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Inside Health

Inside Health

BBC Radio 4

Series that demystifies health issues, separating fact from fiction and bringing clarity to conflicting health advice.

338 - Coffee, nap, rave, repeat...
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  • 338 - Coffee, nap, rave, repeat...

    Ever wondered how much caffeine is too much? Or whether you’d feel better off if you took an afternoon nap? And with the rise in ‘day raving’ we’ll be looking at whether it’s better for your health to have your night out at 2pm rather than 2am. We’ll learn about the amount of caffeine in different drinks, looking at what it does to the body in the short-term and finding out more about what effects it can have when it comes to things like dementia and cardiovascular disease.

    Then we’ll be following a strict scientifically-approved napping schedule and hearing what impact those bonus sleep sessions can have on brain function – while catching 40 winks in some unusual locations.

    After that, we’ll take all that energy and party the afternoon (and early evening) away at a daytime rave to find out if that is better for our bodies than pulling an all-nighter.

    Along the way we’ll be joined by people who know way more about these things than us, from a Spanish sleep whizz in Manchester to a body boffin in Barry Island.

    Producer: Gerry Holt Presenter: Laura Foster Editor: Holly Squire Production Co-ordinator: Jonathan Harris

    Tue, 13 Feb 2024
  • 337 - Why recovering from long Covid is a lot like training for the Olympics

    BBC health journalist Laura Foster can’t get the first days of the pandemic out of her head; the stunned silence of the newsroom as the first lockdown was announced, the chaos and noise at the supermarket and the empty streets of London.

    But even though she was a reporter covering every twist and turn of the story, she still can’t remember the first time she heard about long Covid.

    The world was so engrossed by the immediate threat that few paid attention to what was happening around the edges; the people whose lives didn’t move on after that little red line disappeared from their test and whose symptoms never went away.

    And that problem was getting bigger and bigger by the day.

    We visit the UK’s very first long Covid clinic where healthcare workers started learning about this life-shattering disease in the hospital car park - and we find out why recovering from long Covid is a lot like training for the Olympics.

    What did we know back then – and what do we know now? And are we really any closer to seeing the end of long Covid?

    Details of organisations offering information and support with long Covid are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline.

    Presenter: Laura Foster Producer: Gerry Holt Editor: Martin Smith Production co-ordinator: Jonathan Harris

    Tue, 06 Feb 2024
  • 336 - A guide to the perimenopause

    It’s been referred to as puberty in reverse but what actually is the perimenopause? How do you know if you’re in it? What can you do to soften the symptoms and what can men do to help those they care about going through it? Inside Health is talking about the peri-menopossibilities and learning why it’s not as bad as you’ve been led to believe. Endocrinologist Professor Annice Mukherjee and Professor in Reproductive Science at University College London Joyce Harper are alongside Inside Health's resident GP Margaret McCartney and presenter Laura Foster. They're answering your questions to help demystify the perimenopause.

    Presenter: Laura Foster Producer: Tom Bonnett

    Tue, 30 Jan 2024
  • 335 - Speedy medicine, and is fermented food good for us?

    In this episode we’re taking a look at emergency medicine outside hospitals and surgeries – and meeting the people who save seriously-ill people in unusual places.

    Smitha Mundasad goes on a rainy walk in the hills with the Brecon Mountain Rescue Team and meets the flying medics of London’s Air Ambulance. Will she have time for a chat before they get a call-out? We also hear from Sweden where they’re making lifesaving changes before the ambulance even arrives.

    And from kombucha and kimchi to keffir and sourdough, fermented food and drink is everywhere. But as these foods have exploded in popularity, so have claims of health benefits, from digestion and gut health, to immunity and mood.

    We start by trying some fermenting with chef Olia Hercules and then Smitha chats to fermented food “nerd” Professor Paul Cotter to sift through the evidence.

    Next week’s Inside Health is all about the perimenopause – the time leading up to the menopause when oestrogen starts to drop. Why is it all still such a mystery?

    Send us your questions – and we’ll put them to our panel. It’s insidehealth@bbc.co.uk

    Presenter: Smitha Mundasad Producer: Gerry Holt Editor: Martin Smith Production co-ordinator: Jonathan Harris

    Declared interests: Professor Paul Cotter: “Research in the Cotter laboratory has been funded by PrecisionBiotics Group, Friesland Campina, Danone and PepsiCo. Paul Cotter has also received funding to travel to or present at meetings by H&H, the National Dairy Council U.S., PepsiCo, Abbott, Arla and Yakult. In addition, he is the co-founder and CTO of SeqBiome Ltd., a provider of sequencing and bioinformatics services for microbiome analysis.”

    Tue, 23 Jan 2024
  • 334 - Bladder, bowels and sex: Learning to live after my mountain accident

    In 2016, Niall McCann was left with a bruised spinal cord when he crashed his speed glider into the side of a mountain at 50mph.

    He shares his journey to recovery and some unexpected life lessons he has had to navigate, from soiling himself in inconvenient places and not being able to control his flatulence, to having to re-learn how to have sex again.

    We also hear from a Brecon Mountain Rescue medic on what looked like an “unsurvivable” situation and Niall’s surgeon on fixing his “exploded” spine. Presenter: Smitha Mundasad Producer: Gerry Holt Editor: Holly Squire

    Tue, 16 Jan 2024
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