What's Up Docs?

Welcome to What’s Up Docs?, the podcast where doctors and identical twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken cut through the confusion around every aspect of our health and wellbeing. In this episode, Chris and Xand turn their attention to food. It’s January, and many of us have resolved to “eat better” but why does it so often feel like an uphill battle? Why do we crave certain foods and not others? And...

In this Daily Dose, Drs Chris and Xand return to their episode on fresh breath with Dr Praveen Sharma. Praveen walked the docs through the best way to take care of our teeth and how we should be thinking about our oral health. Daily Doses of expert wisdom from previous episodes will be dropping each weekday throughout January (except Tuesdays). You'll find them in the What’s Up Docs? feed on BBC S...

In this Daily Dose, Chris and Xand return to their episode on the power of saying no, with Dr Sunita Sah from Cornell University. Sunita had a fantastic point on how saying no is linked to our values - and how we can figure out what our values are. Daily Doses of expert wisdom from previous episodes will be dropping each weekday throughout January (except Tuesdays). You'll find them in the What’s...

In this Daily Dose, Chris and Xand return to their episode on backs with Dr Mindy Cairns, Specialist Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist and Associate Professor at the University of Hertfordshire. Mindy offered some excellent insight into fear avoidance when it comes to back pain, and why we perhaps don’t need to be a fearful as we may think. Daily Doses of expert wisdom from previous episodes will be...

In this Daily Dose, Chris and Xand are return to their episode on protein with Nita Forouhi, Professor of Population Health and Nutrition at the University of Cambridge. Nita had a very clear message - get your protein from wholefoods, rather than supplements. Daily Doses of expert wisdom from previous episodes will be dropping each weekday throughout January (except Tuesdays). You'll find them in...

Chris and Xand continue their conversation about exercise with Dr Jo Blodgett, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health at University College in London. She’s a life-course epidemiologist whose work focuses on how movement across the whole 24-hour day shapes population health. They talk to Jo about her own sporting background as a semi-professional national league foot...

Welcome to What’s Up Docs?, the podcast where doctors and identical twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken cut through the confusion around every aspect of our health and wellbeing. In this episode, Chris and Xand explore the role and impact of exercise on our bodies and mood. Is going to the gym three times a week the best way of keeping fit? Or should you spread out your activity in shorter bursts th...

In this Daily Dose, Chris and Xand return to their episode on nails with Dr Yusur Al-Nuaimi, Consultant Dermatologist at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital and Clinical Lead for the British Hair and Nail Society. Yusur highlighted how our nails have developed to optimize human function and are deeply rooted without our evolutionary history. Daily Doses of expert wisdom from previous episodes will...

In this Daily Dose, Chris and Xand are returning to their episode on sleep with Professor of Circadian Neuroscience, Russell Foster. As a sleep expert, Russell explained why we can perhaps relax a bit when it comes to sleep, especially when it comes to losing some from time to time. Daily Doses of expert wisdom from previous episodes will be dropping each weekday throughout January (except Tuesday...

In this Daily Dose, Chris and Xand return to their episode on hanger with Professor of Social Psychology, Viren Swami who explains what hanger is and how best we should deal with it. Daily Doses of expert wisdom from previous episodes will be dropping each weekday throughout January (except Tuesdays). You'll find them in the What’s Up Docs? feed on BBC Sounds, alongside all the main episodes of th...

In this Daily Dose, Chris and Xand return to their first episode of What’s Up Docs?, on willpower with Kimberley Wilson. Chartered Psychologist Kimberley reminded us that willpower might not actually be the positive, motivating force we think it is. Daily Doses of expert wisdom from previous episodes will be dropping each weekday throughout January (except Tuesdays). You'll find them in the What’s...

Chris and Xand continue their conversation about alcohol with Dr May van Schalkwyk, Research Fellow at the University of Edinburgh, who focuses on how commercial actors influence ideas, knowledge, science and policymaking. The twins want to know why some people might struggle to get through Dry January, whether we have a drinking culture in the UK and how it may have been shaped by industry. They...

Welcome to What’s Up Docs?, the podcast where doctors and identical twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken cut through the confusion around every aspect of our health and wellbeing. In this episode, Chris and Xand dive into alcohol. Is there such a thing as a safe level of alcohol or a safe form? Are there actually any benefits to alcohol? Should teetotalism be the goal? They also explore the short- an...

In this Daily Dose, Chris and Xand return to their episode on nature with Professor Baroness Kathy Willis. Kathy had some excellent advice on how to bring more nature into our homes and lives. Daily Doses of expert wisdom from previous episodes will be dropping each weekday throughout January (except Tuesdays). You'll find them in the What’s Up Docs? feed on BBC Sounds, alongside all the main epis...

In this Daily Dose, Chris and Xand return to their episode on embarrassment with cultural historian, Dr Tiffany Watt-Smith. Tiffany identified that, while embarrassment is painful on a personal level, it is in fact an important social emotion. Daily Doses of expert wisdom from previous episodes will be dropping each weekday throughout January (except Tuesdays). You'll find them in the What’s Up Do...

In this Daily Dose, Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken are returning to their episode on knees with rheumatology professor, Phil Conaghan from University of Leeds. Phil gave Chris some sage advice on why you shouldn't avoid exercising your knees if they give you pain from time to time. Daily Doses of expert wisdom from previous episodes will be dropping each weekday throughout January (except Tuesday...

In this Daily Dose, Chris and Xand return to their episode on menstrual health with Dr Chi Eziefula, who flipped our perspective on the menstrual cycle, reframing it as a positive, evolutionary advantage that has enabled us to survive and thrive. Daily Doses of expert wisdom from previous episodes will be dropping each weekday throughout January (except Tuesdays). You'll find them in the What’s Up...

In this new year episode, Chris and Xand continue their conversation with behaviour change expert Alasdair Cant, taking a closer look at the psychology behind our attempts to start afresh. They explore how Alasdair got into the field of behaviour change and the patterns that distinguish people who succeed with long-term change from those who struggle. If you’d like to share your thoughts on this o...

Welcome to What’s Up Docs?, the podcast where doctors and identical twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken untangle the confusion around every aspect of our health and wellbeing. In this new year episode, they’re taking on the idea of the fresh start, especially the powerful urge many of us feel at the beginning of a new year to overhaul our health. Why do we want to make big changes in January? Why do...

In this Daily Dose, Chris and Xand return to their episode on difficult conversations. Chartered Psychologist Kimberley Wilson has some great advice on how best to approach a difficult conversation and what happens when we find ourselves confronted by one. Daily Doses of expert wisdom from previous episodes will be dropping each weekday throughout January (except Tuesdays). You'll find them in the...

January is a time when we pay considerable attention to our health and wellbeing and we all want a little reminder of some tips and tricks for how best to care for and think about our minds and bodies. In this Daily Dose, Chris and Xand need a refresher on the episode of What’s Up Docs? about False Memories. They were joined by Dr Linda Henkel, Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Fair...

January is a month when we pay considerable attention to our health and wellbeing and we all want a little reminder of some tips and tricks for how best to care for and think about our minds and bodies. In this first Daily Dose - if they can resist the temptation to snooze - Chris and Xand return to their episode on napping with Russell Foster, Professor of Circadian Neuroscience at the University...

Welcome to Chris and Xand's Daily Doses! January is a month when we pay considerable attention to our health and wellbeing and we all want a little reminder of some tips and tricks for how best to care for and think about our minds and bodies. So, alongside the four main episode of What's Up Docs?, each weekday this January (other than Tuesdays), we'll be dropping a Daily Dose of expert wisdom fro...

Chris and Xand continue their conversation with Professor Sophie Scott, CBE. Together, they explore the neuroscience behind joy: what happens in the brain when joy strikes, how spontaneous joy differs from the joy of achievement, and whether joy serves an evolutionary purpose. They also ask whether joy can be cultivated, and what a healthy relationship with joy might look like in the long term. If...

Welcome to What’s Up Docs?, the podcast where doctors and identical twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken try to get to the bottom of the ideas shaping our health and wellbeing. In this festive episode, they turn their attention to joy. What actually is joy, and how is it different from happiness or pleasure? Why do some people seem to feel it more intensely, and does that make them more vulnerable to...