In the UK, one in 14 people over 65 will develop dementia, with that figure rising to one in six once we’re over 80. But there are plenty of simple, enjoyable things that we can all start doing right now to improve our brain health and stave off age-related dementia.

Feel Better Live More Bitesize is my weekly podcast for your mind, body, and heart.  Each week I’ll be featuring inspirational stories and practical tips from some of my former guests.

Today’s clip is from episode 316 of the podcast with Dr Tommy Wood. In this clip, Tommy explains why cognitive decline in later life is not inevitable and the steps we can take now to keep our brain healthy at any age.

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Show notes and the full podcast are available at drchatterjee.com/316

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DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website. 

Imagine yourself in the last decade of your life. What would you like to be able to do? I’m talking about the simple stuff, such as walking up a flight of stairs without losing your breath or picking up your grandchild. How about being able to stand up unaided, after sitting comfortably on the floor? Or simply being able to get yourself on and off the toilet with ease?

It’s so easy to assume these everyday movements will still be easy when we’re old. But my guest this week wants us to get real to the fact they probably won’t – unless we take action now.

Dr Peter Attia is a medical doctor and founder of the Early Medical Practice, a private clinic in America, which helps patients lengthen their lifespan and improve their ‘healthspan’. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller: Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity.

In our first conversation (Ep 356) Peter explained how years of research have shown him that physical activity is the number one predictor of longevity. In this new episode, we unpack what that means and what strategies you can use to live a long and healthy life.

Peter explains a concept that he calls the Centenarian Decathlon – a novel, but specific way of thinking about the various forms of movement we might require IF we want to be strong, fit, and active in our later years. He explains you need to be a good generalist with a high peak cardiorespiratory fitness, a wide aerobic base, functional strength, and good levels of stability, and why each of those metrics is important and how we can start improving them.

If you’re in your 30s, 40s, 50s, or 60s – then training today for your twilight years might seem too distant a goal to feel motivating. If you’re active now, it’s easy to think you’ll be fine by then. But, Peter says, you’re kidding yourself if you think that your day-to-day function will not decline, as you get older. And, so he wants to empower us and demonstrate what we need to do today, to ensure we will have the life we want later.

We also cover resistance training, Zone 2 training, grip strength, and foot strength, training for teenagers, training for women around menopause and so much more. This is an insightful episode, full of practical advice and wisdom. I hope you enjoy listening.

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Show notes https://drchatterjee.com/389

DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or qualified healthcare provider. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website.

CAUTION: This podcast discusses fasting and its advice may not be suitable for anyone with an eating disorder. If you have an existing health condition or are taking medication, always consult your healthcare practitioner before going for prolonged periods without eating.

Research has shown that around 50 percent of us currently spread our meals and snacks across 15 or more hours of the day. But having periods of time in every 24 hours where we are not eating is essential for repairing, resetting and rejuvenating all of our organs and tissues.

Feel Better Live More Bitesize is my weekly podcast for your mind, body, and heart.  Each week I’ll be featuring inspirational stories and practical tips from some of my former guests.

Today's clip is from episode 306 of the podcast with a leading expert in the field of circadian rhythms, Professor Satchin Panda.

Satchin’s research on the impact of circadian clocks on our health is truly ground-breaking and he has revolutionised our understanding of health and wellbeing.

In this clip, he shares a simple tip to help you sleep better, boost your gut health, and get more energy.

Support the podcast and enjoy Ad-Free episodes. Try FREE for 7 days on Apple Podcasts https://apple.co/feelbetterlivemore. For other podcast platforms go to https://fblm.supercast.com.

Show notes and the full podcast are available at drchatterjee/306

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DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website. 

What if the most courageous, compassionate thing you could do in life, was to learn how to be with yourself? It’s a powerful, perhaps surprising idea put forward by this week’s guest, the Buddhist monk, meditation teacher and author Gelong Thubten. 

Thubten became a monk back in 1993 after suffering from severe physical and mental burnout whilst following his dream of becoming an actor in New York City.

His new book, A Handbook for Hard Times: A Monk’s Guide to Fearless Living, draws on what he’s learned over the past 30 years. Its premise is that we can embrace life’s difficulties as opportunities for personal transformation, using hard times to cultivate resilience, kindness, and happiness.

We begin our conversation talking about distraction and addiction, two states that are very closely linked. When we distract ourselves by scrolling, overeating, or drinking for example, says Thubten, we’re pushing away emotional pain or discomfort – even if we may not realise it. But the discomfort is really in the pushing. If we can learn instead to sit with what’s making us uncomfortable, those emotions start to transform.

So, how exactly are we meant to do this? Thubten explains that one way is through the practice of meditation and learning how to process negative emotions in the moment, rather than only understanding them in retrospect. 

The most common misconception is that meditation needs a clear mind. But thoughts are inevitable, and the goal is not to push them away. If we use meditation to sit with our thoughts, rather than escape them, the transformations really start to happen. We become less controlled by negative emotions and start to cultivate positive ones. Meditation can unlock our innate self-compassion and this, in turn, improves our relationship with ourselves and with others.

Thubten insists that you can’t fail at meditation, because it really just means ‘being you’. The more we meditate, the less we run away from hard times and fear, and the more we become our true, contented selves.

Thubten is an excellent communicator and I hope you enjoy this really special episode.

Support the podcast and enjoy Ad-Free episodes. Try FREE for 7 days on Apple Podcasts https://apple.co/feelbetterlivemore. For other podcast platforms go to https://fblm.supercast.com.

Show notes https://drchatterjee.com/387

DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or qualified healthcare provider. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website.

What do you regret in your life? Are there things you wish you’d done – or not done? Society tells us not to look back and instead to focus on the positive, but could sitting with the discomfort of a regret allow us to grow?

Feel Better Live More Bitesize is my weekly podcast for your mind, body, and heart. Each week I’ll be featuring inspirational stories and practical tips from some of my former guests.

Today's clip is from episode 248 of the podcast with author and expert in human behaviour, Daniel Pink.

Dan asserts that regret is a misunderstood and useful emotion that, when used correctly, can help us lead happier and more fulfilled lives. In this clip, he explains how to make mistakes your superpower.

Support the podcast and enjoy Ad-Free episodes. Try FREE for 7 days on Apple Podcasts https://apple.co/feelbetterlivemore. For other podcast platforms go to https://fblm.supercast.com.

Show notes and the full podcast are available at drchatterjee.com/248

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DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website. 

When I started medical school in 1995, we were taught that one in four people was likely to develop cancer in their lifetime. Today, that statistic has changed to one in two – a rapid rise that can’t be explained by genetics. But if our modern diet and lifestyles are the cause, we have more control than we might think.

That’s the message my guest, Professor Thomas Seyfried, has worked tirelessly to prove and communicate over his four decades as a cancer researcher. Professor Seyfried is a professor of biology, genetics and biochemistry at Boston College, Massachusetts, and author of more than 150 peer-reviewed publications, as well as the 2012 book Cancer As A Metabolic Disease.

Through his research, and in this conversation, he sets out to explain how it’s a malfunction in our mitochondria – the energy powerhouses in each of our cells – that’s at the root of every cancer he’s studied. Normal-functioning mitochondria, he explains, use oxygen to make energy. In cancer, this process is disrupted. Cancer cells cannot use oxygen, so they fall back on a primitive form of energy creation known as fermentation.

It follows then, explains Professor Seyfried, that if we can somehow stop this fermentation process, then cancer cells will die. Cancer uses glucose and glutamine to fuel fermentation. While we don’t want to block glutamine, as it has other uses in the body, we can drastically lower our glucose levels to stop driving cancer growth.

We discuss some of the ways in which we can start doing this – for example, using specific low-carb diets and nutritional ketosis. Professor Seyfried also talks us through his ground-breaking ‘metabolic therapy’ protocols for treating cancer – sometimes, alongside conventional treatments like chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Professor Seyfried has spent decades researching and proving a metabolic cause for this devastating disease. This a compelling and optimistic conversation, packed with actions we can all take to reduce our risk not just of cancer, but all the chronic conditions driven by metabolic disruption.

CAUTION: This podcast discusses ketogenic diets and water-only fasting. Always consult a qualified healthcare practitioner before making any drastic changes to your diet or before going for prolonged periods without eating.

Support the podcast and enjoy Ad-Free episodes. Try FREE for 7 days on Apple Podcasts https://apple.co/feelbetterlivemore. For other podcast platforms go to https://fblm.supercast.com.

Show notes https://drchatterjee.com/385

DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or qualified healthcare provider. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website.

Once we learn how to unlock the power of our mind, we can create huge change in our lives for both our health and happiness.

Feel Better Live More Bitesize is my weekly podcast for your mind, body, and heart.  Each week I’ll be featuring inspirational stories and practical tips from some of my former guests.

Today's clip is from episode 266 of the podcast with Dr Joe Dispenza, a New York Times best-selling author, speaker and researcher.

Dr Joe has spent decades studying neuroscience, meditation and the effect our thoughts have on our health and wellbeing. In this clip, he explains why it’s so easy for us to get trapped in negative thought patterns and shares how can we learn to break free.

Support the podcast and enjoy Ad-Free episodes. Try FREE for 7 days on Apple Podcasts https://apple.co/feelbetterlivemore. For other podcast platforms go to https://fblm.supercast.com.

Show notes and the full podcast are available at drchatterjee.com/266

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DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website. 

What do you think you might be saying on your deathbed? Will you be looking back at your life with a sense of joy and completeness, or, do you think that you might be consumed with regret? As this week’s guest shares, “It’s easy to assume that you will live with great health to a ripe old age, then die peacefully in your sleep wearing your favourite pyjamas but it doesn’t work out that way for most people…”

Bronnie Ware is an internationally acclaimed speaker and author of the bestselling memoir, The Top Five Regrets of the Dying. Published more than 10 years ago, it’s been translated into 32 languages and continues to attract new audiences. The book is about her eight years as an end-of-life carer, the close relationships she formed, and lessons she learned from those dying people, which changed her life forever.

We discuss some of the various regrets of the dying and what they can teach us so that we can live better lives, right now. We talk about the concept of choice. Everything we do, or don’t do, has a price – be it time or money. Our culture incentivises what we can measure – salaries, possessions, status, social media ‘likes’ and comments. But Bronnie urges us to realise the sacredness and value of our time.

Is a choice worth making if it means you have to sacrifice time with your loved ones? Is it worth pushing extra hard for the promotion that may bring you more money but also more stress and more time away from home? These are decisions that I think we all need to wrestle with from time to time if we are truly going to be living a contented and intentional life.

We also talk about the real meaning of regret, what it means to be courageous, and how self-compassion can help us see our mistakes as a natural part of life and growth. Bronnie also defines the qualities and habits she observed in those patients who reached the end of life with no regrets – what can we learn from these people?

Death can be a topic that many people shy away from discussing but Bronnie is a wonderful soul who is able to talk about death in a relatable, powerful and authentic way. Appreciating we are going to die is the first step to getting more out of life.

This really was a thought-provoking and intimate conversation. I hope you enjoy listening.

Support the podcast and enjoy Ad-Free episodes. Try FREE for 7 days on Apple Podcasts https://apple.co/feelbetterlivemore. For other podcast platforms go to https://fblm.supercast.com.

Show notes https://drchatterjee.com/383

DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or qualified healthcare provider. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website.

Our brains are plastic and can change at any age, and we can take action to make them healthier, younger and stronger.

Feel Better Live More Bitesize is my weekly podcast for your mind, body, and heart.  Each week I’ll be featuring inspirational stories and practical tips from some of my former guests.

Today's clip is from episode 325 of the podcast with neuroscientist and Professor of Neural Science and Psychology, Dr Wendy Suzuki.

Wendy starts her day with 30 minutes of exercise because she knows it makes her more focused, happy, motivated, and even creative.

In this clip, she explains how even just 10 minutes of exercise creates changes in the brain that go much further than simply our boosting mood.

Support the podcast and enjoy Ad-Free episodes. Try FREE for 7 days on Apple Podcasts https://apple.co/feelbetterlivemore. For other podcast platforms go to https://fblm.supercast.com.

Show notes and the full podcast are available at drchatterjee.com/325

Follow me on instagram.com/drchatterjee

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DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website. 

I think it’s fair to say that human beings have got it pretty good. Compared to most of our evolutionary history we have never been richer, safer, or lived longer lives. Yet, despite that, more of us are struggling with our health than ever before. What’s going on? This is the question that my guest today has spent years trying to answer.

Dr Anders Hansen is a Swedish psychiatrist, a globally renowned speaker with his own TV series exploring the human brain and he is also the author of multiple bestselling books, including his latest two The Happiness Cure and The Attention Fix.

He believes we can start to understand the struggles of modern life by looking to the brain, where our emotions are created. The brain did not evolve for intelligence, creativity or even happiness. Its sole purpose is to help us survive and reproduce – to make it to tomorrow, alive. We have inherited the evolutionary defence mechanisms that kept our ancestors hyper alert, fearful, and able to evade danger.

The trouble is that modern life has evolved at a pace our genes and brains have been unable to match. So today, these incredible survival skills that once helped us, now show up as unwanted feelings like chronic anxiety, distractibility, an urge to overeat, under exercise and even gamble. We often see these as mental health failings – something broken that needs to be fixed, says Anders. But when you look at them through the lens of evolutionary psychology, these behaviours all start to make perfect sense.

We no longer live on the Savanna: we live in a world of abundance and super-stimulation – and, if we want to thrive, we need to work against our brains’ natural instincts.

Easier said than done? Perhaps, but this conversation contains some excellent practical advice to get you started.

Anders is someone who really wants all of us to learn how exactly our brains are wired -  so we can more easily understand ourselves and our daily behaviours. He is passionate, knowledgeable and a brilliant communicator. I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with him, I hope you enjoy listening.

Support the podcast and enjoy Ad-Free episodes. Try FREE for 7 days on Apple Podcasts https://apple.co/feelbetterlivemore. For other podcast platforms go to https://fblm.supercast.com.

Thanks to our sponsors:

https://www.vivobarefoot.com/livemore

https://drinkag1.com/livemore

https://www.calm.com/livemore

Show notes https://drchatterjee.com/381

DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or qualified healthcare provider. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website.