The Prescription Strength Podcast

In this episode, I'm joined by Sir Muir Gray, public health doctor and one of the people behind the NHS programme Live Longer Better.

Anti-ageing is booming, and with it the idea that if you optimise yourself enough, you can add years to your life. Muir's take is that ageing itself, the normal biological process, is not the cause of major problems until our late nineties. What causes most of the problems we put down to age is three other things: loss of fitness, disease, and the world we live in.

We talk about why your genes matter much less than was once thought, and why what he calls your exposome, everything you have been exposed to since birth, matters far more. Muir explains why he never uses the word lifestyle, why he wants chairs recognised as an occupational hazard, and why he stands up from his chair 82 times a day.

We also talk about the risk of caring too much. Thirty years ago Muir wrote an article in The Lancet asking whether we care too much for our elders, and he would still like to change the word carer to enabler. And he sets out what actually matters if you are 50 or 60 and want to make a difference to the years ahead: a Mediterranean diet, thirty minutes a day of brisk walking, ten minutes for strength, suppleness and skill, and keeping your brain and your social life busy.

In this episode:

• Why ageing itself is not the problem until your late nineties
• Genes, the exposome, and what your parents died of
• Loss of fitness, and the five S's
• Why the NHS is a national disease service
• Clubs, communities, and moving a little money out of the NHS
• Do we care too much for our elders?
• Retirement as a renaissance, and retirement regret
• What matters at 50 or 60: diet, activity and staying engaged
• Creative health, and staying connected when you can't get out
• What a clinician can do in nine seconds

As Muir puts it: it's never too late.

Find out more about Live Longer Better: https://www.livelongerbetter.uk

If you enjoyed this, listen back to my conversation with Christine Hobson, who ran her first marathon in her 60s: "At 50 She Was Struggling. At 73, She's Fitter Than Ever": https://pod.link/1762298788/episode/ZTkyNGE1YTYtZDM3ZC00NzY5LWI0ZTMtNWU3NDlmZDU4ZmRk

In this episode, I'm joined by Mick Wadge, the 88-year-old weightlifting grandad who has taken TikTok by storm, and his coach, Ross Starkie.

Mick spent years caring for his wife Margaret, who had rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis. When she died, he found himself at a loss, and carrying far more weight than he wanted to. So he took an old broom handle, hung two milk bottles full of water on it, and started training on his patio.

When he turned 85, his grandson booked him four sessions with Ross, a strength and conditioning coach who works with professional athletes. Three years on, Mick has deadlifted 100kg, come off his metformin, had a letter from Arnold Schwarzenegger and lifted on national television.

We talk about why so many people, health and fitness professionals included, are frightened of older people lifting weights, and why Ross thinks doing nothing is the bigger risk. Ross explains how he coached Mick up from an empty bar with nothing more complicated than adding a little weight over time, and why the things Mick already did every day were a squat, a hinge and a deadlift by another name.

We also talk about getting up off the floor, a skill that can matter far more than any personal best, and the technique Ross taught Mick that local firefighters have since asked to share.

In this episode:

Caring for a partner, and putting your own health last

Starting with a broom handle and two milk bottles

Why a council gym can be a great place to start

What structured coaching adds as you get older

Why coaches are nervous of training older clients

Angina, prediabetes, and why Ross says keep the coffee and cake

Getting up off the floor, and why it matters

Arnold Schwarzenegger, This Morning, and saying no to Britain's Got Talent

What to look for in a gym and a coach

Why it is never too late to start

As Ross puts it: it's scarier not to do anything at all.

Follow Mick on TikTok: @old.man.mick2

If you enjoyed this, listen back to my conversation with Christine Hobson, who ran her first marathon in her 60s: "At 50 She Was Struggling. At 73, She's Fitter Than Ever": https://pod.link/1762298788/episode/ZTkyNGE1YTYtZDM3ZC00NzY5LWI0ZTMtNWU3NDlmZDU4ZmRk

Women’s health is about far more than hormones and HRT. In this episode, I’m joined by scientist and researcher Dr Gayathri Delanerolle, whose experience of endometriosis, pregnancy loss and medically induced menopause helped shape the questions she now asks in her research.

Gayathri shares what it was like to live with severe symptoms for years, why finally seeing the extent of her endometriosis brought both relief and difficult questions about fertility, and how those experiences led her to develop the Marie Project.

We talk about gaps in women’s health research, the experiences that conventional menopause discussions can miss, and what Gayathri is learning by listening to women across different countries and cultures. It’s a conversation about asking better questions—and making room for the answers women actually give.

In this episode, I’m joined by Dr Andy Ward, a GP working with people experiencing homelessness in Leicester, and Kyra Biddle from Dear Albert’s Stairway Project, who brings her own lived experience of homelessness, addiction and recovery.

Kyra shares what happened when her family lost their home when she was just 14, how alcohol became a way of coping, and what it really means to live in survival mode.

We talk about the barriers people experiencing homelessness can face when trying to access healthcare, why appointments, medication and even apparently simple health advice can become almost impossible to navigate when you don’t have somewhere safe to live, and how stigma can destroy trust.

Andy explains how working in homeless healthcare changed the way he practises medicine, and why behaviour that can look “difficult” makes much more sense when you understand what someone may be living through.

But this is also a conversation about recovery. Kyra is now more than four years into her own recovery and uses her experience to support others. We talk about what helped her, why being listened to and treated as a human being matters, and how sometimes the beginning of recovery can be as simple as a cup of tea, a Hobnob and somewhere you feel welcome.

A conversation about homelessness, addiction, healthcare, recovery — and the importance of seeing the person in front of you.

You can contact Dear Albert here: https://www.dearalbert.co.uk

See the fantastic work of Inclusion Healthcare here: https://www.inclusionhealthcare.co.uk

We all know exercise is good for our heart — but most people still think that means cardio.

In this episode, I’m joined by Emily McGrath, Senior Cardiac Nurse at the British Heart Foundation, to talk about why strength training deserves a place in the conversation about cardiovascular health.

Emily shares some of the most common worries she hears from people after a heart diagnosis, from palpitations and medication to the fear of exercising again. We talk about why a heart problem can completely change the way you see your body — and why people can end up treating themselves as far more fragile than they really are.

We also talk about the evidence for strength training and heart health, including its effects on blood pressure, and why getting stronger can make everyday life easier as we age.

Emily shares her own experience of starting strength training, despite initially feeling intimidated by it, and we discuss how to begin without needing to become a gym person, lift enormous weights or completely overhaul your life.

Finally, we talk about the British Heart Foundation’s Strong Woman Challenge, a free 31-day challenge designed to help women try strength training at home and build confidence with it.

Because cardio is excellent for your heart. But it doesn’t have to do all the work.

In this episode:

• Why people can feel frightened of exercise after a cardiac diagnosis
• Palpitations, smart watches and health anxiety
• Why strength training is still overlooked in heart health
• The effect resistance training can have on blood pressure
• Starting strength training when you feel intimidated or unsure
• Why our bodies are often less fragile than we imagine
• Strength, function and maintaining independence as we age
• Cutting through the noise about strength training in midlife
• The BHF Strong Woman Challenge

Join the October challenge here  www.bhf.org.uk/strongwoman

Feeling tired all the time is one of the most common reasons people see their GP. But before assuming it must be your thyroid, hormones, cortisol or a vitamin deficiency, what else could your energy be telling you?

In this episode, I talk through the energy audit I’d encourage you to do: when did your energy change, when does your battery drain, and where are the best hours of your day actually going?

We look at sleep, work and caring responsibilities, food, alcohol and exercise; what your GP may reasonably investigate; and why blood tests are only one part of the picture.

Most importantly, I explain how to experiment with one thing at a time, look for patterns and collect useful information about yourself.

You don’t need to diagnose yourself. Become a detective before you become a diagnostician.

Finding the right healthcare can be surprisingly difficult.

Who should you see? Should you wait for the NHS or consider going private? How do you compare providers, understand waiting times, work out what you’re entitled to — and know whether the person you’ve found online is actually reputable?

In this episode I’m joined by Roxanne Stevenson Brown, founder and CEO of Find Care Compare, a platform designed to help people navigate NHS and private healthcare options in one place.

We talk about why healthcare has become so difficult to navigate, the growing overlap between NHS and private care, Right to Choose, reviews versus actual clinical outcomes, and why women so often become the unofficial “chief medical officers” for their entire families.

We also discuss Roxanne’s bigger ambition: making healthcare information easier to access regardless of who you know, where you live or how well you understand the NHS.

Find Care Compare: findcarecompare.com

Christine Hobson was struggling with her health in her 50s. She had arthritis, poor sleep, low mood and found everyday movement increasingly difficult.

Then, in her 60s, things changed.

Christine took up running after retirement, completed her first London Marathon — and eventually went on to complete more than 100 marathons, including one in Antarctica. She later discovered strength training and powerlifting too.

Now 73, Christine has a refreshingly different perspective on ageing: we spend far too much time worrying about what movement might do to us, and not enough worrying about what happens when we stop moving.

We talk about:

• Starting exercise later in life
• Arthritis, pain and the fear of movement
• Strength training and osteoporosis
• Why fitness keeps your options open as you age
• Staying socially connected after retirement
• The danger of gradually allowing your world to get smaller
• Why it is never too late to start

This is a conversation about much more than exercise. It’s about staying capable, curious and engaged with life as you get older.

Breast cancer treatment can save your life, but what happens when the treatment itself triggers an immediate menopause?

In this episode I’m joined by journalist Carissa Casey, who shares her deeply personal experience of surgical menopause following breast cancer treatment.

While her cancer was successfully treated, she found herself facing severe insomnia, joint pain, recurrent urinary tract infections, weight gain, mood changes and a body she barely recognised—all without ever feeling properly prepared for what lay ahead.

Together we explore:

• Why surgical menopause is so different from natural menopause
• The impact of suddenly losing oestrogen overnight
• Breast cancer, tamoxifen and the difficult conversations around treatment decisions
• Why recurrent UTIs are so common after menopause—and what can help
• The gaps in menopause support for women after cancer treatment
• The importance of informed decision-making and asking questions
• How misinformation and expensive supplements can fill the void when women aren’t getting the support they need

This isn’t a conversation about criticising cancer treatment. It’s about recognising that surviving cancer is only part of the journey, and that women deserve honest conversations about what comes next.

Whether you’ve experienced menopause yourself, support someone who has, or work in healthcare, I hope this discussion leaves you feeling better informed and better equipped to ask questions.

If you found this episode helpful, please consider following the podcast and leaving a review. It really does help more people discover these conversations.

We’re surrounded by conflicting advice on fat loss. Hormones, fasting, metabolism, supplements, menopause, "starvation mode"... it's no wonder so many people feel confused.

In this episode I'm joined by coach and author Emma Storey-Gordon to separate evidence from marketing and discuss what really helps women lose fat—and, more importantly, keep it off.

This isn't a conversation about quick fixes. It's about understanding the science, the psychology and the realities of everyday life.

We discuss:

• Why a calorie deficit still matters (and why that's not the whole story)
• The biggest fat loss myths doing the rounds online
• Why smart people often struggle with weight loss
• Tracking calories: helpful tool or unnecessary obsession?
• Why weekends quietly sabotage progress
• The role of habits, environment and decision fatigue
• Why maintenance is the hardest—and most important—part of fat loss
• How ageing changes the challenge without making success impossible
• Why comparing yourself to your younger self (or someone else) is rarely helpful

Emma combines a science background with more than a decade of coaching real women, bringing together evidence with practical strategies that actually work in everyday life.

You can reach her and pre-order the book here:

ESGfitness.co.uk
 https://www.instagram.com/esgfitness/
pre order link: https://ebury.lnk.to/thefatlosscoachforwomen
and substack: https://esgfitness.substack.com/