The Rita Date Podcast

What you eat may matter more for your sex life than you think.

Gynecologist, urogynecologist and psychosexual therapist Dr. Neelima Deshpande returns to talk about the link between food and intimacy. She explains how blood flow and brain health drive desire and arousal, and why so many of us are "overfed but undernourished." She also covers the dangerous Viagra mistake people make in emergencies, what sex at 80 can look like, and why there's no such thing as an aphrodisiac.

She ends with simple, practical advice on what to put on your plate tonight.

Connect with Dr. Neelima Deshpande

https://www.youtube.com/@drneelimadeshpande

https://www.instagram.com/neelima.deshpande/

Connect with Rita

Instagram: @rita.date

The Breathing Room: @thebreathingroom | thebreathingroom.in

Resources mentioned: Wildfit (Eric Edmeades), the Barker Hypothesis (Prof. David Barker), and Dr. Chris van Tulleken's work on ultra-processed foods.

For educational purposes only. This is not medical advice.

Is thecheese you grew up eating really cheese? And if you’re watching yourcholesterol, should you be eating it at all?

I’m joinedby Salil Ranade, founder of The Yellow Slice, a Pune creamery makinghandcrafted, small-batch, preservative-free cheese. We talk about thefermentation science behind cheese, what’s hiding in processed cheese labels,and the nutrition of mozzarella, cheddar and parmesan. We also ask whethercheese has a place in Indian cooking, and settle the question everyone arguesabout: is paneer actually cheese?

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Can Type 2 diabetes really bereversed, and if you're off your meds, are you cured? Rita Date talks with Dr.Uday Phadke, arenowned endocrinologist in Pune, about what the evidence actually says.

They unpack remission vs. cure,why Indians get diabetes at a lower BMI, what works in real patients (and whatfails), how hormones and menopause change the picture, and whether any one dietwins. In the second half they turn to GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic: what they do,who should take them, what we don't know yet, and whether they're the quick fixsome claim.

Education only, not medicaladvice. Talk to your doctor before changing any medication.

🌐 thebreathingroomindia.com | 📸 @rita.date

Top 2%scientist. WHO advisor. 40 years studying Ayurveda through the lens of modernscience. Professor Bhushan Patwardhan joins Rita to unpack why fake researchjournals are a bigger threat to your health than you think, what "Medicine3.0" actually means, and why your grandmother might have been ontosomething the data now backs up.

More about Dr.Patwardhan:

https://www.bhushanpatwardhan.com/profile.php

To buy the Genome toOm:

https://www.amazon.in

Sex and mental health are deeply connected — but rarely discussed together. Dr. NeelimaDeshpande, gynecologist, urogynecologist, and psychosexual therapist, joins meto explain how anxiety, trauma, and stress show up in the bedroom, what theloss-of-desire pattern really looks like, and how this connection changesacross life stages. A candid, evidence-based conversation for anyone who's everfelt too embarrassed to ask.

Snoring isn't just annoying — it can be a warning sign. In this episode,I sit down with Dr. Seemab Shaikh, Founder President of IASSA (IndianAssociation of Surgeons for Sleep Apnea) and one of India's pioneering voicesin sleep medicine, trained in Germany, Singapore, and Norway.

We unpack what obstructive sleep apnea really is, why it's sounder-diagnosed in India, the red flags most people ignore, whether pranayamacan help, the link between weight/neck size/body type and OSA risk, the truthabout CPAP alternatives, and what the mouth-taping trend gets right (andwrong).

If you snore, sleep next to someone who does, or wake up tired no matterhow long you sleep — this episode is for you.

Pleasure and nourishment werenever opposites — your culture already knew that. Science is just catching up. 🍛

Sarita Bhagwat walked away from20 years in finance to study gastronomy at Boston University. In this episode:what gastronomy really means, how stress rewires digestion, the meal she'llnever forget, and why the future of fine dining might look a lot like yourgrandmother's kitchen. Plus a rapid-fire round — ghee vs. olive oil, the mostoverrated superfood, and the one childhood food rule she's unlearned.

Is dairy actually as bad — or as good — for you as everyone claims? Food scientist joins Rita Date to separate real dairy science from marketing spin.

They talk about what a food scientist's day-to-day actually looks like, whether lactose intolerance is overestimated in Indian populations, how GLP-1 medications and the protein boom are reshaping dairy innovation, and where Indian dairy stands against global standards. Kirin also breaks down the misleading label claims showing up on Indian shelves — and where dairy protein genuinely outperforms plant protein, and where it doesn't.

If you've ever second-guessed a dairy label at the supermarket, this one's for you.

VO2 Max, resting heart rate, Zone 2 — you've heard the terms, but what do they actually mean for your heart? Cardiologist Dr. Tanmay Kulkarni breaks down what your heart rate zones really tell you, whether Zone 2 cardio deserves the hype, cardio vs. strength training, wearable accuracy, and what to change in your 20s, 30s and 40s+ — all in plain language.He can be reached:(phone - 8551 913753email- [email protected])

Your gut isnot just about digestion. It's running your immune system, your hormones, yourskin, and your mood — and most of us are unknowingly destroying it every day.

In thisepisode, Rita sits down with Dr. Shivani Doctor, Integrative Health Specialistand founder of Integrative Health and Aesthetics (Washington DC). Trained incardiothoracic surgery and functional medicine, Shivani now works with clientsworldwide to address the root causes of chronic health issues — starting withthe gut.

This is ano-nonsense, myth-busting conversation covering microbiome tests, food allergypanels, fermented foods vs probiotics, the gut-brain axis, IBS, and whyone-size-fits-all diets don't work. Plus — is dahi actually enough?