Liz Earle

speaker

13,205 appearances 46 recordings 3 series first heard Apr 2026 last heard yesterday

Liz Earle’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.

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recordings per month · last 12 months

Recordings per month over the last 12 months — 46 in all, peaking in Sep 2026 with 9.

Appearances

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Age Better with Liz Earle · Testosterone explained: what it does for women in midlife · 21 Sep 2026 podcast

So I think there have been uh some interesting published studies. podcast-host

There was a published report actually using nicotine for those with long COVID. podcast-host

And they used low dose nicotine patches for seven days. podcast-host

And they did report improvements in symptoms such as uh fatigue and brain fog. podcast-host

Loss of taste or smell, but the study was tiny and it was uncontrolled, so it was self-reporting, so it wasn't one of these large placebo double blind controlled trials. podcast-host

So how might it work? podcast-host

Well, the proposed explanation involves something called nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. podcast-host

And these are communication points that we find throughout the brain and the nerves. podcast-host

Nervous system and the immune system actually. podcast-host

And one theory is that the SARS-CoV-2 virus or fragments left behind from the virus or the jabs can interfere with these receptors and that will disrupt signalling that is involved in our thinking, our inflammation, maybe our autonomic nervous system function. podcast-host

So nicotine, interestingly, binds to the same receptors. podcast-host

So podcast-host

researchers are suggesting that it might temporarily restore the signaling or maybe influence the body's inflammatory response and that is quite a logical explanation of why nicotine might be working. podcast-host

Nicotine, as we probably know already, can also increase our alertness and our attention. podcast-host

So it's possible that it could make somebody feel temporarily sharper, without necessarily treating the underlying cause of what they perceive to be long COVID. podcast-host

So I would be particularly cautious though for your eighty-year-old mother. podcast-host

You know, nicotine patches definitely safer than smoking because they don't expose you to the tar or the carbon monoxide, but it doesn't make them risk-free, especially if they're being used by a non-smoker who's not used to having nicotine in their system. podcast-host

Nicotine can increase your heart rate, your blood pressure, it can make you feel nauseous, it can cause dizziness, insomnia. podcast-host

And I think in an older person particularly, dizziness could increase the risk of a fall. podcast-host

So and maybe have blood pressure issues. podcast-host

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