The Doctor's Kitchen Podcast

What  an amazing conversation of positivity, mindset and resilience you’re about to hear today.Myra Ali is a freelance celebrity and lifestyle journalist, and BBC Guest Editor with bylines in British GQ, BBC, Marie-Claire, and the New York Post. She Interviews A listers such as Tom Holland, Riz Ahmed, Samuel L Jackson, Jake Gyllennhaal, Timothy Chalamet to name a few.Myra’s story, however, is much deeper than the glossy magazines she writes for and the  red carpet  events she attends. Myra was born with the rare condition of 'butterfly skin' , epidermolysis bullosa. An extremely rare, life-threatening skin condition that causes her body to blister and tear, and as a result of surgeries has left her with physical disability too.Growing up with such a severe and disfiguring condition had a significant impact on her self confidence, ability to make friends as well as choose a career suited to her abilities and ambitions. But undeterred by her limitations, her incredible mindset has been key to breaking barriers and stereotypes and has landed her into the career of her dreams.She has been open in her writing about living with her disability, and the way in which disabled women of colour can be too easily left out of the conversation. I’m delighted to showcase her incredible  story with  you and I hope that  after  hearing  about her perspective  on how  impactful the practice of ‘Gratitude’ has been for her, you’ll also undertake a daily gratitude practice.We talk about :Myra’s upbringing and childhood experiences The book titled “The Secret” and how that  impacted her lifeGratitudeThe connection between Spiderman and Jason AthertonAnd Representation of disability in the mediaCheck her out @myraalieditI listened back to this conversation in full and I just had the biggest smile on my face. Myra is such a rockstar and I hope her story and importantly her energy really inspires you.Do check out The Doctor's Kitchen Website for full show notes and details for this and all other episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Do you calorie count? You’re not alone. It’s a multi-billionaire dollar industry for weight loss, nutrition labelling and of course mandated on food packaging in most countries. Calorie counts are hard to miss. But how accurate are they?Giles Yeo is a geneticist with over 20 years' experience dedicated to  researching obesity and the brain control of food intake. He obtained  his PhD from the University of Cambridge and assisted the pioneering  research that uncovered key pathways in how the brain controls food  intake. His current research focuses on understanding how these pathways  differ from person to person, and the influence of genetics in our  relationship with food and eating habits. Giles also moonlights  as a science presenter for the BBC and you will no doubt recognise him from a string of programmes.We talk about:The Inaccuracies of calorie measurementOur lack of understanding about the composition of foodThe impact of individual differencesOther determinants of weight controlHow we got to the calorie calculationsHow we expend  energy - through BMR (basal metabolic rate), physical activity and dietary thermogenesisAs well as why protein is more satiatingHis fantastic 8-part podcast series ‘Dr Giles Yeo Chews the Fat’  is also available to listen to online, featuring myself as well as the Van Tullekens, Adam Rutherford.Find show notes and sign up to the eat, read, listen newsletter at www.thedoctorskitchen.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Finally, I can say I watched a genuinely balanced documentary about food and the environment. I’ve seen all the classics: “What the Health”, “Forks over Knives”, “Gamechangers”, “Food Inc” “Seaspiracy” and others like “Kiss the Ground”. I’m constantly asked about it on social media and friends. Did you see INSERT DOCUMENTARY NAME. What did you think? And invariably I always have to point out the flaws, the biases, the shock tactics, the spin.But this documentary is refreshingly different. “Meat Me Halfway” produced by my guest today, Brian Kateman, is a documentary about finding common ground at the dinner table. It poses more questions than answers and it allows you to make your own mind up. It doesn’t have a clear ideology woven through the narrative and it’s more exploratory than it is explanatory or defensive.When I was watching the movie, I made notes to pick up on with Brian when I knew I was going to speak to the documentary host, but a little later in the movie they discussed the nuance of that topic. I didn’t have any follow up questions to the answers they posed at the end of the movie, because there weren’t any answers. This is complicated. And the conversation we’re having within our own avocado toast eating echo chambers,  centres around idealism rather than practicality. And this is why I thought this documentary was particularly great.Brian is also co-founder and president of the Reducetarian Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to reducing consumption of meat, eggs, and dairy to create a healthy, sustainable, and compassionate world. The ‘Meat Me Halfway book’ is out next year and ‘The Reducetarian Cookbook’ is available in all good bookstores.Listen the end where I reveal my favourite meat alternatives and hacks to reduce your meat consumption whilst maintaining a nutrient dense diet.  Plus you can find links to the movie at www.thedoctorskitchen.com where you can also sign up to our weekly newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today I’m talking with Dr Sylvia Tara all about the internal and external forces that govern fat. How we gain fat, how we lose fat, why your body refuses to let go of fat and how you navigate the confusing diet and fitness world that is constantly telling us that it’s all about calorie balance.It’s not that I don’t believe in calories (obviously they exist), but it’s certainly not the most important factor when it comes to weight control for a lot of people. And for too long, people who have failed on diets and find themselves on a downward spiral of negative emotions and feel that they don’t have anything to blame other than poor will power. Today, we are going to explain why that’s not necessarily the case.Dr  Sylvia Tara has a PhD in biochemistry from the University of California at San Diego and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. As a biochemist, she was driven to get to the bottom of fat’s mysteries and the reasons it vexes us, plus her own struggles with weight and dieting. Her book “The Secret Life of Fat” frames our conversation today and we largely speak about how Gender, Genes, Bugs and even Viruses can determine whether one person absorbs 120 calories and another can absorb 80 calories from the same bowl of cereal labelled as 100. Sounds impossible, but it’s true.We discuss the complex biology of fat, how it resists loss, and what to do to remove stubborn fat. And stick around to the end of the podcast where I summarise the main tips to help you live a healthier life that balances an appreciation for why fat shouldn’t be demonised and how to live more metabolically healthier.The topic of weight loss may make some people feel uncomfortable. I do my best to make our conversations as compassionate and approachable as possible but please exercise caution if you feel you might be triggered by these topics. Check out the show notes on www.thedoctorskitchen.com and sign up for my weekly Eat, Read, Watch newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, I think I found my new favourite person. Somebody whose experience and intellect I respect and look up to. I am confident that if you love listening to this podcast you’ll love him too. And I’m going to put this out there. If you know anyone who works in the NHS. A nurse, doctor, physio, dietitian, administrator, manager, literally anyone. Gift them this book: THE PAIN-FREE MINDSET. Not just because pain is a silent epidemic affecting over 25 million people in the UK alone, but because this book is just as much about how we change our approach to healthcare from one of purely patient service, to one of patient empowerment. And this eloquently written book describes how, with an open mind, how we all can create transformative change for patients and ourselves. Dr Deepak Ravindran is an NHS consultant in pain medicine and what he describes as an ‘upstreamist’ with a trauma informed approach to pain practice. As you’ll hear today, he takes a truly holistic, trauma informed and integrated approach to pain management, who has a deep appreciation for the role of lifestyle, nutrition and the overlap between pain.He has over 20 years of experience in Pain Management and is Clinical Lead in Pain Medicine at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, Berkshire, UK. He is also one of the very few consultants in the UK who holds triple certification in musculoskeletal, pain and lifestyle medicine.Today we’re going to learn all about Pain. The origins of pain, how pain is your brains interpretation of nociceptive signals and how, specifically in chronic pain, this can be affected by nutrition, emotional history, experience, childhood and many other influences. Foods for pain, supplements, psychological therapies and more.Strap in, because this is going to be a fantastically useful podcast, and I do hope you share it with loved ones, friends and family. Do check out newsletter www.thedoctorskitchen.com where I share recipes every week plus suggestions on what to read, listen to or watch every week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eczema is the topic of today’s  conversation with Dr Ruth Cammish. An NHS GP, a GP trainer and the Regional Director for the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine in Manchester.  She has been a GP for 13 years, mostly working in a deprived inner city area and her own experiences as a patient with severe eczema has highlighted how holistic care is a vital part of any long term condition, especially chronic skin diseases.  You’ll hear about how  Dr Ruth suffered severe eczema her whole life, ending up on cyclosporin, an immunosuppressant medication and discovering topical steroid withdrawal. As a practice doctor, Ruth and her colleagues have been awarded a CQC ‘outstanding’ rating, twice, based on their approach to their patient  population which includes group consultations, an exercise class for COPD patients and their work for vulnerable patients.On today’s podcast you’ll learn about:What eczema is and who it affectsThe link  with food intolerance and allergy“Topical Steroid Withdrawl” and how that  occursThe mechanisms behind eczema as a diseaseHow to approach an eczema patientEnvironmental triggers - temperature, pollen, pollution, dustHousehold irritants - skincare products, beauty  care, clothing, laundry  detergentsStress and why it triggers the immune systemDiet, Gut health, Nature therapy and moreSupplements and SkinDr Ruth can be found on Instagram @drruthskinjourney and I really hope  you enjoy the show.  Please see The Doctor's Kitchen website for full show notes on this and all other episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Skin, lifestyle and diet. Perhaps some of the commonest things I get  asked about by patients, the doctor’s kitchen community and honestly one of the least understood at this point. In today’s episode we dive into acne, a bit about the gut skin axis, we also talk about Dr Harriet’s background in science from the lab to the plate or pill as well as our thoughts on collagen! Make sure you listen to  the end because I summarise my thoughts on diet, lifestyle and supplements for healthy skin, so you don’t want to miss that.It’s always a pleasure having Dr Harriet on the pod. Her experience as both a frontline clinician, scientist and registered nutritionist really shows and I love chatting to her.Dr Harriet Holme is a Registered Nutritionist (AfN), and former experienced paediatrician. After studying at Cambridge University, she worked as a doctor in the NHS for over a decade before focusing on nutrition. She has a PhD in genetics and is a lecturer in nutrition. Dr Harriet has authored two books 'Eating During Pregnancy', that she wrote to provide mums to be with credible information on pregnancy nutrition and ‘Postpartum Nutrition: An Expert’s Guide to Eating After a Baby’, to support new mums, and their journey through motherhood and weaning. Dr Harriet also has a number of virtual courses on nutrition on her website https://healthyeatingdr.com, the links to which are on the podcast show notes.There’s also an article to support today’s podcast that  you can find on www.thedoctorskitchen.com website which lists some of the evidence base used for the recommendations and I hope you find it a useful resource. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I’m super excited to have Poppy Jamie on the show this week. She is such an inspiration to all entrepreneurs out there and has accomplished so much in the space of just a few years of hard graft. As you will hear on the pod she has a beautiful way of translating wisdom for a wider audience and our conversation touches on William James, Carl Jung, Shakespeare, Viktor Frankl and many more. There is so much to learn from history and if we can find a way to be just that little bit more aware everyday, the benefits accumulate. Poppy launched the Not Perfect podcast and the Happy Not Perfect app after four years of aggregating behavioral studies and developing the app with neuroscientists, researchers, and her psychotherapist mom. Her debut book, “HAPPY NOT PERFECT: Upgrade Your Mind, Challenge Your Thoughts, and Free Yourself from Anxiety” is a best seller and it’s here that she introduces an approach to stretch our minds that she calls “the Flex”. And this is in order to create new, healthy thought habits and overcome challenges, whilst making us a bit more “psychologically bendy”.Poppy was also appointed as the youngest member of UCLA’s Stewart and Lynda Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital advisory board to consult on the wellbeing of students. She’s taken part at the first mental health talk series at Cambridge University, lectured at the UCLA Wow Summit on brain health, and delivered a TEDxTalk titled,“Addicted to Likes” about the psychological impact of social media and technology and how to reverse the damage which I recommend checking out.I know you’re going to  love this one and do check out this week’s “Eat, Listen, Read” newsletter, that you can find on www.thedoctorskitchen.com, where I send you a recipe to cook as well as some mindfully curated media to help you have a healthier, happier week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My producer was complaining about having to edit 2 scary pods back to back (one about the rise of fertility problems and the other about how machines will take over the world), so I thought I’d take a break from the frightening realities and bring some humour and personality back into the pod this week!Feedback from the 100th episode was really positive and lots of you have  asked about me doing some more solo ones .. so here goes!Today I talk about:My information diet including the 1-2 books I read a week, podcasts I listen to and how I keep diversity in my content consumptionMy hack for reading really fastA review paper  I read about how to use microbe focused treatments to combat depressionDairy fat in cheese and why it’s been paradoxically linked to better  cardiovascular diseaseAnd if you liked this episode, you’ll love  my newsletter “Eat, Read, Listen” that you can find at www.thedoctorskitchen.comLinks to topics discussed in the episode:Tech and ideas podcast - https://www.mfmpod.com/How to take over the World - https://www.httotw.com/The Brain health revolution podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/mk/podcast/science-under-attack-the-battle-between-past/id1474018356?i=1000449556409 A Microbiome-Driven Approach to Combating Depression During the COVID-19 Pandemichttps://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2021.672390/full?&utm_source=Email_to_authors_&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=T1_11.5e1_author&utm_campaign=Email_publication&field=&journalName=Frontiers_in_Nutrition&id=672390 Biomarkers of dairy fat intake, incident cardiovascular disease, and all-cause mortality: A cohort study, systematic review, and meta-analysishttps://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1003763 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You might have noticed over the last few episodes that I’ve been keen to discuss subjects slightly leftfield of nutrition and what I’ve traditionally talked about, but fascinating nonetheless. And I hope you as a listener, who’s time and attention I value so greatly, will trust me as I take you on a  bit  of a ride. Because ultimately, I hope you agree that the topics I share are always very important.Mo Gawdat, who you may remember from episode #91 Solving Happiness is a person who I cherish and with whom I had a very impactful conversation with, on a personal level. He was the former Chief Business Officer of Google [X], which is Google’s ‘moonshot factory’, author of the international bestselling book ‘Solve for Happy’ and founder of ‘One Billion Happy’. After a long career in tech, Mo made happiness his primary topic of research, diving deeply into literature and conversing on the topic with some of the wisest people in the world on “Slo Mo: A Podcast with Mo Gawdat”.Mo is an exquisite writer and speaker with deep expertise of technology as well as a passionate appreciation for the importance of human connection and happiness. He possesses a set of overlapping skills and a breadth of knowledge in the fields of both human psychology and tech which is a rarity. His latest piece of work, a book called “Scary Smart” is a timely prophecy and call to action that puts each of us at the center of designing the future of humanity. I know that sounds intense right? But it’s very true.During his time at Google [X], he worked on the world’s most futuristic technologies, including Artificial Intelligence.  During  the  pod he recalls a story of when the penny dropped for him, just a few years ago, and felt compelled to leave his job. And now,  having contributed to AI's development, he feels a sense of duty to inform the public on the implications of this controversial technology and how we navigate the scary and inevitable intrusion of AI as well as who really is in control. Us.Today we discuss:Pandemic of AI and why the handing COVID is a lesson to learn fromThe difference between collective intelligence, artificial intelligence and super intelligence or Artificial general intelligence How machines started creating and coding other machines The 3 inevitable outcomes - including the fact that AI is here and they will outsmart usMachines will become emotional sentient beings with a Superconsciousness To understand this episode you have to submit yourself to accepting that what we are creating is essentially another lifeform. Albeit non-biological, it will have human-like attributes in the way they learn as well as a moral value system which could immeasurably improve the human race as we know it. But our  destiny lies in how we treat and nurture them as our own. Literally like infants with (as strange as it is to  say it) love, compassion, connection and respect.Full show notes for this and all other episodes can be found on The Doctor's Kitchen.com website Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.