One thing about me is that I love listening to podcasts. Whether I am driving or on the train, taking a walk, or need something to listen to when I clean, I will usually put on a podcast to listen to. And while I love listening to comedy podcasts or podcasts about culture and society, sometimes I want to learn something new and find inspiration to live a little healthier. If you are also looking for ways to improve your diet, learn more about nutrition, or new ways to spice up your wellness routines, here are five of my favorite health and wellness podcasts for you to check out!
Founder of NutritionFacts.Org, a science-based nonprofit organization, and author of books such as How Not to Die, Dr. Michael Greger, M.D. also hosts this podcast. What I personally enjoy about his podcasts (and YouTube channel) is that everything he discusses is backed by research, and he provides his sources in the description of his videos. He discusses various topics related to nutrition and wellness such as “Should You Take Vitamin E Supplements?” and “How Much Sleep Is Enough?”. Most of the episodes are around 10 to 15 minutes, but occasionally some may range up to an hour. If you want to learn more about how different vitamins and minerals can impact your health (both positively and negatively) or how to improve your health through your diet, this is the podcast for you!
TED Health is hosted by Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider, founder of End Well, who practices internal medicine at Crossover Health in San Francisco and is a regular voice on CNN, MSNBC, and CBS News. What I love about this podcast is that it answers a lot of questions I tend to have. For example, they have an episode titled “Do you really need to take 10,000 steps a day?” which discusses how walking is important for your health, but you may not necessarily need to hit exactly 10,000 steps every day. TED Health has episodes that range from 10 minutes to an hour. Whether you’re looking for something quick or something more in-depth, you can find the perfect episode length to fit your walk or commute.
Dr. Andrew Huberman is a neuroscientist, professor at Standford University School of Medicine, and host of the Huberman Lab podcast. I first discovered his podcast on YouTube and instantly became obsessed due to the topics he covers and the way he interviews his guests. I also enjoy how he focuses on physical health and cognitive health as your mental health is just as important as taking care of your body. His episodes are usually longer, ranging from one to two hours, but are extensively explained and share his research. He has a series called “Essentials” that are the main takeaways from previous full-length episodes. If you only have half an hour to learn about something new or answer any questions you may have about health and wellness, you may enjoy the shorter episodes. I personally love having the longer episodes on in the background while I clean as I feel super productive after doing my chores and learning something new.
Constantly learning about diet and exercise can sometimes be exhausting. Sometimes you need something a little more lighthearted, and that is why I also enjoy self-help podcasts such as this one. Hosted by Jemma Sbeg, she obtained a degree and double specialization in Psychology and Politics, Economics, and Philosophy from the Australian National University. As someone reaching their mid-twenties, I find this podcast to be very relatable and can comfort the anxieties that I know my friends and I tend to deal with at this age. And knowing that Her Campus is targeted for college women, I thought this would be valuable to share. I found episodes like “How trauma gets trapped in the body” to be deeply impactful and insightful, and other episodes like “4 ways I deal with anxiety in my 20s” to offer great advice and reframed my perspective of my own anxiety. Episodes tend to be half an hour to an hour in length and are perfect for a mental health walk.
While many of Aileen Xu’s episodes are focused on spirituality, I wanted to specifically recommend her guided meditations. I discovered Aileen through her YouTube channel many years ago due to my interest in spirituality and self-help but was thrilled when I saw that she made guided meditations. I find her voice to be very calming, soft, and light which is perfect for me when meditating. When I am particularly stressed out with school, I will listen to one of her five-minute mediations like “5 Minute Mediation for Focus & Clarity” and it can instantly reset my mood. A personal goal I have for myself is to start meditating daily, and that goal is made easy with these short episodes as I can meditate anywhere and everywhere! Besides her guided meditations, and if you’re interested in self-help, wellness, or even spirituality, you may enjoy some of her other longer episodes.
Podcasts can be an amazing way to learn something new or to inspire you to live a little healthier and take care of yourself. Something nerdy about myself is that I love learning about nutrition, exercise science, and overall wellness. And whether I want a quick, short episode to listen to while I drive to work or want a longer, more in-depth episode to listen to while I clean or workout, I know I will always be able to find a podcast episode from one of these five podcasts to fulfill my needs and answer my burning questions. If you check any of these podcasts out, I hope you enjoy them and feel inspired!