The Eat This Podcast with Dr. Alan Desmond

“The most powerful tool we have to transform our health isn’t a high-tech prescription or the latest online wellness trend. It’s the food on our plate.”
That’s the message at the heart of my brand-new book, What Your Doctor Isn’t Telling You About Food, available now in audiobook and hardback.
In today’s episode, I’m sharing an exclusive preview from the audiobook: an extract from the chapter on heart health, exploring how food can help prevent our number one killer.
So, what are doctors not telling us about food?
Far too much.
In What Your Doctor Isn’t Telling You About Food, I'll guide you through fifteen conversations I wish every doctor had the time and confidence to have with their patients. Conversations that cut through the online confusion about food and health, and show just how powerful our daily food choices can be.
Regular listeners of this podcast will also recognise some familiar voices throughout the book, with contributions from many former guests and friends of the show, including Dr Neal Barnard, Dr Dean and Dr Ayesha Sherzai, Stephen and David Flynn from The Happy Pear, and Ian and Henry from BOSH!
Let’s jump in!
Order my new book: “What Your Doctor Isn’t Telling You About Food”
Amazon UK
Waterstones UK 
Easons Ireland
Barnes & Noble US (release date July 14)
US Australia and New Zealand

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In this live festival bonus episode, I sit down with Henry Firth and Ian Theasby, the duo behind BOSH!, one of the most influential forces in the plant-based movement.
For nearly a decade, the BOSH! boys have inspired millions with indulgent plant-based comfort food, bestselling cookbooks, and viral videos. But now, as dads in their 40s, they’re shifting focus towards health, balance, and longevity.
We cover:
- Why their Healthy Vegan cookbook became such a hit
- Ian’s journey from marathon to ultramarathon
- Henry’s fitness transformation
- How parenthood reshaped their approach to food and family meals
- Finding balance with the 80/20 rule
- Their exciting new range of affordable, high-protein, high-fibre plant-based meals
- The responsibility they feel influencing how millions of people eat
Recorded live in a buzzing festival tent, this is an energetic and inspiring conversation about how two pioneers of plant-based cooking are evolving for the next decade - and how their mission to make plant-based eating mainstream, healthy, and accessible is stronger than ever.
Follow BOSH! on Instagram and YouTube or visit bosh.tv to learn more about their books, recipes, and upcoming supermarket range. Follow Ian’s running adventures here.
Books mentioned in this episode:
Healthy Vegan by BOSH!
The Plant-Based Diet Revolution by Dr. Alan Desmond
The Plant-Based Athlete by Matt Frazier & Robert Cheeke
Recipes for Happiness by The Happy Pear
Order my new book: “What Your Doctor Isn’t Telling You About Food”
Amazon UK
Waterstones UK 
Easons Ireland
Barnes & Noble US (release date July 14)
US Australia and New Zealand

Updates and free guide "Build Your Healthy Plate" Join the mailing list

Connect with Dr Alan Desmond  Instagram Threads 
Sponsored by Linwoods Healthfoods: Shop with 15% discount

"Every patient with IBD asks about food — they deserve evidence-based answers".
In this final episode of Season One, I’m diving into the conditions that first sparked my passion for gut health more than 20 years ago — Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, collectively known as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
As a Consultant Gastroenterologist, I work with people living with IBD every day. And I’ve learned that one of the most common —  questions that patients ask is deceptively simple: What should I eat?
In this episode, I unpack what the science actually says about food and IBD. I explore:
How diet and lifestyle — not just genetics — play a major role in IBD development and progression
The foods and dietary patterns that are associated with lower inflammation and better outcomes
The research that’s convinced me every person with IBD deserves education and support around diet
The 10 food rules I share with my patients living with Crohn’s and colitis
The evidence behind plant-based diets, Mediterranean diets, and specific dietary patterns for IBD
What the latest clinical guidelines from the US, Europe, and UK are — and aren’t — saying about diet
I also share the resources I recommend most often in clinic to help people with IBD take action and build an evidence-based dietary pattern to help maximise their gut health and overall well-being.
If you’re are interested in learning exactly how diet effects gut health and overall wellbeing - especially if you or a loved one is living with ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease - this episode is for you!
Resources I mention in this episode:
You can download the full slide deck I used while preparing this episode — complete with citations and references — at www.alandesmond.com/ibd
Canada’s Food Guide
The Plant-Based Crohn’s and Colitis Cookbook by Helena Rose Murphy
Nutritional Therapy for IBD
Case report and review of the evidence published by Dr Alan Desmond with Dr Neal Barnard and colleagues.
Order my new book: “What Your Doctor Isn’t Telling You About Food”
Amazon UK
Waterstones UK 
Easons Ireland
Barnes & Noble US (release date July 14)
US Australia and New Zealand

Updates and free guide "Build Your Healthy Plate" Join the mailing list

Connect with Dr Alan Desmond  Instagram Threads 
Sponsored by Linwoods Healthfoods: Shop with 15% discount

'Longevity isn’t just extra years — it’s extra good years. The longer you live in a Blue Zone, the fewer unhealthy years you endure'
Today's conversation is with explorer, author, and National Geographic Fellow Dan Buettner, the man who brought us the concept of the Blue Zones — those remarkable places where people live longer, healthier lives than almost anywhere else on Earth.
In this conversation, you’ll hear why a long life is more about your environment than your willpower, how food, purpose, movement, and community shape your health, and why changing your surroundings works better than relying on motivation alone. And of course, we touch on a few fun extras — including the truth about coffee in the Blue Zones.
We share a few laughs, discuss the role of a Blue Zones microbiome science and more: 
The 5 pillars of every Blue Zone diet
Why living longer also means living healthier
How purpose and social connection add years to your life
Why diets fail but environments succeed
Simple, powerful lifestyle shifts you can make today
Books by Dan Buettner:
The Blue Zones Kitchen: 100 Recipes to Live to 100
The Blue Zones Challenge: A 4-Week Plan for a Longer, Better Life
Learn more at: www.bluezones.com
Follow Dan on Instagram: @danbuettner
Order my new book: “What Your Doctor Isn’t Telling You About Food”
Amazon UK
Waterstones UK 
Easons Ireland
Barnes & Noble US (release date July 14)
US Australia and New Zealand

Updates and free guide "Build Your Healthy Plate" Join the mailing list

Connect with Dr Alan Desmond  Instagram Threads 
Sponsored by Linwoods Healthfoods: Shop with 15% discount

'Dementia is not inevitable. We can live a cognitively vibrant life by focusing on our lifestyle- especially food'.
Today’s guests are Dr Dean Sherzai and Dr Ayesha Sherzai — an inspiring husband-and-wife team — neurologists, researchers, and authors who have dedicated their careers to preventing Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia through evidence-based lifestyle change.
Today, over 55 million people live with dementia worldwide, and that number is expected to triple by 2050. But the Sherzai's are here with a powerful message: Dementia is not inevitable. Most cases can be prevented through evidence-based diet and lifestyle practices. And it's never too early to begin planning for a memorable life.
In this episode, they share practical insights on how to protect your brain health, what they’ve learned working in Loma Linda — America’s only true Blue Zone — and the simple steps we can all take to improve our cognitive health today.
Connect with Dean and Ayesha online:  Instagram, YouTube, and explore their free resources at thebraindocs.com. 
Grab a copy of Dean and Ayesha’s extraordinary books: The Alzheimer’s Solution and The 30-Day Alzheimer’s Solution — packed with practical guidance, inspiring science, and delicious recipes to support your brain health. 
Order my new book: “What Your Doctor Isn’t Telling You About Food”
Amazon UK
Waterstones UK 
Easons Ireland
Barnes & Noble US (release date July 14)
US Australia and New Zealand

Updates and free guide "Build Your Healthy Plate" Join the mailing list

Connect with Dr Alan Desmond  Instagram Threads 
Sponsored by Linwoods Healthfoods: Shop with 15% discount