EPISODE 1 – sleep + meditation with Michael Acton
Welcome back to a new season of The Food Medic Podcast! We are kicking off the season with a very special guest – co-founder of the sleep and meditation app CALM, Michael Acton. Prior to Calm, Michael was the founder of Mind Candy and creator of Moshi Monsters, the online world for children that grew to 80 Million registered users and expanded offline into books, toys, games, magazines, music and movies. Michael is also the founder of Firebox.com, Ping Pong Fight Club and Berwickstock music festival. In 2014 he was awarded an OBE for services to the Creative Industries.
Hazel and Michael chat about how to mediate, the use of technology in meditation and mindfulness, the impact of disrupted sleep on our health and tips on how to improve your bedtime routine.
As this is a new season, Dr Hazel will be ending the episode with a listener question. You can tweet, facebook or instagram message us with your questions with the hashtag #thefoodmedicpodcast.
EPISODE 2 – nutrition Q+A with dietitian Maeve Hanan
This week, Dr Hazel Wallace is joined by Maeve Hanan who is a Consultant Dietitian and Health Writer. She also runs the blog dieteticallyspeaking.com, as she is passionate about promoting evidence-based nutrition and fighting nutritional nonsense. Maeve is also The Food Medic’s resident dietitian and writes monthly articles – you can find them all here.
In this episode, Maeve and Dr Hazel tackle the top 10 nutrition questions we were sent in. Tune in for topics on:
- intermittent fasting
- celery juice
- dairy and the China study
- metabolism boosting foods
- …and many more!
EPISODE 3 – food and mood with chartered psychologist Kimberley Wilson
On this episode, Dr Hazel Wallace is joined by Kimberley Wilson who is a chartered psychologist specialising in Whole Body Mental Health. She intends to transform the way we treat mental illness by integrating psychological therapy with evidence-based nutrition and lifestyle advice. She is also the former finalist on The Great British Bake Off – which is a very cool addition to her impressive CV,
On this episode, Hazel chats to Kimberley about the role of nutrition in mental health, if “mood-boosting” foods really exist, stress and gut disorders, and Kim Kardashians famous appetite suppressant lollipops.
EPISODE 4 – body image
This week Dr. Hazel chats to Nadia Craddock who is a body image researcher and PhD candidate at the Centre for Appearance Research, based at the University of the West of England in Bristol. Nadia’s research is centred around whether big business can foster positive body image through the lens of corporate social responsibility. Her wider interests span eating disorder prevention, colour-ism, weight stigma, and developing evidence-based body image and self-esteem curriculum. Nadia also produces and co-hosts the Centre for Appearance Research’s podcast, Appearance Matters: The Podcast with fellow PhD candidate Jade Parnell.
Topics covered on this episode include: what body image is and who it affects, protecting your body image and mental health online, the recent stir-up of the plus sized NIKE mannequin, and body positivity.
This weeks question is “is green tea good for burning fat?”. So if you’re interested to find out the answer stay tuned to the very end of the episode.
EPISODE 5 – can you die of a broken heart?
Our guest this week is Dr Nikki Stamp – an Australian trained cardiothoracic surgeon.
Nikki is 1 of 11 female heart surgeons in Australia and is a sought after speaker for women in surgery and a participant of social media campaign #ILookLikeASurgeon. Her research includes mentoring and gender in surgery, improving the patient journey and outcomes after cardiac surgery and the way plaque forms in our arteries. She is also author of the book “Can You Die of a Broken Heart?” And is due to release her second book “Pretty Unhealthy” later on this year.
On this episode we chat about women in medicine and surgery, the gender bias in cardiac medicine, how our lifestyle can impact our heart and what we can do to try offset that risk, and if you can actually die of a broken heart.
This weeks listener question is “What foods can I eat to lower my cholesterol?” So if you’re interested to find out the answer stay tuned to the very end of the episode and if you want to submit your own question to the show all you got to do is tweet, facebook message or instagram DM me your questions with #thefoodmedicpodcast.
EPISODE 6 – is butter a carb?
On this episode Dr Hazel is joined by registered dietitians Rosie Saunt and Helen West from The Rooted project.
Rosie and Helen strive to be the most credible, non-judgemental and accessible source of nutrition information in the industry, drawing on the latest scientific thinking, at panel events and via social media communication. They have also recently published the ultimate myth busting nutrition bible: Is Butter a Carb?
On this episode they cover common diet myths, how to spot a fad diet, how to approach media headlines on nutrition research, vegan diets, carbs, gut health – and everything in between. This is a must listen for anyone feeling a bit confused about nutrition.
Ps. If you want to submit your own question to the show all you got to do is tweet, facebook message or instagram DM me your questions with #thefoodmedicpodcast.
EPISODE 7 – hypothalamic amenorrhoea
The topic of this weeks episode is hypothalamic amenorrhoea (HA) – quite a common cause of loss of periods. Dr Hazel is joined by Renee McGregor, a leading performance and eating disorder specialist dietitian and Dr Nicky Keay who is a medical doctor specialising in sport and dance endocrinology.
In this episode they discuss:
- What is HA?
- What causes HA?
- Health consequences of not having a regular period.
- What to do if you’ve been diagnosed with HA
- How to recover and what to expect.
EPISODE 8 – strength training for beginners
The topic of this weeks show is strength training, and while it is not about food or nutrition (directly anyway) it is something that is so incredibly important for our health. This week Dr.Hazel is joined on the by two incredible strength coaches and personal trainers; Adam Willis and Laura Hoggins.
Adam Willis is a Strength Coach, Mentor, Consultant & the Co-Owner of Lean Body Performance, an online coaching business. He is also the host of The Empowered Body Podcast.
Laura Hoggins is a Fitness Coach and Personal Trainer. She teaches a mix of modified strongman, strength and conditioning circuits across the city at London’s top fitness venues – including her own concept class at ministry of sound fitness ‘lifted’. Laura has also just released her debut book Lift Yourself: A Training Guide to Getting Fit and Feeling Strong for Life.
EPISODE 9 – How to get pregnant with Dr Larisa Corda
This week’s episode, on the topic of fertility, we’re joined by Dr Larisa Corda – Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, and Fertility Specialist. Larisa believes in a holistic approach to treating a patient that addresses many lifestyle factors, and is a passionate women’s rights ambassador with roles on a number of international charities that have included UN Women and The Circle. She is also ITV’s This Morning’s and Channel Mum’s Fertility Expert.
In this episode, we cover:
- How to maximise your chances of pregnancy
- Male and female infertility
- Fertility M.O.T.
- PCOS and fertility
- IVF
As a little disclaimer, the term clean eating and clean living is used in this episode. At The Food Medic, we tend to not use this language when it comes to food and health. However, that is the terminology used by Larisa in the context of her conception plan and, in this case, we felt it was appropriate to leave it within the episode.
Episode 10 – Mental health with Fearne Cotton
Welcome back to #TheFoodMedicPodcast. On the final episode of season 3, Dr.Hazel visits Fearne Cotton in her home to chat all about her experience with mental health – the highs, the lows and everything in between.
Resources mentioned in the podcast:
- Mind – https://www.mind.org.uk/
- Happy Place – http://www.officialfearnecotton.com/happy-place
*Warning: contains explicit language*
BONUS EPISODES
Sleep + travel with Alan Flanagan
On the podcast today (returning for The 12 days of Christmas) Hazel is joining by Alan Flanagan who is currently pursuing his PhD in chrono-nutrition at the University of Surrey. They discuss how much sleep we need, what happens when we don’t get enough sleep, how sleep deprivation affects our long term health and our appetite, the phenomenon of jet lag and social jet lag, and how exercise can support a restful nights’ sleep.
Christmas Special – Christmas in the NHS with Adam Kay
For the Christmas special of the podcast, Dr Hazel is joined by former doctor, Adam Kay. Adam is now an award-winning comedian and writer for TV and film. His first book “This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor” was a Sunday Times number one bestseller for over a year, breaking all records, and has sold over 1.5 million copies. His second book “Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas” was released in October 2019 and an instant Sunday Times number one bestseller, making him the first author to have simultaneous number ones for hardback and paperback non-fiction titles.