Strange Health from The Conversation explores the science behind bizarre and viral health trends on social media, such as period scooping, stroboscopic light therapy, and liver detox myths. Hosted by Katie Edwards and GP Dan Baumgardt, the podcast offers honest and engaging discussions that are sometimes stomach-turning.
Episodes
Can eating collagen really make you look younger?
Collagen marshmallows are now a thing. So are collagen crisps. If neither appeals, you can stir collagen powder into your morning coffee. Social media is full of products promising to replenish the collagen we lose as we age. The claims extend beyond firmer skin and fewer wrinkles to healthier joints and improved gut health. But what happens to collagen when we eat it? And can these products persu
The science of sunscreen – and the myths to watch out for
Some people are so worried about sunscreen that they're swapping factor 50 for beef tallow. Coconut oil and olive oil also have their supporters in the world of homemade sunscreen. Meanwhile, other social media creators warn that conventional sunscreens contain dangerous chemicals, interfere with our hormones or prevent us from making vitamin D.So what does the science say? And what happens to you
Migraine hacks: do eyebrow clips, cold spoons or fries actually work?
Social media offers plenty of tips how to relieve a migraine. Some people swear by a large Coke and McDonald’s fries, which has gained the nickname of a "McMigraine". Others recommend hairclips on your eyebrows, or putting your feet in hot water while cooling the back of your head with spoons.But how much science is there behind these remedies? And why can migraine make you feel so dreadful long b
Cottage cheese: protein superfood or fitness myth?
Cottage cheese is a TikTok sensation. Social media creators are blending the curdy, clumpy white stuff into everything from cookie dough and chocolate brownies to flatbreads and even slapping it onto hot dogs. All in the name of protein.Naturally high in protein and relatively low in fat, cottage cheese has been embraced by fitness influencers who claim it can help build muscle and burn fat. But d
Trailer: Strange Health is back for a new season
We're back with a new season of Strange Health, the podcast from The Conversation, that investigates the odd, awkward and occasionally disgusting questions raised by our bodies and the health trends surrounding them.This season we’ll be looking at cottage cheese, which seems to have escaped from the back of the fridge and become one of the internet’s favourite foods, investigate some of the alarmi
What is period scooping? And other menstrual hacks you should think twice about
Period scooping sounds like something you would only hear in a biology lab, not while doom-scrolling TikTok. Yet earlier this year, videos claiming you can “scoop out” your period to avoid the mess and shorten the whole thing racked up millions of views.In this episode, we hear from Sally King, a visiting fellow at King’s College London, about why you can't shorten your period, and why you need to
Does light therapy work? The science of stroboscopic stimulation
Light therapy sounds wholesome. Sit in front of a lamp. Feel better. But nowadays, it can also mean strapping on a flashing mask and watching your own brain generate kaleidoscopic hallucinations behind closed eyelids. In this episode, host Katie Edwards tries on a stroboscopic light mask being promoted by celebrities including Jennifer Aniston and Rosamund Pike to find out what happens.And David S
What your body odour says about you
Body odour has a reputation problem. It is often treated as a hygiene failure or a social offence. In reality, it is biology at work, plus a big helping of culture.And yet people online are trying chlorophyll shots to make their BO smell better. Hosts Katie Edwards and Dan Baumgardt discuss what evidence there is behind this, plus some of the health conditions that can affect body odour.And we tal
Meet the mites that live on you: from demodex to dust mites and scabies
You are not alone in your own skin. Millions of microscopic creatures live there too. Our skin is home to entire ecosystems of microscopic life. Bacteria and fungi get most of the attention, but mites are there too. Among the most common are demodex mites, tiny eight-legged relatives of spiders that live inside hair follicles and pores, especially on the face. Almost all adults carry them.In this
What is the vagus nerve and can you really reset it?
The vagus nerve has become the internet’s favourite body part. On social media, it is everywhere. People hum into their phones, gargle with theatrical enthusiasm, dunk their faces into bowls of ice water and poke at their ears in the hope of “activating” it.So in this episode we focus our attention on the body’s longest cranial nerve and ask a simple question: what does the vagus nerve actually do
Is cracking my neck and knuckles bad?
Joint cracking is one of those habits most of us acquire without thinking about it. In our third episode, we turn our attention to one of the body’s most common and least understood noises. Knuckles, backs, knees and necks all feature, along with the enduring warning many of us grew up with: “Stop cracking your joints, you’ll get arthritis.” Is there any truth in it? And why can cracking feel so s
Tonsils, kidneys and gall: why your body makes stones
The human body, it turns out, is surprisingly good at making stone. Give it enough time and the right conditions and it will go about crystallising minerals, hardening secretions and, in rare cases, turning tragedy into rock. Gallstones. Kidney stones. Tonsil stones. Salivary stones. And, in one of the strangest and saddest corners of medical history, stone babies.In our second episode, hosts Kati
Is detoxing your liver worth the hype?
Social media is full of green juices, charcoal supplements, foot patches and seven-day “liver resets”, all promising to purge the body of mysterious toxins and return it to a purer state. But do you really need to detox your liver?In the first episode of Strange Health, hosts Katie Edwards, a health editor at The Conversation, and Dan Baumgardt, a practising GP and lecturer in health and life scie
Introducing Strange Health from The Conversation
Introducing Strange Health, a new podcast from The Conversation.Time and again, the health stories that go viral are the ones that make people recoil slightly before clicking anyway. Worms. Smells. Leaks. Stones. Toxins. The things you Google at midnight and hope nobody ever finds in your search history.Behind the gag reflex, there is usually a serious question. Is this normal? Is this dangerous?
