Feel Better, Live More with Dr Rangan Chatterjee

You might assume that how you’ll age is down to your genes. That your disease risk is out of your hands, sealed by midlife, and something to manage rather than change. But Dr Florence Comite has spent 30 years proving that assumption wrong. And for this conversation, she’s brought the evidence.

Florence is a clinician-scientist, Yale and National Institutes of Health-trained endocrinologist, and some might call her a disruptor. Her life’s work has been built on the radical idea that decline is not inevitable, it is detectable. And because it’s detectable, it’s reversible. Her new book, Invincible: Defy Your Genetic Destiny to Live Better Longer, has the core message that our health trajectory is far from fixed. By tuning into our body’s signals, and understanding our physiology, we can make targeted changes to improve how we feel, function and age.  

In this episode, Florence and I explore why the Western medical model – built around treating disease not creating health – leaves people in the dark when it comes to disease risk. We discuss why the type and frequency of blood tests your doctor currently offers is lacking, as well as what you should ask for (or seek privately) if you want to truly understand your health.

Florence talks us through the five blood biomarkers she believes every adult should know about, including one – fasting insulin – that your doctor is highly unlikely to check but that I agree with her is absolutely critical. And she explains why free testosterone is vital for both men and women, how it connects to muscle, memory, bone density, blood sugar and heart health, and why optimising it has transformed some of her patients’ lives.

We also sing the praises of continuous glucose monitors. We discuss what they reveal about your individual response to food, why two people can eat the same meal with different results, and how the order in which you eat your meal can change your health.

This is a conversation about taking control. It’s about owning your data, your trends – and your future. Florence and I share the belief that our healthcare systems need to move from reactive to proactive. In time, I’m hopeful that will happen. But in the meantime her clinic – and my own Do
Health app – are paving an exciting way for you to get ahead of the curve.

 

The Thrive Tour: Transform Your Health and Happiness, a live show: Book Your Tickets https://drchatterjee.com/live

 

Thanks to our sponsors:

https://heights.com/livemore

https://dohealth.co/livemore

https://hellolingo.com/livemore

https://airbnb.co.uk/host

 

Show notes https://drchatterjee.com/666

 

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.

Many of us spend time agonising over decisions, regretting past choices or wondering what might have happened if we'd chosen differently. But today’s guest believes this way of thinking is based on a fundamental misconception.

Today’s clip is from episode 537 of the podcast with Professor of Psychology at Harvard University, Dr Ellen Langer.

Ellen has spent over 50 years conducting ground-breaking research into the power of the mind and how our thoughts can shape every aspect of our lives. 

In this clip, she shares a refreshing approach to decision making that could help us stop overthinking, let go of regret and feel more confident in the choices we make.

Ellen is a wonderful human, full of knowledge, expertise and passion. She is the recipient of three Distinguished Scientists awards and the author of twelve books, including The Mindful Body: Thinking Our Way to Chronic Health.

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

Join my 21-day energy reset: https://drchatterjee.com/reset

Show notes and the full podcast are available at drchatterjee.com/537

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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.

Why do we sometimes react in ways we don’t mean to? Why does criticism land so heavily when others can brush it off? And why, even when life looks good from the outside, do we feel stuck on the inside? This week’s guest offers a new perspective on all this – and an optimistic way forward.

With nearly 10 million followers on Instagram as The Holistic Psychologist, Dr Nicole LePera has helped countless people see their lifelong patterns through a helpful new lens. She joins me to discuss her fantastic book, Reparenting the Inner Child: The New Science of Our Oldest Wounds and
How to Heal Them.

At the heart of our conversation is an important idea: we don’t see the world as it is, we see it through the state of our nervous system. Nicole highlights the signs that yours may be calling the shots, such as restlessness, numbness, disproportionate reactions and the constant need to be busy. And she explains how those patterns trace back to a part of us shaped long before we had the language for it: our inner child.

We explore how childhood adaptations follow us into adulthood, often without us realising, shaping our relationships, our careers, our sensitivity to criticism, and our self-worth. Nicole walks us through some of the parent archetypes from her book. And we discuss the universal choice every child makes between authenticity and attachment (and what this costs us later). Importantly, this is never about blaming, parent or child – acceptance of the past (rather than approval or forgiveness) is how we begin to change.

You’ll be fascinated to hear Nicole explain how trauma from generations before us may still be wired into our bodies, but we can break the cycle. We also discuss why conflict in relationships can be healthy, and why healing is a two-step process: becoming aware, and then making different choices.

The best part? You’ll come away from this conversation with the tools for change. Nicole talks us through her practical strategies, including the conscious check-in, the three body anchors, bilateral stimulation, and getting to know yourself through simple, mindful moments.

Whether you've spent years exploring attachment and inner-child work, or this is your first therapy session, I know you’ll find something here that stays with you. As Nicole says, healing isn’t about reaching an end point. It’s an ongoing process, available to all of us at any moment that we choose to join in.

 

The Thrive Tour: Transform Your Health and Happiness, a live show: Book Your Tickets https://drchatterjee.com/live

 

Thanks to our sponsors:

https://dohealth.co/livemore

https://thesleepreset.com/podcast

https://hellolingo.com/livemore

https://airbnb.co.uk/host

 

Show notes https://drchatterjee.com/664

 

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.

Many of us assume low energy is simply a consequence of being busy or not getting enough sleep. But there can be other factors contributing to how we feel that often go unnoticed.

I’ve decided to try something a little bit different as a Bitesize episode this week. I wanted to record a solo episode about the topic of energy because one of the most common things I hear from patients is that they feel exhausted or overwhelmed even when they seem to be getting enough sleep.

So, in this episode, I share a few often overlooked reasons that can leave us feeling low in energy, along with some simple strategies that could quickly begin to help.

Please note: these symptoms can also occur in a range of conditions, including depression, sleep apnoea, thyroid disorders and anaemia. If your symptoms persist, or if you have any concerns, it’s important to seek advice from a qualified healthcare professional. 

For Thrive Tour tickets and info visit: https://drchatterjee.com/live/

Join my 21-day energy reset: https://drchatterjee.com/reset

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.

Imagine being told for 25 years that your pain is incurable – then making a full recovery within six weeks. That’s exactly what happened to one of the case studies in this episode and his story is far from exceptional. Could it be that much of the chronic pain we accept in life isn’t evidence our body is broken, but a sign our brain is trying to protect us?

My guest this week is Dr Howard Schubiner, one of the world’s leading experts in chronic pain and the mind-body interaction. He’s spent more than 20 years working wonders with people who’d been told their pain was untreatable. He’s published over 100 scientific papers, runs one of the most respected programmes of its kind in the US, and his new book, Unlearn Your Pain, is set to transform how we think about suffering.

To kick off this game-changing conversation, Howard debunks some
common beliefs around pain, including the assumption that an MRI scan will accurately diagnose back issues. We talk about why bulging discs, degeneration and other scary-sounding findings show up just as often in people who aren’t in pain. And why the language used in scan reports can sometimes do real harm.

To explain this, Howard talks us through the difference between structural and neuroplastic pain. The key learning here? All pain is created by the brain, through something called predictive processing. In structural pain, there’s clear tissue damage so your brain creates pain to help you protect the area and seek help. In neuroplastic pain, there’s some sort of perceived danger but no real injury. Here’s what’s important: both types are real. You are feeling pain. The difference is in the treatment.

For that, Howard shares his five-part framework for reversing neuroplastic pain – and it has nothing to do with painkillers. He also reveals how the same principles can be applied to tinnitus, dizziness, brain fog, long covid, IBS, anxiety, depression, fatigue and more. We talk childhood, the personality traits that subtly make us more vulnerable to neuroplastic symptoms, and why women are so often the ones carrying the weight.

Whether you're living with a long-term condition yourself, supporting someone who is, or you’re simply curious about the communication pathways between our bodies and our brains, this is an episode you won’t want to miss.

The Thrive Tour: Transform Your Health and Happiness, a live show: Book Your Tickets https://drchatterjee.com/live

 

Thanks to our sponsors:

https://airbnb.co.uk/host

https://dohealth.co/livemore

https://thewayapp.com/livemore

https://drinkag1.com/livemore

 

Show notes https://drchatterjee.com/662

 

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.