151: Her Health and Happiness with Jenni Russell - Episode 151151: Her Health and Happiness with Jenni Russell - Episode 151
UK Health Radio Podcast
The conversation centres on liver health, lifestyle habits and women’s hormonal wellbeing, linking survey findings with personal and family stories. It reflects on alcohol, obesity, subtle symptoms and the need for greater awareness without blame.
48:33•20 Jul 2026
Liver Health, Hormones and Habits: Her Health and Happiness with Jenny Russell
Episode Overview
- Liver disease is often symptomless in early stages, making routine checks crucial for people who drink regularly or have metabolic risk factors.
- Alcohol and highly processed, sugary foods can combine to give the liver a "double whammy", increasing the chance of serious damage.
- Digestive and detoxification health strongly influence hormone balance, which in turn affects menstruation, maternity and menopause experiences.
- Raising awareness and offering support around lifestyle changes is seen as more helpful than blaming individuals for weight or alcohol use.
- Small, consistent habits such as daily walking, cutting back sugary drinks and reconsidering portion sizes can meaningfully support long-term liver health.
“When we label symptoms, we stop looking at causes.”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? Her Health and Happiness with Jenny Russell leans into that question by linking liver health, lifestyle choices and women’s hormonal wellbeing in a frank, compassionate chat with guest Vanessa Hebditch from Liver UK.
Right from the start, Jenny sets a reflective tone, reminding you that "you are the magic for miracles, you are the solution to someone's problem", before moving into why the liver matters so much for women’s intimate health.
She explains that digestion and detoxification underpin hormone balance, and that "it's impossible to have hormonal balance if you have disharmony in your digestive system and your detoxification system." Vanessa brings hard-hitting statistics, describing a "hidden liver disease crisis" and pointing out that liver disease is a major cause of premature death, yet only a small proportion of people ever think about their liver.
She highlights two key drivers: alcohol use and metabolic risk factors such as being overweight or having type 2 diabetes, stressing that many people are drinking and eating at levels that quietly strain the liver. Together they talk about how conditions are often put into separate "camps"—diabetes over here, liver disease over there—even though everything lives in the same body. They tackle stigma and blame head-on, arguing for awareness and support rather than judgement.
As Vanessa notes, liver disease can be symptomless for a long time, with early signs like tiredness or nausea easily brushed off, and later-stage red flags such as jaundice and tummy swelling needing urgent attention.
Jenny weaves in her own family experience of alcoholism and loss, her three-M framework of menstruation, maternity and menopause, and her belief that labels and medication should never replace understanding: "When we label symptoms, we stop looking at causes." The episode gently asks you to reflect on your own habits around food, alcohol, sleep and stress, and to see health as an ongoing, shared responsibility.
It leaves you wondering: what small change could you make today that your future self’s liver would thank you for?
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