The Doctor's Kitchen Podcast

Every time you cook a meal, you could be shaping your mood, energy and how clearly you think, as well as supporting your long-term brain health.

In this episode, we explore the links between diet, gut microbes, inflammation and brain health with Professor Tim Spector.

And we get really foodie, talking through a day of eating, from his go-to breakfast to easy midweek dinners.

Professor Spector is Professor of Genetic Epidemiology at King’s College London, a pioneering gut microbiome researcher, scientific co-founder of ZOE and bestselling author. His new cookbook, Good Mood Food, explores how what we eat shapes how we feel, think and age.

We cover:
How inflammation and the gut–brain connection may influence your mood
Blood sugar, brain fog and the debate around glucose spikes
Tim’s yoghurt and kefir breakfast bowl, with berries, nuts and seeds
What to look for when buying kefir
Easy lunches
Oily fish, omega-3s and ways to use sardines, anchovies and mackerel
Adding more plants and fermented foods to your everyday dinners
A two-week breakfast challenge and how to track how you feel

📌 Turn these ideas into delicious meals with The Doctor’s Kitchen app.

More from us
🎬 Watch the podcast on YouTube here
📱 Download The Doctor’s Kitchen app
🌐 View full show notes, including guest details, on our website
☕️ Try Exhale Coffee here
🥗 Join the newsletter and receive a 7 day meal plan
📷 Follow on Instagram
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Every time you sit down to eat, you’re giving your body information.

Compounds in your food act as signals that influence your gut microbes, immune response and even the expression of your genes.

That’s the idea we explore today with biochemist Dr Jeffrey Bland, widely known as the father of functional medicine. He co-founded the Institute for Functional Medicine and wrote The Disease Delusion, one of my all-time favourite books!

We bring the research back to your kitchen with four food priorities for gut health, immune resilience and healthy ageing: polyphenols, fibre, healthy fats and fermented foods. Plus, why we all need to eat more bitter foods!

In this episode:
How food can influence gene expression
The link between immune health, metabolism and ageing
Polyphenol-rich foods and why variety matters
Fibre and fermented foods for gut health
Omega-3s, olive oil and inflammation
Fish versus fish oil supplements
Bitter foods and how they may help regulate appetite

If you want to put food as medicine on your plate, try The Doctor’s Kitchen app for free. Every recipe has these principles baked in.

Dr Jeffrey Bland’s new book ’The Nourished Gene’ releases on April 27, 2027 and is available for preorder now at https://jeffreybland.com/

More to watch, cook and try 👇
🎬 Watch the podcast on YouTube here
📱 Download The Doctor’s Kitchen app
🌐 View full show notes, including guest details, on our website
☕️ Try Exhale Coffee here
🥗 Join the newsletter and receive a 7 day meal plan
📷 Follow on Instagram
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

👉 If you’d like help eating a more anti-inflammatory diet, try The Doctor’s Kitchen app free for 7 days.
Inflammation has become a huge wellness buzzword, but it isn’t always bad. It’s an essential part of how your immune system protects and repairs your body.
The problem is long-term, unwanted inflammation. It’s linked to heart disease, type 2 diabetes and other chronic health problems. And it may also play a role in how we feel day to day, including our energy, gut health, skin and more.
The good news is that simple changes to what you eat and how you live can help keep inflammation well regulated.
Today, I’m joined by Dr Jenna Macciochi, an immunologist, author and inflammation expert with over 20 years of experience.
We walk through:
What inflammation actually is and why everyone is talking about it
The biggest everyday drivers of inflammation
What to eat to support a healthy inflammatory response
How light, movement, stress and sleep affect your immune system
Simple habits to build into your day, from morning to evening

🎬 Watch the podcast on YouTube here
📱 Download The Doctor’s Kitchen app
🌐 View full show notes, including guest details, on our website
☕️ Try Exhale Coffee here
🥗 Join the newsletter and receive a 7 day meal plan
📷 Follow on Instagram
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you want to stay healthier for longer, one of the best things you can do is lower chronic inflammation.
The great thing is, food is one of the most powerful tools we have.
So I sat down with Professor Rob Thomas, consultant oncologist at Addenbrooke's and UCLH, Professor of Sports and Nutritional Science, and one of the UK's leading experts in healthy ageing, to talk about what makes the biggest difference.
We cover:
The best foods to lower chronic inflammation
The link between inflammation and ageing
How to reduce your biological age
Why grip strength predicts how well you'll age

There are so many practical takeaways in this one. I hope it inspires you to add a few more anti-inflammatory foods to your plate this week!

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One of the most important ways we can impact our health, feel stronger and more energetic everyday and even slow ageing is by lowering inflammation. And the good news is, that what you choose to put on your plate is a powerful lever to reduce it, alongside improving sleep, moving more and stressing less.

So today I'm joined by Professor Robert Thomas, NHS Consultant Oncologist at Addenbrooke's and Bedford Hospitals, and Head of Integrative Oncology at The Royal London Hospital for Integrative Medicine, where he advises lifestyle, complementary and nutritional strategies to improve patient outcomes.

We’re going to discuss the 8 key foods he believes we should be eating everyday to optimise inflammation to help us live longer, healthier lives and protect us from diseases of ageing including cancer and heart disease.

Professor shares 8 longevity foods to eat daily to protect against ageing

OR
Eat these 8 foods daily to reduce inflammation and age slower

SEE SUGGESTED DISCUSSION POINTS FROM ROB BELOW.

🎬 Watch the podcast on YouTube here
📱 Download The Doctor’s Kitchen app
🌐 View full show notes, including guest details, on our website

☕️ Try Exhale Coffee here
🥗 Join the newsletter and receive a 7 day meal plan
📷 Follow on Instagram

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next time you look at the calories on the back of a packet or the nutritional breakdown of a recipe, remember that number doesn't tell you the whole story.

It says nothing about the nutrients, the quality of the food, how satisfying it'll be, or even how many calories your body will actually absorb.

To unpack it all, I'm joined by Professor Giles Yeo, Professor of Molecular Neuroendocrinology at the University of Cambridge, MBE, and author of the brilliant book Why Calories Don't Count.
We cover:

5 reasons calorie counting matters less than we think
Why "low-cal" doesn't always mean healthy
Why we don't absorb every calorie we eat
Why the calories in nuts, avocados and seeds aren't the same as the calories in a ultra-processed foods, even when the numbers match
Is fruit juice really healthy?
3 strategies to maintain a healthy weight

I hope this changes the way you think about calories and gives you a few practical ideas you can start using straight away. If you know someone who's always checking the calorie label before anything else, send this episode their way.

As always, thanks for listening!

Dr Rupy x

More from Professor Giles Yeo
https://www.wolfson.cam.ac.uk/people/giles-yeo
https://x.com/GilesYeo
https://www.instagram.com/gilesyeo/?hl=en

More from us

🎬 Watch the podcast on YouTube here
📱 Download The Doctor’s Kitchen app
🌐 View full show notes, including guest details, on our website

☕️ Try Exhale Coffee here
🥗 Join the newsletter and receive a 7 day meal plan
📷 Follow on Instagram
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.