Have you ever wondered what life would be like if you were more confident? This week, I sit down with hypnotherapist, anxiety expert and author, Chloe Brotheridge, to talk about how confidence is a skill that everybody can learn. Chloe explains that by taking small steps to challenge yourself, you can retrain your nervous system and gradually, you will be able to achieve things that you never thought would be possible. We discuss how shame can be the root of many of our anxieties and why strivin...
Jun 05, 2019•1 hr 8 min•Ep 65•Transcript available on Metacast Time is the most precious commodity we have, yet despite all the advances in technology, most of us are more time poor than ever before. Cultural commentator and best-selling author, James Wallman, believes that few of us really understand which experiences bring us joy and success, and which don’t. In fact, for many of us, free time can be harder to enjoy than time at work. James argues that just as we have learned to spot the differences between junk foods and superfoods, we need to learn the ...
May 29, 2019•52 min•Ep 64•Transcript available on Metacast Gut health is a hot topic these days, with more and more research showing that our gut health impacts so much more than our digestive system. The gut is now being implicated in a host of different conditions, from joint pain to depression. But why is gut health so problematic for so many of us in the 21stCentury? I discuss this with clinical researcher, author and gut expert, Dr Michael Ruscio, on this week’s episode. We talk about the increase in hygiene practices and antibiotic use and ask whe...
May 22, 2019•1 hr 16 min•Ep 63•Transcript available on Metacast This week, I sit down with one of the most influential Zen Buddhist monks and teachers in South Korea, Haemin Sunim. He offers a unique perspective on vulnerability, authenticity and the journey to finding out who we really are. Haemin believes that we have become used to sacrificing the present for the sake of the future and that intentional living is key to happiness. He argues that only by accepting yourself – and the flaws which make you who you are – can you have compassionate and fulfillin...
May 15, 2019•1 hr 6 min•Ep 62•Transcript available on Metacast Mental health problems are extremely common - it is estimated that 1 in 4 of us will experience a mental health problem at some point in our lives. Yet so many of us still view these illnesses as a weakness or a personal failure. On this week’s episode, I sit down with best-selling author and one of the most prominent voices in the mental health arena, Matt Haig to talk about all things related to mental health. We discuss how society’s understanding of mental health can be very limited and ofte...
May 08, 2019•1 hr 10 min•Ep 61•Transcript available on Metacast How do you experience stress? Women and men generally experience stress in very different ways and women are much more likely to feel overwhelmed and exhausted than men. But why is this? Guests on this week’s episode, Drs Emily and Amelia Nagoski believe that the reason lies in the fact that what’s expected of women and what it’s really like to be a woman in today’s world are two very different things—and women exhaust themselves trying to close the gap between them. They explain the importance ...
May 01, 2019•1 hr 9 min•Ep 60•Transcript available on Metacast We are all bombarded by stress throughout our daily lives and it comes in many different forms, but how do we actually know what impact that stress is having on our bodies? One of the key messages from today’s conversation is a reminder of how unique we all are. My guest on this week’s episode is nutritionist and researcher, Alessandro Ferretti, who has spent years researching the effects of various stressors on the body by meticulously monitoring the heart rate variability (HRV) and blood sugar...
Apr 23, 2019•1 hr 5 min•Ep 59•Transcript available on Metacast Whether it's a dream job, a successful relationship, losing weight or running a marathon, you have the power to accomplish anything you set your mind to. Yet for most of us, life just passes us by. In this week’s episode, neuroscientist and executive coach, Dr Tara Swart, explains how we can all take back control of our lives by training our brains to create the life we want to live. She explains the science behind ‘the law of attraction’ and talks about how what we think and feel are so intimat...
Apr 17, 2019•1 hr 9 min•Ep 58•Transcript available on Metacast We all know what to do to keep physically fit, but few of us think about what we need to do to keep our minds fit and healthy. Writer and mental-health and body image campaigner, Natasha Devon argues that just as there is mental illness, there is also mental fitness. She believes that mental illness is no different to physical illness – the mind and body do not exist in silos. She talks about her campaign to get parity of treatment for mental illness and require workplaces to have mental health ...
Apr 10, 2019•1 hr•Ep 57•Transcript available on Metacast Although you can’t see it, stress is everywhere. Once pushed aside as something that couldn’t be explained, stress is now a quantifiable, identifiable, solid thing that has real physical effects on our bodies and our long-term health. But what can we do about it? Neuroscientist, researcher and guest on this week’s episode, Dr. Mithu Storoni, has read over 1,000 academic papers to answer that question. Mithu shares the finding of her research and explains just what stress can do to our bodies and...
Apr 03, 2019•1 hr 7 min•Ep 56•Transcript available on Metacast What do we need to eat in order to live a long and healthy life? World-leading researcher in longevity, Professor Valter Longo, shares his views on diet and nutrition in this week’s episode. We discuss high protein diets, ketogenic diets and the concept of a low carb diet. Valter believes that we have over-simplified nutrition by looking at macronutrients in isolation - carbohydrates, fats and proteins – but in actual fact, we need all of these in our diets. And just as there are ‘good’ fats and...
Mar 27, 2019•1 hr 6 min•Ep 55•Transcript available on Metacast CAUTION ADVISED: this podcast contains swearing and themes of an adult nature. What really makes us happy? Is it a big house, lots of money, marriage and children? Not necessarily. Yet so many of us base what we do upon the ‘stories’ we tell ourselves of what we think should make us happy without paying attention to whether these things actually do make us happy day-to-day. Professor of behavioural science and guest on this week’s podcast, Professor Paul Dolan, believes that happiness is subject...
Mar 20, 2019•56 min•Ep 54•Transcript available on Metacast Do life’s mundane tasks like paying bills, answering emails or booking appointments feel like a whole other job? The stuff of life never ends. It piles up in junk drawers, steals our time, weighs on our minds and, if avoided for too long, can have painful consequences. We are all drowning in things to do and it is a major stressor on our bodies – impacting our health, wellbeing and the quality of our relationships. A big part of the problem is that this “life admin” is invisible: we forget it ex...
Mar 13, 2019•1 hr 9 min•Ep 53•Transcript available on Metacast CAUTION ADVISED: this podcast contains swearing and themes of an adult nature. This week, I continue the conversation with the inspirational Johann Hari, who shares insights from his forty-thousand-mile journey across the world to interview the leading experts about what causes depression and anxiety, and what solves them. But it was not those experts that taught Johann the most, it was the incredible people of a Berlin district called Kotti – he shares the heart-warming story of how an unlikely...
Mar 06, 2019•52 min•Ep 52•Transcript available on Metacast CAUTION ADVISED: this podcast contains swearing and themes of an adult nature. For the past few decades, almost every year, levels of depression and anxiety have increased in Britain and across the Western world. But why? One of the most important voices in this area, Johann Hari, went on a forty-thousand-mile journey across the world to interview the leading experts about what causes depression and anxiety, and what solves them. He shares the fascinating findings of his research in this week’s ...
Feb 27, 2019•1 hr 9 min•Ep 51•Transcript available on Metacast How did this happen? We’re all living ultra-connected lives. In our pockets we have tiny technological miracles through which we can communicate, instantly, with anyone on the planet. Yet we are lonelier than ever before. Research has shown that levels of anxiety and depression have exploded, especially in the younger generation, who push time spent connected to the extreme. Professor of computer science and author on this subject, Cal Newport, explains why. We have evolved to be part of a mutua...
Feb 08, 2019•1 hr 11 min•Ep 50•Transcript available on Metacast “In a single glance through a picture, you can be transformed into another world” It’s no secret that we are facing unprecedented levels of anxiety. But what if there was a parallel world that offered us a different way of thinking about life? Director of the Art Fund, Stephen Deuchar, believes that museums and art galleries offer just that. He talks about the fascinating findings of a recent report that found that actively deciding to take time for cultural activities and pursuits can have a pr...
Feb 01, 2019•55 min•Ep 49•Transcript available on Metacast “Our body is our own high-performance vehicle and our engine is our metabolism turning our food into energy.” Who doesn’t want to achieve their personal best – whether it’s at work, during an exercise class or playing with their children? Yet how many of us think about how we are fuelling our bodies to cope with the demands of the day? Elite sports nutritionist, James Collins, has worked with the likes of Arsenal FC, England Football and Team GB to ensure they are on peak form when it counts. He...
Jan 30, 2019•1 hr 13 min•Ep 48•Transcript available on Metacast “If we have a problem with our tooth, it’s really a sign that things could go wrong later on” Many of us think of the dentist as a place we go when we have a hole in our tooth. The dentist fixes the hole and that’s the end of the story. But dentist, Dr Steven Lin, explains why oral health is really a message of what’s going on in the rest of the body. He believes that we can prevent diseases by understanding the signs and symptoms and recognising that chronic diseases don’t just happen overnight...
Jan 25, 2019•57 min•Ep 47•Transcript available on Metacast “It’s not just about encouraging people to change, we have to enable them to.” In Greater Manchester alone, inactivity-related illness is costing the NHS £500,000 a week. In fact, there are 250 million car journeys every year in Manchester that are less than one kilometre. And it’s not just Greater Manchester, the situation is the same across the UK. I delve into the reasons behind this with former Olympic gold medallist, Chris Boardman in this week’s episode. Chris, who is now cycling and walki...
Jan 23, 2019•1 hr 2 min•Ep 46•Transcript available on Metacast “Touch is not just a sentimental human indulgence, it’s a biological necessity” Did you know that being touched is essential for healthy brain development? Yet with teachers, healthcare professionals and work colleagues being increasingly hesitant about social touching, for the first time in the evolution of human history, many of us are being exposed to less touch than ever before. But what effect is all this having on our emotional health? World-leading researcher Professor Francis McGlone exp...
Jan 16, 2019•1 hr 15 min•Ep 45•Transcript available on Metacast Can adults grow new neurons? Until relatively recently, experts believed the answer was no. But neuroscientist, Sandrine Thuret explains why she believes humans can indeed generate new brain cells, a process called neurogenesis. She discusses the findings of the fascinating research in this area and gives practical advice on how we can help our brains better perform neurogenesis through our lifestyles- improving mood, increasing memory formation and preventing the decline associated with ageing ...
Jan 09, 2019•1 hr 6 min•Ep 44•Transcript available on Metacast "How I hold myself during the day impacts how I feel." At this time of year, many of us are wanting to kick-start lifestyle change. But where do we start? Personal trainer to the Hollywood stars, David Higgins, shares his top tips on this week’s episode. David believes that no matter who you are, the issues and obstacles are the same. We discuss how to bring about lasting behaviour change and create long term healthy habits. We delve into the problems of exercising with incorrect posture and the...
Jan 02, 2019•1 hr 7 min•Ep 43•Transcript available on Metacast "Somewhere in peoples DNA is a desire for them to be part of a community" Parkrun began 14 years ago, with a simple concept: a free five-kilometre time-trial around Bushy Park, south west London. It was a low-key, unofficial affair with socialising at its heart. Now over 5 million people across 20 countries have registered for the event! But why has it become so popular? Nick Pearson, Chief Executive of Parkrun and guest on this week’s Feel Better, Live More podcast, explains why. He believes th...
Dec 26, 2018•58 min•Ep 42•Transcript available on Metacast “We need to give our mental health the same care we give our physical health.” This week, I’m in the hot seat being interviewed by friend, fellow GP and lifestyle medicine advocate, Dr Ayan Panja. We talk about the whirlwind of the last year and how those experiences have shaped me. After the huge success of my first book, The 4 Pillar Plan, it became clear to me that the area that people struggle with the most, myself included, is relaxing. In fact, The World Health Organisation have named stre...
Dec 19, 2018•1 hr 2 min•Ep 41•Transcript available on Metacast Are you struggling with IBS or some aspect of your gut health? Right now, IBS affects almost 20% of the UK population at some point in their lives and it can be a major cause of distress and disability for the people who suffer from it. This week, I talk to nutritional therapist and author, Jeannette Hyde, about some of the common problems that she sees in her practice. She shares simple tips for treating these, improving symptoms of IBS and manipulating our microbiome - from time restricted eat...
Dec 12, 2018•59 min•Ep 40•Transcript available on Metacast Have you ever thought about how important our feet are? And how they're connected to so many other parts of our bodies? This week's podcast is with Nick and Mike from ‘The Foot Collective’, a group of Canadian physical therapists on a mission to help humans reclaim strong, functional and pain-free feet through foot health education. The feet are an often neglected part of our body. If you’re experiencing hip, knee or back pain, your feet may be the cause. Nick and Mike explain that although ther...
Dec 05, 2018•1 hr 7 min•Ep 39•Transcript available on Metacast “The most important thing is love and that starts with yourself” Once beer-swilling rugby players, my guests on this week’s episode are identical twins Stephen and David, who now make up The Happy Pear. They share their incredible journey into healthy vegan living and talk about their desire to start a health food revolution – with the goal of making healthy food and lifestyle mainstream. It all started with a small humble vegetable shop and they now own a chain of natural food shops and cafés i...
Nov 28, 2018•1 hr 17 min•Ep 38•Transcript available on Metacast “We live in a society that generates addiction in most of its members.” This week, I talk to renowned addiction expert, physician and best-selling author, Dr. Gabor Maté. He calls for a compassionate approach toward addiction, whether in ourselves or in others. Dr Maté believes addiction is not a choice, neither is it all about drugs and illicit substances. Instead, he believes that addiction affects most of us – whether it be to alcohol, nicotine, sugar, work or exercise…the list is endless. Ac...
Nov 21, 2018•1 hr 25 min•Ep 37•Transcript available on Metacast “I do have real fears about whether or not the toxicity will increase to dangerous levels” The statistics are devastating. Plastic has increased twenty-fold over the past 50 years and will double again in the next 10 years. Already present in the stomachs of nearly all the world’s marine birds, by 2050 plastics in the ocean may outweigh fish, covering large swaths of the Pacific in floating garbage slicks. But what effect does this plastic have? When ingested by big fish, like whales and seals, ...
Nov 14, 2018•58 min•Ep 36•Transcript available on Metacast 
