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Good Mood Flat Tummy

From Bloated and Tired to Free and Inspired.

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  • Diet as a Prescription
  • Free & Inspired Radio (FIR)

Diet as a Prescription

Consider that the nutrients, vitamins and minerals in your diet are a form of currency. Do you think you would have enough money to pay for your body’s daily bills? This section is an exploration of a concept of mine called “nutrition as currency.” As in life and business, your body can achieve a lot with the right resources, in some cases, provide therapeutic outcomes for health issues that can seem to need more sophisticated interventions.


Take fibre, for example. A study of 140,000 people showed that the group studied only got 50% of their daily fibre needs. Imagine that fibre pays for 200 transactions within your body, and it can only pay for 100 because it doesn’t get paid enough daily to cover the whole list. Which transactions does it choose not to pay?


This nutritional balance sheet and its importance are the geneses behind asking, “is my diet enough?” Articles and podcasts here focus on covering your body’s daily budget, making different diet choices, more personalized supplement choices or dosing your existing supplements differently to make sure you are nutritionally rich!

FIR Episode 35: Uniting appetite control, your hormones and the gut.

August 20, 2022 by Philip Watkins

In this episode of Free and Inspired Radio, discover the link between your gut, hormones and appetite.

Appetite control, or suppression as some refer to it, is a complex symbiosis of hormonal, environmental, behavioural and bacterial influences. Suppressing your appetite can be like going to the beach, kneeling at the ocean’s edge and trying to stop the waves from coming in. In this Free and Inspired radio episode, you can discover what we know about the dynamics of hunger … [Read more...]

FIR Episode 33: One dietary change can improve your executive function

August 7, 2022 by Philip Watkins

In this episode of Free and Inspired radio, learn about one simple diet change that can improve the quality of your day.

How can one small dietary change immediately benefits your quality of life through the lens of your cognitive executive function? Click here to read the full article, or scroll down to listen to the podcast on your favourite platform! In this Free and Inspired radio episode, learn about what executive functions are, how they relate to the quality of your day and … [Read more...]

Article: One diet change benefits executive function and quality of life.

August 6, 2022 by Philip Watkins

Happy man choosing what to eat late at night.

Have you ever heard of executive function? It’s the term used to classify our most important cognitive abilities. These abilities include working memory, your ability to say no, flexibility, planning for a goal, reasoning and solving problems.[1] What does this mean in the real world? It’s many things we aspire to have when our health isn’t where we want it to be. For … [Read more...]

Article: Magnesium: Deficient in many, essential to all.

May 14, 2022 by Philip Watkins

Magnesium can help you sleep and relax from stress

When it comes to magnesium and its role in around six hundred different biochemical reactions in the body, essential is an understatement. In this article, we’re going to break down some of the key reasons this vital mineral is one of the first interventions for me when patients initially visit me. We’ll look at some of the different forms, which one is best to take if … [Read more...]

FIR Episode 26: Magnesium is deficient for some, essential for all.

May 14, 2022 by Philip Watkins

In this Free and Inspired radio episode, discover why Magnesium is so important and how it might improve the quality of your day.

When it comes to magnesium and its role in around six hundred different biochemical reactions in the body, essential is an understatement. In this episode, we’re going to break down some of the key reasons magnesium is one of the first interventions when patients initially visit the clinic. Issues with not getting enough magnesium in the diet seem to be ubiquitous … [Read more...]

Article: Chocolate – Harnessing the health benefits without being fooled.

April 17, 2022 by Philip Watkins

Chocolate can be healthy but choose the right one

Chocolate is healthy, right? As you might be gathering from some of the articles on this site, it’s not so cut and dry. This article will look at how chocolate, or some of its ingredients, got its reputation as being healthy and how some of the fantastic research can be misleading. As if I didn’t alienate myself with the article about alcohol. Let’s begin our journey by … [Read more...]

FIR Episode 22: Chocolate and polyphenols – harness the benefits!

April 17, 2022 by Philip Watkins

In this Free and Inspired radio episode, we look at whether chocolate is good for you.

Chocolate is healthy, right? This Free and Inspired radio episode will look at how chocolate and its ingredients got their healthy reputation. The Mayans presented what we now know as “hot chocolate” to Emperor Moctezuma II as the “Food of the Gods” by the Aztecs.  In fact, the Latin name for chocolate, Theobroma cacao L., means Food of the Gods! Ever … [Read more...]

FIR Episode 21: Is alcohol good for me or not?

April 12, 2022 by Philip Watkins

In this Free and Inspired radio episode, Philip discusses the research suggesting that alcohol may not be good for you at all!

Our subject for this week is dedicated to Alcohol awareness month and asks the question “Is alcohol good for me or not?” “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the answer seems to be a resounding no. It doesn't seem to be good for you at all.” At least based on new emerging research in 2023. “The lead author of a study looking at alcohol and cardiovascular disease, … [Read more...]

Article: Is alcohol good for my health or not?

April 9, 2022 by Philip Watkins

Woman wondering if alcohol is good for her health or not

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the answer is a resounding no, alcohol doesn't seem to be good for your health at all.  At least based on new emerging research in 2022. This new research is counter to the narrative that seems to have permeated over the last decade. In fact, even whilst putting this together, I was surprised just how much the research is … [Read more...]

Article: Is fibre the missing link to improve your diet?

April 1, 2022 by Philip Watkins

Woman eating enough fibre to improve her diet

Most likely, the answer is yes, fibre is one of the missing links in your diet and this is what we’re going to explore in this article.  Nutritional research is often affected by region. This deviation is down to the fact that different areas eat different diets. For example, we’ve found in other articles that diets in developed countries can have levels of zinc higher … [Read more...]

FIR Episode 20: Is fibre the missing link in your diet?

April 1, 2022 by Philip Watkins

In this Free and Inspired radio episode, learn more about why fibre could be the missing link in your diet.

In this week’s episode, Philip looks at fibre - one of the most common blind spots in the western diet and asks the following important question: Is this the missing link to improving your diet? Fibre seems almost ubiquitously low across all regions, bar a few, and this makes this episode appropriate wherever you’re listening to this. “The recommendation is the same, … [Read more...]

FIR Episode 13: Zinc is essential for your mental and digestive health

January 22, 2022 by Philip Watkins

In this Free and Inspired radio episode, learn more about how the essential functions that Zinc can play for your immune, digestive and mental health.

Zinc is undoubtedly one of the most important forms of currency your body uses to pay its bills.  “You walk around with around 2-3 grams of zinc in your body every day. It's in all tissues in the body, with eighty-five per cent found in your muscles and bones and eleven per cent seen in your skin and liver.” In this Free and Inspired radio episode, Philip looks at … [Read more...]

Article: Zinc is necessary for IBS, immunity and depression.

January 21, 2022 by Philip Watkins

Zinc can help with IBS, immunity and depression.

Zinc is undoubtedly one of the most important forms of currency your body needs to pay its bills, especially for IBS, immunity and depression.  It’s hard to simplify just how many of these transactions it pays for in a day, but maybe some fun facts might better illustrate it. Of all the trace elements in the body, only iron is more abundant than … [Read more...]

FIR Episode 11: Going on a gluten-free diet – Things you need to know.

January 7, 2022 by Philip Watkins

In this Free and Inspired radio episode discover the things you need to know when it comes to going on a gluten-free diet.

“It doesn’t take too many consultations into my practice day to have the “gluten-free diet conversation.” I don’t think I’m overstating things when I suggest that it might be the most hotly contested dietary conversation of the last decade.” In this Free and Inspired radio episode, Philip introduces gluten, how it might affect you, and some of the disadvantages of a … [Read more...]

Article: Things you need to know before going gluten-free.

January 6, 2022 by Philip Watkins

Woman happily eating gluten-free crsipbread

Well, the answer is if you are sick, going gluten-free might be worth a try. Just be prepared to do it for beyond 30 days. Let’s look at this nuanced answer in a lot more detail. It doesn’t take too many consultations into my practice day to have what I call the “gluten conversation.” I don’t think I’m overstating things when I suggest that it might be the most hotly … [Read more...]

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Recent Posts

  • Article: Melatonin in 2024 – What you need to know
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  • FIR Episode 60: Serotonin, Dopamine and Norepinephrine
  • Serotonin, Dopamine and norepinephrine and how they affect your day.
  • FIR Episode 59: What are spore-based probiotics, and how can they help?
  • Article: What are spore-based probiotics, and how can they help?
  • FIR Episode 58: Is Choline missing from your diet?
  • Choline: the essential nutrient you need to know about
  • FIR Episode 57: Get to know your sleep cycles and wake up better.
  • Get to know your sleep cycles.
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Recent Posts

  • Article: Melatonin in 2024 – What you need to know
  • Article: Assessing the realistic value of food sensitivity testing in 2024: 
  • FIR Episode 60: Serotonin, Dopamine and Norepinephrine
  • Serotonin, Dopamine and norepinephrine and how they affect your day.
  • FIR Episode 59: What are spore-based probiotics, and how can they help?

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