#318 Neuroscientist Reveals How Intuition, Purpose and Spiritual Health Can Heal | Dr Tara Swart

Dan Murray-Serter is my guest on the pod today, he is a multi-award winning serial entrepreneur, who talks openly about failure, mental health, mental performance, and 'braincare'.We have a very honest conversation about his startup successes and failures, what led him to create his latest company “Heights", imposter syndrome and a lot more.I think if you enjoy stories about entrepreneurship, how people started in the wellness industry and where it’s heading, you will love this episode. Links to the lecture we discussed by Professor David Smith of Oxford university on the potential use for B vitamins and Omega 3 in dementia can be found in the show notes on thedoctorskitchen.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

26 Jul 20211h 21min

Brain fog is one of the commonest symptoms I come across as a doctor in primary care, yet the least understood. On today’s podcast I speak with Dr Sabina Brennan PhD about her incredible career from Soaps to Science and everything to do with brain fog.Dr Sabina is a chartered health psychologist (C.Psychol.,PsSI.), neuroscientist (PhD), host of the Super Brain podcast and best-selling author. Her new book Beating Brain Fog (Orion Spring) takes your symptoms seriously and shows that you don't have to live with them.On today’s Pod you will learn:Why teenage brains explain their lack of inhibitionLoneliness and its relationship with poor cognitionWhat Brain Fog isHow it can occur as a result of Hormone fluctuations, Oestrogen, pregnancyThe relationship with Inflammation and viral infectionsThe concept of neuroplasticity and the difference between Brain vs cognitive reserve Pain its association with BDNF and fogWhy Dr Brennan prescribes smiling 5x a dayI loved this episode and Sabina is such a fantastic communicator and her mission to get everyone looking after their brain health as routinely as they brush their teeth. Links all on thedoctorskitchen.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

21 Jul 20211h 37min

“Making Illness optional?” I want to address the provocative title of today’s podcast head on because it’s not just clickbait. It is the genuine ambition of my next 2 guests on the show.Momo Vuyisich is co-founder and Chief Science Officer at Viome who provides scientific leadership and his vision is to revolutionize healthcare from "symptoms management" to true preventative medicine. He leads product development, clinical test implementation, and their comprehensive clinical research portfolio. Momo is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of New Mexico and New Mexico Tech. Before co-founding Viome in 2016, Momo spent 12 years at Los Alamos National Laboratory, where he led the Applied Genomics team, which developed the core technology used by Viome today.Naveen is quite frankly one of the most energising and inspiring billionaire entrepreneurs of our time. An intensely curious personality who believes that the energy of an obsessed entrepreneur infused with innovative technologies can create crazy ideas that push humanity forward. He is the author of the award-winning book ‘Moonshots - Creating a World of Abundance.’ And his current moonshot adventures are Moon Express and Viome.Moon Express is the only company globally with permission to harvest resources from the moon—developing the infrastructure needed to push humanity forward towards a true multi-planetary society.He is vice-chairman of the board at Singularity University, and Naveen focuses on educating and inspiring leaders to address humanity’s greatest challenges by using and developing innovative technologies. He has many accolades including the “Humanitarian Innovation Award” from the United Nations.Viome has a mission is to “make illness optional.” By building an AI-driven platform that analyses the interaction between food, our microbiome, and our human cells, Viome is able to develop precision nutrition to prevent and reverse chronic diseases. Rather than another gut health or nutrigenomics testing product, Viome is a data-driven precision nutrition company. Today we chat about:Momo’s personal health journey with idiopathic arthritisNaveen’s moonshotsThe limitations of DNA reviewsViome Research Institute making the tech available for more peopleDifferent types of omicsThe gut as a series of chemical reactions and food as an addition to these reactionsPredictive as well as preventative medicine This episode is not branded or sponsored in any way by Viome or today’s guests.Please visit The Doctor's Kitchen website for full show notes and social media links for this and all other episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

14 Jul 20211h 15min

Have you ever sat down to a meditation or tried it for a period of time and just felt absolutely distracted, like the meditation was perhaps even making things worse? Or perhaps you’ve dealt with ruminations, recurring thoughts, worry, stress, sleeplessness, all whilst the world and social media are telling you to “Be present”, further deepening your anxiety and feelings of failure? You’re not alone. I can certainly identify with some of those thought patterns and Owen O'Kane, former NHS Clinical Lead for mental health in London is on the podcast today chatting to me about how we can achieve happier calmer lives.He is the Sunday Times best-selling author of 'Ten To Zen', which is a quick and simple mental workout that allows us to focus on what's important - our mental wellbeing. And on today’s podcast you will learn about:Owen’s past, growing up during the ‘troubles’ in Northern Ireland and being bullied because of his sexualityWhat his experience with terminally ill patients taught him about lifeWhat different types of therapy exist and what they may be appropriate forWhy meditation and mental health is not the pristine Social Media experience we’ve become accustomed toHow to tackle imposter syndrome as well as trolling online from other professionalsWhy worry is addictiveHow to manage the thoughts in your head that are primed to be negativeHow Comparison is the thief of joyFull show notes for this and all other episodes are on The Doctor's Kitchen website. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

7 Jul 20211h 28min

Long Covid will be the hallmark of the pandemic and is likely to affect hundreds of thousands of patients for years to come. But because the disease is so new, we have very limited information about how to treat it. Some patients are currently discharged from hospital with no formal recovery plan, which can result in a longer recovery process and prolonged side effects.So when I heard about the free 12-week specialist recovery programme from Nuffield Health, I wanted to learn more. In addition to physical rehabilitation, the programme includes topics such as coping with fatigue, managing breathlessness, anxiety, low mood, improving sleep and eating for recovery.I chat with Dr Ben Kelly who leads the Clinical Research, Outcomes and Data Science functions within Nuffield Health. Alongside his Nuffield Health responsibilities, Ben has acted as Head of Interdisciplinary Medicine & Technology at the Medical Research Council, with his clinical expertise in cardiology. Paula Moore also joins us and is a business graduate and certified health and life coach, spending most of her career in senior retail management who personally recovered from chronic stress and fatigue 6 years ago.We mention the term VO₂ max during the podcast a few times without defining it. Put simply, VO₂ max is the maximum rate of oxygen your body is able to use during exercise. The greater your VO₂ max, the more oxygen your body can consume, and the more effectively your body can use that oxygen to generate the maximum amount of ATP energy. Studies have shown that increasing your VO₂ max can help maintain your health and physical fitness well into your later years. This may have a role in recovery from Long Covid and mitigating symptoms such as fatigue and breathlessness.You can find out everything you need to know about the free 12-week recovery programme for people affected by the long-term symptoms of COVID-19 on thedoctorskitchen.com podcast show notes page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

4 Jul 202146min

Have you got an exceptional relationship? And I don’t necessarily mean a romantic relationship, although that’s fantastic if you do, but I’m actually referring to any relationship where you can be your most authentic and vulnerable self. It could be a childhood friend, a work colleague, a family member or spouse. Somebody you can share your true thoughts with. A kind of relationship where you feel fully understood and supported for who you are - it can seem like magic. I’m lucky to say that I have a few of these relationships, but many of us struggle to build these solid connections at work, with friends or at home or perhaps we thought we had one but over time it has degraded?Strong relationships and connections have been shown to be associated with higher levels of life satisfaction, health and happiness. So it stands to reason that we should want to foster exceptional relationships?And the truth is that the process of building and sustaining these relationships can be described, learned and applied. And that’s exactly what my two guests on today’s podcast have done for decades at Stanford Business School's “Interpersonal relationships”, one of the most popular courses that the MBA programme offers.David Bradford is Eugene O'Kelly II Senior Lecturer Emeritus in Leadership at Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he helped develop Interpersonal Dynamics ("Touchy Feely").Carole Robin was the Dorothy J. King Lecturer in Leadership at Stanford, where she taught for more than twenty years before co-founding Leaders in Tech, which brings the principles and process of Interpersonal Dynamics to executives in Silicon Valley. Their new book, Connect is a book about exceptional relationships. Relationships that help us to become more self-aware, and compassionate, so we can build deep, fulfilling, personal connections with a wide range of people in every aspect of our lives. And it is quite simply one of the most moving books I’ve read.We talk about:Why the course is so popular amongst MBA students of all backgroundsHow they create epiphanies in a 10 week courseWhy soft skills are actually tough talks and courageous conversationsHow it has helped people in business, marriage, team culture, parenting and moreThe arc of a relationshipWhat’s a pinch and a crunch and why it’s important to address themThe importance of having a vocab of feelingsHow we can use conflict productivelyAppropriate authenticityMaya Angelou’s quote of ' I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel'. And how that applies to medicineTheir own working relationship – and how it almost went wrongThe Japanese art of Kintsugi. Putting broken pottery pieces back together with gold — built on the idea that in embracing flaws and imperfections, you can create an even stronger, more beautiful piece of artTools in the toolkit of building exceptional relationshipsDo be sure to check out The Doctor's Kitchen website for full show notes and information on this and all other episodes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

30 Jun 20211h 26min

Today you will listen to one of the most incredible stories. So much so that it genuinely sounds as unbelievable as the plot of a Hollywood movie. Such is the journey of my friend and colleague Dr Waheed Arian.Born and raised in Afghanistan, Waheed’s childhood was spent fleeing from conflict. As early as the age of 5, he and his family fled their hometown in Kabul for the refugee camps of Pakistan taking the treacherous journey through the harsh terrain whilst dodging bombs and the Taliban. Once reaching the camps his family had to battle malaria, TB without proper access to medicine and healthcare.Littered with these experiences and genuinely fearing for his life. Waheed managed to escape Afghanistan leaving his family in Kabul at the age of 15 before he would have been conscripted by the Taliban to fight. He managed to find safety in the UK. He started work in multiple low wage jobs in the London area, sending his earnings back to support his family in the war zones. He decided to formally learn english, complete his A and AS levels. Applied to medicine and through sheer determination managed to achieve a place at Cambridge. He completed his clinical work at Imperial, which is where myself and Waheed crossed paths in the same year group. He did an elective at Harvard.If none of this was impressive enough Waheed went on to start radiology training and founded his pioneering charity “Arian Teleheal” that works directly with clinicians on the ground, and provides governments and global organizations with a blueprint for delivering innovative healthcare and education. Through a network of volunteers in the UK, doctors across Afghanistan have access to highly skilled and trained clinicians via encrypted social media platforms.Dr Arian has been recognized as a UNESCO Global Hope Hero, a UN Global Goals Goalkeeper, and was appointed to the WHO Roster of Digital Health Experts in 2019. In the UK, he has been awarded the Rotary International Peace Award and the prime minister's Points of Light Award.We talk about a number of things today, largely centred around Waheed’s story. How the seed of ambition was planted by a doctor that treated him for TB when he was 6 and how refugees are important and why it is critical to fight for their rights.You can read the full incredible story in Waheed's new book - In The Wars (linked here) - which has just recently been released - what a fascinating journey of ambition and sheer determination to succeed.The legendary BBC reporter John Simpson tells his story in a BBC documentary “Waheed’s Wars” - you can find the link on the show notes page of The Doctor's Kitchen Website. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

23 Jun 20211h 43min

*Trigger Warning* On today’s show we discuss eating disordersToday I have a very honest conversation about eating disorders, negativity bias and the brain with Emma Guns and Katie Warriner.Katie is one of the UK’s leading Performance Psychologists, working behind the scenes and on the big stage with some of the world’s best athletes, leaders and organisations. From the sports field to the boardroom, the helicopter pad to the operating theatre, Katie helps people train the mindset skills and practices essential to thriving under pressure. She has been embedded in Olympic sports for the last decade, supporting many of our most successful athletes at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympic Games. But she was also a professional athlete herself who had to overcome the issues surrounding food being used solely as a tool for performance and how that was ingrained into her as an impressionable teenager chasing olympic ambitions.Emma Gunavardhana, is better known by her media name Emma Guns, and is an award-winning beauty journalist and podcaster who I describe as UK’s answer to Joe Rogan. The Emma Guns Show, covers topics including beauty, wellness, mental health, eating disorders, business, entrepreneurship and finance. Emma prides herself on covering a variety of topics in a way that’ll be relevant and meaningful to her global audience. And today I wanted her to share her relationship with food and her personal experience of self confidence and diet. Both of my guests are pragmatic thinkers as well as passionate advocates for supporting people to develop the mindset they need to thrive. But I do want to exercise caution with today’s show for anyone uncomfortable listening to stories around binge eating disorders, guilt, body dysmorphia and depression.Today you will hear about:Self-compassion and how our brains work Katie’s experience of negative self-image and body dysmorphiaHow food can be naively perceived as a means to achieve something or equally to fill a voidConnections as the antidote to shameWhy guilt is a natural and healthy emotionAnd how we can use negativity as a foundation for change In addition, Katie runs online courses for athletes who want to train their mental game as well as some for anyone who wants to invest in their mental health and well-being. Listeners can get a 20% discount to either of the courses, details are on The Doctor's Kitchen Website linked here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

16 Jun 20211h 6min