#266 Why consciousness is important to health, vitality and a happy life with Prof Anil Seth

Increasing fruit and vegetable consumption sounds so trivial, but I honestly believe that concerted efforts to increase this key measure of our diet quality would culminate in success. And by success I mean successfully improving people's health, but also increasing the wealth of our communities and alleviating our nation's food supply insecurity.To explore this concept further with me is Jonathan Pauling, CEO of Alexandra Rose, one of my favourite charities and one that Doctor’s Kitchen supports.10 years ago Jonathan helped develop its new mission - to improve access to healthy and affordable food for all. They built the ‘Rose Vouchers’ for Fruit & Veg Project to pioneer the use of financial incentives to help families on low incomes avoid food insecurity, nutrition insecurity and food related ill-health. From small pilots in London supporting 45 families, this work has now spread around the UK supporting 3,500 families every week.The scheme works by giving families literal cash in the form of rose vouchers that can be used at local food markets in exchange for fresh produce. It’s increased fruit and vegetable consumption by a staggering amount as we’ll get into during the podcast, and I was genuinely shocked at some of the impressive numbers that Jonathan shared with me.Today we explore the economic and health incentives for why this scheme should be adopted across every local authority and NHS commissioners to not only help the millions of people living in financial hardship in the UK, but also to alleviate the burden on our health system.🎬 Watch the podcast on YouTube here📱 Download The Doctor’s Kitchen app for free*🌐 View full show notes, including guest details, on our website*The Doctor's Kitchen App gives you access to all of our recipes, with specific suggestions tailored to your health needs and new recipes added every month. We’ve had some amazing feedback so far and we have new features being added all the time - check it out with a 14 day free trial too.Do check out this week’s “Eat, Listen, Read” newsletter, that you can subscribe to on our website - where I send you a recipe to cook as well as some mindfully curated media to help you have a healthier, happier week.🥗 Join the newsletter and 7 day meal plan📷 Follow on Instagram🐦 Tweet meWe would love to get your feedback on the subject matter of these episodes - please do let me know on our social media pages (Instagram, Facebook & Twitter) what you think, and give us a 5* rating on your podcast player if you enjoyed today’s episode Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode of the podcast is a fun one with myself, Mrs Doctor’s Kitchen (Rochelle) and Dr Anita Mitra where we explain a bit of Rochelle’s journey through pregnancy.We discuss what she’s been eating, how I’ve been thinking about nutrition for her and what questions I’ve been dealing with over the preceding months to do with lifestyle, ingredients to support fetal development and prevent nausea.Dr Anita Mitra is an NHS doctor based in London working in Obstetrics & Gynaecology, with experience in both clinical medicine and research. She’s worked in a research lab on the anticancer mechanisms of various phytonutrients and she has recently completed her PhD on the vaginal microbiome in cervical precancer.🎬 Watch the podcast on YouTube here📱 Download The Doctor’s Kitchen app for free*🌐 View full show notes, including guest details, on our website*The Doctor's Kitchen App gives you access to all of our recipes, with specific suggestions tailored to your health needs and new recipes added every month. We’ve had some amazing feedback so far and we have new features being added all the time - check it out with a 14 day free trial too.Do check out this week’s “Eat, Listen, Read” newsletter, that you can subscribe to on our website - where I send you a recipe to cook as well as some mindfully curated media to help you have a healthier, happier week.🥗 Join the newsletter and 7 day meal plan📷 Follow on Instagram🐦 Tweet meWe would love to get your feedback on the subject matter of these episodes - please do let me know on our social media pages (Instagram, Facebook & Twitter) what you think, and give us a 5* rating on your podcast player if you enjoyed today’s episode Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today's episode of the Doctor’s Kitchen I sit down with Sakina Okoko, science writer and researcher at Doctor’s Kitchen, to discuss the most impactful tips from recent pods: Brain fog, gut health, alcohol, spices to beat colds and more.We have so many fascinating conversations with experts in their fields who not only expand our understanding of specific topics but also inspire us to change or add certain habits even in the office.But with so much content that we’re putting out, there’s not always enough time in the day to listen to every single discussion. So we’ve pulled together our favourite insights from our recent episodes over the last quarter. Everything you need to know in one place!If you want to dive into the full pod episodes, check them out here:#267 – Brain Health with Louisa Nicola #263 – Gut health with Dr James Kinross Bonus – Mindful drinking with Cami Vidal#253 - Healing herbs and spices with Simon Mills🎬 Watch the podcast on YouTube here📱 Download The Doctor’s Kitchen app for free*🌐 View full show notes, including guest details, on our website*The Doctor's Kitchen App gives you access to all of our recipes, with specific suggestions tailored to your health needs and new recipes added every month. We’ve had some amazing feedback so far and we have new features being added all the time - check it out with a 14 day free trial too.Do check out this week’s “Eat, Listen, Read” newsletter, that you can subscribe to on our website - where I send you a recipe to cook as well as some mindfully curated media to help you have a healthier, happier week.🥗 Join the newsletter and 7 day meal plan📷 Follow on Instagram🐦 Tweet me Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There’s now so much research has shown that ultra-processed foods have been linked to high-blood pressure, heart disease and other serious illnesses, yet the average person in the UK gets a whopping 56% of their calories from UPFs, with an even higher figure for children. But all this information can be quite overwhelming. And what we need are strategies to overcome this problem rather than reminders of how bad the issues are.Melissa has long been an advocate for making wholesome, healthy food at home and is passionate about providing solutions for people who are scared by the headlines, and keen to make cost- and time-effective changes that help us un-process our everyday diet.Real Healthy is a life-friendly cookbook for time-poor people who want healthy food that’s quick, convenient and tasty, too. Melissa provides simple, doable, and delicious recipes to help you tackle those every day tricky problem areas – on-the-go breakfasts, al desko lunches, satisfying snacks, and easy to make sweet treats.🎬 Watch the podcast on YouTube here📱 Download The Doctor’s Kitchen app for free*🌐 View full show notes, including guest details, on our website*The Doctor's Kitchen App gives you access to all of our recipes, with specific suggestions tailored to your health needs and new recipes added every month. We’ve had some amazing feedback so far and we have new features being added all the time - check it out with a 14 day free trial too.Do check out this week’s “Eat, Listen, Read” newsletter, that you can subscribe to on our website - where I send you a recipe to cook as well as some mindfully curated media to help you have a healthier, happier week.🥗 Join the newsletter and 7 day meal plan📷 Follow on Instagram🐦 Tweet meWe would love to get your feedback on the subject matter of these episodes - please do let me know on our social media pages (Instagram, Facebook & Twitter) what you think, and give us a 5* rating on your podcast player if you enjoyed today’s episode Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is fruit juice just as bad as added sugar?What are the healthiest vegetables to eat for longevity?Is dairy helpful or harmful for our health?These are just some of the questions myself and Professor Tim Spector discuss on today’s podcast. It’s the third time we’ve sat down on the podcast and I’m sure it won’t be the last. Our chat today dives into the 6 strategies for healthy eating that Tim details in his new book, including eating 30 Plants a Week, Pivoting Proteins from animal based to plants, and  trying Time-Restricted Eating.In his new Food for Life Cookbook, Tim shares his knowledge of how simple it can be to eat for both pleasure and health. The book will help you make better food choices every day, whatever your starting point. We even made some of the pecan, chocolate cookies in the Doctor’s Kitchen Studio which were incredibly delicious. Made with flax egg, ground almonds and a seed mix, I was genuinely surprised at how tasty they were. You can catch that recipe on the Doctor’s Kitchen YouTube channel where you can also watch the podcast!Tim Spector,  is Professor of Epidemiology at King’s College London. He is the bestselling author of The Diet Myth, Spoon-Fed and Food for Life and co-founder of ZOE, the science and nutrition company. With a focus on cutting-edge science and honoured with an OBE for his impactful work in fighting Covid-19, Tim stands at the forefront of his field.🎬 Watch the podcast on YouTube here📱 Try our healthy cookies here🌐 View full show notes, including guest details, on our website*The Doctor's Kitchen App gives you access to all of our recipes, with specific suggestions tailored to your health needs and new recipes added every month. We’ve had some amazing feedback so far and we have new features being added all the time - check it out with a 14 day free trial too.Do check out this week’s “Eat, Listen, Read” newsletter, that you can subscribe to on our website - where I send you a recipe to cook as well as some mindfully curated media to help you have a healthier, happier week.🥗 Join the newsletter and 7 day meal plan📷 Follow on Instagram🐦 Tweet meWe would love to get your feedback on the subject matter of these episodes - please do let me know on our social media pages (Instagram, Facebook & Twitter) what you think, and give us a 5* rating on your podcast player if you enjoyed today’s episode Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

According to Alzheimer's research UK, over 50% of everyone listening to this podcast will be affected by dementia by either contracting the disease ourselves, caring for somebody with the disease or both.Dementia is due to impact 130 million people globally by 2050, and today it is the biggest killer in the UK. But we have no effective treatments, it’s diagnosed late in the disease process and prevention is hardly mentioned.Today I’m joined by Dr Louisa Nicola who has been studying this disease throughout her career and is currently completing her Doctorate with the University of Washington focused on Alzheimer's. She also runs a human performance clinic, Neuro Athletics, where the goal is to prevent and delay dementia as well as advise on what activities we can do today to keep our brains sharp. We’ll talk through brain boosting exercises and the reasons why certain exercises are good, plus the nutrients we need to feed ourselves to support our neurological needs.You’ll get an idea of the routines, habits and practices that are not only necessary for elite athletes to optimise performance, but also for us if we want to do our best to avoid dementia.I’ll also get Dr Louisa’s thoughts on protein, as well as omega 3, electrolytes and creatine supplements.🎬 Watch the podcast on YouTube here📱 Click here for healthy recipes🌐 View full show notes, including guest details, on our website*The Doctor's Kitchen App gives you access to all of our recipes, with specific suggestions tailored to your health needs and new recipes added every month. We’ve had some amazing feedback so far and we have new features being added all the time - check it out with a 14 day free trial too.Do check out this week’s “Eat, Listen, Read” newsletter, that you can subscribe to on our website - where I send you a recipe to cook as well as some mindfully curated media to help you have a healthier, happier week.🥗 Join the newsletter and 7 day meal plan📷 Follow on Instagram🐦 Tweet meWe would love to get your feedback on the subject matter of these episodes - please do let me know on our social media pages (Instagram, Facebook & Twitter) what you think, and give us a 5* rating on your podcast player if you enjoyed today’s episode Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mallika Basu is one of my absolute favourite people in food. Not only is she hilarious, she’s a writer, commentator and board adviser in food, drink and hospitality with two published cookbooks (Miss Masala: Real Indian Cooking for Busy Living and Masala: Indian Cooking for Modern Living). She writes a fantastic newsletter “More than Curry” covering the link between food, people and planet, as well as recipes with spice and flavour and stories on food and culture in other publications.During the pandemic, Mallika developed proprietary thinking on food, culture and diversity covering cultural appropriation, language and labels and representation which she has delivered to almost 900 individuals at organisations including Penguin Random House, Jamie Oliver Group, Tesco and Waitrose.Today we chat aboutGoing from Indian cooking to commenting on culture and diversity, getting the facts right on cultural appropriationWhy the planet piece matters for food and drink loversThe everyday challenges of feeding a family. I have two teens and am a single parent with a solo household half the week.How she diverts them away from UPFs🎬 Watch the podcast on YouTube here📱 Download The Doctor’s Kitchen app for free*🌐 View full show notes, including guest details, on our website*The Doctor's Kitchen App gives you access to all of our recipes, with specific suggestions tailored to your health needs and new recipes added every month. We’ve had some amazing feedback so far and we have new features being added all the time - check it out with a 14 day free trial too.Do check out this week’s “Eat, Listen, Read” newsletter, that you can subscribe to on our website - where I send you a recipe to cook as well as some mindfully curated media to help you have a healthier, happier week.🥗 Join the newsletter and 7 day meal plan📷 Follow on Instagram🐦 Tweet meWe would love to get your feedback on the subject matter of these episodes - please do let me know on our social media pages (Instagram, Facebook & Twitter) what you think, and give us a 5* rating on your podcast player if you enjoyed today’s episode Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This podcast is primarily about nutrition and lifestyle, so why should we care about consciousness and self awareness?This is something I put today to Professor Anil Seth, a neuroscientist who has pioneered research into the brain basis of consciousness for more than twenty-five years. He is Professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience and Director of the Centre for Consciousness Science at the University of Sussex and his TED talks on how your brain hallucinates reality have been viewed more than sixteen million times.Even though this topic is slightly outside the realm of what we usually talk about, I think this subject matter is important for anyone who wants to learn more about how to live their best life. A physically healthier and psychologically happier one.Today we discuss how our brain can be tricked by simple visual illusions and what this tells us about perception of our every day.The importance of interoception and how we can become more interoceptive, and aware of our bodily functions, our emotions and corresponding behaviours.We also talk about what we can learn from spiritual practices and ancient philosophy, and where correlations exist between what we now know is underpinned by the science.A conversation about psychedelics ensures, whether it’s accurate to state that we can experience a “higher state of consciousness” and whether AI can ever become conscious.His best selling book “Being You” is an incredible read that I highly recommend. We also get on to talk about gratitude and Anil’s tips for being more aware and how that may translate into a happier state of mind.🎬 Watch the podcast on YouTube here📱 Download The Doctor’s Kitchen app for free*🌐 View full show notes, including guest details, on our website*The Doctor's Kitchen App gives you access to all of our recipes, with specific suggestions tailored to your health needs and new recipes added every month. We’ve had some amazing feedback so far and we have new features being added all the time - check it out with a 14 day free trial too.Do check out this week’s “Eat, Listen, Read” newsletter, that you can subscribe to on our website - where I send you a recipe to cook as well as some mindfully curated media to help you have a healthier, happier week.🥗 Join the newsletter and 7 day meal plan📷 Follow on Instagram🐦 Tweet me Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Kyle Stewart, NHS GP, Clinical Entrepreneur Fellow, and co-founder of Prof & Doc, to explore the surprising health benefits of watercress.We’re going to dive into how watercress could be a game-changer for skin health, helping with conditions like nappy rash, eczema, and more. Dr. Stewart shares insights from his pioneering work in phytochemical manipulation over the last 8 years and developing innovative skincare solutions that he’s now brought to market at www.profanddoc.com.We also talk more broadly about how the application of research looking at ingredients from the brassica family are just waiting to be explored. You’ll also learn about some of the other vegetables and plants that Kyle would explore if he wasn’t so obsessed with Watercress!As a former NHS GP myself, I’m so impressed at how Kyle’s been able to navigate the world of entrepreneurship whilst maintaining a practice. I see really impressive things with his work and it hopefully paves the way for more research in the phytochemical world.🎬 Watch the podcast on YouTube here📱 Download The Doctor’s Kitchen app for free*🌐 View full show notes, including guest details, on our website*The Doctor's Kitchen App gives you access to all of our recipes, with specific suggestions tailored to your health needs and new recipes added every month. We’ve had some amazing feedback so far and we have new features being added all the time - check it out with a 14 day free trial too.Do check out this week’s “Eat, Listen, Read” newsletter, that you can subscribe to on our website - where I send you a recipe to cook as well as some mindfully curated media to help you have a healthier, happier week.🥗 Join the newsletter and 7 day meal plan📷 Follow on Instagram🐦 Tweet meWe would love to get your feedback on the subject matter of these episodes - please do let me know on our social media pages (Instagram, Facebook & Twitter) what you think, and give us a 5* rating on your podcast player if you enjoyed today’s episode Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chet Sharma’s culinary intrigue, coupled with his academic and scientific interests, have made for an impressive and expansive career in hospitality.During his university studies, which ultimately led to a PhD in physics from the University of Oxford, he worked part time at a number of London’s leading Michelin-starred restaurants, including Benares and Locanda Locatelli. After discovering a passion for hospitality, he went on to work at two Michelin-starred Mugaritz, Simon Rogan’s Umbel Restaurant Group, two-starred Mark Birchall’s Moor Hall, and the late, also two-starred, The Ledbury.In 2017, Chet moved to become Group Development Chef at JKS Restaurants – with whom he eventually opened BiBi in September 2021. A progressive restaurant serving dishes inspired by ingredients and memories from the Indian subcontinent. BiBi draws on the years Chet has spent cooking and sourcing ingredients for some of the most esteemed Michelin-starred restaurants in the world, whilst also embracing the full multicultural span of Indian cuisine. BiBi was GQ Restaurant of the Year 2022.Today we talk about:Chet’s transition from a science background into foodSmall scale farmers in the UK and India to champion forgotten ingredientsHis ongoing research with the British Library into pre-colonial Indian foodWe also talk about the stress of the job and how, to this day, Chet lives with Ramsay Hunt Syndrome, a reactivation of Varicella Zoster Virus that affects his facial nerve brought on by stress during the pandemic.🎬 Watch the podcast on YouTube here📱 Download The Doctor’s Kitchen app for free*🌐 View full show notes, including guest details, on our website*The Doctor's Kitchen App gives you access to all of our recipes, with specific suggestions tailored to your health needs and new recipes added every month. We’ve had some amazing feedback so far and we have new features being added all the time - check it out with a 14 day free trial too.Do check out this week’s “Eat, Listen, Read” newsletter, that you can subscribe to on our website - where I send you a recipe to cook as well as some mindfully curated media to help you have a healthier, happier week.🥗 Join the newsletter and 7 day meal plan📷 Follow on Instagram🐦 Tweet meWe would love to get your feedback on the subject matter of these episodes - please do let me know on our social media pages (Instagram, Facebook & Twitter) what you think, and give us a 5* rating on your podcast player if you enjoyed today’s episode Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.