💬 “If you're feeling a particular way - sad, upset, angry, thirsty, hungry - your automatic reaction is ‘I've got comfort in my phone’. So it becomes a pattern that is ingrained. Not deeply ingrained, because we can break it.” -Dr Nicole Vignola

⚡️ Dr Nicole Vignola is a well-known neuroscientist and brain expert, and author of Rewire: Break the Cycle, Alter Your Thoughts and Create Lasting Change. 

⚡️ In this episode, Nicole and I explore how to break bad habits, phone addiction, negative self-talk, anxiety and rewire your brain for happiness, health and performance.

🎧 Stay tuned to find out:

➡︎ A simple trick to break smartphone addiction and why you should avoid it in the morning

➡︎ How to keep your brain adapting and developing at any age

➡ The science of how walking resets our brain by quieting fear receptors in the brain

➡︎ How to reframe negativity and reinforce positive self-talk

➡︎ The true extent of poor sleep on brain health

📕 Chapters

(1:42) How neuroscience affects you

(4:30) How to avoid cognitive decline

(10:21) Meditation and mental breaks

(12:04) Breaking phone addiction

(16:02) Properly dealing with stress

(22:07) Reframing negative self-talk

(31:27) Healthy dopamine hits

(34:47) Improving brain performance at any age

(39:25) Manifestation

(41:53) Benefits of doing nothing

(44:38) How Nicole optimises her brain

📱 Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

📱 Connect with Nicole:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicolesneuroscience 

Website: https://www.nicolesneuroscience.com/ 

🔥 For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook 

🎙️ An OG Podcasts production.

💬 “Is it something truly in our water, what we eat, the types of stressors that we have in the life that we lead today? It's very challenging to pinpoint.” -Dr Austin Chiang

⚡️ Dr Austin Chiang is a gastroenterologist and well known health influencer. He’s also the author of ‘Gut: An Owner’s Guide’ and is the Chief Medical Officer of Medtronic.

⚡️ In this episode, Austin and I discuss various issues concerning gut health, including the rise in both IBS and colorectal cancer, and what you can do to protect your health.

🎧 Stay tuned to find out:

➡︎ The signs and symptoms of IBS - and why you should always seek professional advice

➡ Why colorectal cancer is set to be the #1 cancer killer among young people

➡︎ How AI is advancing the field of gut health

➡︎ The dangers of colonic irrigation, probiotics and other “gut hacks”

➡︎ The truth about “leaky gut syndrome”

📕 Chapters

(1:40) What does the gut do?

(6:08) Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)

(13:30) Brain gut connection

(15:49) Colorectal cancer rising

(21:00) Dangers of gut “detoxes”

(23:13) Probiotics

(25:29) Leaky gut syndrome

(27:24) Taking action on gut health

(33:31) AI and tech advancements

(37:16) What’s in Austin’s cupboards?

(40:09) Three things you should never do

📱 Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

📱 Connect with Austin:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/austinchiangmd/ 

Website: http://www.austinchiang.com/ 

📕 Find Austin’s book ‘Gut: An Owner’s Guide’ here: https://amzn.eu/d/41gEHdO 

🔥 For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook 

🎙️ An OG Podcasts production.

“A lot of women's health stuff - there's no easy diagnosis. So very, very often women's health things end up getting put into, you have fibromyalgia, you're a hypochondriac, or something like irritable bowel syndrome.” -Dr Karen Tang

Dr Karen Tang is a gynaecologist who specialises in the treatment of pelvic pain, endometriosis and fibroids. She also does a great service educating the public on social media, raising awareness of women’s health issues.

In this episode, I ask Karen how people can figure out what’s causing their pelvic pain, what surprising habits may be causing problems, how patients can better advocate for themselves, and how she’d reimagine sex ed.

Stay tuned to find out:

• Why “stabbing butthole pain” has gone viral, and what it actually is
• Why endometriosis is so commonly misdiagnosed as IBS
• How female anatomy, especially the uterus, does NOT look like it does in the textbooks
• Why we should teach children the proper names for their reproductive organs
• Why you should get a pelvic floor PT!

Chapters

(1:24) Stabbing butthole pain

(4:36) Endometriosis - more than a pelvic condition

(6:43) Endo vs IBS

(8:45) How much pain is too much?

(10:38) The link between gynaecological conditions

(13:20) Being proactive about your health

(16:14) How to advocate for yourself at the doctor’s

(21:56) Actionable tips for perimenopause/menopause

(26:04) How to take care of your pelvic floor health

(31:36) What the uterus actually looks like

(34:49) Reimagining sex sed

(36:53) Teaching children about sexual health

(38:26) The plague of misinformation

Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook
An OG Podcasts production.

“Like most other herbal medicines, CBD is understudied, unregulated, and often wrongly vilified.” -Dr Jeff Chen

Dr Jeff Chen is co-founder of Radicle Science and is doing tons of research advancing our understanding of CBD and other herbal remedies.

In this episode, I ask Jeff about the new science of CBD - both its potential health benefits and challenges. We also explore the promising trials into another cannabis compound - CBN.

Stay tuned to find out:

• How effective CBD is for sleep, anxiety, pain and more
• How stigma and regulatory hurdles have hampered scientific progress
• What you should be looking for when buying CBD products
• How Radicle’s crowd-sources clinical trials are shedding light on many herbal remedies

Chapters

(1:54) What is CBD?

(3:27) Why herbal remedies are dismissed

(8:59) Crowd-sorucing data on CBD and CBN

(14:13) Avoiding bias and determining placebo

(19:46) Science of the endocannabinoid system

(25:11) Safety of OTC CBD supplements

(29:30) Optimal delivery route of CBD

(33:21) Best cases for CBD in clinical settings

(36:46) Choosing the right product - an unregulated market

(48:07) Benefits of lion’s mane mushrooms

Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook

An OG Podcasts production.

“Ozempic has changed the conversation around obesity. Unfortunately a lot of people are misusing the medication.” -Dr Andres Acosta

Dr Andres Acosta is an obesity expert at the Mayo Clinic, and regularly helps patients achieve double digit weight loss thanks to semaglutide, often branded as Ozempic or Wegovy. But as healthy people look to it for a quick fix, he raises a red flag about the drug.

In this episode I ask Andres how Ozempic works, what are its side-effects, and who should actually be taking it. Plus what else works for treating obesity.

Stay tuned to find out:

• The risks and rewards of Ozempic
• What’s going on in the brains of people who struggle with their weight
• How his lab has identified 4 genetic phenotypes causing obesity
• Where Dr Acosta stands on “body positivity”
• How his work is destigmatising obesity
• How close we are to a cure

Chapters

(1:55) Misusing Ozempic

(4:35) Ozempic for longevity and health

(7:49) Diet and exercise vs Ozempic + risks

(10:55) Do you need to take Ozempic forever?

(14:24) Link between the gut and obesity

(19:16) Why obesity is rising

(25:43) Weight loss vs fat loss vs health

(25:36) Cutting edge therapies for obesity

(40:19) A cure for obesity?

(43:12) The problem with BMI

(47:21) Why “fat” doesn’t equal “lazy”

(49:51) The body positivity movement

Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr Learn more about Dr. Acosta's work: https://phenomixsciences.com/

For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook

An OG Podcasts production.

“Women’s pain and women’s suffering has just been ignored” -Dr Jen Gunter

Dr Jen Gunter is an OB/GYN, known for busting myths about women’s health online. She’s the author of Blood, The Menstruation Manifesto and The Vagina Bible.

In this episode I ask Jen for the truth behind the biggest period myths, from cycle syncing, to menstrual cycles, to the effects of food and why period blood is considered dirty. We also discuss PMS, endometriosis, birth control and more.

Stay tuned to find out:

• Why we still know so little about female reproductive health
• What to do if you have painful periods - and how much pain is too much
• The truth behind “pill panic” and the demonisation of birth control
• Why exercise is the best medicine
• Whether you should be worried about forever chemicals in tampons
• What we actually know about the vaginal microbiome - are probiotics useless?

Highlights

(1:31) The taboos of menstruation

(3:15) Period myths

(5:36) Why the lack of medical research and awareness?

(10:20) The truth about cycle syncing

(12:21) Can certain foods stop periods?

(21:53) How to manage PMS symptoms

(28:47) How women’s pain has been ignored

(37:10) Endometriosis

(40:32) The truth about the birth control pill

(48:07) Toxic tampons and forever chemicals

(52:24) Probiotics for the vagina

Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook

An OG Podcasts production.

“The last 55 years of banning psychedelics is the worst censorship of research in the history of the world.” -Professor David Nutt

Professor David Nutt is THE go-to expert on psychedelics. His charity Drug Science is on a mission to break the stigma around hallucinogenic drugs, and inform the public on the real science behind their effects.

In this episode I ask David how drugs like magic mushrooms, MDMA, cannabis and Ketamine are able to treat brain disorders, like depression, so effectively - and why we’ve been led to fear these drugs.

Stay tuned to find out:

• The truth about why psychedelics were banned in the first place
• How safe these drugs are in both a medical and recreational setting
• Whether human evolution was driven, in-part, by psilocybin mushrooms
• About the most recent science and trials
• Myths and misinformation surrounding their use
• How soon we might see the legalisation of psychedelics

Highlights

(1:41) 50 years of censorship

(7:12) Emerging research

(10:24) Safety of psychedelics

(12:47) The stoned ape theory

(19:12) How psychedelics treat depression

(22:48) When will they be legal?

(25:38) Physiological changes in the brain during use

(29:54) Psychedelics versus conventional methods

(32:47) Recreational use

(35:47) Microdosing

(39:06) Enduring benefits of psychedelics

(42:26) Misinformation

(44:05) Treating addiction

(47:13) Future legalisation

Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook

An OG Podcasts production.

“It’s not that we’ve lost some microbes, it’s actually that we’ve gained others. And the ones that we’ve gained are causing us harm.”

Professor James Kinross is a world-leading microbiome expert and bowel cancer surgeon at Imperial College London. He’s also the author of Dark Matter: The New Science of the Microbiome.

In this episode I ask James about the impact of gut health on all aspects of our bodies, from growth to immune function to brain health and even personality. He also shares advice on the food you should be eating to get your gut health in check - science backed and BS-free.

Stay tuned to find out:

• How the microbiome is modifiable - you’re not doomed to have poor gut health
• How to figure out whether you have a healthy gut, and what that actually looks like
• Whether probiotics are more hype than health
• The important role of fibre in gut health - and how to get more of it
• Why cooking your own food is so important
• How ultra-processed food changes the microbiome
• The environmental factors you can alter to improve gut health

Highlights

(1:35) What is the microbiome?

(4:05) What impacts the development of the microbiome?

(9:44) Combating “bad” gut health

(15:17) Are probiotics any good?

(22:39) De-Westernising your diet

(26:46) Problem of ultra-processed food

(32:48) Impact of the modern environment on gut health

(42:43) Fibre’s role in gut health

(49:39) Are artificial sweeteners ok?

(51:56) Intermittent fasting

Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook

An OG Podcasts production.

“Instead of taking a coffee break, take a nap break!” -Professor Gina Poe

Professor Gina Poe is a world renowned neuroscientist who runs Poe Lab at UCLA, which investigates the role of sleep in learning and memory consolidation.

In this episode I ask Gina about the latest science on how to improve and optimise our sleep - with lots of actionable advice.

Stay tuned to find out:

• How to sleep longer and better
• Why naps are good for you - with strategies on how to nap better
• How a lack of sleep can tank your memory
• How long it should take you to fall asleep
• Whether you should be getting a sleep divorce
• If sleep trackers and wearables help, or hurt - and much more

Highlights

(2:49) How sleep impacts memory

(4:51) Why naps are good for you

(11:49) Optimal napping strategies

(14:10) The stages of sleep

(18:01) How deep sleep affects hormones and memory

(23:09) The glymphatic system explained

(27:01) How to tell you’re getting enough sleep

(29:19) How well do wearables measure sleep?

(32:35) Should you sleep with your pets?

(35:46) The sleep divorce

(37:31) How long should you sleep?

(39:34) Can you sleep too much?

(45:32) Strategies for getting more sleep

(48:09) How quickly should you fall asleep?

(49:34) Cutting edge sleep research and actionable tips

Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook

An OG Podcasts production.

💬 “Nature has lots of things that are really harmful. It has lots of things that are really benign. And that's the same with synthetic things. Synthetic things can be really toxic. They can be really safe.” -Dr Michelle Wong

⚡️ Dr Michelle Wong is a science educator, cosmetic chemist and founder of Lab Muffin Beauty Science, where she helps people figure out which beauty products are and aren’t worth buying.

⚡️ In this episode, Michelle and I put the chemical vs natural debate to the test, and look at the science of skin care products. What’s safe and what’s toxic?

🎧 Stay tuned to find out:

➡︎ Why it doesn’t need to be edible to go on your face

➡ Why homemade and DIY sunscreen is a terrible idea

➡︎ Why skin care ingredients actually work and which are overhyped

➡︎ A simple skin care guide for beginners

➡︎ The truth about preservatives like paraben

📕 Chapters

(4:15) Does skin care actually work?

(6:30) Inventing new skin care ingredients

(9:45) Chemicals vs natural

(12:39) DIY sunscreen

(22:17) Sunscreen and vitamin D

(28:47) Science of collagen

(31:19) Overhyped ingredients

(34:27) Parabens and preservatives

(41:41) Becoming more skin care savvy

(44:20) Science based skin care routine

(50:01) Skin microbiome

(52:50) Natural products that work

📱 Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

📱 Connect with Michelle:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/labmuffinbeautyscience/ 

Website: https://labmuffin.com/ 

📕 Find Michelle’s book ‘The Science of Beauty’ here: https://amzn.eu/d/inztPnb 

🔥 For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook 
🎙️ An OG Podcasts production.

💬 “It's giving you very perverse and misleading and possibly even damaging advice by this glucocentric approach to nutrition.” -Dr Nicola Guess

⚡️ Dr Nicola Guess is a nutrition scientist at the University of Oxford, specialising in the dietary prevention and management of type 2 diabetes. She also debunks pseudoscience and misinformation on Instagram and Substack.

⚡️ In this episode, Nicola and I look at the latest diet trends and advice that you really shouldn’t be worrying about, and could actually be harming your health - with a particular focus on blood glucose and the CGM craze.

🎧 Stay tuned to find out:

➡︎Why continuous glucose monitors are useless, except for people who are actually diabetic

➡ Which diet “hacks” work for controlling glucose levels (and if they’re even necessary)

➡︎Why “personalised” diet advice from microbiome tests is a sham

➡︎Why it’s not all-or-nothing with ultra processed foods 

➡︎The health markers you should actually be looking out for, with actionable tips

📕 Chapters

(1:16) Cutting through the pseudoscience

(3:58) CGMs and glucose spikes

(14:25) The real harm of worrying about glucose

(18:31) What should you ACTUALLY be tracking?

(23:03) How to control glucose (if you need to)

(30:36) Microbiome tests and personalised nutrition

(37:45) Probiotics

(43:52) Reality of ultra processed foods

📱 Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

📱 Connect with Nicola:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr__guess/

Substack: https://drguess.substack.com/

🔥 For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook

🎙️ An OG Podcasts production.

💬 “Breast milk really is a nutritional powerhouse. It's more than nutrition. So many different factors come together to give your infants the best start in life.” -Dr Sioned Jones

⚡️ Dr Sioned Jones is the co-founder of BoobyBiome, an all-female team of doctors working out the science behind breast milk, what makes it so beneficial to the health of babies, and how we might be able to replicate its benefits.

⚡️ In this episode, Sioned and I explore the nutrients and bacteria that make up breast milk, and the crucial role it plays in establishing a healthy gut microbiome in infants.

🎧 Stay tuned to find out:

➡︎The side-effects of poor gut health in infants

➡︎How one of puzzling component of breast milk can now be harnessed to improve gut health

➡︎How a mother’s own microbiome impacts her baby’s

➡︎Why pumping and storing breast milk can compromise its health benefits

➡︎Whether you should be heading to your nearest lactation bar to chug down shots of the stuff!

📕 Chapters

(2:04) What makes breast milk so great?

(5:19) Breast milk vs formula

(10:46) How mothers make breast milk

(15:12) Adults drinking breast milk?

(18:49) What causes poor gut health in babies?

(22:01) Critical window for microbiome developments

(26:00) Actionable strategies for mothers

(28:32) Why storing breast milk may compromise its benefits

(31:38) Benefits of colostrum

(33:17) How breastfeeding benefits the mother

(33:48) Scientific advancements

(37:02) Fixing an unhealthy gut

(40:04) Will formula ever match breast milk?

(41:30) Other people breastfeeding your baby

(43:57) Does a mother’s health affect breast milk quality?

📱 Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

📱 Connect with Sioned:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drsionedjones

https://www.instagram.com/boobybiome

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sionedfjones/

🔥 For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook

🎙️ An OG Podcasts production.

💬“The mistake people make is thinking the route to mental health is in self deprivation - in discipline - and I think that is probably misguided.” -Camilla Nord

⚡️ Camilla Nord is an award-winning neuroscientist, leads the Mental Health Neuroscience programme of research at the University of Cambridge, and is the author of The Balanced Brain: The Science of Mental Health.

⚡️ In this episode Camilla and I discuss what’s happening in your brain when you experience issues like depression and anxiety, as well as actionable strategies on how you can improve your mental wellbeing - whether you’re currently suffering or not.

🎧 Stay tuned to find out:

➡︎Why we need to get better at interoception - understanding our internal bodily signals

➡︎Why some people are more likely to suffer mental health problems

➡︎The truth about serotonin and dopamine

➡︎How closely linked mental health is to gut health

➡︎Why classic mental health advice sometimes backfires

📕 Chapters

(2:08) Interoception

(4:55) Your brain when depressed

(8:51) How perception affects experience

(16:11) Negative vs positive self-talk

(20:09) Genetics vs experiences: which causes depression?

(21:32) Why treatment is lacking

(26:08) We need to stop blaming neurotransmitters

(29:40) Brain stimulation

(33:44) Link between gut health and mental health

(38:55) How to improve your mental wellbeing

(47:31) Why neuroscience is important

📱 Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

🔥 For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook

🎙️ An OG Podcasts production.

“We have, because of the nature of our information landscape now, essentially zero capacity to hold any accountability to sources of misinformation. So it's a really terrible time to be an evidence-based healthcare professional.” -Dr Alan Flanagan

Dr Alan Flanagan is a major myth buster in the nutrition space, holding an MSc and PhD in nutrition from the University of Surrey.

In this episode Alan and I debunk common nutrition advice you might be following, and explain the dangerous real life impact online influencers and “gurus” are having on your health.

Stay tuned to find out:

• The dangers of following extreme diets like keto and carnivore
• Why you don’t need to be worried about glucose spikes
• The limitations of personalised nutrition and microbiome research
• Why sweeteners and seed oils have been wrongly demonised
• How to spot a charlatan online

Chapters

(2:12) Real life consequences of misinformation

(8:00) Why people look to online “gurus”

(13:17) Personalised nutrition con

(20:36) Continuous glucose monitors

(26:59) Seed oils are healthy!

(32:50) Artificial sweeteners

(39:49) Cancer misinformation

(45:18) Does the time you eat matter?

(49:22) Microbiome research

(54:21) How to spot a charlatan online

Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook

An OG Podcasts production.

“The human body is made for pleasure. Every bit of your body can give you an intense amount of pleasure. It just depends on how you treat it” -Seema Anand

Seema Anand is an expert in sexual health and pleasure and an authority on the ancient Indian text the Kama Sutra.

In this episode Seema and I break the taboo around sex and she explains how people can find a deeper sense of pleasure and sexual satisfaction in their relationships.

Stay tuned to find out:

• The real meaning of the Kama Sutra and what it teaches us about sexual pleasure
• How to start exploring your own pleasure senses
• Why you should listen to erotic podcasts instead of watching porn
• How to actually satisfy your partner in bed

Chapters

(2:03) Religion and sex

(4:51) Truths about the Kama Sutra

(12:09) The orgasm gap

(16:19) Increase your pleasure diet

(26:00) How men can pleasure their partners

(33:55) How to increase libido

(36:28) Tackling shame in relationships

(38:36) Bedroom red flags

(42:10) “No fap” and other myths

(46:02) Why we’re having less sex

Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook

An OG Podcasts production.

“The vegans hate the carnivores. The carnivores hate the keto people. And a lot of these folks are in a battle for a non-existent entity, and that entity is the crowned king of ‘this is the best diet for everyone’.” -Dr Mike Israetel

Dr Mike Israetel is an exercise scientist, bodybuilder, YouTuber and founder of Renaissance Periodization. He’s known for his no-nonsense, science backed approach to fitness and diet.

In this episode, I ask Mike just how often and how hard you have to workout for health, and whether there really is one diet that is best for everyone.

Stay tuned to find out:

• What diet tribes get wrong about good nutrition
• Why you can get away with training a lot less than you think
• The truth behind “calories in, calories out”
• Whether nutrient timing is important
• Why creatine might just be the best supplement around

Chapters

(2:00) How little can you workout?

(10:19) Calories in, calories out

(18:57) Which diet tribe is right about health?

(26:25) Are artificial sweeteners bad for you?

(34:46) Why diet is so individualised

(40:35) The benefits of creatine

(47:47) Nutrient timing and protein absorption

(55:26) Dr Mike’s 4 tenants for success

Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook

An OG Podcasts production.

“If you enjoy coffee, just go and enjoy coffee, and the data in general suggests that actually caffeine or coffee consumption overall is very beneficial for a number of health outcomes.” -Dr Bryan Saunders

Dr Bryan Saunders is a researcher at the University of São Paulo, who specialises in the study of caffeine, and in particular its effects on exercise performance. He’s co-authored multiple studies on the topic and sheds light on many of the myths that are perpetuated online.

In this episode, I ask Bryan how caffeine is affecting our bodies, everything from the mechanisms behind its ergogenic effects to the truth behind habitual coffee consumption.

Stay tuned to find out:

• Whether your morning coffee really is bad for your health
• How caffeine improves exercise performance
• Whether caffeine actually stops affecting you the more you consume it
• If genetic variations mean some people are immune to its effects
• When you need to stop drinking caffeine for a good night’s sleep

Chapters

(1:56) Morning coffee effects and your adenosine system

(8:27) Does caffeine affect habitual coffee drinkers?

(10:58) Placebo effect of morning cuppa

(14:29) Non-caffeine benefits of coffee

(15:40) Boosting exercise performance

(21:57) The dose you need

(24:10) Ideal time to consume caffeine

(25:38) Negative effects of overconsumption

(30:13) Feeling more TIRED after caffeine?

(34:23) Do you need a caffeine fast?

(37:45) Half-life of caffeine and sleep impacts

(43:34) Long-term physiological effects of caffeine

(45:33) Differences between coffee beans

Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook

An OG Podcasts production.

💬 “Death is not a dirty word. You can say it. You can say he's dying. You can say they've died.” -Julie McFadden 

⚡️ Julie McFadden, known as Hospice Nurse Julie on social media, uses her firsthand knowledge and experience to alleviate the fear and stigma around death and dying. It’s the subject of her new book “Nothing to Fear”.

⚡️ In this episode, Julie and I explore why we should be talking about death more, so we can stop fearing it and start living our lives more fully.

🎧 Stay tuned to find out:

➡︎ What happens to the body in the lead up to death

➡︎ Why death isn’t the worst outcome - suffering is

➡ Why most people are wrong about hospice care

➡︎ The strange deathbed phenomena Julie sees more commonly than you’d think

➡︎ How to learn from people’s most common deathbed regrets

📕 Chapters

(1:03) Why we fear death

(4:23) Why we need to talk about death

(6:55) Cultural and religious traditions

(9:39) The science of dying

(14:36) Misconceptions about palliative care

(16:58) Death is not the worst outcome

(21:44) Death is not a dirty word

(26:49) Strange deathbed phenomena

(30:06) How to have a good death

(33:19) Worst diseases to die from

(37:55) Preparing for death

(40:57) Deathbed regrets

(44:14) Faith and religion

(45:42) One thing everyone should know about death

📱 Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

📱 Connect with Julie:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hospicenursejulie/ 

Website: https://www.hospicenursejulie.com/ 

📕 Find Julie’s new book ‘Nothing to Fear’ here: https://amzn.eu/d/fSZVYAZ

🔥 For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook 

🎙️ An OG Podcasts production.

💬 “When a 13 year old boy stumbles across pornography, I don't think very many of them are interested in seeing women being gagged or choked or degraded. But that is likely to be what they'll see” -Maree Crabbe

⚡️ Maree Crabbe is the Co-Founder of ‘It’s Time We Talked’, an organisation helping children and young people avoid porn’s influence. She has been interviewing people about porn and its impacts for 15 years.

⚡️ In this episode, Maree and I discuss the sharp rise in violent sexual acts being depicted in mainstream, online pornography - and how that’s crossing over into the bedroom.

🎧 Stay tuned to find out:

➡︎ How hardcore porn is reaching children as young as 9

➡︎ How strangulation, coercion and deep-throating is becoming more prevalent

➡ Why the industry is increasingly promoting incest, teen and non-consesual themes

➡︎ What too much extreme porn is doing to our sexual health

➡︎ Strategies to reduce or eliminate porn from your life

📕 Chapters

(1:11) More young people are watching porn

(7:02) Rising aggression in porn

(14:19) Is violence what the audience wants?

(18:17) Violence in the bedroom

(23:20) How porn causes sexual dysfunction

(27:31) Is there “good” porn?

(31:44) What can we do about porn?

(38:25) Improving sex ed

(42:17) Body image and rise in surgery

(47:17) The problem of deepfake porn

(50:02) What about porn stars?

(52:21) Are you addicted?

📱 Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

📱 Connect with Maree:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mareecrabbe/ 

Websites: https://itstimewetalked.com/

https://www.breathlesscampaign.com/

https://www.notthenorm.com.au/ 

🔥 For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook 

🎙️ An OG Podcasts production.

💬 “We've seen a marked increase in the amount of food allergy that's around, and it now affects 5% of UK children. Even in the adult population, it's become a major health issue.” -Prof Adam Fox

⚡️ Dr Adam Fox is a professor in paediatric allergy and runs award-winning private practice Allergy London. He’s also vocal on social media, helping people to better understand allergies and the treatments that are available.

⚡️ In this episode, Adam and I find out why allergies are on the rise globally, what the leading risk factors are for developing an allergy, and science-backed ways to reduce symptoms and reactions.

🎧 Stay tuned to find out:

➡︎ A discovery that’s turned the allergy world upside down

➡︎ Why eczema is so closely linked to the risk of developing allergies

➡ The science of the allergy response and why it happens

➡︎ The link between the gut microbiome and rising rates of allergies

➡︎ Why allergy tests are often a waste of time

📕 Chapters

(1:02) Why allergies are on the rise

(6:36) Science of the allergy response

(12:39) May contain traces of…

(15:58) Can allergies worsen over time?

(17:35) How we outgrow allergies

(20:03) Links to microbiome

(25:42) Environment and climate change

(34:12) Do allergy tests work?

(38:03) Allergy v intolerance

(43:02) Penicillin allergies

(47:48) Sharing allergies with doctors

(49:49) Allergy desensitisation

(57:47) Strategies to control allergies

📱 Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

📱 Connect with Adam:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dradamfox/ 

Website: https://www.allergylondon.com/ 

References: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/255793/food-allergy-doubles-uk-over-last/ 

🔥 For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook 

🎙️ An OG Podcasts production.

💬 “There is so much nonsense out there. The harm of brand marketing to the trust of skincare in general is hard to come back from.” ~Dr Muneeb Shah

⚡️ Dr Muneeb Shah, known as the ‘DermDoctor’, is a board certified dermatologist and one of the most followed science-based skinfluencers in the world.

⚡️ In this episode, Muneeb and I dig into the anatomy of the skin and what drives various skin conditions. We also discuss the overblown, unrealistic claims anti-aging skincare brands make - and what actually works to take years off your face.

🎧 Stay tuned to find out:

➡︎ The anatomy of the skin and the role of your gut and diet in skin health

➡︎ The differences between skincare for men and women 

➡ Why skin cancer needs to be taken more seriously

➡︎ How mood and stress can cause flare ups

➡︎ Dr Shah’s exact skincare routine and what you’ll find in his cupboards

📕 Chapters

(1:22) Anatomy of the skin

(5:28) What affects our skin?

(9:33) Differences between men and women

(14:41) Common skin conditions

(15:46) Skin cancer

(21:18) How mood affects skin health

(24:56) Gut skin axis

(31:29) A cure for BO?

(36:33) Diet and skin health

(40:44) Is anti-aging a scam?

(45:34) How to use retinoids

(48:07) The damage of skinfluencers

(52:45) Dr Karan is challenged on his routine

(59:31) What’s in Dr Shah’s cupboards?

📱 Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

📱 Connect with Muneeb:

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dermdoctor 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doctorly/ 

🔥 For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook 

🎙️ An OG Podcasts production.

⚡️ Is it all or nothing when it comes to ultra-processed foods? Or can we have our cake and eat it too? There’s a lot of fear around UPFs, but is it doing any good?

⚡️ Dr Chris Van Tulleken is a BBC broadcaster and author of “Ultra Processed People: Why Do We All Eat Stuff That Isn’t Food … and Why Can’t We Stop?”

⚡️ In this episode Chris and I dig into the science of ultra processed food and its effects on human health while asking - are we overcomplicating the matter?

🎧 Stay tuned to find out:

➡︎ How worried you really need to be about additives, preservatives and artificial sweeteners in UPF

➡︎ How food companies make this stuff so addictive (and why it’s not your fault for eating too much)

➡ If adding vegetables to ultra processed meals can mitigate its damaging effects

➡︎ Whether UPF’s effects on the microbiome are overblown

➡︎ The good side of UPF and why it’s a valuable resource for many 

📕 Chapters

(2:26) UPF’s role in obesity

(8:50) The benefits of ultra processed food?

(14:20) Simplifying the problem of UPF

(23:08) The fibre problem: could veggies fix UPF?

(29:28) For those who rely on UPF

(33:17) How to regulate it?

(42:46) How UPF impacts the microbiome

(53:19) Are artificial sweeteners really dangerous?

(55:17) How to live with UPF

📱 Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

📱 Connect with Chris:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doctorchrisvt/ 

X: https://x.com/doctorchrisvt 

📕 Crab Chris’ book here: https://amzn.eu/d/454h534 

🔥 For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook 

🎙️ An OG Podcasts production.

💬 “People think I’m anti-physics. I’m not anti-physics. Calories don’t give you the information to improve your diet.”

⚡️ Dr Giles Yeo is a geneticist at Cambridge University specialising in obesity and how our brain controls food intake. He’s also the author of ‘Why Calories Don't Count’ and ‘Gene Eating’.

⚡️ In this episode Giles and I dig into the science of genetics and hunger hormones and why some people struggle with their weight more than others. I also challenge him on the notion that calories don’t count.

🎧 Stay tuned to find out:

➡︎ How over 1000 genes are involved in body weight and controlling your appetite

➡︎ Why obesity isn’t a moral failing and should be thought of as a disease

➡ The huge variety in how different ethnicities are impacted by obesity

➡︎ What exactly “calories don’t count” really means

➡︎ Why fad diets should be ignored and how to find the diet that works for YOU

📕 Chapters

(1:29) Obesity is not a moral failing

(4:01) Is obesity a disease?

(6:00) The role of genetics

(8:39) Obesity phenotypes

(10:59) Best diet for weight loss?

(13:14) Where’s the data coming from?

(15:44) How different ethnicities are affected by obesity

(20:02) Calories don’t count?

(24:34) The truth about ozempic

(26:49) Hungry hormones

(30:11) Not all calories are the same

(32:09) How poverty affects obesity

(34:14) Environment v genetics

(36:19) Reframe the blame

(39:16) Do we need policy change?

(43:18) Our outdated biology

(49:04) Does taste affect weight gain?

(53:59) The microbiome

(58:07) How to take action

📱 Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

📱 Connect with Giles:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gilesyeo/

X: https://x.com/GilesYeo 

📕 Grab Giles’ book here: https://amzn.eu/d/hoAnVLr 

🔥 For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook 

🎙️ An OG Podcasts production.

💬 “82% of people in Japan over the age of 100 turned out to be dead. And they didn't check them all. It is crazy. It is completely crazy.” -Dr Saul Newman

⚡️ Dr Saul Newman from the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing, won an Ig Nobel Prize for research debunking data on the world’s oldest people. His soon to be released book ‘Morbid: an iconoclastic debunking of ageing science’ is all out about fraud, wishful thinking, and ageing research.

⚡️ In this episode Saul and I debunk the fantasy of “blue zones”, where an extraordinary number of people live beyond 100. Should we really be basing health and fitness advice on these longevity hotspots?

🎧 Stay tuned to find out:

➡︎ Why some of the most unhealthy and poorest regions are churning out so many centenarians

➡︎ How “blue zone certificates” are being sold to US towns for $40mil

➡ Why the blue zone myth is dangerous to our health

➡︎ The real secret to living beyond 100

➡︎ How blue zones even impact insurance premiums

📕 Chapters

(6:14) What classifies as a blue zone?

(15:35) Do people forget their age?

(18:05) The real secret to a long life

(25:25) Dangers of the blue zone myth

(27:31) Facing “big alcohol”

(31:07) What do we know about longevity?

(33:19) Corruption all the way down

(35:59) How blue zones impact insurance premiums

(38:19) Who benefits from the blue zone lie?

(46:51) What works for healthy ageing?

(48:17) Selling blue zone certificates for $40mil

(54:18) Will blue zones ever go away?

(56:56) Anti-ageing drugs?

📱 Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

📱 Connect with Saul:

X: https://x.com/saul_newman 

📕 Sources:

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.09.06.24313170v1.full-text

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/704080v3.full

🔥 For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook 
🎙️ An OG Podcasts production.

💬 “I'm out here to raise awareness about something that is so precious. We only realise the value of it when we lose it.” ~Dr Joseph Manjaly

⚡️ Dr Joseph Manjaly is a consultant ear, nose and throat surgeon, who works at the internationally renowned Royal National ENT Hospital in Central London. He also runs The Ear & Hearing Specialist Clinic and has a strong following on social media.

⚡️ In this episode Joseph and I discuss everything from tinnitus to earwax and even eargasms, to help you better understand how to protect your hearing and look after your ears.

🎧 Stay tuned to find out:

➡︎ How to spot hearing loss (and the biggest warning signs)

➡︎ Why earwax is NOT a hygiene issue (and how to safely clean your ears)

➡ How hearing loss is linked with up to a 5x increased risk of dementia

➡︎ Why people with misophonia hate the sound of people chewing food

➡︎ That tinnitus doesn’t have to be a lifelong condition

📕 Chapters

(1:03) Getting proactive with your hearing(4:00) What can go wrong with the ear

(6:02) How does sound damage hearing?

(8:14) Impact of headphones

(9:30) The earbud craze

(15:01) Dealing with earwax

(22:30) Dementia and hearing loss

(27:39) Misophonia

(30:56) Tinnitus

(34:06) Eargasms

(37:25) Action based strategies

(41:27) Red flag symptoms to look out for

📱 Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

📱 Connect with Joseph:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/earsurgeonjoe/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@earsurgeonjoe

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/jm2476 

🔥 For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook 

🎙️ An OG Podcasts production.

💬 “If you are doing it with too much grit and a snarly face and “I'm really tough”, it's not actually that sustainable and enjoyable. It's not that deep. You're just going for a run” -Tommy Lewis

⚡️ Tommy Lewis is a London based ultra runner with a love of the outdoors. He shares his passion for running with a devoted following on Instagram, in an attempt to inspire people of all fitness levels to enjoy the sport.

⚡️ In this episode Tommy and I explain how running might just change your life, and debunk the myth that running will injure you.

🎧 Stay tuned to find out:

➡︎ How to embrace the boredom of running

➡︎ Why running is actually GOOD for your knees

➡ How running deepens your self-awareness

➡︎ From fitness trackers to electrolytes, what gear you really need

➡︎ The best shoes you should be wearing (and what to avoid)

📕 Chapters

(1:12) How to overcome the boredom of running

(3:47) Running benefits your whole life

(9:25) The “runner’s high”

(11:21) Running vs other sports

(12:58) Fuelling creativity

(15:52) 30% drop in all cause mortality

(21:36) Stop taking running so seriously

(24:46) Does running kill your knees?

(31:29) Best shoes for running

(38:10) Avoid Nike trainers?

(42:11) Are fitness trackers important?

(44:25) Important of zone 2 training

(45:59) Are electrolytes worth the money?

(48:19) What drives an ultra marathon runner

(50:33) Tommy’s top three tips

📱 Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

📱 Connect with Tommy:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tommyrunpt/ 

Website: https://www.tommyrunpt.com/ 

🔥 Get my free weekly newsletter filled with easy to action health tips, interesting facts and science to fill your curiosity: https://drkaran.beehiiv.com/subscribe

🔥 For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook 

🎙️ An OG Podcasts production.

💬 “Microbes can influence things like behaviour, mood, cognition. We're starting to see links with things like Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease as well.”  ~Dr Jonathan Swann

⚡️ Dr Jonathan Swann from the University of Southampton is one of the UK’s leading experts on the gut microbiome, with a particular interest in the gut-brain axis.

⚡️ In this episode Jonathan and I explain how your brain and gut communicate with each other, and why you might experience IBS, depression and other negative health effects when that connection breaks down.

🎧 Stay tuned to find out:

➡︎ How your gut not only talks to your brain, but your brain also talks to your gut

➡︎ Why meditating monks have super-healthy guts.

➡ How you can give a mouse depression by messing with its gut microbiome

➡︎ Whether gut-brain therapies like psychobiotics are any good

➡︎ News about human trials of poop transplants

📕 Chapters

(1:12) How the gut-brain axis works

(6:22) How many microbes live in the gut?

(9:32) What can go wrong with the gut-brain connection?

(18:19) Diet and mood

(20:07) Gut transplants

(21:48) The role of fungi and viruses

(24:35) “A gut feeling”

(26:11) Psychobiotics

(32:22) Antibiotics

(33:37) Microbiome’s impact on Alzheimer’s

(36:34) Age-related cognitive decline

(38:28) Management strategies

(43:24) The problem with poop analysis

📱 Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

📱 Connect with Jonathan:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jon-swann-58a83b66/?originalSubdomain=uk

Website: https://www.southampton.ac.uk/people/5y5nsv/doctor-jonathan-swann 

🔥 Get my free weekly newsletter filled with easy to action health tips, interesting facts and science to fill your curiosity: https://drkaran.beehiiv.com/subscribe

🔥 For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook 
🎙️ An OG Podcasts production.

💬 “Chocolate has got more complexity of flavour than just about anything else on the planet” ~Spencer Hyman

⚡️ Spencer Hyman is the Co-Founder & Chair of Chocolate at Cocoa Runners, a company that sources the world’s best craft chocolate and brings them all together under one roof. Spencer is a chocolate and flavour nerd and hosts regular tasting events to share his passion. I even get to taste some myself!

⚡️ In this episode Spencer and I explore the history of humankind’s love of the cocoa bean, why craft chocolate is so much healthier than your classic supermarket bar, as well as the surprising range of health benefits it offers.

🎧 Stay tuned to find out:

➡︎ How modern processing strips all of the good out of supermarket chocolate bars

➡︎ The sneaky tricks “Big Chocolate” uses to get you to scoff bar after bar

➡ The difference between flavour and taste, and how to savour your food more

➡︎ Whether dark chocolate really is healthier than milk

➡︎ Why toxic heavy metals have been showing up in chocolate bars

📕 Chapters

(1:47) How your chocolate is made

(3:38) Chocolate’s history

(5:08) Why it matters where your chocolate is from

(6:31) Normal vs craft chocolate

(11:29) Health benefits of good chocolate

(17:21) Can milk or white chocolate be healthy?

(22:12) Flavour, taste and mouthfeel

(26:15) Chocolate and heart health

(32:38) Why you should savour your food

(37:26) Why we find it hard to describe flavour

(41:46) Taste test

(58:39) Where can you buy craft chocolate?

(1:00:25) How much chocolate should you eat?

(1:01:58) Heavy metal contamination

(1:06:47) Why ‘fair trade’ isn’t very fair

📱 Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

📱 Connect with Spencer:

Website: https://cocoarunners.com/ 

🔥 Get my free weekly newsletter filled with easy to action health tips, interesting facts and science to fill your curiosity: https://drkaran.beehiiv.com/subscribe

🔥 For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook 

🎙️ An OG Podcasts production.

💬 “There's compelling evidence now that with a fairly minimalistic routine you can see very good results” ~Dr Brad Schoenfeld

⚡️ Dr Brad Schoenfeld is the go-to guy when it comes to muscle building advice. Known as “The Hypertrophy Specialist”, he’s authored more than 200 scientific papers on the subject and his work is cited by fitness professionals around the world.

⚡️ In this episode Brad and I discuss the trend of science-based lifting, cutting through the noise of all the advice out there, to help you choose the stuff that’s really going to help you the most.

🎧 Stay tuned to find out:

➡︎ Whether you can get in shape with just one session a week

➡︎ Why you don’t need to train to failure for the best results (and how many reps to do)

➡ Why free weight exercises aren’t superior to machines

➡︎ The science of supersets and drop sets

➡︎ Why you might not need a full range of motion to build muscle

📕 Chapters

(1:06) The rise of science based lifting

(2:50) Where do beginners start?

4:09 How many gains in 1 session per week?

(5:57) Training to failure

(8:46) Are you training hard enough?

(12:13) Machines vs free weights

(16:32) How many reps should you do?

(24:36) Rest periods

(27:30) Supersets

(29:00) Drop sets

(30:23) Lengthened partials

(33:22) Creatine hyper responders

(35:10) Is muscle memory real?

(38:41) The pump

(41:26) Putting it all into action

📱 Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

📱 Connect with Brad:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bradschoenfeldphd/ 

Website: https://www.lookgreatnaked.com/ 

🔥 Get my free weekly newsletter filled with easy to action health tips, interesting facts and science to fill your curiosity: https://drkaran.beehiiv.com/subscribe

🔥 For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook 

🎙️ An OG Podcasts production.

💬 “Anybody can fall prey to this type of misinformation. It does a lot of harm” ~Dr Andrea Love

⚡️ Dr Andrea Love is an immunologist and microbiologist, and founder of ImmunoLogic - an organisation dedicated to debunking the worst of internet pseudoscience and improving science literacy.

⚡️ Andrea and I have a long list of misinformation to get through in this episode. Claims like fluoride lowers your IQ, GMOs are scary and mammograms give you cancer - and that’s not the half of it.

🎧 Stay tuned to find out:

➡︎ How we all have the capacity to fall prey to misinformation - and how to spot it

➡︎ How cancer misinformation can be lethal

➡ The dangers of the raw milk trend

➡︎ What the science really says about fluoride

➡︎ Why organic probably isn’t worth your money

📕 Chapters

(1:02) Why good information is hard to find

(3:36) Coffee and aloe vera gives you cancer?

(9:45) Mammograms cancer myth

(16:06) The real harm of misinformation

(23:14) Do supplements work?

(30:34) What does organic actually mean?

(34:53) GMO fear

(42:31) Fluoride lowers IQ?

(49:04) Rise of the raw milk craze

📱 Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

📱 Connect with Andrea:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.andrealove/ 

Website: https://www.immunologic.org/ 

🔥 Get my free weekly newsletter filled with easy to action health tips, interesting facts and science to fill your curiosity: https://drkaran.beehiiv.com/subscribe

🔥 For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook 

🎙️ An OG Podcasts production.

💬 “ I know my patients get nervous around me, because this is not their normal, right? But I am looking at genitalia and examining people every single day, multiple times a day.” ~Dr Rena Malik

⚡️ Dr Rena Malik is a board-certified urologist, pelvic surgeon, sexual health expert and YouTuber. Her channel covers everything from frequent nighttime peeing, to erectile dysfunction, vaginal dryness, orgasms and penis enlargement.

⚡️ In this episode Rena and I are removing the shame and stigma of talking about these issues, so you can feel properly informed, and empowered, to take control of your health - whatever’s going on.

🎧 Stay tuned to find out:

➡︎ The science of your pelvis and how to look after it

➡︎ Just how common erectile dysfunction really is (and what to do about it)

➡ Why penis size really doesn’t matter (and the reality of penis lengthening procedures)

➡︎ Whether masturbation really reduces your risk of getting prostate cancer

➡︎ How to stop incontinence and frequent nighttime urination

📕 Chapters

(1:25) Most commons issues

(2:32) How to deal with embarrassment

(5:54) Organs in the pelvis

(9:02) Erectile dysfunction

(11:31) ED a sign of heart problems?

(14:52) Foods to eat for ED

(18:01) Why young men are using viagra

(21:50) Do you need a bigger penis?

(25:21) Penis enlargement, safe or not?

(29:17) Prostate health

(33:41) Does masturbating lower cancer risk?

(37:21) Female pelvic floor health

(42:09) Incontinence issues

(48:41) Training the pelvic floor muscles

📱 Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

📱 Connect with Rena:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@RenaMalikMD 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/renamalikmd/ 

🔥 Get my free weekly newsletter filled with easy to action health tips, interesting facts and science to fill your curiosity: https://drkaran.beehiiv.com/subscribe

🔥 For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook 

🎙️ An OG Podcasts production.

💬 “ Eye health, your vision, is so much more than just, ‘I think I see well’. There's way more going on.” ~Dr Joseph Allen

⚡️ Dr Joseph Allen, aka Doctor Eye Health, is an optometrist in the US with a massive following on social media, where he shares science-backed ways to protect your eyes.

⚡️ In this episode Joey and I explain why it’s time to get serious about eye health, as poor eyesight is on the rise globally, bringing many other problems with it.

🎧 Stay tuned to find out:

➡︎ Why half of the world is expected to have myopia (nearsightedness) by 2050

➡︎ How screens are making us blink less (and why that’s bad)

➡ What to do about eyelid twitches, bags and dark circles

➡︎ What foods, diets and supplements work for better vision

➡︎ The best ways to get proactive about your eye health now

📕 Chapters

(1:00) Dr Allen’s inspiration

(3:45) Do glasses make your eyes worse?

(8:40) The myopia epidemic

(15:06) Lifestyle changes to improve eye health

(17:06) Sunlight and eye health

(21:53) Are blue light blocking glasses any good?

(26:12) Red and orange lights at night

(28:03) Best foods for vision - the carrot myth

(32:33) Supplements and eye drops

(36:35) Intermittent fasting and eye health

(39:45) How to deal with dry eyes

(46:58) The 20/20/20 rule

(49:00) How stress affects the eye

(57:00) When should you get checked out?

📱 Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

📱 Connect with Joseph

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/doctoreyehealth 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doctoreyehealth/?hl=en 

🔥 Get my free weekly newsletter filled with easy to action health tips, interesting facts and science to fill your curiosity: https://drkaran.beehiiv.com/subscribe

🔥 For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook 

🎙️ An OG Podcasts production.

💬 “ The mouth is the gateway to the entire body. It's not just about having a cute, pretty, cosmetically nice smile. It really directly impacts your overall health in so many ways.” ~Whitney DiFoggio

⚡️ Whitney DiFoggio, AKA TeethTalkGirl, is a dental hygienist who shares evidence-based dental advice online - while debunking all the misinformation out there.

⚡ In this episode Whitney and I discuss the steps you need to take to build the perfect oral hygiene routine, why so many of us are at risk of issues like gum disease and the truth behind all the wild claims flying around.

🎧 Stay tuned to find out:

➡︎ Why you’re only cleaning 60% of your teeth if you skip out on flossing

➡︎ The science of mouthwash, miswak toothbrushes, water flossing & tonsil stones

➡ Why at-home teeth whitening might be making them more yellow

➡︎ Why it’s crazy to skip out on fluoride in your toothpaste

➡︎ The link between oral health and cognitive decline

📕 Chapters

(1:15) How much should you brush?

(6:04) Electric vs manual vs natural toothbrushes

(11:36) Benefits of xylitol gum

(13:14) What toothpaste is the best?

(15:10) The anti-fluoride movement

(19:46) Mouthwash is dangerous?

(23:33) How oral health is connected to overall health

(29:48) How tooth loss leads to cognitive decline

(33:04) Flossing, useful or not?

(40:17) Should you be tongue scraping?

(42:28) The rise of teeth whitening

(47:25) How often should you get your teeth checked?

(49:02)  Whitney's dental routine

📱 Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

📱 Connect with Whitney:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TeethTalk/about 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/teethtalkgirl/ 

🔥 Get my free weekly newsletter filled with easy to action health tips, interesting facts and science to fill your curiosity: https://drkaran.beehiiv.com/subscribe

🔥 For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook 
🎙️ An OG Podcasts production.

💬 “ I would say [weight loss injections] come pretty close to being health elixirs. Taking these drugs is better for almost everyone, than not taking these drugs.” ~Dr Mike Israetel

⚡️ Returning guest Dr Mike Israetel is a fitness expert with a PhD in Sport Physiology. As the founder of Renaissance Periodization, Mike is known for his science-based approach to training and nutrition.

⚡ In this episode Dr Mike and I bring you a New Years resolution special - with a twist. As we discuss the science of setting realistic goals and sticking to them, a surprising conversation around Ozempic and TRT unfolds.

🎧 Stay tuned to find out:

➡︎ How to create habit loops and why goals should be tailored to small consistent wins

➡︎ Why Mike thinks everyone should be taking Ozempic and weight-loss injections

➡ Whether rising beauty stands are really the problem they’re made out to be

➡︎ What’s going on with the rise in TRT use

➡︎ How we have billionaires to thank for testing out the supplements of tomorrow

📕 Chapters

(1:16) The science of habit building for the New Year

(6:07) Making goals as easy as possible

(10:57) Using weight loss injections for habit forming

(15:24) Are the risks of Ozempic worth it if you’re not overweight?

(21:46) Should we fear taking Ozempic for life?

(30:30) The casual rise of TRT

(39:04) Body dysmorphia and rising beauty standards

(44:40) Bryan Johnson and anti-ageing influencers

📱 Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

📱 Connect with Mike:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@RenaissancePeriodization 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drmikeisraetel/ 

🔥 Get my free weekly newsletter filled with easy to action health tips, interesting facts and science to fill your curiosity: https://drkaran.beehiiv.com/subscribe

🔥 For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook 

🎙️ An OG Podcasts production.

💬 “We're chronically online, chronically on our phones and tablets. But we need to spend more time outdoors and playing outside and getting our hands in dirt.” ~Dr Zachary Rubin

⚡️ Dr Zachary Rubin is a pediatric allergist and clinical immunologist, known for hula hooping and sporting a variety of colourful bowties on social media.

⚡ In this episode Zach and I go deep into food and pet allergies - what causes them, how to deal with them, and tips on using nasal sprays and other at home remedies. We also delve into the wildfire situation in LA and find out whether human metapneumovirus really is a pandemic level threat.

🎧 Stay tuned to find out:

➡︎ Why we need to get dirty and stop washing our bodies so much

➡︎ Why at-home food sensitivity tests are a scam!

➡ How to deal with pet allergies so you don’t have to let your furry friend go

➡︎ The truth about HMPV and why a bird flu pandemic is the real concern

➡︎ How the LA wildfires are really impacting human health

📕 Chapters

(2:00) Signs you might have a hidden allergy

(5:11) The unusual link between certain allergies

(7:54) Why you shouldn’t trust food sensitivity tests

(11:38) The dangers of oral food allergy challenges

(14:59) Dealing with pet allergies

(21:19) How to train your immune system

(26:58) The next pandemic threat

(34:13) Health impact of LA wildfires

(38:58) Highlighting the importance of air quality

(43:30) Health risks of neti pots and saline rinses

(46:22) Best way to use nasal sprays

(51:45) Are nasal strips effective?

📱 Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

📱 Connect with Zach:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@rubin_allergy

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rubin_allergy/

🔥 Get my free weekly newsletter filled with easy to action health tips, interesting facts and science to fill your curiosity: https://drkaran.beehiiv.com/subscribe

🔥 For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook 

🎙️ An OG Podcasts production.

💬 “Hello, wake up everyone. We are living in the 21st century. We are now able to make you live into your 90s, 100s. But that does mean you will be living with chronic disease. So it is everyone's business.” ~Dr Elena Mucci

⚡️ Dr Elena Mucci is consultant physician, geriatrician and university lecturer. She has a strong presence online and features on many TV shows and podcasts, sharing her expert knowledge of geriatrics. 

⚡ In this episode Elena and I destigmatise old age and show why it’s vital that everyone, no matter your age, starts planning for their older years now.

🎧 Stay tuned to find out:

➡︎ What lifestyle factors in your youth impact your risk of age related diseases

➡ How prescription meds are behind 50% of emergency department cases

➡︎ How weight-lifting drastically reduces your chance of dying when you’re older

➡︎ The real danger of alcohol and its link to dementia

➡︎ Why older people are turning more and more to Ozempic

📕 Chapters

(1:28) What is a  geriatrician really?

(4:22) How to fight age related disease when you’re young

(7:44) Preparing for old age

(13:09) Why we need personalised treatment

(18:44) Preventing falls starts in your youth

(24:13) What alcohol is really doing to your brain

(36:52) Loneliness and mental health

(41:43) The dangers of too much prescription meds

(47:16) Ozempic in older people

📱 Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

📱 Connect with Elena:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doctor.elenamucci/ 

Website: https://doctorelenamucci.co.uk/ 

🔥 Get my free weekly newsletter filled with easy to action health tips, interesting facts and science to fill your curiosity: https://drkaran.beehiiv.com/subscribe

🔥 For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook 

🎙️ An OG Podcasts production.

💬 “Evolution doesn't select for longevity. It doesn't care how long you live.” ~Venki Ramakrishnan

⚡️ Venki Ramakrishnan is a Nobel Prize-winning biologist, former president of the Royal Society and author of Why We Die: The New Science of Ageing and Longevity.

⚡ In this episode Venki and I uncover the science of why we die, whether there’s a biological reason why we can’t live forever, and what will happen if we do eventually crack the longevity code.

🎧 Stay tuned to find out:

➡ Whether the $30 billion longevity industry has brought us any closer to immortality

➡︎ Why we’re living longer, but with more disability and disease than ever

➡︎ Why death and our own mortality makes life worth living

➡︎  How even scientists are taking controversial longevity drugs like metformin

➡︎ The best, science-backed ways to add healthy years onto your life

📕 Chapters

(0:32) Why do we die?

(3:06) What do we mean by death?

(4:26) Are we close to reversing death?

(5:57) Why we want to live forever

(9:11) Do humans have an age limit?

(11:07) Living healthier for longer

(16:06) What causes ageing?

(21:15) Your chronological age doesn’t matter

(26:17) How to improve biological age

(28:16) Why some animals live longer

(31:35) Dangers of experimental longevity “hacks”

(40:42) Ethical dilemmas of extending lifespan

(46:04) Simple ways to life for longer

(47:52) Memento Mori

(53:46) Longevity research that works

📱 Connect with me:

TikTok:https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram:https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

🔥 Get my free weekly newsletter filled with easy to action health tips, interesting facts and science to fill your curiosity:https://drkaran.beehiiv.com/subscribe

🔥 For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”:https://geni.us/DrKaranBook 

🎙️ AnOG Podcasts production.

💬 “If you have a problem with your sleep, it'll worsen just about every medical condition or psychiatric condition that you're experiencing. ~Dr Sujay Kansagra

⚡️ Dr Sujay Kansagra is a double board certified sleep specialist, also known as That Sleep Doc on Instagram. He’s stacked full of solutions on how you can get to sleep faster, feel more rested and deal with issues like insomnia.

⚡ In this episode Sujay and I explain the science of good sleep and share plenty of hacks for you to try out.

🎧 Stay tuned to find out:

➡︎ Why you’re a night owl (or morning lark) - and how to change your chronotype

➡ Whether sleep trackers are worth it (plus Sujay’s alternative recommendation)

➡︎ The science of cognitive shuffling and warm showers for falling asleep faster

➡︎ Why teenagers love a lie in and whether it’s dangerous to ‘sleep train’ a baby

➡︎ Whether women really need 10 hours of sleep

📕 Chapters

(0:28) How poor sleep = poor health

(3:01) The science of sleep

(6:02) How to change your chronotype

(11:46) Does school need to change so kids can sleep more?

(14:09) Benefits of SAD lamps

(16:10) How long should you sleep, really?

(18:19) Do women really need 10 hours of sleep?

(20:59) Are sleep trackers worth it?

(29:31) The next big sleep technology

(31:58) Keeping a sleep diary

(33:07) Can you ever catch up on lost sleep?

(36:17) Tricks to get to sleep and cure insomnia

(41:02) Does cognitive shuffling work?

(42:25) Getting room temperature right

(44:34) Is sleep training babies dangerous?

📱 Connect with me:

TikTok:https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram:https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

📱 Connect with Sujay

Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/thatsleepdoc/ 

🔥 Get my free weekly newsletter filled with easy to action health tips, interesting facts and science to fill your curiosity:https://drkaran.beehiiv.com/subscribe

🔥 For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”:https://geni.us/DrKaranBook 

🎙️ AnOG Podcasts production.

💬 “[MAHA’s] reliance on corrupt scientists and poisonous food additives is really a distraction from the real systemic issues.” ~Jessica Knurick

⚡️ Dr Jessica Knurick has a PhD in nutrition science and takes an evidence-based approach to her role as a dietician. She’s been gaining a lot of attention on social media for her work debunking false health claims, particularly around the Make America Healthy Again movement.

⚡ In this episode Jessica and I discuss the shortcomings of MAHA and why its claims around food dyes, seed oils and toxic chemicals are distracting us from the real issues at hand.

🎧 Stay tuned to find out:

➡ The true consequences of this ongoing erosion of trust in doctors and science

➡︎ Why an ingredients centred approach to public health is a waste of time

➡︎ Which systemic issues need to be addressed to have a real impact

➡︎  Why baby formula is being demonised and how it’s impacting children and mums

➡︎ How to spot (and avoid) health propaganda

📕 Chapters

(1:35) How MAHA erodes trust in science

(5:14) How much blame does the food industry deserve?

(13:38) The issue of corporate lobbying

(17:42) Defunding the SNAP programme

(21:55) Why are we hating on seed oils?

(25:18) Food dyes are toxic?

(34:46) Why focussing on ingredients is a waste of time

(37:36) How babies are being affected by misinformation

(46:56) Why supplements are still unregulated

(50:36) The real link between FDA and Big Pharma

(54:00) How to spot health propaganda

📱 Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

📱 Connect with Jessica:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjessicaknurick/ 

🔥 Get my free weekly newsletter filled with easy to action health tips, interesting facts and science to fill your curiosity: https://drkaran.beehiiv.com/subscribe

🔥 For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook 
🎙️ An OG Podcasts production.

💬 “ When you slow down and actually appreciate what we already have, that is the path to true happiness.” ~Haemin Sunim

⚡️ Haemin Sunim is a Zen Buddhist Monk and author of three books - all of which focus on mindfulness, self compassion and finding peace in a busy world.

⚡ In this episode Haemin and I explore the teachings of Zen Buddhism, and learn how they can be integrated into our daily lives.

🎧 Stay tuned to find out:

➡ How to slow down and stop living in a constant state of busyness

➡︎ How to jump off the hedonic treadmill and stop clinging to cravings and desires

➡︎ Why people with a greater sense of purpose live longer

➡︎  Why spirituality and science are more closely linked than you realise

➡︎ How to deepen your happiness today, even if you only have 5 seconds to spare

📕 Chapters

(0:32) The teachings of Zen Buddhism

(3:45) Reincarnation and previous lives

(5:05) Why we all feel lost right now

(10:51) Random acts of kindness

(12:44) Why we all need to slow down

(17:22) Getting off the hedonic treadmill

(19:23) Starting a mindfulness/meditation practice

(21:47) The impact of stress on physical health

(24:52) Quick ways to practice mindfulness

(31:29) The “I don’t know” mindset

(36:17) When things don’t go your way

(42:33) How to be more lucky

(45:12) Are spirituality and science at odds?

(47:38) How to stop clinging to desires

(50:48) Teaching our children self-acceptance

📱 Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

📱 Connect with Haemin:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/haemin_sunim/ 

Website: https://www.haeminsunim.com/ 

📚 Haemin’s books:

The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down

When Things Don’t Go Your Way

Love for Imperfect Things

🔥 Get my free weekly newsletter filled with easy to action health tips, interesting facts and science to fill your curiosity: https://drkaran.beehiiv.com/subscribe

🔥 For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook 

🎙️ An OG Podcasts production.

💬 “ Form memories with intention - and make the decisions in daily life that will give you the memories you want to hold onto.” ~Charan Ranganath

⚡️ Charan Ranganath is a Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience and director of the Dynamic Memory Lab at the University of California at Davis. He’s also the author of Why We Remember: The Science of Memory and How it Shapes Us.

⚡ In this episode Charan and I explore how your memory actually works and how to create a life worth remembering.

🎧 Stay tuned to find out:

➡ How scientifically accurate the movie Inside Out is when it comes to memory

➡︎ How memories can degrade and become distorted over time

➡︎ Why childhood memories are so hard - or impossible - to hold onto

➡︎  How to be more intentional with your memory

➡︎ The science of deja vu, PTSD, dreams and aphantasia

📕 Chapters

(0:34) The science of ‘Inside Out’

(2:39) How memories degrade over time

(5:56) When life “flashes before your eyes”

(8:34) Remembering our dreams

(12:30) Childhood memories

(18:23) How false memories are made

(22:51) Gaslighting

(26:18) Why we fixate on negative memories

(28:57) PTSD and traumatic memories

(35:49) Is modern tech making our memory worse?

(38:56) How to improve your memory

(46:05) The science of deja vu

(49:05) Aphantasia: How some people have no inner monologue

📱 Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

📱 Connect with Charan:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thememorydoc/ 

Website: https://charanranganath.com/ 

🔥 Get my free weekly newsletter filled with easy to action health tips, interesting facts and science to fill your curiosity: https://drkaran.beehiiv.com/subscribe

🔥 For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook 

🎙️ An OG Podcasts production.

💬 “If we focus on our cognitive health early on, about 80% of dementias could be prevented” ~The Brain Docs

⚡️ The Brain Docs are Drs Dean and Ayesha Sherzai. They are neurologists and codirectors of the Brain Health and Alzheimer’s Prevention Program at Loma Linda University Medical Center. They’re also the authors of ‘The Alzheimer’s Solution’ and ‘The 30-Day Alzheimer’s Solution’.

⚡ In this episode The Brain Docs and I take a deep dive into brain health. We explain why it’s so important you start protecting your brain NOW - in your 20s, 30s and 40s - if you want it to start health and dementia free.

🎧 Stay tuned to find out:

➡ The 14 lifestyle changes you can make today to supercharge your brain

➡︎ How up to 80% of Alzheimer’s cases could be prevented

➡︎  Why “idea density” matters in protecting your brain health

➡︎ The kinds of food you need to be eating for strong brain function

➡︎ How Alzheimer’s-related brain changes can begin decades before symptoms appear

📕 Chapters

(1:14) Why Alzheimer’s prevention starts at an early age

(3:53) The dramatic impact of lifestyle on brain health

(12:35) Are we close to reversing Alzheimer’s?

(16:46) Can Ozempic cure Alzheimer’s?

(18:32) Why you should find out your dementia risk

(29:09) LDL Cholesterol’s impact on brain function

(34:30) When pseudoscience creeps in

(39:24) The importance of sleep

(43:17) How our mouth hygiene affects dementia risk

(45:49) Understanding food and brain health

(52:27) Does creating make your brain better?

(55:12) Why women get Alzheimer’s more than men

(1:03:34) Optimism and hope

📱 Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

📱 Connect with The Brain Docs:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheBrainDocs 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebraindocs/ 

🔥 Get my free weekly newsletter filled with easy to action health tips, interesting facts and science to fill your curiosity: https://drkaran.beehiiv.com/subscribe

🔥 For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook 

🎙️ An OG Podcasts production.

💬 “ We are basically farming poor people for their organs, and that is dystopian.” ~Scott Carney

⚡️ Scott Carney is an investigative journalist and author of “The Red Market”, where he investigates the macabre underworld of the global body trade. Scott is also a well-known YouTuber, where he exposes and debunks science grifters.

⚡ In this episode Scott and I explore the shocking size of the illegal organ trade, the deep inequities that lead people to sell their organs - and why human body parts are more sought after than ever.

🎧 Stay tuned to find out:

➡ Why entire villages are selling their kidneys!

➡︎ The questionable ethics of some of medicine’s greatest advancements

➡︎  The real-life horror story of a sadistic blood broker

➡︎ Why the poorest people in the world are most at risk of being exploited

➡︎ How Scott helped to shut down surrogacy houses in India

📕 Chapters

(0:45) What is the Red Market?

(4:40) How much money is being made?

(7:13) Morally questionable medical breakthroughs

(13:44) Kidney villages

(16:46) Are people really kidnapped for kidneys?

(22:38) Corruption within healthcare

(26:33) How would you source an illegal organ?

(28:45) The Burke and Hare murders

(35:06) The forced surrogacy industry

(39:59) The biggest thing Scott’s uncovered

(42:14) Threats to Scott’s life for his work

(44:24) What is being done to tackle the Red Market?

📱 Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

📱 Connect with Scott:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@sgcarney/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sgcarney/

📕 Check out Scott’s other books:

-Dream: The Art & Science of Slumber

-The Vortex

-The Wedge

-What Doesn't Kill Us

-The Enlightenment Trap

🔥 Get my free weekly newsletter filled with easy to action health tips, interesting facts and science to fill your curiosity: https://drkaran.beehiiv.com/subscribe

🔥 For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook 

🎙️ An OG Podcasts production.

💬 “ My mission is to help save people from a lot of the mistakes that I have made.” ~Noel Deyzel

⚡️ Noel Deyzel is a bodybuilder and fitness influencer, known for his openness about his steroid use. He’s amassed millions of followers online, discussing diet and exercise strategies, and spreading messages about positive mindset and motivation.

⚡ In this episode Noel and I explore the rising use of performance enhancing drugs in the fitness space, the impact this is having on male beauty standard - and why he’s cut back on everything.

🎧 Stay tuned to find out:

➡ How people are being more open about steroid use - and why that’s good AND bad

➡︎ The risks teenagers as young as 16 are taking with their health in pursuit of muscle

➡︎ The two major life events that have made Noel completely reconsider his life choices

➡︎  The best and worst supplements to spend your money on

➡︎ What “cheat day” looks like for Noel

📕 Chapters

(0:42) When Noel was skinny

(1:43) Distorted beauty standards in fitness

(5:18) The “fake natty” epidemic

(7:31) The responsibility of being an “influencer”

(10:31) Facing health consequences of steroids

(20:40) There are no quick fixes

(22:56) A simple supplement guide

(30:07) The gut-muscle connection

(32:14) Mindset and motivation

(35:03) Noel’s cheat meal

(36:58) Worst fitness trends

(37:46) Most overrated supplement

(38:43) Most underrated supplement

(39:21) Most jacked person Noel’s ever met

📱 Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

📱 Connect with Noel:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noeldeyzel_bodybuilder/ 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NoelDeyzel/ 

🔥 Get my free weekly newsletter filled with easy to action health tips, interesting facts and science to fill your curiosity: https://drkaran.beehiiv.com/subscribe

🔥 For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook 

🎙️ An OG Podcasts production.

💬 “How you eat is so important, the time of day, how fast you eat, the ordering of the meal, how much sleep you’ve had” ~Dr Sarah Berry

⚡️ Dr Sarah Berry is a nutrition scientist at King’s College London, and Chief Scientist at ZOE. Her main areas of expertise revolve around the hot topic of precision or personalised nutrition.

⚡ In this episode Sarah and I explain why people can have such wildly different responses to food - from how many calories you absorb to your blood glucose response and more.

🎧 Stay tuned to find out:

➡ Why the calorie label on your food isn’t telling you the whole story

➡︎ How eating too fast could be the cause of your weight problems

➡︎  Why general dietary guidelines aren’t working (or being followed)

➡︎ How stress, sleep and many other factors can change your response to food

➡︎ Why the timing of your meal is important and how to fast the easy way

📕 Chapters

(0:44) The science of precision nutrition

(5:03) Why calories are confusing

(11:44) What happens when you chew more

(22:08) Is personalised nutrition a rich person’s game?

(27:55) The problem with assessing health biomarkers

(37:13) Gut advice

(42:25) Keto/animal based diets

(47:28) Food timing & chrononutrition

📱 Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

📱 Connect with Sarah

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/drsarahberry 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drsarahberry/ 

Check out Sarah on the ZOE podcast: https://link.chtbl.com/qtlGNpak

🔥 Get my free weekly newsletter filled with easy to action health tips, interesting facts and science to fill your curiosity: https://drkaran.beehiiv.com/subscribe

🔥 For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook 

🎙️ An OG Podcasts production.

💬 “  When people come in to see me for pelvic pain, you need to convince me that you DON’T have endometriosis.”

⚡️ Dr Jill Ingenito is an endometriosis excision surgeon, one of few Ob/Gyn’s specialising in the field. She’s amassed a strong following online, talking about this chronically under represented health issue affecting so many women.

⚡ In this episode Jill and I explore just how common endometriosis is, why it takes so long for women to be diagnosed and what the condition does inside a woman’s body.

🎧 Stay tuned to find out:

➡︎ Why so few in healthcare know to look for endometriosis

➡︎  Why we’re probably drastically underestimating how many people have the condition

➡︎ How endometriosis can spread all over your body - including your eyes

➡︎ Why more people need to know about the “endometriosis rainbow”

➡ How to best advocate for yourself if you think you’ve got the condition

📕 Chapters

(0:47) What is endometriosis?

(3:43) When will we have a cure?

(4:38) Why endo is chronically underfunded

(6:18) How many people really have endo?

(10:40) The 4 stages of endo

(18:43) How far can endo spread?

(21:13) Why it’s not just a ‘women’s health’ issue

(27:28) How medicine is getting it so wrong

(31:20) What is excision surgery?

(35:41) The impact of endo on someone’s life

(39:32) The role of diet and nutrition

(48:28) Why endo is linked to other chronic conditions

(50:02) How to best advocate for yourself

📱 Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

📱 Connect with Dr Jill Ingenito

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drpelvicpaindo/ 

🔥 Get my free weekly newsletter filled with easy to action health tips, interesting facts and science to fill your curiosity: https://drkaran.beehiiv.com/subscribe

🔥 For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook 

🎙️ An OG Podcasts production.

💬 “If you start treating yourself as someone you care about, then you can turn things around” ~Dr Julie

⚡️ Dr Julie Smith is a clinical psychologist, bestselling author and content creator. She’s become the go-to online resource for mental health tips and tricks (you may have seen her viral videos on TikTok and Instagram). 

⚡ In this episode Julie and I explore how to master your mental health, avoid burn out and navigate the challenges of modern life.

🎧 Stay tuned to find out:

➡ How to reframe negative emotions - and stop judging yourself for feeling them

➡︎ Why society has set us up for burn out - and how to look after yourself better

➡︎  Why you can’t ever live a life without regrets

➡︎ How people-pleasing is destroying your mental health

➡︎ Why you can’t just “stop caring what people think”

📕 Chapters

(0:47) How Dr Julie got started

(3:08) How to navigate grief

(6:00) Reframing negative emotions

(9:26) Why we’re all burnt out right now

(21:15) Choosing the regrets you can live with

(28:38) How to stop people-pleasing

(35:59) There is no “you”

(37:58) Your thoughts are not you

(42:58) How to deal with negative emotions

(45:27) Self-diagnosis in the age of social media

(48:00) Mental health myths

(50:55) How society can protect mental health better

(52:58) Does everyone need a therapist?

(54:37) Is mental health becoming a productivity obsession?

📱 Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

📱 Connect with Dr Julie Smith

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@drjulie 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjulie/ 

🔥 Get my free weekly newsletter filled with easy to action health tips, interesting facts and science to fill your curiosity: https://drkaran.beehiiv.com/subscribe

🔥 For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook 

🎙️ An OG Podcasts production.

💬 “ Omega-3s  have important health attributes right across the life course. They're right up there with fruit and veg”

⚡️ Philip Calder is professor of nutritional immunology in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Southampton. His specific areas of interest are inflammation and the health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids.

⚡ In this episode Phil and I explore the science of inflammation (and why it’s not always the villain) and delve deep into the topic of fish oil and omega-3s - are you getting enough?

🎧 Stay tuned to find out:

➡︎ Whether “anti-inflammatory” foods really exist

➡︎  The lifestyle factors that drive the bad kind of inflammation

➡︎ The best way to get omega-3s if you don’t like fish

➡︎ What to look out for in an omega-3 supplement

➡ Why dry seaweed might be the solution to your omega-3 problem

📕 Chapters

(0:52) The science of inflammation

(4:27) Is inflammation driven by lifestyle?

(6:45) Can foods really be “anti-inflammatory”?

(12:18) Should you be supplementing with omega-3s?

(20:51) Do people with healthy diets still need omega-3s supplements?

(23:09) Can omega-3 supplements replace food sources?

(27:30) Why studies use such high doses of omega-3s

(33:20) Replacing fish with dry seaweed

📱 Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

📱 Connect with Philip Calder

Website: https://www.southampton.ac.uk/people/5wzh2r/professor-philip-calder 

🔥 Get my free weekly newsletter filled with easy to action health tips, interesting facts and science to fill your curiosity: https://drkaran.beehiiv.com/subscribe

🔥 For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook 

🎙️ An OG Podcasts production.

💬 “  Now the UK drinks more coffee than tea…which I think is fascinating.” ~James Hoffmann

⚡️ James Hoffmann is THE coffee expert. On YouTube and Instagram, he shares an untold amount of wisdom for all would-be coffee connoisseurs. He’s the 2007 World Barista Champion, author of "The World Atlas of Coffee" and co-founder of Square Mile Coffee Roasters.

⚡ In this episode James and I delve into the science of coffee - its health benefits, proper brewing techniques and how to choose the perfect cuppa.

🎧 Stay tuned to find out:

➡︎ Why altitude matters when growing the perfect coffee beans

➡︎  Red flags you should look out for at coffee shops

➡︎ Why a good grinder is all you need

➡︎ What you should look out for on the back of your coffee pack

➡ Why the future of coffee is not looking good

📕 Chapters

(0:59) From guilty pleasure to health food

(4:24) The health benefits of coffee

(10:30) Mould and mycotoxins

(14:31) Where the best coffee is grown

(17:42) Robusta vs Arabica

(19:17) Light v medium v dark roast

(21:17) How to get the most taste out of your coffee

(23:42) The truth about instant and coffee pods

(30:30) Why espresso machines are better

(33:27) Red flags to spot at coffee shops

(35:15) The world’s best coffee shops

(36:14) What makes a coffee a specialty coffee?

(39:56) The strange world of Kopi Luwak coffee

(44:01) How to source ethical coffee

(46:43) Hunting for the perfect coffee at the supermarket

(48:47) Start with a grinder

(50:36) Should you keep coffee in the fridge/freezer?

(52:18) Is coffee’s future at risk?

📱 Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

📱 Connect with James Hoffmann

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jameshoffmann 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jimseven/ 

🔥 Get my free weekly newsletter filled with easy to action health tips, interesting facts and science to fill your curiosity: https://drkaran.beehiiv.com/subscribe

🔥 For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook 

🎙️ An OG Podcasts production.

💬 In this episode Dr Federica Amati explore how our nutritional needs change and evolve at different stages in our life, and explain how the science of good health is much more clear than we’re led to believe. 

⚡️Federica is the Head Nutritionist at ZOE and Nutrition Lead at Imperial Medicine and WellFounded Health. She’s also the best-selling author of ‘Every Body Should Know This’ and ‘Recipes for a Better Menopause’.

🎧 Stay tuned to find out:

➡︎ Why pregnancy is such a crucial time to get locked in on nutrition

➡︎  How simple diet changes can massively improve symptoms of menopause 

➡︎ The results of a major study looking at the optimal diets for healthy ageing

➡︎ Why protein goals are overrated and 

➡ Why soya and tofu doesn’t make men feminine

📕 Chapters

(0:46) How nutritional needs change throughout life

(4:57) Why nutrition pre and post pregnancy is crucial

(24:49) How diet improves menopause symptoms

(34:04) Does soy make men feminine?

(37:19) Results of a major healthy ageing study

(42:38) Our protein obsession

(47:07) Why diet and nutrition shouldn’t be scary

📱 Connect with me:

TikTok: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan

Instagram: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr

📱 Connect with Dr Federica Amati:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.fede.amati/ 

🔥 Get my free weekly newsletter filled with easy to action health tips, interesting facts and science to fill your curiosity: https://drkaran.beehiiv.com/subscribe

🔥 For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook 

🎙️ An OG Podcasts production.