The Doctor's Kitchen Podcast

Latest Episodes:

#222 Nitric Oxide, Nitrates and Nitrites in Food with Dr Rupy Aujla Nov 15, 2023

Show notes

You might’ve heard the terms nitrates, nitrites or nitric oxide in different contexts. There have been headlines about the “dangers” of nitrites in food, especially in processed meats like ham or bacon. But there’s also a lot of talk about the benefits of nitric oxide? It’s a very confusing topic, but hopefully after listening to todays podcast you’ll understand everything you need to know about these compounds!

In this podcast, I’ll go through:

What nitrates actually are, as well as the terms you might have heard - nitrates, nitrites, nitric oxide and nitrosamines
The controversy around these compounds
How the body handles them and their impact on health
Which foods are the highest in nitrates and why you want to eat them every day

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#221 ADHD and diet with Dr Miguel Toribio-Mateas DProf Nov 08, 2023

Show notes

Can you eat to improve symptoms of ADHD? That is the subject of conversation today with the wonderful Dr Miguel, who is a clinical neuroscientist and applied microbiologist with a longstanding background in human nutrition. He has a BSc (Hons) Nutritional Medicine, a MSc Clinical Neuroscience and a DProf (PhD) Gut Microbiome & Mental Health.

According to Dr Miguel, the top healthy habits for a fulfilling life include eating fermented foods daily, getting a diversity of plants to support your brain-gut superhighway as well as connecting with people who bring you joy and ditching those who are toxic.

As part of his giving back, Dr Miguel is the Neurodiversity Lead of the Primary Care & Community Neurology Society (also known as the Person-Centered Neurosciences Society), and he supports youth mental health programmes at the London-based Body & Soul charity. He also holds an honorary research fellow position at the School of Psychology, Cardiff University.

As we do a deep dive into the science of food and neurodiversity (spanning a spectrum of disorders) we also talk about Miguel's personal experience.

In 2020, Dr Miguel burned out and in the middle of a terrifying nervous system meltdown, he had the most wonderful “a-ha!” moment. As a scientist, he was able to match what the literature says about stored trauma with his own personal experience, realising the far-reaching consequences of adverse childhood events on and beyond the gut. This time in Dr Miguel’s life - leading to his late diagnosis with ADHD and autism - provided him with the opportunity to layer a trauma- and lived-experience-informed approach over the evidence-based practice approach that he’d been used to for years. He will discuss why he firmly believes science should now be focusing on the “brain to gut” downstream communication branch of the gut-brain axis, rather than on the “gut microbes to brain” branch.

He has a course on ADHD and diet that is due to launch in November 2023 and you can find his free newsletter at thecreativescientist.substack.com as well as on social media @drmiguelmateas

If you head over to YT, you can not only watch the podcast in the new podcast studio at Doctor’s Kitchen HQ, but also catch a diversity bowl that me and Miguel made which is perfect for those living with ADHD.

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#220 Menopause and South Asian women with Chef Romy Gill MBE Nov 01, 2023

Show notes

Chef Romy Gill MBE, who is a dear friend, is on the podcast today sharing her culinary wisdom, her energy and passion for food as well as her voice for women of colour and the stigma that still surrounds the menopause.

Romy is a celebrity Indian chef, food and travel writer and broadcaster. She was the owner and head chef at Romy’s Kitchen and in 2016 she was appointed an MBE in the Queen’s 90th Birthday Honours list.

Today we talk about her lived experience of the menopause, how changing her training from mostly running based to include strength training completely shifted her weight. We also talk about women from SA backgrounds and why it’s still an uphill battle to break down the taboo of women's health in general, plus the spices with medicinal properties, how to combine flavourful ingredients for health and why the backbone of Indian cooking is healthier than most people think.

You’ll find her on BBC1's Ready Steady Cook, Sunday Brunch, The One Show, Country Life, Celebrity MasterChef, The Hairy Bikers’ Comfort Food, James Martin’s Saturday Morning and she is also a regular on BBC Radio 4's Food Programme. Her second book, On The Himalayan Trail, is a beautifully shot book which has a prime place on my studio bookshelf and Romy is writing her next book which is out next year in Autumn 2024.

You can watch this on YouTube, and you’ll also see what Romy was able to cook up with a squash, some tofu and the Doctor’s kitchen pantry of spices in under 20 minutes. Trust me, you’ll want to see that recipe!

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#219 Is Aluminium Foil Toxic? With Dr Rupy Oct 25, 2023

Show notes

In todays episode we’re going to be addressing aluminium in cookware. Every time I use foil on social media I always get comments about how toxic foil is to the brain and how I shouldn’t be promoting it, given my position as a doctor.

So I decided to review the evidence for these claims with the team and do a thorough dive into this topic and find out if there’s any evidence for these inflammatory comments.

Today we talk about …

What aluminium actually is
How it’s handled by the body
Whether foil leeches aluminium into food
How much the human body can tolerate
And finally, what practical steps we can take to reduce our exposure if you choose to do so

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#218 Do cranberries help with UTIs? With Dr Rupy Oct 18, 2023

Show notes

This is a question I’m asked all the time as a GP!

In todays episode we’ll go into cranberries in a bit more detail, the chemicals in cranberries that exert benefits and what the mechanism of action could be.

I go into the controversies around these recent Cochrane findings, what we know and what we don’t know as well as the type of product that I recommend people try if they are interested in UTI prevention.

Of course we talk about gut microbes and their impact on berries, and a wider discussion about how to choose supplements and why I prefer whole food supplements rather than individual micronutrients.

Other products that may have benefits

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#217 Inflammation, the silent fire within with Dr Shilpa Ravella MD Oct 11, 2023

Show notes

“Hidden inflammation presents a unique dilemma. The idea that it may be a shared biological mechanism between diseases as distinct as obesity and aging, or depression and heart disease, fosters a new understanding of human health. It pushes us to consider preventing or treating these diseases in concert rather than in parts, taking into account the totality of a patient's body and mind, including the germs that live within and on top of us. The biomedical framework of the nineteenth century divided by organ systems and an understanding that a specific cause results in a specific disease - is no longer effective for most health conditions that plague us today.”

This is an excerpt from Dr Shilpa Ravella’s book “Silent Fire”, it’s one of the most beautifully written books that I’ve had the pleasure of reading. Shilpa’s eloquent writing style complements the wonder of inflammation as a benevolent, yet destructive force that weaves it’s thread through a multitude of conditions including auto-immunity, cardiovascular disease and obesity.

Dr Shilpa Ravella is a gastroenterologist who treats a range of general gastrointestinal ailments and has unique experience in managing complex rare diseases, including intestinal failure and intestinal or multiple-organ transplantation. She’s also an expert in the field of nutrition and is particularly interested in the interactions between lifestyle, the microbiome and the immune system.

Today we talk about inflammation and cancer, immunity, dementia, cardiovascular disease as well as the components of an anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle such as spices, fibres, greens and exercise. We also talk about what inflammation actually is; the various terms like para inflammation, meta-inflammation, inflammageing and why it’s so important to control it.

Remember I also have an inflammation mini-series that you can sign up to for free right here.

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#216 Fasting for Women with Dr Mindy Pelz Oct 04, 2023

Show notes

Fasting is one of the hottest topics at the moment and I had the pleasure of sitting down with Dr Mindy Pelz to dive into this fascinating area.

Like I always say to people, fasting is potentially a phenomenal, multifunctional tool that we can use to improve our immune system and our metabolic health. But the dose of fasting, the method of fasting and whether fasting is at all appropriate if you have a pre-existing condition, are all questions that are very hard to answer.

Adding further complexity to the decision of how and when to fast, is the menstrual cycle. For years Mindy has been educating 1000s of women online on how to make the best use of this tool with the consideration of their shifting hormones.

We go into a lot of detail today, but as ever there are so many more things that we need to discuss and will probably have to do a part 2 at some point in the future.

Do check out Mindy’s fabulous book, “Fast like a Girl”, I’ve been recommending it to everyone and it’s a great resource for anyone interested in fasting as a tool for health.

We also talk about some caveats of fasting and who fasting is NOT for in this episode. This is especially the case for anyone pregnant, breastfeeding or who has a history of eating disorders.

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#215 Supplements that are not worth it with Dr Rupy Sep 27, 2023

Show notes

Today I’m talking about the supplements that I think are not as useful as the claims make out, as well as the ones that I think may have use.

Supplements are a tricky subject but I think it warrants a bit more attention on the podcast considering I get asked about them so much and I’m a user of supplements myself!

In summary those that I think are not worth it or require caution include:

Multivitamins

Calcium

Vitamin D3 (alone)

Zinc

Those that could be more worth it include:

High quality and high dose Omega 3

Food based supplements e.g. cacao, dehydrated berries, hemp seeds, flaxseed

Turmeric

Creatine

Vitamin D3 + K2

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#214 Should you eat tomatoes? With Dr Rupy Sep 20, 2023

Show notes

Today we’re diving into the world of tomatoes, one of the most consumed ‘fruits’ globally with a rich heritage and mixed opinions on whether it’s healthful or harmful?

I’m always asked whether patients should be eating nightshade family ingredients, whether it can excerbate athritis symptoms, cause stomach acid and even IBS.

So today we’re going into the benefits of tomatoes, the compounds we find in them and how to get the most out of this nutrient rich ingredient with food pairings, processes and more!

If you love this kind of deep dive you’ll love the Seasonal Sunday’s newsletter that the team and I put together each week that dives into a seasonal ingredient, it’s history, nutritional medicine benefits and how to use it in the kitchen.

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🍓Seasonal Sundays Newsletter!

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BONUS Food for Mood with Dr Michael Dixon & Dr Uma Naidoo Sep 18, 2023

Show notes

Should we be reaching for the dinner plate before the pill bottle when treating mental illness? Well my next guests certainly think so. Dr Michael Dixon and Uma Naidoo are back on the podcast talking about the Food for Mood campaign, an idea that literally started around the King’s dining table last year!

This idea of food as medicine is truly taking shape in the UK, but without strategies to ensure people can actually attain a level of nutrition to unlock these potential benefits, we’re simply reverberating ideas in an ineffective echo chamber. Michael and Uma are taking up the challenge, and launching the ‘Food for Mood’ campaign that engages multiple stake holders including government, supermarkets and of course, medical professionals and promotes the idea and practical strategies to introduce nutritional psychiatry at scale.

Dr. Uma Naidoo is a Harvard trained psychiatrist, professional chef and a trained Nutrition Specialist and her nexus of interests have found their niche in Nutritional Psychiatry. She is also the national bestselling author of This Is Your Brain On Food.

Dr Michael Dixon is chairman of the college of medicine, he’s been a general practitioner at College Surgery in Devon for over 35 years. Since the early 1990s, he has been a leader of the GP/clinical commissioning movement with its aim of allowing frontline clinicians a far greater role in improving local services and health. Since 2007, he has been visiting professor to the University of Westminster (Integrated School of Health) and was also appointed visiting professor of University College, London in 2012.

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