DOCTOR’S NOTE
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and fitness don’t say no because I’m worried about what I’m going to eat, I’ll just adapt my routine around that.
“I absolutely understand the pressure, but ultimately, external validation is very weak at making you feel good in yourself. Feeling good because you eat well, you exercise well, and fuel your body and use it the way it should be used, that’s much more likely to make you happy, rather than thinking you went to an event and could fit into whatever size T-shirt.
“That’s not to say we don’t enjoy the aesthetic benefits of being healthy, of course it’s nice if clothes fit well. But that’s a focus point, it’s not the core reason.”
Good health and happiness is all about balance, he says, and while over-exercising isn’t healthy, it’s obviously not good to do too little either.
“It’s important to have an element of rest,” Dr Alex adds, “so I generally try to plan my exercise routine around the working week, and at the weekend I tend to take it more easy and maybe go for gentle walks.
“Exercise is the same as diet, it’s about balance. My diet isn’t perfect all the time, and I enjoy a takeaway when I want to, but it’s about having a basis around what you’re going to do to ensure you’re getting healthy, nutritious food, that’s what I try to do.
“Health is about not trying to be too extreme, and building habits that last.”
In the past, Dr Alex has criticised fat-shaming and weight stigma, and admitted that when he’s been bigger he’s felt “embarrassed and nervous” to train in the gym. But he’s not ashamed any more, he stresses, and explains: “The numbers on scales can be really unhelpful. If you focus on them too much, you become goalorientated around weight, and I think weight-focused health can be risky.
“If you have a good balanced diet and you exercise regularly in a reasonable fashion, then it’s likely you’ll be a healthy weight. It’s better to focus on the process – practising healthy habits, looking after yourself, getting moving, eating a balanced diet – than it is to look at scales and at number changes.
“Motivation is a very poor thing to rely on when it comes to making changes that last, because motivation wanes,” he adds. “You need discipline and routine to make the changes you want. Making changes that are good for you shouldn’t be horrible and unpleasant, but it doesn’t mean they’re always easy. It’s important to realise that sometimes you’ve got to put the hard work in to get the benefits out.” ■ Dr Alex George has partnered with Colgate Total for their #HappyHabits campaign, to encourage good oral health habits as a way of staying in good overall health. See colgate.com/en-gb/colgate-total 1. Garlic is a good source of potassium which helps control blood pressure.
2. It’s rich in magnesium which the body needs for healthy bones.
3. Raw garlic is one of the rare dietary sources of allicin that can help lower LDL (bad) cholesterol.
4. Research shows that people who eat garlic frequently have fewer colds than people who don’t.
5. Garlic contains some vitamin C, which we need for the production of collagen in the body to strengthen muscles and skin.
A solar-powered phototherapy machine could help put an end to jaundice deaths in poorer countries.
Around six in 10 babies develop jaundice just after they are born.
In low and middle-income countries, babies are 27 times more likely to suffer brain damage from jaundice and 119 times more likely to die, as not all hospitals have phototherapy machines.
This tech uses light to help the liver get rid of waste products in the blood.
Virtue Oboro, whose son survived jaundice after a risky blood transfusion in Nigeria, invented the Crib A’Glow, a portable solar-powered device to help remote areas with inconsistent access to electricity.