One of the few reasons I like Mondays is that on this day a new episode of The Doctor’s Kitchen Podcast is released. Other reasons are:
- It’s a great day to have a decent workout
- I always feel most productive at work after the weekend
- A huge box of food gets delivered – full fridge, full heart
Today’s episode of Dr Rupy Aujla’s podcast focused on how to eat for heart health, and featured Dr Ayan Panja, a NHS GP. The way Dr Panja perceives the work of GPs is that it’s like “saving lives in slow motion”.
Firstly I thought about how pertinent that was, and then how, really, GPs don’t receive the credit they deserve. A&E Doctors, while working in very high risk situations, see patients who are battling death, and can instantly see the outcome of their work – whether their patient survives or not. GPs rarely deal with life-or-death situations, but their input is paramount for public health, and can have a huge impact on a person’s longevity and livelihood.
Secondly, I thought about how good nutrition is life-saving in slow motion, too, and how the hype around fad diets has meant that the practice of simply eating well no longer receives the credit it deserves. The slow motion part tends to discourage and put people off. When it comes to eating well, we rarely have an immediate outcome to show us that we are being good to our bodies, and this can be mistakenly interpreted as if it’s having no effect at all. What we should focus on are the long-term benefits of a healthy lifestyle, such as improvements to our mood, improved immunity, lower chances of cancers and other non-communicable diseases, better sleep, the list goes on. Just some food for thought for those who are feeling discouraged and need to be reminded why it is they’re even bothering. Eat a range of whole foods, plenty of fibre, good fats, protein, and as little processed food as possible, you are doing good by your body so stick with it.
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