Inside Health

By BBC Radio 4

What's Inside Health about?

Series that demystifies health issues, separating fact from fiction and bringing clarity to conflicting health advice.

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Inside Health episodes:

04.16.2024
We go on a tick hunt
Scientists are worried about ticks. They say they’re starting to pose more of a health risk here in the UK, as our climate warms and urban areas spill into green spaces. But what are ticks, what kind of...
04.09.2024
Is intermittent fasting good for you?
Have you ever tried intermittent fasting? As the month of Ramadan comes to an end, many Muslims are concluding several weeks of time-restricted eating. But outside of religion, many of us are now choosing to eat this way for health...
04.02.2024
Can noise harm our health?
From ear-splitting aircraft noise and the drone of traffic to the hum of an open-plan office, the world around us can feel loud. But is it getting louder? And is this having any effect on our health - and...
02.13.2024
Coffee, nap, rave, repeat...
Ever wondered how much caffeine is too much? Or whether you’d feel better off if you took an afternoon nap? And with the rise in ‘day raving’ we’ll be looking at whether it’s better for your health to have your...
02.06.2024
Why recovering from long Covid is a lot like training for the Olympics
BBC health journalist Laura Foster can’t get the first days of the pandemic out of her head; the stunned silence of the newsroom as the first lockdown was announced, the chaos and noise at the supermarket and the empty streets...
01.30.2024
A guide to the perimenopause
It’s been referred to as puberty in reverse but what actually is the perimenopause? How do you know if you’re in it? What can you do to soften the symptoms and what can men do to help those they care...
01.23.2024
Speedy medicine, and is fermented food good for us?
In this episode we’re taking a look at emergency medicine outside hospitals and surgeries – and meeting the people who save seriously-ill people in unusual places. Smitha Mundasad goes on a rainy walk in the hills with the Brecon Mountain...
01.16.2024
Bladder, bowels and sex: Learning to live after my mountain accident
In 2016, Niall McCann was left with a bruised spinal cord when he crashed his speed glider into the side of a mountain at 50mph. He shares his journey to recovery and some unexpected life lessons he has had...
01.09.2024
Living in a Bacterial World
This week we’re exploring our microbial metropolis. Smitha Mundasad heads into the lab to meet the bacteria that live on her skin – and on her family’s dirty laundry – to understand what’s there, and why. She goes antibiotic-hunting around...
11.08.2023
How do cold and flu remedies help when we're ill?
As the nights draw in and the spluttering sounds of coughs and colds seem to be all around us, presenter James Gallagher is getting ahead this year and stocking up his medicine cabinet. He gets some help from Inside Health’s...
10.24.2023
What's stopping us from exercising in older age?
Exercise in older age is high on the agenda, but the idea that with age comes bags of time and a desire to ‘get out there’ isn’t true for a lot of us. How do you juggle exercise around caring...
10.10.2023
Inside a sexual assault referral centre
The issue of sexual assault hasn’t been far from the headlines in recent weeks - but what kind of help is available for people who have been through it? James visits Saint Mary’s Sexual Assault Referral Centre in Manchester...
10.03.2023
Migraines and Headaches
1 in 7 people live with migraines around the world, and the condition costs the UK economy billions each year. Attacks can be debilitating and all-consuming, but a new treatment recently approved by NICE might even help the most stubborn...
09.26.2023
When does sitting become bad for health?
How many hours do you spend sitting down per day? Six? Maybe eight? Or 10? Between commuting, working and relaxing, sitting can soon add up to hours and hours. In this week’s Inside Health we’re going to delve into the...
09.19.2023
Why is syphilis making a comeback?
When the Government released the latest statistics on STIs in the summer, one in particular stood out. Syphilis. A sexually transmitted infection which might make you think more 1823 than 2023. But figures in England are currently at their highest...
08.15.2023
On the trail of a new street drug
What happens when a new drug hits the UK’s streets? And how are illicit drugs here changing – and why? James follows the trail of the first case of “zombie drug” xylazine in the UK and hears some powerful personal...
08.08.2023
What difference could new Alzheimer’s disease drugs make?
Until recently, breakthroughs in treating Alzheimer’s disease were non-existent. But two new drugs have shown promise in moderately slowing memory and thinking problems for people with early-stage disease. While welcoming the idea of a ‘new era’ for treating Alzheimer’s disease,...
08.02.2023
Could weight-loss drugs treat addiction?
Barely a day goes by without more headlines around new weight-loss drugs, from the issue of global shortages, to investigations into suicide risk, and debate over just how long people will need to be on them. But in this episode...
07.25.2023
What happened to mpox?
One year after the peak of UK infections, can we determine what actions brought mpox cases down? A year ago, mpox – the virus formally known as monkeypox – was spreading in the UK. These infections largely impacted the...
07.18.2023
How fast should you eat your food?
Our guinea-pig presenter James Gallagher has been eating either extremely fast or excruciatingly slow to figure out what our eating speed does to our health. Dr Sarah Berry from Kings College London explains it’s not good news if you devour...
07.11.2023
How hot is too hot for human health?
After the hottest June in history and record-breaking temperatures last year, the UK is really feeling the heat. But, we’re not alone. Last week the world experienced the hottest day in history - and forecasters warn this is just a...
03.21.2023
Did Covid turn us into teeth grinders?
James Gallagher finds out if we've turned into a nation of grinders after reports from dentists of increased clenching and cracking of teeth. Margaret McCartney answers your feedback about the new weight-loss drug, exercise for your back, sperm...
03.14.2023
Parkinson's and Ballet
James meets Ian who has Parkinson's disease and hears how ballet has helped with his symptoms, as a major new review of the evidence shows exercise really does make a difference. And microplastics which can be found in drinking water...
03.07.2023
NHS weight-loss drug
James Gallagher asks whether a weight-loss drug on the NHS heralds a new era in tackling obesity? He meets Jan who lost nearly 4 stone after being part of a trial taking a weekly injection of Semaglutide for 15 months...
02.28.2023
Back pain
Lower back pain impacts millions of adults every year and, in many cases, diagnosis can be murky. Non-specific pain is personal and complex, driven by factors such as injury, sensitivity and perception. But are there methods to help manage back...
02.21.2023
Sperm Counts
James Gallagher investigates whether there is a decline in male sperm including the results of his own sperm count analysis. He meets a couple who conceived after having treatment for a varicocele, enlarged veins in the testes that can heat...
02.14.2023
Psychedelics for depression
Can magic mushrooms help your mental health? James Gallagher cuts through the hype and examines the evidence to find out if psychedelics can treat depression. Presenter: James Gallagher Producer: Geraldine Fitzgerald
02.07.2023
What soaring food prices are doing to our health
The cost of everything is soaring, but what toll is that taking on our health? We’re at a food pantry scheme in Coventry meeting mums Danielle and Ellie to find out how hard putting food on the table has become....
01.31.2023
Women and heart attacks
Dawn had a heart attack but 'powered through' making the Christmas dinner before seeking help - because she put her symptoms down to anxiety and backache. Her interventional cardiologist in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Professor Vijay Kunadian, sees many women like her who...
01.24.2023
Is a fungal pandemic possible?
James Gallagher asks whether the next pandemic might be an invasive fungi? Most people think of athlete's foot or fungal toe nails but the World Health Organisation recently issued the first ever list of life threatening fungi. James hears...
01.17.2023
Maggot therapy for difficult wounds
The rise of antibiotic resistance means that we need alternatives to fight infections - and some healthcare professionals are turning to maggot therapy to help clean up wounds. They might be treating people living with diabetes who can experience...
01.10.2023
Why is everyone ill? Can ketamine and therapy treat alcoholism?
Covid and other bugs have ripped through the Inside Health team, so we find out why everyone seems to be getting sick at the moment and if we will be facing a torrent of infections for months or even years...
01.03.2023
Lazy Guide to Exercise
It’s January. Christmas is a distant memory and nobody feels much like getting off the sofa, but luckily this episode can help. James Gallagher is on a mission to find out what is the least amount of exercise you...
11.01.2022
How can a cold home affect your health?
James is in South Wales where he's wired up and locked inside a cryo-lab to discover the impact of cold on the human body. A temperature of 10C seems pretty mild doesn’t it - yet James is shocked at the...
10.25.2022
GP Records, Serotonin & how we get cancer
Do you want to see your GP records at the touch of a button? That’s the plan in England, but doctors warn us freely opening them up to everyone is not safe. And we’ll explore a study that’s transforming our...
10.18.2022
Still Shielding; Childhood Vaccinations; Antibiotic Use
Can you imagine moving out of the family home and watching your daughter grow up from a distance, all to avoid the threat of Covid? That’s the decision Shannon has taken because the drugs she takes for her lupus leave...
10.11.2022
Have I dodged Covid? And skin colour and health
I think I might’ve dodged Covid. Like many others, I’m fully vaccinated but have never tested positive despite having had plenty of opportunities to catch it. I used public transport to get to work during the lockdowns and was exposed...
10.04.2022
Secrets of sewage science
Maybe listen to this one BEFORE you eat… James is off to meet the sewage scientists trying to stop the next pandemic. He meets the teams that were monitoring 80% of people’s faeces during Covid-19 and finds out how sewage...
09.27.2022
A spoonful of sweetener
What do sweeteners do to our bodies? We force feed James cups of sweetened tea and find out with nutrition scientist Dr Sarah Berry from King’s College London. We then tackle something stronger - alcohol. Can a new supplement reduce...
08.09.2022
A good death with friends and family
Should friends and family be trained to give potent medications to those dying at home to relieve their symptoms? We often say that we’d like to die peacefully at home when the inevitable happens. Yet people can be left...
08.02.2022
Covid waves, Gene therapy for haemophilia B, New uses for old drugs
Smitha Mundasad asks whether we will see waves of Covid – with infections going up and down and then up and down again - forever more. We speak to Elliot whose life has been transformed after a single shot of...
07.26.2022
Are too many babies being diagnosed with cows' milk allergy?
Rashes, a runny nose and weird poos are all common in babies. Parents are sometimes told these symptoms mean their baby is allergic to cows milk and are prescribed low allergy formula or advised to avoid dairy if they...
07.19.2022
Monkeypox, mind body connections, are children exercising less since Covid?
What do you think bendy joints has to do with the way the brain works? Well you may be in for surprise. Scientists have found a connection with autism, attention deficit and Tourettes. So what does this tell us...
07.12.2022
Medical language, chemo brain & heatwaves
Does medicine have a language problem? We speak to Rachel who was made to feel like a 'naughty schoolgirl' by the terminology used around the birth of her child. We’ll find out how deep-seated blaming and belittling language in healthcare...
07.05.2022
How's your hay fever?
Aaaaaaaaa-choo! If you have hay fever then you know that it can be a right pain in the… nose. This week Inside Health presents a complete guide to hay fever. Are we enduring the worst hay fever season? ...
03.22.2022
The Power of the Dog
This week James Gallagher finds out if the Power of the Dog is true. No not the movie, but the claim that dogs can make us live longer. He’s also doing press ups in the studio to see if small...
03.15.2022
Long Covid revisited
It’s a long Covid reunion on Inside Health. We first met Jo, Neil and John in February 2021 when they were 12 months into the condition. Another year on, we catch up with them to see if they are any...
03.08.2022
Multiple sclerosis and the Epstein Barr virus
We get to the bottom of a medical mystery – what causes multiple sclerosis? A series of studies have compellingly pointed the finger at the virus behind glandular fever. We see if they stack up and assess what it means...
03.01.2022
Cervical screening, blood donation & measles
How often do we need a smear test? It’s become controversial now as a new test means women and people with a cervix need checking less often. But in the future the answer might be only once a lifetime! ...
02.22.2022
Rapid genome sequencing in the clinic
James meets a record breaking doctor who is analysing DNA so quickly it is transforming treatment in intensive care and from one of his patients, Matthew, who discovered he needed a new heart. Then James has a disgusting confession as...

What's Inside Health about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Inside Health episodes:

We go on a tick hunt

Is intermittent fasting good for you?

Can noise harm our health?

Coffee, nap, rave, repeat...

Why recovering from long Covid is a lot like training for the Olympics

A guide to the perimenopause

Speedy medicine, and is fermented food good for us?

Bladder, bowels and sex: Learning to live after my mountain accident

Living in a Bacterial World

How do cold and flu remedies help when we're ill?

What's stopping us from exercising in older age?

Inside a sexual assault referral centre

Migraines and Headaches

When does sitting become bad for health?

Why is syphilis making a comeback?

On the trail of a new street drug

What difference could new Alzheimer’s disease drugs make?

Could weight-loss drugs treat addiction?

What happened to mpox?

How fast should you eat your food?

How hot is too hot for human health?

Did Covid turn us into teeth grinders?

Parkinson's and Ballet

NHS weight-loss drug

Back pain

Sperm Counts

Psychedelics for depression

What soaring food prices are doing to our health

Women and heart attacks

Is a fungal pandemic possible?

Maggot therapy for difficult wounds

Why is everyone ill? Can ketamine and therapy treat alcoholism?

Lazy Guide to Exercise

How can a cold home affect your health?

GP Records, Serotonin & how we get cancer

Still Shielding; Childhood Vaccinations; Antibiotic Use

Have I dodged Covid? And skin colour and health

Secrets of sewage science

A spoonful of sweetener

A good death with friends and family

Covid waves, Gene therapy for haemophilia B, New uses for old drugs

Are too many babies being diagnosed with cows' milk allergy?

Monkeypox, mind body connections, are children exercising less since Covid?

Medical language, chemo brain & heatwaves

How's your hay fever?

The Power of the Dog

Long Covid revisited

Multiple sclerosis and the Epstein Barr virus

Cervical screening, blood donation & measles

Rapid genome sequencing in the clinic