The Health Review

One in four adults in England is living with anxiety or depression. That's not a statistic from a bad year — it's the finding of the most rigorous long-term mental health survey in the world, and the trajectory has been heading in one direction for three decades. We are, by any measure, in a mental health crisis. And the treatments we have been relying on — antidepressants, talking therapies with months-long waiting lists — are simply not reaching enough people, fast enough.In this episode of The Health Review I sit down with Dr Kultar Garcha — Chief Medical Officer at Flow Neuroscience, and a GP with deep experience in mental health treatment. Flow has built something genuinely remarkable — a wearable medical device that treats depression at home, without medication, by delivering gentle electrical stimulation to the precise area of the brain that goes underactive in depression. It has now been used by over 60,000 people across Europe and the UK, is being prescribed across seven NHS trusts and over ten services, and recently became the first device of its kind to receive FDA clearance in the US — backed by the largest ever at-home tDCS randomised controlled trial, published in Nature Medicine.We cover:Why depression and anxiety rates have risen so sharply — and why young people are being hit hardestWhat depression actually feels like from the inside — and why around half of people who have it are never diagnosedWhat's happening in the brain during depression — the prediction engine, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and why it's the key targetHow Flow works — transcranial direct current stimulation explained in plain terms, and what it actually feels like to use itThe Nature Medicine trial — 57.5% of patients in remission at 10 weeks, with responses beginning as early as three weeksWhy 67% of patients already on antidepressants achieved remission when they added FlowThe NHS results — including an 80% reduction in depression symptoms and up to 75% drop in suicidal ideation in crisis servicesThe side effect profile compared to SSRIs — and what Dr Kultar wasn't told about antidepressant side effects during his own medical trainingWhy some people feel trapped on antidepressants and can't get off them — and what alternatives now existThis episode is for you if:You or someone you love has struggled with depression or anxiety and hasn't found the right treatment. You've been on antidepressants and want to understand your options. Or you're simply curious about where mental health treatment is heading and why brain stimulation technology is one of the most exciting frontiers in medicine right now.About Dr Kultar Garcha:Dr Kultar Garcha is Chief Medical Officer at Flow Neuroscience and a practising GP with extensive experience in mental health treatment. He oversees all real-world evidence and safety data at Flow and is currently leading research into Flow's applications for women's mental health including perimenopause, postnatal depression and PMDD.This episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult your own clinician before making changes to your health or treatment.Visit Flow Neuroscience: https://www.flowneuroscience.com/Use the code THEHEALTHREVIEW for 15% off the Flow Device. Follow The Health Review: https://www.instagram.com/the.health.review/

Technology is doing something to us. Not just to our productivity or our sleep — but to our relationships, our identity, our capacity for genuine human connection. And most of us are only just beginning to understand the scale of it.In this episode of The Health Review I sit down with Dr Elaine Kasket — chartered counselling psychologist, cyberpsychologist, author of Reset: Rethinking Your Digital World for a Happier Life and one of the world's leading experts on how technology reshapes our inner lives. Elaine has spent two decades at the intersection of psychology and technology and brings something genuinely rare to this conversation — the clinical depth to understand what is happening to us psychologically and the intellectual honesty to say it clearly.This is one of those conversations that makes you want to put your phone down the moment it's over.We cover:How technology is deliberately designed to manipulate our behaviour and push us toward specific usage patterns — and why knowing that isn't enough to change itWhy we have developed a genuine psychological dependency on our devicesThe concept of attentional infidelity — being physically present with someone while mentally elsewhere — and what it costs our closest relationshipsWhy a genuine relationship with AI is not possible — the absence of reciprocity and what that means for the millions of people forming emotional bonds with AI companionsThe fundamental human needs that technology exploits — to be seen, to feel important, to know that our thoughts and feelings matter to someoneWhat research shows happens to infants when a parent's attention is captured by a phone — and why it matters more than we realiseWhy serving others remains one of the most powerful sources of meaning and happiness — and how technology quietly erodes our capacity for thatThis episode is for you if:You've ever felt uneasy about your relationship with your phone but haven't been able to articulate why. You're curious about what AI relationships actually mean for human connection. Or you simply want to understand what technology is really doing to the people you love.About Dr Elaine Kasket:Dr Elaine Kasket is a chartered counselling psychologist, cyberpsychologist and author of Reset: Rethinking Your Digital World for a Happier Life and All the Ghosts in the Machine. She is a visiting professor at the Centre for Death and Society at the University of Bath and has spent two decades exploring how technology reshapes wellbeing, relationships, work and identity. She appears regularly on the BBC, CNN, ITV and beyond.This episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult your own clinician before making changes to your health.Topics: cyberpsychology | technology and relationships | AI relationships | attentional infidelity | screen time | digital dependency | phone addiction | human connection | AI companions | technology and mental health | digital wellbeing | Elaine Kasket | Reset book | technology psychology | social media psychology | phone and relationships | AI and loneliness | digital identity | technology manipulation | human needs | meaning and purposeDr Kasket's website: https://www.elainekasket.com/Follow The Health Review: https://www.instagram.com/the.health.review/

So many of us think we can't meditate. We've tried it, lasted forty seconds before the to-do list arrived in our mind, decided we were doing it wrong and never went back. But according to today's guest, that experience doesn't mean you failed at meditation. It means nobody taught you how to actually do it.In this episode of The Health Review I sit down with Jillian Lavender — one of the UK's leading Vedic meditation teachers, co-director of the London Meditation Centre and author of Why Meditate? Because it Works. Jillian has been teaching meditation for over 20 years and has helped thousands of people build a practice that genuinely transforms their lives. Her own journey began in the corporate world, exhausted, running on caffeine and wondering why nothing was helping — until a mentor mentioned that meditation had transformed their sleep. What followed changed everything.This is one of the most accessible, myth-busting and inspiring conversations I've had on the show. If you've ever thought meditation wasn't for you — this episode will change your mind.We cover:Jillian's own story — from corporate exhaustion to becoming one of the UK's most respected meditation teachersThe three types of meditation — concentration, mindfulness and Vedic — and why the differences matter enormouslyWhy Vedic meditation is so different — a mantra-based practice the mind loves and that becomes effortless once learnedWhy you can meditate anywhere — on the tube, in a waiting room, between meetings — using either your voice or your mindThe most common myths around meditation — you don't have to clear your mind, sit still for hours or be spiritually inclinedWhy if you can think, you can meditate — and what that actually means20 minutes twice a day — how this practice makes your day so much more productive that you genuinely make back the timeSpirituality, essence and what meditation opens up when you go deeper into the practiceHow to connect with your true self through a consistent practice — and what that feels likeThis episode is for you if:You've tried meditation and given up, you think you're too busy, too restless or too much of a sceptic. Or you're simply curious about what Vedic meditation actually is and why so many people describe it as life-changing.About Jillian Lavender:Jillian Lavender is one of the UK's leading Vedic meditation teachers and co-director of the London Meditation Centre. She has been teaching meditation for over 20 years and is the author of Why Meditate? Because it Works. She teaches people from all walks of life — from complete beginners to seasoned practitioners — and is known for making meditation feel completely accessible and natural.This episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult your own clinician before making changes to your health.Topics: Vedic meditation | how to meditate | learn to meditate | meditation for beginners | types of meditation | mantra meditation | mindfulness meditation | Jillian Lavender | London Meditation Centre | why meditate | meditation myths | meditation and productivity | meditation and sleep | meditation and spirituality | meditation and burnout | corporate burnout | meditation practice | if you can think you can meditate | meditation for busy people | meditation and essence | spiritual practice | meditation transformation | why meditation worksJillian's website: http://www.jillianlavender.com/The London Meditation Centre: https://www.londonmeditationcentre.com/This week's sponsor, vagus nerve stimulator SONA has offered The Health Review listeners 15% off SONA. Use code THR at checkout or access the discount automatically here: https://sona.help/?im_ref=SkfXugw-kxyZWz0TwYRUY2%3AdUkuReuR-SzLO0Q0&sharedid=&irpid=7022575&irgwc=1&afsrc=1Follow The Health Review: https://www.instagram.com/the.health.review/

Most of us are incredibly busy, but busyness and productivity are not the same thing...and somewhere in the hampster wheel of accumulating more, achieving more and doing more, a lot of us have lost the thread back to ourselves.In this episode of The Health Review I sit down with Simon Alexander Ong — life coach, keynote speaker and bestselling author of Energize, published by Penguin and winner of the Business Book Award for Wellness and Wellbeing. Simon's own journey began in the corporate world — until burnout forced him to stop and ask some very different questions about how he was actually living. What he discovered on the other side became the foundation for one of the most compelling frameworks for human performance and personal fulfilment I've come across.This is a conversation about slowing down enough to know yourself, about the difference between a life lived on autopilot and one lived with real intention, and about what it takes to stop watching your life from the shadows, and as Simon puts it, step into it as its 'main character'.We cover:The four dimensions of energy — physical, mental, emotional and spiritual — and how to tap into each of them more deliberatelyWhy being busy has become a status symbol — and why it's one of the most expensive mistakes we makeThe fear of other people's opinions and how it keeps high achievers stuck in lives they didn't consciously chooseThe alter ego technique — how figures like Kobe Bryant and Beyonce used a separate persona to access courage and boldness without self-doubtWhat it means to become the main character of your own life — and the practical steps to actually do itSpiritual practices that work — gratitude, solitude, and the power of spending real time with yourselfHow to get clear on your values, your purpose and what you actually want — and then do something about itAbout Simon Alexander Ong:Simon Alexander Ong is a life coach, keynote speaker and bestselling author of Energize, published by Penguin Random House and winner of the Business Book Award for Wellness and Wellbeing. He works with leaders, entrepreneurs and organisations to help them unlock their full potential through the intelligent management of energy rather than time.This episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult your own clinician before making changes to your health.Topics: life design | purpose | spiritual energy | four types of energy | energize Simon Alexander Ong | how to find your purpose | becoming the main character | alter ego technique | Kobe Bryant Black Mamba | fear of judgment | high performance | burnout recovery | personal growth | self awareness | productivity vs busyness | slow down | know yourself | life coaching | human potential | energy management | living with intention | autopilot living | fulfillmentFollow Simon: https://www.instagram.com/simonalexanderoFollow The Health Review: https://www.instagram.com/the.health.reviewSign up to The Health Review newsletter: https://thehealthreview.beehiiv.com/

The wellness industry is worth nearly $7 trillion. There are supplements for everything, gadgets for everything, protocols for everything. But how much of it actually works — and how much is just very convincing marketing?Nobody is better placed to answer that than today's guest. Eleanor Hoath is a registered nutritional therapist, wellness editor, writer and founder of The Well Edit — a research-led wellness platform bringing genuine editorial rigour to modern wellbeing. She has spent years immersed in this world — trying, testing and writing about everything from gut health to collagen supplements — and she brings something genuinely rare to the conversation: the clinical training to know what the science says and the editorial instincts to call out the noise.This one is fun, honest and packed with the kind of insider perspective you won't get anywhere else.We cover:Histamine issues — why they're far more common in women than most people realise and what to do about themCollagen supplements — does ingested collagen actually reach your skin or is this one of wellness's most expensive myths?Eleanor's favourite wellness products right now — the things she'd genuinely recommend and the things she'd quietly binWhy she's excited about the growth of the wellness industry — and genuinely concerned about the misleading marketing that comes with itGreen time before screen time — the phrase Eleanor coined in 2020 that's taken on a life of its own, and what the science actually saysWhy so many of us are craving calm and focusing on nervous system health in 2026 — and whether the industry is responding wellThis episode is for you if:You love wellness but sometimes wonder if you're being sold to. You want the honest insider view from someone who has tried it all. Or you're simply curious about what a nutritional therapist and wellness editor actually has on her own shelf.About Eleanor Hoath:Eleanor Hoath is a registered nutritional therapist, wellness editor and founder of The Well Edit. She specialises in gut health, skin and women's health and has written for some of the biggest wellness publications in the UK.This episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult your own clinician before making changes to your health.Topics: wellness trends 2026 | histamine intolerance women | collagen supplements | does collagen work | green time before screen time | nervous system health | wellness industry | red light therapy | wellness editor | nutritional therapist | The Well Edit | Eleanor Hoath | best wellness products | wellness marketing | gut health | women's health | calm in 2026 | wellness sceptic | functional medicine | health trends UK | over optimisation | digital detoxThe Well Edit: https://thewelledit.co.uk/Follow The Health Review: https://www.instagram.com/the.health.review/

Under extreme stress, the human body prioritises survival over logical thinking. Pilots have been known to shut down the wrong engine during a fire — not because they're incompetent, but because their nervous system took over before their rational mind could catch up. Sound familiar?In this episode of The Health Review I sit down with Michael Faulkner — CEO of NKD, one of the UK's leading corporate transformation businesses, co-founder of Moxie and someone who has spent 20 years at the intersection of human performance, behavioural science and leadership development. What makes Michael's perspective genuinely unique is where it all began — early in his career he worked with pilots, studying how human beings perform under conditions of extreme stress. What he learned there about the nervous system, decision-making and pressure has shaped everything he's done since — and it applies to every single one of us.Because the same thing that happens to a pilot in the cockpit happens to you in the boardroom, in a difficult conversation, in a moment of overwhelm. Your body sends signals that it isn't safe. And everything changes.We cover:What working with pilots taught Michael about human performance under extreme stress — and why it applies to all of usWhy under pressure the body prioritises safety over logic — and what that means for the decisions we makeHow to send your body signals that it's safe — practical tools for anyone in high pressure environmentsThe power of great coaching — why the right questions at the right moment can change everythingWhat makes a truly great coach — and why so many coaching relationships fall shortConscious control — how to get honest about how you're feeling and reclaim your choicesLife design versus autopilot — why so many people are living a life they never consciously choseThe Moxie system — what it means to design a life that feels as good as it looksWhy taking personal accountability is the beginning of every real transformationThis episode is for you if:You're high-functioning but running on empty. You feel like you're reacting to life rather than designing it. Or you're curious about what great coaching, human performance science and life design actually look like in practice.About Michael Faulkner:Michael Faulkner is CEO of NKD, one of the UK's leading corporate transformation and leadership development businesses, and co-founder of Moxie — a science and soul-based life design system for high performers. He has spent 20 years working at the intersection of human performance, behavioural science and organisational transformation, working with some of the world's most recognised global brands.This episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult your own clinician before making changes to your health.Topics: life design | human performance | stress response | nervous system | corporate burnout | high performance coaching | executive coaching | life coaching | autopilot living | conscious living | NKD | Moxie life design | pilot stress training | pressure performance | behavioural science | personal accountability | leadership development | burnout recovery | how to design your life | coaching questions | performance under pressure | fight or flight responseMichael Falkner: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/michael-james-faulkner-2912b539Moxie: https://www.mymoxie.co.uk/Follow The Health Review: https://www.instagram.com/the.health.review/Sign up to The Health Review newsletter: https://thehealthreview.beehiiv.com/

96% of UK adults don't meet the recommended daily fibre intake. Folate deficiency is widespread. And millions of people are taking GLP-1 medications without any nutritional support. We have more information about food than ever before — and yet most of us are not living optimally. In this episode of The Health Review I sit down with Dr Federica Amati — medical scientist, registered public health nutritionist, head nutritionist at ZOE, researcher at King's College London and author of Every Body Should Know This and the forthcoming The Appetite Reset, publishing June 2026. Federica has spent her career asking one of the most important questions in medicine — what does the right food, at the right time, actually do to a human body across an entire lifetime? ZOE recently filmed a documentary following a group of people who transformed their health by changing their diet over just six weeks. The results were remarkable — and Federica talks us through what actually happens and why the body responds so quickly when you give it what it needs.We cover:Why nutrition is ultimately an act of self love — and what that reframe changesThe ZOE six week documentary — how fast people actually feel better when they change their dietSchool meals and the drive to improve children's nutrition in the UKUltra processed foods in depth — why the NOVA classification system isn't working for consumers and what ZOE is doing differentlyThe first 1000 days of life — why what happens from conception to age two shapes health for decadesMaternal nutrition during pregnancy — what matters most and how early it startsThe father's nutritional status before conception — and why this conversation almost never happensWhy 96% of UK adults don't meet fibre targets — and what that's actually doing to our healthFolate deficiency across the UK population — who's most at risk and why it matters beyond pregnancyGLP-1 medications and The Appetite Reset — why nutritional support alongside these drugs is not optionalWhat Federica's new book covers and why she felt it needed to be written nowThis episode is for you if:You want to understand what food is actually doing in your body beyond calories and macros. You're pregnant, thinking about pregnancy, or you're on a GLP-1 medication and want to understand what your body actually needs right now.About Dr Federica Amati:Dr Federica Amati PhD, MPH, MSc, RNutr is a medical scientist and registered public health nutritionist with over 15 years of research experience. She is head nutritionist at ZOE, a researcher at King's College London and the author of Every Body Should Know This and the forthcoming The Appetite Reset (June 2026).This episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult your own clinician before making changes to your health.A huge thank you to our sponsors Vilgain, whose whole philosophy around clean, real food felt like a perfect fit for this conversation. Head to vilgain.co.uk and use code HEALTHREVIEW for 10% off your order.Pre-order Dr Federica's new book here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/482823/the-appetite-reset-by-amati-dr-federica/9780241833209Topics: nutrition UK | ultra processed foods | UPF NOVA system | ZOE nutrition | first 1000 days | pregnancy nutrition | maternal nutrition | paternal nutrition before conception | fibre intake UK | folate deficiency UK | GLP-1 nutrition | Ozempic diet | appetite reset | Federica Amati | nutrient deficiency UK | school meals UK | gut health | diet transformation | nutrition self love | how to eat well | ZOE documentary | Every Body Should Know This | The Appetite ResetFollow The Health Review: https://www.instagram.com/the.health.review/

Most of us spend years trying to improve ourselves. But what if the problem was never who you are — it was the wounds you've been carrying without even knowing it?In this episode of The Health Review I sit down with Soulla Demetriou — author of You Have Always Been Enough, trauma-informed somatic and transformational coach, and founder of Soulshine Retreats. Soulla's work blends Internal Family Systems, breathwork, nervous system regulation and embodiment practice to guide people through what she describes as depth-led inner work — and her book, published by HarperCollins, is one of the most compassionate and science-backed guides to healing from the inside out that I've come across.Soulla shares her own journey through anxiety, trauma and the long road back to herself — and what she found along the way that changed everything. This isn't a conversation about self-improvement. It's a conversation about self-compassion. And as Soulla shares, there is a profound difference.We cover:Soulla's personal story — from anxiety and trauma to healing and spiritualityWhat Internal Family Systems actually is — and why it changes the way we understand ourselvesThe inner child and the parts of us that are still waiting to be heardWhy somatic work reaches places that talking alone never canThe nervous system and what it means to finally feel safe in your own bodySpirituality, inner light and what it means to come home to yourselfThe difference between self-improvement and self-compassion — and why it mattersThis episode is for you if:You've spent years trying to fix yourself and still don't feel quite right. You're curious about IFS, somatic healing or inner child work but don't know where to start. Or you simply want to feel more at peace with who you are.About Soulla Demetriou:Soulla Demetriou is an author, trauma-informed somatic and transformational coach, embodiment facilitator and founder of Soulshine Retreats. Her work integrates Internal Family Systems, breathwork, nervous system regulation and somatic coaching to support deep, lasting change. Her book You Have Always Been Enough is published by HarperCollins.This episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult your own clinician before making changes to your health.Topics: self-compassion | inner child healing | IFS Internal Family Systems | somatic healing | trauma healing | nervous system regulation | anxiety healing | spiritual healing | inner freedom | you have always been enough | Soulla Demetriou | limiting beliefs | people pleasing | burnout recovery | emotional healing | embodiment | breathwork | self love | healing from trauma | parts work | inner workSoulla's website & book: https://www.withsoulla.comhttps://www.amazon.co.uk/You-Have-Always-Been-Enough/dp/0008403570Follow The Health Review: https://www.instagram.com/the.health.reviewInterested in receiving the coolest health and wellness news? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter: https://thehealthreview.beehiiv.com/