Today we invite Dr Amrita Vijay to the podcast. She is a leading scientific advisor and researcher specialising in the intersection of diet, the gut microbiome, and health. With a strong background in conducting nutritional interventions in both India and the UK, Dr Vijay explores how food influences inflammation, mood and overall well-being.

We discuss:

• The prebiotic potential of omega-3
• Why not all dietary fibres can be considered equal. 
• The influence of culture and heritage on our dietary habits and why acknowledging these factors is essential for driving meaningful and sustainable dietary changes. 

We also discuss the differences between pre and probiotics, which probiotics may actually have evidence behind them and her thoughts on gut supporting diets, diversity scoring and lots more.

Dr Vijay was recently awarded the Best Research Award from the University of Nottingham. Passionate about translating cutting-edge science into practical strategies, Dr Vijay is dedicated to empowering individuals with evidence-based insights on how diet and lifestyle can optimise health and well-being.

Probiotic Guide

Doctors Kitchen Bread

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What if everything you thought you knew about cholesterol, fat, and metabolic health was up for debate? As someone interested in nutrition research, I’m always up for exploring differing points of view especially when they come from a rigorous scientific background and can speak to the evidence base. 

So in this episode, I sit down with Dr Nick Norwitz PhD, to challenge some of my long held positions in nutrition science and break down keto.

He’s a researcher and expert in ketogenic diets, lipid metabolism, and metabolic health as well as a current medical student at Harvard Medical school.

We discuss:

🔥 Nick’s personal journey with IBD and the ketogenic diet

🥑 Whether saturated fat actually causes heart disease?

📉 Cholesterol confusion – and whether we should all aim for a lower LDL-C or ApoB by any means necessary?

💡 Keto as a metabolic state vs. a diet – what it means for fat loss

📊 The problems with nutrition research

Plus, we explore how to measure metabolic health, keto adaptation, and whether a high-fat, high-animal-protein diet can be optimal for longevity.

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Today I’m joined by personal trainer Sophie Waplington to break down one of the biggest concerns for plant-based eaters: getting enough protein and maintaining strength.

We tackle common fears around plant-based eating, including:

🥩 "Am I getting enough protein without meat?"

💪 "Will I lose muscle if I switch to a plant-predominant diet?"

💰 "Is plant-based eating too expensive or complicated?"

Together, we explore the science of protein quality, practical meal-building tips, and effective training strategies to support muscle health and strength.

We discuss:

• Complete proteins & amino acid profiles
• PDCAAS & DIAAS scores – Are these metrics actually useful?
• The leucine threshold & muscle gain – Is it harder to reach with plant-based protein?
• Protein layering – The best plant-based combos for a complete amino acid profile
• How much protein per meal? – Ideal targets and what it looks like on a plate

🏋️‍♀️ Resistance Training & Muscle Strength

• Why strength training is essential for overall health
• Pre- and post-workout nutrition on a plant-based diet
• Does protein timing really matter for muscle gain?

🍽️ What Does This Look Like in Real Life?

• How to start increasing protein intake on a plant-based diet
• Common mistakes when transitioning to plant protein
• How to add more protein to meals like pasta, curries, and stir-fries

Sophie Waplington is a celebrated plant-based chef, content creator and a highly sought-after fitness expert. Sophie's influence spans the globe with a dedicated fan-base of over 1 million followers. Sophie is steadfast in her mission: to prove that plant-based cuisine can be delicious, nutritionally- robust and protein- packed.

Grab her new book Sophs Plant Kitchen here!

Double Chocolate Cookies!

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Today, I’m joined by Professor Leigh Breen, a leading expert in muscle health and ageing. He’s Professor of Translational Muscle Physiology at the University of Birmingham, where he researches how exercise and nutrition can help us maintain muscle as we get older.

We’ll be covering:

✅ Why strength training is essential for healthy ageing

✅ The key exercises every older adult should be doing

✅ How much protein you actually need as you age

✅ Is walking enough to keep your muscles strong?

✅ How to start strength training if you’ve never done it before

✅ The hidden benefits of exercise, from sharper thinking to blood sugar control

✅ Supplements, new therapies, and what’s on the horizon for muscle health

We’ll also talk about the most important muscle groups for longevity, the best compound exercises to focus on, and how progressive overload can help you stay strong for life.

This is essential information, whether for you, your parents, or someone you love. So share this episode with family and friends who need to hear it! And as always, let us know your thoughts—your feedback helps make the podcast even better.

“Couch to Compound” exercises. These are the ones that give you the most bang for your buck and focus on the muscles that you need to prioritise for healthier ageing.

1. Squat

2. Deadlift

3. Bench or Chest Press

4. Pull Up

5. Lunges / Farmers Walk

6. Planks

And as always, give us feedback to help us make the podcast even better.

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Before we dive in, my new cookbook Healthy High Protein is out now…and it’s a Sunday Times bestseller! I'm super proud of this book and hope you love it too. You can get your copy here.

We know it can be hard to keep up with hours of podcast content every week. In fact, over the past couple of months alone, we’ve shared more than 48 hours of conversations!

So in today’s episode, we’ve distilled some of the key takeaways to save you time and go straight to the expert advice they’ve so generously shared.

If you’re a regular listener, you’ll recognise some familiar voices. You can find the full episodes on The Doctor’s Kitchen website:

• #281 How Phone Fasting and Nature Can Build Dopamine and Support Your Brain with TJ Power
• #280 The Cholesterol Numbers We Should All Know with Professor Kausik Ray
• #285 What a Gut Healthy Day Looks Like with Dr James Kinross PhD, FRCS
• #286 Why Looking at Your Poo Is Key to Understanding Your Health with Dr Emily Leeming
• #267 Think Clearer and Stay Sharp with These Brain Health Strategies from Neurophysiologist Dr Louisa Nicola
• #282 How to Move Better with Exercise Strategies for Longevity, Fat Loss, and Sharper Brains with Kiran Chopra
• #251 Women's Health and Problem Periods with Dr Anita Mitra
• #279 How to Make Habits Stick with Dr Rangan Chatterjee

We want to hear from you! 🎙️ Ask questions, give feedback and help shape the podcast!

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Is ‘organic’ worth it or just clever marketing? We’ve all been there, standing in the supermarket, holding two identical-looking apples and wondering if the price difference is actually doing anything for our health. And if we want safer food, how do we push for a system where pesticide-free isn’t just for those who can afford organic? Today, I’m asking these big questions to Nick Mole from PAN UK.

We’ll dive into:

• What pesticides are and why they’re used?
• Whether washing fruit and veg actually removes them
• And if organic is worth it and if so, which ingredients are the most important to go organic?

This is a scary topic that goes beyond food, and where you may find a lot of people on the internet making definitive claims about the harms of pesticides and GMO, the honest answer to a lot of these questions is unfortunately … we don’t know.

But from what we do know, I think we can all afford to be more pragmatic, skeptical and aware, particularly when it comes to the “cocktail effect”, as we get into later.

Pesticide Action Network UK (PAN UK) is the only UK charity focused solely on tackling the problems caused by pesticides and promoting safe and sustainable alternatives in agriculture, urban areas, homes and gardens. 

Nick joined PAN UK in 2007, having previously worked as a campaigner for the Environmental Investigation Agency. He leads on PAN’s national policy work, undertaking research, analysing data and gathering evidence to support the organisation’s calls to government, regulators, policy-makers, industry and retailers to reduce the impacts of harmful pesticides to both human health and the environment.  

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“High protein” has turned into a bit of a marketing buzzword. I’m seeing it plastered on everything from snack bars to cereals and even crisps. Is this actually necessary? 

Are we getting enough protein in our diet, or are some of us actually under-consuming this vital macronutrient? Do we need supplements and powders or are whole foods enough? And what about the debate between animal based proteins and plant based?

That’s why I’ve put everything I’ve gleaned from the research and years of cooking into my new book, Healthy High Protein, which is out tomorrow.

I’m sitting down with our Science Content Lead, Sakina, to share my take on some of these big questions about protein.

We’ll discuss:

• Why I think the protein guidelines are set too low
• How eating more protein affects brain health, metabolic health and energy
• How to eat more protein in a healthy way that supports your gut and reduces inflammation
• Plus, my favourite protein sources and how I use them in recipes

Buy Healthy High Protein here

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Feeding children can feel like a minefield. When should you start weaning, what should you start with, how to handle fussy eaters, and whether certain foods should be avoided altogether? In this episode with Charlotte Stirling-Reed, we’re diving into the science and practicalities of feeding babies, toddlers, and beyond to help parents feel more confident and less overwhelmed .. like me!

We explore weaning from the ground up, covering key questions like:

✔ How do you know when your baby is ready for solids?

✔ Should you start with vegetables?

✔ Is baby-led weaning (BLW) the best approach?

✔ What foods should be avoided in the early years?

But we don’t stop at weaning—we tackle common struggles like:

🥦 How to encourage kids to eat more than just beige foods?

🍽️ Managing food refusal and picky eating (why toddlers reject food at home but eat it at nursery!)

🥕 The best ways to sneak more fruit and veg into your child’s diet

🥜 Navigating food allergies and safe school lunch alternatives

This episode is packed with practical tips, expert insights, and realistic strategies to help make mealtimes smoother and healthier. Charlotte Stirling-Reed, known as “The Baby & Child Nutritionist”, is a registered nutritionist, bestselling author, and founder of SR Nutrition. 

She started her career in the NHS before specialising in maternal, baby, and child nutrition. Charlotte is the author of the Sunday Times bestseller How to Wean Your Baby, an incredible book. Her latest book “The Ultimate Weaning & Toddler Cookbook” will be a go to for me and my family for sure!

And here are links to some of the articles we mentioned during the podcast:

Probiotics and Children, Kids eating fish, Kids throwing food, Vegan weaning

Note: At one point, we said "normal birth" but quickly corrected it to "non-C-Section birth". Some people use "normal birth" to mean vaginal birth, but that can be a bit confusing because vaginal birth isn't always the "normal" choice for everyone.

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What is your gut trying to tell you? It might not speak in words, but it’s always sending signals through your energy levels, mood or even our skin. But most of us don’t think about those little signs as part of a bigger picture.

And a blatant way your gut communicates your general state of health, is through the state of your poo! Quickly flushed away, many of us don’t take the time to examine our poop for signs of health, but if you’re interested in gut health, keeping a track of your stools could be more informative than any wearable or microbe test you can buy!

Today, we’re diving into the world of what our poop says about our gut health with Dr. Emily Leeming, a scientist at King’s College London, registered dietitian and the author of Genius Gut.

You’ll learn:

• What to look for in your poop and how to tell that your digestive system is working optimally.
• Whether the evidence for eating 30 Plants a week is actually that strong
• How menopause can affect the gut
• How long it would take to reset or ‘heal’ the gut after years of excess sugar, poor eating or antibiotics

We also talk about the superpowers of fibre. How it creates “an obstacle course for sugar”, how it can stretch the gut and signal to your brain that you’ve eaten enough and even how it can lower your cholesterol.

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We know that gut health plays a crucial role in everything from digestion to immunity, weight management, and even mental well-being. But what does looking after your gut actually look like in practice?

In this episode, I’m again joined by Dr James Kinross a senior lecturer in colorectal surgery and consultant surgeon at Imperial College London, he’s a researcher, and author of Dark Matter, to explore the science behind our gut microbiome—and how we can take actionable steps to support it every single day.

🔍 Key Topics We Cover:

• Should everyone be doing a gut microbiome test?
• Are daily probiotics necessary, or is food enough?
• Can our gut bacteria influence how easily we lose weight?
• What’s the link between stress, mood, and our microbes?
• Does a healthy gut help us live longer?

But rather than just theory, today’s episode is all about practical strategies. We walk through what an ideal gut-health day looks like—from the moment you wake up to your morning routine, commute, meals, work stressors, and even how you wind down at night. Dr. Kinross breaks down:

✔ The best foods to start your day for optimal gut function

✔ What supplements to take (or avoid) for microbiome health

✔ How movement, stress, and even pollution affect your gut

✔ Why gut bacteria plays a role in breaking down food, recycling nutrients, and producing essential compounds

✔ How gut health shifts across different life stages—from newborns to aging adults

We also dive into some big health questions, including:

🧠 The gut-brain connection – how microbes influence serotonin, dopamine, and mood

💊 Post-antibiotic recovery – what to do if you’ve just finished a round of antibiotics

⚖️ Weight control – how gut microbes affect appetite, fat burning, and metabolism

🦠 Cancer risk – why are cases of bowel cancer rising in younger people?

If you’ve ever wondered how to support your gut and why it matters, this is the episode for you.

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What makes a mushroom ‘medicinal’ and are they worth the hype? How do these fungi differ from the everyday varieties we cook with? On this week’s episode of The Doctor’s Kitchen podcast, we’re diving deep into the fascinating world of mushrooms with our expert guest Tom Baxter. 

From Lion’s Mane to Reishi, we’ll explore the unique healing properties of these incredible organisms and what the research reveals about their potential benefits. We’ll discuss their effects on cognitive function, stress, fatigue, and even menopausal symptoms. 

You’ll learn:

🍄 How to source high-quality mushroom products to avoid contaminants

🧑🏽‍🍳 The culinary and nutritional benefits of everyday mushrooms and their environmental impact

🧠 Whether there is evidence that mushrooms can improve mental well-being and support immunity. 

🔎 Whether you’re a skeptic, a mushroom enthusiast, or just curious about these fascinating fungi, this episode is packed with insights to inspire you to add more mushrooms to your diet and daily life.

Tom Baxter is a farmer and founder of The Bristol Fungarium, which produces the UK's first organic certified medicinal mushrooms. Ever conscious of the unfolding ecological collapse that confronts us, Tom made the fateful move away from city life in 2008 to find meaning through working the land. After several educational years establishing his organic vegetable farm and two decades of largely unsuccessful foraging excursions he pivoted from farming and invested everything into creating The Bristol Fungarium, pioneering organic medicinal mushroom production in the UK.

If you’re in the mood for mushrooms, one of my favourite recipes on the doctors kitchen app is the “Cashew Curry with Chickpeas and Crispy Mushrooms” or better still, type in mushroom into the search bar at doctorskitchen.com to see what comes up ;)

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