The Health Scientist Podcast The Health Scientist

Kimberley is a chartered psychologist and a governor of the Tavistock & Portman NHS mental health trust as well as the former chair of the British Psychological Society's training committee in counselling psychology. She is also an award-winning food producer with a degree in nutrition, and her work looks at the role food and lifestyle plays in our mental health, including disordered eating, the gut-brain axis and our emotional relationship with food. Kimberley was even a finalist on the Great British Bake Off and on top of all that Kimberley is also author of "How to build a healthy brain", which was published in March, 2020.

Kimberley's instagram

Kimberley's website

Kimberley's book: How to build a healthy brain

Stronger Minds Podcast

In this episode we cover:


How Kimberley decided to combine her career in psychology with her interest in nutrition
A discussion about research into how improved nutrition can reduce violence in prison populations
The apparent disconnect between mental health and the physical body and where it comes from
The ways stress and other mental health issues can present themselves as physical health issues
The taboo around mental health that exists within different factions of society
The role that better nutrition can play in keeping children in school and away from crime.
Why is hunger a major issue for school aged children, even in the UK?
How can dealing with childhood hunger reduce the likelihood of bad behaviour in schools
How are charities like "Magic Breakfast" doing to improve the situation?
What are some of the key nutrients involved in mental health?
The important role of DHA in brain development and function
How a mother's diet can influence a child's brain health
What role can leafy green vegetables play in brain aging?
A discussion about the SMILES trial, a nutrition intervention in depression
The importance of understanding that each person's mental health issues is different and what works for one person may not work for others.
The importance of an inclusive diet for building brain health
The importance of plant foods as sources of fibre and polyphenols for brain health
The incredibly important role of sleep in mental health.
Kimberley's book "How to build a healthy brain"

David is a physicist, cancer researcher, and science writer. His work encompasses everything from how tumours use oxygen to why conspiracies tend to fail. He has a strong focus on public understanding of science and medicine, contributing to BBC, RTE, The New York Times, The Guardian, The Irish Times, and PBS and he was the recipient of the 2014 Maddox prize.

David's Instagram

David's Twitter

David's book: The Irrational Ape

In this episode we cover:


David's background and achievements
How David made the transition from physics to cancer research
What spurred David to learn more about science communication and disinformation?
What are the different types of false information and what negative effects can they have?
Why does disinformation spread so quickly and why do people hold onto such ideas so strongly?
How does disinformation or conspiracy theories play on human emotions?
The general population's lack of ability to "research" anything online (hint, it doesn't involve a google search)
What are the character traits of people who actively spread conspiracy theories online?
How many individuals buy into conspiracy theories out of fear
The risk of blindly following the ideas of individuals just because of their position or reputation
The damage the anti-vax movement has done to public health and the spread of previously declining diseases
The inability of the public to determine the risk of catching a disease in relation to the risk of vaccinating against it.
The risk of asymptomatically spreading disease to someone who may suffer serious consequences
How can we help people to identify disinformation on a society-wide level?
What is information hygiene?
Some tips form David on how to identify a health-related conspiracy theory
The importance of empathy, skepticism and admitting the limits of our own knowledge when speaking to people about their beliefs
The limits of what social media companies will do to stem the spread of disinformation.
David's book, The Irrational Ape

Dr. Grant Tinsley is an Assistant Professor and the Director of the Energy Balance & Body Composition Laboratory at Texas Tech University. The major research interests of his laboratory are the critical evaluation of body composition assessment techniques, the influence of intermittent fasting on health and physical performance, and sports nutrition strategies to improve performance and body composition.

Grant's Instagram

Grant's Research Gate profile

Grant's website

In this episode we cover:


Grant's background and how he got into researching body composition and intermittent fasting
What were the general recommendations on meal frequency for fat loss and performance before IF became popular?
How is body composition analysed and what are the limitations with most methods?
What are some of the most frequently used techniques for measuring body fat and muscle mass and how do they work?
Why might a researcher want to use a combination of techniques for measuring body composition?
What is IF, what are the different types and why does that make interpreting research difficult?
An explanation of periodic fasting, alternate-day fasting and time-restricted feeding
Why focusing on "when" you eat may make a diet more appealing thant "what" you eat.
What are some of the possible benefits of IF and are they all weight-loss dependent?
Why IF may not be useful for everyone?
What are some of the considerations for IF in athletic populations?
Why would a higher meal frequency potentially be more beneficial for athletes or people trying to gain muscle?
What has Grant's own research shown on the effects of IF while doing resistance exercise?
What are the issues with trying to record people's food intake during these free-living trials?
Why might protein play such an important role in the effects of IF while resistance training?
What has Grant's research shown on the effects of IF in cyclists?
How can body composition changes translate to improved performance?
Why we need to be much more conservative with changes in meal frequency when working with elite athletes?
Could changes in hormones like IGF1or testosterone have important effects in the long term?

Christopher Barakat is a competitive natural bodybuilder, coach, and researcher investigating training & nutrition intervention to optimize body composition outcomes. He started competing in 2011 as a teenager and this passion led him to pursue academic studies that would enhance his knowledge to be a better coach and athlete. He earned his bachelor's in Athletic Training and his master's in Exercise & Nutritional Sciences. He's been teaching at the University of Tampa since 2017 and continues to research in the human performance lab under Dr. Eduardo De Souza and colleagues.

Christopher's Instagram

Body Recomposition: Can Trained Individuals Build Muscle and Lose Fat at the Same Time?

Christopher's Research Gate profile

School of Gainz

At-Home Exercise Template

In this episode we cover:


Chris's background in bodybuilding and exercise science
Chris's current research projects on repetition tempo and intra-set stretching
What is body recomposition and how does it occur?
Is it something that only occurs in untrained people or why does it happen more readily in that group?
Why does muscle gain and fat loss get harder the closer someone gets to their genetic potential?
What are the different ways of measuring muscle mass and body fat and what's the difference between them?
The importance of standardizing someone's hydration, food and exercise before measuring body composition
What definitions are used for "resistance trained" individuals in studies?
The importance of looking at participant's starting strength to guage their level of training or training status
What role does detraining and retraining play in the results of body composition studies?
Why people shouldn't be too worried about losing muscle or strength during lockdown
Chris's thoughts on the difference in the training of the average gym-user and the type of training he employs in his research
The importance of tracking your training in a log book
The interesting science around protein intake and its effects on fat mass
Protein intake recommendations for body recomposition
Why is body recomposition not observed in case studies of physique competitors?
Do physique competitor's lose muscle during contest prep?
What role does sleep play on body composition?
Chris's key recommendations for evidence-based body recomposition

Ciaran is an Assistant Professor in Exercise Science the University of South Carolina. His research focuses on the impact of exercise, nutritional supplementation and behavioral interventions on the health and wellness of  individuals with cancer. Ciaran received his PhD in Kinesiology from Ohio State University and recently completed a Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship in Exercise Oncology within the School of Medical and Health Science (SMHS) at Edith Cowan University.
 
Ciaran is also strong advocate of the dissemination of scientific research to a variety of audiences. He is the founder, CEO, and chief exercise physiologist at REACH (Research in Exercise and Cancer Health), a company designed to provide evidence-based guidelines of physical activity to health/medical professionals and individuals with cancer.

Ciaran's Instagram

Ciaran's Twitter

Ciaran's staff profile at the University of South Carolina

The Reach Podcast

Ciaran's Website

In this episode we cover:


How Ciaran got into exercise science and eventually cancer research
What is exercise oncology?
What physical and mental changes happen during cancer and cancer treatment and how can exercise benefit them?
The importance of building physiological reserves for cancer treatment
How does prostate cancer treatment lead to muscle loss and what other issues can arise?
Why is muscle mass important for preventing falls?
Is muscle mass or muscle strength easier to improve in clinical exercise programs and why?
The importance of consistent progressive overload and tailored resistance programmes in eliciting the benefits of resistance exercise
The reason some doctors are very cautious about recommending exercise programmes
The importance and skill of building rapport with the patient's wider care team
The complexity of developing an exercise programme for a patient that can have multiple different difficulties from the disease or treatment
The need for long term behaviour change to ensure patients continue with their exercise to continue to reap the benefits
Helping people find their own motivation that will keep them exercising
The value of peer-support and shared experiences in encouraging patients in their exercise
How can creatine play a role in exercise oncology?
How do researchers actually diagnose sarcopenia?
The role that nutrition can play in helping patients during their cancer treatment

Hugh Gilmore is a BASES accredited sports psychologist who has spent the last 6 years working with Olympians and Paralympians within Great Britain athletics and GB weightlifting. He also has a wealth of experience working within the GAA and Net Ball Northern Ireland. On top of all that, Hugh is also co-host of the Eight Percent Mental podcast.

Harnessing Communication for Performance Enhancement: Online Course

Hugh's Instagram

Podium Psychology (Hugh's Website)

Hugh's Twitter

Eighty Percent Mental Podcast

In this episode we cover:


Hugh's background in sports science and sports psychology.
What it's like working as a sport's psychologist for GB Athletics and GB Weightlifting
The power of instruction and guidance on sports performance
How does a sport's psychologist help an athlete perform better
The power of reframing a situation to change someone's perspective of it
An introduction to tubing
Why telling people what to do is not a useful approach
How asking questions with Motivational Interviewing helps bring about change
Hugh's thoughts on the increase in interest in psychological techniques in coaching in recent years
The concept that strong medicine can be strong poison: how psychology can also cause harm
Why comprehensive training in psychology is important to make sure practitioners don't cause harm
The danger in assuming that all psychology techniques are benign
The example of using mindfulness in treating eating disorders
What are some contradictions of different psychological techniques
What's the problem with NeuroLinguistic Programming (NLP)
Importance of realizing that no technique works all the time
Is there any way to know if a psychology practitioner is genuinely qualified?