Latest news with #RealHealth
Irish Independent
03-07-2025
- Health
- Irish Independent
Real Health podcast: Transforming your mental health with hiking
Mairead Furlong and Fergal McLoughlin, psychologists, married couple and authors of The 50 best family hikes in Ireland, join me on this week's episode of the Real Health podcast. When Mairead was pregnant with her son, she had a mystery illness which rendered her unable to walk. She told me, 'We came across a brilliant neurologist who was able to diagnose me. It was a tumour on my mid-thoracic spine and they immediately put me in for surgery, which saved my life. They had to remove the tumour and a part of my spine and a lot of muscles in my back. I had to learn to walk again.' What interested me about the married couple's book was that they encourage the reader to bring their kids. Fergal says, 'A lot of our hikes, we like to kind of get out to explore slightly wilder places. And it's really important that when you're with your kids out in those sorts of places, not to be too kind of prescriptive with them. Let them roam a little bit. Let them out wild. Let them be wild.' You can listen to the full episode here or wherever you get your podcasts.
Irish Independent
19-06-2025
- Health
- Irish Independent
Real Health: Weight loss drugs, obsessive eating and protein requirements with Sophie Pratt RD
Sophie Pratt, registered dietitian, joins me on this week's episode of the Real Health podcast. I started by asking the dietitian about obsessive eating patterns. The nutrition expert told me, 'We are seeing it a lot more these days. A hundred years ago we never weighed our food. I think it's actually got a little bit out of hand. We want to promote health, we want to eat well, but we're now having individuals who are getting out the scales at every meal. I even see people in restaurants using scales. I think the cons outweigh the pros in my opinion. Just in terms of the relationship with food. By weighing, we build a negative relationship with food.' Secondly, I asked Sophie about what she thought about weight loss drugs. She explained, 'From a dietetic perspective. I don't particularly like it. For most, it's not necessary. Yes, there are certain individuals who may require it, but for the most part we don't require it. We need to bring it back to basics, we're seeing a lot of individuals who may have been placed on it, and their habits have not changed. They're still not doing exercise. I have no problem with individuals taking it who have done everything in their power to achieve weight loss but haven't been successful.' You can listen to the full episode here or wherever you get your podcasts.
Irish Independent
18-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Money Talks podcast: Lorraine Keane on buying a house in Foxrock at 20: ‘I doubled what I'd paid for it'
Hosted by Indo Money editor Katie Byrne, Money Talks asks household names to lift the lid on their personal finances and share their money story. Each week, Ms Byrne will chat to a mix of entertainers, artists and entrepreneurs about how they spend, save and invest their money. In the first episode, available to listen to now, broadcaster Lorraine Keane shares how she got into the property market at the age of 20 and why she worries her daughters won't have the same opportunities. Money Talks: Lorraine Keane on buying a house in Foxrock at 20: 'I doubled what I'd paid for it' Upcoming guests include comedian Colm O'Regan, jewellery entrepreneur Chupi Sweetman, podcaster Jenny Claffey and fitness influencer Rob Lipsett. Money Talks is the latest addition to the growing portfolio of award-winning shows from the Irish Independent. These include The Indo Daily, Indo Sport with Joe Molloy, Real Health with Karl Henry and The Big Tech Show with Adrian Weckler. Mediahuis Ireland – the publisher of the Irish Independent – is also the home of the phenomenally successful Crime World, hosted by Nicola Tallant. Mediahuis Ireland editor-in-chief Cormac Bourke said: 'We want to continue to improve our service to our readers. Launching the Indo Money hub was designed to do just that. Building on its success, the Money Talks podcast is another important step to give our audience the journalism it wants in the right format and at the right time.' Group head of audio Mary Carroll said: 'Money Talks is a non-conventional personal finance podcast that is less about dispensing advice and more about people's personal experiences with money and how it has shaped who they are. It's a fresh approach and an exciting addition to our podcast portfolio.' Indo Money editor and Money Talks host Katie Byrne said: 'We want to break the taboo around talking about money by asking the questions people are often too afraid to ask. Our guests share openly about their financial experiences, in turn revealing another side to their personality.' Subscribe to Money Talks on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Irish Independent
12-06-2025
- Health
- Irish Independent
Real Health: Busting online myths about women's fitness with Dr Lauren Colenso-Semple
Dr Lauren Colenso-Semple, muscle physiology researcher specialising in ovarian hormones and exercise induced adaptations, joins me on this week's episode of the Real Health podcast. One of the areas where Dr Lauren spends most of her time dispelling myths online is the question of whether men and women should train differently. The muscle physiology expert explained, 'The major difference is the starting point. So as an adult, if you are a man; you will have more muscle than an untrained woman. And that is because as a man, you went through puberty, and you had a surge in testosterone that was accompanied by an increase in muscle mass. "The starting point is different. However, once you start to lift weights, then the rate of muscle growth relative to that starting point is the same regardless of sex.' You can listen to the full episode here or wherever you get your podcasts.
Irish Independent
05-06-2025
- General
- Irish Independent
Real Health podcast: Pouring cold water on saunas' health claims with Dr Tadhg Crowley
Dr Tadhg Crowley, GP, chair of the IMO GP committee and associate professor at University College Dublin, joins me on this week's episode of the Real Health podcast. The big thing I wanted to get out of this conversation was whether the health claims about saunas were backed up by medical research. The GP told me, 'In terms of some of the research that's out there, they've looked at it affecting mental health, affecting lung diseases, arthritis, and there are various studies. None of them big enough to say, we'd absolutely agree that it proves health benefits a hundred percent.' Cold water plunges have also become popular in Ireland, so I wanted to check with the doctor what are his concerns about the practice. He said, 'I would have concerns in terms of immersing yourself. First of all, it can cause respiratory difficulties and if you are out your depth and you're doing that, obviously you can't do it on your own. You need to be with people. In terms of the electrophysiology of the heart going from a normal temperature deep into really cold temperatures you'd have to be concerned about that.' You can listen to the full episode here or wherever you get your podcasts.
