Inside Health

The UK Health Security Agency has launched a major study to find out what level of forever chemicals the average person in the UK has in their bodies. With results not expected until 2027, we speak to the UKHSA’s Dr Edward Wynne-Evans and Professor Tony Fletcher from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine about what is and is not known about per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and their potential impacts on our health.

And, with the help of Damian Bailey, professor of physiology and biochemistry at the University of South Wales, Laura hits the gym to work out if more of us are ditching cardio and aerobic exercise in favour of strength training, what that could mean for our health decades down the line.

Then with fines set to be introduced on buses for people playing music and videos out loud on their phones, we look at whether spending more of our lives wearing headphones and earphones is changing not just what we hear, but how we hear.

Presenter: Laura Foster

Producer: Imogen Harper

Assistant Producer: Tabitha Taylor Buck

Editor: Ilan Goodman

Sound engineer: Tim Heffer

Production coordinator: Stu Laws

The show was made by the BBC Audio's Science Unit in collaboration with The Open University.

Women with endometriosis often spend years searching for answers. On average, it can take around a decade to get a diagnosis.

So could a new generation of tests, which are far less invasive than what's available today, help cut that wait from years to days? Inside Health is looking at what those tests involve and how well they might work in the real world.

We'll also hear from one couple about their difficult journey to starting a family - and explore why many queer couples still face huge hurdles when trying to access fertility treatment here in the UK.

And as the clocks go back, Laura looks at why a change of just one hour can result in 'social jet lag' or 'first class sleep'.

Why are the first few days the hardest - and what we can do to make 'falling back' into autumn and 'springing forward' in March easier on our bodies?

Presenter: Laura Foster

The show was made by the BBC’s Audio Science Unit in collaboration with The Open University.

We investigate how self-injecting is leading to people being hospitalised and is creating new challenges for support services.

Laura Foster meets NHS endocrinologist Dr Bonnie Grant, criminologist at the University of Lincoln Dr Luke Turnock and Jon Findlay, Harm Reduction Lead at Waythrough.

They discuss the problems they are seeing from self-injecting on hospital wards, at needle exchanges and talked about in online discussions.

Also this week, scientists have identified a protein that provides one of the strongest clues yet as to why two conditions that are major causes of stillbirth and severe health risks for pregnant mothers occur.

It could be a breakthrough for predicting pre-eclampsia and foetal growth restriction and Laura talks to Dr Gordon Smith, head of the department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Cambridge University, about how they identified a little known protein and how the discovery could help millions of women every year.

And there has been a lot of headlines around the idea that making medicines in space could improve cancer treatment. British company BioOrbit has just had a mini drugs factory return back from manufacturing crystrals for cancer antibody treatments on the International Space Station. We'll be asking whether this could be something that becomes part of day to day medicine in the not-too-distant future.

Presenter: Laura Foster

The show was made by the BBC’s Audio Science Unit in collaboration with The Open University.

We investigate the growing business of full-body MRI scans.

The clinics argue they can spot diseases and problems early before people feel unwell - but critics say it’s a waste of thousands of pounds and creates unnecessary anxiety about things that may never become a problem.

Laura visits a clinic to learn more and also hears about the risks.

Also this week, new research shows strokes are increasing among black African and black Caribbean people in the UK at a faster rate in than in white people - and it’s mainly being driven by high blood pressure.

Laura meets Dr Iain Marshall, a GP who researches stroke risk factors, and Sheila Chingono, who had a stroke aged 32, to talk about why this is happening and what can be done to prevent it.

And most of us hear the phrase ‘emergency food stockpile’ and think of a sad-looking kitchen cupboard full of tins we’d rather not eat.

Laura speaks to a nutritional scientist about how you can still have a healthy and tasty meal with non-perishable goods, even if you’ve got no running water or way of cooking food.

And crucially she learns that it doesn’t involve giving up biscuits...

Presenter: Laura Foster

The show was made by the BBC’s Audio Science Unit in collaboration with The Open University.

Right now, research is gathering pace in revolutionising our understanding of inflammation, which could transform the treatment of so many chronic diseases - cancer, Alzheimer's, heart disease, depression, type 2 diabetes and many more.

So, what is inflammation, how is it implicated in these diseases and can we do anything about it?

Immunologist Professor Eleanor Riley at the University of Edinburgh explains what inflammation actually is and how chronic inflammation can get stuck in a self-perpetuating loop.

Professor Tara Spires-Jones, Director of the Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, outlines the conundrum of inflammation in Alzheimer’s. We know it plays a key role, but how to intervene remains a mystery.

And can we as individuals do anything to bring down inflammation? Professor Sarah Berry from the nutrition department at Kings College London explains how what we eat can heighten or reduce inflammation in our bodies.

Insulin has been used to treat type 1 diabetes for more than a century but now there is a new treatment being rolled out on the NHS that can delay the onset of the disease for years. Alongside, screening is gathering pace, identifying those that could benefit. So, is this the beginning of a new era for type 1 diabetes treatment?

Dima and his mum Elena explain what it was like to be told that he had tested positive for developing type 1 diabetes and what it was like taking part in the trial for this new drug, teplizumab. Parth Narendran, a Professor of Diabetes Medicine at the University of Birmingham, and Consultant Paediatric Endocrinologist Dr Renuka Dias at Birmingham Women's and Children's Hospital, reveal how these changes are transforming treatment.

In July, the NHS announced plans to incentivise us to walk a marathon a month by offering vouchers and discounts. But with scant detail on how the plan will actually work, we ask Joan Costa-i-Font, Professor of Health Economics at London School of Economics, what makes schemes like this succeed or fail.

Plus, why are horse fly bites so painful? Dr Erica McAlister, an entomologist at the Natural History Museum, explains how the flies break into our skin, while consultant dermatologist Dr Alexandra Banner describes what’s happening in our bodies.

Presenter: James Gallagher

More than six years since the start of the Covid pandemic, it might feel like we're pretty over it, yet that's simply not the case for the millions of people who suffer from long Covid. But could there be hope on the horizon?

A new clinical trial led by University College London and University College London Hospitals found that over-the-counter antihistamines and a prescription anti-inflammatory drug called colchicine offered a small reduction in fatigue for people with long Covid. But it's still not a cure. Professor Danny Altmann, an immunologist at Imperial College London, joins us to discuss this new research and the problems with understanding long Covid. He also tells us about some of the upcoming studies that might help us better get a handle on the condition.

Also this week, did you know that around one in 335 people in the UK are living with a stoma? Yet according to Colostomy UK, more than 60 per cent of those with a stoma say a lack of suitable toilet facilities affects their daily lives. Thanks to a campaign that started in Bristol, B&Q has now made the disabled toilets across its stores stoma-friendly. We pay a visit to B&Q with The Traitors' Mollie Pearce, who has been living with a stoma since she was 18, and colorectal surgeon Ms Caroline Burt from Bristol Foundation Trust to find out more.

Finally, many of us have been guzzling ice cream to cool off during the hot weather. But have you seen the social media claims that the frozen treat can reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes? We asked nutritional scientist Dr Sarah Berry from King's College London to give us the scoop on the 'ice cream paradox'.

Presenter: James Gallagher

We’ve had two heatwaves already this summer with warnings that even young and healthy people should rethink their fitness routines in the heat.

So how can we keep exercising when it’s so hot you barely want to move?

James chats with physiologist Damian Bailey from the University of South Wales.

Next, James is at Rother Valley Country Park in Sheffield to meet Calli Hauger-Thackery who made headlines for running the Boston marathon while 22 weeks pregnant and physiotherapist Ros Cooke to find out what changes in the body during pregnancy - and see what exercise is safe.

So we’ve worked up a sweat… but what’s the best way to recover?

We’re in the lab at the University of Westminster to put electrolytes to the test with Dr Lewis Mattin and we cool off with Ros Cooke while chatting about active recovery versus total rest.

Presenter: James Gallagher

Earlier this summer, there was some incredible progress in cervical cancer. Women who have been vaccinated against the human papillomavirus (HPV) now have an almost zero chance of dying from cervical cancer before the age of 30. But does that mean women will no longer need cervical screening? Dr Jo Morrison, a consultant gynaecological oncologist from Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, joins James Gallagher and resident GP Dr Margaret McCartney to discuss.

The government has announced school dinners will soon be overhauled in England, in order to reduce the amount of salt, sugar and fat, and boost the amount of fibre and nutrients offered to schoolchildren. James is joined by Dr Maria Traka, head of the food and nutrition national bioscience research infrastructure at the Quadram Institute in Norwich, to find out what the new dinners will look like. He also pays a visit to the Food Museum in Suffolk, where curator Katherine Bridges takes him on a trip through the decades, to see whether school dinners are healthier than ever.

Also, have you seen the buzz surrounding creatine on social media? Gym-goers promise it can help you get stronger and build bigger muscles, but there is also some debate about whether it could boost your brain too. To dig into the science, James chats with Dr Damian Bailey, a professor of physiology and biochemistry at the University of South Wales.

Presenter: James Gallagher

An experimental treatment to “reset” the immune systems of people with autoimmune disease is showing transformative results in early trials.

James visits the NIHR Clinical Research Facility in Manchester to meet Kathy. She was diagnosed with lupus just after the birth of her baby and in 2024 became the first person in the UK to try CAR-T therapy as part of a clinical trial. How is she feeling now?

We’ll also hear from Kathy’s rheumatologist Professor Ben Parker, who led the trial Kathy took part in and explains how the therapy works, the astonishing early results - and whether the effects on the immune system are long lasting.

Also this week, James visits the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to meet some lab-grown British mosquitoes and find out whether they’re out to get us for longer periods of the year and how worried we should be about the threat of disease, with medical entomologist Dr Mojca Kristan and virologist Professor Roger Hewson.

And we look at the latest online trend of “spermmaxxing” with urologist Professor Vaibhav Modgil. Why are men trying to optimise their sperm by dipping their testicles in iced water and abstaining from porn - and is there any evidence for these tactics?

Presenter: James Gallagher