Did you watch the first episode of Doctor in the House on BBC1? It was brilliant! If you didn’t manage to it is still on the BBC Iplayer – here is a link It’s available for the next 28 days and episode two is on tonight,  Thursday 26th November.

Why was it so great you might be wondering? It was so great because the doctor (a GP) was giving the family dietary and lifestyle advice to overcome their health issues, rather than rely on more medication. This is exactly the way in which I work, except that I don’t live with my clients whilst they implement my advice!

The show involved the GP getting to know the eating and lifestyle habits of the family. In episode one he was working with a family which consisted of a 49 year old man with Type 2 Diabetes; his partner a 49 year old woman with menopausal symptoms, weight gain and high stress levels; and her daughter who felt she was always picking up coughs and colds from the nursery where she worked.

He undertook a number of tests with the couple, some of which would not normally be undertaken by a GP. The Adrenal Stress Test that he used for the woman is one that I regularly use with clients to determine if they are producing too much of the stress hormone cortisol, or if their adrenal glands have stopped producing sufficient cortisol, usually after years of stress. This test also measures DHEA an important hormone which is associated with ageing. He also used a simple symptom based questionnaire with the woman which determined the severity of her menopausal symptoms. And in addition he measured Vitamin D levels and Homocysteine levels in the man. High homocysteine is a risk factor for heart disease and other chronic conditions.

The dietary changes that he suggested for the couple were:

• To cut out all processed food
• To stop eating anything that contained wheat, potatoes or sugar
• To only eat within a 10 hour window e.g. between 8am and 6pm

The lifestyle changes were

• For the man to exercise every day using HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) which quite simply involved him walking as fast as possible for a minute, then walking slowly for a minute, then repeating it, but trying to improve his progress each time. He did this by walking down his street, and attempting to exceed the door number achieved the previous time, when walking fast. HIIT is particularly beneficial for reducing visceral fat.
• For the woman to meditate for 15 minutes every day and to try acupuncture for her hot flushes. He also recommended that she take a Magnesium supplement as she was likely to be deficient in this due to elevated stress levels.

The results of the dietary and lifestyle changes that he suggested were amazing:

The man

• was able to cut down his medications from 3 to 1
• He reduced his visceral (abdominal) fat so significantly so that he was no longer in the very high risk category for heart disease
• He reduced his blood sugar levels from an average of 9 to 5 – taking him out of the danger zone in terms of blood sugar levels
• He lost weight, and inches from around his waist
• He started the programme with a pot belly and by the end had all but lost it

As for the woman

• Her hot flushes reduced
• Her sleep improved
• Her stress levels reduced
• She lost weight, and inches from around her waist
• Her mood improved

All this was achieved in just a few months, through simple, inexpensive dietary and lifestyle changes.

If you feel that you would benefit from a similar approach, then please call me on 07967 639347 to find out how I could help you.