Health Up

In Part 2 of "Sing High, Sing Low," we dive deep into the transformative science of singing and why this ancient human practice is one of your most powerful tools for mental health, nervous system regulation, and authentic human connection. 
What happens when you sing? Your vagus nerve activates. Your parasympathetic nervous system (your body's built-in calm system) engages. Stress hormones like cortisol drop. Feel-good hormones like oxytocin, serotonin, dopamine, and endorphins surge. And if you're singing with others? The bonding response is measurable and immediate. Fiona, a singing facilitator and vocal advocate for reclaiming this lost practice, joins us to explore: 
— How singing activates vagal tone and parasympathetic nervous system regulation
— Why group singing creates deeper human connection than conversation alone
— The hormonal cascade of group singing: oxytocin, serotonin, dopamine, cortisol reduction
— How to use your voice as your personal stress-relief and wellness tool (it's free, it's always accessible)
— Voice shame, choir culture, and why so many of us stopped singing
— Why singing isn't an art form
—it's a fundamental human practice
— Practical applications: corporate team building, community connection, personal mental health
— How singing can regulate both your nervous system and the nervous systems of people around you 
This episode challenges the myth that only "good singers" deserve to sing and reveals how singing is your personal wellness toolkit for anxiety, stress relief, belonging, and meaningful human connection. If you've ever felt too self-conscious to sing, if you're looking for practical nervous system regulation tools, if you want to understand the science of what group singing actually does to human beings—this conversation is for you. 
Listen and discover why your voice has been waiting for you all long.
GUEST: Fiona | Singing Facilitator, Vocal Advocate
→ Instagram: @singhighsinglow
→ Upcoming Book: "All Children Sing Until They're Told Not To" (September)
→ Offers: Singing groups in Sydney, corporate workshops, one-off sessions 
HOST: Anthony Hartcher | Clinical Nutritionist, Lifestyle Medicine Specialist, Science Educator 
SHOW: Me & My Health Up PodcastPractical conversations at the intersection of nutrition, lifestyle medicine, science education, and joyful wellbeing. 
TOPICS COVERED:
Vagal tone • Vagus nerve activation • Nervous system health • Parasympathetic nervous system • Parasympathetic activation • Nervous system regulation • Singing benefits • Mental health • Emotional wellbeing • Anxiety management • Stress relief • Oxytocin • Serotonin • Dopamine • Endorphins • Cortisol reduction • Group singing • Human connection • Community • Belonging • Voice shame • Inclusive wellness • Corporate team building • Wellness tools • Holistic health • Lifestyle medicine • Mental wellness
 CHAPTERS/TIMESTAMPS: 
00:00 - Intro & Overview00:45 - What is a Singing Facilitator? Fiona's Journey
02:30 - The Science: What Happens When You Sing
04:15 - Vagal Tone & Parasympathetic Nervous System Activation
06:00 - Why Choir Culture Can Damage Singing Confidence
08:30 - The Hormonal Response to Group Singing
10:45 - Oxytocin, Serotonin, Dopamine: The Feel-Good Cascade
13:00 - Singing vs. Talking: Why Connection Deepens Through Song
15:30 - Corporate Team Building Through Singing
18:00 - Evolution & Cooperation: Why Humans Sing Together
20:15 - Voice Shame & How to Overcome Singing Anxiety
22:45 - Inclusive Singing: It's Not About Being "Good"
25:00 - Practical Applications for Personal Mental Health
27:30 - Singing as a Nervous System Regulation Tool
29:45 - The Future of Singing in Wellness & Community

Music licensed through Soundstripe.
Code: LWQZHBXMYXFRVMUM, D3DQZHY33YBIWUL8

Burnout isn't a breakdown — it's your body's way of telling you something needs to change.
In this episode, clinical nutritionist and wellbeing specialist Anthony Hartcher unpacks the real root causes of burnout and why it so often gets mislabelled as anxiety, depression, or ADHD. More importantly, he shares how to use exhaustion as a guide back to meaning, energy, and a life that actually feels like yours.
You'll learn:
Why burnout is a signal from your body, not a sign of failure
How people pleasing and the need for external validation keeps you trapped
The survival-to-thriving cycle — and where you might be sitting in it right now
Why resilience and mindfulness alone won't resolve burnout
How to reconnect with your values and take meaningful steps forward
Simple daily actions to rebuild energy and live in alignment with who you truly are
Whether you're a burnt-out parent, a high-achiever running on empty, or someone who just can't shake the feeling that something's missing — this episode will help you understand what's really going on and what to do about it.
Ready to take the next step?
Book your free consultation with Anthony and get started on your journey today.
Anthony Hartcher is the founder of the Joyful Mate wellness brand and host of the Me & My Health Up Podcast. He holds degrees in complementary medicine, nutritional medicine, and chemical engineering, and has spent his career helping people move from surviving to thriving.

Are you spending more energy stressing about your health than actually enjoying your life?
In this episode of the Health Up Podcast, clinical nutritionist and lifestyle medicine specialist Anthony Hartcher tackles one of the most overlooked wellness traps — health obsessiveness, also known as orthorexia. If you've ever felt guilty for missing a workout, competitive about how long you fasted, or overwhelmed by conflicting health advice, this episode is your permission slip to breathe.
Anthony explores why the relentless pursuit of "doing health perfectly" can actually work against your wellbeing — and why the healthiest communities on earth (the Blue Zones) thrived without a single supplement, gadget, or biohacking protocol.
What you'll discover in this episode:
🌿 What health obsessiveness and orthorexia really look like in everyday life
🌿 Why trending longevity supplements and biohacking devices will always be replaced
🌿 The timeless health foundations that will never be debunked — sleep, connection, whole food, movement
🌿 Why obsessive fasting, extreme exercise, and over-monitoring your data can do more harm than good
🌿 How to stop comparing your health journey to others and trust your own intuition
🌿 Finding your personal balance between chaos and order — the real "juice of life"
🌿 Why your body knows more than any Oura Ring, Apple Watch, or health tracker
Whether you're deep into biohacking, overwhelmed by nutrition noise, or simply wondering if you've taken your health habits too far — this honest, grounding conversation will help you step back, simplify, and reconnect with what genuinely works for you.
Ready to find your health middle ground without the obsession?
Anthony offers a free discovery session to help you get started on your personal wellness journey — without the overwhelm, without the data obsession, and without the comparison trap.
👉 Book your free discovery session via the link in the show notes.
Anthony Hartcher is a clinical nutritionist, lifestyle medicine specialist, and founder of the Joyful Mate wellness brand. Through the Health Up Podcast, Anthony helps everyday people cut through the noise and build sustainable, personalised wellbeing — one next best step at a time.

Six years ago, Anthony Hartcher launched Me and My Health Up during COVID lockdown with no podcasting experience, no audience, and a lifelong fear of using his own voice. Today, 325+ episodes later, he sits down to reflect on the health insights, mindset shifts, and healing discoveries that have genuinely transformed his health — and his life.
In this honest and heartfelt milestone episode, Anthony shares the most impactful lessons from hundreds of conversations with world-class health experts, including:
🥩 Why he transitioned away from excessive plant-based eating after discovering he was chronically protein deficient
⏱️ How intermittent fasting and occasional 24-hour fasts improved his fat adaptation and training performance — not hindered it
🫒 What Udo Erasmus taught him about seed oils — and why heating olive oil may be doing more harm than good
🧠 The truth about cholesterol — why it's essential for hormone production, brain health, and preventing cognitive decline
🍬 What he learned from Chris Mearns about fructose metabolism and how isolated fructose in processed foods may be quietly driving poor health outcomes
💡 How light therapy, sound healing, art therapy, and movement-based practices expanded his understanding of what healing really means
🔄 Why unlearning is just as powerful as learning — and how letting go of attachment to being "right" has been one of his greatest personal growth lessons
🎙️ And the deeply personal story of finding his voice — after decades of silence, self-doubt, and a childhood fear that held him back from speaking up
This episode is a celebration of the journey — and an invitation for every listener to keep asking questions, stay open to new science, and continue to Health Up.
🎙️ Hosted by Anthony Hartcher
Clinical Nutritionist & Lifestyle Medicine Specialist
Founder, Joyful Mate Wellness
📲 CONNECT & TAKE THE NEXT STEP:
If today's episode resonated with you, here's how to keep the momentum going:
✅ Subscribe to Me and My Health Up so you never miss a weekly episode
⭐ Leave a review — it takes 60 seconds and helps more people find the show
📩 Share this episode with someone who needs a health reset or a reminder that it's never too late to learn something new
💬 Got feedback or a topic you'd love covered? Reach out — Anthony genuinely wants to hear from you
Because the best way to honour 325 episodes is to keep showing up — together.
Continue to Health Up. 🙌

Why is cutting sugar so hard — even when you know it's harming you? The answer may lie deeper than willpower.
In this episode of the Me and My Health Up Podcast, researcher and entrepreneur Chris Mearns joins host Anthony Hartcher to reveal how fructose — not just as a dietary sugar but as a biological signalling molecule — programs your cells into a low-energy, craving-driven, fat-storing state.
Chris explains the science behind the fructose model of metabolic dysfunction: how fructose degrades your mitochondrial energy (ATP), why your body manufactures fructose from glucose, alcohol, salt, and even poor sleep, and how this single enzyme (fructokinase) sits at the centre of modern chronic disease — from obesity and fatty liver to brain fog, insulin resistance, and Alzheimer's disease.
You'll also hear about luteolin, a plant flavonoid that targets fructokinase, and how liposomal supplementation is making it viable as a real-world metabolic support tool through Chris's product, Sugar Shield.
Topics covered:→ Fructose as a metabolic regulator, not just a calorie→ How fructose destroys ATP and suppresses mitochondria→ The evolutionary logic of the conservation signal→ The polyol pathway: how glucose, alcohol & salt trigger fructose→ Food noise, hunger loops & the biology of sugar addiction→ Fructokinase — the linchpin enzyme of metabolic disease→ Luteolin, liposomes & the Sugar Shield supplement→ Practical steps to reduce fructose load and restore energy
Connect with Chris Mearns:🌐 Website & Sugar Shield: LIV3health.com▶️ YouTube: Search "The Fructose Model" on YouTube📩 Contact via his website for inquiries or research discussions
Me and My Health Up Podcast is hosted by Anthony Hartcher — science educator, wellbeing coach, and founder of Joyful Mate.