How do you know if your hormones are unbalanced? Functional nutritionist Pauline Cox joins Liz on this episode of the podcast to dive into the relationship between food and our hormones.

Pauline shares how healthy eating can support the endocrine system, and the crucial role hormones, such as progesterone and oestrogen, have on our mental and physical wellbeing.

The episode also covers symptoms and causes of unbalanced hormones, plus how to bring the body back to balance with simple tweaks such as stress management and intermittent fasting.

Pauline and Liz discuss the many benefits of magnesium, how hormones affect weight management, plus why we should aim to seek joy over pleasure.

Links mentioned in the episode:

• Follow Pauline Cox on Instagram
• Purchase Hungry Woman: Eating for Good Health, Happiness and Hormones by Pauline Cox
• Purchase Primal Living in a Modern World by Pauline Cox
• Listen to our podcast on oestrogen and bone health
• Subscribe to Liz Earle Wellbeing Magazine

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Struggling with adult children leaving home for the first time? Award-winning journalist and parenting expert Lorraine Candy joins Liz on this episode of the podcast to share advice on navigating and coping with empty nest syndrome.

In this episode - brought to you in partnership with TV Licensing - Liz and Lorraine recall their own experiences of sending their adult children off to university and the emotions that came with.

Lorraine reveals why treating your children as your ‘best friend’ isn’t helpful parenting, explains why she doesn’t allow her children to take their phones in their rooms at bedtime, and shares simple strategies she uses with her family to keep connected.

This special edition of the Liz Earle Wellbeing Show was produced as a paid partnership with TV Licensing. For helpful advice on getting a TV Licence for University as well as other checklists needed for uni life, check out tvl.co.uk/liz. 



• Visit the TV Licensing website for university students
• Purchase Mum, What's Wrong With You by Lorraine Candy
• Learn more about the Postcards from Midlife podcast
• Subscribe to Liz Earle Wellbeing Magazine

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Have you or someone close to you been affected by depression? Psychiatrist and academic Professor Joanna Moncrieff joins Liz on this episode of the podcast to ‘debunk’ the chemical imbalance theory of depression.

In this episode, Joanna covers her review of studies on Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs), one of the main medications prescribed to those with depression. Her review concluded that there’s ‘no clear evidence’ that low serotonin causes depression in the first place.

Liz and Joanna discuss how anti-depressants may alter 'normal' mental states and their little-discussed side-effects, plus the role of nature versus nurture in depression. Joanna also reveals why we may need to demedicalise depression, and instead see it as an emotional reaction that needs to be understood rather than medicated.

Links mentioned in the episode:

• Visit Professor Joanna Moncrieff's website
• Read Professor Joanna Moncrieff's 2022 review on SSRIs
• Listen to our episode with Dr Ginni Mansberg on skin and hormones
• Subscribe to Liz Earle Wellbeing Magazine

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Would you say you’re a perfectionist? Thomas Curran, Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Sciences at the London School of Economics, joins Liz to share how we can stop being so obsessed with perfectionism.

Thomas reveals why being perfect isn’t necessarily a good thing, how nurture and nature come into play here, and how to measure levels of perfectionism. The episode covers the reasons why perfectionism seems to be on the rise due to modern culture, deficit thinking, and how being perfect can rob our joy.

Thomas also shares the importance of living in the present, and the role of parenting in cultivating perfectionist tendencies in young people.

Links mentioned in the episode:

• Purchase The Perfection Trap by Thomas Curran
• Subscribe to Liz Earle Wellbeing Magazine

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Interested in intermittent fasting? Clinical educator and researcher Megan Ramos joins Liz on this episode of the podcast to share the potential benefits of this practice for women.

Megan shares how fasting has helped her own health, how time restricted eating may aid chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes and polycystic ovary syndrome, and why body size isn’t necessarily a great indicator of overall health.

The episode also covers the differences between visceral fat and subcutaneous fat, and takes a deep dive into autophagy and fasting. Plus, Megan shares advice on how to get started with fasting and how the practice may benefit our hormones through different life cycles.

Links mentioned in the episode:

• Purchase The Essential Guide to Intermittent Fasting for Women: Balance Your Hormones to Lose Weight, Lower Stress, and Optimize Health
• Listen to our podcast on obesity and type 2 diabetes, with Dr Jason Fung
• Subscribe to Liz Earle Wellbeing Magazine

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Since 1980, the number of people around the world with type 2 diabetes has quadrupled. Kidney specialist Dr Jason Fung joins Liz for this episode of the podcast to cover the rise in obesity and type 2 diabetes - and what can be done about it.

In this episode, Jason explains how dietary interventions such as intermittent fasting or low-carb eating may be able to reverse the dietary disease, plus why all calories aren't equal.

Liz and Jason discuss how we can avoid spiking our blood sugars, how hormones such as cortisol and insulin can cause weight gain, and why fats shouldn't be considered the enemy when it comes to eating well.

Links mentioned in the episode:

• Purchase The Obesity Code
• Purchase The Diabetes Code
• Follow Dr Jason Fung on Instagram 
• Follow Dr Jason Fung on Twitter 
• Subscribe to Liz Earle Wellbeing Magazine

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Want to know more about the connection between your brain and your hormones? Professor Jayashri Kulkarni joins Liz on this episode of the podcast to share how hormones influence our brains - and what it means for longevity.

Jayashri, a professor in psychiatry, reveals what brought her to the profession, plus discusses the different types of oestrogen and their receptors, the benefits of testosterone, and the effects of other hormones on the brain.

Liz and Jayashri also cover cognitive decline, how early life trauma may impact brain biology, and how damage to the brain may be able to be repaired.

Jayashri shares how she helps to treat patients with mental health issues, and how to approach your doctor if you too are struggling.

Links mentioned in the episode:

• Follow Professor Jayashri Kulkarni on Instagram
• Learn more about Dr Louise Newson
• Listen to our episode on oestrogen with Avrum Bluming
• Listen to our episode on testosterone patches with Dr Sarah Hillman
• Listen to our episode on EMDR therapy for trauma
• Subscribe to Liz Earle Wellbeing Magazine

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Struggling with chronic pain, anxiety, or burnout? The Lightning Process practitioner Lauren Stoney joins Liz on this episode of the podcast to share how this training programme can help people to bounce back from chronic issues.

Lauren reveals how she uses The Lightning Process to help those struggling with burnout, anxiety and chronic pain issues such as fibromyalgia and migraine by rewiring nerve pathways.

Liz explains how the neurophysiological technique - originally developed by Phil Parker - has helped her own family, while Lauren shares what brought her to it, how it works and how it can help us live our best lives.

Links mentioned in the episode:

• Follow Lauren Stoney on Instagram
• Visit Lauren's website
• Listen to our podcast with Lauren Windas
• Visit The Lightning Process website
• Subscribe to Liz Earle Wellbeing Magazine

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ready to make your physical fitness more of a priority? Award-winning 'Midlife Mentors', Claire and James Davis, join Liz on this episode of the podcast to share advice on how to reclaim your body and mind - without making huge sacrifices.

Claire and James share how to adjust your workout routine for midlife, and the importance of recovery and consistency here.

The episode also covers how to successfully build positive new habits, nutrition principles for midlife, and incorporating healthy morning rituals into your day.

Links mentioned in the episode:

• Visit the Midlife Mentors website
• Follow Midlife Mentors on Instagram
• Take the Midlife Mentors quiz
• Listen to Liz on the Midlife Mentors podcast 
• Subscribe to Liz Earle Wellbeing Magazine

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.