Health Savvy You

Politics affect your health, healthcare costs, access to medicines, and the safety of your community. The people in power make decisions about hospitals, clean air and water, food safety, public spaces, and where your tax money goes. Learn how to choose leaders who care about your health, understand the decisions that affect your wellbeing, and hold politicians accountable long after election day.

In this episode of Health Savvy You, we explore why health and politics are deeply connected, even if you don't follow politics or prefer to stay out of political debates. From rising medicine prices to unsafe water, underfunded healthcare, and vaccine policies, discover how government decisions shape the conditions in which we live, grow, and age.

You'll learn five practical ways to protect your health through civic action.

• How to evaluate political candidates based on their impact on community health.
• How to find out who is responsible for which health-related decisions.
• How to hold elected officials accountable for their promises.
• How to talk about health and politics with family, friends, and your community.
• How health literacy helps you to recognize when politicians use complicated language or blame individuals to distract from problems in the system.

Your vote is a preventative measure and can help shape a healthier future. Listen, learn, and share this episode with someone you care about.

Subscribe to Health Savvy You for similar evidence-based conversations about health, public health, health literacy, misinformation, and things that make and keep us healthy. With this podcast build your health literacy skills- the first and most important skill in getting healthier which was never taught to us.

Do you know 9 out 10 people lack enough health literacy to make best decisions about their own health, advocate for themselves and fight fake health tips?

Connect with Health Savvy You and Dr. Navjot Buttar

Navjot's Instagram: instagram.com/jot.k.buttar

Navjot's Threads: https://www.threads.com/@jot.k.buttar

Navjot's website: navjotbuttar.com

Let's get smarter about our health together! Share with those whose health you care about!

You know your body is not okay, but your tests are normal, and your doctor has no answers. Going to the doctor can feel simple when we know what is wrong. We have a symptom, we get a test, the doctor finds the problem, and we get treatment. But what happens when things do not work that way? What if you have real symptoms but your tests look normal? What if your doctor does not know what is causing them? What if you leave the checkup appointment feeling like you were not heard or understood during your appointment? These situations can be confusing and frustrating. We may start wondering if we are imagining our symptoms, whether we should see another doctor for a second opinion, or whether something is seriously wrong. When answers do not come easily, people may also turn to social media, online searches, or alternative treatments looking for someone who can finally explain what is happening.

Being health savvy does not mean knowing every medical term or trying to become your own doctor. It means knowing how to understand the information we receive, ask useful questions, communicate clearly with healthcare professionals, make sense of this uncertainty, and taking the right steps.

In this episode, we talk about:

1. What to do when your symptoms are real but you still don't have a clear diagnosis.
2. What patients can do when they feel dismissed or unheard by a doctor and what is medical gaslighting.
3. What is self-advocacy and how to advocate for yourself without turning the doctor-patient relationship into a fight.
4. How can doctors make their patients feel heard and understood.
5. How to make sense of online health information, alternative treatments, and your own lab results.
6. How to keep trust in science and healthcare after a difficult or disappointing medical experience.

Our guest, Dr. Carolyn Sullins, has a PhD in educational psychology and a master's in counseling psychology.

Subscribe to Health Savvy You for similar evidence-based conversations about health, public health, health literacy, misinformation, and things that make and keep us healthy. With this podcast build your health literacy skills- the first and most important skill in getting healthier which was never taught to us.

Do you know 9 out 10 people lack enough health literacy to make best decisions about their own health, advocate for themselves and fight fake health tips?

Connect with Health Savvy You and Dr. Navjot Buttar

Navjot's Instagram: instagram.com/jot.k.buttar

Navjot's Threads: https://www.threads.com/@jot.k.buttar

Navjot's website: navjotbuttar.com

Let's get smarter about our health together! Share with those whose health you care about!

School safety, bullying, school violence, youth violence prevention,clasroom behavior, and children's mental health are major problems for parents and teachers everywhere. But when we talk about making schools safer, are we paying enough attention to how children actually experience their school environment?

In this episode of Health Savvy You, Navjot Buttar talks with Jenny Caruso about student mattering and its connection to school safety, bullying prevention, student well-being, and youth violence prevention. What does it mean for a child to feel that they matter at school? And could something as simple as feeling seen and valued change the way a child experiences school?

We often notice the child who is getting the best grades, the child who is winning on the sports field, or the child who is constantly getting into trouble. But what about the children who seem to be doing just fine? Could some students be slipping through the cracks simply because nobody has a reason to notice them? And what happens when a child feels unseen, unimportant, or disconnected from the people around them? Could they lead children to loneliness, withdrawal, absenteeism, feelings of worthlessness, disruptive behavior, bullying, self-harm, and other concerning behaviors.

We also talk about why school safety involves more than physical security measures such as metal detectors and security guards, and why relationships between students and adults may deserve a much bigger place in the conversation. We lay out what teachers can look for, how parents can think about children's behavior differently, and why giving children meaningful opportunities to contribute may matter more than we realize.

You'll also hear about a concept called “malevolent mattering” and why the human need to feel significant can sometimes lead young people toward dangerous forms of attention, belonging, or recognition. If you're a parent, teacher, school professional, or anyone who cares about children's health and well-being, this episode offers a new way to think about school safety, bullying, child mental health, student behavior, and youth violence prevention.

Dr. Jenny Caruso is currently a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Michigan School of Public Health and a former K–12 health teacher in New York City. She received her EdD from Teachers College, Columbia University. Her work focuses on student mattering, school safety, and youth violence prevention.

Subscribe to Health Savvy You for similar evidence-based conversations about health, public health, health literacy, misinformation, and things that make and keep us healthy. With this podcast build your health literacy skills- the first and most important skill in getting healthier which was never taught to us.

Do you know 9 out 10 people lack enough health literacy to make best decisions about their own health, advocate for themselves and fight fake health tips?

Healthy Diet. Best workout. Sleep well. Manage stress. We have all heard and tried the best health tips. But we are still not healthy.

It is because we are not paying attention to a system that controls 70-80% of our health outcomes.

In this episode of Health Savvy You, we look beyond individual choices and explore how deeply our health is connected to the people, places, systems, and environments around us. The air we breathe, the roads we use, the availability of emergency care, the safety of public spaces, vaccination programs, health policies, clean water, food safety, and so much more can shape what is possible for our health. You can make healthy choices every day and still be affected by unhealthy conditions around you. So, what can we do about it?

This episode tells you why health is a community project and gives you five ways you can contribute to healthier communities that in turn makes us healthy. In this episode, we talk about:

• Why our health cannot be separated from our environment and how are the two connected.
• How public health affects our everyday lives, often without us noticing and decides how healthy can we be.
• Why personal healthy habits cannot completely overcome unhealthy surroundings and broken systems.
• Why strong public health systems benefit everyone, including people who think they will never need them.
• Five things you can do to strengthen public health, the health of your community and yourself without changing your habits.

And because this is the beginning of Season 2, I also share a little preview of what's coming next, including conversations with health researchers and professionals who will each bring one idea, question, myth, or piece of evidence they think all of us should know.

Your health is personal. But it has never been yours alone. Listen in, and let's become a little more health savvy together. Don't forget to share with those whose health you care about!

This episode wraps up our module on how health science works by giving us a simple, clear way to handle health claims in our everyday lives. We break down why health feels so confusing right now, and we learn three science-inspired skills that help us trust evidence, avoid misinformation, and feel more confident making health decisions. We also build a tiny pocket toolkit that works on headlines, trends, wellness claims, family advice, and anything we see online. This episode is made for anyone who wants to understand their health better, feel less overwhelmed, and learn how science actually helps us in real life.

We’ve all heard people say our ancestors were healthier, lived closer to nature, and knew secrets modern science has forgotten. But… is that actually true? In this episode, we slow down and explore why the past feels so comforting, what we tend to misremember about it, and how today’s science helps us stay safe in a world our great-grandparents could never have imagined.

Together, we walk through what tradition gave us and where scientific testing adds real protection. If you care about your health but find science overwhelming, this episode is a way to peek behind the curtain and see why understanding a little bit of evidence can make a big difference in our everyday lives.

Perfect for anyone curious about wellness, health claims, natural remedies, or the stories we tell ourselves about “the good old days.”

Is science really biased? Or is that how it stays honest? In this episode of Health Savvy You, we explore how bias actually works in health research and the surprising ways science catches itself before mistakes reach the public. While science builds in checkpoints, peer review, and constant re-testing to stay trustworthy, many popular health voices online never check their own bias at all. So why do we trust influencers, books, or “personal research” stories that have no safety nets but doubt a system built on self-correction? Let’s unpack how science earns our trust, keeps us safe, and helps us make smarter health choices every day.

They want you to panic when science changes. Headlines, social chatter, and loud voices online often make it sound like science can’t be trusted. That every flip in guidance is a failure. But the truth is very different. In this episode of Health Savvy You, we dig into the real story behind shifting health advice. From ghee to lobotomies and thalidomide, science has made mistakes, but it has also corrected them, learned from them, and saved millions of lives along the way. We explore how vaccines, handwashing, antiretroviral therapy for HIV, water sanitation, and seat belts all demonstrate the power of evidence-based science. And sometimes, predictions made years ago come true like mosquitoes appearing in Iceland as climate change reshapes ecosystems. We’ll unpack why science evolves, how uncertainty is a sign of honesty, and why trusting the process, even when guidance changes, is safer than following fear-driven narratives. By the end, we hope you’ll see that change in science isn’t a reason to panic. It’s proof that the system works, that evidence wins, and that curiosity, correction, and learning keep us healthier and safer every day.

Risk isn't the enemy. Misunderstanding it is.

Since nothing comes without risk, in this episode, we break down how scientists actually measure and weigh risks and benefits before public health policies and interventions ever reach us, from seat belts to clean air to lockdown laws. Learn why 'safe' never means zero risk, how evidence evolves, and why understanding trade-offs can make us more empowered about our health.

This episode of Health Savvy You, the fifth in the ''How Health Science Works' module explores the logic, ethics, and heart behind every public health decision and shows us how maths meet humanity.

Please share with your loved ones, so that they can too become Health Savvy!

We’ve all heard someone say, “I did my own research.” Maybe we’ve even said it ourselves. But what does that really mean when it comes to our health? In this episode of Health Savvy You, we unpack the emotional reasons we all want control over our health, the difference between true scientific research and everyday searching, and the levels of “doing your own research” that actually help or hurt our decisions. From Google rabbit holes to scientific studies, we explore where curiosity empowers us and where it can mislead us. By the end, you’ll know what kind of “research” genuinely helps you live healthier and what kind doesn’t. If you’ve ever wondered, “Can I really do my own research about my health?” this episode is for you.