SuperHuman Living Podcast

How old are you? A simple question, with a simple answer, right? Wrong.   In this episode, we chat with the brilliant Ryan Smith, co-founder and VP of TruDiagnostic.   TruDiagnostic is a global leader in tests that measure our epigenome and uncover what it tells us about biological age. At the risk of oversimplifying something quite complex, biological age describes the real rate at which your body is ageing and there are various ways to measure it.   Ryan invited us to test out their TruAge test. We did the required blood spot tests, and sent them off and in this episode, we talked to Ryan about the results. Am I ageing faster, or slower than my biological age?  And what does it mean? I'm not telling you here, take a listen and find out.   Without giving anything away, seeing my results from this test has been fascinating. It has inspired me to maintain lots that I do and it has motivated me to explore new habits in my longevity quest. Epigenome testing is still in its infancy in the longevity field, but there is no doubt that this will be the future of how we look at health optimisation.   We have a 12% discount we can pass on if you want to explore your own biological age. Use this link to make sure you get the 12% discount for TruDiagnostic  

In this episode, we welcome the brilliant Dr Meg Arroll to tell us all about her brand-new book “Tiny Traumas” If you have ever felt that things were not quite  “right” but you struggled to put your finger on what exactly is wrong, this book will be a game changer. Tiny traumas are events that have happened to us over the years. They might not seem “significant” when we describe them, or even when they happened. They could even be things we do to ourselves, such as negative self-talk. Dr Meg explains how if we ignore them, they creep up and undermine or sabotage us.  Dr Meg is  a chartered psychologist, she discovered and developed her insights and approach to Tiny Traumas while working in academia and in clinical practice. The more we learned about this, through speaking to Meg and reading the book, it helped make sense of so many things that can undermine our self-esteem, our wellness, and our vitality. It’s definitely worth a read. Enjoy the podcast and to find out more about Meg and her work visit her website: https://www.drmegarroll.com/ Tiny Trauma is available at all good booksellers A few examples: Bookshop.org Amazon.co.uk  

In this podcast, we dive into our inner geek and talk all about biological therapy and how it is the future of living stronger longer and ageing with agency.  Our guest this week is Dr Konrad Slynarski, an internationally recognised orthopaedic specialist and pioneer in using cell and biological therapies for bone and skeletal health.   It is well known that being active is the key to living stronger for longer, yet as we age we are more at risk of osteoarthritis and other types of aches and pains that can inhibit our activity and even stop us from doing the sport we love. The conventional approach to these issues has been painkillers or anti-inflammatory medication until the problem is so bad it requires a knee or hip replacement. Dr Konrad explains how all that has changed with the advent of injectable cell and biological treatments which can maintain our joints optimally.  What’s so exciting about these therapies is that they engage the body’s potential to heal itself. They resolve the issue of ageing joints, rather than simply dealing with the symptoms.  At about 30 mins in – there is a dialogue about the male / female difference in the experience of pain that Dr Konrad sees.  Plus, we look at how nutrition and lifestyle can optimise the impact of these biological therapies. You can contact Dr Konrad directly on dr@slynarski.pl  Or via  zuzanna@theregenerativeclinic.co.uk at  www.theregenerativeclinic.co.uk   Dr Konrad’s bio:   Dr. Slynarski completed his MD and Ph.D. degrees at The Medical University of Warsaw, Poland, and completed research fellowships at Case Western University in Cleveland, USA, with Prof. Arnold Caplan on Mesenchymal Stem Cells - based cartilage repair (funded by the Polish-American Kosciuszko Foundation), and also with Prof. Matts Brittberg, Sweden. He subsequently completed a knee fellowship with Prof. Rene Verdonk, Belgium. He was a principal investigator in several comprehensive clinical studies on osteoarthritis, cartilage repair, osteotomy, medial knee load-absorber and patello-femoral unloading.  He works on development and improvement of knee joint preservation procedures, including osteotomy and cell-based therapies for cartilage repair. He organized several symposia and courses in the field of cartilage repair, including Warsaw ICRS World Congress in 2007, Polish Arthroscopy Society Congresses and Warsaw Joint Preservation Congress. Dr. Slynarski was Head of several private sports medicine centers in Warsaw.  He was a President od Polish Arthroscopy Society, member of Education Committee of International Cartilage Repair Society (ICRS), Cartilage Committee, Meniscus Committee and Osteotomy Committee of European Society for Sports Traumatology, Knee Surgery, and Arthroscopy (ESSKA).

Perhaps, like most people, you know what you should be eating, but somehow it doesn’t always go to plan. Our relationship with food and our appetite cues can trigger us to either overeat or eat the wrong things and it’s a topic that probably hasn’t had the coverage it should and that certainly fascinates us at SHL. We asked Dr Helen McCarthy, clinical psychologist to come on the pod and talk to us about how she helps people to retrain their appetite. Dr Helen shares how she helps people get back into touch with their hunger signals which leads to a sense of freedom and increased pleasure from food. We talk about: Fasting and how it relates to appetite How to learn to listen to your natural hunger cues Deconstructing emotional eating How her approach leads to increased pleasure from food Why focussing on future goals and values is the key Stepwise behavioural change and how to manage obstacles This episode is full of simple practical tips to help you understand your own appetites, cravings and emotional eating To find out more about Dr Helen and her work, which includes some brilliant webinars  Follow her on Instagram Go to her website Connect with her on Linked In Or buy her book How to Retrain Your Appetite                

Hello, and welcome back to series 2 If you are wondering what we did to Pioneers of Ageing we decided to rename ourselves the Super Human Living podcast. We kick off series 2 with the brilliant Deanna Minich. Deanna Minich, MS, PhD, CNS, Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner (IFMCP), is a nutrition scientist, international lecturer, teacher, and author, with over twenty years of experience in academia and in the food and dietary supplement industries. When we saw she had published a paper on Melatonin where she called it “The next Vitamin D” we knew we had to talk to her. The big myth about melatonin is that it’s “just about jet lag”.   The truth is rooted deep inside our bodies. Our mitochondria are colloquially known as the powerhouses of our cells. Keeping these running actively and smoothly is critical for longevity. Melatonin, the hormone of darkness, does exactly that. Melatonin is highly concentrated in the mitochondria membrane where it helps to quell the oxidative burst of activity coming from our mitochondria. Deanna explains all this as well as knowing if you have enough and the difference between synthetic and the form found in plants. To find out more about Deanna and access a lot of free resources visit her website https://deannaminich.com/

This feels like a fitting finale to series 1! (Series 2 will be back in September!) We talk to Rebekah Brown, founder of mPowder winner of Hip & Healthy’s Best Health Product of the Year, 2022. She shares how it was frustration and lack of information coupled with a shot of anger – as she experienced worrying symptoms during what would turn out to be, her own perimenopause that led her into this journey. Her ambition is to empower people to embrace and take agency for part 2 of their lives. Rebekah shares How she applied her research background to menopause and how she has taken consumer-led research and evolutionary approach to developing products, supported by natural health practitioners and doctors that work and support women. We talked about the process of reframing menopause, how we as a society need that, and how transformational it can be for individuals who do.  She has created a fantastic community of people sharing their stories, collaborating on building a product and building agency for their own health and wellness. To find out more and to join that community, go to https://mpowder.store/ To try the products, use the discount code PIONEERS15 which is valid for 15% off until 20th August 2022 and is valid on the 900g pouches only (non-subscription) We will see you in September!

This episode is something a little bit different and something rather special We talk to Fran Millar, CEO of Belstaff and Jodie Harrison, Global Brand Director for Belstaff. Belstaff is one of those iconic British brands, which is transforming itself to stay as relevant today as it always has been. Fran has come from the world of Elite Cycling, as CEO of Team Ineos, and before that was central to Team Sky. She has been instrumental in transforming British Cycling and for all those British winners we celebrated at the Tour de France and the Olympics. Jodie has also worked on iconic brands such as Soho House and Mr Porter and has a phenomenal track record in creative and brand strategy. We start by talking about their personal transformations in their own careers. Fran shared how she brought all she knew about high-performance sport into building a team and a culture she is genuinely proud of. For Jodie, the red thread has always been communication. We moved into the transformation journey they are embarked on for the Belstaff brand and the Old is Good campaign. The campaign is built on a very simple insight: Belstaff makes stuff that is built to last a lifetime. The age of the brand, indeed a Belstaff jacket or other item is one of the most beautiful things about it. They wanted to celebrate that truth and the people who wear it. It is a brilliantly authentic campaign which we absolutely love and cant wait to see more of. A way to celebrate and give a voice to people who have something to say. Something we wholeheartedly support at Pioneers of Ageing.

What we Love. A monthly curation of longevity boosting gems In this episode we talk about products, ideas and gems that we love for their longevity potential. BeautyPie https://www.beautypie.com/   Continuous Glucose Monitors: https://www.diabetescare.abbott/products.html https://www.supersapiens.com/en-EN/ https://helloinside.com/   Studio10 https://studio10beauty.com/ Check out episode 8 where we chat to Studio 10 founder, Grace Foder You can use TREAT15 for 15% discount (this offer cannot be used with any other promotion)   Saliva Hormone Testing https://www.mintdiagnostics.com/   Crackers Recipe:  ½ cup of flaxseeds 3 tbsp of white sesame 3 tbsp of black sesame 3 tbsp of pumpkin or sunflower seeds 1 tbsp of chia seeds 1 tbsp of corn flour 1 cup of boiling water   Mix seeds and water together with the hot water and leave for 10 minutes.  Roll out the mixture between 2 sheets of baking paper until cracker thickness.  Pop in the oven at 160c for half an hour or until golden brown and crisp.   Ange & Becks X  

This episode gets deep and personal as we chat with Katie Phillips, transformational coach, author, founder of The School of Self Love and TED-X speaker. Katie shares her story, the challenges she faced and her rock-bottom moment that led her to write a new story for herself and ultimately to her finding her calling; working with single women in their 40s. There was something so personal in this episode. We talk about transgenerational trauma and how this has affected all of us in our lives.   A lot of Katie’s work focuses on dating women in their 40’s. She shares what she means by the “scarcity” self-talk and how this can sabotage us (and busted me for doing exactly that during the interview!) Katie shares her perspective on mid-life – that it is such an exciting time with huge opportunities. It’s a time when we truly know ourselves and we have wisdom and experience – what’s not to love about that - in fact, it is everything that we are celebrating here at Pioneers of Ageing If you want to find out more about Katie you can do so here:   web: www.theschoolofself.love Instagram: @KatiePhillipsWithLove She also has a FREE event coming up: ‘MEET YOUR SOUL MATE EXPERIENCE’  FREE 5 day challenge reveals how entrepreneurial single women can boost self confidence, self trust and self worth TO ATTRACT YOUR SOUL MATE by taking you on an empowering inner journey. https://katiephillips661.lpages.co/meet-your-soul-mate/

This episode is truly magickal as we talk to Katy Theakston, founder of Owl and the Apothecary and dive into her “modern witchery for the wild and wonderful woman”. We are inspired by many things from the wonderful Katy, but a recent gem in her newsletter called out to us: "We are here. We are alive. Let us celebrate everything about ourselves in this lifetime. The wild, the wonderful and the weird. Bring them all in. For we are the non-ordinaries." We have talked about reinvention a few times across this first series and Katy shares her absolute masterclass on how to do a reinvention. She left a fast-paced high profile design and digital world in London for Dorset. There she set about solo parenting, healing from a broken heart and mastering ancient sacred rituals Katy talked to us about her reinvention journey, what led to it and how she got to the point where she gave birth to her business within a few weeks of each other. She shares the beauty of how her life now brings together threads that have existed at different points in her life and the importance of power and connection within the rituals she now practices her day. Katy shared how she structures her day, to give her the connection she needs to be “Katy” at the same time as honouring her business and motherhood. If you want to bring a little more Katy Magick into your life you can find her here:   https://owlapothecary.com/ https://www.instagram.com/owlapothecary/   Katy has kindly given our listeners a 15% discount at The Owl & The Apothecary shop, programmes & retreats. Use the code PIONEERS When we asked Katy who inspires and guides her, she answered that it is mainly the women she works with but she also mentioned these names which we will leave here in case you want to search out more about them.   Caroline Britton Michelle Simmonds Isobel Gatherer

This episode is an absolute treat. The effervescent Rae Adam from FWP by Rae shares her journey of becoming a pioneer of style, reinvention and building a fashion business. In her own words, Rae moved to London to study fashion but ended up in the media industry for over 20 years - which wasn’t all bad - it was during that time we met! She married and moved to France, but things didn’t work out as planned. After 5 miserable years during which time she returned to the UK, set up FWP by Rae and got divorced. Having learnt about running her own business in the wine industry in France, she embarked on this new venture, focussing on t-shirts and sweatshirts, all with a wine-related slogan. She is now flying solo and diversifying the brand, she is well on the way to her mission to carefully curate a wardrobe based on good cuts, quality fabric and great prints. She shares her views on fashion, style and beauty and how they have evolved. If you haven’t checked out Rae’s brilliant treasures, then pop over to https://fwpbyrae.com/ She is kindly offering our listeners a 10% discount – but it's only valid until 4th May, so hurry! The code is PIONEER10 (T&C *This offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotion or discount).  

This episode is beyond brilliant. We are delighted to welcome Grace Fodor, founder of cosmetics brand Studio 10 onto the show.   Grace is a serial entrepreneur and successful business women and pioneer on how to age well having created Pro Ageing make up brand with a pro ageing narrative and minimalist make up that is formulated with the best ingredients for mature skin.   Grace believe, as we do, that beauty has no age limit and ageism is old news. With Studio 10 make up she really is changing the face of ageing and ensuring that no one ever feels invisible again.   We talk about what inspired her to create Studio 10 make up brand. She talks about her take on make-up, that is it the confidence that you wear on your face. Yet the old narrative from the beauty industry is all about youth and being younger. Is ageism the last “ism” to be broken down?   Take a listen as we explore this fascinating topic.     Grace shares the insider tips we need to know about for older skin that has been central to the success of Studio10, she shares a few of her favourite products such as Plumping Blush. We wanted to create an easier way for you to get hold of them and try it out for yourself so Grace has kindly offered you all 15% discount:   Go to: https://studio10beauty.com and use the code TREAT15 you will receive a 15% discount (T&C *This offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotion or discount). Take a listen and find out why Studio 10 has been termed "Spanx for the Face"

In this episode, we talk to Katie Waldegrave MBE. Katie is the co-founder and director of the career change charity Now Teach. Previous to Now Teach she co-founded First Story, an education charity helping children to learn to write stories and was Head of History at Cranford Community College. Her first book - The Poets' Daughters was published in 2013. She graduated from Oxford in 2003 and lives in London with her husband and three children.  Katie received an MBE in 2021 for her outstanding contribution to the community. We were so thrilled to bring Katie on the show. We have talked about the concept of transformation and re-invention in the age of longevity and when we heard about Now Teach we realised this is a brilliant way to facilitate that transformation.   Katie tells us about the inspiration that led her and Lucy Kellaway to set up Now Teach. We talked about the circular benefits, to children, schools, individual teachers and the community. We chat about the aspects of ageism that exist in us all and the vital role that Now Teach plays in breaking those down across all generations. We have talked about role models for longevity in earlier episodes, in Now Teach role modelling works in two directions, with younger teachers reverse-mentoring the older teachers. And how this leads to broader, societal and community impact. It is a fascinating and inspiring conversation, once again demonstrating the beauty and power in our hands as we continue to reinvent what it means to age. Links from the show:  Links Check out Now Teach and find out more about what they do: https://nowteach.org.uk/ The book Katie mentions that inspired her to start the charity. https://www.100yearlife.com/the-book/      

In this episode, we talk to Lorna Driver-Davies, Naturopath and nutritionist with a specialism in female health. She is head of nutrition at Wild Nutrition and we love how she is making information on female health more inclusive and available through her team of Nutrition advisors at Wild Nutrition. In preparing for this conversation, Lorna had told us her mother had what she described as: “a successful Menopause”. We found this such an inspiring phrase – why had we never heard that expression before? It very much formed the red thread that ran through this conversation. How greater awareness around nutrition and hormones – driven by culture, science and the media - is changing the narrative of menopause and the nutrition and health information they seek from their physicians and beyond. Despite this, there is still a long way to go to democratise and share this information with a wider audience – not just those who can afford private health care.   Lorna shared her vision for women’s health and a new appreciation of longevity. As she said: “You get a lot of integrated help now for Fertility, I want to see the same level of support for peri-menopause and menopause” Given the vital role female hormones play in brain and cardiovascular health – it is so vital for our future health. Lorna shared her top tips for women who want to take charge of their longevity: Through her work with Wild Nutrition, her team offers   a free 15-minute consultation on supplements and support that can help https://www.wildnutrition.com/ The test that Lorna recommends for all women to treat themselves to, before that handbag! https://dutchtest.com/ Grounding, getting outside and managing digital detoxes. We also asked her to share her top tips for glowing skin: Methyl donors, the most up to date list of these actually comes from Dr Kara Fitsgerald who was our guest in episode 1 of the podcast. In her book, "Younger You", she describes a list of foods she calls the dynamic dozen: These foods are powerful because they contain adaptogens AND donors. Green tea Turmeric Blueberry Rosemary Cruciferous Veg Beets Eggs Organic liver Seeds Salmon Shiitake mushroom Spinach Foods that help support collagen (these include bone broths, chicken, egg whites, berries and oily fish) Foods high in good fats such as oily fish, nuts, seeds, avocados Minimising alcohol, simple sugar, excessive caffeine Regular movement Find out more about Lorna directly: https://www.lornadriverdavies.com/ And on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/lornadriverdavies/

In this episode we talk to Sandra Peat, a brand consultant who has worked with some of the biggest brands in the world, including Mars, CocaCola, Kelloggs, Red Bull and Bacardi. Sandra is also an executive coach with a specialism in supporting people as they step up and into leadership roles, by helping them to find their authentic leadership style, in their work or any area of their life.   Along with POA co-host Rebecca, Sandra cofounded SuperHuman a Strategic Communications agency which helped brands to understand and connect with women - working across a range of sectors, from Fashion to Automotive. They commissioned research in 2018 into the way women in their 40’s and 50’s perceive the way brands and society view them. The research report  is called: Invisible Middle – the coming of age for “middle aged” women and we discuss the findings and what it means to all of us.   While 85% of purchasing decisions are made by women, 91% of those women feel advertisers don’t understand them. It is a crazy statistic and we talk about why this is and perhaps more importantly how can we change it. Some of the topics covered include: How the new narrative for “middle age” is part of a wider appreciation of inclusion, representation of all the individuals and how we need to normalise the experience of ageing. The paradox is that, with age, women have a richness of experience and come into their own, more confident, up for experiences yet at the same time they can feel so invisible from a physicality point of view. The importance of honesty and authenticity – to ourselves and to others around us, Sandra shared examples of how she inspires and showcases this for others in her team, what she refers to as “empathy tools”. Whether we need to rebrand “middle age” – how the associations of the term middle age are totally at odds with the experience of it, and how the reality of it is more about a re-set and a “coming of a new age” – realising the potential of this phase of life. We finish by talking about how we can prepare our body and brain for this transformation phase – which will allow us to step up and “own” the physical and mental transformation that occurs during the menopause transition. If you are interested in what we shared on this check out the Food for Thought programme that Angela runs offers. You can read a summary of their research here. To find out more about the Food for Thought Programme that can help you Future Proof your body and brain, click here.

Dr Miguel Toribio-Mateas is an internationally recognised clinical neuroscientist and applied microbiologist with a research focus on the connection between the gut and the brain.   He is a lecturer in microbiome science and mental health at London South Bank University.   Miguel is known as “The Gut Brain Doctor” and his Instagram feed is always full of scientific insight in a creative and wonderfully engaging way. Go follow him https://www.instagram.com/drmiguelmateas/   In this episode, we start with a chat about the microbiome and the gut-brain link, and take an interesting diversion into focussing on the brain to gut direction.   Miguel shares how a period of ill-health and growing anxiety, plus a diagnosis of ADHD led him to a much deeper appreciation of the nuances around how our brain impacts the gut. This pivotal point for him led to a much more integrated and softer approach to health and wellness, including reconnecting to his passion for music and how that has probably helped to re-wire the brain.   It’s a fascinating conversation covering topics such as rabbit poo, dog kisses and DJ-ing, via dos-ordered eating  (orthorexia) and neuro-diversity. The take-away, if there is one – is that with age comes the self-awareness and self-knowledge which allows us to flourish and age, gracefully, fantastically and continue to grow and learn.

This is a new segment where we reflect and debrief on previous episodes. We had a fantastic response to episode 1, with Dr Kara Fitzgerald. We covered a lot of ground in that episode and a lot of it was quite in-depth into the science, so unsurprisingly there were quite a few questions! We answer these in this episode and share our own experiences and reflections on the Younger You programme.  This is a helpful analogy to understand epigenetics and DNA methylation! Think of your laptop or device you are reading this on. You could have a really old laptop, but as long as you keep your software up to date and “clean” it runs ok. OR you could have a brand new laptop or phone – but if you run old software on it, or junk it up with badly saved and ordered files/apps – it will slow down and not work so well: Think of your genes as the hardware Epigenetics is the software that runs on it. With well-maintained software, you can keep running an old computer, but if you don’t maintain the software, if it gets full of bugs, if there is too much memory used up on waste….the computer runs slowly and badly DNA methylation: is one type of software and perhaps the most important one. We can think of it as the operating system. Your genes can’t change, but the way it is expressed can, an expression that is often used – your genes are a loaded gun, but it's your environment that pulls the trigger.  

In this episode we talk to Sarah Clift a creative and visionary film director and writer.   With a first career writing award-winning advertisement campaigns in London agencies, Sarah made the bold transition to writing and directing her own films and has made two award winning short films.   Sarah’s second short film, THE BIRTH OF VALERIE VENUS, co-funded by the BFI NETWORK, has won numerous awards and qualified for Oscar Consideration and was BAFTA Longlisted for Best British Short Film in 2021.   Sarah is currently in development on her feature film SPINSTERHOOD set in 1800 Yorkshire (we can’t wait!!).   Sarah celebrates women of all ages in her films and in this conversation we chat about:   What drives her to create the characters and storylines, Sarah told us   “I wasn’t really seeing things on screen about sensuality of sexuality that felt believable to me” Sarah Clift   The changes that are needed for us to see more representation of more diverse storylines and characters. There is a conflict, on the one hand, the reality of age is that women understand themselves much better, and yet there is a lack of role models in popular culture, which drives this sense of invisibility that pervades    We loved this conversation and all of Sarah’s work, go and follow her on Instagram to find out more about her https://www.instagram.com/scliftuk/

In this episode, we talk to Dr Kara Fitzgerald about what actually happens when we age. Kara explains, in simple to understand terms, about the changes going on in our epigenetics, such as DNA methylation. She shares insight from her research that has demonstrated how a (very do-able) diet and lifestyle plan can actually REVERSE biological age by over 3 years in just 8 weeks. Some of the gems from this episode include: An explanation of biological ageing. 25% of the methylation happening on your biological ageing clock is related to stress, she refers to stress as “gasoline on the fire of ageing” Simple ideas on how to address stress, taken from her evidence-based programme.   Kara´s brand new book is out now: Younger You  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Younger-You-Reduce-Longer-Better-ebook/dp/B09KC2XFPL/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2A0J0WO14J6IW&keywords=younger+you+kara+fitzgerald&qid=1641997460&s=books&sprefix=Younger+Y%2Cstripbooks%2C88&sr=1-1 Biological Age Self-Assessment (BASA) the questionnaire that helps show you what you’re already doing right and where you can improve: https://youngeryouprogram.com/basa/ The 3YY programme that is based on her research: https://join.youngeryouprogram.com/ Kara’s original pilot study published in 2021 in Aging Journal:  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33844651/  

In the pilot episode, we talk about fasting and how/ if it relates to ageing. We also share our plans for the pod!