Nutritious Minds Podcast

Dr Rachel Gow sits down with friend and colleague Dr Robert H. Lustig, Professor Emeritus of Paediatrics at UCSF, physician, scientist, bestselling author and one of the world’s leading voices on sugar, ultra-processed food, addiction and chronic metabolic disease.Recorded while Rob was visiting London to speak at the IPM Congress, this is a wide-ranging conversation about the systems shaping our health — from the food we eat and the environments we live in, to the biology of the liver, gut and brain.Rachel and Rob discuss why metabolic disease continues to rise, whether chronic disease can be prevented or even reversed, the addictive nature of ultra-processed food, the metabolic consequences of sugar, childhood development, emotional regulation, food policy, healthcare and prevention.They also revisit their shared work on the Metabolic Matrix and its central principles: protect the liver, feed the gut and support the brain.But this conversation goes far beyond weight and obesity. It asks a much bigger question: what happens when our food, healthcare, societal and planetary systems are all under pressure — and how connected are these crises?Rob is the author of Fat Chance, The Hacking of the American Mind and Metabolical: The Truth About Processed Food and How It Poisons People and the Planet. His landmark lecture Sugar: The Bitter Truth helped bring the metabolic consequences of sugar into global public conversation.This is a big conversation about metabolic health, prevention and what needs to change if we want healthier people, healthier communities and a healthier planet.🎧 Episode 3 of the Nutritious Minds Podcast

In Part 2 of The Midlife Woman, Dr Rachel Gow is joined by Nutritious Minds Clinic practitioners Emma Capone and Heidi Lerner Rearden to explore nervous-system regulation, emotional wellbeing and the importance of reconnecting with the body and environment during midlife.Emma discusses therapeutic yoga, breathwork, somatic practice, sound, stress recovery and why talking alone may not always be enough when the body remains overwhelmed or dysregulated.Heidi explores mindfulness, Reiki, environmental energy, feng shui, clutter, forest bathing and the ways our homes, workspaces and natural surroundings may affect calm, attention and emotional regulation.The conversation also considers people-pleasing, burnout, unresolved stress, busy neurodivergent minds, and practical ways women can begin to feel more grounded and connected.The episode concludes with the full group taking part in a gentle guided nervous-system exercise that listeners can follow at home.Featuring: Dr Rachel Gow, Emma Capone, Heidi Lerner Rearden, Adele Wimsett, Kirsty Lang Vere and Kara Dellow.

In Part 1 of The Midlife Woman, Dr Rachel Gow is joined by Nutritious Minds Clinic Senior Practitioners Adele Wimsett, Kirsty Lang Vere and Kara Dellow for a wide-ranging conversation about what women need to understand before and beyond 40.Adele explores hormonal change, perimenopause, progesterone, ADHD, emotional regulation and the choices women may face around HRT and wider lifestyle support.Kirsty discusses the pressures carried by neurodivergent women and mothers, including family load, burnout, disrupted eating patterns and the importance of realistic whole-family support.Kara examines metabolic and gut-brain health, including blood-sugar regulation, thyroid function, chronic fatigue, inflammation, alcohol tolerance, functional testing and the wider conversation around GLP-1 medicines.The episode closes with a lively, quick-fire round-table discussion about what women should stop blaming themselves for, overlooked midlife health markers, and what the midlife woman needs.Featuring: Dr Rachel Gow, Adele Wimsett, Kirsty Lang Vere and Kara Dellow.This conversation forms part of a wider exploration of the whole midlife woman: her brain, body, hormones, metabolism, nervous system, family life, work, and sense of self.

This is Part 3 of our special launch episode, The Future of Brain Health: Honouring Professor Michael Crawford’s Legacy.In this final part, Dr Rachel V. Gow is joined by Dr Kevin Rigley, Dr Alex Richardson, Associate Professor Simon Dyall and Professor Michael Crawford for a wider panel discussion on neurodiversity, childhood, nutrition, food systems, prevention and the future of brain health.The conversation explores what a truly brain-supportive childhood looks like, how nutrition, movement, emotional safety, community, sleep, stress and environment shape development, and whether we are facing a preventable brain health crisis. The panel also discuss how to talk about nutrition and neurodevelopment in a way that is compassionate, empowering and scientifically honest.This episode is kindly supported by Willows Pre-School, pioneering the Willowsway approach to childhood, cognition, and development.

This is Part 2 of our special launch episode, The Future of Brain Health: Honouring Professor Michael Crawford’s Legacy.In part 2, Dr Rachel V. Gow is joined by Associate Professor Simon Dyall from the University of Roehampton, whose work sits at the interface of neuroscience, nutrition, neurobiology and psychology. Simon brings the modern neuroscience of DHA, EPA, arachidonic acid and lipid signalling into the conversation, helping us understand why these fatty acids matter for pregnancy, fetal development, early life, cognition, mental health and healthy ageing.Together, they discuss the role of omega-3 fatty acids in brain structure and function, the importance of lipid mediators, the preterm PUFA gap, Professor Crawford’s scientific legacy, and why nourishing the brain across the lifespan matters for neurodevelopment, longevity, cognitive health and the next generation.

In this special launch episode of the Nutritious Minds Podcast, Dr. Rachel V. Gow honours the extraordinary career and legacy of Professor Michael Crawford, whose pioneering work in brain chemistry, nutrition, DHA, maternal and child health, and human brain development has shaped the field for more than six decades.Rachel is joined in Part(s) 2 and 3 by Associate Professor Simon Dyall, University of Roehampton, Dr Alex Richardson, Founder Director of Food and Behaviour Research, and Dr Kevin Rigley, Founder of Willows Preschool, immunologist, author, and developer of the TGTS model, SIPS framework, Willowsway curriculum, and Willows MINDMAP cognitive profiling app.Together, they discuss the future of brain health, omega-3 fatty acids, neurodevelopment, maternal and child nutrition, ADHD, inflammation, mental health and cognitive decline — and why nourishing the brain across the lifespan matters for longevity, healthy ageing and the next generation.