Couples therapist and Secure Love author Julie Menanno joins Ben Hopkins to unpack what actually creates secure love and why most couples try to create change in the exact wrong way.

Julie explains why validation and emotional safety open the nervous system to growth, how to “accept the person but not the behavior,” and what anxious, avoidant, and disorganized attachment can look like in real relationships.

We talk about:

• Why anxious attachment can chase highs and comebacks
• Why avoidant attachment fears failure and shuts down
• Disorganized attachment: unpredictability, overwhelm, and dissociation
• How couples learn emotional skills in the moment
• What secure love feels like: calm, connection, and repair

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Are we beings of light — literally?

In this episode, Ben Hopkins is joined by Dr. Max Gulhane to unpack the science of biophotons, mitochondria, circadian rhythm, and sunlight — and how light may be a core driver of metabolism, cancer risk, and chronic disease.

From quantum biology to sun exposure myths, grounding, vitamin D, and ancestry-specific health, this conversation challenges modern public health narratives and asks a deeper question:

What if disease isn’t just biochemical — but a light mismatch?

A fascinating deep dive into the intersection of biology, evolution, and modern illness.

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In this episode, Ben Hopkins is joined by dietitian Dr Jessica Turton to explore why chronic under eating may be one of the most overlooked causes of fatigue, brain fog, poor sleep and stubborn health issues.

We break down how eating too little increases stress hormones, disrupts metabolism, drives nutrient deficiencies, and creates “fake energy” that keeps high performers running on empty.

Ben also shares his personal experiment with eating more and why it led to better sleep, clearer thinking, and major improvements in strength and recovery.

A must listen if you’re eating “healthy” but still feel awful.

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Is tooth decay an early warning sign of metabolic disease?

In this episode, I’m joined by Dr. Sarah Hancock to explore a connection most of us were never taught the powerful link between oral health, nutrition, and long term metabolic health.

Dental caries (tooth decay) is the most common diet related disease in the world yet it’s rarely discussed as part of chronic disease prevention. Sarah explains how frequent consumption of refined carbohydrates, nutrient poor diets, and early childhood eating patterns can affect not just our teeth, but our metabolism, insulin sensitivity, and future disease risk.

We cover:

• Why cavities may be an early metabolic red flag
• How diet impacts teeth beyond brushing and fluoride
• The link between refined carbs, insulin resistance, and oral health
• Why poor oral health often begins in childhood
• How nutrient dense diets may protect both teeth and metabolism

This conversation reframes oral health as a whole body issue, not just a dental one.

🎙️ Listen now and share with anyone interested in preventative health.

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In this episode, Ben sits down with Mark Lintern to challenge that assumption and explore a radically different idea...

What if cancer is a disease of suppression, not failure?

Drawing on the metabolic theory, the Warburg effect, mitochondrial biology, and emerging research into the tumour microbiome, Mark lays out a compelling framework that reframes cancer as a chronic cell danger response potentially driven by persistent infection.

They unpack..

Why the metabolic theory explains more than genetics but still leaves gaps.

Why apoptosis and immune evasion don’t fully fit the “broken cell” narrative.

How mitochondria may intentionally suppress oxidative phosphorylation.

Why prostate cancer breaks the Warburg rule entirely.

The role of fungi, bacteria, and the tumour associated microbiome.

Why immunotherapy often fails and sometimes backfires.

How infection biology may explain inflammation, immune suppression, and tumour growth.

What this means for real world treatment strategies, from metabolic therapy to repurposed drugs.

This is a deep, systems-level conversation. Not about silver bullets but about first principles.

If theory informs treatment, then getting the theory right matters.

We cover:

🧬 Metabolic vs somatic mutation theory

🔥 The Warburg effect as a defensive response

🦠 Infection, fungi, and the tumour microbiome

🧠 The cell danger response model

🫁 Oxygen, mitochondria, and immune signalling

🧪 Prostate cancer as a metabolic outlier

💊 Repurposed drugs, antifungals, and metabolic therapies

🌱 Why cancer may be adaptive — not defective

This episode isn’t about certainty.

It’s about asking better questions.

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Health optimisation isn’t about chasing trends. It’s about understanding trade-offs, context and biology. In this episode, Ben Hopkins is joined by James O’Hara to explore what really lies beneath today’s biggest health conversations, from GLP-1 drugs and testosterone decline to peptides, diet, recovery, and ageing.

Drawing on personal experience and emerging research, they unpack why population data doesn’t always translate to individual outcomes, how modern lifestyles are quietly eroding hormonal health, and where new tools may help or harm, if misunderstood.

From anabolic recovery and muscle retention to carnivore diets, light therapy and mental resilience, this is a wide-ranging conversation for anyone trying to navigate health in an increasingly complex world.

We cover:

💉 GLP-1 agonists, weight loss & metabolic trade-offs

🧠 Testosterone decline, ageing & lifestyle factors

💪 Anabolic recovery, peptides & injury repair

🥩 Carnivore diets, hormones & long-term health

⚡ Light therapy, inflammation & healing

🧬 Emerging research shaping modern wellness

It’s nuanced, honest and grounded in real-world experience, not just theory.

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Obesity isn’t just about willpower. It’s biology and it’s been hacked. In this episode, Dr. Richard Johnson (Professor of Medicine at the University of Colorado) joins Ben to explain why your body still thinks it's living in the wild and how the same survival switch that once kept us alive may now be quietly driving obesity, diabetes, dementia and addiction.

From fructose and uric acid to GLP-1s, Alzheimer's, and mitochondrial health, this conversation unpacks the hidden biology shaping how we store fat, crave sugar and so often lose control with it.

We cover:

🧠 Fructose, the brain & Alzheimer’s

🧪 The survival switch that drives obesity

🍷 Why uric acid links sugar and alcohol

💊 GLP-1s, food addiction & metabolic dysfunction

⚡ What carbs do to your mitochondria

It's deep, practical and quite possibly, completely paradigm-shifting.

Find Dr Richard:

Website

Instagram

Mentioned in this episode:

Book - Nature Wants Us to Be Fat by Dr. Richard Johnson

Paper on alcohol, fructose, and liver disease

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What if the root of mental illness isn’t all in your head but in your cells?

Dr. Ana Andreazza is leading one of the most exciting shifts in psychiatric science: away from neurotransmitters and towards the mighty mitochondria. In this episode, she and Ben explore the metabolic foundations of mood disorders, how lactate and ketones impact the brain and why most psychiatric medications only form part of the picture.

From bipolar disorder and inflammation to mitochondrial transplants and brain organoids, Ana is at the forefront of rethinking how we treat, prevent and understand mental illness.

We cover:

🧬 Why mitochondria might be the missing link in mental illness

🔥 How lactate and inflammation can trigger mania and mood swings

🥦 Why nutrition is still missing from most psychiatric care

⚡ The link between energy metabolism and neurotransmitters

🥼 What mitochondrial transplants could mean for brain health

🥑 The promise of ketones in bipolar and mood regulation

💊 Why we need both meds and metabolic interventions

Find Ana:

More about Ana's work

Papers & Research

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