Real Health with Karl Henry

On this week’s episode of Real Health, we are talking about the negative impact a more sedentary life can have on our health. With remote working a major part of our lives now, it means the way we move has totally changed. Less running for the bus, shorter distances to make tea or coffee, even the toilet is not as far away as it might have been in the office. All this means we can fall into the habit of sitting more. But could small changes to our daily lives help us improve our health and wellness? Joining me to discuss this is Suzy Reading, chartered psychologist and qualified yoga teacher and personal trainer, specialising in wellbeing. Her new book Sit to get Fit, gives readers a practical guide to changing the way we sit for our health, energy and longevity.Suzy says while sitting can be unhealthy for our physical health, it can also cause problems for our mental health too: “Really interestingly, research has shown that our posture has an impact on our mood, specifically that round posture that we end up in on the sofa. Especially if you couple that with a screen. Research is showing that in that round spine, downcast gaze position, it lowers your mood and it lowers your subjective energy levels.” We also chat through some simple and quick movements that you can add into your day, that could offset some of the harms done by sitting for extended periods of time. For more episodes, tips and advice from the show just go to: www.independent.ie/podcasts/the-re…health-podcast/And you can get in touch - I’m @KarlHenryPT on Instagram and Twitter and realhealth@independent.ie.Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe on Apple and Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts from.The Real Health podcast is in association with Laya Healthcare.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week’s episode, I’m bringing you my top tips for getting started with resistance training. I’ll be telling you all you need to know about introducing weight bearing exercises into your routine. From home workouts to choosing the right amount of weight for you, I’m covering it all. While cardio exercise like running, walking or swimming can be great for our health, resistance training is crucial for longevity. As we age, we begin to lose muscle mass and gain fat. So, training our bodies to be able to lift weights is really important to preserve the muscles we have. In turn it allows us to continue doing even the most basic of movements, like carrying the food shop in from the car or lifting our kids. I also have some great tips for making progress, perfect for those who have already introduced resistance training into their fitness schedule. For more episodes, tips and advice from the show just go to: www.independent.ie/podcasts/the-re…health-podcast/And you can get in touch - I’m @KarlHenryPT on Instagram and Twitter and realhealth@independent.ie.Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe on Apple and Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts from.The Real Health podcast is in association with Laya Healthcare.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Since we were young, many of us have been taught that “breakfast is the most important meal of the day”. But what if what we believe about breakfast or food more generally is wrong? On this week’s episode of Real Health, I’m joined by author and Professor of genetic epidemiology, Tim Spector.Tim is one of the world's leading scientists in food and nutrition. His book Spoon-Fed: Why almost everything we’ve been told about food is wrong, looks to bust the myths and rules surrounding food that have been accepted in society for decades. Tim says even as people got older, the idea that breakfast was the meal that couldn’t be missed continued. We were told skipping breakfast could lead to weight gain and over eating. This Tim says, is completely wrong: “There is no evidence that skipping breakfast is bad for you. There is increasingly good evidence that for many people, not everybody but for many people (sic), skipping breakfast is a way of losing weight and improving metabolism. We also know that it can help your gut microbes as well.”We also chat about obesity as well as fasting, something Tim says he does about twice a week. For more episodes, tips and advice from the show just go to: independent.ie/podcasts/the-re…health-podcast.   And you can get in touch - I’m @KarlHenryPT on Instagram and realhealth@independent.ie.  Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe on Apple and Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts from.  The Real Health podcast is in association with Laya Healthcare.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Real Health it's all about giving you the knowledge and the tools on how to not only live healthier, but longer too. While many of you will have read or been told what you need to do to live longer, it's as important to understand why making certain changes can have such a positive impact on longevity. From mindset to exercise and fasting, we are taking a look at the best changes you can make to your daily lives, with Professor Rose Anne Kenny. Rose Anne’s new book Age Proof, The New Science of Living a Longer and Healthier Life looks at the latest research behind why we age and how a lot of it is within our control. While diet and exercise are important for staying healthy as you age, Rose Anne says it's also about your attitude to aging: “How you perceive yourself to aging, actually seems to influence your physical aging going forward [as well as] cognitive brain health.” In other words, you are as old as you feel. We also discuss how sitting for long periods of time can be toxic to our cells and what type of movement Rose Anne says is the best to keep you feeling young. For more episodes, tips and advice from the show just go to: independent.ie/podcasts/the-re…health-podcast.   And you can get in touch - I’m @KarlHenryPT on Instagram and realhealth@independent.ie.  Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe on Apple and Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts from.  The Real Health podcast is in association with Laya Healthcare.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Real Health we’re discussing eating disorders, what they are and how they impact on the health of somebody suffering from them. Eating disorders are complex and affect both the mental and physical health of the person with one. So, when someone gets help, it's often from a team of people with different expertise. Today I’m joined by Aveen Bannon, Dietitian at the Dublin Nutrition Centre who specialises in eating disorders, to tell us more about them and her role in treatment.Aveen says for many people who decide to seek help for an eating disorder, contacting someone like a GP can be difficult: “Sometimes you might go straight to a psychologist, or sometimes you will go to a dietician. The first thing is to make one appointment. It might feel very overwhelming when you feel you have to suddenly do all of this...Once the journey starts it can be a little bit scary, but it will be worth it.”Aveen also talks through the different types of eating disorders there are and from her experience what some of the causes can be. If you have been impacted by the content in this week’s episode of Real Heal or would like to get some more information, go to www.bodywhys.ieFor more episodes, tips and advice from the show just go to: independent.ie/podcasts/the-re…health-podcast/ And you can get in touch - I’m @KarlHenryPT on Instagram and realhealth@independent.ie. Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe on Apple and Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts from. The Real Health podcast is in association with Laya Healthcare.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With International Women’s Day coming up, we have decided to dedicate a whole episode to female health. Joining me this week is nutritionist and founder of The Fit Clinic, Dr Michelle Hone. We will be discussing everything from hormones and fertility to the importance of carbs in a woman’s diet. Michelle says women need to be treating their health and fitness differently to the way men do. She explains that a lot of the health and performance related research to date has been done in men. But with female hormones being very different, Michelle says it is not enough to simply take that information and apply it to women. “If you look at something like the fasting research or the low carbohydrate research, most of [that] has been done in men.“[Women] are not just shrunk down versions of the male physiology. Our female physiology is completely different, and we need to really honour our hormones” she says. We also chat about the impact overexercising can have on a woman’s body. “When we are over exercising or undereating, we are constantly sitting in this fight or flight response state. That is what is detrimental for our hormones. That is what switches off the interaction between the ovaries and the hypothalamic amenorrhea” Michelle says. For more episodes, tips and advice from the show just go to: independent.ie/podcasts/the-re…health-podcast/ And you can get in touch - I’m @KarlHenryPT on Instagram and realhealth@independent.ie. Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe on Apple and Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts from. The Real Health podcast is in association with Laya Healthcare.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s the body’s largest organ, but how much do we really know about our skin? Chances are, most of you have had some type skin concern, be it acne or rosace or a mole that didn’t look quite right. On this week’s show I’m joined by Consultant Dermatologist, Professor Nicola Ralph to discuss skin health as well as some of the most common skin concerns people have. Acne for example affects millions of people around the world. Professor Ralph says when chronic, it can have a negative impact on an individual’s life: “If you do somebody’s quality of life index, it’s basically a questionnaire of seeing how much the skin condition impacts on [a person]. It’s [acne] just as significant as having diabetes or asthma or epilepsy.” We also talk about what people can expect when getting a mole checked, what it really means for your skin’s health when you tan and how much SPF we should be wearing. Dr Ralph says we should be wearing SPF every day of the year. If we’re on holidays or even on a sunny day in Ireland, we need to be topping up every two hours: “Most of us underuse sunscreen. We tend to bring that one bottle [of SPF] on holidays and it seems to go on everyone, and we still bring that same bottle home. But really a full shot glass is what an application should be for the full body and that should be reapplied every two hours or so.” For more episodes, tips and advice from the show just go to: independent.ie/podcasts/the-re…health-podcast. And you can get in touch - I’m @KarlHenryPT on Instagram and realhealth@independent.ie.  Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe on Apple and Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts from.  The Real Health podcast is in association with Laya Healthcare.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With life returning to some kind of normality and restrictions easing despite Covid-19 still circulating, many of us may be feeling lots of different emotions around the change to our daily lives. Now that we’re transitioning back to the way we used to live, some might feel apprehensive about the change, stress about the virus and maybe even anxiety at the thought socialising again. Joining me today to help navigate through all those emotions about life after lockdown is Louize Carroll, consultant psychologist and co-founder of PRISM Therapy Online. In this episode, Louize breaks down some of the long-term psychological effects of the pandemic. “We’ve had two years to try and integrate and navigate the new feelings of anxiety that came with what we were experiencing” she says. However, Louize reminds us that, “Just as long as it took us to adapt our way into the pandemic, we will have to gently adapt our way out of it too.”Louize also gives some tips on how to deal with overstimulation. She says taking time out of the day to focus on yourself, recognising triggers and limiting social media use are some great places to start. For more episodes, tips and advice from the show just go to: independent.ie/podcasts/the-re…health-podcast/ And you can get in touch - I’m @KarlHenryPT on Instagram and realhealth@independent.ie. Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe on Apple and Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts from. The Real Health podcast is in association with Laya Healthcare.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week’s show, we’re taking a look at how to improve our mental strength, by challenging our inner critic, understanding what drives our behaviors and how we can successfully hit our goals by focusing on the journey and not the end result. To discuss this, I’m joined by health and wellness coach, Pat Divilly, who’s written a book all about this. Fit Mind: 8 Weeks to Change Your Inner Soundtrack and Tune Into Your Greatness aims to help readers examine and master their inner voice and find self-confidence. Pat says many people look for confidence in the wrong place. They focus on a future goal or point in time they believe will change their attitude. However, confidence is something that comes from feeling certain. While looking to the future can be a positive thing, the future can be unpredictable. “Most people look for their confidence in the future. They think, when I get somewhere, I’ll be confident. But the future is uncertain. So, what that tells us is we can only find confidence in the past where we have certainty” he says. We also discuss setting goals, how to avoid feeling defeated when we miss them and finding the small wins in our daily lives that will keep us motivated. For more episodes, tips and advice from the show just go to: independent.ie/podcasts/the-re…health-podcast/And you can get in touch - I’m @KarlHenryPT on Instagram and realhealth@independent.ie.Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe on Apple and Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts from.The Real Health podcast is in association with Laya Healthcare.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week’s show, it’s all about mindset. Why it’s important and how having the right mindset can be the key to unlocking your health goals.Joining me to chat about this, is sports nutritionist and strength and conditioning coach, Brian Keane. His new book, The Keane Edge looks to help you find the right mindset and motivation so you can stick to your fitness journey. Brian says for many people, knowing what you need to do to get healthy is not always enough to keep you on track. “You can know that you need to get into a calorie deficit but that doesn’t stop people going off plan” he says. Things like emotional eating or self-sabotage are things people can struggle to overcome.That is where mindset comes in. Instead of looking at these things as failures, Brian says we should change our view on them and turn them into a positive. “With self-sabotage, identifying the failure as feedback is the first thing. So, every failed diet, every failed exercise programme, every failed thing you’ve done within health, fitness and nutrition that hasn’t worked for you is feedback on what not to do in the future” he says. While it can be easy to lump all that failure together, Brian says reflecting on your past experiences is the key to finding what will work for you going forward. For more episodes, tips and advice from the show just go to: independent.ie/podcasts/the-re…health-podcast/And you can get in touch - I’m @KarlHenryPT on Instagram and realhealth@independent.ie.Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe on Apple and Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts from.The Real Health podcast is in association with Laya Healthcare.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.