Under the microscope

SURVIVAL expert Ray Mears, 53, answers our health quiz

CAN YOU RUN UP THE STAIRS? I CAN certainly run up the stairs at home in Sussex. I work out at least four times a week, but that can fall by the wayside if I’m working. For the past 18 months I’ve been swimming four times a week, covering at least a kilometre. Being a strong swimmer is useful, as I use a canoe a lot. GET YOUR FIVE-A-DAY? IT DEPENDS on what I’m doing. If I’m cooking for myself, I eat healthily, but when I’m on the road filming it’s difficult. I carry packets of miso soup and pick wild greens to make a salad. When we were filming in America, we had someone whose job it was to find places with healthy food. It was hard. EVER DIETED? NO. I AM 6 ft 1 in and weigh 15 st 10 lb. Ten years ago, I was diagnosed with Lyme disease (a bacterial infection spread by ticks). I didn’t know I had it and had severe back pain that stopped me exercising. By the time I was treated with antibiotics, I’d had it for 16 years. Once I could exercise again, my weight went back to normal. ANY VICES? NONE. My favourite drink is water. EVER HAVE PLASTIC SURGERY? NO, I THINK plastic surgery is there for people who have had accidents. I do not understand trying to re-model what nature gave you. ANY FAMILY AILMENTS? EVERYONE in my family is fine, but my father is no longer with us. He smoked, so sadly he got lung cancer. COPE WELL WITH PAIN? IF I COMPLAIN of pain, it is serious. WORST ILLNESS/INJURY? LYME disease had the longest impact and I have had malaria a couple of times — despite taking tablets. I’ve had a lot of cuts over the years because I use knives and axes as part of my work. LIFE-CHANGING HEALTH BOOK? MEDICINE For Mountaineering is really useful for expeditions — like having a doctor with you. I’ve had to be my own bush doctor over the years and can do things the average first-aider couldn’t do, including giving myself injections. EVER BEEN DEPRESSED? NO. MENTAL training is part of my work. You need a strong psyche to survive in the wild. I am also very lucky to have married Ruth in 2009. She’s the love of my life and a tremendous support. WHAT KEEPS YOU UP AT NIGHT? NOTto cause much. mischiefI know andif someoneI can wakeis tryingup alert to that. The natural environment has made me sensitive to these things. BIGGEST PHOBIA? NONE. terrifiedIt wouldof spiders.be awkward if I were LIKE TO LIVE FOR EVER? NO.is knowingI THINK you part can’tof the live impetusfor ever. forI trylife hard to fill every minute well. and OuT Lars On Falt The (Bloomsbury,Land by ray £25). mears