Welcome to my podcast, Healing with Dr Helena, where I challenge the limiting way we currently view disease, and offer a new paradigm for vibrant health and true healing. If modern medicine isn’t providing you with enough answers, and you want to come alive and thrive, rather than merely survive, this podcast is for you.
It’s also for people who want to:
- boost their brain to perform at their peak
- avoid Alzheimer’s and other dementias
- grow bolder rather than older
- and live longer, stronger, healthier and happier.
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Today’s Health Headline is: Sitting is the new smoking — literally!
I know we usually start with a Brain Booster but for today’s Brain Booster to make sense we have to dive into the Health Headline first. Now I suspect this is not the first time you’ve heard the statement that sitting is the new smoking. But have you stopped to reflect on what it actually means? Or do you think it doesn’t apply to you because you go to the gym every day?
Imagine you own a smooth-running car with a powerful engine, beautifully polished body, and not a scratch on its shiny coat. And every morning you take it on a short spin around the block. But for the rest of the day, the car just sits in your garage. Day after day. Eventually, what happens?
The tyres develop flat spots, the battery weakens, and parts begin to seize — not because it wasn’t driven at all, but because it wasn’t driven enough. It sat around in the garage for too many hours a day. Our bodies work like that car.
How many hours did you spend sitting yesterday — in the car, at your desk, on the sofa, at the dinner table?
For a lot of people, when you add up the hours, the time they spend sitting is shockingly high — sometimes 10 to 12 hours a day.
And here’s the most alarming piece of news: People who sit for more than 11 hours a day have a 40% increased risk of early death from heart disease, stroke, cancer, dementia and complications of type 2 diabetes, compared with people who sit for less than four hours a day. Meanwhile, people who sit for more than eight hours a day have a 15% increased risk of early death. So there’s a dose-dependent effect.
And sitting for more than 8 hours a day confers health risks comparable to smoking a packet of cigarettes every day — especially for cardiovascular disease.
Sitting really is the new smoking — literally, not just figuratively. Tune in to find out why.
* * * * *
Following on from today’s Health Headline, your Brain Booster is:
Quit the sit — and stand up for your brain!
Don’t leave your brain in the care of your chair!
A study published in the journal Alzheimer’s Research and Therapy in 2020 found that when 70-plus-year-olds sat for 3 uninterrupted hours, their blood pressure went up, and there were changes in their blood vessels that made it harder for blood to circulate through their brain. This is known as ‘increased cerebrovascular resistance', and it means that it’s harder for blood to deliver oxygen and nutrients to the brain. Not good.
So your call to action is: move to improve every aspect of your health, including your brain.
* * * * *
So what’s missing from modern medicine? A public health campaign titled:
Beware the Chair!
Rise to the Occasion!
Stand to Attention!
Stand up for Yourself!
What’s missing from modern medicine are posters with slogans encouraging movement in every doctor’s waiting room, hospital corridor, retirement village, school classroom, office, library and bus stop.
* * * * *
And today’s Whether Report answers the question: Can you tell me whether varicose veins increase the risk of dementia?
Please subscribe to my podcast or YouTube channel so that you don’t miss an episode, and email your whether questions to: podcast@drhelenapopovic.com
A laugh a day keeps dementia at bay! (EP4)
Saison 1 · Épisode 4
dimanche 10 mai 2026 • Durée 52:40
Welcome to my podcast, ‘Healing with Dr Helena’, where I challenge the limiting way we currently view disease, and offer a new paradigm for vibrant health and true healing. If modern medicine isn’t providing you with enough answers, and you want to come alive and thrive, rather than merely survive, this podcast is for you.
It’s also for people who want to boost their brain to perform at their peak, avoid Alzheimer’s and other dementias, and live longer, stronger, healthier and happier.
Each episode comprises four parts:
A Brain Booster
A Health Headline
An Exploration of What’s Missing from Modern Medicine
A Whether Report where I answer your whether questions eg ‘I’d like to know whether you can explain how …’
Here’s a glimpse of episode 4.
Today’s Brain Booster is: a laugh a day keeps dementia at bay!
Welcome to the science of gelotology — the study of laughter and its physical and psychological effects. Why is it called gelotology? Because it comes from the Greek ‘gelos' meaning laughter. And it turns out that laughter — whether spontaneous, social, or even ‘prescribed’ via laughter therapy (called gelototherapy) — can:
Improve mood — no surprise
Reduce stress, anxiety and depression — also not surprising
Build psychological resilience so you recover from setbacks more quickly
Lower blood pressure
Strengthen your immune system
And support brain health!
Tune in to hear about the fascinating studies on laughter, and how laughter can even reduce disability!
* * * * *
Today’s is:
The language of medicine is making us sick (EP3)
Saison 1 · Épisode 3
dimanche 3 mai 2026 • Durée 41:48
Welcome to my podcast, ‘Healing with Dr Helena’, where I challenge the limiting way we currently view disease, and offer a new paradigm for vibrant health and true healing. If modern medicine isn’t providing you with enough answers, and you want to come alive and thrive, rather than merely survive, this podcast is for you.
It’s also for people who want to boost their brain to perform at their peak, avoid Alzheimer’s and other dementias, and live longer, stronger, healthier and happier.
Each episode comprises four parts:
A Brain Booster
A Health Headline
An Exploration of What’s Missing from Modern Medicine
A Whether Report where I answer your whether questions eg ‘I’d like to know whether you can explain how …’
So here’s a snapshot of episode 3.
Today’s Brain Booster is to get a Can Do Jar instead of a candy jar.
Get a large glass or ceramic jar and label it ‘Can Do Jar’. From now on, whenever you, or anyone in your household, says the word ‘can’t’, they’ll have to put a gold coin in the jar. When the jar becomes full of money — which hopefully it won’t — donate the money to your favourite charity. Your Can Do Jar will be your visual reminder of the power of language and labelling.
Can the way we speak to ourselves boost the functioning of our brain? Absolutely!
The words and grammar we use to describe ourselves and our world, modify how our brain works, how we see our own possibilities, and how we act in the world.
Can a person really die of a broken heart? (EP2)
Saison 1 · Épisode 2
dimanche 26 avril 2026 • Durée 33:00
Welcome to my podcast, ‘Healing with Dr Helena’, where I challenge the limiting way we currently view disease, and offer a new paradigm for vibrant health and true healing. If modern medicine isn’t providing you with enough answers, and you want to come alive and thrive, rather than merely survive, this podcast is for you.
Today’s Brain Booster is to recognise that every choice you make impacts your brain.
Everything you do, everything you think, everything you believe, and everything you feel, influences the health and functioning of your brain. Your brain is, in fact, changing right now.
As you read these words, as you reflect on what they mean, as you fidget in your chair, tiny connections in your brain are forming, strengthening, or fading away. Your brain is not a predetermined, established, unalterable machine. It’s a living, transforming, adapting organ that rewires itself in response to everything you experience.
This remarkable ability of our brain to change is known as neuroplasticity.
Today’s Health Headline is: humans don’t like facing their fears — and this gets in the way of healing.
What do I mean by that?
When we encounter an illness, our immediate response is to want to stomp out the symptoms as quickly as possible. But perhaps a more valuable approach would be to pause and reflect on what our body is trying to tell us.
Sometimes disease is our body calling out for rest, movement or better nutrition.
Sometimes disease is ourheart calling out for forgiveness, fulfilment or deeper relationships.
And sometimes disease is ourinner wisdom calling out to be heard and heeded.
And when we ask ourselves, ‘What part of me is calling out to me?’ the answer always comes. But we live such fast-paced, frantic, furious lives that we don’t hear the faint whisper of our intuition. And even if we pause for a moment — through meditation, mindfulness, a stroll in nature, or just keeping still – we don’t always to hear the answer because it might entail us doing something we don’t want to do …
What if disease were a doorway, instead of a defect? (EP1)
Saison 1 · Épisode 1
mardi 14 avril 2026 • Durée 31:55
Think about this for a moment: modern medicine has made the most staggering advances.
We’ve mapped the entire human genome.
We’ve synthesised hormones.
We’ve implanted embryos, and we’ve transplanted hearts, lungs, livers, kidneys and pancreases.
Yet we’re getting sicker, more tired and more depressed by the day. And we’re getting sicker at a younger and younger age. And it’s not just one disease that’s on the rise, it’s all non-infectious diseases: allergies, autism, autoimmune diseases, arthritis, cancer, diabetes, depression, anxiety, food intolerances … the list goes on. It doesn’t make sense, that in this age of technological marvels, we aren’t making a dent in defying disease.
Modern medicine is obviously missing something. That’s why I’ve started my podcast: Healing with Dr Helena.
Each episode begins with a Brain Booster (BB). And your first BB is: start with a reason, not a routine. In other words, what’s a compelling reason for you to become proactive about your brain health? And what do I mean by brain health?
This is followed by a Health Headline: What if disease were a doorway, instead of a defect? Because that’s how we tend to view disease: as something to be despondent about. But what if instead, we decided to view disease as a doorway? What would happen?
I think we’d completely change — in fact we’d revolutionise for the better — the way we practise medicine and approach health care. Because we’d then have to ask the question: a doorway to what?
The next part of the podcast answers the question: What’s missing from modern medicine? And the first thing that’s missing is the recognition that just because something doesn’t come in a pill, doesn’t mean it isn’t powerful.
Sleep, stress management, food, exercise, music, art, family and friends, are all powerful medicines. In fact, they’re powerful than popping pills, but they take more time, effort and energy. And our medical system isn’t set up to approach health and healing from such a broad, holistic perspective. So it’s up to you to choose your path: the path of popping pills, or the path to personal power.
HEALING with Dr Helena - Trailer
mardi 7 avril 2026 • Durée 00:17
HEALING with Dr Helena
Every soft drink is a bullet to your brain! (EP6)
Saison 1 · Épisode 6
dimanche 24 mai 2026 • Durée 01:18:36
Today’s Brain Booster is: Skip the sugary sip — because every soft drink is a bullet to your brain!
A landmark study found that people who regularly consumed sugary drinks — including soft drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks, sweetened tea and fruit juices — had smaller brain volumes and scored worse in tests of recent memory.
A large review of US adults aged 60 years and older showed that increased consumption of the above-listed beverages was significantly linked to worsening cognitive function.
And an investigation of more than 177 000 UK residents who were followed for an average of nine and a half years revealed that those who drank two or more soft drinks a day had a significantly higher risk of developing dementia — whether or not they carried genes that increased their risk of Alzheimer’s. In other words, having good genes does not protect you from dementia if you drink sugary drinks.
So the message is clear: the more you drink, the more you shrink your brain and its ability to function.
But how do sugary drinks cause so much havoc to our brain? That’s what today’s Brain Booster is all about.
* * * * *
Today’s Health Headline is: Soft drinks are the new cigarettes.
In podcast 5, I said that sitting was the new smoking. And it is. But equally so, soft drinks are the new cigarettes.
People are more powerful than pills (EP7)
Saison 1 · Épisode 7
mercredi 3 juin 2026 • Durée 59:40
I’m not going to reveal today’s Brain Booster because at the start of the episode I give you a clue and ask you to guess what the Brain Booster might be. So let’s launch straight into today’s Health Headline: People are more powerful than pills.
Study after study has shown that supportive relationships are the number one way to improve our health, happiness and longevity. And it took me a long time to get my head around that.
Nurturing relationships in midlife are a greater predictor of good health as we age than cholesterol level and obesity. Stop and think about that. We’re obsessed with losing weight and keeping our cholesterol down, yet we’d improve our health and longevity to a greater extent if we improved the quality and quantity of our relationships. That’s mind-blowing.
All those years in medical school I spent learning about blood tests and medications and surgical procedures — and it turns out the best medical advice I can give you is to spend more quality time with the people you love. If you want to improve your health — first and foremost — improve your relationships. Tune in to find out why.
* * * * *
What’s missing from modern medicine is taking on board the wisdom of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama when he said: Humans sacrifice their health for wealth — and then have to spend their wealth to regain their heath.
The reason our species has survived for so long is because of our interdependence and ability to co-operate. We know this intuitively. We know that social connections are fundamental to our health and happiness. But we don’t seem to be living that way.
Our current culture pushes us to prioritise work and career advancement and getting a better income and ticking things off our to-do list, at the expense of looking after our health; at the expense of getting enough sleep, exercise, sunshine, and good nutrition. And at the expense of our relationships.
Feeling is healing (EP8)
Saison 1 · Épisode 8
dimanche 7 juin 2026 • Durée 01:01:30
Today’s Brain Booster is: Train your brain to reframe.
Have you ever put your foot in it and unintentionally offended someone? Or received notification that your job interview was unsuccessful?
Before you know it, your mood has plummeted. Even though physically nothing has happened to you, your heart rate and blood pressure rise, your muscles tighten, and you start replaying the event in your mind.
Why couldn’t I just have kept my mouth shut? Now that person’s going to hate me.
I’m hopeless at interviews. I’m never going to get a job.
But all of that is just my interpretation. The person I unintentionally offended might have forgotten about the incident, or not been as offended as I thought. And the job might have had hundreds of applicants and I did well to get to the interview stage.
So it’s not the event that’s inherently mood-dampening; it’s what I’m telling myself about the event. It’s the meaning I attach to my experiences that determines their impact. And that’s where a powerful brain skill can come in and rescue the day: cognitive reframing — also sometimes called cognitive reappraisal. Tune into this week’s podcast to find out why cognitive reframing can improve both our physical and mental health.
* * * * *
Today’s Health Headline is: Every symptom is a signal.
I first introduced the idea of every symptom being a signal in podcast episode 1, but we only scratched the surface. Today we’re going to explore the concept further because it’s an example of cognitive reframing. In fact, my entire approach to healing is grounded in four cognitive reframes:
Disease is a doorway — not a defect.
— not a scourge.
Purge yourself of Plastic (EP9)
Saison 1 · Épisode 9
dimanche 14 juin 2026 • Durée 38:20
Today’s Brain Booster is: Purge yourself of plastic!
Why? And what do I mean by that?
Plastics have become ubiquitous in modern life. Over time, larger plastic items degrade into smaller particles — micro and nanoplastics (MNPs) — and these MNPs can infiltrate air, water, soil, food chains, and ultimately the human body. While the environmental impacts of microplastics are well-documented, human health consequences are only just beginning to be understood.
A 2024 study at the University of New Mexico found triple the amount of MNPs in the brains of people with dementia compared to the brains of people without.
At this stage, we don’t know if the plastics caused the dementia, or if a person with dementia has an impaired blood brain barrier, which makes their brain more likely to absorb plastics after they already have the disease.
Either way, my suspicion is that plastics in the brain are not a good thing.
We can’t escape plastics entering our bodies altogether, but we can try to minimise our exposure in various ways. Here’s an acronym I created to help you remember how you can purge yourself of plastic. And the acronym is PLASTIC!
P stands for purify the tap water in your home.
L stands for limit, if not eLiminate processed foods because so many of them are contaminated with high levels of plastics.
A stands for Avoid cosmetics that contain micro-beads, and check the ingredients on personal care products for polystyrene, polyethylene and polypropylene.
S stands for Swap plastic cutting boards, utensils and cutlery for wooden or bamboo chopping boards and stainless steel cutlery.
stands for maintenance. Keep your car tyres at the right pressure so they don’t wear down as quickly because tyres are a big source of microplastics in the air and oceans.
Health Headline
Great health is not a distant destination. It’s a daily decision.
In the previous podcast I introduced you to the concept of TRUE MEDICINES — an acronym for the foundations and fundamental principles of great health and healing.
So how do you start implementing TRUE MEDICINES and embark on the adventure of true healing?
Whether you’ve received a diagnosis of a major or minor illness, or you want to improve your overall health, go through each letter of the acronym and see how it applies to you.
The first two letters, T and R, belong together because they stand for Take Responsibility. And today, we get to grips with what Taking Responsibility really means.
* * * * *
What’s missing from modern medicine is the recognition that we are spiritual beings in a physical body.
This isn’t as unscientific as it sounds. Spirituality is not a belief, a religion, or the practice of a particular faith. Spirituality is the perception that you are more than your physical body, and you’re connected to something greater than yourself. Spirituality is the sense that you have access to power that is beyond what we can currently measure in the physical realm.
Research shows that feeling in some way connected to a Universal Life Force, a Higher Power, something beyond the physical — beyond what our five senses can perceive — correlates with better outcomes for people diagnosed with serious illnesses.
* * * * *
And today’s Whether Report addresses the question: ‘I wonder whether you aren’t giving people false hope? There are many diseases, especially psychiatric and neurological ones, like schizophrenia, MS, dementia and Parkinson’s that are not curable. Maybe one day they will be, but for now, they can only be managed with lifelong medication and psychotherapy. With consistent treatment, I know many people can manage their symptoms, reduce relapses, and lead productive lives, but you seem to be suggesting that we can cure these conditions. I wonder whether this isn’t an unrealistic message?
* * * * *
Please subscribe to my podcast or YouTube channel so that you don’t miss an episode, and email your whether questions to: podcast@drhelenapopovic.com
If you’re happy for me to play your voice on my podcast, you can provide an audio file. Otherwise, you can type your question for me to read out.
I very much look forward to answering your questions and exploring how we can all build a smarter brain, stronger body and deeply fulfilling life.
Negative self-talk:
Decreases brain connections related to confidence and reward
Reduces motivation
And harms mental health
Negative self-talk also triggers the release of the stress hormone cortisol, which damages cells in a region of the brain called the hippocampus. Since the hippocampus is our learning and memory warehouse, cortisol erodes our ability to think clearly and retrieve memories, so it turns the negative self talk into a self fulfilling prophecy. Language is more than a neutral medium for describing ourselves and our experiences; it shapes them.
Today’s Health Headline is: the language of medicine is making us sick!
Have you ever noticed that the language of medicine is actually the language of war? Modern medicine wants to:
Fight the infection!
Kill the virus!
Eradicate the invaders – meaning bacteria and viruses
Irradiate the tumour
Cut out the cancer
Defeat the disease and wage war on obesity!
In medical speak, drugs and various therapies are referred to as armamentarium and you must follow doctor’s orders!
This is major warfare we’re talking. What’s wrong with this approach? Everything. Tune in to find out why.
What’s missing from modern medicine is an understanding of what constitutes TRUE MEDICINES.
And what are TRUE MEDICINES?
TRUE MEDICINES is an acronym for the foundations and fundamental principles of great health and healing.
The letters T-R-U and E give you the foundations.
The letters M-E-D-I-C-I-N-E-S give you the fundamental principles of great health and healing. In other words, each letter in MEDICINES reveals an essential ingredient for boosting your brain, enhancing your immune system, and living longer, stronger and happier. Today I’ll run through what each letter stands for and give you a brief explanation. Going forward with this podcast, we’ll explore each principle in greater depth.
And today’s Whether Report addresses the question: ‘I recently learned that dementia was the leading cause of death in Australia. I’d like to know whether you can explain how someone dies from dementia. I thought dementia was largely about memory loss and thinking ability.’
Please subscribe to my podcast or YouTube channel so that you don’t miss an episode, and email your whether questions to: podcast@drhelenapopovic.com If you’re happy for me to play your voice on my podcast, you can provide an audio file. Otherwise, you can type your question for me to read out.
want
What’s missing from modern medicine is recognising the need to change our inner state, not just our outer state, if we want true healing. Healing is not the same as eliminating symptoms or eradicating a disease. Surgery or chemo or radiotherapy can remove a cancer. But if a person is in the same state of being — physical, psychological or emotional — that led to the cancer, the cancer will return. Or some other disease will take its place. Maybe not immediately. Maybe not for several years. But re-emerge it will.
Cancer can be life-threatening and shakes people to their core, so they often re-evaluate their lives, values and what’s truly important to them. And I’d argue that it’s the inner changes — the shift in belief systems — the re-prioritisations — the search for answers — that keep the cancer away after the surgery, chemo or radiotherapy have done their job. Physical interventions can cut out tumours and kill cancer cells but they won’t keep the them away if the same factors that brought them on are at play.
Note that this is NOT about blaming a person for their disease. The speed of our lives is inherently health-eroding. Traumas that remain buried can express themselves as bodily ill health. Distressing events hinder the functioning of our immune system. A lot of things impact our physical and mental wellbeing that we aren’t consciously aware of. So it isn’t about blaming a person for their condition. It’s about creating a safe space for all of us to explore the link between our inner and outer lives. That’s the start of true healing.
And today’s Whether Report answers the question: Whether you can really die of a broken heart?
Please subscribe to my podcast or YouTube channel so that you don’t miss an episode, and send your whether questions to: podcast@drhelenapopovic.com If you’re happy for me to play your voice on my podcast, you can provide an audio file. Otherwise, you can type your question for me to read out.
more
And the first Whether Report answers the question: Whether Alzheimer’s disease and dementia are the same thing?
Please subscribe to my podcast so that you don’t miss an episode, and send your whether questions to: podcast@drhelenapopovic.com
If you’re happy for me to play your voice on my podcast, you can provide an audio file. Otherwise, you can type your question for me to read out.
I very much look forward to answering your questions and exploring how we can all build a smarter brain, stronger body and deeply fulfilling life.
Is there a safe level of cigarette smoking? No. Smoking just ONE cigarette a day increases the risk of having a heart attack or stroke.
A similar scenario plays out for soft drinks. There is no safe level of soft drink consumption. The problem, however, is that there are no anti-soft drink campaigns or public health initiatives to encourage people to quit soft drinks because the general attitude to soft drinks is back where we were with cigarettes in the 1950s. Today’s Health Headline explores the lessons we can learn from dealing with cigarettes, and how we can apply those principles to soft drinks.
* * * * *
What’s missing from modern medicine is the guts to stand up to the soft drink industry.
Much like cigarettes half a century ago, soft drinks have enjoyed decades of social acceptance while quietly contributing to all chronic diseases. And while there are scientists and public-health advocates arguing that sugary drinks warrant similar regulation to cigarettes, their voices aren’t loud enough.
Why aren’t the hazards of soft drinks taught in every school in every country in the world?
Why aren’t soft drink vending machines banned from educational institutions, work places and fitness centres? Why aren’t there soft drink public education campaigns, warning labels, taxes and stricter marketing controls — especially in relation to young people?
* * * * *
And today’s Whether Report addresses the following dilemma: Can you please tell me whether fruit juice is healthy or not? I keep seeing contradictory messages about fruit juice. One minute I’m told to go on a juice cleanse, and the next minute I hear that fruit juice has too much sugar and I shouldn’t drink it at all. Also can you tell me whether squeezing my own fruit at home is healthier than buying ready-made juice from the grocery store? And finally, please tell me whether using a blender or NutriBullet to make a smoothie is healthier than simply drinking juice.
* * * * *
Please subscribe to my podcast so that you don’t miss an episode, and email your whether questions to: podcast@drhelenapopovic.com
For resources visit: www.drhelenapopovic.com/podcast
There are so many pressures constantly pulling at us that maintaining friendships and just being present with our family can take a back seat. And that’s evidenced by the fact that more than 40% of marriages in Australia, the US and UK end in divorce.
It’s not that work and paying bills isn’t important, but paradoxically, we’d actually be more productive at work, we’d get ahead more quickly, we’d be more successful, and we’d handle life’s stresses more effectively, if we spent more time building good relationships at work and at home.
And here’s the other irony. We think that the reason we’re working so hard, and keeping so busy, and not switching off, is to improve our quality of life and that of our family. But is it really improving our quality of life?
* * * * *
And today’s Whether Report answers the question: I’ve heard that loneliness is as damaging as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. I’d like to know whether this is actually true. I’m an introvert and I like spending time alone. I’m happy in my own company, but I’d like to know whether I should force myself to become an extrovert for the sake of improving my health.
* * * * *
Please subscribe to my podcast so that you don’t miss an episode, and send your whether questions to: podcast@drhelenapopovic.com
Instead of regarding disease as something that gets in the way of living a full life, reframe it as the very thing you need to guide you to a full life. Reframe disease as your body communicating to you that there’s some sort of conflict in your life that needs to be resolved, or at least acknowledged. This approach may take more time and energy than medications or surgery, but do you want the path of popping pills or the path to personal power?
* * * * *
What’s missing from modern medicine is acknowledging that emotions impact our physical health, not just our mental health.
Modern medicine relegates emotions to the domain of mental health and psychologists. But emotions also have a HUGE impact on our physical health. Suppressing our emotions can make us sick, while learning to feel can heal.
* * * * *
And today’s Whether Report answers a question I was asked at a recent presentation: ‘When it comes to the benefits of expressive writing, can you tell me whether typing on a computer is as effective as handwriting in a journal?’
For resources and references visit: https://drhelenapopovic.com/podcast/
T
Tyre pressure
I stands for Invest in a HEPA air purifier for your home to capture microplastics from the air.
C stands for Choose Clothes made from natural materials like cotton, linen, silk, or wool. Cotton and wool shed fewer micro-fibres than synthetic materials during washing.
* * * * *
Today’s Health Headline is: There’s a spoonful of plastic in your brain!
According to a study published in Nature Medicine in December 2024, even in the absence of dementia, our brains contain a teaspoonful of plastic. Really? Let’s take a closer look at the study and the whole microplastics scene.
* * * * *
What’s missing from modern medicine is conclusive evidence for the specific harms of plastics, and definitive advice about what we can do once plastics have made their way into our body. It’s important to recognise what we don’t yet know because jumping to conclusions, and getting into a panic, could take us down an unhelpful path.
* * * * *
Today’s Whether Report tackles a tricky question: I’d like to know whether microplastics cause gut disorders like inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), and whether eating specific foods like blueberries, blocks the absorption of microplastics or helps clear them out of our bodies?
Please subscribe to my podcast or YouTube channel so that you don’t miss an episode, and email your whether questions to: podcast@drhelenapopovic.com
