Living a Life in Balance - PODCAST

The Hidden Impacts of Gut Health: Brain Fog, Bloating, Fatigue, Inflammation & More

• Abdullah Boulad

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Brain fog, bloating, fatigue, poor sleep, inflammation, and constantly feeling “off” are symptoms many people silently live with every day. But what if these are not just normal parts of modern life, but signs that the body needs deeper attention?

In this episode of Living A Life In Balance, Dr. Leah Austin, GP and Nutritional Therapist, joins Abdullah Boulad, CEO of THE BALANCE Rehab Clinic, for a thoughtful conversation about gut health, the gut-brain connection, inflammation, stress, sleep, nutrition, and overall wellbeing.

Drawing from both her medical background and her own personal health struggles, Dr. Leah shares how years of dealing with bloating and allergies completely changed the way she understands medicine and patient care. After realizing that simply treating symptoms was not enough, she began exploring a more integrative approach focused on understanding the deeper causes behind physical and emotional symptoms.

Together, they discuss:

• Why bloating and digestive discomfort should not always be dismissed as “normal”
• The relationship between gut health, inflammation, mood, and brain fog
• How stress and poor sleep impact the body more than many people realize
• Simple habits that can support long-term wellbeing
• What it means to take a more integrative and holistic approach to health

This is a grounded and honest conversation about listening to the body more carefully, understanding the connection between physical and emotional wellbeing, and rethinking what health really means in modern life.

About Dr Leah:  Dr. Leah Austin brings a uniquely integrative approach to restorative health and wellbeing. A UK-trained GP and Naturopathic Nutritionist, she combines the precision of medical science with the depth of functional and lifestyle medicine. Her 360-degree assessments explore every aspect of an individual’s health, from genetics and hormone balance to gut integrity, nutrition, and toxic burden, to uncover root causes and create truly personalized pathways to recovery. 

00:00:00 - Why Dr. Leah Austin Moved Beyond Conventional Medicine
00:02:18 - Treating Root Causes Instead of Just Symptoms
00:03:27 - Dr. Leah Austin’s Personal Gut Health Struggles
00:04:42 - What an Integrative Health Consultation Looks Like
00:06:00 - How Stress and Modern Work Affect Health
00:07:15 - Why Chronic Bloating Should Never Be Ignored
00:08:29 - What Integrative Medicine Really Means
00:10:08 - Why Gut Health Affects the Entire Body
00:10:18 - Healing Chronic Sinus Issues Through Gut Health
00:13:55 - The Biggest Lifestyle Mistakes Harming Gut Health
00:16:07 - The Best Exercise for Metabolic Health and Longevity
00:18:13 - The Gut-Brain Connection and Brain Fog Explained
00:20:43 - What Brain Fog Really Feels Like
00:21:51 - The Long-Term Dangers of Chronic Inflammation
00:24:45 - Why Gut Health Should Come First
00:26:33 - How Gluten Sensitivity Affected Mood and Mental Health
00:30:28 - The Most Important Habits for Better Brain Health
00:33:06 - Environmental Toxins That May Be Affecting Your Health
00:38:44 - How to Improve Your Health Without Feeling Overwhelmed
00:58:12 - Why Proper Breathing Matters for Stress and Health

Follow Abdullah Boulad: 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/abdullahboulad/    
https://www.instagram.com/abdullahboulad/   

Follow Dr Leah:
https://www.instagram.com/dr.leahaustin/ 

You can order Abdullah’s books here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0BC9S5TCF?ccs_id=c64f2588-7eb1-4592-b4d1-647a0f379b51 

Follow THE BALANCE Rehab Clinic: 
https://www.linkedin.com/company/thebalancerehabclinic/    
https://www.instagram.com/thebalancerehabclinic/    

#LivingALifeInBalance #GutHealth #BrainFog #Bloating #Fatigue #GutBrainConnection #Inflammation #Stress #Sleep #Nutrition #Wellbeing #HolisticHealth #IntegrativeMedicine #MentalHealth #Podcast #DrLeahAustin

Why Dr. Leah Austin Moved Beyond Conventional Medicine

SPEAKER_03

I was prescribing things and I felt that perhaps there's another route to helping patients in a different way. I feel that the medical system sometimes accepts that those things are out of our control. We can't change them. I had allergies, I had asthma from a very young age. In fact, I remember being bloated my whole life. I don't want anyone to feel that loneliness that I felt when I was ill. I can eat anything now and I don't bloat. It's amazing. If you are bloated, that's not normal. But we accept that as normal.

SPEAKER_00

What are we doing wrong?

SPEAKER_03

If I want to prioritize them, I'd say sleep and stress are the biggest things that we should prioritize. Don't be overwhelmed, just take a slow, systematic approach. Start, you know, implementing one thing and changing it and then move on to the next when you've got that done.

SPEAKER_00

Welcome to the Living a Life and Balance podcast. My guest today is Dr. Leah Austin, a UK-trained general practitioner and certified nutritional therapist specializing in integrative medicine, gut health, and women's health. I hope you will enjoy. Leah, what uh motivated you to do what you do today?

SPEAKER_03

I'm a medical doctor. So um originally I wanted, and it's it's a very simple, I wanted to help people, which is a lot of why doctors get into the field. Um, but I'm an integrated practitioner, and I became an integrated practitioner because um I found that when I became a GP, it was in the NHS in the UK, it was very much service provision. I was prescribing things and I felt that it wasn't the right, perhaps there's another route to helping patients in a different way on a nutrition and lifestyle aspect. While I was working in my with my own health, um, I I realized that I it's not something that I wanted to take, like a specific medication that might take one problem away and then give you another, if that makes sense, with a side effect. And um, so then it led me to study naturopathic nutrition and become a nutritional therapist as well as a GP. And um then I started integrating my care and giving patients really the care that they deserve.

Treating Root Causes Instead of Just Symptoms

SPEAKER_00

And what what did you learn the most from the uh naturopathic uh side?

SPEAKER_03

If I wanted to compare medical school to learning about naturopathic nutrition, it's really understanding the root cause of a problem and understanding how Bob everyone's physiological function, the way that they develop a disease and why they develop a problem.

unknown

Yes.

SPEAKER_03

Um, rather than when in medical school I was taught this is the the disease and this is how you treat it and potentially cure it, not without even understanding why did this occur in you know in in more detail and understanding which potentially nutrients could help support the body, whether someone's sleep deprived or the the stress aspect of it. It was kind of, I feel that the medical system sometimes accepts that that's thing, those things are out of our control, we can't change them. So let's let's make it better for them, you know, with a with the treatment plan that's available, which don't get me wrong, the treatment plan can be life-saving in situations.

SPEAKER_00

Was becoming a GP always something you wanted to be?

Dr. Leah Austin’s Personal Gut Health Struggles

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, I would say, yeah. My when I to be honest, when I was very young, my I had lots of health issues.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

And um, I had allergies, I had asthma from a very young age. And um my dad used to get his medical dictionary out, and he would play doctor. Although he wasn't, he was a jack of all trades. He felt like he could do anything that he wanted, I felt. And he would look after me. And when I felt really unwell, and I thought that I was, you know, I I when I'm ill, I'm ill. I feel like I'm dying. I need someone to take care of me. And my dad was there taking care of me. So I've that's what led me to. I don't want anyone to feel that loneliness that I felt when I was ill, and you know, when I was younger. Yeah, and that and I think that's truly why I went into studying medicine, and that's you know, I was inspired.

SPEAKER_00

How how do you understand today like medicine or treatment of um of individuals of your patients? Um is it like maybe traditional clinical medicine treating the symptom, or how how do you approach a patient?

SPEAKER_03

Um

What an Integrative Health Consultation Looks Like

SPEAKER_03

so I'm medical first, so I'll always tick the medical boxes. That's my original training. I will follow the guide, you know, the medical guidelines. And then um, once we've ticked all those boxes, uh, which might be blood tests, referrals, and specific further investigations, potentials prescribing medication. Um, then I would get into more interesting aspects of it and go into the lifestyle in a bit more detail, like digestive health, sleep, exercise, supplementation, um, family history. And then I would put it all together for somebody and go, okay, well, are you interested in this aspect? They might have come to me for a normal medical problem, expecting a quick, quick consultation. And they're thinking, why is this doctor asking me about how I sleep or what I'm eating? Is this really relevant? And it's really, it helps me get to know that person in more detail. And actually, I explained that to them and they they usually do meet me halfway.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, they do. They do, I promise you.

SPEAKER_00

I mean, becoming a GP is quite a tough thing to do. I mean, you have to work days and nights and train for years. Uh, it's quite tough. Uh did you always take care about yourself?

How Stress and Modern Work Affect Health

SPEAKER_03

Uh, good question. I would say no. Um, I always cared about my health, but I that I had health issues um, specifically digestive. I started getting bloated. In fact, I remember being bloated my whole life.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

And recurrent illnesses, obviously, I talked about asthma and allergies, but I also had gut problems from as long as I can remember.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

And then as soon as I became a GP, which was, you know, I was in the conveyor belt of training, I didn't have time for much else. When I was a junior doctor, I worked shift work. I'd work nights, long days, weekends. You know, there was a period I worked 21 days in a row. And, you know, when I qualified, I felt that I could then breathe and go, okay, let's look at my own health. What do I want to be? What do I want? What type of person do I want to be? What kind of doctor did I want to be? And that's when I started looking into more nutrition and health and trying to understand why I'm bloated, why is this getting worse? And as I was fixing my own digestive problems, that's when I realized, oh, there's another path to health. And let's look into this a bit more in detail. Let's go get some qualifications in this so that I can then integrate my practice.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. To take care about

Why Chronic Bloating Should Never Be Ignored

SPEAKER_00

yourself. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

And I yeah, and the good news is I'm no longer bloated.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

I used I was bloated my whole life, and I can eat anything now, and I don't bloat. It's amazing. And this is this is what it should be. People should be feeling that. If you are bloated, that's not normal. But we accept that as normal.

SPEAKER_00

Was it more like uh building up over a period of time, or was there a wake-up moment for you where you wanted to understand more?

SPEAKER_03

It was, I think it built up over time, but my digestive health issues definitely led me towards that. Even though I I fixed that problem, um, I wanted my patients to have access to that information too. And that's that was it that you know led me to go there must be more. Because I had been to the doctor. Oh, you're just bloated, you know, take this medication, you know, maybe you can try this, or just try some probiotics. And actually, probiotics helped, but I had to take them all the time. Now I don't even need to take probiotics for my digestive health. You know, they shouldn't, you shouldn't be dependent on something like that to help your

What Integrative Medicine Really Means

SPEAKER_03

health.

SPEAKER_00

You mentioned integrative health and medicine. So it's um I feel the the the term is all over the place. What's your personal take and understanding of it today and how how is it integrated?

SPEAKER_03

Well, like, you know, I said in the consultation within I'll do my medical stuff first and then I will look into the naturopathic side, the root cause, the I I blend it together. I mean, I don't feel I think this is medicine, in my opinion. Actually, this is actually medicine. Um, integrative, some people call that functional medicine. Um, I just I prefer integrative. I don't know why. Maybe it's maybe it's the way that I've been taught in the medical system. Um, I can't explain why, but maybe it's because okay, well, maybe it's because of I think they're just as important as each other. And they both bring a lot to the table. So if you take if I became just a nutritionist, you'd be missing out a huge part from the medical system. If I was just a medical doctor, I'm missing out a huge part of the nutrition side of things to help somebody.

SPEAKER_00

Yes. To to work preventive as well. So it's not just you you we have to do the intervention now, but also prevent the future issues.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00

So you have to combine them. And you mentioned you had your own gut issues. What type of gut issues uh do you see um happening in in today's world?

Why Gut Health Affects the Entire Body

SPEAKER_03

Everyone actually has gut issues.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

I think from my experience. Um, if you've got an immune system issue, you've probably got gut issues.

Healing Chronic Sinus Issues Through Gut Health

SPEAKER_03

If you're training and you're overtraining and you're an athlete, you've probably got gut issues. If you've got stress, which everyone seems to have stress, especially with today's technology, you've got gut issues. If you're not sleeping at nighttime, you've got gut issues. If you're eating the wrong foods, you've got gut issues. Um, from, you know, the fast food and processed, you know, additives, chemicals that we even wash our dishes with, it can affect the gut. If you wanted me to talk about a particular case, there's one that does come to mind. Um a lady that came to see me for a respiratory infection. She was probably in her 40s. And she came to see me for a I think it was sinus, upper respiratory, so sinusitis inflammation. She came to see me for antibiotics. And uh, she was getting recurrent sinus issues, and I said, Well, okay, I think it's a good idea. We give we should give you antibiotics. Um, but why are you getting these recurrent sinus issues? And then it just so happened she's got also gut problems and IBS. And I always think IBS is a, which is, you know, stands for irritable bowel syndrome, is an umbrella term, an umbrella diagnosis for lots of potential root cause problems that cause IBS. Anyway, we did a functional stool test with her, came back with some bacterial overgrowths, and we did um specifically a bacteria called klebsiella. So klebsiella is a bacteria that can feed off starchy foods and sugars. So when you eat starch, you become actually one of the bacteria that I had, so I know it well. And so you find that you can't eat beans or lentils or parsnips, and even potatoes, sometimes white rice, starchy, starchy carbohydrates, and you think, oh, but these are healthy for me, but it makes your symptoms worse and you're bloated, and it if you you tend to not be bloated in the morning and in the evening, your your your the bloating is worse. So that we tested her, it did come back with that. So we gave her, I gave her a gut cleanse with some botanicals, which included berberine and oregano oil. Um, and she and I got put her on a low carbohydrate diet for a period of time, which is about, you know, a month, not not too long, in the grand scheme of things, not too long. And her symptoms, and then a month of gut healing, you know, supplementation, and her symptoms went away. And she was she came back to me and said, I'm no longer in pain at night time. I've been in pain for over 10 years. And she'd seen a gastroenterologist, she's had an endoscopy. And I think that was very early in my um integrative practice, and that was a you know, that was a light bulb moment of this really does make a difference.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I I mean it was the proof and the feedback you get and the success you get.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, I mean, for someone to turn around and say that to you after they've seen the gastroenterite, they've had colonoscopies, and their symptoms were IBS, and that's what they've got to live with. And to actually fix that problem, oh, it was it felt great. It did feel good.

SPEAKER_00

But when you you were now listing what effect has on our gut and why we have gut issues, it seems like um all is going to the gut. Is this what are we doing wrong? What what what what are the lifestyle errors we are we are doing wrong and we should we should probably avoid?

The Biggest Lifestyle Mistakes Harming Gut Health

SPEAKER_03

I think if I want to prioritize them, I would say sleep and stress are the biggest things that we should prioritize. And um, then I would say time restricted eating. And when I say time restricted eating, I say you should be we should all be eating in a 10 to 11 hour window during the day. And our last meal should be two and a half to three hours before bed. This is this gives the body time to digest the food before it goes to bed, and so it doesn't hang around in the body, in the digestive system when you go to sleep. The reason being is that you're more insulin resistant in the evening, melatonin is released, you're getting ready for repair and sleep.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

So with when you're still digesting food, your sugar levels then will be higher because you're you're more insulin resistant. You're pumping out more insulin to try and absorb that sugar in the body, and then your insulin is going to be high overnight.

unknown

Okay.

SPEAKER_03

So insulin and sugar will be high overnight. So in the morning, your fasting insulin will be higher, and potentially you won't sleep as well because of the higher sugar levels in the system, and you might you'll feel tired in the morning due to the high sugar levels. And that will impact your recovery and inflammation in your body because those two key aspects of high sugar and high insulin cause inflammation in the body. So breakfast, then you know, protein-based, I say protein, fat, and fiber-based. Um, and then that sets you up for the rest of the day of like balancing your sugar levels and hydration. And the last thing is exercise.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

That's it.

SPEAKER_00

The last thing or most important?

SPEAKER_03

No, I would say the most honestly, I think the most important is sleep and time-restricted eating and reduce stress. Um, but yeah.

SPEAKER_00

So two and a half hours before going to bed, I should stop eating to allow the body to to digest, and then I can get into a better sleep rhythm. And um, when is the best time to do sport?

The Best Exercise for Metabolic Health and Longevity

SPEAKER_03

If it impacts your sleep and you go and you have to do sport, the thing is when you do sport and exercise, it depends on what type of exercise you're doing. The best type of exercise for improving insulin sensitivity is steady state cardio before breakfast. So the exercise you want to do is not HIIT training or high intensity, you want to do list training, it's called, or steady state cardio or fat burning heart rate zone in the morning for half an hour, 45 minutes, and then you want to go and eat breakfast. I would highly recommend not doing a hit or high intensity training exercise, although I know the evidence of, oh, it's really beneficial for you, you get things done quickly. I understand that. But if you are stressed and you haven't had a good sleep or good night's sleep, or you're chronically stressed, that's gonna burn, that's gonna open you up to injury and burn your candle at both ends. And a lot of people are. Yes. And the other thing is resistant training. So I'd say the steady state cardio two to three times a week pre-breakfast, improve your insane sensitivity, improve, improve um your mitochondria function, which is your energy cells that make energy from glucose. And then you want to do two to three, two, I would say two resistant training sessions per week to keep your muscle health. So that might be body weight exercises, like, you know, press-ups or baby press-ups or wall press-ups, whichever, you know, wherever you're at with your fitness, um, you know, lunges, air squats, plank. You know, you could do 12 to 14 of those and then do, you know, repeat that 30 seconds off and repeat that four times, that's going to take you 20, 25 minutes.

SPEAKER_00

Yes.

SPEAKER_03

Really easy to schedule in, even when you're busy.

SPEAKER_00

And all this helps with the stress levels or to manage stress levels.

SPEAKER_03

It helps with managing stress levels, but it also helps with insulin and glucose um levels and maintaining your muscle health, which is important as you

The Gut-Brain Connection and Brain Fog Explained

SPEAKER_03

age.

SPEAKER_00

When I when I think about the gut and gut health, uh, it's also inflammation is important. Um, how how do we build inflammations and how is it connected to the to the gut and probably also the brain?

SPEAKER_03

In your gut, you have approximately 80% of your immune system. And what is your immune system causes if it's stimulated, which or activated, which is constantly activated, to be honest. But particularly if your microbiome is not healthy, then you it's going to impact and stimulate your immune system in your gut, the receptors in your gut, and then there's going to be a cascade of reactions from the immune system, which is then going to cause inflammation in the body. If you eat, you know, studies have shown this. If you eat something like a you know, a fast food outlet, highly processed, um, lots of additives. If you eat and maybe high sugar as well, if you eat this, it has shown to increase endotoxins or lipopolysaccharide production. Basically, it's the cell wall from ground-negative bacteria from your gut. It goes through the gut wall lining and it actually crosses the blood-brain barrier and gives you brain fog symptoms, especially if you've got gut permeability or leaky gut. And leaky gut and gut permeability is a well-known thing. Basically, the cell wall has junctions and they they're, you know, if they and each junction is held together by zonulin. And when you have gut inflammation or poor gut bacteria, those junctions, and or if you eat quickly, or if you're stressed, or you exercise too much, or you've got lots of chemicals or toxic burden, those junctions or those bonds can break down and those junctions in the gut wall lining widened. And that is where larger molecules can get through the gut wall lining and then cause inflammation and stimulation of the immune system in the body.

SPEAKER_00

The inflammation is the body's reaction to that.

SPEAKER_03

So you could be eating quickly, so you're not chewing up, then the larger protein molecules can get through, and also um grand-negative bacteria cell walls which produce, you know, break down, and that can pass through to the blood-bone barrier to the brain and cause brain fog symptoms.

What Brain Fog Really Feels Like

SPEAKER_00

Brain fog. Well, how how is that uh what's that feeling and what does it do exactly in our brain?

SPEAKER_03

Makes us feel tired, yeah. Uh, inability to concentrate. And it's usually, you know, people usually want to go and lie down or uh they don't want to talk to somebody. It can affect their mood, they can feel really low as well during those brain fog episodes. But actually, I find that my patients who do suffer from that, they actually prefer not to eat, which is really interesting. Um, so they prefer not to eat, which is again gonna cause another stress on their body because they're gonna be nutrient depleted, plus, their body's gonna be working harder to maintain their blood sugar levels, and it's gonna increase the stress. So then it's gonna drive the issue of gut permeability as well.

SPEAKER_00

So, in any case, try to keep your body needs and nutritional needs. Um what if what if inflammation becomes chronic? So a constant situation of brain fog and uh the spiral and circle.

The Long-Term Dangers of Chronic Inflammation

SPEAKER_03

Well, you I think we've got to establish okay, is this a gut problem? Is there something else going on? Because there's other things that can cause brain, so brain. Fog. So it could be environmental toxins exposure, it could be stress, it could be sugar imbalance and dysregulation. So if somebody has got diabetes, or you know, they've got diabetes in the family and their sugar levels are running high, but they might not be diabetic yet. That potentially caused brain fog symptoms. I remember when I was so surprised I wore a blood sugar monitor many years ago now for the first time. And I expected when I had high sugar that I would be more alert. Yes. But no, I was really sleepy and brain foggy when my sugar levels were high. And I think that was fascinating to see. I think everyone should try a continuous glucose monitor at some point in their life to see how they respond to their sugar levels and how do they feel and what they're eating. Because everyone responds differently. But also you respond differently if you're in the stress state. If you're stressed, your sugar levels are going to be higher.

SPEAKER_00

Why is that so?

SPEAKER_03

Well, what happens is that, for example, if you don't sleep at night, your cortisol level is that it's best friends with insulin and sugar. So your cortisol, you're going to go to bed, you're not sleeping very well. In the morning, your cortisol might be higher. So then that does cause higher sugar levels in the body. So then higher insulin as well, which then affect that stimulate the immune system and causes inflammation.

SPEAKER_00

Can you explain to me how brain inflammation happens and what effects that has on us short term but also long term, probably?

SPEAKER_03

Well, I guess any inflammation in the body is gonna, you know, we always not going to be cro good chronically if you're gonna have years and years of inflammation. Then you've got you've got cognitive function, so maybe the development of something like Alzheimer's. Um any type of dementia that's available, brain atrophy, um, where the brain shrinks before it's time. Um you've got cardiovascular health, it does it contribute to cardiovascular health as well, platformation of the arteries, cellular health issues, diabetes, um, it's all going to impact things. And if you're metabolically unwell and you've had chronic inflammation, which is also also drives um cognition issues, then um the metabolic issues that have also been upregulated is also gonna drive the brain issues because we've talked about sugar as well. Yeah, and then that's going to ish um drive the gut issues and the immune system is gonna be ongoingly stimulated. So it all fits within it's all connected.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, it's all connected. And so you cannot just say you have to do this or that.

SPEAKER_03

Um

Why Gut Health Should Come First

SPEAKER_03

if somebody came to me and was like, okay, I've got significant brain fog, and that's what all they had, or and then maybe they've got gut symptoms as well. But I would you always start with the gut. That's your foundation, because that's that's where you digest food. That's that's your connection with the outside world. If your gut health isn't optimal, anything else that you do, like let's say you had uh some toxic burden, you know, from toxins from the environment, it could be heavy metals, it could be uh formaldehyde, it could be mold toxins living in a damp environment, which all impact health. If I don't, if I try and deal with that first and the gut is not optimal or your gut wall integrity is not optimal and you've got leaky gut, then you're gonna suffer worse trying to detoxify those, or you're not even gonna detoxify them well if your gut, because your gut is one of the detoxify detoxification pathways as well to get rid of waste in the body. So if that's not working well, then um then you know, then then you're gonna suffer more trying to get rid of the other things. So always work in the gut, always work on the gut first, then I would do environmental toxic load. And then you've got that will have a knock-on effect for optimizing your insulin um sugar response and also um also um yeah, reducing inflammation in the body. Hopefully, you'll then feel start to feel better. We'll be already working on your circadian rhythm and your sleep and your time-restricted eating. It'll all hopefully fall into place.

SPEAKER_00

A great example uh for looking at an underlying cause and not just what is the symptom, the brain fog.

SPEAKER_03

I mean, it's um

How Gluten Sensitivity Affected Mood and Mental Health

SPEAKER_03

well, interestingly enough, I say one case I can I can also that comes to mind is a middle-aged man came to see me with low mood. Not suicidal, but a background of low mood. Can't really understand why. He works as a coach in in consulting. And he eats reasonably well, he exercises regularly, he doesn't have children, so there's no stress there. He sleeps well. Um, so couldn't understand why. So we started in the gut. Okay, let's start in the gut and take you, you know, is there something that's impacting you from an immune system, an inflammatory um cause? And his actually, you know, what I did notice from his diet was quite heavy in gluten, which is, you know, bread. So we did the test and it came back. Everything was generally okay, surprisingly. Because I thought maybe there'll be something there, which sometimes there isn't, except for one marker, which is anti-gliadin IgA. And that's a marker that's associated with celiacs, if elevated in the gut. And his was elevated. So I was like, oh, that's interesting, considering, you know, you had, and I was like, that I thought that that might happen, but I did, I am glad that this confirmed it. So I followed him up, said, okay, looks like you're reacting to you might be celiac. Um, so we've got a few options. We can, you know, do a blood test, something called TTG. And the gold standard for confirming celiacs is actually continue eating gluten and go for a colonoscopy and a biopsy of that area to check your wall lining in more detail. And he said no. He said no, I don't need to do that. A friend of mine had a colonoscopy and he had a biopsy and it perforated his bowel. So I'm not going to do that. I said, Well, that's fine. It's up to you. You may be celiac, probably. So that means you have to strictly cut out gluten and see how you feel. Um, and if you do eat gluten, I think be aware that you might be celiac. And I can't say for sure whether you are, but you might want to bear that in mind because if you do eat, or it's an autoimmune condition, and if you do eat gluten, it can it has an inflammatory impact on the body. Um, and he found that he cut out gluten, he no longer had low mood, which was amazing.

SPEAKER_00

Is gluten in intolerance uh getting bigger over time? Have you seen any development or any statistics around that?

SPEAKER_03

I haven't. So I mean, if you stop eating it, does that mean that your intolerance gets worse? I haven't seen anything like that. Um if you had an allergy, that's different. So if you had an allergy to something and you cut something out that you thought maybe you were mildly allergic to and then you reintroduce it, then that could cause, you know, allergic symptoms to become more significant. So actually, I don't recommend cutting you know mild stuff out that you know, I especially advise somebody to go and see an immunologist and get confirmation from an immunologist and some advice from an immunologist regarding that. But yeah, you need to be careful with allergies, I'd say. Allergies that have developed from food.

SPEAKER_00

Okay. Can we go back to to the brain topic? Because uh it sounds scary when when I think about my brain getting smaller, probably. So, but it gives me hope that uh if if the brain gets smaller, we can also do something that it can get bigger. Is getting bigger. I mean, at some point it's it's it's a full size. But what's what's um what can we do to improve our cognitive uh capability and capacity and and um improve our brain health?

The Most Important Habits for Better Brain Health

SPEAKER_03

It does all stem with your foundations of health that we've talked about, you know, your sleep, um quality sleep, that is. So it might be worth checking how good is your sleep, because there's many things that can influence sleep. So check that. And if it's not, then you need to look into those things. Okay, well, why am I not sleeping well? Because some people think they sleep well, and then when you measure it, they're not having any deep sleep whatsoever, which is going to be negative for your brain. Uh, you need to have good deep sleep for the brain um to work well and reset your hormones the next day, too. Not having high sugar levels and being metabolically well, so three meals a day, enough protein with each meal, depending on your weight and height, uh, enough fibre to support your microbiome with each meal. I say no, don't snack between meals if you can help it. Not too much like coffee or tea, maybe one cup a day. Not too much alcohol. I would say try and if you can, alcohol is a toxin for the body. If you can, cuss it out completely if you're worried about the brain health or any part of your longevity and your function, I would say it's a negative. If you've got all days down, regular exercise, you're sleeping, your Mediterranean style diet, lots of amygas, good fats, um then I would look into your genetics and your detoxification pathways and your inflammation pathways and your gut health, and then your toxic burden too. So you might be very if you were particularly concerned, I would be like, well, let's look at you bespokely. We can look at the data, um, we can give I can give you some supplements to support brain health, but let's look at your genetics. Let's see what you what you specifically need and what you need specifically need support in. And certain detox pathways are upregulated and certain detox are downregulated in different people. I can theorize given your family histories, but I don't know unless I test. That's a cheek swab. And then your toxic burden, I don't know what you're exposed to and what your body's detoxifying. Well, you have to test to see what your tox if you do have any heavy metals, which we do know is associated with cognitive issues. And um then you've got mold toxins, environmental, toxic exposure, herbicides, pesticides, glyphosates, which could increase inflammation and potentially some are carcinogenic as well.

Environmental Toxins That May Be Affecting Your Health

SPEAKER_00

I mean, let's let's talk about the toxins and the environment because um what does it affect us in in our environment uh today?

SPEAKER_03

I would say um glyphosates, especially if you live in the States. Um that's in Roundup. And in the UK, I'm not sure if in fact I haven't checked. It was supposed to be banned in the UK as well, um, when we were part of the EU. And then it was postponed to last October, but I don't know whether that went through.

SPEAKER_00

Where can you find it? What's the thing?

SPEAKER_03

Glyphosate is a roundup pesticide, so it's a known carcinogen. Um they could potentially they, you know, we could potentially use it in parks or potentially food sources. Um, I know in America they still use it, but in Europe they don't. So that's one positive thing. Um, but yeah, I guess, you know, they if they're not using that, they're you're using other pesticides and herbicides. So um, you know, your food sources, parks that you go to. Um, other toxic burdens to be aware of in the home, you know, like things like new furniture, new mattresses, they have formaldehyde in them, new clothes, women that straighten their hair with keratin, that produces formaldehyde. Um, and they're being exposed to that. We do know that um hairdressers specifically have more oxidative stress and uh um volatile compounds, organic compound exposure. Because they use it all the time. Yeah, in which increase increases inflammation in their body because yeah, they use it all the time. So, you know, it's it is everywhere. And plastics, plastics are everywhere and everything. I think you need to, and water quality, you need to think about reducing your exposure. I don't think you can get away with it 100%, but you can do a lot in your home. You can, you know, from the washing powder you use, from the soaps, from what you put in your skin, from the cleaning products in your home, the water, you know, filtering your water well, um, avoiding plastics as much as possible, using, you know, steel tin containers instead of and or glass instead of and you even the pans that you cook with, avoiding nonstick pans, um, avoiding air fryers. Air fryers are, you know, they have a toxic element if they've got nonstick and plastic in it, because that's gonna give off that's going to go into the food that you cook in an air fryer, but it is high heat cooking, and high heat cooking um is not good for you either. So fried food um is not good for you either. So you really want to minimize that.

SPEAKER_00

These are chemical-based and and environmental. I mean, with with microplastic and water, probably I cannot do much about it.

SPEAKER_03

Well, you can filter your own water at home and avoid drinking out of plastic water bottles.

SPEAKER_00

Yes, that's that's that's something you can do. But you cannot eliminate every um everything out of the food and and what you drink, probably.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, you can do your you can I think you can do your best with organic food. We will all get exposure to something. And we can but we I do think we should be looking at minimizing those exposures in your home environment. To be honest, we should be as a country, as a world, we should be. But that's a that's another discussion on if that's possible.

SPEAKER_00

What about electro and magnetic fields and usage of uh our smartphones with the brain or our ear parts? What about that? What's their effect on our brain health or body health?

SPEAKER_03

Well, we do well, we do know phones emit the radiation or EMF exposure, and children with you know thinner skulls are impacted by that. Um and if they are impacted by that, it you know, we are also impacted by that. So certainly I reduce I reduce that um myself. I wear you know headphones, I don't put my phone next to my head. Um, you know, you you do have to think about these things.

SPEAKER_00

So the environmental fields were but there are certainly also differences between if I live on the countryside or if I live in a city.

SPEAKER_03

Uh you know, it's it I don't know what's better. I've thought about this because um, you know, in the countryside you might be living near a farm that uses pesticides.

SPEAKER_01

Probably, yes.

SPEAKER_03

And um, I have had patients who I've seen who became unwell moving to that house or that area. So it's either something going on in the home or it's the environment. So yeah. And you know, you can say, okay, well, we can spend X amount of money and test and then see. And some people will, and some people will go, okay, well, yeah, I think it is my environment, and there's not much I can do about it, and that's it.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. So you cannot just hide in somewhere leave the city and think uh you're you're free of any toxins out there.

SPEAKER_03

No, I don't think you can, unfortunately, unless unless as a country or as a world we really we really make this big step and stop. Stop what we're doing to the world. Because it's all of us, right?

SPEAKER_00

There is so much we need to care about, but but

How to Improve Your Health Without Feeling Overwhelmed

SPEAKER_00

what we should do.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. Again, don't be overwhelmed, just take a slow, systematic approach. Start, you know, implementing one thing and changing it and then move on to the next when you've got that down. I think the turning point for me is when I had children, to be honest. I have a two and a half, an almost four-year-old. And when they were born, I became more aware. And also, as you're pregnant, you are more sensitive to smell. So I realized I couldn't stand the perfume on washing liquids anymore. So that led me to finding a cleaner, less chemical, non-perfumed washing powder. And, you know, then I feel reassured that my children are safer. They've got no phthalates in them, which you know, phthalates are bad for you. We know that. Don't need to go into detail about that. But yeah, I did. I, you know, and that's where my journey for toxins and toxic burdens started.

SPEAKER_00

And so avoid toxins, improve lifestyles, right? That's what I'm trying to understand here. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

I think the the biohacking in the sense of, okay, well, what else can I do to improve my co-I've got everything else down. Let's say you've done everything, then the next step would be sort of going into the biohacking realm, which is we did a bit of that with genetics anyway, and supporting detoxification detoxification pathways for you specifically, which might be a supplement, which might be a food, which might be a type of exercise. You know, sauntering is obviously something that's very good for detoxification as well, and has been shown to prevent or reduce your risk of dementia, so it's not a bad thing. Yep. Um regular saunering. Um then we're getting into biohacking realms. It's like more is coming, it's very exciting. I think with the time of AI, I don't know, everything is happening faster. I don't know about how you feel. Everything's happening faster. I do think more in that field is coming. And um there's a lot of talk in the longevity groups about senescent cells. Senescent cells are cells in that are dead cells in the body, and the body hasn't cleared them, they should have cleared them, which can upregulate the immune system causing inflammation in areas. So, you know, for example, some people um develop joint problems and pain and chronic pain as you get older. Is that because of senescent cells not being cleared? Um, is it related there is senescent cell relationship with Alzheimer's potentially? So there are more studies being developed about clearing senescent cells out of the body. I do feel like it's coming. I do feel like it's coming. In the States, they're now doing total plasma exchanges, which does seem on the extreme of things, um, where they take your um blood out of you and they separate the blood and the plasma, and then they filter the blood and albumin back into the other side and removing about 75 to 85% of your plasma and also removing all the toxins that your body has is dealing with. What effect does it have on our removing the toxins, so removing the inflammation from your body that's upregulated. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Are there any statistics or proven uh numbers around the effective?

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, there is some proven, there is some proven data out there. I haven't got it to mind, but there's definitely proof they in the states um in presentations on you know the longevity docs that are doing it, there's definitely proven percentages of how much that improves um their toxic burden.

SPEAKER_00

Are there also some risks involved to that?

SPEAKER_03

I think there's always risks involved in anything interventional like that. Um I guess any break in the skin, that's um a risk of infection.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Um, but also, you know, you want you want to go somewhere that's regulated and competent and that does it all the time. You don't want to go to a clinic that's new. That's oh, let's try it out. No, you want to go somewhere that you're competent. But yeah, I I do feel, but I I don't feel that we should have ever got to that stage. If we remove that doctor toxic burden and the environment that you're being exposed to, and we support your detoxification detoxification pathways for your genetics, surely we can bypass and not need that total plasma restraints. Yes.

SPEAKER_00

Before we didn't never we never get to that age because everyone was probably dying at 40. So you didn't get to this cardiovascular diseases we we were we're having today, probably more than ever.

SPEAKER_03

Uh yeah, I don't know whether that's true, you know. I don't in that aspect, yes. There was d uh definitely an age where we died younger. But I do think that it's been proven that the toxic burden is impacting chronic health problems and Metabolic dysfunction is impacting. You know, we know if you develop a metabolic issue from diabetes, in you know, having diabetes, and then um, you know, you increases your risk of a heart attack or cardiovascular risk. Um, but if you remove that, then the risks of morbidity and mortality goes down. So yeah, I do feel like um it's not just aging, you know, it's just normal for you accept it, you're just gonna age, and you can't change that blueprint of how you're going to age. I don't believe that.

SPEAKER_00

But there is this new drug medication, GLP1. Um, what's your understanding of the current uh um research around that?

SPEAKER_03

It's an amazing, it's an amazing drug because it it works and it's so effective for weight loss. And that's what it's for. It's for weight loss and diabetic control. And it doesn't come without risks. There are side effects and risks to it, but there is some potential data which it shows it could improve also neuroplasticity. And I guess there's a way that you know it it supports improving metabolic function, which we've discussed already. So that's that metabolic function is improved. So is that the way that it improves neuroplasticity? Maybe. Um reducing inflammation. Um, so current studies are underway to look at that in in more detail. Yeah. Um, but it's exciting. It's an exciting medication, it's an exciting drug. Um, so I'm looking forward to seeing those results.

SPEAKER_00

It certainly helps with weight loss and and um and sugar level um man management. What about the the downside of it?

SPEAKER_03

The risks of taking it. I honestly feel that in well, certainly in the UK, but maybe elsewhere too, that the dose is too high for a lot of people. And there are there are licensed dosages for people to take. And sometimes people do not need such a high dose for the benefits. And the high I do feel that the higher the dose, the more risks and the more side effects are likely to occur. Um, so the main ones are pancreatic inflammation of the pancreas, but then you stop the medication, that improves and gets better. So it's only in the the medication will take about three to four weeks to clear from your body completely, but um, but it generally peaks after 48 to 72 hours of after taking the medication. So the you know, the the effects of causing inflammation pancreas are transient, so as it leaves your body, that will then get better. Um, constipation, slower gastric emptying, so you feel fuller. But if those people are already constipated, you've got to address that first. You've really got to make sure that they've got they know that they they need to be taking magnesium and potentially, you know, aloe vera or senna, you know, to help support their bowel motility. That's really important. Um and then I guess there's also a theorized risk of a specific type of thyroid cancer. Um, the studies were done on rats or mice, and I can't remember which ones it was, and um it did show that um they on a really high dose of a semaglutide, which is a Zempic or Wigove, that they developed a specific type of thyroid cancer. So it's contraindicated of those who've had that thyroid cancer, or perhaps maybe would wouldn't consider it if they've got a family history of that. But certainly I've not had any patients of mine develop any problems with that.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

And I think those are the major ones. Then if you lose weight too quickly, obviously you're gonna have loose skin, uh, low sugar levels, so you know, might make you not feel great, especially if not used to having a low sugar level. Um, and you're not breaking down your own fat for energy stores, you might be fighting, you know, you might then get symptomatic. Um, and then potentially gallstone development. But that's why you shouldn't be losing weight quickly on these. You should be, you know, losing. If you went to a personal trainer, they will advise you to lose a pound maximum per week. And if you lose more than that, then you're gonna be losing more muscle.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

So that should be the same advice on any weight loss journey, whether you're taking GLP ones or not. So that's something that that is not being advised at this time, and it should be. It should be part of the guidelines.

SPEAKER_00

How quick.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. And if somebody's losing weight too quickly, the dose is 100% too high.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. So training, muscle training, muscle training, protein, protein, enough protein, hydration, making sure the bowels are um, you know, the bowels are working optimally every day. And there are primary effects of the of the drug, but there's also secondary effects. So what you're mentioning now are also secondary effects we can take control of, like the quick weight loss, etc. Um fascinating. It also in the addiction field, it's been now also researched that it can help with addiction and um yeah, um, and yeah, for now, neuroplasticity was also a lot about lifestyle and and psychotherapy and and some some some other techniques, neuromodulation techniques, but now that it's also medication-based, um, I also found that fascinating and uh eager to see how how we will develop in that field.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, it's very exciting. Very exciting.

SPEAKER_00

What are the biggest um uh developments, changes you have seen in your patients in general, not just related to GLP1?

SPEAKER_03

If you come to mind, one lady came to see me um for heart palpitations. Um she was in her early 50s, and further discussion found that she wasn't sleeping at night time, she was awake every hour, and um she was clinically obese, actually. Clinically obese. And this is actually before GLP1s were you know available for um prescribing and licensed in the UK. And uh it she had a hysterectomy in the past, and we and I just you know discussed what was going on, what I thought was going on, and I felt that it obviously the obesity isn't not good, she's not sleeping at night. I wouldn't be surprised if that's also driving palpitation issues, and I knew and she also had chronic lump migraine. Now she wasn't here to discuss the other things, those other things became apparent when I saw her, and we decided to start HRT with her. Now in the UK, because she doesn't have a womb, um, and it that means that she doesn't need progesterone. So there's two female hormones we generally prescribe initially for menopause, and that's estrogen and progesterone. And I prescribe, I tend to avoid the synthetic hormones and go straight for body identical, which basically are the same molecular structure as your own hormones would have been. Obviously, you're menopausal now, so you're not your hormone production is significantly reduced, especially progesterone. Um, but she doesn't have a womb because if you just gave estrogen, um, which is the safest version of estrogen, is transdermally, doesn't increase any risk of blood clots, then your womb lining potentially could build up and cause something called hyperplasia and lead to something like endometrial cancer. And in the UK, you have to, you it's licensed and guideline, you prescribe progesterone, fancied progesterone, to stop that womb lining building up. So there's no hyperplasia, and because the progesterone stops the estrogen building the womb lining up to a certain extent, and then there's no risk of endometrial cancer, really zero risk. But because she doesn't have a womb, it's not in the guidelines to prescribe progesterone, um, but only estrogen. And currently, the guidelines, if you don't have a womb and you take estrogen-only HRT, there's no increased risk of breast cancer currently, as the data stands. However, she's not sleeping at nighttime. Is that going to be enough for her to then sleep? Pegesterone, we know is so important for bone density and sleep. It metabolizes into something called alpha and beta prognenodiol, and alpha prognenodiol attaches to the GABA receptors in the brain and really helps you stay relaxed and sleep at nighttime. So it kind of goes against the guidelines. And there's actually no evidence that micronized progesterone increases any risk of breast cancer, as the data shows. So I was like, well, I want you to lose weight. I want you to go on a low-carb, potentially keto diet if you're interested, because you've got migraines and there's evidence for keto diet in migraine treatment and management. So I want to do, I want to put you on, I want maybe want to give you a gut cleanse as well, potentially. We'll see how we feel. I want, and I want to start you on HRT. So I started her on both, and she did go on keto. Her migraines went away, her palpitations went away, and she slept through the night. Amazing. Amazing. I left that clinic and other doctors followed her up, and I had two different separate doctors called me up to say, just want to check why did you prescribe the progesterone? She's come to us and she wants the progesterone. And I explained it. It's fine. She's continued her progesterone. Um, we could try she could, if she wanted, try without progesterone, but I do think they're very important together because if you have high estrogen levels in the body, let's ignore the womb. You not you because she doesn't have a womb. But it can upregulate, it can increase insulin resistance and in weight gain. And she was already clinically obese. I wanted that balance so that she wouldn't then develop insulin resistance secondary to more estrogen in the body than progesterone, which she would have had. So who knows if we took progesterone away now, what would happen? I guess it would be see how she feels, she what see what she wants to do. But that's for the next doctor to review and decide.

SPEAKER_00

Beautiful. Thank you for sharing that. It's uh also shows that uh every case is unique and you have to look at it and not just what the guidelines are saying, right?

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, I'm so pleased. She went on keys, she lost all the weight, she became, you know, the normal weight. And this is without this is pre-GLP once amazing.

SPEAKER_00

Yes, yeah. You are a mother.

SPEAKER_03

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00

How has your sleep been the last years and currently?

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, I have to say that I didn't, you know, having children's great, don't get me wrong, but I have to, and I really did leave it as late as possible. You know, I had my second child when I was 40. So yeah, it's hard work and it definitely impacts your sleep. I think you just have to do your best and prioritize and take lots of breaks. And especially in the early years, you've just got to because I think the stress levels, you know, you worry about them all the time.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

All the time. So I I you know it's tough. It's tough. I do monitor my sleep. I still get between on a on a hard day, maybe I'd have six and a half, but majority of the time I do have between seven and eight hours. I'm I try and hit eight plus. That's for me, sleep is important, but I have to say it's very hard to balance life when you have two young children. I don't know whether I I'm doing my best. Yeah, and I think that's all you can do.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. Working full-time?

SPEAKER_03

Pretty much full-time.

SPEAKER_00

Pretty much.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Fuller than full-time, probably.

SPEAKER_03

But yeah, it's full-time home and full-time. You don't, it's basically I describe motherhood as a night shift that never ends. It is. It's a night shift that never ends.

SPEAKER_00

It's a night shift that never ends. And yeah, you cannot escape this the stress uh in life. That's what you're trying to balance. To balance out.

SPEAKER_03

I do monitor it with a with a with a with an I have an aura ring. I haven't had an aura ring for many years pre-children too. Um I don't get sucked in, so looking at the data doesn't stress me out. I like looking at the data and going, oh, that's interesting. What can I do to improve it? Or if I make an intervention, I want to see the results. For example, if I was really strict with wearing blue, blue um light blocking glasses in the evening, my deep sleep goes up to significantly, yes.

SPEAKER_01

Okay.

SPEAKER_03

If I'm really strict with it. Yeah. But you have to be strict. And then you want light exposure in the morning and you want to see the sunset too. And then blue, blue light blocking glasses straight on is after the sunset.

SPEAKER_00

What do you do today to stay in balance?

SPEAKER_03

Um so sleep is the biggest thing. Um I think eating well, um, eating and making sure that I hit my protein and my veg and my three meals a day, and sleeping. The I mean the other things I can't I can't man breathing as well. Um, don't forget to breathe.

SPEAKER_00

Yes, don't.

Why Proper Breathing Matters for Stress and Health

SPEAKER_03

Well, you know, there it is a thing. It is a thing with with high achieving people. They when they're really concentrating, they forget to breathe.

SPEAKER_00

And or very yeah, or shallow breathing.

SPEAKER_03

Shallow. Yeah, yeah. So you I think being aware of your breath and um also your airways is hugely important. Um, your jaw development and your nasal breathing. For example, sleeping at nighttime, you shouldn't be mouth breathing. You should, you know, you look at your child or your children, when they're babies, they don't breathe through their mouth. They breathe through their nose. And even they should continue to breathe through their nose.

SPEAKER_01

Yes.

SPEAKER_03

And that's the way we should also sleep, too.

SPEAKER_00

Probably we should train breathing.

SPEAKER_03

Breathing, yes. We I think that's highly important, especially if you are high achieving and you have a lot of stress. Because when you when you don't breathe well, it we know it in it initiates the stress response in the body. And there's two autonomic nervous automatic, which are autonomic nervous states, sympathetic, which is your fight and flight mode, and your parasympathetic state, which is your rest, digest, and repair. And you want a balance of both. If you have two, and most people are living life in the fast lane. 100% from my experience.

SPEAKER_00

So the most important thing you would do to stay in balance is to take a deep breath.

SPEAKER_03

Take a deep breath, sleep, prioritize sleep, yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Beautiful. Thank you very much, Leah. It was a pleasure uh having you here. Um, thank you for sharing your experience and the examples you you gave us. And I hope um, yeah, everyone can stay away from toxins and uh do the lifestyle changes, sleep more qualitative and take a deep breath. Thank you.

SPEAKER_03

Thanks.