Feel Better, Live More

In this Bitesize episode, Buddhist monk and meditation teacher Gelong Thubten draws on his own journey from actor burnout to monastic life. Thubten explains why distraction and addiction are closely linked, because both push away emotional pain and discomfort. The real problem, he argues, is not the emotion itself but the resistance to it — the discomfort is really in the pushing. Learning to sit with what makes us uncomfortable, rather than numbing or scrolling through it, allows those emotions to transform. The conversation opens with Thubten's framing that learning to be with yourself is the most courageous and compassionate thing you can do.

Dr Will Bulsiewicz discusses the four key food groups—fibre, resistant starch, polyphenols, healthy fats, and fermented foods—that support gut barrier repair and lower inflammation. He explains how fibre fermentation produces the anti-inflammatory short-chain fatty acid butyrate, why resistant starch feeds distinct parts of the microbiome, and the science behind the '30 plants a week' target. The conversation also covers how relationships shape our gut microbiomes, the myths around 'leaky gut,' and why he now sees Crohn’s and colitis as immune reactions against the microbiome. Will shares personal struggles where food became a coping mechanism, underscoring that lasting health often requires more than diet alone.

Neuro-optometrist Dr Bryce Appelbaum explains how our visual system affects far more than eyesight. He discusses the surprising ways vision influences brain fog, fatigue, headaches, and concentration, and reveals the connection between visual strain and stress. Dr Appelbaum shares simple, practical exercises that can help retrain the eyes and support overall mental performance.

Dr. Rangan Chatterjee hosts Arthur Brooks, a Harvard professor and bestselling author, for a deep dive into the science of happiness. Brooks explains his framework that happiness, like nutrition, requires three macronutrients: enjoyment, satisfaction, and meaning. They discuss why high achievers often feel empty, the necessity of struggle, the arrival fallacy that goal achievement doesn't bring lasting joy, and why honest conflict beats conflict avoidance in relationships. The conversation reframes happiness as a direction rather than a destination.

Dr. David Perlmutter explains that dementia is not an inevitable part of aging but the result of decades of metabolic damage. He reveals the critical role of microglial cells in protecting or damaging the brain, and how diet and lifestyle can keep them in a protective state. He discusses how ultra-processed food triggers neuroinflammation and outlines key blood biomarkers—fasting insulin, homocysteine, and uric acid—that offer a window into long-term brain health.

A condensed segment from Dr. Stacy Sims on why conventional fitness advice fails women in midlife and what changes physiologically as we age. Sims, an exercise physiologist and nutritional scientist, explains how women can harness the body's changing physiology to build strength, resilience, and better health in their 40s and beyond.

Dr Michael Breus, a clinical psychologist and sleep specialist with 25 years of experience, discusses five common sleep traps and practical techniques to improve rest. The episode covers sleep myths, the risks of chasing eight hours, why weekend sleep-ins backfire, managing 3am wake-ups, sleep tracking, perimenopause/menopause challenges, and shift work strategies. Breus shares his own sleep apnoea diagnosis and reveals a five-step, evidence-based plan for better sleep.

A brief segment from Master Shi Heng Yi, a 35th-generation Shaolin master and Zen Buddhist practitioner, exploring how awareness of our inner world—particularly our thought patterns—shapes our experience of life and destiny. The episode draws on his 38 years of Kung Fu and Buddhist practice to offer practical insights on self-mastery and inner peace.

C Thi Nguyen, Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Utah, explores how modern culture has become obsessed with measuring success through external metrics—followers, likes, salaries, grades—often replacing our authentic values with simplified proxies. This conversation unpacks 'value capture,' the process by which rich personal values get crowded out by measurable metrics, and examines why joy, love, relationships, and other unmeasurables are systematically undervalued. Nguyen argues that play, hobbies, and games offer profound lessons about freedom and meaning, and discusses the tension between operating by principles versus algorithmic rules.

Max Lugavere, science journalist and New York Times bestselling author, joins this Bitesize clip from episode 330 to share three food types worth reducing for better brain health. He explains why these dietary shifts can help protect cognitive function and stresses that small, incremental changes are more sustainable than perfection. The episode offers practical, balanced strategies for anyone looking to improve brain and overall health.

Dr. Elissa Epel, a stress researcher and professor of psychiatry, reveals how chronic stress ages the immune system by up to a decade—and how deep rest can reverse that damage. She introduces her four mind states framework (red, yellow, green, blue) for identifying where you are on the stress spectrum at any moment. The conversation covers wearable technology for tracking stress patterns, her continuous glucose monitor insights on stress and sleep, and findings from her Big Joy Project showing that small acts of kindness measurably shift emotions. Epel also explains how changing the narrative you tell about stressful experiences can alter your physiological response.

Dr Russell Kennedy, a physician and neuroscientist who overcame 30 years of crippling anxiety, explains that anxiety is not a mind disorder but a symptom rooted in the body. He argues that using body-based strategies to calm the nervous system is often more effective than cognitive approaches alone, and shares practical techniques for breaking the anxiety cycle.

Dr Florence Comite, a Yale and NIH-trained endocrinologist, joins Dr Rangan Chatterjee to discuss why our health trajectory is far from fixed. Drawing on 30 years of clinical experience and her book 'Invincible', she explains how decline is not inevitable but detectable—and therefore reversible. The conversation covers five critical blood biomarkers that standard medicine overlooks, including fasting insulin and free testosterone, and how continuous glucose monitors can personalise nutrition. Her core message is that by tuning into our body's early signals, we can make targeted changes to improve how we age.

A short-form clip from Dr Ellen Langer's appearance on Feel Better, Live More exploring how our thoughts shape our lives and decisions. Dr Langer, a Harvard psychology professor with 50+ years of research on mindfulness and the mind-body connection, challenges the conventional approach to decision-making and offers a refreshing perspective on reducing overthinking, letting go of regret, and building confidence in choices.

Dr Nicole LePera, known as The Holistic Psychologist to nearly 10 million Instagram followers, discusses her book Reparenting the Inner Child. The conversation centers on how childhood adaptations—the patterns we develop to survive our early environment—persist into adulthood, shaping our relationships, careers, and emotional responses. LePera explains how our nervous system state filters our perception of the world, and how becoming aware of these patterns and making different choices enables healing across generations.

Dr Chatterjee explores three often-overlooked causes of persistent low energy that go beyond sleep and stress. In this solo episode, he identifies hidden factors draining energy levels and offers practical strategies to address them quickly. The episode emphasizes that fatigue isn't always about how busy you are.

Dr. Howard Schubiner, a leading expert on chronic pain and the mind-body connection, explains how our brains create pain through predictive processing and why many common MRI findings are not the real cause of back pain. He distinguishes between structural and neuroplastic pain, revealing that the latter—caused by perceived danger without tissue damage—can be reversed without painkillers using a five-part framework. His approach has helped patients recover from decades of untreatable pain in weeks, and it also applies to conditions like tinnitus, brain fog, long COVID, and anxiety. The conversation highlights how childhood personality traits may predispose us to these chronic conditions.

Dr Rangan Chatterjee and Dr Ayan Panja explore why sustainable health change comes from small, consistent actions rather than extreme overhauls. They discuss why most health plans fail, how 5-minute habits create ripple effects through your life, and why lasting lifestyle transformation is simpler than we think.

Dr Courtney Conley, a movement specialist, joins host Rangan Chatterjee to explore walking as a foundational health practice. The episode deconstructs the 10,000-step target, reveals that even adding just 1,000 steps daily reduces dementia and all-cause mortality risk, and provides practical cues for efficient walking including rolling through feet, walking tall, and nasal breathing. The conversation covers foot health issues from plantar fasciitis to osteopenia, the importance of strength training alongside walking for aging, and how to transition safely from cushioned to minimal footwear.

Robin Sharma, a leading leadership and personal mastery expert, challenges the assumption that material wealth equals happiness. He critiques hustle culture and toxic positivity as drivers of burnout, and reframes what it means to live a truly 'rich' life—one that prioritizes fulfillment, purpose, and well-being over the endless pursuit of money and status.

Dr Emily Leeming, a dietitian and researcher at King's College London, discusses why 96% of people aren't getting enough fibre and why this matters for gut health, brain function, metabolism, mood, and disease prevention. She explains how fibre feeds gut microbes and explores evidence linking adequate fibre intake to lower rates of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, bowel cancer, and depression. The episode includes practical frameworks for increasing fibre intake without overhauling diet or causing digestive distress, with special guidance for people with IBS, type 2 diabetes, menopause, and specific dietary restrictions.

Dr Anders Hansen explains how smartphones and social media are rewiring attention and cognition. He discusses why devices are engineered to be addictive, what happens to focus and mental health as a result, and shares practical strategies to reclaim attention and reconnect with what matters.

Dr. Rangan Chatterjee talks with psychologist Pippa Grange about burnout not as personal failure but as a cultural shift toward constant overperformance. She introduces the 'regenerative performance' framework based on the natural cycle of perform, rest, renew, and shares four principles to help rebalance. Practical tools include a quick midday check-in.

This Bitesize episode features Dr Kristen Holmes discussing the importance of circadian rhythms for energy and mental wellbeing. She explains how modern habits like late meals and irregular routines disrupt the body's natural clocks, and shares practical strategies to re-align them for better sleep and vitality.

Dr. Rangan Chatterjee talks with Professor Daisy Fancourt, author of Art Cure, about the transformative health benefits of creative engagement. Fancourt presents compelling evidence that participating in arts and cultural activities—from music and theatre to dancing and crafts—improves mental and physical health, lowers inflammation, and even reduces mortality risk in older adults by 31 percent. She challenges the notion that creativity is a luxury, arguing it should be seen as essential as exercise, and warns that screen-based 'junk' art cannot replicate face-to-face creative experiences.

In this bitesize episode, Dr. Rangan Chatterjee revisits a clip from his earlier conversation with Jonny Miller, founder of Nervous System Mastery. Miller explains that many people live with chronically dysregulated nervous systems, mistaking this heightened reactive state for normal. Research suggests the nervous system acts as a lens shaping our perception of reality; when that lens is out of balance, we perceive threats that aren’t there and react disproportionately. Learning to work with the body can change how we respond to stress, reduce reactivity, and restore a deeper sense of calm.

Dr Jen Unwin, a clinical psychologist and food addiction researcher, explains why sugar and ultra-processed foods create genuine addictive patterns in vulnerable people—activating the same brain reward centers as nicotine and alcohol. She introduces the CRAVED self-assessment tool to identify problematic food relationships, discusses why willpower alone fails against modern food engineering, and provides practical strategies for regaining control through environmental design and cold turkey vs. moderation approaches.

A condensed clip from Dr Chatterjee's earlier deep-dive with neuroscientist Dr Tommy Wood on caffeine's effects across energy, focus, sleep, stress, and performance. The episode cuts through common misconceptions by exploring how timing, dose, and individual variation matter far more than simple 'good vs. bad' narratives. Wood offers practical guidance for finding your personal caffeine sweet spot.

This podcast could change the way you think about every goal you’ve set, every relationship you’re struggling with – and every story you tell yourself about what you’re capable of. It all comes down to something most of us have never thought to question: our beliefs.

Dr. Rangan Chatterjee talks with author Nir Eyal about his new book Beyond Belief. Nir explains that our brains never perceive reality directly—they filter everything through preexisting beliefs, often without our awareness. He argues that beliefs are not truths but tools we can choose, and he shares practical strategies for identifying limiting beliefs and reframing them. The conversation also covers why persistence predicts success better than talent, the crucial difference between pain and suffering, and why positive thinking might not work as well as we think.

Zen Buddhist teacher and author Haemin Sunim discusses how we always have a choice in how we interpret and respond to life's challenges, even when things don't go our way. This bitesize episode, drawn from a longer conversation, explores the crucially important notion that difficult times offer opportunities for growth and unexpected joy.

Dr Jenna Macciochi, a leading UK immunologist, reframes immunity as your body's master wellness system—not just a defense against colds. She explores how chronic stress, relationships, and daily habits send signals to your immune system, why midlife is a biological turning point where protective genes shift against you, and practical strategies from her own transformation (meditation, self-compassion, jiu-jitsu) that rewired her nervous system. The conversation challenges the obsession with lifespan in favor of what she calls 'soulspan'—the quality of years lived.

Most of us only think about our immune system when we're ill. But what if it's actually the single most important system shaping your health and longevity? In this episode, Dr Jenna Macciochi makes a powerful case for rethinking immunity.

Today’s guest passionately believes that the decisions we make every day about what we eat have a huge influence on our overall health. Feel Better Live More Bitesize is my weekly podcast for your mind, body, and heart.

What if the secret to great health, more energy and feeling happier isn’t a diet, a fitness routine or a supplement – but the quality of your relationships?

When was the last time you did something just for joy? “Research shows that a lack of pleasure is central to poor mental health.” – Dr. Camilla Nord Feel Better Live More Bitesize is my weekly podcast for your mind, body, and heart.

Listening to this conversation could help you sleep better, quit snoring, and wake refreshed. You’ll learn a simple trick to stop anxiety in its tracks, and find out how to keep asthma and high blood pressure in check. And the secret to all these health gains?

As you may know, all throughout March, I have been releasing short 10-minute meditations from Henry Shukman every single Sunday to inspire you to join our 30-day meditation challenge with The Way.

Many of us feel under constant pressure to optimise every moment, to become more efficient, more productive and somehow more worthy. But what if embracing our limits could be the key to living a calmer, more meaningful life?

Do you believe there’s something inside you that knows who you really are? It knows what kind of life you're meant to live, the type of work that lights you up, and what your soul is asking of you? In this episode, you'll learn how to start listening to it.

Throughout March, our community has been building a simple, daily meditation habit. And if you haven’t started yet, don’t worry. There’s still plenty of time to join us. How about trying a super-simple, easy-to-follow meditation right now?

Are you trying to create better habits and quit those that don’t serve you? Feel Better Live More Bitesize is my weekly podcast for your mind, body, and heart. Each week I’ll be featuring inspirational stories and practical tips from some of my former guests.

This podcast contains some of the simplest, most effective advice on brain health you will ever hear. It explains why the cognitive decline we expect with age isn’t inevitable at all. And why up to 70 percent of cases of dementia are, in fact, preventable.

All through March, our community has been building a simple daily meditation habit — and if you haven’t started yet, there’s still plenty of time to join us. Here’s a beautiful meditation from Henry, just for the Feel Better, Live More community.

Many of the habits and reactions that shape our adult lives began as clever coping strategies in childhood. While they once helped us survive difficult situations, they can later limit our relationships and happiness. By becoming aware of these patterns, we can start to change them.

Most of us are quite comfortable with change when we’ve chosen it: a new job, new home or new relationship. It’s the unwanted, unexpected changes that tend to floor us - like an illness, loss or breakup - that leave us wondering who we are and how on earth we’re meant to go on.

In this special episode of my Feel Better, Live More podcast - the second in the series - I’m inviting you to join me for something that has truly transformed my own life. I am a big believer in the transformative power of meditation.

We are living in the middle of a stress epidemic – the World Health Organization calls stress ‘the health epidemic of the twenty-first century’. Chronic stress can have a huge impact on physical and emotional health.

NHS GP Dr. Gemma Newman shares six evidence-based habits from her book Get Well Stay Well: plant-rich eating, daily movement, quality sleep, stress management, meaningful connection, and time in nature. Her clinical experience shows these habits reverse chronic disease.

In a world of constant noise, stimulation and busyness, meditation is often framed as another self-improvement tool – something to calm us down, make us more productive or fix what feels broken. But this week’s returning guest believes that this way of thinking completely misses the point.

I am a big believer in the transformative power of meditation. I also know how hard it can be to start and stick to a daily practice in our busy, modern world.

Why has nutrition – something that should be so simple – become so complicated? With 70% of our diet now consisting of ultra-processed foods and conflicting advice everywhere we look, is it any wonder we’re confused about what to eat?

Walking is something most of us take for granted. We do it to get from A to B, we track our steps on our phones, we might even use it as a bit of exercise. But what if walking is far more than that? What if, quite literally, your life depends on it?

What’s holding you back in life at the moment? Is there a problem – be it practical or emotional, to do with your health, relationships, work, finance or anything else – that seems insurmountable?

Most of us spend our lives in conversation – yet very few of us are ever taught how to communicate well. Whether it’s with our partners, colleagues, family or friends, we often assume that being heard is the same as being understood.

What if the secret to living well into your 80s and 90s is nothing to do with your DNA? What if the longevity hackers have got it wrong, and it’s actually far more simple than you think to become a ‘super ager’? We all want to live a long, happy and healthy life.

What is it that really makes us healthy? Is it regular trips to the doctor, a swift diagnosis, and medicine when we need it? Or do we need a more holistic approach? Today’s guest believes it is the latter. Dr Gemma Newman has been a family doctor in the NHS for 20 years.

Why do we find it so hard to exercise despite knowing how good it is for us? Feel Better Live More Bitesize is my weekly podcast for your mind, body, and heart. Each week I’ll be featuring inspirational stories and practical tips from some of my former guests.

Neuroscientist Daniel Levitin on how music affects the brain: it activates more brain regions simultaneously than any other activity, reduces cortisol, increases dopamine, and can improve outcomes in pain management, dementia, and surgery recovery.

Music is medicine. It has the power to heal us. And today’s guest knows it’s something we can self-prescribe, for free, whenever we want to benefit. Dr Daniel Levitin is a neuroscientist, cognitive psychologist and bestselling author.

Mel Robbins is one of the most sort after motivational speakers in the world. Her TED talk has been viewed almost 27 million times and she's also the best-selling author of several books, including her latest one, The High Five Habit: Take Control of Your Life With One Simple Habit.

Is your ‘healthy’ breakfast actually dessert in disguise? Why is it that so many of us are struggling these days with our metabolic health? Today’s clip is from episode 545 with medical doctor and best-selling author Dr Mark Hyman.

When it comes to feeling better, many of us instinctively start with our minds. We think about our thoughts, our beliefs, our stress levels.

Longevity is a hot topic these days. We’re obsessed with anti-ageing, as if getting older should be avoided or even reversed at all costs! Of course, we can’t do that and I’m not sure we’d really want to.

Why is it that 80% of New Year’s Resolutions fail? In my opinion, it is because many of us are taking the wrong approach. But, if you take the correct approach it is absolutely possible to make meaningful changes in your life that actually last.

When it comes to improving our health and fitness, most of us have absorbed the same message: work harder, push more, sweat more – basically, that no pain means no gain. But what if that story is not only wrong, what if it is actually holding you back?

Oliver Burkeman on why the belief that life will feel easier once we clear our to-do list is a persistent illusion. Four Thousand Weeks philosophy: embrace finitude, stop trying to optimize time, and choose what matters instead of doing everything.

Dr. Darshan Shah shares the daily habits of his longevity patients who are aging exceptionally: morning sunlight, cold exposure, time-restricted eating, diverse plant intake, strength training, and consistent sleep schedule.

Trial lawyer Jefferson Fisher shares communication strategies for conflict, confrontation, and difficult conversations. How to stay calm when provoked, set boundaries without aggression, and speak with authority without raising your voice.

Solo episode where Chatterjee shares five evidence-based habits for a reset: morning sunlight, daily movement, connection rituals, an evening wind-down routine, and a weekly 'whitespace' block for reflection and restoration.

Dr. Eric Topol discusses his research on 'super agers' — people in their 80s and 90s with the cognitive function of 50-year-olds. What distinguishes them: social engagement, physical activity, cognitive challenge, and purpose — not supplements or exotic interventions.

Dr. Kristin Neff explains why self-compassion — treating yourself with the same kindness you'd offer a friend — is more effective than self-criticism for motivation, resilience, and mental health. Her research shows self-compassion reduces cortisol, anxiety, and depression.

Mel Robbins discusses her #1 NYT bestseller The Let Them Theory — a framework for releasing the need to control others' behavior. The 'Let Them' approach reduces stress by focusing only on what you can control.

Mel Robbins returns to discuss her bestselling book The Let Them Theory and how letting go of control over others transforms stress, relationships, and inner peace.

Dr. Howard Schubiner on the neuroplastic model of chronic pain: the brain generates pain signals even after tissue healing is complete. His Unlearn Your Pain program uses psychological techniques to retrain the brain and eliminate pain that has no structural cause.

New Year solo episode where Chatterjee addresses 'expert overload' — the paralysis caused by conflicting health advice. His antidote: simplify to the fundamentals, start with one change, and build consistency before adding complexity.

Year-end compilation of the 13 most impactful ideas from 2024's episodes: the Let Them Theory, eating 30 plants, morning sunlight, sleep consistency, UPF reduction, and more — distilled into an actionable framework for the year ahead.

Solo episode reframing stress: it's not events that cause stress — it's the gap between expectations and reality. Chatterjee's clinical framework: identify the type of stress (physical, mental, emotional, social), then apply the right pillar intervention.

Solo episode on nasal breathing: why breathing through the nose is superior to mouth breathing for sleep, exercise, stress management, and dental health. The science of nitric oxide production in the nasal passages and its systemic effects.

Solo episode on micro-stresses: the small, unnoticed stressors (email notifications, unresolved conversations, cluttered environments, decision fatigue) that individually seem trivial but cumulatively produce chronic stress activation.

Solo episode arguing that relationship quality is the most undervalued health metric. The Harvard Study of Adult Development's 80+ year finding: the quality of your relationships at 50 is a better predictor of health at 80 than cholesterol, blood pressure, or genetics.

Biochemist Jessie Inchauspé (Glucose Goddess) shares practical hacks for flattening blood sugar curves: eat fiber before carbs, add vinegar to meals, walk after eating, and never eat carbs on an empty stomach. Simple changes, dramatic metabolic impact.

Solo episode on journaling as a mental health tool: expressive writing reduces rumination, improves emotional processing, and has measurable effects on immune function. Chatterjee's three journaling prompts for morning clarity and evening reflection.

Peter Crone on the subconscious beliefs formed in childhood that create invisible ceilings on health, relationships, and success. His framework: identify the limiting belief ('I'm not enough'), trace it to its origin, and rewrite it by experiencing evidence to the contrary.

Gabor Maté's fourth appearance on the show. Five lessons people learn too late: authenticity over approval, curiosity over judgment, presence over productivity, compassion over control, and connection over achievement. Why longevity without quality is meaningless.

Dr. Matthew Walker returns to explain why sleep is the single most important health behavior: every system in the body degrades when sleep is insufficient. The link between sleep deprivation and Alzheimer's, cancer, obesity, and mental illness.

Dr. Gabor Mate returns for his fourth appearance to discuss the five regrets of the dying, why we should stop trying to extend lifespan at the expense of lived experience, and how curiosity leads to compassion.

Tim Spector returns to discuss his latest research on personalized nutrition: why the same food affects different people differently, the 30-plant challenge, fermented foods for gut diversity, and why the 'healthy eating' advice most people follow is outdated.

35th-generation Shaolin Master Shi Heng Yi on the five hindrances to self-mastery: sensual desire, ill will, dullness, restlessness, and doubt. How physical discipline creates mental clarity, and why the body is the gateway to the mind.

Prof. Russell Foster on circadian neuroscience: why body clock disruption causes disease, the truth about sleep supplements, why separate beds may improve both sleep and relationships, and the surprising link between sleep timing and mental health.

Dr. Chris van Tulleken explains the UPF crisis: 50-60% of calories in the UK and US now come from ultra-processed food. His self-experiment showed measurable brain changes from 4 weeks of UPF-heavy eating. Why the food industry designs food to override satiety.

Tim Spector discusses his latest thinking on eating well, including new data on fermented foods, polyphenols, and why he has changed his mind about certain foods since discovering his own personal metabolic response.