The Politics of Health: Who’s Driving Healthcare Policy & What Needs to Change
Patrick Holford: Simple Wisdom for a Healthy LifeShow Notes
Healthcare is broken. Both costs and disease rates are rising. The NHS in the UK is the fastest growing failing business. Who is driving the health agenda? Why is prevention ignored and natural medicine under accelerating attack? Are we the losers and big Pharma the winners? In this podcast I explore this subject with Dr Rob Verkerk, founder of the Alliance for Natural Health who has directed legal actions to protect the right to natural health across a wide range of issues from vaccines to vitamins. As scientific director, he’s authored some 60 papers and knows the inside politics of the health agenda and what needs to be done to not only protect our rights but also fix healthcare. Visit my website to find out more about prevention and government health legislation.
More from Patrick Holford: Simple Wisdom for a Healthy Life
My guest today is Bob Quinn - a true pioneer of ancient, organic grains. In this rare opportunity to meet with him in his 80th year, en route to Italy, recorded in the car on the way to the airport, we unpack the whole story from the origins of the organic, wholegrain movement in the 80’s, up to now. He explains why it isn't gluten that’s causing so many people to react to wheat (other than coeliacs), what’s really happening, and what needs to happen to our food supply. His hat contains Kamut Khorosan grain - mine is made from our alpacas.
My guest today, Professor Robert Lustig - neuroendocrinologist and Professor Emeritus from the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), world-renowned for unravelling how sugar, fructose and ultra-processed foods degenerate health - proposes that there is one messed up underlying process that almost all contributors to cognitive decline compound. This is an overload of reactive oxygen species (ROS), or oxidants, due to a four step dance that grinds healthy metabolism to a halt. If this is right - and I think it is - this means there are four avenues open to us all to prevent the damping down of energy, both in the brain, but also in the body. Find out how in this podcast. For more about brain health see my books Upgrade Your Brain and Alzheimer's: Prevention is the Cure and Brain Health topic on my website. Take part in Alzheimer's Prevention Day on Tuesday 19 May. Take the 3 minute test and learn more.
My guest is Dr Tommy Wood, who is Associate Professor of Neuroscience and Paediatrics at the University of Washington. He also heads research at the Food for the Brain Foundation and brain trains professional athletes including Olympians and Formula 1 racing drivers.
In today’s podcast, my guest is Dr Bill Wilson, a front-line physician who practiced medicine in Minnesota and Massachusetts for over 40 years. Three years ago, Dr Wilson was diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment - often described as pre-dementia. Instead of accepting it as inevitable, he took action. The result? He reversed it. Now, drawing on both his medical background and personal experience, Dr. Wilson has developed a sharp, highly practical focus on neuroscience. In this conversation, he breaks down exactly what helped restore his cognitive function - and, just as importantly, what truly matters for anyone on the slippery slope of cognitive decline. If brain health is something you—or someone you love—are thinking about, this episode is essential listening.
Happy New Year! As we head into 2026, what actually matters when it comes to protecting your health - and what’s just noise? In this month’s podcast, I share my top health predictions for the year ahead and the habits truly worth adding to your New Year Resolutions. We go behind the headlines to unpack health politics, misinformation, and some uncomfortable truths - from vaccines and new Alzheimer’s drugs to how nutritional medicine is really moving forward. In this episode, you’ll discover: