The 6 Best Health And Wellness Podcasts (2026)

On Purpose with Jay Shetty is the flagship show from the former monk turned global motivational figure. Since launching in 2019, Jay has produced over 800 episodes that tackle mental health, relationships, career growth, financial literacy, and personal development. Each episode runs between 45 minutes and 90 minutes, with new installments dropping every Monday and Friday. Jay brings on a wide range of guests — from celebrities like Nick Jonas to neuroscientists and relationship therapists — and uses his background in Vedic philosophy to frame practical conversations about purpose and happiness. His interviewing style is warm but pointed. He asks guests to reflect on turning points and hard lessons, not just accomplishments. The show also features solo episodes where Jay breaks down topics like overcoming anxiety, building healthy habits, and finding meaning during life transitions. What sets On Purpose apart from other self-help shows is Jay's ability to blend Eastern spiritual traditions with modern psychology in a way that feels grounded rather than preachy. He often shares personal anecdotes from his time as a monk in India and connects them to everyday struggles his audience faces. The podcast carries a 4.7-star rating across more than 25,000 reviews on Apple Podcasts, making it one of the most popular mental health shows in the world. A premium subscription tier called On Purpose+ offers bonus content and ad-free listening.

Dan Harris describes 10% Happier as self-help for smart people, and the show delivers on that promise. Dan is a veteran ABC News journalist who had a panic attack on live television, which led him to meditation and eventually to writing a bestselling book about his experience. The podcast grew out of that book and has become one of the most respected shows at the intersection of mindfulness, science, and practical psychology. With roughly 1,000 episodes in the archive and new episodes releasing twice a week, the show covers anxiety management, happiness research, meditation techniques, stress reduction, and personal philosophy. Episodes range from short 13-minute guided meditation practices to full-length interviews running over an hour. Recent guests include happiness researchers Sonja Lyubomirsky and Harry Reis, Stoic philosopher Ryan Holiday, integrative medicine specialist Dr. Victoria Maizes, and Tim Ferriss. What makes this podcast distinct is Dan's skeptical, journalist-trained mind. He does not accept vague spiritual claims at face value and consistently pushes guests to back up their ideas with evidence. He is also refreshingly honest about his own struggles with anxiety and the limits of meditation as a cure-all. The show carries a 4.6-star rating from over 12,000 reviews. Some listeners note the ad load can be heavy, but the content quality remains consistently high.

Mindbodygreen started as a wellness website in 2009 and has since grown into one of the largest health media brands online. The podcast, hosted by founder and co-CEO Jason Wachob, extends that platform into weekly audio conversations with doctors, researchers, authors, and wellness practitioners. With 577 episodes and a 4.5-star rating from nearly 2,000 reviews, it has established itself as a reliable fixture in the health podcast space.

Episodes release weekly and run a tight 45 to 57 minutes, which is notably shorter than many comparable shows. That brevity is intentional -- Wachob keeps conversations focused and moves efficiently through topics without the extended tangents that pad out longer health podcasts. Recent guests include Sahil Bloom on reverse-engineering your life around what matters, Dr. Elizabeth Yurth on peptide therapy, and Dr. Gabrielle Lyon on functional strength and metabolic flexibility for women.

The show covers a broad spectrum of health topics: nutrition, movement, skincare, mental health, longevity science, and relationships. It leans toward what some might call "functional" or "integrative" medicine territory -- the guests tend to be MDs and PhDs who practice or research outside strictly conventional frameworks. That positioning means the show occasionally features topics like adaptogens or biohacking that more conservative medical podcasts would avoid.

Wachob is a capable interviewer who asks clear questions and lets his guests do most of the talking. The mindbodygreen brand brings name recognition that attracts high-profile guests, and the production quality matches a professional media operation. It works well for listeners who want exposure to a wide range of wellness perspectives in digestible weekly doses without committing to multi-hour episodes.

Dr. Rupy Aujla is a practicing NHS GP in the UK who became one of the leading voices in culinary medicine -- the idea that what you cook and eat is a form of medical treatment, not just fuel. The Doctor's Kitchen started as a cookbook project and grew into a podcast that now has 417 episodes and a 4.8-star rating from around 470 reviews.

The show releases weekly, with episodes typically running between one hour and ninety minutes. Aujla interviews researchers, fellow doctors, nutritionists, and public health experts on topics that sit at the intersection of food and medicine. Recent episodes have covered pesticide exposure that most people unknowingly encounter, saliva tests and emerging diagnostic technology, and why muscle might be the most important organ for longevity. The conversations are detailed and clinically informed without being inaccessible.

Aujla brings a perspective that is relatively unique in health podcasting: he is both a working doctor seeing patients every week and someone who has trained specifically in how food compounds interact with human physiology. That dual lens means he can evaluate a study on, say, polyphenols in berries and then explain what it actually means for your Tuesday night dinner. He does not just tell you what to eat -- he explains the biological reasoning and often shares specific recipes.

The show also touches on mental wellbeing and lifestyle factors beyond nutrition. Aujla has spoken about burnout in the medical profession, the psychological aspects of eating, and how mindset affects treatment outcomes. The production is straightforward -- no elaborate sound design, just good microphones and thoughtful conversation. For anyone interested in the growing field of food as medicine, this is one of the most credible and practical shows in the space.

John R. Miles spent decades as a senior leader at Fortune 50 companies before pivoting to focus on what he calls "human flourishing" -- the intersection of brain health, physical performance, and purposeful living. Passion Struck launched in 2021 and has rapidly grown to 729 episodes with a 4.8-star rating, releasing new content three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.

The show balances interview episodes with solo segments. The interviews, typically running 60 to 90 minutes, bring in psychologists, neuroscientists, bestselling authors, and performance coaches. Recent conversations have featured Daniel Coyle discussing "aliveness" and meaning-making, and Rebecca Newberger Goldstein on what she calls "the mattering instinct." The solo episodes, often around 20 to 25 minutes, distill specific concepts into frameworks and action steps -- things like building intentional habits, overcoming self-doubt, and strengthening mental resilience.

Miles brings an unusual combination of corporate leadership experience and genuine intellectual curiosity about behavioral science. He is a bestselling author himself, and his questions reflect someone who has actually read the guest's work cover to cover rather than skimming a press release. The conversations tend to go deeper than the typical self-improvement interview because Miles is willing to push into uncomfortable questions about failure, ego, and the gap between knowing what to do and actually doing it.

The three-episodes-per-week cadence is ambitious, but the quality holds up. Production is clean, and Miles keeps the pacing tight. The show appeals to professionals and executives who want to optimize their health and mindset but also care about building a meaningful life beyond just productivity metrics. It is a health and wellness show that takes the "wellness" part seriously in its fullest sense.

Optimal Health Daily takes a completely different approach from most health podcasts. Instead of interviews or solo monologues, host Dr. Neal Malik -- a tenured professor, registered dietitian nutritionist, and certified exercise physiologist -- curates and narrates the best health and fitness blog posts from around the internet. The result is a daily podcast with over 2,000 episodes and a 4.5-star rating from 650 reviews.

Each episode runs just 8 to 13 minutes, making it one of the shortest health shows you will find. That brevity is the entire point. Dr. Malik selects articles on topics like protein timing at breakfast for weight loss, using gaming skills for fitness motivation, or the science behind taking brain breaks during work. He reads them clearly and adds his own professional commentary where relevant.

The daily format means there is an enormous back catalog organized by topic. If you want a week's worth of content on a specific subject -- say, strength training or gut health or sleep optimization -- you can queue up several episodes and still finish them in under an hour total. The show is part of the larger Optimal Living Daily network, which runs similar narration-based podcasts on personal finance, relationships, and general self-improvement.

The subscription tier ($1.99/month) removes ads, though the free version is perfectly functional. The show fills a genuine niche: not everyone has time for hour-long expert interviews, and not every health question requires one. Optimal Health Daily works best as a supplement to deeper shows rather than a replacement, giving you a quick, evidence-based health tip every morning while you brush your teeth or wait for your coffee to brew.