The Science of Sleep and How to Optimise It

My guest today is sleep expert Dr Greg Potter. He is a recent addition to Food for the Brain’s scientific advisory board and helps individuals and organisations sustainably improve their health and performance. He’s an expert in sleep, circadian rhythms, nutrition, and metabolism and in this podcast we are going to find out what sleep is all about and how to optimise your sleep for better health for both mind and body. Greg is a Sleep Coach at the London Psychiatry Clinic. Read more on Sleep my website.

My next guest is neurobiologist Professor Jonathan Stone, a leading light in biological science in Australia, who served as Secretary in the biological sciences in the Australian Academy of Science for several years and is recipient of numerous science awards. In his research papers, over 200 in all, he asks important questions. For example, why are we designed to produce the toxic amyloid protein found in the brains of those with dementia? In this conversation we are going to dig deeply into the ways the brain, our neural network, protects itself from damage and in so doing understand how to protect our brains from disease. This biological detective work also reveals the kind of diet and food components that protect us and why. This enlightening podcast is for anyone with a brain and a heart, as Professor Stone tackles that key area of blood and hence nutrient supply to the brain. As Hippocrates said “What is good for the heart is good for the mind.” Visit my website for more on brain health or see my books Upgrade Your Brain and Alzheimer's: Prevention is the Cure. Do take the Food for the Brain Cognitive Function Test.

If you keep meaning to change your food or drink habits but fail, you might be stuck in an ‘addiction’ trap. My guest in this podcast is clinical psychologist Dr Jen Unwin, an expert in food addiction, campaigning to get it recognised in the same way that alcohol addiction is. You’ll learn the six tell-tale signs that you’re getting hooked. The ever-increasing prevalence of addiction to junk food, sugar and carbs, as well as alcohol and coffee, keeps many people trapped in a cycle of fatigue, weight gain, poor sleep and, ultimately metabolic diseases from diabetes to dementia. If you’d like to break free from all food and drink cravings or understand how addiction is a major drag factor in health transformation, and how to deal with it, listen in. See Collaborative Health Community (CHC) See Dr Jen Unwin's book The Fork in the Road: A Hopeful Guide to Food Freedom Visit my weight-loss topic and addiction topic on my website. For more on addiction see my book - How to Quit Without Feeling S**t.

Artificial intelligence is going to have a bigger impact than the ‘digital revolution’ that gave us computers and smartphones. As conventional healthcare crumbles, and disease, especially mental and neurological disorders, accelerate as a direct consequence of big pharma and big food influence, will AI have the ability to change the paradigm for better or worse?   Former GP Dr David Jehring, digital expert and founder of Blackpear, whose software is used extensively within the NHS, is a pioneer in the use of AI for personalised health transformation. How can AI help us and what does the near and far future look like in an AI-centric world? Things are going to change very fast. Now is the time to think forward.

My guest today is Dr Louise Newson. She is a physician, women’s hormone specialist and member of the UK Government’s Menopause Taskforce. She is also an award-winning doctor, educator, and author, committed to increasing awareness and knowledge of perimenopause and menopause. Described as the ‘medic who kickstarted the menopause revolution’, she has empowered a generation of women to have a greater understanding, choice and control over their treatment, bodies and mind. I’ll be talking about her latest book - ‘The Definitive Guide to the Perimenopause and Menopause’.   You can take part in Alzheimer's Prevention Day on Tuesday 20 May. Find out more about what you can do to help prevent cognitive decline, dementia and Alzheimer's, and share it with friends and family.  Visit my website for more on brain health - www.patrickholford.com and read my books ‘Alzheimer’s: Prevention is the Cure’ and How to Balance Your Hormones.

My guest today, is neurologist Dr Dale Bredesen, an expert in the mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases and author of the book ‘The End of Alzheimer’s’, which created quite a stir when it came out. Now, his latest book ‘The Ageless Brain’, takes the conversation further. I’ve read his book and he’s read my latest, ‘Alzheimer’s: Prevention is the Cure’, so we have a rich conversation comparing approaches and new frontiers. He is director of the Precision Brain Health Programme at the Pacific Neuroscience Institute in Los Angeles.   You can take part in Alzheimer's Prevention Day on Tuesday 20 May. Find out more about what you can do to help prevent cognitive decline, dementia and Alzheimer's, and share it with friends and family.  Find out more about brain health on my website - www.patrickholford.com

What is autism? Is it truly on the rise, along with the broader concept of ‘neurodivergence’? With one in six children now identified as having special educational needs, could this increase be due to over-diagnosis, genetic factors, or something more? In this episode, I’m joined by three pioneers in the field—experts with extensive experience working with thousands of children diagnosed with autism. Together, we uncover the true scale of the issue and explore why our children's mental and physical health is under attack. Joining me are: Dr. Lorene Amet – Director of The Lauriston Centre in the UK, holding a DPhil in Molecular Biology from the University of Oxford and a Master’s in Autism Education. She has conducted postdoctoral research at Princeton and Edinburgh universities. Beth Lambert – Founder of Documenting Hope, a non-profit dedicated to children's health. She’s a teacher and the author of A Compromised Generation: The Epidemic of Chronic Illness in America’s Children, as well as co-author of Brain Under Attack. Dr. Heather Tallman Ruhm – A board-certified physician with a Master’s degree in Public Health Policy. She has over a decade of experience as a college professor and serves as a medical advisor for Documenting Hope. Together, we dive deep into what’s beneath the surface - examining why our children's well-being is increasingly under threat. Further Information Read more in my book Upgrade Your Brain and on my website www.patrickholford.com    

To what extent is a child’s mental health set in pregnancy? What can women do in pregnancy to ensure optimal mental health for their child? Also, what happens to women’s brains and mental health when their nutrition is sub-optimal in pregnancy? How can we help children and teenagers to achieve their full potential for mental health? In this podcast, I'm speaking to Julia Rucklidge, Professor of Clinical Psychology in the Department of Psychology and the Director of the Mental Health and Nutrition Research Group at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. Learn more on my website - nutrition for Children's Health and Pregnancy as well as my books Optimum Nutrition for your Child and Optimum Nutrition Before, During and After Pregnancy.

To what extent is your health destiny pre-determined? Is it nature or nurture – what you eat and how you live that determines your health history? My guest in this podcast is a specialist in nutrigenomics. That is the field of rich interactions between your genes and your environment. Emma Beswick is not only a nutrigenomic expert but also a graduate from the Institute for Optimum Nutrition so she knows her stuff about nutrition too and is very much hands on, running one of the best gene testing companies in this field: LifecodeGX. In this podcast she demystifies genes and explains how they work, how we can identify our genetic uniqueness and the direct knock on effect that has on your personal optimum nutrition.  Go to my website for more information on nutrition. Sign up to my E-News on the home page of my website at www.patrickholford.com to receive news updates. Do follow my podcast channel to be informed of new podcast as they are released. Share with friends and family to help them achieve optimum health. 

Dr Christopher Palmer is a Harvard psychiatrist and researcher working at the interface of metabolism and mental health. He is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and the Founder and Director of the Metabolic and Mental Health Program and Director of the Department of Postgraduate and Continuing Education, both at Harvard and at the McLean Hospital. He is author of the best-selling book, Brain Energy, in which he argues that mental disorders are metabolic disorders impacting the brain, and is leading the way to a paradigm shift in psychiatry towards new ways of understanding and treating mental health. Go to my website for more information on nutrition and mental health as well as the ketogenic diet. See also my book Upgrade Your Brain. Sign up to my E-News at www.patrickholford.com to receive news updates.