Dr. Harri Hemilä, MD, PhD: Vitamin C for Infections and the Common Cold
Release Date: 06/13/2025
Dr. Deanna Minich: The Power of Phytonutrients; New Insights, Controversies and Practical Considerations
Nutritional Medicine Podcast
Phytonutrients have been called the ‘dark matter’ of nutrition, a significant but often uncharacterised and poorly understood class of nutrients that have a profound impact on human health. In this remarkable interview, Dr. Deanna Minich dives into her specialist area, the relationship between phytonutrients, health and wellbeing. She discusses new research that is changing the way we think about plant foods, controversies such as diets that restrict plants, and weaves in several practical clinical takeaways that bridge the connections between food, biology, behaviour, environment, and...
info_outline
Dr. Harri Hemilä, MD, PhD: Vitamin C for Infections and the Common Cold
Nutritional Medicine Podcast
Dr. Hemilä became interested in the possible benefit of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) when exposed to conflicting opinions on its clinical efficacy. He has spent decades specialising in vitamin C research and, as a result, has addresses important issues such as the efficacy of vitamin C, sub-groups most likely to benefit, and dose-response relationship. Dr. Hemilä has also published several important papers that reveal methodological and analytical problems as well as bias in vitamin C research that, at least in part, explain why vitamin C has been sidelined in medicine and erroneously...
info_outline
Dr. Samuel Yanuck: Functional Immunology; Inflammation as a Barrier to Cellular Cleanup and Health
Nutritional Medicine Podcast
Dr. Yanuck provides a deep but practical understanding of how to approach complex immunological problems from an evidence-informed, hypothesis generating perspective that can provide a foundation for personalised clinical interventions. He explores the theme of the NLRP3 inflammasome, its intersection with autophagy and why this is relevant to many common immunological challenges including autoimmunity, metabolism, thyroid function, inflammation, T cell polarization and the capacity to clean up cells. Guest: Dr. Samuel Yanuck About our guest: Dr. Samuel Yanuck,...
info_outline
Dr. Jonathan Prousky, ND: The Road Ahead; Thriving in Unpredictable Times
Nutritional Medicine Podcast
Join us for an enlightening conversation with Dr. Jonathan Prousky, ND, as we explore how to find balance and harmony in today's tumultuous world. In this thought-provoking episode, Dr. Prousky delves into the intersection of psychology and naturopathic medicine, offering practical insights and strategies to navigate the stressors that define our modern lives. From political and ideological divisions to economic uncertainties and health challenges, Dr. Prousky highlights how lifestyle changes, nutraceuticals, and botanical medicine can empower individuals to not only survive but thrive. With...
info_outline
Dr. Paul Clayton, PhD: Pharmaco-Nutrition as a Model for Addressing Common Mechanisms of Modern Diet and Lifestyle-Related Chronic Disease
Nutritional Medicine Podcast
Dr. Paul Clayton, PhD shares his unique and remarkable research into pre-industrialised societies and their relative freedom from disease including what this means for the current epidemic of chronic diseases today. He discusses important but overlooked and underappreciated changes in diet and lifestyle and their clinical implications as well as common mechanisms that could be targeted to reduce disease risk and improve health and function. Finally, he paints a picture of the future of the global food environment and nutrition-centric clinical medicine. Guest: Dr. Paul Clayton,...
info_outline
Patrick Holford, BSc: Alzheimer’s Prevention with Evidence-Based Approaches that Target the Disease Process
Nutritional Medicine Podcast
In this episode we speak with Patrick Holford, founder and chair of the Food for the Brain scientific advisory board and author of Alzheimer's: Prevention is the Cure (2025). Highlighting why drug therapies have failed for Alzheimer's we look beyond a single-drug single-target approach to multi-component nutrition and lifestyle medicine-based approaches that not only target multiple disease processes, but have been shown to reverse, not just prevent, Alzheimer's disease in well-conducted clinical research. The discussion includes actionable biomarkers for personalised preventative approaches...
info_outline
Dr. Nina Fuller-Shavel: Integrative Oncology; Precision Health and Nutrition in Cancer Care
Nutritional Medicine Podcast
Speaking with Dr. Nina Fuller-Shavel a leading voice in integrative oncology we discuss the role of nutritional interventions in the wider context of cancer care, including the importance of personalisation, evidence-based practice, and multi-dispensary teams. We also explore the role of nutrition in prevention, treatment and survivorship. Learn about the work Dr. Fuller-Shavel is engaged in and how to be part of the global integrative oncology movement. Guest: Dr. Nina Fuller-Shavel About our guest: Dr. Nina Fuller-Shavel MB BChir (Medicine) and MA...
info_outlineDr. Hemilä became interested in the possible benefit of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) when exposed to conflicting opinions on its clinical efficacy. He has spent decades specialising in vitamin C research and, as a result, has addresses important issues such as the efficacy of vitamin C, sub-groups most likely to benefit, and dose-response relationship. Dr. Hemilä has also published several important papers that reveal methodological and analytical problems as well as bias in vitamin C research that, at least in part, explain why vitamin C has been sidelined in medicine and erroneously dismissed. In this informative interview he speaks to the history of vitamin C research for infection and its clinical implications.
Guest:
Dr. Harri Hemilä, MD, PhD
About our guest:
Dr. Harri Hemilä first studied biochemistry and received his PhD (biochemistry) in 1993. Thereafter he studied medicine and receive MD degree, and thereafter PhD (epidemiology) in 2006. His major scientific interest has been the effects of vitamin C on the common cold, and on infections in general. He has not done experimental work of his own in this field, but he has carried out several meta-analyses that have estimated the effects of vitamin C from studies published over half a century. He has also analyzed the effects of vitamin E on infections and on total mortality in the ATBC Study data set of 29,133 Finnish male smokers. Most recently he has carried out meta-analyses on the treatment effects of zinc lozenges on the duration of the common cold. Along with research, he is doing clinical work in the GP context. By the year 2021, he has 155 PubMed publications, 76 of which are focused on vitamin C, 28 on vitamin E, and 12 on zinc lozenges. Dr. Hemilä is Adjunct Professor at the Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki.
Guest websites and links:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Harri-Hemilae-2
Selection of our guest’s publications:
- Hemilä H, Chalker E. Vitamin C for the common cold and pneumonia. Pol Arch Intern Med. 2025 Jan 30;135(1):16926.
- Hemilä H, Chalker E. Vitamin C reduces the severity of common colds: a meta-analysis. BMC Public Health. 2023 Dec 11;23(1):2468.
- Hemilä H, Chalker E. Bias against Vitamin C in Mainstream Medicine: Examples from Trials of Vitamin C for Infections. Life (Basel). 2022 Jan 3;12(1):62.
- Hemilä H, de Man AME. Vitamin C and COVID-19. Front Med (Lausanne). 2021 Jan 18;7:559811.
- Hemilä H. Vitamin C and Infections. Nutrients. 2017 Mar 29;9(4):339.