Featuring epic books - both fiction and non-fiction.
Over the last couple of years I've done a review of the year. But this year, I thought I'd do something slightly different, and summarise/review the very best books I've read this year. There are 6 of them - 4 non-fiction and 4 fiction.
And there's also a place you should visit too. That's where this podcast was recorded. Check out my recent pics if you want a sneak preview of that one.
Remember Zestology will be back on the 1st January 2019 with a special 2019 hacks episode with my good friend Dr. Stephen Simpson. 1st of Jan, see you then.
Covering healthy living, a natural way of life, and triumphing over adversity.
He's the former Days of our Lives actor, Model and Skincare specialist who's founded Alitura, the skincare company.
Why triumphing over adversity?
Well, after a dreadful accident, a skincare specialist said to him: "You have the worst facial injury I have ever seen”
What we put on our skin, really does go in. So it's time to look at that.
He's used natural products to help his skin and face recover, and I have become good friends with Andy.
I started by asking, why's it so important to have natural stuff on our skin?
The idea behind this podcast is you will potentially sleep longer, definitely sleep deeper and better and be more well refreshed the next day. How's that for aiming high? I think we can do this.
Nick Littlehales is a world renowned Elite Sport Sleep Coach, has been redefining and innovating a new human sleep approach or as he describes it mental and physical recovery, for over 22 years.
In this podcast he talks about the myth of 8 hours sleep.
He's big into working with sports stars, and as you’ll hear has worked all around with the world with some of the most famous athletes, including with the world’s best footballer according to many - Cristiano Ronaldo. I’m sure you know who he is. Nick’s helped him sleep better.
In fact, he works with many finely-honed athletes and during this interview I asked Nick to think of me as one them. Which is very much wishful thinking.
I started by asking him about the myth of 8 hours sleep.
Master meditator, author, and globetrotter. Brett Moran is back - and he’s had a rollercoaster year. A disastrous project in Thailand that didn’t work - you’ll hear all about that. A brilliant project that did work. And what’s being naked or nude in a field got to do with anything. All is revealed as the podcast goes on, honest!
We covered Brett's story the first time we chatted on Zestology, but basically, at young age he got in with the wrong crowd: experimenting with drugs and in trouble with the law. He quickly progressed and started dealing drugs to friends, which seemed like harmless fun. By the time he was 18, he was addicted to crack, boozing every day and fighting on the weekends. Brett felt lost and suicidal and at 21, after his daughter was born, Brett was sentenced to HMP Highdown prison.
Prison, he says, was the best thing that ever happened him. And he sees his adversity as a blessing in disguise. Brett woke-up inside prison after reading a book on mindfulness and meditation. Since his experience, Brett’s been meditating, visualizing and manifesting the exact life he desires.
Remember to check out Brett’s tribe and retreats here https://www.brettsyoga.com/
You'll know the answer by the end of this podcast, and you'll know what to do about it.
Linda Stone coined the phrase continuous partial attention. Stone also coined "email apnea" which means "a temporary absence or suspension of breathing, or shallow breathing, while doing email."
And it’s all the more interesting because she has a real tech background… at a very high level. She was at Apple, in the early early early days. She was a Microsoft Vice President. And then she became a celebrated thinker and writer about the world we live in.
You’ll be fascinated by her stories of working at Apple. And you’ll love her dinner party tactics… which I’m definitely going to be using.
Renowned addiction expert, speaker and author Dr. Gabor Maté is famous for his expertise on trauma, addiction, stress and childhood development.
I went to see him speak in London at an absolutely packed out venue in Notting Hill. And then went to interview him at the offices of Penguin and Random House the next day. Coincidentally this is where my publisher Virgin Books is, though I haven’t been there for about 8 years though.
In this podcast we talk
The day before this recording, Gabor was interviewed by Russell Brand, and had travelled to Russell's house for the interview. I joked with Gabor that if I get a few more listeners he’ll come to my house but until then I’m happy to meet him anytime for a chat at Penguin’s offices.
I hope you enjoy this one. I feel privileged to have met Gabor.
Or... Why you should never put your phone in your pocket (part 2)
Today: EMF and tech dangers explained in depth.
How many times do you check your phone per day? Since Apple brought out iOS12, I know now, and it's fairly shocking - about 70 per day. And I thought I was good at this stuff.
And the negative effects of smartphone and technology extend beyond distraction - perhaps we should be worrying a lot more about EMFs. Daniel DeBaun is the man - and comes back to Zestology again to helps us know what to do
Yes, Jason Wittrock is another Zestology guest that puts butter in his coffee. He's #keto - hmmm, there's a theme here isn't there.
Actually, some guests really surprise me on Zestology.
I already knew Jason Wittrock really knew his stuff about ketosis, the high fat low carb diet that gives you more energy, helps with inflammation and a host of other things (Disclaimer, check with your health practitioner before starting on this). But I didn't know how much fun Jason would be, and how much energy he'd have. It's infectious, and he's great.
Enjoy!
Slightly embarrassingly last time I had today's guest on my show, I got his name wrong. It's supposed to be Drew Canol-ee, but I called him Drew Canole (as in Sausage Role). Bearing in mind how well known he is in the States, I probably should have known this.
Drew Canol-ee. He's a proper famous juice expert, regular guest on top tv shows, has one of the biggest organic green powder companies in the world…, he is in a nutshell, juicing up the world. Now got his new book out this week - You Be You - available everywhere.
In this podcast we talk juicing, obviously, but we also talk meditation, jumping in the sea every day, the best ways to chill out when life get stressful. Then things start to get a bit crazy. We talk lucid dreaming, astral projection, going to different dimensions, it all starts to get a bit trippy. And Drew can get away with it because he really knows his stuff. In a nutshell, he's fantastic, and I hope this podcast helps juice you up and inspire you.
Are you extending the gap a little bit these days between dinner and breakfast? Or lunch? If not, you might want to consider it, as the evidence is starting to mount up.
Obviously this has been quite a zesty topic for a while. I interviewed Max Lowery a few weeks ago, and now I've gone full science.
Dr. Jason Fung is a legend when it comes to intermittent fasting, low-carb diets and so on. He’s a world-leading expert on intermittent fasting and low carb, especially for treating people with type 2 diabetes.
He's got a hardcore scientific background, and has written perhaps the bible on intermittent fasting.
In this podcast we talk about the benefits, and pitfalls of intermittent fasting. I go through some of my experiences and Jason tells us his. Plus... a tea that helps you fast, anyone? Pique teas can help. This is the tea that can help with intermittent fasting, (and it's also a special discount link for Zestology subscribers). I'm an intermittent faster as you know, and I'm enjoying this stuff.
Tony Robbins does it, Jennifer Aniston does it, Professor Green does it. And me and Ryan Carter do it. #189
You probably saw Mark Wahlberg's viral description of his working day a couple of weeks ago. A 2.30am start, mega-workouts and cryotherapy. In honour of this completely bonkers schedule, I met up with my mate, health influencer Ryan Carter to record a podcast whilst doing the cryotherapy part of Mark Wahlberg's daily routine. I can assure you, no 2.30am starts occured in the making of this podcast.
The thing is, Mark Wahlberg's not the only one... there are a lot of interesting people who do this stuff; Tony Robbins, Joe Rogan, Jennifer Aniston, and as you'll hear in this podcast, Professor Green was at the Cryo clinic while we were recording.
We recorded it at the wonderful London Cryo. If you mention Zestology, you'll get ££ off. On that particular day, I was feeling quite low energy, and it was quite surprising the 3-minute cryo session picked me up. See if you can spot the before and after difference, and enjoy hearing me freezing my knackers off in the process.
And Ryan Carter is just a cracking guest, a good friend of mine, and he's got loads of spot-on, cutting-edge health and wellness knowledge. So what you'll hear in this podcast is me and Ryan chatting while we are in the chamber at London Cryo. Then you'll hear the fantastic Maria Ensabella who owns the place and just talks about why the cold is so good for us. And then you'll hear me and Ryan trying out another one of their gadgets. Enjoy.
Ariel Garten is a Canadian artist and scientist. That's a pretty unusual combination and gives her a unique insight into the powers of meditation.
She's a neuroscience expert and in this podcast, gave what I thought was probably the best description of why we need meditation that I've ever heard. Listen on to the end of the podcast for this. It'll blow your socks off.
Ariel's also has a company - Muse meditation devices that help make meditation easy, and you can find them here.
Have you ever heard the word biohacker, and not really known what it means?
Okay, here's my definition. Biohacking = optimising mind, body and lifestyle to perform at your best. That's what I'm coming up with anyway. Whether you call it biohacking or something else, today's podcast is all about optimising with one of the world's top biohackers. Ben Greenfield. I saw Ben speak in Austin earlier this year and left with a long list of action points, things to do and buy.
Ben was named as one of the world’s top 100 most influential people in health and fitness, and has coached the world's top CEO’s, chefs, biohackers, poker players, tennis, motocross and endurance competitors, and professional athletes from the UFC, the NHL, the NBA, the NFL and beyond – all while advising and investing in top companies in the health, fitness and nutrition industry.
Ben is a brilliant, and as you’ll hear, very unique individual. Will you do everything he recommends? Almost certainly not. You might think some of it is a little extreme, I’m not sure. Will you come away with a few new ideas… for sure. Here he is.
39 biohacks to optimise your health and life - Ben Greenfield #187
He's a trainer to the Made in Chelsea stars… but he has the substance and the knowledge to back up the style.
Max Lowery is a personal trainer and online health coach, and his particular area of expertise is intermittent fasting, something that can help you burn fat, boost energy levels and banish hunger pangs.
He's developed his own method known as The 2 Meal Day, and it was fun to chat to him, at his base at Marble Arch in Central London.
Nike insist their new trainers improve your running speed by 4%. I was quite interested in this, especially as I've been getting involved recently in minimalist footwear. Turns out, that this 4% stat might not be all its cracked up to be. And you could get 4% exercise improvement by natural means, not by buying a flash pair of trainers. Check out today's podcast with the awesome Dr. Ray Mclanahan. And check out CorrectToes too - that stuff is GOOD!
We start today with a stat that may blow your mind.
Ever since Scott Nelson from Joovv told me this, I've been changing my daily routine quite considerably. Listen on to find out what it is.
Scott owns Joovv - the company that makes the infrared light I use most days - bonkers good for energy, skin health etc and the brightest thing you’ve ever seen in your life. He knows all about light, and the importance of getting plenty of good light.
Burning Man is on at the moment, so without being too worthy (promise) I ask, what could one festival in the desert teach us about life. What we can learn from my guest's experiences without heading to the middle of nowhere to get copious amounts of dust in our face?
And how does a productivity expert apply his professional skills to festival-going, and shouldn't he be just focusing on having fun?
Stever Robbins is a well-known productivity expert, and he also happens to love Burning Man. And when I say love, he plans months in advance for this thing.
He's known as the get-it-done guy, and it seems he's applied his get it done guy’s skills to preparing for the world’s most celebrated festival.
Our favourite Law of Attraction expert is back, as seen on Oprah and as heard on Zestology (multiple times).
Jeannette Maw is more fun and attracting more good vibes than ever before, after something small, unexpected, and weird happened. It led to big, big consequences and positive changes. Not surprising for the woman who describes herself as "full time manifesting geek".
Dopamine is the chemical of desire that always asks for more — more stuff, more stimulation, and more surprises.
In pursuit of these things, it is undeterred by emotion, fear, or morality. Simply put, it is why we seek and succeed; it is why we discover and prosper. Yet, at the same time, it’s why we gamble and squander.
Tech has a part to play with dopamine too. Daniel Z. Lieberman finds it as hard as any of us to put the dopamine-providing phone down. So he wrote a book on it...
Dr. Satchin Panda is a bit of a ledge. He’s possibly the world’s most respected area in the field of Circadian rhythms and daily routines that optimise our health.
We talk;
This is one of my favourites. Satchin is a real expert in his field. Enjoy.
And his new book is called
The Circadian Code: Lose Weight, Supercharge Your Energy, and Transform Your Health from Morning to Midnight.
After his addiction issues, he trained to help others affected by drugs and alcohol. That training helped him to form his own ideas around his new self development project. Part of Happy Days is about mapping your dreams, and setting your goals in an effective way. Who would have thought it? Celebrity hellraiser Brandon Block is now on the straight and narrow, and he's an absolutely lovely chap as well.
He starts by talking about just how bad things had got, when he was at his substance-abusing worst.
Check out Brandon Block's Happy Days group on Facebook.
Listen up if you want the extra 5/10/15% in your day to day life.
As well as the crazy influence your thyroid has on your health, we talk lifestyle and weight loss plans in harmony with paleo/primal/ancestral health principles.
Elle Russ wrote The Paleo Thyroid Solution. It dispels outdated, conventional thyroid wisdom, and provides the in-depth guidance necessary to achieve vibrant health, and optimise thyroid fat-burning hormone metabolism.
She knows her stuff.
Is it possible to feel calm and strong at the same time? I think so...
I've been getting more and more into Qi Gong workshops and youtube videos over the last couple of years, there's something about it that makes me feel chilled out and powerful, all at the same time. But I don't really know what I'm doing, hence today's guest.
Breathing exercises, Qi Gong, and eastern healing, are the subjects of this week's podcast on Zestology.
With my cool new friend Justin Ehrlich - https://www.justinehrlich.com/about-justin
Okay, if you are partial to the odd pie or sandwich, you need this podcast. I love this guy. Dr. William Davis hit the big time with his book on gluten years ago, and he's still crushing it worldwide.
Every day we eat food products made of wheat. Well I don't, having given it up years ago, but many do, and as a result millions of people experience some form of adverse health effect. They range from minor rashes and high blood sugar to the unattractive stomach bulges that preventative cardiologist Dr. William Davis calls ‘wheat bellies’.
In this podcast we discuss gluten sensitivity, how good / bad gluten is for us, and what we should do if have no symptoms at all and feel great after chowing down a large sandwich.
BONUS BITS: Also, there are great recommendations today on Vitamin D (which I've already acted on), and stand by for the crazy yoghurt chat, that's one of the best bits of the podcast.