Patrick Holford: Simple Wisdom for a Healthy Life

My guest today is Bob Quinn - a true pioneer of ancient, organic grains. In this rare opportunity to meet with him in his 80th year, en route to Italy, recorded in the car on the way to the airport, we unpack the whole story from the origins of the organic, wholegrain movement in the 80’s, up to now. He explains why it isn't gluten that’s causing so many people to react to wheat (other than coeliacs), what’s really happening, and what needs to happen to our food supply. His hat contains Kamut Khorosan grain - mine is made from our alpacas.   Find out more about food intolerances on my website or read my book Hidden Food Allergies.  

My guest today, Professor Robert Lustig - neuroendocrinologist and Professor Emeritus from the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), world-renowned for unravelling how sugar, fructose and ultra-processed foods degenerate health - proposes that there is one messed up underlying process that almost all contributors to cognitive decline compound. This is an overload of reactive oxygen species (ROS), or oxidants, due to a four step dance that grinds healthy metabolism to a halt. If this is right - and I think it is - this means there are four avenues open to us all to prevent the damping down of energy, both in the brain, but also in the body. Find out how in this podcast. For more about brain health see my books Upgrade Your Brain and Alzheimer's: Prevention is the Cure and Brain Health topic on my website.  Take part in Alzheimer's Prevention Day on Tuesday 19 May. Take the 3 minute test and learn more.     

My guest is Dr Tommy Wood, who is Associate Professor of Neuroscience and Paediatrics at the University of Washington. He also heads research at the Food for the Brain Foundation and brain trains professional athletes including Olympians and Formula 1 racing drivers. With a Bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from the University of Cambridge, a medical degree from the University of Oxford, and a PhD in Physiology and Neuroscience from the University of Oslo, he has approached how to optimise and recover your brain - from all sides. He is also co-founder of the British Society for Lifestyle Medicine.   Here we talk about his new book 'The Stimulated Mind' - just out - and how to future proof your brain.     For more on brain health, visit my website and read my books Upgrade Your Brain and Alzheimer's Prevention is the Cure.     

In today’s podcast, my guest is Dr Bill Wilson, a front-line physician who practiced medicine in Minnesota and Massachusetts for over 40 years. Three years ago, Dr Wilson was diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment - often described as pre-dementia. Instead of accepting it as inevitable, he took action. The result? He reversed it. Now, drawing on both his medical background and personal experience, Dr. Wilson has developed a sharp, highly practical focus on neuroscience. In this conversation, he breaks down exactly what helped restore his cognitive function - and, just as importantly, what truly matters for anyone on the slippery slope of cognitive decline. If brain health is something you—or someone you love—are thinking about, this episode is essential listening.   For more information read my book 'Upgrade Your Brain' and visit the Alzheimer's and Dementia Topic on my website.  Take the Food for the Brain Cognitive Function Test.   

Happy New Year! As we head into 2026, what actually matters when it comes to protecting your health - and what’s just noise? In this month’s podcast, I share my top health predictions for the year ahead and the habits truly worth adding to your New Year Resolutions. We go behind the headlines to unpack health politics, misinformation, and some uncomfortable truths - from vaccines and new Alzheimer’s drugs to how nutritional medicine is really moving forward. In this episode, you’ll discover: The five most important actions you can take to reduce your risk of cancer Why vitamin C, when used correctly, may be more effective than a flu vaccine The latest breakthroughs in antioxidants and anti-ageing science—including one powerful antioxidant you may not have heard of If your goal this year is clarity, resilience, and long-term health - not fads or fear- this episode will give you a strong head start. Wishing you a happy, healthy, and well-informed New Year. Do listen in. Visit my website www.patrickholford.com and sign up to my E-News to stay informed.   

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. Do listen in.  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.” Do listen in.  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. Do 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. Do listen in. 

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’. Do listen in.  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.