Speedy medicine, and is fermented food good for us?

In this episode we’re taking a look at emergency medicine outside hospitals and surgeries – and meeting the people who save seriously-ill people in unusual places.

Smitha Mundasad goes on a rainy walk in the hills with the Brecon Mountain Rescue Team and meets the flying medics of London’s Air Ambulance. Will she have time for a chat before they get a call-out? We also hear from Sweden where they’re making lifesaving changes before the ambulance even arrives.

And from kombucha and kimchi to keffir and sourdough, fermented food and drink is everywhere. But as these foods have exploded in popularity, so have claims of health benefits, from digestion and gut health, to immunity and mood.

We start by trying some fermenting with chef Olia Hercules and then Smitha chats to fermented food “nerd” Professor Paul Cotter to sift through the evidence.

Next week’s Inside Health is all about the perimenopause – the time leading up to the menopause when oestrogen starts to drop. Why is it all still such a mystery?

Send us your questions – and we’ll put them to our panel. It’s [email protected]

Presenter: Smitha Mundasad Producer: Gerry Holt Editor: Martin Smith Production co-ordinator: Jonathan Harris

Declared interests: Professor Paul Cotter: “Research in the Cotter laboratory has been funded by PrecisionBiotics Group, Friesland Campina, Danone and PepsiCo. Paul Cotter has also received funding to travel to or present at meetings by H&H, the National Dairy Council U.S., PepsiCo, Abbott, Arla and Yakult. In addition, he is the co-founder and CTO of SeqBiome Ltd., a provider of sequencing and bioinformatics services for microbiome analysis.”