Dr Karan Explores

Your phone is not just distracting you, it may be changing what your brain finds rewarding.
In this episode of Dr Karan Explores, Dr Karan Rajan speaks with neuroscientist TJ Power, founder of DOSE Lab, about dopamine, phone addiction, AI, “brain rot,” digital anhedonia, and why modern technology can make ordinary life feel less pleasurable. TJ’s DOSE framework focuses on dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins, the four brain chemicals he says are being disrupted by the way modern humans live. 
This conversation explores why so many of us feel stuck in loops of scrolling, distraction, apathy, and low motivation, and what it takes to reset our relationship with stimulation without pretending technology is “bad.” TJ shares why he believes 72 hours without screens can feel transformative, why boredom is harder than it sounds, and why becoming a “professional unplugger” may be one of the most important skills for the next generation. 
In this episode, we cover:
What dopamine actually does beyond the online “dopamine detox” clichés
Why phones, short-form content, sugar, alcohol, and AI can hijack reward pathways
“Digital anhedonia”: Why normal life can start to feel dull or boring
The 72-hour unplugged experiment and what happens by day two and day three
Why boredom, stillness, walking, and doing nothing can restore creativity
The default mode network and why your best ideas may need silence
AI, “brain rot,” passive screen time, and outsourcing your thinking
How to become a “professional unplugger” without quitting modern life
🎬 Chapters
01:13 – Why Modern Life Is Rewiring Our Brains
03:18 – What Dopamine Actually Does
06:06 – Phones, Short-Form Content & Dopamine Overload
09:28 – Why Nothing Feels Fun Anymore
12:27 – How to Break the Stimulation Loop
14:01 – 72 Hours Without Screens: What Happens to Your Brain
17:49 – Boredom, Creativity & the Default Mode Network
21:41 – Instant Gratification and the Collapse of Waiting
22:47 – AI, Brain Rot & Outsourcing Your Thinking
29:34 – Passive Screen Time vs Active Technology Use
32:37 – Are Some Brains More Dopamine-Hungry?
39:04 – Stillness, Silence & Rebuilding Attention
42:35 – AI Relationships, Oxytocin & Artificial Connection
46:10 – Why Technology Evolves Faster Than the Human Brain
48:27 – Dopamine and Why Time Feels Faster
52:03 – Becoming a Professional Unplugger
53:31 – Final Takeaway: Quiet Mornings, Coffee & No Phone
💩 Head to https://loamscience.com/products/loam-prebiotic-fiber-formula?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=drkaranexplores to try LOAM - and get an additional 10% with code POD10.💊 Get my free weekly newsletter filled with easy to action health tips, interesting facts and science to fill your curiosity: https://drkaran.beehiiv.com/subscribe🚽 Discover Throne's incredible new smart toilet device at http://thronescience.com📘 For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book "This Book May Save Your Life": https://geni.us/DrKaranBook📕 Get my new book, This Is Vital Information, here: https://linktr.ee/ThisisVitalInformation🤖 Discover my digital twin here: http://DrKaran.ai🧬 Sign up for my Microbiome Course waitlist: https://drkaran.kit.com/microbiome-course-waitlistAbout Dr Karan:Dr. Karan Rajan is a doctor, author, and educator dedicated to making health and medical science accessible to all. Through evidence-based analysis, he addresses topics such as gut health, brain health, and healthy lifestyle choices, while dispelling common medical myths with a touch of dark humor. His content provides reliable, research-driven insights designed to inform and empower viewers to better understand their health.📱Connect with me:Instagram: / drkaranrajanFacebook: / drkaranrTikTok: / dr.karanrX: / drkaranrajanWebsite: www.drkaranrajan.com

#Dopamine #BrainRot #PhoneAddiction #Neuroscience #DigitalDetox

💬 Protecting first time parents from the realities of childbirth comes at a price. Not knowing how difficult it can be often leaves them unprepared - feeling guilty if it doesn’t go “perfectly”.
⚡With all the misinformation around - and shockingly high maternal mortality rates in the US - Dr Jennifer Lincoln has decided to take childbirth into her own hands. The social media educator has just released The Birth Book: An OB-GYN’s Guide to Demystifying Labor and Delivery.
🎧 Stay tuned to find out:
➡ What a “normal” labour really looks like
➡︎ What you can say “no” to during labour (Hint: anything)
➡︎ The truth about epidurals, C-sections and natural birth
➡︎ That children can be healthy no matter how childbirth goes
➡︎ Why the US is the highest rich nation for maternal mortality
➡︎ How 1 in 3 births cause psychological trauma for the mum
#DrKaran, #Pregnancy, #BirthScience, #Labour, #BirthTrauma, #ChildbirthMyths #WomensHealth, #MedicalScience, #HealthEducation, #MythBusting
Don't miss an episode! Subscribe NOW: https://www.youtube.com/@DrKaran?sub_confirmation=1 
📕 Chapters
(0:00) Introduction - We need to be realistic about childbirth
(2:10) How should women really prepare for birth?
(3:27) Are doctors good patients when it comes to childbirth?
(5:16) What does a normal first time labour really look like?
(7:11) How to know when it’s time to go to the hospital
(8:28) Should you pack a hospital bag?
(10:07) What it really means to induce labour
(14:09) Is there a best birthing position?
(16:37) What can you say “no” to?
(18:54) How to tell the difference between optional and necessary interventions
(20:23) How different is second time labour?
(22:38) What to do when a baby’s breach
(24:22) Why you shouldn’t feel guilty about an epidural
(28:51) Does vaginal seeding help?
(29:25) Conversations to have before labour starts
(31:56) The problem of “maternity deserts” in the US
(34:52) Why maternal mortality is so high in the US
(35:57) Why do black women have the worst childbirth outcomes?
(39:16) What to consider if you’re having a homebirth
(40:09) Why traumatic births are much more common than we realise
🚽 Discover Throne’s incredible new smart toilet device at http://thronescience.com 
🤖 Discover my digital twin here: http://DrKaran.ai 
🔥  Head to https://loamscience.com/ try LOAM - and get an additional 10% with code POD10.
🔥 Get my free weekly newsletter filled with easy to action health tips, interesting facts and science to fill your curiosity: https://drkaran.beehiiv.com/subscribe
🔥 For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook 
📕 Pre-order my new book, This Is Vital Information, here: https://linktr.ee/ThisisVitalInformation?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=472cbbde-00e2-42ab-8a3f-725656fab3a5
🎙️ An OG Podcasts production.
About Dr Karan:
Dr. Karan Rajan is a doctor, author, and educator dedicated to making health and medical science accessible to all. Through evidence-based analysis, he addresses topics such as gut health, brain health, and healthy lifestyle choices, while dispelling common medical myths with a touch of dark humor. His content provides reliable, research-driven insights designed to inform and empower viewers to better understand their health.
📱Connect with me:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan/   
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrKaranR/  
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr  
X: https://twitter.com/drkaranrajan  
Website: https://linktr.ee/ThisisVitalInformation

GLP-1 weight loss drugs are changing medicine, but are we talking about them in the right way? In this episode, Dr Karan Rajan speaks with Dr Federica Amati about GLP-1s, food noise, metabolic health, appetite, gut health, muscle loss, side effects and why nutrition support matters.

Dr Federica Amati explains why these medications should not be seen as simple “weight loss drugs”, how food noise differs from real hunger, and what people should know before, during and after GLP-1 treatment.

📗 Pre-order Dr Federica's book 'The Appetite Reset' here: https://shor.by/fP5H

In this conversation, we cover:

* Why diet remains one of the biggest drivers of chronic disease
* What GLP-1s actually do beyond weight loss
* The difference between homeostatic hunger, hedonic hunger and microbiome-driven hunger
* Why food noise can dominate appetite and eating behaviour
* How protein and resistance training can help protect muscle
* Why micronutrients, fibre and hydration matter on GLP-1s
* The risks of black market or poorly regulated weight loss injections
* How gut health may influence appetite, side effects and long-term success
* Why whole foods and nutrient density still matter most

Chapters
00:00 Preview: GLP-1s, food noise and diet
01:18 Welcome and Dr Federica Amati introduction
02:18 Why GLP-1s need lifestyle and nutrition support
03:21 Diet, chronic disease and preventable deaths
05:08 Who should be using GLP-1 medications?
07:18 Why GLP-1s are metabolic health medications
08:13 GLP-1s, the brain and food noise
08:51 Homeostatic, hedonic and microbiome-driven hunger
09:22 Internal vs external food noise
11:37 Practical ways to reduce food noise
13:40 Loam sponsor read
14:39 Why digestion starts in the brain
17:29 Fullness, stomach stretch and meal replacements
19:47 GLP-1s, muscle loss, protein and resistance training
21:02 Micronutrients, hydration and nutrient density
24:06 Supplements and Mediterranean dietary patterns
26:10 Body image, identity and emotional changes on GLP-1s
28:34 Regulation, TikTok access and black market risks
30:47 Gut microbiome, appetite and natural GLP-1 signalling
42:31 Preparing your gut, managing side effects and final advice

💩 Head to https://loamscience.com/products/loam-prebiotic-fiber-formula?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=drkaranexplores to try LOAM - and get an additional 10% with code POD10.
💊 Get my free weekly newsletter filled with easy to action health tips, interesting facts and science to fill your curiosity: https://drkaran.beehiiv.com/subscribe
🚽 Discover Throne's incredible new smart toilet device at http://thronescience.com
📘 For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book "This Book May Save Your Life": https://geni.us/DrKaranBook
📕 Get my new book, This Is Vital Information, here: https://linktr.ee/ThisisVitalInformation
🤖 Discover my digital twin here: http://DrKaran.ai
🧬 Sign up for my Microbiome Course waitlist: https://drkaran.kit.com/microbiome-course-waitlist

About Dr Karan:
Dr. Karan Rajan is a doctor, author, and educator dedicated to making health and medical science accessible to all. Through evidence-based analysis, he addresses topics such as gut health, brain health, and healthy lifestyle choices, while dispelling common medical myths with a touch of dark humor. His content provides reliable, research-driven insights designed to inform and empower viewers to better understand their health.

📱Connect with me:
Instagram: / drkaranrajan
Facebook: / drkaranr
TikTok: / dr.karanr
X: / drkaranrajan
Website: www.drkaranrajan.com

#GLP1 #WeightLossDrugs #FoodNoise #GutHealth #MetabolicHealth

💬 How can you tell if a supplement actually does what it promises to do? There are so many on the market that are underdosed, understudied and not backed up by science. So before you choose your next supplement - this is the data that should inform your decision.
⚡When Dr Karan created LOAM, his aim was to create a fibre supplement backed up by clinically robust data. In this special episode, he outlines the lengthy process that went into making sure it actually delivers results.
🎧 Stay tuned to find out:
➡ What a preclinical study is - and why they are essential
➡︎ How a study can actually show you what’s going on inside someone’s gut
➡︎ Why propionate is so important for gut health - and how LOAM boosts it
➡︎ Why LOAM produces less gas and bloating than other fibre supplements
➡︎ What trials are coming in the future for LOAM  
#DrKaran, #LOAM, #Supplements, #Microbiome, #Butyrate, #GutHealth, #MedicalScience, #HealthEducation, #MythBusting
Don't miss an episode! Subscribe NOW: https://www.youtube.com/@DrKaran?sub_confirmation=1 
📕 Chapters
(0:00) Introduction - How to choose a supplement that works
(0:41) Why preclinical studies are so important
(4:27) The combination that creates gold standard results
(8:14) How the LOAM preclinical study actually worked
(11:44) Surprising results from the LOAM trials
(14:02) The importance of the short-chain fatty acid propionate
(17:43) Why LOAM produces results so quickly 
(20:02) Why supplements don’t impact all people the same
(22:18) How LOAM produces less gas than other fibre supplements
(25:36) Fibre fermentation💩 Head to https://loamscience.com/products/loam-prebiotic-fiber-formula?utm_source=spotify&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=podcast_loam_clinical_trials
🚽 Discover Throne’s incredible new smart toilet device at http://thronescience.com 
🤖 Discover my digital twin here: http://DrKaran.ai 
🔥 Get my free weekly newsletter filled with easy to action health tips, interesting facts and science to fill your curiosity: https://drkaran.beehiiv.com/subscribe
🔥 For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book “This Book May Save Your Life”: https://geni.us/DrKaranBook 
📕 Pre-order my new book, This Is Vital Information, here: https://linktr.ee/ThisisVitalInformation?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=472cbbde-00e2-42ab-8a3f-725656fab3a5
🎙️ An OG Podcasts production.
About Dr Karan:
Dr. Karan Rajan is a doctor, author, and educator dedicated to making health and medical science accessible to all. Through evidence-based analysis, he addresses topics such as gut health, brain health, and healthy lifestyle choices, while dispelling common medical myths with a touch of dark humor. His content provides reliable, research-driven insights designed to inform and empower viewers to better understand their health.
📱Connect with me:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drkaranrajan/   
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrKaranR/  
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.karanr  
X: https://twitter.com/drkaranrajan  
Website: https://linktr.ee/ThisisVitalInformation

Sleepwalking into arthritis isn’t inevitable. And some changes can show up faster than most people expect.

In this episode, Dr Karan Rajan speaks with Professor Tamiko Katsumoto about why arthritis rates are rising, the differences between rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, and what the best evidence says about reducing joint inflammation, including a lifestyle medicine intervention where benefits were seen as early as 8 weeks (with the primary endpoint at 16 weeks).

This isn’t about “miracle cures.” It’s about stacking the odds in your favour: Diet quality, fibre, fermented foods, weight and metabolic health, sleep, stress, movement. And how these interact with inflammation, the gut, and joint symptoms.

In this episode, we cover:

∙ RA vs OA: Classic symptom patterns and why they’re treated differently
∙ Why treatments for osteoarthritis can feel limited (and why lifestyle is still worth discussing)
∙ “Food as medicine” and why joints are a symptom you can actually feel change
∙ The “Plants for Joints” study: What changed at 8 weeks and what the 16-week endpoint showed
∙ The gut-joint axis: Gut barrier, microbial diversity, and immune regulation
∙ Why some patients flare on ultra high meat / fibre-free approaches (and what to do instead)
∙ Practical “build my plate” guidance for joint and inflammation support

#Arthritis #JointPain #RheumatoidArthritis #Osteoarthritis #Inflammation

💩 Head to https://loamscience.com/products/loam-prebiotic-fiber-formula?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=drkaranexplores to try LOAM - and get an additional 10% with code POD10.
💊 Get my free weekly newsletter filled with easy to action health tips, interesting facts and science to fill your curiosity: https://drkaran.beehiiv.com/subscribe
🚽 Discover Throne's incredible new smart toilet device at http://thronescience.com
📘 For more useful science for your everyday life, grab my best selling book "This Book May Save Your Life": https://geni.us/DrKaranBook
📕 Get my new book, This Is Vital Information, here: https://linktr.ee/ThisisVitalInformation
🤖 Discover my digital twin here: http://DrKaran.ai
🧬 Sign up for my Microbiome Course waitlist: https://drkaran.kit.com/microbiome-course-waitlist

About Dr Karan:
Dr. Karan Rajan is a doctor, author, and educator dedicated to making health and medical science accessible to all. Through evidence-based analysis, he addresses topics such as gut health, brain health, and healthy lifestyle choices, while dispelling common medical myths with a touch of dark humor. His content provides reliable, research-driven insights designed to inform and empower viewers to better understand their health.

📱Connect with me:
Instagram: / drkaranrajan
Facebook: / drkaranr
TikTok: / dr.karanr
X: / drkaranrajan
Website: www.drkaranrajan.com