Serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine are keys to your emotions, thoughts, memory and learning. Click here to read the full article, or scroll down to listen to the podcast on your favourite platform! The chemicals in our brains are the messengers that influence our minds and body. Various illnesses see unbalanced neurotransmitter levels, such as Parkinson’s … [Read more...]
Free and Inspired Radio
From bloated and tired to free and inspired! Welcome to Free and Inspired Radio with Philip Watkins.
The title says it all. This show is all about feeling free and inspired and exploring the many different avenues you can take to get there. Whether it’s deep dives on digestive and mental health solutions or guests who offer their own stories and answers, we hope the podcast can be a guide you can rely on to unlock the agency you have to reach your mental and physical sovereignty.
FIR Episode 59: What are spore-based probiotics, and how can they help?
In this episode, we look at a standalone category of digestive intervention and ask what spore-based probiotics are and how they can help. Find out what gives them their name. Spore-based bacteria are better thought of as spore-forming bacteria. Spores are dormant life forms that can germinate or seed bacteria. Spore-based probiotics have risen in popularity because of … [Read more...]
FIR Episode 58: Is Choline missing from your diet?
Choline is a nutrient essential for your brain, cardiovascular system and liver. Find out if it’s a missing link in your diet in this Free and Inspired Radio episode. Click here to read the full article, or scroll down to listen to the podcast on your favourite platform! One study published in 2016 found that some of the population in the USA only consumed ten … [Read more...]
FIR Episode 57: Get to know your sleep cycles and wake up better.
In this Free and Inspired radio episode, find out more about your sleep cycles and how to use them to wake up feeling refreshed. Click here to read the full article, or scroll down to listen to the podcast on your favourite platform! “If you want to know about someone’s health, ask them how they sleep.” Or so Professor Andrew Huberman’s saying goes. How … [Read more...]
FIR Episode 56: Three Ways to use nutrition to Help IBD
In this episode of Free and Inspired Radio, discover two fundamental dietary changes to consider and the first supplement to look into to help with IBD. Hong Kong and Macau are among the top three regions in Asia with the highest prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Find out more about Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative Colitis and what sets them apart. Crohn’s … [Read more...]
FIR Episode 55: Mild Fatty Liver? Natural medicine solutions to help.
In this episode, discover one of the most common problems people over forty encounter – mild fatty liver. Click here to read the full article, or scroll down to listen to the podcast on your favourite platform! Currently, around a third of the world’s population is thought to have some fatty liver. In Asia, the prevalence of fatty liver is also significantly … [Read more...]
FIR Episode 54: A Beginner’s Guide to Using Supplements
The supplement landscape can be overwhelming but also, in some cases, misleading. Tune in to this Free and Inspired radio episode for your beginner’s guide to supplements. “I want to know what supplements I should be taking.” Discover how to transcend marketing filled with testimonials and promises unkept and take the steps to genuinely find the supplement you should be … [Read more...]
FIR Episode 53: The power of culinary herbs and spices.
From anti-inflammatory and antioxidant to having a profound effect on the gut microbiome, the properties of herbs and spices are various and broad. “I’ve been inspired by a paper that came out this week on the effect of culinary herbs and spices on the gut. This paper inspired me to put together a full episode of the health benefits of adding more herbs and spices to your … [Read more...]
FIR Episode 52: Most prescribed – Saffron for Mental Health
Saffron has taken its place as one of the pillars of herbal medicine for mental health, and in this episode, take a deep dive with Philip on how it might help you. Welcome to the first in a new series of episodes of Free and Inspired Radio called Most Prescribed. In this series, you can learn more about the most frequently prescribed clinical herbs in Philip’s … [Read more...]
FIR Episode 51: Four Things to better help your health in 2023
A somewhat different episode to ring in 2023 on Free and Inspired radio, it’s Philip Watkins’ four steps for better health! Scroll down to listen to the podcast on your favourite platform! “I tend to shy away from giving the type of advice we’re going to cover in this episode, but more than any other year in my fifteen of practice, I’ve seen more of two types of patients … [Read more...]
FIR Episode 50: The Gut and Hashimoto’s disease connection
Learn about the gut and the brain’s contribution in sustaining and perhaps even triggering Hashimoto’s disease and some possible things to look into if you haven’t already. Hashimoto’s disease is the most common autoimmune condition globally. Discover how autoimmunity works and how it relates to the thyroid and the symptoms of Hashimoto’s disease. For example, when the … [Read more...]
FIR Episode 49: What is the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII)?
The dietary inflammatory index, or DII, is an index that helps link diet, inflammation and disease development. In this Free and Inspired radio episode, learn more about this evolving way to assess how inflammatory your diet might be. Why is inflammation significant when it comes to your overall healthspan? Well, chances are that you know someone affected by … [Read more...]
FIR Episode 48: Is your blood sugar affecting your anxiety and depression?
Suppose the causes that affect your depression and anxiety may not be what you expect? In this Free and Inspired radio episode, learn how your blood sugar might affect your mood and anxiety. Personal responsibility disclaimer: If there comes a time when you feel like it is difficult for you to take action and the quality of your day is declining rapidly, then getting some … [Read more...]
FIR Episode 47: A Beginner’s Guide to Probiotics – Part 2
Welcome to part two of one of the most downloaded Free and Inspired radio episodes – A Beginner’s Guide to probiotics. In part one of the guide, which you can listen to here, find out what a probiotic is and some tips and tricks to get started if you’ve never taken them. In this episode, discover some of the conditions where probiotics have evidence behind them and where … [Read more...]
FIR Episode 46: Vitamin D for IBS, sleep and depression.
We're diving deeper into Vitamin D in this Free and Inspired Radio episode. We all know it is for bone health, but what about IBS, depression, sleep and protection from viral infections? Vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent in Hong Kong. Mainly due to the climate, estimates are between sixty to seventy per cent of Hong Kong residents are deficient. This … [Read more...]