How important is breakfast? Really.
How to Health
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Or is it? Most people have some sort of breakfast some of the time. There are also plenty of studies linking breakfast to weight loss, health and even school performance. But is the idea of breakfast based on science or what cereal companies tell us? In this episode, we discuss why people think breakfast is important, how it affects your health and what happens if you don't eat breakfast. References cited in this podcast: The Importance of Breakfast in Atherosclerotic Disease: Insights from the PESA Study: Effect of breakfast on weight...
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How Microplastics Affect Your Health
How to Health
The average person consumes 39 000 to 52 000 microplastic particles per year through food and drink. This number doubles when taking into account how many microplastics we might inhale. Microplastics have been found in blood samples and almost every organ in the human body. In this episode, we discuss what are microplastics, how they get into your body, how they affect your health and how to avoid being exposed to them. References cited in this podcast: Human Consumption of Microplastics: Polypropylene microplastics promote metastatic features in human breast cancer: Microplastics and...
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How to Counter All that Sitting
How to Health
The average person sits for more than 6-8 hours. While we can't avoid sitting (and sometimes it's necessary), most of us do too much and continuous sitting can increase your risk for disases such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer and dementia, and early death. In this episode we discuss the problems with sitting, how it affects your metabolism, can your exercise counteract sitting and provide you with tips on how to reduce your sitting. References cited in this podcast: Association of Sitting Time with Mortality and Cardiovascular Events in High-Income, Middle-Income and Low-Income...
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How Processed Foods Affect Your Health
How to Health
From frozen vegetables to heat-and-serve burritos, processed foods are all around us and make up a large portion of most people’s diet. Ultra-processed foods, such soda pop, frozen meals and soup, have been associated with heart disease, cancer, diabetes and early death, but can all these foods be grouped together, and can processed foods be part of a healthy diet? In this episode, we discuss what makes a food a processed food, how processed foods affect your health and whether you should be concerned if they’re in your diet. Some references cited in the podcast: Ultra-processed...
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How Your Thoughts Affect Your Health
How to Health
Strong body, strong mind, is a common saying, but the reverse can be true too. How you think can affect your physical health because each and every thought you have is the result of a chemical reaction. In this episode, we discuss how certain thoughts affect performance and health, what happens in your body to make this happen and how to shift to a more positive way of thinking. Some references cited in the podcast: Association of Optimism with Cardiovascular Events and All-Cause Mortality Become More Optimistic by Imagining a Best Possible Self Interactions of momentary thought...
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How healthy are artificial sweeteners?
How to Health
More than 40% of adults consume artificial sweeteners, with most of this coming from diet pops. But they're also found in yoghurts, chewing gum and cereals, among other foods. Commonly used by people wanting to avoid calories, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended against their use. In this episode, we discuss what artificial sweeteners are, what the WHO is concerned about, and whether you're putting your health at risk by consuming them. Some references cited in the podcast:
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How good (or bad) is alcohol for you?
How to Health
Over 50% of people consume alcohol in Western countries. Many guidelines indicate having 1-2 drinks per day is acceptable and may even be beneficial. However, recent studies and experts have said no amount of alcohol is safe. In this episode we discuss how common alcohol is, what alcohol use disorder means, how your body responds when you have a drink and untangle the conflicting research as to whether alcohol is good or bad for your health.
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How a Good Night's Sleep is Good for You Part 2
How to Health
Nearly half of adults report having challenges with sleeping. Getting a good night's sleep is important to maintaining physical and mental health. In this episode we discuss tips to help you get a good night's sleep from setting up your nighttime routine to home remedies to when you might need to speak with your doctor. In Part 1 of this episode, we discussed the health consequences of not enough sleep and the biology of how your body knows when to sleep.
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How a Good Night's Sleep is Good for You Part 1
How to Health
Guidelines recommend you get between 7-9 hours of sleep per night. Yet many people don't get enough sleep potentially putting their health at risk. In this episode we discuss how not getting enough sleep, or getting too much, can affect your health, along with the biology of how your body knows when to sleep. In Part 2 of this episode, we discuss strategies for getting a good night's sleep.
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Seven Common Exercise Myths Busted!
How to Health
From exercise is good for weight loss to no pain no gain, there are literally dozens, if not hundreds of exercise myths out there. Some myths are so entrenched in society it can put people off exercise altogether. In this episode, we bust seven of the most common myths around to help you get the best out of your exercise program. If you have your own exercise myths you would like us to bust on a future episode, or even ideas for a future episode, send us an email () or DM us on Instagram (@howtohealthpodcast).
info_outlineNearly half of adults report having challenges with sleeping. Getting a good night's sleep is important to maintaining physical and mental health. In this episode we discuss tips to help you get a good night's sleep from setting up your nighttime routine to home remedies to when you might need to speak with your doctor.
In Part 1 of this episode, we discussed the health consequences of not enough sleep and the biology of how your body knows when to sleep.