The Best of Health Podcast

As a functional nutritionist of 15 years and certified IFM practitioner, I am passionate about both health and education. Combining these two passions, through engaging conversations with many different guests I invite you on a journey that will illuminate the time of preventive healthcare is well and truly here. That you can, with the right information, change the course of your health path, ageing free of pain, inflammation and dis-ease.

Over each season of The Best of Health Podcast, I’m going to be covering topics broad and wide across all aspects that make up our health: from gut our microbiome, nutrigenomics, to chatting with food and supplement suppliers - it’s all on the table to discuss!

Each episode provides insightful conversations with a varied scope of health care professionals, clinicians, researchers, functional medicine practitioners and industry leaders   to open up the dialogue and inspire, you - the listener to consider that declining health as we age is not a given, that with the right information - many chronic Dis-eases are indeed preventable. I hope to engage and inspire you to achieve The BEST of health!

You can listen to each of the episodes below or via Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or Anchor.FM

Series 3 | Episode 8 with Lara Briden - perimenopause and ageing well

My last podcast episode of season 3 is the incredible Lara Briden - it was like Christmas come early spending an hour speaking with her and I’m so grateful for her time.

If you’ve not discovered Lara before, this is an incredible introduction to her natural ease of explaining perimenopause, menopause, HRT, metabolic flexibility, insulin resistance and so much more. But overall she gives the gift of hope - for all women going through perimenopause, there is so much you can do to overcome symptoms and to excel as you enter menopause and the next stage of life.

Find out more about Lara Briden here

Series 3 | Episode 7 with Patrick Holden - why our food system is in need of reform, for our health and futures generations health

One of the many inspiring speakers at the Integrative and Personalised Medicine conference this year was Patrick Holden, Founding Director and Chief Executive of the @susfoodtrust. Patrick’s session really resonated with me as he shared his passion about the application of Nature’s principles of Harmony to food and farming.

I am thrilled that Patrick agreed to join me in a podcast this season to discuss why our food system is in desperate need of reform.

With nearly 50 years of farming experience, Holden Farm Dairy is now the longest established organic dairy farm in West Wales. As well as being hands-on at the farm, his role at the Sustainable Food Trust works towards accelerating the transition towards more sustainable food systems and influencing government policy - he only recently returned from COP27.

I’m so grateful to Patrick for his time to talk about how sustainable food systems directly impact our health. Check it out - you won’t regret it!

Find out more about The Sustainable Food Trust here

Series 3 | Episode 6 with Toral Shah - Epigenetics and Cancer: the impact of social determinants for health

This week’s podcast has been a long time in the planning so I am absolutely delighted to finally share with you my podcast episode with Dr Toral Shah. 
We discuss how interactions between genes & environment impact both the risk of developing cancer and the intersection with social determinants of health. Toral talks about her own family’s personal cancer experience frankly, to help educate people about epigenetics and cancer. She also shares how stress is a major risk factor and we touch upon how personalising nutrition and lifestyle advice can be a huge support to your body to reduce the risk of cancer but also through perimenopause.

This is an incredible episode and I highly recommend you take an hour out of your day to listen.

Find out more about Toral Shah here

Series 3 | Episode 5 with Dr Victoria Sampson - the importance of your Oral Microbiome

This week on the podcast I was delighted to speak to Dr Victoria Sampson, a dentist and scientist (shortlisted as one of the most promising young scientists in Europe for Forbes under 30) to talk about the second most diverse microbiome in our body that been largely ignored - the oral microbiome. Victoria helps shed a light on this wonderful microbiome and is really fascinating with you consider that the teeth are the only non-shedding surface in the body, so it’s a really unique environment when you also consider the amount of things that are now in our mouths beyond food and drink - like braces, invisalign, fillings, crowns.

The mouth is the gateway to gastro-intestinal tract, so if there is an imbalance in the oral microbiome there are systemic body-wide implications. We discuss everything around the oral microbiome including implications of an oral microbiome imbalance on men and women’s fertility, to the topic of fluoride and also the importance of brushing and flossing. As always, I could have chatted and listened to Victoria all day - this episode is packed full of gems for anyone interested in their optimal health. 

Find out more about Dr Victoria Sampson here

Series 3 | Episode 4 with Dr Emma Ping - Understanding ADHD, Women's Hormones & Menopause 

This week’s podcast episode was a huge eye-opener for me and features Dr Emma Ping, an accredited registered member of The British Menopause Society who is passionate about offering women holistic, patient-centred, bespoke advice and support and another passionate believer that it’s never too late start improving your life.

Dr Ping reached out to me to generously share her specialist knowledge in ADHD (attention deficit hyperactive disorder) and her particular interest in women and how hormones influence ADHD symptoms. 

I found this episode a huge education and a really fascinating guided expert insight into women’s health, the neurodivergent brain, and the connection between female hormones and ADHD.

Find out more about Dr Ping and the Menopause Care clinic here.

Series 3 | Episode 3 with Jenna Macciochi - exploring the part our immune system plays in ageing well

This week’s podcast episode features immunologist Jenna Macciochi and we delve in exploring the part our immune system plays in ageing well.

The Immune System is a part of the body that we have all become acute more aware of in the last 2 years so I was thrilled to get Jenna on the podcast as the queen of the immune system to explain the many different facets to this beautiful system and how environmental factors like stress impact it as well as her thoughts on supporting immune functionality. 

It was such a wonderful conversation, we discussed as working mothers ourselves the personal experience we both have encountered with the natural changes to our hormone levels on immune system and wider health as a whole! 

It’s a fabulous episode for anyone with an interest in looking after your immune health through all life stages.

Find out more about Jenna Macciochi here.

Series 3 | Episode 2 with Emma Beswick - understanding your metabolism and nutrigeomics

If you’ve been listening to my podcast since season one then today’s guest will be a familiar voice… I had the joy of spending an hour with my wonderful friend and professional colleague Emma Beswick from @LifeCodeGx

Emma and I discuss metabolism and how nutrigenomics profiling can give a truly unique insight to how you generate and use energy, as it relates to weight loss and weight management, energy for optional brain health, and summarise the involvement and usefulness of sirtuins in anti-ageing interventions….. It’s fascinating folks ….. The next frontier of  truly understanding and navigating YOUR metabolism as we age is here!

Find out more about Lifecode Gx

Series 3 | Episode 1 with Dr Mandy Leonhardt & Dr Hannah Short - premature ovarian insufficiency and early menopause

Joining me on the podcast mic this week was not just one but two incredible women who are so passionate about supporting and educating women through menopause. So much so, that they together wrote a book about it! This weeks episode features Dr Mandy Leonhardt & Dr Hannah Short who co-authored The Complete Guide to Premature Ovarian Insufficiency and Early Menopause.

Early menopause is so poorly understood, not just by the general public but indeed healthcare providers and policy makers so this this episode we discuss everything from understanding what exactly induced menopause (medical and surgical) is and Premature Ovarian Insufficiency, the differences and tests / investigations that can be used to confirm or rule out as well as support for women including HRT options.

Find out more about Dr Mandy Leonhardt
Find out more about Dr Hannah Short

Series 2 | Episode 9 with Dr Tina Peers - understanding Histamine, Hormones & Long Covid

This is the final episode of season two of my podcast and a truly fantastic episode that everyone can benefit from listening to.... The incredible Dr Tina Peers joins me to talk about how her own daughter's health led on a crusade to get to the root cause of her issues. Dr Peers wonderfully explains what histamine is and what happens when we have too much. Trained as a GP and more recently focusing on menopause, mast cells disorders and long COVID, Dr Peers provides a wonderful explanation of the interplay between the immune system and the endocrine system. 

If you're interested in long-covid and treatment - this is the episode for you. Dr Peers talks about long covid and mast cell activation and how her own quest to find appropriate diagnosis and treatment for clients drove a national campaign to collect information and share evidence-based practice with other health practitioners for long-covid treatment clinics. 

Find out more about Dr Tina Peers here

Series 2 | Episode 8 with Emily Blake - understanding urinary tract infections and the 'Gut-Vagina-Bladder' Axis

Prepare yourself for a hugely insightful podcast with Emily Blake from Invivo Healthcare. During this episode we discuss Urinary Tract Infections, one of the most common types of infection which pose a significant burden on the quality of life of women in particular at different life stages. Emily talks us through the urinary microbiome and delves into the strains of bacteria that inhabit it. We continue to talk about the relations between the different microbiomes the Urinary Microbiome and the vaginal microbiome and how we can support and aid the prevention and management of UTIs. what we can do to restore balance to the urinary ecosystem by harmonising the gut-bladder-vagina axis.

I'm sure you'll agree, Emily's passion for understanding the urinary ecosystem is infectious and sheds a light on so much new evidence that is helping us understand this wonderful system more. 

Find out more about Invivo Healthcare here

Find out more about Emily Blake here

Series 2 | Episode 7 with Lorna Driver-Davies - laying the groundwork for our teen girls and young women

Supporting our young girls and women through adolescence is such an important role and the best place to start is understanding what's happening in their body. I am delighted to have the wonderful Lorna Driver-Davies join me on the podcast to focus on exactly this and her specialist area of support Nutritional Therapy, Functional Medicine & Naturopathy. We start with the basics: understanding what is happening to our young girls and the key vitamins and minerals we should be mindful of when girls start their menstrual cycle. We also discuss the teenage microbiome, what's important to consider if young people are choosing  vegetarianism / veganism, the importance of teenagers getting complex carbs, and of course nutrition for teenage skin. 

Find out more about Lorna here

Find out more about Wild Nutrition here

Series 2 | Episode 6 with Emma Beswick - understanding epigenetics and women's health

I couldn't resist to ask the lovely Emma Beswick from LifecodeGx back on the podcast for another episode to delve into epigenetics and women's health. In this episode Emma talks about how your behaviours and environment can cause changes that affect the way our genes work. We discuss her wonderful Female Health Hormone panel that helps us understand how women are “set up” to produce, receive and clear oestrogen and progesterone, and the benefits of this panel specifically for women at perimenopause / menopause life stages who are at the cross-road of considering HRT. Plus if that isn't enough, we also discuss an amazing metabolite ALLO that has anti anxiety effects and new genes on LifecodeGx reporting that help us in this area.

Find out more about LifeCode Gx here. 

Series 2 | Episode 5 with Sandra Greenbank - understanding autoimmunity and women's health

This episode focuses all on fertility with wonderful expertise shared by the delightful a Nutritional Therapist who focuses specifically on fertility. Sandra explains the importance of nutrition and how it can impact fertility and optimum conditions for conception including plenty of tips about managing stress and essential nutrients.

Find out more about Sandra's clinical practice here.  

Series 2 | Episode 4 with Robyn Puglia - understanding autoimmunity and women's health

Robyn Puglia is a wonderful friend and colleague who trained in functional medicine the same time as me many years ago. Robyn and & reunite our passion for women's health in this episode discussing everything relating to autoimmunity and women's health. Robyn's own journey to understanding her autoimmune condition is an incredible and inspiring story and she explains the immune system with so many illustrative analogies. Another fabulous episode with golden nuggets of information for you to take away & I hope you agree. 

Find out more about Robyn's clinical practice here.

Series 2 | Episode 3 with Dr Nicky Keay - understanding the menstrual cycle, PCOS and Endometriosis

I enjoyed the podcast episode with Dr Nicky Keay so much last season that I had to invite her back, this time to focus specifically on the endocrine system and shining a light on the menstrual cycle - absolutely essential for all women!

This episode really hones in on understanding the menstrual cycle, how the hormones in our body adjust throughout the system and nutrients to support us each month. Dr Keay also so eloquently explains what’s happening in women’s bodies in relation to endometriosis and PCOS, including the clinical testing that’s involved for a true diagnosis.

I highly recommend this episode for women who notice irregularities with their menstrual cycle, a good starting point to understanding what going on in your body.

Find out more about Dr Nicky Keay here.

Series 2 | Episode 2 with Debbie Cotton - understanding the vaginal microbiome

In this episode I talk to Debbie Cotton about everything relating to the vaginal microbiome. Debbie explains the concept of microbiome so easily and goes on to explain what a 'normal' microbiome would be and what happens in a case of dysbiosis. Debbie's depth of knowledge goes even further explaining how particular testing can help identify and imbalances and also support making healthier choices for an optimal environment and how probiotics can support the optimal health of the vagina. 

Find out more about Debbie Cotton here.

Series 2 | Episode 1 with Tracey Randell: IBS, SIBO & histamine

The UK Queen of SIBO and IBS, my dear friend and colleague Tracey Randell joins me for the opening episode of season two and it’s a helluva episode for you to wrap your ears around. It’s all about the gut and bowels, but don’t let that put you off - Tracey talks about getting to the root cause of gut and digestion issues, painting a lovely picture to understand what’s going on in our body in the case of IBS, SIBO while touching upon dysbiosis and untangling the impact of stress on our bodies and the the role histamine has to play in our bodies and hormonal health.

Find out more about Tracey's IBS Clinic here⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Episode 1 with Humphrey Bacchus: microbes & gut health

This was a wonderful episode to record as we discussed everything from the growth of a love of microbes, the relationship between our ecosystem and our health, the change in perception of the gut and our common love of microbiology, right through to the panels and products Invivo have created. But don’t worry - this isn’t a full-on science lesson, Humphrey has a wonderful way of relating microbes to normal everyday life.

Find out more about Invivo Healthcare here

Episode 2 with Melanie Lawson: fish oils, Omega-3 and Omega-6

If you haven’t heard of Bare Biology before, they specialise in high quality and purity EPA and DHA fish oils. Our conversation naturally is led by delving into the difference between Omega-3 and Omega-6 plus uses for their mental health, memory, cognition and anti-inflammatory properties. The journey that took Melanie to personally using fish oils, sourcing high-quality fish oils, and then founding Bare Biology is really inspirational. Plus Mel shares a sneaky little hint about their newest product in development towards the end!

Find out more about Bare Biology here

Episode 3 with Henrietta Norton: women's health, endometriosis, immune health & food grown supplements

I had such an engaging conversation with Hen all focused on women’s health: from fertility right up to menopause, specifically talking about Hen’s personal experience of endometriosis. We also delve into the sustainability ethos behind the global “food-grown” brand Wild Nutrition, from choosing herbs and creating new formulations. The sound quality is a bit glitchy at times from Hen.... But it was SUCH a fabulous conversation so I didn’t want to cut any of it. So bear with it and hope you enjoy!

Find out more about Wild Nutrition here

Episode 4 with Ben Brown: IBS, Diet Plans, Gut Microbiome

This episode features Ben Brown, naturopathic physician, lecturer, speaker, author & colleague. Ben and I delve into discussing IBS, touching upon the microbiome, testing, restrictive diets and the importance of diversity in your diet. It’s a wonderful conversation and I highly recommend listening to Ben’s insight at every opportunity!

Episode 5 with Deirdre Nazareth: functional osteopathy, chronic pain & gut health, endometriosis

In this episode I had a wonderfully insightful conversation with my wonderful friend & colleague Deedee Nazareth, Functional Medicine Practitioner and Osteopath. Our conversation flows from discussing how gut health and the microbiome impacts chronic pain and how you can manipulate the microbiome to lower the inflammatory response. We also discuss how taking a functional medicine approach and understanding the role of osteopathy can be so helpful for so many women. This episode is full of practical tips around breathing and posture that we can all implement to positively impact our health and wellbeing - have a listen and I’ll guarantee you’ll get so much from listening to Deedee’s wonderful expertise.

Episode 6 with Melanie Brown: Nutrition, Fertility & PCOS

Fertility and nutrition is a really hot topic, especially if you are a woman of a certain age trying to conceive… This podcast episode features one of the best Nutritionists specialising in fertility, IVF and pregnancy - the lovely Melanie Brown. I have known Melanie for such a long time and we so naturally fell into a conversation about how nutrition plays a key role in the health of our reproductive system. We talk about terminology used around women’s health, her top tips for nutrition when trying to conceive, managing PCOS and the difference between folic acid and folate.

This week’s episode is another bumper issue, so easy to listen to with great practical tips.

Episode 7 with Dr Nicky Keay: Hormones, Perimenopause & Female Hormone Mapping

I recently was introduced to Dr Nicky Keay, the Chief Medical Officer at Forth with Life and as soon as I realised her speciality and passion for female hormones I had to ask her on the podcast. Dr Keay is a lecturer, endocrinologist, research fellow with extensive experience in the field of hormones and is also a passionate dancer! This episode of the podcast is really special and flows so naturally from reflecting on women’s menstrual cycles, hormones and optimal health, perimenopause and the importance of exercise reviewing your lifestyle during this lifephase. We also touch upon the impact of the oral contraceptive pill on hormones, and how Forth’s female hormone mapping works, so women can navigate the fluctuations of their hormones for a better understanding of their body.

Find out more about Forth here

Episode 8 with Emma Beswick: Nutrigenomics, Vitamin D & Histamine, Stress and Getting to the Root of Health issues

The final episode of Season 1 of The Best of Health podcast. And no one better to finish with than my lovely colleague Emma Beswick. As two self confessed geeks - we have a wonderful conversation about nutrition and genetics. Emma explains the concept of nutrigenomics and illustrates it perfectly through Vitamin D and Histamine as examples. We also talk about the impact of stress on our body and how her company Lifecode Gx is helping people to get the root of health issues within our control.

Find out more about LifecodeGx here