The Doctor's Kitchen Podcast

Feeding children can feel like a minefield. When should you start weaning, what should you start with, how to handle fussy eaters, and whether certain foods should be avoided altogether? In this episode with Charlotte Stirling-Reed, we’re diving into the science and practicalities of feeding babies, toddlers, and beyond to help parents feel more confident and less overwhelmed .. like me!We explore weaning from the ground up, covering key questions like:✔ How do you know when your baby is ready for solids?✔ Should you start with vegetables?✔ Is baby-led weaning (BLW) the best approach?✔ What foods should be avoided in the early years?But we don’t stop at weaning—we tackle common struggles like:🥦 How to encourage kids to eat more than just beige foods?🍽️ Managing food refusal and picky eating (why toddlers reject food at home but eat it at nursery!)🥕 The best ways to sneak more fruit and veg into your child’s diet🥜 Navigating food allergies and safe school lunch alternativesThis episode is packed with practical tips, expert insights, and realistic strategies to help make mealtimes smoother and healthier. Charlotte Stirling-Reed, known as “The Baby & Child Nutritionist”, is a registered nutritionist, bestselling author, and founder of SR Nutrition. She started her career in the NHS before specialising in maternal, baby, and child nutrition. Charlotte is the author of the Sunday Times bestseller How to Wean Your Baby, an incredible book. Her latest book “The Ultimate Weaning & Toddler Cookbook” will be a go to for me and my family for sure!And here are links to some of the articles we mentioned during the podcast:Probiotics and Children, Kids eating fish, Kids throwing food, Vegan weaningNote: At one point, we said "normal birth" but quickly corrected it to "non-C-Section birth". Some people use "normal birth" to mean vaginal birth, but that can be a bit confusing because vaginal birth isn't always the "normal" choice for everyone.🎬 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

What is your gut trying to tell you? It might not speak in words, but it’s always sending signals through your energy levels, mood or even our skin. But most of us don’t think about those little signs as part of a bigger picture.And a blatant way your gut communicates your general state of health, is through the state of your poo! Quickly flushed away, many of us don’t take the time to examine our poop for signs of health, but if you’re interested in gut health, keeping a track of your stools could be more informative than any wearable or microbe test you can buy!Today, we’re diving into the world of what our poop says about our gut health with Dr. Emily Leeming, a scientist at King’s College London, registered dietitian and the author of Genius Gut.You’ll learn:What to look for in your poop and how to tell that your digestive system is working optimally.Whether the evidence for eating 30 Plants a week is actually that strongHow menopause can affect the gutHow long it would take to reset or ‘heal’ the gut after years of excess sugar, poor eating or antibioticsWe also talk about the superpowers of fibre. How it creates “an obstacle course for sugar”, how it can stretch the gut and signal to your brain that you’ve eaten enough and even how it can lower your cholesterol.🎬 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

We know that gut health plays a crucial role in everything from digestion to immunity, weight management, and even mental well-being. But what does looking after your gut actually look like in practice?In this episode, I’m again joined by Dr James Kinross a senior lecturer in colorectal surgery and consultant surgeon at Imperial College London, he’s a researcher, and author of Dark Matter, to explore the science behind our gut microbiome—and how we can take actionable steps to support it every single day.🔍 Key Topics We Cover:Should everyone be doing a gut microbiome test?Are daily probiotics necessary, or is food enough?Can our gut bacteria influence how easily we lose weight?What’s the link between stress, mood, and our microbes?Does a healthy gut help us live longer?But rather than just theory, today’s episode is all about practical strategies. We walk through what an ideal gut-health day looks like—from the moment you wake up to your morning routine, commute, meals, work stressors, and even how you wind down at night. Dr. Kinross breaks down:✔ The best foods to start your day for optimal gut function✔ What supplements to take (or avoid) for microbiome health✔ How movement, stress, and even pollution affect your gut✔ Why gut bacteria plays a role in breaking down food, recycling nutrients, and producing essential compounds✔ How gut health shifts across different life stages—from newborns to aging adultsWe also dive into some big health questions, including:🧠 The gut-brain connection – how microbes influence serotonin, dopamine, and mood💊 Post-antibiotic recovery – what to do if you’ve just finished a round of antibiotics⚖️ Weight control – how gut microbes affect appetite, fat burning, and metabolism🦠 Cancer risk – why are cases of bowel cancer rising in younger people?If you’ve ever wondered how to support your gut and why it matters, this is the episode for you.🎬 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

What makes a mushroom ‘medicinal’ and are they worth the hype? How do these fungi differ from the everyday varieties we cook with? On this week’s episode of The Doctor’s Kitchen podcast, we’re diving deep into the fascinating world of mushrooms with our expert guest Tom Baxter. From Lion’s Mane to Reishi, we’ll explore the unique healing properties of these incredible organisms and what the research reveals about their potential benefits. We’ll discuss their effects on cognitive function, stress, fatigue, and even menopausal symptoms. You’ll learn:🍄 How to source high-quality mushroom products to avoid contaminants🧑🏽‍🍳 The culinary and nutritional benefits of everyday mushrooms and their environmental impact🧠 Whether there is evidence that mushrooms can improve mental well-being and support immunity. 🔎 Whether you’re a skeptic, a mushroom enthusiast, or just curious about these fascinating fungi, this episode is packed with insights to inspire you to add more mushrooms to your diet and daily life.Tom Baxter is a farmer and founder of The Bristol Fungarium, which produces the UK's first organic certified medicinal mushrooms. Ever conscious of the unfolding ecological collapse that confronts us, Tom made the fateful move away from city life in 2008 to find meaning through working the land. After several educational years establishing his organic vegetable farm and two decades of largely unsuccessful foraging excursions he pivoted from farming and invested everything into creating The Bristol Fungarium, pioneering organic medicinal mushroom production in the UK.If you’re in the mood for mushrooms, one of my favourite recipes on the doctors kitchen app is the “Cashew Curry with Chickpeas and Crispy Mushrooms” or better still, type in mushroom into the search bar at doctorskitchen.com to see what comes up ;)🎬 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

In February 2018, Rebecca Devine, a mum of 4 children, was diagnosed with Glioblastoma (GBM), an aggressive form of brain cancer, and given just 12-15 months to live.Remarkably in 2025 she’s still here. And today we’re going to talk about her incredible story from diagnosis and treatment, to continual perseverance and ongoing health.I met Rebecca recently at a small gathering hosted by Dr William Li for the angiogenesis foundation, a non profit whose mission is to beat cancer by targeting blood vessels that feed tumours. And it was there that I first came across her story that I’m privileged to share with you today.Today we’ll talk about how Rebecca’s first experience with cancer was over 20 years ago when her mother was struck with the same diagnosis, and the emotional and physical journey Rebecca went on since 2018. We’ll talk about her blend of conventional therapy, diet and lifestyle pursuits as well as the novel vaccine based treatment that she currently uses to keep her condition in remission.Peptide vaccine technology is an emerging immunotherapy strategy aimed at stimulating the immune system to target tumor-specific antigens. GBM, is aggressive and resistant to standard therapies and peptide vaccines hold potential for transforming treatment by leveraging the immune system for tumor-specific targeting.I also firmly believe that the use of novel treatments combined with Rebecca's tenacity, mindset and unwillingness to give up is the reason why she’s defied all odds and is currently thriving.🎬 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🐦 Tweet me

I spend a ton of time exercising, but more recently I’ve wondered if I can direct my training to be as efficient as possible. If I’m going to spend hours each week on this activity, I want to ensure that I’m extracting the maximum amount of value I can from this time investment.Coupled with the new perspective of being a father, I’m also interested in staying as fit, healthy and mentally sharp as I can. That’s why at the start of 2024, I decided to invest in a few investigations to determine my level of fitness and direct my training for efficiency.On the pod today is Mr. Kiran Chopra a highly skilled Sport and Exercise Physiologist who actually performed my investigations that you’ll be able to see on YouTube if you’re interested in seeing me huff and puff, sweating away on a watt bike with my top off.Kiran specialises in physiological testing, evaluation, and strength as well as reconditioning. He has expertise working with both athletic and non-athletic populations and has a strong research interest in muscular physiology, environmental performance physiology, and blood flow restriction training.Today we’re going to focus our conversation around 3 tests that he believes are just as useful as cholesterol testing and blood pressure monitoring, which are RMR, Dexa and VO2 Max.If you’ve never heard of these, don’t worry we’re going to break down what they are and why they’re useful as a guide to what you should be eating and how you should be exercising to keep you strong and fit into your later years. Of course, the first uphill battle is to make exercise a habit, but once you have it as a non-negotiable in your week like myself, the next step would be how to prioritise specific types of exercise to make your training as efficient as possible.We also talk about protein requirements, how training changes as we age, the effect of exercise on our mitochondria, what we should eat if we train late in the evening and whether fasted cardio is better for fat burning.🎬 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🐦 Tweet me

In this episode, TJ is going to walk us through a single day in the life of your brain through the lens of 4 neurochemicals - dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins. From the moment you wake up to the way you wind down at night, TJ will guide us through the incredible influence of our brain chemistry and how simple, everyday habits can reshape our mental and physical health.TJ’s new book, The DOSE Effect, shares practical tools to unlock the power of your brain chemistry and create a happier, healthier, and more connected life. Available in all good book stores.We talk about the importance of “fasting” from your phoneThe impact of nature on our brainsPush up challenges to boost endorphinsHow doing hard things changes our physical brain and can help us stay more disciplined and motivatedCold and Heat therapiesTJ is a renowned neuroscientist, international speaker, and co-founder of Neurify, an organisation dedicated to transforming mental health through accessible, science-backed strategies. He’s worked with 1000s of people helping them break down the barriers between modern lifestyles and optimal mental well-being.🎬 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

Something I’ve become a lot more knowledgeable about after my training as a GP, is cholesterol. It’s probably the most important measurement every primary care doctor should know about, along with measures of metabolic health like weight, insulin resistance and blood pressure, but perhaps the least well understood.On today's episode we do a deep dive into all things cholesterol and cardiovascular disease with Professor Kausik Ray, Professor of Public Health and Honorary Cardiologist at Imperial College London and President of the European Atherosclerosis Society, and perhaps the most knowledgeable person I could talk to on this subject who has both research and clinical expertise in this area. We define exactly what we’re referring to when we say cardiovascular disease (CVD) and atherosclerosis. What that entails and why it’s important, being the leading cause of death globally. We discuss the importance of cholesterol in the body. Without cholesterol there is no life. Cholesterol is the precursor to our hormones, it forms the structural components of our cells, and most of our cells are able to create the cholesterol we require hence why there is no nutritional need to consume cholesterol.And, hopefully at the end of this episode you’ll learn more about why the trifecta of high cholesterol, inflammation and damage to the arteries leads to disease, what blood measurements we should all have to calculate our risk, including apolipoprotein-B containing lipoproteins, Non-HDL and Lp(a), as well as the strategies to reduce risk with drugs and lifestyle.I’ve done other episodes on specific foods and dietary patterns to reduce cholesterol, but this I think is a necessary episode to give the backdrop to why this is important for everyone to know their numbers.🎬 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

Going into 2025, we all want to make changes. But instead of focusing on new goals, and perhaps stacking more habits on top of ones that you’ve already got, or failed at before, maybe it’s time to break free from habits that hold you back? Perhaps this is the reason why you struggle to make changes that last?On today’s episode,  Dr Rangan and I unpack some of the concepts in his latest book “Make Change that Lasts”, diving into topics like minimal reliance. Rangan questions whether reliance on things like comfort, being liked and even experts, is actually holding us back from our true selves.You can grab a copy of his book online and in good bookstores.We explore concepts such as reframing, not taking offence and even the courage to be disliked, which incidentally is the name of one of my favourite books by Ichiro Kishimi, which explains Alfred Adler's philosophy of not living to satisfy the expectations of others.Dr Rangan Chatterjee is one of the most influential doctors in the UK with over two decades of experience as a GP. He now hosts Europe's biggest health podcast, Feel Better, Live More, he is the author of 5 Sunday Times bestsellers.I think this is going to be a powerful conversation to hear and I hope you enjoy it!🎬 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🐦 Tweet me