The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett
The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett

Most Replayed Moment: The Antibiotic Alternative Big Pharma Doesn't Want You To Know!

March 13, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Ginger, Cinnamon, and the Lost Logic of Plant Medicine

In this episode, herbal medicine expert Simon Mills demonstrates a ginger and cinnamon tea for Steven Bartlett, and within seconds of tasting it, Bartlett remarks, "I can feel it warming already." That immediate, subjective experience is the foundation of an entire system of medicine that Mills argues has been pushed aside by modern pharmacology — not because it doesn't work, but because it works differently than we've been trained to expect.

Why Antibiotics Aren't Always the Answer

Mills begins with a warning about the overuse of antibiotics. Every time you take one, you're not just killing harmful bacteria — you're also selecting for resistance. "You have a thousand little bacteria, you kill nine hundred and ninety-nine of them, the one that survives will then become two in twenty minutes and four in forty minutes and suddenly become a new population." That resistant strain then multiplies, and you've contributed to a growing pool of bacteria that your next antibiotic may not touch.

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (01:03) **Risks of Antibiotic Overuse** - The guest outlines the three main dangers: damage to the gut microbiome, contribution to antibiotic resistance, and links to colorectal cancers.
  • 2 (02:16) **When Antibiotics Are Needed vs. When They Are Useless** - The guest clarifies that antibiotics are necessary for serious gut or other infections, but useless for colds, flu, or viral airway problems.
  • 3 (03:25) **The Old Medicine Principle: Heat vs. Cold** - The guest introduces the foundational concept of old medicine: identifying whether a condition responds to heat or cold.
  • 4 (05:06) **Ginger and Cinnamon Tea: A Practical Demonstration** - The guest shows how to prepare a warming remedy using fresh ginger and cinnamon.
  • 5 (07:30) **The Mechanism of Warming Remedies** - The guest explains how ginger and similar spices work by stimulating pain fibers, which triggers a reflex that opens blood vessels (hyperemia).
  • 6 (10:25) **When to Use Warming vs. Cooling Remedies** - The guest explains how to choose based on whether a condition responds to heat or cold.
  • 7 (12:26) **How to Self-Diagnose with Herbal Teas** - The guest advises starting with low-dose herbal teas to figure out what suits your body.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Guests on this episode

Steven Bartlett

Show Notes

Simon Mills is one of the UK’s leading medical herbalists and a pioneer of modern herbal medicine.

In this moment, Simon explains why antibiotics aren’t always the answer - and what traditional medicine has used for centuries instead. From the hidden risks of overusing antibiotics, to simple natural remedies you can make at home using plants, he reveals a completely different way of thinking about treatment.

Listen to the full episode here:

Spotify: https://g2ul0.app.link/RDxRs9U9m1b

Apple: https://g2ul0.app.link/goByfXY9m1b

Watch the Episodes On YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/c/%20TheDiaryOfACEO/videos

Simon Mills: https://www.herbalreality.com/writer/simon-mills/

The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett

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