The Proof with Simon Hill

This week I'm joined by Dr Eric Helms, a sports scientist, coach, and WNBF pro natural bodybuilder with more than 20 years of drug-free training behind him. He co-founded MASS Research Review and co-directs the Sports Research Institute New Zealand at the Auckland University of Technology.

Most lifters who stall assume they have hit their genetic limit. Eric explains why that is rarely the case, why gains diminish the longer you train, and how to decide what progress is actually worth to you.

What we cover

If you want a more honest framework for your training, this one is for you. If you enjoy the show, a rating or review on Apple Podcasts goes a long way.

To connect with Dr Eric Helms, visit MASS Research Review or Muscle and Strength Pyramids, and follow him on Instagram. You can also listen to his podcast, Iron Culture.

Want to support the show?

The best way to support the show is to use the products and services offered by our sponsors. To check them out and enjoy great savings, visit theproof.com/friends. You can also support the show by leaving a review on the Apple Podcast app and sharing your favourite episodes with friends and family.

This episode is brought to you by:

38TERA

38TERA’s BDR is a clinically dosed gut health supplement for improved digestion, less bloating, better bowel movements and a healthier microbiome. Use code THEPROOF for a discount at checkout.

38Tera ships to the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.

Function Health

Make knowing your health part of your holiday plans. Function gives you access to 160+ lab tests for $365 a year - about a dollar a day. Join at functionhealth.com/SIMONHILL and use code SIMON25 for a $25 credit.

Function Health ships to 48 U.S. states, excluding Rhode Island, Hawai‘i, and Puerto Rico.

LMNT

Stay hydrated with LMNT. Get a free Sample Pack of LMNT’s most popular drink mix flavours with any purchase at DrinkLMNT.com/SIMON Find your favourite LMNT flavour, or share with a friend. And if you don’t like it? Full refund, no questions asked.

LMNT ships to the U.S. and Canada, with sparkling flavors available only in the contiguous U.S.

Shokz

Shokz OpenFit Pro brings Open-Ear Noise Reduction to open-ear listening, so background noise feels farther away while you stay connected to your surroundings. Head to shokz.com/THEPROOF and use code THEPROOF for a long-term discount on all Shokz products, stackable with other official promotions.

IM8

With 92 nutrients, including Vitamin B12, Iodine, Selenium and Vitamin D, in highly absorbable forms, IM8 Daily Essentials is the perfect all-in-one daily multi-vitamin to ensure you meet your daily micronutrient needs. IM8 is offering an exclusive 10% off your first order with a free welcome kit when you enter the promo code SIMON at checkout on im8health.com.

IM8 ships to 27 countries including the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia, and many regions across Europe, Asia, and South America.

WHOOP

Whoop, the most advanced fitness and health wearable available. Your personalised fitness and health coach to recover faster, sleep better, and train smarter. Claim your first month free on join.whoop.com/simon.

Whoop ships to 56+ international markets, including the US, Canada, most of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, UAE, Singapore, and parts of Asia.

Simon Hill, MSc, BSc (Hons)

Subscribe & Connect:

Nourish your gut with my Plant-Based Ferments Guide and download my Two-Week Meal Plan.

Elizabeth Kazarian is a physician double board-certified in Family Medicine and Obesity Medicine, practising in Washington DC. She treats obesity for a living, which means she spends as much time on insurance appeals as she does on clinical decisions.

Roughly one in ten American adults now reports using a GLP-1 medication, and the public conversation has split between people calling them a shortcut and people calling them a miracle. Elizabeth occupies the far more useful middle ground, and she is candid about where the evidence is strong, where it is thin, and where the real obstacles lie.

What We Cover

This is a clear-eyed look at what obesity medicine actually involves once you get past the injection. If you have found this topic more confusing each year, this conversation should help.

You can follow Dr Elizabeth Kazarian's work on Instagram, where she shares evidence-based education on obesity medicine, GLP-1 therapies, and women's cardiometabolic health.

If you enjoy the show, please leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. It helps new listeners find us.

Want to support the show?

The best way to support the show is to use the products and services offered by our sponsors. To check them out and enjoy great savings, visit theproof.com/friends. You can also support the show by leaving a review on the Apple Podcast app and sharing your favourite episodes with friends and family.

This episode is brought to you by:

38TERA

38TERA’s BDR is a clinically dosed gut health supplement for improved digestion, less bloating, better bowel movements and a healthier microbiome. Use code THEPROOF for a discount at checkout.

38Tera ships to the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.

Shokz

Shokz OpenFit Pro brings Open-Ear Noise Reduction to open-ear listening, so background noise feels farther away while you stay connected to your surroundings. Head to shokz.com/THEPROOF and use code THEPROOF for a long-term discount on all Shokz products, stackable with other official promotions.

Gusto

Gusto is online payroll and benefits software built for small businesses, handling payroll, tax filing, benefits, and onboarding in one place. Try Gusto today at gusto.com/THEPROOF and get three months free when you run your first payroll.

SwimClub

SwimClub is a science-backed supplement designed to support male fertility, sperm health, and reproductive wellness. Head to swimclub.co to get $20 off your first order with code THEPROOF.

Function Health

Make knowing your health part of your holiday plans. Function gives you access to 160+ lab tests for $365 a year—about a dollar a day. Join at functionhealth.com/SIMONHILL and use code SIMON25 for a $25 credit.

Function Health ships to 48 U.S. states, excluding Rhode Island, Hawai‘i, and Puerto Rico.

IM8

With 92 nutrients, including Vitamin B12, Iodine, Selenium and Vitamin D, in highly absorbable forms, IM8 Daily Essentials is the perfect all-in-one daily multi-vitamin to ensure you meet your daily micronutrient needs. IM8 is offering an exclusive 10% off your first order with a free welcome kit when you enter the promo code SIMON at checkout on im8health.com.

IM8 ships to 27 countries including the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia, and many regions across Europe, Asia, and South America.

WHOOP

Whoop, the most advanced fitness and health wearable available. Your personalised fitness and health coach to recover faster, sleep better, and train smarter. Claim your first month free on join.whoop.com/simon.

Whoop ships to 56+ international markets, including the US, Canada, most of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, UAE, Singapore, and parts of Asia.

Simon Hill, MSc, BSc (Hons)

Subscribe & Connect:

Nourish your gut with my Plant-Based Ferments Guide and download my Two-Week Meal Plan.

The word gut health is on almost everything now, from yoghurt lids to supplement labels. So I asked food microbiologist Dr Maria Marco, Professor at UC Davis and President of the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics, what it actually means. She spent a year with a panel of clinicians, dieticians, and immunologists trying to define it, and the most striking finding was how much we still cannot measure.

This is a conversation about the distance between the science and the marketing, and it includes some claims that will change how you read a label.

What we cover

Maria is unusually willing to say what we do not yet know, and in a field this commercially crowded, that honesty is worth a great deal.

To connect with Dr Maria Marco, visit the Marco Lab at UC Davis, find her on LinkedIn, or follow her lab's work on Instagram at @eat.lac.project.

If this episode was useful, please leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It genuinely helps more people find the show.

Want to support the show?

The best way to support the show is to use the products and services offered by our sponsors. To check them out and enjoy great savings, visit theproof.com/friends. You can also support the show by leaving a review on the Apple Podcast app and sharing your favourite episodes with friends and family.

This episode is brought to you by:

38TERA

38TERA’s BDR is a clinically dosed gut health supplement for improved digestion, less bloating, better bowel movements and a healthier microbiome. Use code THEPROOF for a discount at checkout.

38Tera ships to the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.

IM8

With 92 nutrients, including Vitamin B12, Iodine, Selenium and Vitamin D, in highly absorbable forms, IM8 Daily Essentials is the perfect all-in-one daily multi-vitamin to ensure you meet your daily micronutrient needs. IM8 is offering an exclusive 10% off your first order with a free welcome kit when you enter the promo code SIMON at checkout on im8health.com.

IM8 ships to 27 countries including the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia, and many regions across Europe, Asia, and South America.

LMNT

Stay hydrated with LMNT. Get a free Sample Pack of LMNT’s most popular drink mix flavours with any purchase at DrinkLMNT.com/SIMON Find your favourite LMNT flavour, or share with a friend. And if you don’t like it? Full refund, no questions asked.

LMNT ships to the U.S. and Canada, with sparkling flavors available only in the contiguous U.S.

SwimClub

SwimClub is a science-backed supplement designed to support male fertility, sperm health, and reproductive wellness. Head to swimclub.co to get 25% off your first order with code THEPROOF.

Function Health

Take charge of your health with advanced blood testing and personalised insights. Function Health offers a practical way to track key health markers such as cholesterol, blood sugar, and more. Learn more and join at functionhealth.com/simonhill for a $25 credit toward your membership. Only available to those living in the United States.

Function Health ships to 48 U.S. states, excluding Rhode Island, Hawai‘i, and Puerto Rico.

WHOOP

Whoop, the most advanced fitness and health wearable available. Your personalised fitness and health coach to recover faster, sleep better, and train smarter. Claim your first month free on join.whoop.com/simon.

Whoop ships to 56+ international markets, including the US, Canada, most of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, UAE, Singapore, and parts of Asia.

Simon Hill, MSc, BSc (Hons)

Subscribe & Connect:

Nourish your gut with my Plant-Based Ferments Guide and download my Two-Week Meal Plan.

In this masterclass, I bring together six experts to untangle bone health, from fracture risk and DEXA scans to strength training, joint pain, and surgery. Dr Lora Giangregorio, Prof Belinda Beck, Dr Deborah Kado, Dr Howard Luks, Dr Lauren Colenso-Semple, and Dr Alyssa Olenick each add a different perspective.

Bone density is only one part of the fracture story, and the advice around lifting heavy often runs ahead of the evidence. Together, we turn the confusion into a practical framework.

What we cover:

The best program is the one you can sustain, and I hope this gives you the confidence to start.

To connect with our guests, you can find Dr Lora Giangregorio on TikTok, X, and LinkedIn, or learn more through her University of Waterloo profile. Prof Belinda Beck can be found through The Bone Clinic, ONERO, her Griffith University profile, and Facebook. Dr Deborah Kado has a Stanford profile and is on LinkedIn. Dr Howard Luks writes on Substack and is on X and Instagram. Dr Lauren Colenso-Semple is on Instagram and at drlaurencs.com, and Dr Alyssa Olenick is on Instagram and YouTube, with her programs at doclyssfitness.com.

If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review The Proof on Apple Podcasts and share it with someone who would find it useful.

Want to support the show?

The best way to support the show is to use the products and services offered by our sponsors. To check them out and enjoy great savings, visit theproof.com/friends. You can also support the show by leaving a review on the Apple Podcast app and sharing your favourite episodes with friends and family.

This episode is brought to you by:

38TERA

38TERA’s BDR is a clinically dosed gut health supplement for improved digestion, less bloating, better bowel movements and a healthier microbiome. Use code THEPROOF for a discount at checkout.

38Tera ships to the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.

Function Health

Take charge of your health with advanced blood testing and personalised insights. Function Health offers a practical way to track key health markers such as cholesterol, blood sugar, and more. Learn more and join at functionhealth.com/simonhill for a $25 credit toward your membership. Only available to those living in the United States.

Function Health ships to 48 U.S. states, excluding Rhode Island, Hawai‘i, and Puerto Rico.

ProLon

ProLon’s 5-Day Fasting Mimicking Diet is a science-backed, plant-based program designed to support metabolic health while keeping your body in a fasting-like state. Get 15% off sitewide plus a $40 bonus gift at ProLonLife.com/THEPROOF.

ProLon ships within the United States.

Momentous

My go-to supplement brand for protein and creatine is Momentous. Use code THEPROOF for up to 35% off your first order at livemomentous.com.

Momentous ships to many countries worldwide depending on local import regulations.

Upwork

Post your job for free at Upwork.com and connect with top talent ready to help your business grow. Find the right talent to support your business and bring your projects to life.

WHOOP

Whoop, the most advanced fitness and health wearable available. Your personalised fitness and health coach to recover faster, sleep better, and train smarter. Claim your first month free on join.whoop.com/simon.

Whoop ships to 56+ international markets, including the US, Canada, most of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, UAE, Singapore, and parts of Asia.

Simon Hill, MSc, BSc (Hons)

Subscribe & Connect:

Nourish your gut with my Plant-Based Ferments Guide and download my Two-Week Meal Plan.

Practising registered dietitian and senior research fellow at the University of Oxford, Dr Nicola Guess, returns to the show to discuss a new study whose findings were interpreted in quite different ways the week it came out. Dr Samuel Klein’s group at Washington University assigned people with prediabetes to one of three diets, carefully controlled their weight loss, and found that the arm labelled ketogenic reduced liver fat by 67%.

Nicola’s view is that the label, and the conclusion many drew from it, deserve a closer look. Ketone levels in that arm were lower than you would typically expect on a ketogenic diet, which suggests something other than ketosis may explain the result. Her reading is that protein intake, rather than carbohydrate restriction, could be the more important variable. With roughly one in three adults carrying excess fat in the liver, often without symptoms, understanding what actually drives that reduction matters for the advice people receive.

What We Cover

This is a good example of why the label on a study matters as much as its headline number. If you have been told to cut carbohydrates to fix your liver, this conversation is worth your time.

To connect with Nicola Guess, visit NicolaGuess.com or find her on Instagram and YouTube.

If you enjoy the show, please leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. It helps new listeners find us.

Want to support the show?

The best way to support the show is to use the products and services offered by our sponsors. To check them out and enjoy great savings, visit theproof.com/friends. You can also support the show by leaving a review on the Apple Podcast app and sharing your favourite episodes with friends and family.

This episode is brought to you by:

38TERA

38TERA’s BDR is a clinically dosed gut health supplement for improved digestion, less bloating, better bowel movements and a healthier microbiome. Use code THEPROOF for a discount at checkout.

38Tera ships to the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.

IM8

With 92 nutrients, including Vitamin B12, Iodine, Selenium and Vitamin D, in highly absorbable forms, IM8 Daily Essentials is the perfect all-in-one daily multi-vitamin to ensure you meet your daily micronutrient needs. IM8 is offering an exclusive 10% off your first order with a free welcome kit when you enter the promo code SIMON at checkout on im8health.com.

IM8 ships to 27 countries including the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia, and many regions across Europe, Asia, and South America.

Eight Sleep

Upgrade your sleep with the Pod 6 by Eight Sleep. Clinically validated to deliver up to 1 extra hour of quality sleep per night through temperature control and biometric tracking. Use code THEPROOF at eightsleep.com/theproof for up to $200 off. You get 30 days to try it at home and return it if you don't love it.

Eight Sleep ships to the U.S. (excluding Alaska, Hawaii, and territories), Canada, Mexico, most of the EU, the U.K., Australia, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Switzerland.

Momentous

My go-to supplement brand for protein and creatine is Momentous. Use code THEPROOF for up to 35% off your first order at livemomentous.com.

Momentous ships to many countries worldwide depending on local import regulations.

Function Health

Take charge of your health with advanced blood testing and personalised insights. Function Health offers a practical way to track key health markers such as cholesterol, blood sugar, and more. Learn more and join at functionhealth.com/simonhill for a $25 credit toward your membership. Only available to those living in the United States.

Function Health ships to 48 U.S. states, excluding Rhode Island, Hawai‘i, and Puerto Rico.

WHOOP

Whoop, the most advanced fitness and health wearable available. Your personalised fitness and health coach to recover faster, sleep better, and train smarter. Claim your first month free on join.whoop.com/simon.

Whoop ships to 56+ international markets, including the US, Canada, most of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, UAE, Singapore, and parts of Asia.

Simon Hill, MSc, BSc (Hons)

Subscribe & Connect:

Nourish your gut with my Plant-Based Ferments Guide and download my Two-Week Meal Plan.

This is Christopher Gardner's eighth appearance on the show. Christopher is a nutrition scientist at Stanford, director of the Stanford Nutrition Studies Research Group, and the author of a new book, Food Sense: What to Eat and Why. He has run more than 20 human diet trials over three decades.

Instead of relitigating the diet wars, we spend this conversation on the machinery underneath them: the trade-off between rigour and real life, why the definitive trial people keep waiting for will never be run, and what a null result is actually worth. I also put a few recent studies to him that cut against my own position.

What we cover

If you take one thing from this episode, let it be the habit of asking what a finding can actually carry before you change anything.

To connect with Christopher Gardner, visit the Stanford Nutrition Studies Research Group, pick up a copy of Food Sense: What to Eat and Why, or find him on Instagram and LinkedIn.

If this episode was useful, a rating and review on Apple Podcasts genuinely helps more people find the show.

Want to support the show?

The best way to support the show is to use the products and services offered by our sponsors. To check them out and enjoy great savings, visit theproof.com/friends. You can also support the show by leaving a review on the Apple Podcast app and sharing your favourite episodes with friends and family.

This episode is brought to you by:

38TERA

38TERA’s BDR is a clinically dosed gut health supplement for improved digestion, less bloating, better bowel movements and a healthier microbiome. Use code THEPROOF for a discount at checkout.

38Tera ships to the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.

IM8

With 92 nutrients, including Vitamin B12, Iodine, Selenium and Vitamin D, in highly absorbable forms, IM8 Daily Essentials is the perfect all-in-one daily multi-vitamin to ensure you meet your daily micronutrient needs. IM8 is offering an exclusive 10% off your first order with a free welcome kit when you enter the promo code SIMON at checkout on im8health.com.

IM8 ships to 27 countries including the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia, and many regions across Europe, Asia, and South America.

Function Health

Take charge of your health with advanced blood testing and personalised insights. Function Health offers a practical way to track key health markers such as cholesterol, blood sugar, and more. Learn more and join at functionhealth.com/simonhill for a $25 credit toward your membership. Only available to those living in the United States.

Function Health ships to 48 U.S. states, excluding Rhode Island, Hawai‘i, and Puerto Rico.

Momentous

My go-to supplement brand for protein and creatine is Momentous. Use code THEPROOF for up to 35% off your first order at livemomentous.com.

Momentous ships to many countries worldwide depending on local import regulations.

Shopify

Shopify, the world's leading e-commerce platform, helps you turn browsers into buyers with the internet’s best-converting check out–up to 36% better compared to other leading e-commerce platforms. To boost your conversion rate, and grow your business, sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial at shopify.com/proof.

WHOOP

Whoop, the most advanced fitness and health wearable available. Your personalised fitness and health coach to recover faster, sleep better, and train smarter. Claim your first month free on join.whoop.com/simon.

Whoop ships to 56+ international markets, including the US, Canada, most of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, UAE, Singapore, and parts of Asia.

Simon Hill, MSc, BSc (Hons)

Subscribe & Connect:

Nourish your gut with my Plant-Based Ferments Guide and download my Two-Week Meal Plan.

A few weeks ago I published my own heart scans, and one number travelled further than the rest: a 48% drop in plaque over 16 and a half months. The question underneath that video was the obvious one. How? This episode is the answer, and it is also the part I could easily have left out.

Three companies analysed the same two scans. HeartFlow found a 48% reduction, Cleerly found a 20% increase, and QAngio found essentially no change at all. Same heart, same images, and a sixfold spread in the absolute amount of plaque they measured. I walk through my full protocol, explain which analysis I anchor to and why, and tell you why, despite that headline, I have started a PCSK9 inhibitor.

What We Cover:

All three analyses agreed on the thing that matters: the plaque burden is low, and it is not progressing rapidly. That agreement is worth far more than the headline.

Enjoyed this episode? A rating and review on the Apple Podcast app helps more people find the show.

Want to support the show?

The best way to support the show is to use the products and services offered by our sponsors. To check them out and enjoy great savings, visit theproof.com/friends. You can also support the show by leaving a review on the Apple Podcast app and sharing your favourite episodes with friends and family.

This episode is brought to you by:

38TERA

Consider 38TERA's DMN prebiotic supplement a daily multivitamin for your gut. Formulated by yours truly and gastroenterologist Dr Will Bulsiewicz. Use code THEPROOF for a discount at checkout.

38Tera ships to the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.

Eight Sleep

Upgrade your sleep with the Pod 6 by Eight Sleep. Clinically validated to deliver up to 1 extra hour of quality sleep per night through temperature control and biometric tracking. Use code THEPROOF at eightsleep.com/theproof for up to $200 off. You get 30 days to try it at home and return it if you don't love it.

Eight Sleep ships to the U.S. (excluding Alaska, Hawaii, and territories), Canada, Mexico, most of the EU, the U.K., Australia, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Switzerland.

IM8

With 92 nutrients, including Vitamin B12, Iodine, Selenium and Vitamin D, in highly absorbable forms, IM8 Daily Essentials is the perfect all-in-one daily multi-vitamin to ensure you meet your daily micronutrient needs. IM8 is offering an exclusive 10% off your first order with a free welcome kit when you enter the promo code SIMON at checkout on im8health.com.

IM8 ships to 27 countries including the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia, and many regions across Europe, Asia, and South America.

Upwork

Post your job for free at Upwork.com and connect with top talent ready to help your business grow. Find the right talent to support your business and bring your projects to life.

SwimClub

SwimClub is a science-backed supplement designed to support male fertility, sperm health, and reproductive wellness. Head to swimclub.co to get 25% off your first order with code THEPROOF.

WHOOP

Whoop, the most advanced fitness and health wearable available. Your personalised fitness and health coach to recover faster, sleep better, and train smarter. Claim your first month free on join.whoop.com/simon.

Whoop ships to 56+ international markets, including the US, Canada, most of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, UAE, Singapore, and parts of Asia.

Simon Hill, MSc, BSc (Hons)

Subscribe & Connect:

Nourish your gut with my Plant-Based Ferments Guide and download my Two-Week Meal Plan.

Howard Luks is an orthopaedic surgeon with almost 30 years of experience, and a good deal of his week is spent telling people they do not need an operation. We work through the joints that bring most people into a clinic, knees, shoulders, Achilles tendons and ankles, and separate what a scan is actually telling you from what it is being used to justify.

Almost everyone over 40 has something on an MRI that will be described as a tear. Very few of those people need surgery, and plenty have no pain at all. Howard's case, drawn from three decades in clinic and the sham-surgery and physiotherapy-controlled trials behind it, is that our language has raced ahead of the biology, and that the words we use change how people move and live.

What We Cover

This is a conversation about being careful with language and honest about uncertainty, and about keeping your capacity so you can keep doing the things you care about.

To connect with Howard Luks, read his writing on Substack or find him on X and Instagram.

If you enjoy the show, please leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It genuinely helps other people find these conversations.

Want to support the show?

The best way to support the show is to use the products and services offered by our sponsors. To check them out and enjoy great savings, visit theproof.com/friends. You can also support the show by leaving a review on the Apple Podcast app and sharing your favourite episodes with friends and family.

This episode is brought to you by:

38TERA

Consider 38TERA's DMN prebiotic supplement a daily multivitamin for your gut. Formulated by yours truly and gastroenterologist Dr Will Bulsiewicz. Use code THEPROOF for a discount at checkout.

38Tera ships to the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.

Eight Sleep

Upgrade your sleep with the Pod 6 by Eight Sleep. Clinically validated to deliver up to 1 extra hour of quality sleep per night through temperature control and biometric tracking. Use code THEPROOF at eightsleep.com/theproof for up to $200 off. You get 30 days to try it at home and return it if you don't love it.

Eight Sleep ships to the U.S. (excluding Alaska, Hawaii, and territories), Canada, Mexico, most of the EU, the U.K., Australia, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Switzerland.

Momentous

My go-to supplement brand for protein and creatine is Momentous. Use code THEPROOF for up to 35% off your first order at livemomentous.com.

Momentous ships to many countries worldwide depending on local import regulations.

IM8

With 92 nutrients, including Vitamin B12, Iodine, Selenium and Vitamin D, in highly absorbable forms, IM8 Daily Essentials is the perfect all-in-one daily multi-vitamin to ensure you meet your daily micronutrient needs. IM8 is offering an exclusive 10% off your first order with a free welcome kit when you enter the promo code SIMON at checkout on im8health.com.

IM8 ships to 27 countries including the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia, and many regions across Europe, Asia, and South America.

Function Health

Take charge of your health with advanced blood testing and personalised insights. Function Health offers a practical way to track key health markers such as cholesterol, blood sugar, and more. Learn more and join at functionhealth.com/simonhill for a $25 credit toward your membership. Only available to those living in the United States.

Function Health ships to 48 U.S. states, excluding Rhode Island, Hawai‘i, and Puerto Rico.

WHOOP

Whoop, the most advanced fitness and health wearable available. Your personalised fitness and health coach to recover faster, sleep better, and train smarter. Claim your first month free on join.whoop.com/simon.

Whoop ships to 56+ international markets, including the US, Canada, most of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, UAE, Singapore, and parts of Asia.

Simon Hill, MSc, BSc (Hons)

Subscribe & Connect:

Nourish your gut with my Plant-Based Ferments Guide and download my Two-Week Meal Plan.

This is part two of my conversation with Dr Federica Amati, Head Nutritionist at ZOE and author of the Sunday Times bestseller Every Body Should Know This. In part one we covered preconception, fertility, and pregnancy nutrition. Here we follow the first 1,000 days through to the end: birth, breastfeeding, weaning, and the environmental exposures behind all of it.

Much of this territory has become a source of guilt rather than clarity. Federica's framing is the one I keep returning to: this window is critical, but it is not fragile. Biology adapts, most of what shapes these years is structural, and where parents do have agency the evidence is more reassuring than the headlines suggest.

What we cover:

Federica is exceptionally good at separating what the evidence supports from what the marketing claims, and she does it without ever making parents the villain.

To connect with Dr Federica Amati, follow her on Instagram at @dr.fede.amati or explore her work at ZOE. You can read more about the campaign she discusses in this episode at Plastic Free Babies, and her Sunday Times bestseller, Every Body Should Know This, is available wherever books are sold.

If this episode was useful, a rating or review on Apple Podcasts, or a follow on Spotify, makes a genuine difference to the show.

Want to support the show?

The best way to support the show is to use the products and services offered by our sponsors. To check them out and enjoy great savings, visit theproof.com/friends. You can also support the show by leaving a review on the Apple Podcast app and sharing your favourite episodes with friends and family.

This episode is brought to you by:

38TERA

Consider 38TERA's DMN prebiotic supplement a daily multivitamin for your gut. Formulated by yours truly and gastroenterologist Dr Will Bulsiewicz. Use code THEPROOF for a discount at checkout.

38Tera ships to the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.

Upwork

Post your job for free at Upwork.com and connect with top talent ready to help your business grow. Find the right talent to support your business and bring your projects to life.

ProLon

ProLon’s 5-Day Fasting Mimicking Diet is a science-backed, plant-based program designed to support metabolic health while keeping your body in a fasting-like state. Get 15% off sitewide plus a $40 bonus gift at ProLonLife.com/THEPROOF.

ProLon ships within the United States.

Skylight

Families are better when they’re working together. Right now, Skylight is offering our listeners $30 off their 15 inch Calendars by going to MySkylight.com/THEPROOF.

Skylight ships within the U.S. and to Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

Momentous

My go-to supplement brand for protein and creatine is Momentous. Use code THEPROOF for up to 35% off your first order at livemomentous.com.

Momentous ships to many countries worldwide depending on local import regulations.

Function Health

Take charge of your health with advanced blood testing and personalised insights. Function Health offers a practical way to track key health markers such as cholesterol, blood sugar, and more. Learn more and join at functionhealth.com/simonhill for a $25 credit toward your membership. Only available to those living in the United States.

Function Health ships to 48 U.S. states, excluding Rhode Island, Hawai‘i, and Puerto Rico.

WHOOP

Whoop, the most advanced fitness and health wearable available. Your personalised fitness and health coach to recover faster, sleep better, and train smarter. Claim your first month free on join.whoop.com/simon.

Whoop ships to 56+ international markets, including the US, Canada, most of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, UAE, Singapore, and parts of Asia.

Simon Hill, MSc, BSc (Hons)

Subscribe & Connect:

Nourish your gut with my Plant-Based Ferments Guide and download my Two-Week Meal Plan.

Around 30% of the world's population has too much fat in their liver, and almost none of them know it. Liver disease stays silent until it is very advanced, which is exactly why so many people are found too late.

In this episode I sit down with Prof Aleksander Krag, professor and department chair of gastroenterology and hepatology at Odense University Hospital and former Secretary General of the European Association for the Study of the Liver, to separate the frightening headline number from the thing that actually determines risk. It is not the fat. It is the scarring, and there is a simple test that can tell you whether you have any.

What we cover

If you have ever wondered whether your drinking, your waistline, or your last set of liver enzymes is worth acting on, this conversation gives you a clear place to start.

To connect with Prof Aleksander Krag, visit the Centre for Liver Research (FLASH) at the University of Southern Denmark, follow him on X, or find him on LinkedIn.

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This episode is brought to you by:

38TERA

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Function Health

Take charge of your health with advanced blood testing and personalised insights. Function Health offers a practical way to track key health markers such as cholesterol, blood sugar, and more. Learn more and join at functionhealth.com/simonhill for a $25 credit toward your membership. Only available to those living in the United States.

Function Health ships to 48 U.S. states, excluding Rhode Island, Hawai‘i, and Puerto Rico.

IM8

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Momentous

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Eight Sleep ships to the U.S. (excluding Alaska, Hawaii, and territories), Canada, Mexico, most of the EU, the U.K., Australia, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Switzerland.

WHOOP

Whoop, the most advanced fitness and health wearable available. Your personalised fitness and health coach to recover faster, sleep better, and train smarter. Claim your first month free on join.whoop.com/simon.

Whoop ships to 56+ international markets, including the US, Canada, most of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, UAE, Singapore, and parts of Asia.

Simon Hill, MSc, BSc (Hons)

Subscribe & Connect:

Nourish your gut with my Plant-Based Ferments Guide and download my Two-Week Meal Plan.