Live Well Be Well with Sarah Ann Macklin | Health, Lifestyle, Nutrition

Have you ever been told that the thing you need to get better doesn't exist on the NHS but quietly, it does?
This week I'm joined by Dr. Simon Erridge, medical doctor, UCL researcher, and one of the UK's leading voices in medical cannabis.
Simon has a way of cutting through the stigma and the noise and what he shares isn't about getting high. It's about patients who've tried everything, suffered for years, and finally found relief.
What we explore together:
What medical cannabis actually is  and why it's nothing like what you probably picture when you hear the word cannabis

Why the UK is one of the highest opioid-prescribing countries in the world, and what that tells us about how we treat chronic pain

What's actually happening in the brain with PTSD and how medical cannabis can help decouple the trauma from the memory itself

The shocking contamination rates in illicit cannabis, and why the black market route puts people at real risk

Who shouldn't use medical cannabis, and the conditions where it's not appropriate

The full range of conditions being treated right now: from migraines, Crohn's disease and MS to anxiety, depression, OCD and cancer-related symptoms

If you or someone you love has been living with chronic pain, PTSD, endometriosis, or any condition that feels like it has no solution this one is for you.
Love, Sarah Ann 💛
My book ‘Healthy Shouldn't Be This Hard’: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Healthy-Shouldnt-Be-This-Hard-ebook/dp/B0G1DHNRV5
This episode is sponsored by:
DIOME: Rest deeper. Stay grounded. 
Rested is available now and Grounded lands later this month. 
👉 Get 20% off with code SARAH20 at DIOME.CO
NOWATCH: The compassionate health tracker 
Connecting body and mind with unique stress recovery insights so you can live fully today. 
👉 15% off with code LWBW15 at https://nowatch.com/

More from me: 
The Great British Veg Out 
How to support your gut by eating more, not less 
https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/p/t…
 Reset Your Health
If your body feels off  after stress, travel, or burnout, this is where to start!  
 https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/s/r... 
Free 5-recipe PDF for busy weeks 
 https://open.substack.com/pub/sarahma... 
Join thousands reading 
The Compassionate Cure → https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/
Let's be friends! 
📷 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sarahannmacklin
📹 Subscribe https://youtube.com/@livewellbewellsarah?si=UbuuWvMjAcTkELPN
📱 TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@livewellbewellpodcast?_r=1&_t=ZN-96iOW29jTRm

Timestamps 
02:44 — Introduction: What is medical cannabis and why this episode matters
03:48 — Simon's background: how he got into medical cannabis research at UCL
05:12 — Why the UK hasn't legalised cannabis like the US and Canada
07:46 — What's available on the NHS vs. private clinics
10:28 — The typical patient: who actually gets prescribed medical cannabis
12:40 — Opioids vs. cannabis: the UK's hidden opioid crisis
23:34 — 80+ research papers — and the most surprising result
24:04 — Illicit cannabis contamination: mould, E. coli, salmonella, lead
28:17 — Migraines: why cannabis works both preventatively and during attacks
35:44 — Endometriosis: 176 million women, chronic pain, and medical cannabis
39:09 — The opioid reduction study in endometriosis patients
44:13 — How long before PTSD patients feel the effects?
46:01 — The stigma in the therapy community around cannabis patients
52:15 — How to advocate for yourself when you've already been dismissed by a doctor
57:01 — Can medical cannabis trigger psychosis? The real risk explained
59:22 — Why the word "cannabis" itself might be the problem
63:50 — Will the UK ever legalise cannabis?
65:10 — The full range of conditions medical cannabis can treat
Love what you're hearing? 
My small ask is to please rate and review Live Well Be Well. This helps the show expand and allows me to keep producing these with the best quality guests. It means a huge amount to me, so thank you.

How does your body react to a change on environment?
and what could you do to help overcome the feeling of uncertainty.
Dr Hannah Critchlow is a British scientist and writer who breaks down her methods of dealing with the unknown!

This episode is sponsored by:
NOWATCH: The compassionate health tracker
Connecting body and mind with unique stress recovery insights so you can live fully today15% off with code LWBW15 at https://nowatch.com/
DIOME: Rest deeper. Stay grounded.Rested is available now and Grounded lands later this month.👉 Get 20% off with code SARAH20 at DIOME.CO

***

The Great British Veg OutHow to support your gut, energy, and hormones by eating more — not less.
👉 https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/p/the-great-british-veg-outReset Your HealthIf your body feels off after stress, travel, or burnout — this is where to start.
👉 https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/s/reset-your-health-in-30-days
👉 Practical beats perfect.Here’s a free 5-recipe PDF I use to support energy and stress during busy weeks.https://sarahannmacklin.com/5_free_recipes
👉 If this resonates, you can join the thousands who readThe Compassionate Cure each week.https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/

***

Let’s be friends!
📷 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahannmacklin/
📹 Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/@livewellbewellsarah
🐦 Twitter: https://x.com/SarahAnnMacklin
📱 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@livewellbewellpodcast💌 Newsletter: https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/

Is one glass of red wine a day actually good for your gut? In this conversation, I dig into why the idea of “moderate drinking” being beneficial became popular, and how newer analyses suggest that earlier cardiovascular findings may have been influenced by confounding factors like diet, exercise, and affluence.
Will Bulsiewicz in conversation with Sarah Ann
Listen to the full episode⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Watch the full episode on YouTube ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
***

This episode is sponsored by:
NOWATCH: The compassionate health tracker
Connecting body and mind with unique stress recovery insights so you can live fully today15% off with code LWBW15 at https://nowatch.com/
DIOME: Rest deeper. Stay grounded.Rested is available now and Grounded lands later this month.👉 Get 20% off with code SARAH20 at DIOME.CO

***

The Great British Veg OutHow to support your gut, energy, and hormones by eating more — not less.
👉 https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/p/the-great-british-veg-outReset Your HealthIf your body feels off after stress, travel, or burnout — this is where to start.
👉 https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/s/reset-your-health-in-30-days
👉 Practical beats perfect.Here’s a free 5-recipe PDF I use to support energy and stress during busy weeks.https://sarahannmacklin.com/5_free_recipes
👉 If this resonates, you can join the thousands who readThe Compassionate Cure each week.https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/

***

Let’s be friends!
📷 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahannmacklin/
📹 Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/@livewellbewellsarah
🐦 Twitter: https://x.com/SarahAnnMacklin
📱 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@livewellbewellpodcast💌 Newsletter: https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/

Have you ever wondered why your brain feels like it's working against you when actually, it might just be waiting for you to understand it?
This week I'm joined by Dr. Hannah Critchlow, neuroscientist, Cambridge University researcher, and author of 21st Century Brain, and this conversation genuinely shifted something for me.
Hannah has a way of taking the science of your brain and making it feel like something you can actually use, today. Not in a "10 steps to fix yourself" way.
What we explore together:
Why does your brain fear uncertainty more than pain itself, and what does that mean for how you handle stress and change?

Did you know emotional intelligence is a bigger predictor of life satisfaction than IQ, and that it can actually be trained?

How is your gut shaping your mood, your empathy, and even how kind you are to complete strangers?

What are sleep, nutrition, and movement really doing for your brain, and why do amino acids matter so much at night?

Why is walking in nature one of the most underrated tools for emotional regulation?

What does the rise of AI relationships mean for real human connection, and what are we at risk of losing?

Why is curiosity our greatest superpower, and how do we protect it?

Love, Sarah Ann 💛

Healthy Shouldn't Be This Hard: A Simple Way to Eat, Think and Feel Well: https://amzn.eu/d/0a0d1MQr

This episode is sponsored by:
DIOME: Rest deeper. Stay grounded. 
Rested is available now and Grounded lands later this month. 
👉 Get 20% off with code SARAH20 at DIOME.CO
NOWATCH: The compassionate health tracker 
Connecting body and mind with unique stress recovery insights so you can live fully today. 
👉 15% off with code LWBW15 at https://nowatch.com/

More from me: 
The Great British Veg Out 
How to support your gut by eating more, not less 
https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/p/t…
 Reset Your Health
If your body feels off  after stress, travel, or burnout, this is where to start!  
 https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/s/r... 
Free 5-recipe PDF for busy weeks 
 https://open.substack.com/pub/sarahma... 
Join thousands reading 
The Compassionate Cure → https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/

Let's be friends! 
📷 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sarahannmacklin
📹 Subscribe https://youtube.com/@livewellbewellsarah?si=UbuuWvMjAcTkELPN
📱 TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@livewellbewellpodcast?_r=1&_t=ZN-96iOW29jTRm

Timestamps 
00:00:00 Intro 
00:04:08 Why Our Brains Fear Uncertainty More Than Pain 
00:16:01 How to Build Habits That Protect Your Brain 
00:21:00 Hannah's Personal Story: PhD Burnout and Starting Over 
00:28:00 What Happens to Your Brain During a Breakup 
00:35:13 How to Move Forward After Loss or Grief 
00:37:46 Sleep, Nutrition and Movement: The Brain's Three Pillars 
00:43:09 Essential Amino Acids and Why You Can't Sleep at Night 
00:46:05 What Emotional Intelligence Really Is (And Why It Beats IQ) 
00:49:41 How to Train Empathy: Self-Compassion and Reading Fiction 
00:52:27 Brain Synchronicity: The Science of Human Connection 
00:56:13 Gut Feelings, the Vagus Nerve and Intuition 
00:59:25 How a Healthy Gut Makes You More Altruistic 
01:00:15 Emotional Regulation: What to Do When You Can't Switch Off 
01:05:26 Why Alcohol Makes Emotional Regulation Worse 0
1:08:58 How We All See the World Differently: The Duck, The Rabbit and The Dress 
01:15:44 Loneliness, Mitochondrial Health and the Cost of Disconnection 
01:17:01 AI, Human Connection and What We Risk Losing 
01:38:50 What the Pandemic Taught Us About Face-to-Face Connection 
01:41:24 Why Collective Intelligence Is Our Greatest Superpower 
01:42:07 What "Live Well Be Well" Means to Dr. Hannah Critchlow
Love what you're hearing? 
My small ask is to please rate and review Live Well Be Well. This helps the show expand and allows me to keep producing these with the best quality guests. It means a huge amount to me, so thank you.

Have you ever wondered if taking your shoes off could change how your whole body moves? In this clip, we talk through why foot restriction matters, how barefoot sandals and going fully barefoot can affect foot shape and movement patterns, and why toe and foot rotation can influence everything upstream, including the knees, hips, shoulders, jaw, and head.
Jason Van Blerk in conversation with Sarah Ann
Listen to the full episode⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Watch the full episode on YouTube ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
***

This episode is sponsored by:
NOWATCH: The compassionate health tracker
Connecting body and mind with unique stress recovery insights so you can live fully today15% off with code LWBW15 at https://nowatch.com/
DIOME: Rest deeper. Stay grounded.Rested is available now and Grounded lands later this month.👉 Get 20% off with code SARAH20 at DIOME.CO

***

The Great British Veg OutHow to support your gut, energy, and hormones by eating more — not less.
👉 https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/p/the-great-british-veg-outReset Your HealthIf your body feels off after stress, travel, or burnout — this is where to start.
👉 https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/s/reset-your-health-in-30-days
👉 Practical beats perfect.Here’s a free 5-recipe PDF I use to support energy and stress during busy weeks.https://sarahannmacklin.com/5_free_recipes
👉 If this resonates, you can join the thousands who readThe Compassionate Cure each week.https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/

***

Let’s be friends!
📷 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahannmacklin/
📹 Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/@livewellbewellsarah
🐦 Twitter: https://x.com/SarahAnnMacklin
📱 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@livewellbewellpodcast💌 Newsletter: https://sarahmacklin.substack.com/