.
• 4:50: HOW are we supposed to breathe?
• 5:30: Ok, so what are we doing wrong when we breathe?
• 6:45: So what’s so important about breathing in through your nose?
• 7:55: Here’s what happens when your brain doesn’t get enough oxygen.
• 8:30: The antiviral gas only produced when you breathe from your nose.
• 10:00: How mouth breathing increased a child’s need for special education.
• 12:45: This statistic about breathing and anxiety is still blowing my mind.
• 16:00: 3 breathing exercises you’re not going to want to miss!
• 24:00: The incredible results I had after trying these breathing exercises.
• 25:20: Listen to what happens when I tape my mouth shut. 
• 28:00: Breathing out through your mouth tells your brain this.
• 30:00: The study that found your breath is linked to anxiety.
• 31:15: How many times should you breathe in one minute?
• 32:00: Patrick coaches me into a proper BIG breath.
• 39:00: Why your exhalation is most important when it comes to reducing stress.
• 43:00: Why you should keep your mouth closed when you exercise.
• 45:00: What mouth breathing has to do with snoring.
• 51:00: Can better breathing help with sleep apnea?

Disclaimer

This episode is brought to you by Rupa University and AG1.

Unfortunately, while almost never diagnosed, vitamin D deficiency affects over half of the population and has been linked to many cancers, high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, depression, fibromyalgia, chronic muscle pain, bone loss, and autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis. Vitamin D is almost totally absent from our food supply, and vitamin D deficiencies are the hidden cause of so much suffering—yet it is so easy to treat. 

In today’s episode of my series I’m calling Health Bites, I talk about vitamin D deficiency, share my top strategies for optimal sun safety this summer, and much more.

This episode is brought to you by Rupa University and AG1.

If you’re a healthcare provider who wants to learn more about Functional Medicine testing, you owe it to yourself to go check it out today. Go to rupauniversity.com to sign up for a free live class or a boot camp!

AG1 contains 75 high-quality vitamins, minerals, whole-food sourced superfoods, probiotics, and adaptogens to support your entire body. Right now, AG1 is offering 10 FREE travel packs with your first purchase by visiting drinkAG1.com/HYMAN.

Here are more details from our interview (audio version / Apple Subscriber version):

• Sun exposure, cancer, and oxidative stress (3:20 / 00:50)
• Why we need vitamin D (4:40 / 3:26) 
• Vitamin D deficiency (5:05 / 4:12) 
• Optimal vitamin D levels and doses (7:34 / 5:35) 
• How your body makes vitamin D (10:59 / 9:19)
• Supplementing with vitamin D (12:29 / 10:53) 
• Protecting your skin from the sun (14:25 / 12:46) 
• Strategies for optimal sun safety (16:20 / 15:03) 

Mentioned in this episode

EWG’s Guide to Sunscreen

EWG’s Skin Deep

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In two separate incidents, two young people– a 16 year old, and a 20 year old– are shot after mistakenly approaching the wrong homes, the debt ceiling debate continues in Washington, and President Biden shifts his campaign strategy as he gets ready to announce a second presidential bid. Get the facts first with Morning Wire. 

Balance of Nature: Get 35% off your first order as a preferred customer. Use promo code WIRE at checkout: https://www.balanceofnature.com/

Nugenix: Get a complimentary bottle of Nugenix Total T when you text ‘WIRE’ to 231-231.

When things go wrong, you might think that focusing on the bad and writing about them would make things worse. But in some cases, the opposite seems to be true.

Michael Mosley investigates a technique called “expressive writing”, a simple tip which can have surprising benefits for your health. The idea is to set aside 15 minutes to write about any worries that keep you up at night, showing many benefits - from improving lung function in people with asthma, to improving scores on exams and cognitive tests.

In this episode, Michael Mosley speaks to the man who kick-started it all, Professor James Pennebaker from the University of Texas, Austin. He tells Michael about his original findings in the 1980s and the astonishing link between expressive writing, reduced doctor’s visits, your immune system and how quickly your body heals wounds…

In the last several years, intermittent fasting — only eating for a short window each day — has gotten a lot of attention, particularly for the way it can facilitate weight loss. But as my guest will explain, going longer than a few hours or even a full day without eating also has some striking, potentially even life-changing benefits too, and may be able to heal a variety of health issues. 

Steve Hendricks is the author of The Oldest Cure in the World: Adventures in the Art and Science of Fasting. He spends the first part of this conversation offering a thumbnail sketch of the history of extended fasting as a medical treatment. From there, we get into what emerging modern science is showing as to how prolonged fasts lasting days or even weeks can prevent and even cure a variety of diseases, from type 2 diabetes to rheumatoid arthritis. We then talk about fasting's effect on cancer, and how it may address mental health issues by offering a metabolic reset. If you're an intermittent faster, you'll be interested to hear why it is you should ideally schedule your eating window for earlier rather than later in the day. We end our conversation with how to get started with extended fasting.

Resources Related to the Episode

• AoM Article: The Spiritual Disciplines — Fasting
• AoM Article: How Intermittent Fasting Can Help You Lose Fat, Gain Muscle, and Get Healthier
• AoM Podcast #328: The Pros and Cons of Intermittent Fasting
• AoM Podcast #624: The Crazy, Forgotten Story of America’s First Fitness Influencer
• Henry S. Tanner
• Minnesota Starvation Experiment 
• Professor Valter Longo
• AoM Podcast #852: The Brain Energy Theory of Mental Illness

Connect With Steve Hendricks

• Steve's Website, including his answers to FAQs on fasting

Fermentation is a hot craze in fancy restaurants around the world. And fermented foods, like kombucha and kimchi, are even sold in corner stores. 

Listeners of this show will have heard that fermented foods might benefit our gut health. But these foods make us uneasy. The idea of letting food rot, then eating it goes against everything our parents taught us. So, is fermentation scary and dangerous? 

This episode will show you why it's not only safe but beneficial to eat fermented foods, and that fermenting foods is something you can try at home. 

Jonathan speaks to Tim Spector and Sandor Katz — whom the food magazine CHOW calls a provocateur, trendsetter, and rabble-rouser — to better understand the fabulous world of fermentation. 

• Sandor Katz is a food activist who is widely credited with reintroducing fermentation to the US and the UK, calling himself a fermentation revivalist.
• Tim Spector is a co-founder at ZOE and one of the top 100 most cited scientists in the world.

Download our FREE guide — Top 10 Tips to Live Healthier: https://zoe.com/freeguide

Timecodes:

00:00 - Intro

00:13 - Topic introduction

02:21 - Quickfire questions

04:10 - Isn’t fermentation niche?

05:05 - What is fermentation?

07:36 - Why did our ancestors ferment their food?

08:54 - How is fermentation preserving food?

12:45 - What are the impacts on our health of eating fermented foods?

16:27 - How to make kimchi

19:00 - What is kefir?

20:25 - Why are fermented foods good for our health

24:19 - Why don’t we have to worry about bacteria in fermented foods?

29:36 - What are the best fermented foods to get started with?

34:16 - Can you purchase fermented foods at stores?

39:26 - 5 tips for people interested in trying fermented foods

42:42 - Summary

44:17 - Listener’s question: What’s the most unusual food that you’ve fermented?

45:16 - Goodbyes

45:24 - Outro

Episode transcripts are available here.

Follow Sandor: https://www.instagram.com/sandorkraut/

Learn Sandor’s sauerkraut recipe here.

Get Sandor’s book here.

Follow ZOE on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zoe/

This podcast was produced by Fascinate Productions.

Kanchan Koya grew up in a house filled with wonderful fragrances from the spices simmering on her grandmother’s stove. In India, it was a common belief that spices were more than just pleasant tastes. Ancient wisdom said they had medicinal properties, and it was common for household medicine cabinets to store dried spices, not pills.

Kanchan grew up to become a molecular biologist, studying in the US at Harvard Medical School. When her lab began to investigate turmeric’s healing properties, the ancient wisdom from her childhood met the scientific inquiry of her adult life - beginning a lifelong obsession with the health benefits of spice. 

In today’s episode, Kanchan and regular guest Tim Spector help us understand whether there is any scientific evidence to support the health benefits of spices, the easiest way to add spice to our diet, and which ones to choose.

• Kanchan Koya is the founder of SpiceSpiceBaby and The Radical Vitality Podcast with a Ph.D. in Biomedicine from Harvard University and training from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition.
• Tim Spector is a co-founder at ZOE and one of the top 100 most cited scientists in the world.

Download our FREE guide — Top 10 Tips to Live Healthier: https://zoe.com/freeguide

Timecodes:

00:00 - Intro

00:10 - Topic introduction

01:19 - Quickfire questions

02:17 - What is a spice

04:23 - How did Kanchan’s passion for spices begin?

06:56 - What do we know about how spices affect our health?

12:16 - The latest science on spices

17:07 - Which spices are best?

24:46 - How to start using spices?

27:56 - Hacks to start using spices for the best health benefits possible

30:55 - Quality of spices 

35:45 - Storage of spices

36:53 - Summary

37:53 - Goodbyes

38:47 - Outro

Episode transcripts are available here.

Read ZOE’s PREDICT Studies here.

Know more about the 5 spices you should embrace here.

Follow Kanchan: https://www.instagram.com/chiefspicemama

Follow ZOE on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zoe/

This podcast was produced by Fascinate Productions.

Keto has been promoted as a magic bullet for weight loss by its supporters and slammed as dangerous by its opponents. It's no surprise - completely removing almost all carbohydrates is not what most people consider ‘a balanced diet’.

With carbs off the table, Keto diets involve a dramatically increased fat intake. At the same time, drastically reducing carbs means starving our gut microbes of the fiber that feeds them. 

Nonetheless, doctors prescribe keto diets to treat people with severe diabetes and see dramatic improvements, and many healthy people swear by keto for weight loss. On top of this, removing carbohydrates prevents blood sugar spikes and crashes linked to inflammation and disease. 

In today’s episode, Jonathan speaks to a leading nutritional researcher to understand whether or not keto diets are a crazy fad:

• Christopher Gardner is a professor at Stanford University and a member of ZOE’s scientific advisory board who’s produced a clinical trial of keto diets, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Download our FREE guide — Top 10 Tips to Live Healthier: https://zoe.com/freeguide

Timecodes:

00:00 - Intro

00:10 - Topic introduction

01:38 - Quick-fire questions

05:20 - What is a ketogenic diet? How does it work?

08:34 - Why have people become interested in keto?

10:16 - To promote ketosis, how low-carb should a diet be?

11:46 - Why are randomized trials so important?

14:37 - Christopher’s study

18:46 - What is a Mediterranean diet?

21:31 - Study results

25:33 - How sustainable is a keto diet?

31:22 - How strictly should you follow the keto diet?

32:47 - Diabetes and keto

35:36 - Keto’s impact on the microbiome

37:57 - Is there a long-term impact on the ability to process carbs?

39:51 - Summary

41:40 - Listener’s question

42:12 - Goodbyes

42:32 - Outro

Episode transcripts are available here.

Read Chris’ Study here.

Follow Chris: https://twitter.com/GardnerPhD

Follow ZOE on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zoe/

This podcast was produced by Fascinate Productions.