The Method - Health in the Real World
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There’s no shortage of health advice out there, but how much of it actually works? Cold plunges, glucose monitors, protein timing, strength training, avoiding microplastics… How do we figure out what’s worth our time? Now there’s a method.
The Method – Health in the Real World unpacks the science and real-world application behind modern-day health. We speak with leading voices to help you make sense of your health, and we find out how we can live better now, and for longer.
Each episode, long-time friends Greg Potter and Charlie Edmondson will interview leading experts to put key health topics under the microscope, and unpack health questions through three lenses:
- The science: What the experts, data, and scientific research say.
- The practice: How to turn theory into habit and sustainable behaviour change.
- The experience: How the practice lives up to expectation in real life.
In an often chaotic world, we want to keep an eye on the long game: maximising your healthspan, not just your lifespan.
Whether it’s eating better, moving with intention, or getting quality sleep… We help you build good, evidence-based habits that stick. Let’s find out what works for you. The Method gives you the tools to chart your own path towards health confidence.
Expect deep dives into the science of health. We’ll cover topics like: supplements, brain health, personalised nutrition, biomarker tracking, zone 2 training, stress management, but also explore psychological wellness, the power of social connection, and good emotional resilience.
Whether you’re new to proactive health, or already experienced and looking for nuanced conversations and fresh insights, The Method will empower you to push what really matters when it comes to your health.
About your hosts:
Dr Greg Potter is a health consultant with a PhD in sleep, nutrition, and metabolic health, and a master’s in exercise physiology. A real chameleon in the health world, he works across product development, coaching, scientific advisory, and science communication. He also loves meeting people, exploring new places, and spending an unreasonable amount of money on specialty coffee. On this show, Greg is here to cut through the noise of the wellness world and help listeners focus on what truly moves the needle for long-term health.
Charlie Edmondson is a proudly Northern outdoors lover, with a growing passion for what it means to live well. She spent years firing her health questions at Greg over voice notes; a habit she now conveniently brings to the show. A real sports addict, Charlie has tried everything from swimming, to hockey, and cycling, to endurance racing representing Team GB in triathlon and duathlon across the globe. She is also a dog mum and doesn’t say no to the occasional Guinness. She brings her warmth to the Method to champion the voice of the everyday listener, who might not be an expert in health, but is brimming with questions.
About Thriva
The Method is brought to you by Thriva, a proactive health platform built for the modern age. The promise of longevity often comes with years spent in poor health. We want to bridge the gap between lifespan – how long we're living – and healthspan – how well we're living. We combine powerful at-home blood testing with wearable insights and expert guidance. So you can know exactly what’s going on inside your body - and what to do about it - before issues arise. With this podcast, we hope to bring listeners confidence in everyday health decisions.
To learn more about Thriva’s values and services, visit https://thriva.co/.
The Method – Health in the Real World unpacks the science and real-world application behind modern-day health. We speak with leading voices to help you make sense of your health, and we find out how we can live better now, and for longer.
Each episode, long-time friends Greg Potter and Charlie Edmondson will interview leading experts to put key health topics under the microscope, and unpack health questions through three lenses:
- The science: What the experts, data, and scientific research say.
- The practice: How to turn theory into habit and sustainable behaviour change.
- The experience: How the practice lives up to expectation in real life.
In an often chaotic world, we want to keep an eye on the long game: maximising your healthspan, not just your lifespan.
Whether it’s eating better, moving with intention, or getting quality sleep… We help you build good, evidence-based habits that stick. Let’s find out what works for you. The Method gives you the tools to chart your own path towards health confidence.
Expect deep dives into the science of health. We’ll cover topics like: supplements, brain health, personalised nutrition, biomarker tracking, zone 2 training, stress management, but also explore psychological wellness, the power of social connection, and good emotional resilience.
Whether you’re new to proactive health, or already experienced and looking for nuanced conversations and fresh insights, The Method will empower you to push what really matters when it comes to your health.
About your hosts:
Dr Greg Potter is a health consultant with a PhD in sleep, nutrition, and metabolic health, and a master’s in exercise physiology. A real chameleon in the health world, he works across product development, coaching, scientific advisory, and science communication. He also loves meeting people, exploring new places, and spending an unreasonable amount of money on specialty coffee. On this show, Greg is here to cut through the noise of the wellness world and help listeners focus on what truly moves the needle for long-term health.
Charlie Edmondson is a proudly Northern outdoors lover, with a growing passion for what it means to live well. She spent years firing her health questions at Greg over voice notes; a habit she now conveniently brings to the show. A real sports addict, Charlie has tried everything from swimming, to hockey, and cycling, to endurance racing representing Team GB in triathlon and duathlon across the globe. She is also a dog mum and doesn’t say no to the occasional Guinness. She brings her warmth to the Method to champion the voice of the everyday listener, who might not be an expert in health, but is brimming with questions.
About Thriva
The Method is brought to you by Thriva, a proactive health platform built for the modern age. The promise of longevity often comes with years spent in poor health. We want to bridge the gap between lifespan – how long we're living – and healthspan – how well we're living. We combine powerful at-home blood testing with wearable insights and expert guidance. So you can know exactly what’s going on inside your body - and what to do about it - before issues arise. With this podcast, we hope to bring listeners confidence in everyday health decisions.
To learn more about Thriva’s values and services, visit https://thriva.co/.
22 Episodes
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What is insulin resistance and what can you do about it?In this episode, Greg and Charlie speak with Dr Lucas Denton about insulin resistance: how insulin manages energy, why cells become less responsive to it, which clues may suggest a problem and the practical habits that can improve insulin sensitivity. Lucas also shares the changes he made to his own lifestyle after recognising signs of metabolic syndrome in his own results, which led to him to losing 30kg and bringing his abnormal blood markers back into the normal range.If you'd like to send us your health questions for future episodes, you can email us a voice note or write in at [email protected] Explore Further: • Dr Lucas Denton - Personal Health Journey https://thriva.co/hub/community-health-insights/a-gps-perspective-on-practising-what-i-preach • Greg Potter - Website: https://gregpotterphd.com/ • Greg Potter - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gregpotterphd/ • Thriva - Website: https://thriva.co/Key Moments:What does insulin do? (03:03)What is insulin resistance? (07:03)The clues to look for (20:43)Lucas' Personal Health Turnaround (30:18)What to do about it (37:20)About Thriva:Thriva is a proactive health platform built for the modern age. The promise of longevity often comes with years spent in poor health. We want to bridge the gap between lifespan - how long we're living - and healthspan - how well we're living. We combine powerful at-home blood testing with wearable insights and expert guidance. So you can know exactly what's going on inside your body - and what to do about it - before issues arise. With this podcast, we hope to bring listeners confidence in everyday health decisions.To learn more about Thriva's values and services, visit https://thriva.co/
We talk about resilience all the time, and yet that term still seems elusive. What does it mean in biological terms? Is it a sense? A neurological process? An emotion? Can we get better at being resilient? And more importantly: can we use resilience as a tool to live better and longer?In this episode, Greg and Charlie sit down with Dr. Elaine Lee, Professor of Molecular Biology and Applied Genetics at the University of Connecticut, where she also directs the Human Performance Laboratory. Elaine's research focuses on the physiology and genetics of resilience; how our bodies respond and adapt to stress, and how we can enhance our capacity to cope with it. Her work spans exercise, heat stress, human performance, and she has a particular interest in translating the science into tools for everyday life. This is why we wanted her to join us on the Method.In our science segment today, Elaine explains how resilience works in our body. It doesn’t just mean “bouncing back”, but getting better at coping. Greg and Elaine will discuss the concept of hormesis: the idea that by microdosing stress, we could train our bodies to recover better, and be less susceptible to panic. Elaine will also delve into the science of heat acclimation and the remarkable changes the body undergoes when exposed to heat regularly. We will then discuss how softer and less biology-oriented factors like relationships or positive self-talk can play their part too.In the practice segment, Elaine, Greg, and Charlie get into what this means for daily life. Including:Why recovery matters to build better resilience day-to-day (21:32)Signs that you’re pushing your body beyond its stress capacities (24:00)How to use a wearable to enhance resilience (27:22)How to build heat tolerance using a sauna or steam room if you've never tried it before (28:34)Finally, in the experience section, we turn to your listener questions. We hear from listeners who are trying to bring more mindfulness into a busy life, who are trying to make new habits stick, or who need advice to better prevent or recover from burnout. If you'd like to send us your health questions for future episodes, you can email us a voice note or write in at [email protected] Explore Further:Elaine Lee - University of Connecticut faculty profile: https://kins.uconn.edu/person/elaine-choung-hee-lee/Elaine Lee - STEM-Talk podcast appearance: https://www.ihmc.us/stemtalk/Greg Potter - Website: https://gregpotterphd.com/Greg Potter - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gregpotterphd/Thriva - Website: https://thriva.co/About Thriva:Thriva is a proactive health platform built for the modern age. The promise of longevity often comes with years spent in poor health. We want to bridge the gap between lifespan — how long we're living — and healthspan — how well we're living. We combine powerful at-home blood testing with wearable insights and expert guidance. So you can know exactly what's going on inside your body — and what to do about it — before issues arise. With this podcast, we hope to bring listeners confidence in everyday health decisions.To learn more about Thriva's values and services, visit https://thriva.co/
A wave of nausea mid-run, the urgent dash to the loo before or during a competition, a stitch that stops you in your tracks… Ever wondered why your gut turns against you during exercise?In this episode, Dr. Patrick B. Wilson helps us reconcile with our gut when we work out. An Associate Professor of Exercise Science at Old Dominion University and registered dietitian, Patrick has dedicated his career to answering burning gut questions. He is also the author of The Athlete's Gut - the only book written specifically on how exercise, diet, and psychology interact with gut function.In our science segment, Patrick walks us through what the gut is and why it's so much more than a digestive tube. He explains what happens when blood rushes away from the gut toward muscles, why some forms of exercise (like running) tend to cause more symptoms than others, and how hormonal changes across the menstrual cycle shape what the gut does during exercise.Patrick, Greg, and Charlie will then go on to discuss how we should eat and drink around exercise in practice. Including:The basic foundations of a gut-friendly exercise diet (21:15)Are probiotics a valuable food supplement? (23:08)What is the role of carbohydrates during exercise? (27:10) How to approach hydration for 90+ minute workouts (29:20)When to consider a low FODMAP diet (32:50)Finally, in the experience section, we hear from listeners with their own gut dilemmas: how to know when sodium and hydration actually start to matter; what to do when the heat makes your usual run feel impossible; how to minimise nausea at max effort; and is running fasted before breakfast actually recommended?If you'd like to send us your health questions for future episodes, you can email us a voice note or write in at [email protected] Explore Further:Patrick Wilson - The Athlete's GutPatrick Wilson - ODU Faculty profileGreg Potter - WebsiteGreg Potter - InstagramThriva - WebsiteAbout Thriva:Thriva is a proactive health platform built for the modern age. The promise of longevity often comes with years spent in poor health. We want to bridge the gap between lifespan – how long we're living – and healthspan – how well we're living. We combine powerful at-home blood testing with wearable insights and expert guidance. So you can know exactly what's going on inside your body – and what to do about it – before issues arise. With this podcast, we hope to bring listeners confidence in everyday health decisions.To learn more about Thriva's values and services, visit https://thriva.co/
Type 2 diabetes is a disease on the rise. It affects over 4 million people in the UK, with many living with it undiagnosed. So how can we recognise the signs, reduce our risks, or better live with it? This week, Greg and Charlie put these questions to Dr. Naveed Sattar, Professor of Cardiometabolic Medicine at the University of Glasgow and one of the world's most cited researchers in diabetes and obesity science. With over 1,400 peer-reviewed publications, a career spent working directly with patients, and his own first-hand experience of living with an elevated risk of diabetes, Naveed is a voice to be reckoned with on this subject.Starting with the science, Naveed will explain what happens inside the body when we develop type 2 diabetes: why it’s different from type 1, and how ectopic fat (fat that gets stored around our middle and in non-fat organs like the liver or pancreas) hinders insulin production. We talk about the genetic and environmental factors that heighten our risks, and about why certain populations are more vulnerable. You will see that when it comes to diabetes, the science has changed over the last decade: moving away from focusing on sugar, toward prioritising weight loss instead, with GLP-1 medications like Ozempic and Wegovy playing a part.In our practice segment, Naveed, Greg, and Charlie get into what this all means for day-to-day life. Including:How Naveed changed his lifestyle after being diagnosed at risk (23:21)Screening and testing for diabetes (27:33)The role of movement in reducing risks (30:05)Where and how GLP-1 medications get factored in (33:39)Finally, in the experience section, we turn to your listener questions. We hear from those navigating gestational diabetes, and from people who have been living with type 2 diabetes or are trying to lower their risks.If you take only one thing away from this episode, remember that a type 2 diabetes diagnosis is not the result of lifestyle choices. This episode is for anyone who wants to make sense of a disease that has been driven by socio-economic factors, and moves faster than most of us realise.If you'd like to send us your health questions for future episodes, you can email us a voice note or write in at [email protected] Explore Further:The Diabetes Risk Score Test from Diabetes UK The Diabetes Prevention Programme Study from the US National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases Sattar N & Buse JB - "Why Early, Large-scale Weight Loss Is the Future of Type 2 Diabetes Care." Sattar N & Gill JMR - "Type 2 diabetes in migrant South Asians." Naveed Sattar - University of Glasgow profileGreg Potter - WebsiteGreg Potter - InstagramThriva - WebsiteAbout Thriva:Thriva is a proactive health platform built for the modern age. The promise of longevity often comes with years spent in poor health. We want to bridge the gap between lifespan — how long we're living — and healthspan — how well we're living. We combine powerful at-home blood testing with wearable insights and expert guidance. So you can know exactly what's going on inside your body — and what to do about it — before issues arise. With this podcast, we hope to bring listeners confidence in everyday health decisions.To learn more about Thriva's values and services, visit https://thriva.co/
Downward dog, warrior pauses, vinyasa flows, hatha breathing, or the calming and restorative savasana… Time to dive into the world of yoga. This week, Greg and Charlie sit down with Dr. Tina Cartwright, reader in Health Psychology at the University of Westminster, leader of the Applied Yoga Research Group, and a qualified yoga teacher with over 20 years of practice. Tina is known for evaluating the first yoga social prescribing programme in the NHS, and has spent her career asking a simple but underrated question: what can yoga actually do for us, and who is it for?Starting with the science, Tina walks us through what a yoga practice is made of and why the combination matters of breath work, mindfulness and movement is beneficial for us. She explains how yoga interacts with the nervous system, and what the research shows about the mental and physical changes people experience over time. Greg will also dig into the details on hot yoga and injury rates, to compare and contrast yoga to other sports.In the practice segment, we get into what a yoga practice looks like for real people. You’ll get to hear about:A breathing practice you can do at home or on the go (22:07)Why men don’t pick up yoga and how we can lift barriers to access (25:39)Which styles of yoga are best for stress and nervous system regulation (30:55)Finally, in the experience section, we hear from listeners with a wonderful range of questions: someone who's lost their yoga mojo after years of practice and wants it back; a 60-year-old who is "yoga curious" but intimidated by walking into that first class; and questions about yoga with hypermobility or conditions like osteoporosis.Namaste everyone! Enjoy this week’s episode, and as always if you'd like to send us your health questions or voice notes for future episodes, email us a voice note or write in at [email protected]’s research:Yoga in the UK survey (BMJ Open, 2020) Yoga on social prescription in the NHS (2022)Online yoga during COVID-19 (PLoS ONE, 2026)Links:Tina Cartwright’s WebsiteTina Cartwright’s University of Westminster profileGreg Potter’s Website Greg Potter’s InstagramThriva’s WebsiteAbout ThrivaThriva is a proactive health platform built for the modern age. The promise of longevity often comes with years spent in poor health. We want to bridge the gap between lifespan — how long we're living — and healthspan — how well we're living. We combine powerful at-home blood testing with wearable insights and expert guidance. So you can know exactly what's going on inside your body — and what to do about it — before issues arise. With this podcast, we hope to bring listeners confidence in everyday health decisions.To learn more about Thriva's values and services, visit thriva.co
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