It’s time for the Nutrigold summer health review and this time we’re recommending the latest must-listen-to health and wellness podcasts so you don’t even have to expend energy on picking up a book as you enjoy the summer weather.
Podcasts are a great way of hearing about the latest exciting research, views and developments in the world of health but with this rapidly expanding market, which podcasts should you choose?
As a neuroscientist and nutritional therapist I’m fascinated by how our health and mindset is influenced by our diet, lifestyles and environment; I’ve selected three of whom I regard to be some of best podcast presenters – Dr Mark Hyman, Dr Rangan Chaterjee and Dr Rupy Aujla – that neatly cover all aspects of these fundamental areas of health through their individual podcast series. All of these sessions present the latest health views, news and research in their own unique, engaging and approachable styles through interviewing top experts in their fields of health.
Broken Brain Podcast Series – Dr Mark Hyman
“The Broken Brain podcast will help you take your brain health to the next level and teach you how to live your best life!” A bold statement that accompanies this podcast series but this offering of carefully selected sessions with Dr Mark Hyman and health entrepreneur Dhru Purohit does just that.
The podcasts are interview-style conversations with top experts in the fields of neuroplasticity, epigenetics, biohacking, mindfulness and functional medicine and I can honestly say I learn something new every episode.
A recent Broken Brain podcast I can thoroughly recommend is:
“Cultivating a Resilient Mind” with Dr Yashar Khosroshahi.
As a practitioner, I extensively read about science, research and health news on a daily basis based around the fundamentals of diet, nutrition and breakthroughs in modifying biochemical/physiological health using Functional Medicine. But, the more I practice the more I learn and witness first hand quite how fundamental mind, energy and emotion are necessary for complete health and healing. And this is where resilience (or the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties or tough times) is key for the physical body, emotions and mind.
All too often we are overly busy in our the whirlwind of our practical day to day lives to pay much attention to our mindset but cultivating resilience in our minds enables us to ultimately do so much more with our time. I’m sure you’re like me and have many ideas and projects buzzing around in your mind, but how do we actually deal with what we have going on in life to build resilience and action our dreams?
There are numerous “self-help” style books and blogs on this topic but this particular Broken Brain podcast really resonated with me. Drhu Purohit interviews Dr Khosroshahi, a Toronto-based naturopathic doctor and founder of the wonderfully named “Mindset Ninja” business, who discusses ideas and practical tips on how to develop a healthy, resilient mindset through meditation, awareness and reframing beliefs. Areas covered include closing the knowing versus doing gap; the balance between “can do” and “slowing down” and the role of meditation in mindset.
Most importantly, this podcast covers the application of knowledge through actionable steps providing tools to improve mindset resilience and make you feel like change is possible. I particularly liked the mix of science and energy discussion in this interview and felt inspired to make changes by the end of this podcast. Broken Brain podcasts are traditionally around 60 minutes long but I find the topics and the concise but friendly interview style works really well and keeps me engaged throughout. However, if you find this too long then the Broken Brain podcasts have a timing sheet with each session so you can dip into individual session topics rather than listen to the whole recording. Though may I remind you of the importance of slowing down to improve mindset as outlined in this podcast!
Feel Better, Live More Podcast Series – Dr Rangan Chatterjee
If you’re interested in the area of developing mindset then I can also recommend the Dr Chaterjee podcast, from his “Feel Better, Live More” podcast series, with Buddhist monk Haemin Sunim.
“How to Accept Yourself in a World Striving for Perfection” with Haemin Sunim.
Haemin Sunim is a highly influential Zen Buddhist monk and teacher who through this podcast offers a unique perspective on the vulnerability, authenticity and the journey to finding out who we really are. If this all sounds a bit heavy for a summer listen then don’t worry! Rangan’s insightful discussion-style interviews with each of his podcast guests make all of his podcasts eminently listenable to.
I picked this podcast out of Rangan’s series to review because it really made me sit up and think about the importance of stealing back some down-time in my busy life to help cultivate mindset and energy. It’s certainly a thought-provoking conversation but also an incredibly uplifting hour that ties in neatly with the Broken Brain podcast.
Rangan’s podcast series (like Mark Hyman’s) also covers other more physical aspects of health including another podcast that is more rooted (excuse the pun!) in the dental health world – a really hot health topic right now. In January 2019, Rangan interviewed Dr Steven Lin, a world-leading functional dentist, and he provided a fascinating insight into the world of the oral microbiome (i.e. mouth bacteria) and links to health.
“Why Good Health Begins in the Mouth” – Dr Steven Lin
This podcast also accompanies Dr Lin’s No. 1 Amazon top seller book “The Dental Diet” where Dr Lin covers the importance of the oral microbiome and how to support a healthy mouth and teeth to prevent chronic disease in later life. During this interview, Dr Linn covers important nutrients for oral health and introduces the fascinating concepts of why the way we breathe is important to our dental health and quality of our sleep.
The simple language and connections drawn between lifestyle, diet, the environment and our health in this podcast makes a refreshing change – for me, like other therapists, we may understand the science but can we put this into simple language for others to understand?
If you’re interested in finding out more about this important emerging area of health then you can view our education partner webinar from nutrihub “Dental Health” and also enjoy Dr Chaterjee’s two top-selling books that accompany his podcast series; “The Four Pillar Plan” and “The Stress Solution”, which I’ve reviewed in the Nutrigold blog “What to read on the world of health”.
The Doctors Kitchen Podcast Series – Dr Rupy Aujla
Dr Rupy Aujla describes himself as “just a straight-talking NHS doctor lending my unbiased opinion on healthy eating and showing everybody how to get phenomenal ingredients on their plates every day.” He has released culinary medicine cookbooks and these, along with his Doctors Kitchen podcast series, perfectly sum up his no-nonsense but fun and approachable style towards health.
One of his podcasts that I particularly recommend is:
“Eat for Your Heart” with Dr Ayan Panja
Dr Panja is a GP, practising medicine for the last 20 years, and lifestyle medicine enthusiast. He provides us with great insight in a really friendly way into why it’s not just people in their 50s and 60s that should be thinking about heart health but that this information is relevant for all generations.
This podcast maybe a little more generalist but it makes for important listening and recommending to others as the discussion centres on inflammation in the body and its role as a primary driver in the development of cardiovascular disease. Ayan and Rupy also discuss practical tips around diet and the Ornish Lifestyle programme for managing heart health.
I really enjoyed this podcast and others in the Doctors Kitchen series, and often recommend them to clients, along with Rupy’s cookbooks, as they are an interesting and accessible way to learn about different areas of health.
I hope that I’ve inspired you to enjoy some great podcasts this summer. There are so many to choose from but I believe that tuning into carefully selected hosts and topics, covering all aspects of body, mind and energy keeps my practice (both for myself and clients) current and effective.
Wishing you all a happy and healthy summer.
Elisabeth
Related Nutrigold Blogs:
