Feel Better, Live More with Dr Rangan Chatterjee

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. But today’s guest brings valuable insights about what we can do, to make sure we age healthily and happily.   

Professor Rose Anne Kenny is a medical gerontologist and Regius Professor of Physic and Chair of Medical Gerontology at Trinity College Dublin. She’s the Founding Principal Investigator of Ireland’s largest population study of ageing (TILDA) and the author of the international
bestseller Age Proof: The New Science of Living a Longer and Healthier Life. 

In this conversation, Professor Kenny reveals that while 20 percent of ageing is genetic and can’t be changed, 80 percent is epigenetic – in other words, we have the power to influence how quickly or how slowly we age.

Her number one recommendation is having good quality friendships and relationships throughout our lives. Then follows a healthy diet, plenty of exercise, and reducing stress. So nothing too surprising, perhaps. But what might surprise you is just how far reaching the effects of these relatively simple measures can be – and how much what you do in your 20s can impact your 80s.

We talk about how to avoid metabolic syndrome and why it’s important to know key biological markers throughout life. We take a deep dive into the benefits of community, family, volunteering and inter-generational
friendships, and discuss the undercurrent of ageism that prevails in society.

Loneliness increased threefold during the pandemic, according to the TILDA study, and it’s left some people feeling afraid to reconnect. Yet isolation is known to cause inflammation, suppress immunity and speed ageing.

Professor Kenny believes we should flip convenience on its head when it comes to exercise. Instead of taking the easy option that means moving less, we should look at the ‘harder’ options, such as taking the stairs or carrying heavy bags, as convenient ways to build activity and strength training into our lives. She also shares excellent advice on sex and intimacy,

sleeping better, laughing more, and finding purpose all around you.

This really is a wonderful and practical conversation that is going to give you a variety of simple ways to play the long game when it comes to ageing. And the empowering message is that it’s never too early and it’s never too late to start. 

 

Support the podcast and enjoy Ad-Free episodes. Try FREE for 7 days on Apple Podcasts https://apple.co/feelbetterlivemore. For other podcast platforms go to https://fblm.supercast.com.

 

Thanks to our sponsors:

https://ag1.com/livemore

https://thewayapp.com/livemore

 

Show notes https://drchatterjee.com/619

 

DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or qualified healthcare provider. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website.

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.

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.

Today’s clip is from episode 506 of the podcast which was a solo episode I recorded to celebrate the launch of my sixth book ‘Make Change That Lasts: 9 Simple Ways To Break Free From The Habits That Hold You Back’. 

In this clip, I share a powerful idea that could help you make meaningful changes that actually last.

Thanks to our sponsor ⁠⁠⁠https://heights.com/livemore

Show notes and the full podcast are available at https://drchatterjee.com/506

Support the podcast and enjoy Ad-Free episodes. Try FREE for 7 days on Apple Podcasts ⁠⁠https://apple.co/feelbetterlivemore⁠⁠

For other podcast platforms go to ⁠⁠https://fblm.supercast.com.

DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website.

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? This week, I sit down with elite endurance coach Alan Couzens to completely reframe how we think about movement, fitness, and fat loss.

Alan is both an exercise physiologist and a performance coach. He has spent the past three decades working with a wide range of endurance athletes at all ends of the performance spectrum, from ‘off the couch’ fitness athletes to the very best athletes in all of endurance sport. He shares his incredible wisdom & insights on X and his Substack, ‘The Science of Maximal Athletic Development’ which I would highly recommend if you want to go deeper into the topics we discuss in this week’s episode.

Over the past few years, Alan has helped me to understand the critical importance of low intensity movement for health, performance and longevity, and in our conversation, we discuss:

Why the ability to burn fat at low intensities is one of the most important markers of true metabolic health

Why so many people feel they need to eat every two to three hours

How very easy movement  can transform your health, your energy, your mood, and even your performance, often more than the hard workouts you think you “should” be doing

The need to balance out the stresses of modern life with activities like walking and yoga

The importance of building a big aerobic “engine”

How best to think about intensity, strength training, VO₂ max, and muscle mass

Why it is never too late to start increasing how much you move and experiencing the incredible benefits

Alan is someone who I have a huge amount of respect for. Not only is he extremely knowledgeable and up to date with the latest science, he is also someone who has a huge amount of real-world experience helping people to improve their athletic performance and their health.

My hope is that this episode serves as a powerful reminder that the human body simply does not work as well as it could, without adequate amounts of movement and that it inspires you to bring more easy movement into
your life, in a way that supports your health for many decades to come

 

Support the podcast and enjoy Ad-Free episodes. Try FREE for 7 days on Apple Podcasts https://apple.co/feelbetterlivemore. For other podcast platforms go to https://fblm.supercast.com.

 

Thanks to our sponsors:

https://heights.com/livemore

https://drinkage.com/livemore

https://onepeloton.co.uk

 

Show notes https://drchatterjee.com/617

 

DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or qualified healthcare provider. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website.

My guest on this week’s Feel Better Live More podcast is Dr Robert Lustig, Professor of Paediatric Endocrinology at the University of California. He’s a leading public health expert who has long been exposing the myths of modern medicine and the food industry. His passion is communicating how sugar and ultra-processed food is fuelling the chronic disease epidemic that we are all facing today. Obesity, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, heart disease and so much more are caused, in Rob’s view, by the foods that we are eating.

In his latest book, Metabolical: The Lure and the Lies of Processed
Food, Nutrition and Modern Medicine, he outlines what he calls the ‘hateful eight’ – the eight root causes in our body that underlie all chronic disease. He explains how food and sugar impact on them and, most importantly, suggests strategies to counteract them.

In this conversation, Rob explains why sugar is so damaging and explains that just like alcohol, our bodies can cope with sugar in small amounts. But in excess will end up in the liver and ultimately trigger us to get sick.

Rob’s decades of clinical experience and research has led to his bold and compelling assertion that the answer to all chronic disease can be found in real food. His solution? To ‘protect the liver, feed the gut’. I think these 6 words are an elegant way of summarising the nutritional advice that all of us should consider taking on board in order to improve our health and wellbeing.

We talk about what constitutes ‘real food’ and how different levels of food processing are classified. Rob explains why sugar-sweetened drinks are so disastrous for health, particularly in children – and why diet drinks do just as much damage, if not more. 

We also talk about TOFI (thin on the outside, fat on the inside) and fascinatingly, Rob outlines the three types of fat gain that we can all experience: subcutaneous (which you can see); visceral (stress-related fat around the middle), and liver fat. It’s only the first of these that you’re likely to notice – but it’s the latter two which we really need to fix, especially as they’re already appearing in kids.

This conversation is full of mind-blowing facts and insights but it’s also really empowering and contains simple, practical tips that all of us can use to improve our lives. I hope you enjoy listening. 

Caution: contains mild swearing.

 

Support the podcast and enjoy Ad-Free episodes. Try FREE for 7 days on Apple Podcasts https://apple.co/feelbetterlivemore. For other podcast platforms go to https://fblm.supercast.com.

Thanks to our sponsors:

https://ag1.com/livemore

https://thewayapp.com/livemore

 

Show notes https://drchatterjee.com/616

 

DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or qualified healthcare provider. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website.

Over the past five years, it’s been incredible to see how the alcohol-free landscape has changed. Pubs, restaurants and supermarkets boast a range of appealing 0% options. We’re seeing a rise in alcohol-free communities, influencers, bars and events. There has been a marked cultural shift towards acceptance of not drinking – and that’s in no small part down to today’s guest.

Today’s clip is from episode 438 of the podcast with performance coach and best-selling author, Andy Ramage. 

Andy is the co-founder of the One Year No Beer movement, and since his first appearance on this podcast back in 2019, countless listeners have written in to share how they’ve transformed their lives by giving up, or changing their relationship with alcohol.

In this clip, Andy shares why he believes that removing alcohol could help you become the most productive, present and healthiest version of yourself.

He explains his ‘ambivalence seesaw’ – a framework you can use to work out your current relationship with alcohol and start to shift it. And he shares some valuable advice on coping with social pressure to drink.

Andy is motivated, passionate and full of positivity, and someone who describes a life without alcohol as a gift to yourself.

He’s not here to judge anyone else, simply to encourage you to try out the benefits - he has managed to transform his own health, happiness and relationships and wants to inspire you to do the same.

Thanks to our sponsor ⁠⁠⁠https://thewayapp.com/livemore 

Show notes and the full podcast are available at https://drchatterjee.com/438

Support the podcast and enjoy Ad-Free episodes. Try FREE for 7 days on Apple Podcasts ⁠⁠https://apple.co/feelbetterlivemore⁠⁠

For other podcast platforms go to ⁠⁠https://fblm.supercast.com.

DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to constitute or be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website.