So you've got a bit of an issue with the sick care, haven't you? Because you feel that we're not putting enough emphasis on preventative care.

We're not.

All of the policies I'm seeing rolling out are not around preventative health care.

If we're talking about health, then we're talking about prevention.

And actually, yes, it's important to have a sick care system for people who need it.

But actually, if we can keep people out of hospitals in the first place and not visiting their GP as often, then we're going to have a healthier community overall.

And I think the biggest problem comes down to Everybody can give a million excuses of why they can't do things that keep them healthy.

Because in a way, we all kind of know what we should be doing, don't we, to live a healthier life.

Okay, so you've got a bit of an issue with the sick care, haven't you? Because you feel that we're not putting enough emphasis on preventative

medicine.

We're not.

All of the policies I'm seeing rolling out are not around preventative preventative health care if we're talking about health then we're talking about prevention and actually yes there's important to have a sick care system for people who need it but actually if we can keep people out of hospitals in the first place and not visiting their GP as often then we're going to have a healthier community overall and I think the biggest problem comes down to everybody can give a million excuses of why they can't do things that keep them healthy.

And it's usually, I don't have enough time.

I don't have the right financial resources.

And I think it really gets you thinking how keeping yourself healthy doesn't need to be expensive.

Because in a way, we all kind of know what we should be doing, don't we, to live a healthier life.

Okay, so you've got a bit of an issue with the sick care, haven't you, because you feel that we're not putting enough emphasis on preventative care.

We're not.

All of the policies I'm seeing rolling out are not around preventative health care.

If we're talking about health, then we're talking about prevention.

And actually, yes, it's important to have a sick care system for people who need it.

But actually, if we can keep people out of hospitals in the first place and not visiting their GP as often, then we're going to have a healthier community overall.

And I think the biggest problem comes down to everybody can give a million excuses of why they can't do things that keep them healthy.

Because in a way, we all kind of know what we should be doing, don't we, to live a healthier life.

Do we know why people are getting cancer younger?

Yeah, that's a really interesting question.

The clinical research is showing that between the years 2010 and 2019, that there was an increase in cancers in 14 different types of cancer in under 50 categories.

So talking about young people with cancer.

has increased by 24% globally, which is huge.

And they've looked into, like, what is influencing this? And it's actually not just one thing, and that's where you can't kind of blame it in, oh, it's genetics, but actually it's the interaction of a whole lot of factors.

So it could be genetics with inflammation, with a... imbalanced gut microbiome with poor metabolic health, obesity, not enough physical activity, the environment that we live in, plastics.

Yep,

And my psychological age.

Yeah.

And biological age is the critical thing, is it measures your cellular health and physical decline.

And that's what you really want.

You want to live longer, but live healthy.

So you can actually do all the things you want to do.

Be active physically and mentally.

And then that becomes our new norm.

my psychological age.

Yeah.

And biological age is the critical thing, is it measures your cellular health and physical decline.

And that's what you really want.

You want to live longer, but live faster.

healthy.

So you can actually do all the things you want to do, be active physically and mentally.

That's where I think we have got a little bit over the top.

I'm just going to get up and get on with it.

No, and maybe that's where this week you start thinking, okay, what sort of new health intentions can I create for yourself? And whether it's like, okay, the new goal is as the daylight saving comes, you start to get out in nature, which with the longer evenings is a good time to do that, whether you do green exercise, which would be getting out into – grassy nature bush areas whether you go for a bush walk or a mountain bike always good to get into nature because that actually helps with um improving um blood pressure as well as getting some vitamin d or maybe you're into more a green exercise a blue exercise which would be getting into the water maybe go for a cold water dip or maybe go for a swim or even just being near the ocean has the negative ions which is so good for your health

So I won't say, I won't carry on this conversation.

No, and this time it's good to set out those new exercise goals and make them achievable.

So I always say 20 to 30 minutes daily is all you really need and be consistent about it.

And then also reset your diet because naturally as we go into the spring, we actually want to eat lighter.

So in the winter, we generally want comfort, warming foods, things that are heavier, usually more calorie dense.

Maybe we've got a little bit more – body weight on at the moment and maybe it's time to look at eating some fresh salads, getting more fresh produce in because with spring comes lots of fresh produce, fruits and veggies.

I'm just going to get up and get on with it.

No, and then maybe that's where this week you start thinking, okay, what sort of new health intentions can I create for yourself? And whether it's like, okay, the new goal is as the daylight saving comes, you start to get out in nature, which with the longer evenings is a good time to do that with whether you do green exercise, which would be getting out into the grassy nature, bush areas, whether you go for a bush walk or a mountain bike, always good to get into nature because that actually helps with improving blood pressure as well as getting some vitamin D.

Or maybe you're into more a green exercise, a blue exercise, which would be getting into the water, maybe go for a cold water dip or maybe go for a swim or even just being near the ocean has the negative ions, which is so good for your health.

So I won't say, I won't carry on this conversation.

No, and this time it's good to set out those new exercise goals and make them achievable.

So I would say 20 to 30 minutes daily is all you really need and be consistent about it.

And then also reset your diet because naturally as we go into the spring, we actually want to eat lighter.

So in the winter, we generally want comfort, warming foods, things that are heavier, usually more calorie dense.

And so today you are talking about encouraging men to find some time to look after themselves as well.

Yeah, I feel like sometimes men get left out of the self-care.

It seems like only women need to do self-care.

But actually, quite often men need it more than ever as actually they're busy working and working bigger hours and maybe bringing in most of the finances for the family, putting all the pressure on them, maybe holding the stress but pretending they don't have the stress because they want to make sure they look like they're holding it all together.

she'll be right kind of attitudes that we have in New Zealand and actually not actually caring for their body.

And when we do this, that means that we're not actually at our best performance when we're like that.

And it leads to burnout long term if you're just trying to burn the candle at both ends eventually.

And maybe don't address it or feel that there's any need to address it.

And so today you are talking about encouraging men to find some time to look after themselves as well.

Yeah, I feel like sometimes men get left out of the self-care.

It seems like only women need to do self-care.

But actually, quite often men need it more than ever as actually they're busy working and working bigger hours and maybe bringing in most of the finances for the family, putting all the pressure on them, maybe holding the stress but pretending they don't have the stress because they want to make sure they look like they're holding it all together.

she'll be right kind of attitudes that we have in New Zealand and actually not actually caring for their body.

And when we do this, that means that we're not actually at our best performance when we're like that.

And it leads to burnout long term if you're just trying to burn the candle at both ends eventually.

And maybe don't address it or feel that there's any need to address it.

And so today you are talking about encouraging men to find some time to look after themselves as well.

Yeah, I feel like sometimes men get left out of the self-care.

It seems like only women need to do self-care but actually quite often men need it more than ever as actually they're busy working and working the bigger hours and maybe bringing in most of the finances for the family, putting all the pressure on them, maybe holding the stress but pretending they don't have the stress because they want to make sure they look like they're holding it all together.

She'll be right kind of attitudes that we have in New Zealand and actually not actually caring for their body.

And when we do this, that means that we're not actually at our best performance when we're like that.

And it leads to burnout long term if you're just trying to burn the candle at both ends eventually.

you end up finding that you can't keep sustaining that.

And maybe don't address it or feel that there's any need to address it.

So we sort of understand where it might start, but what kind of triggers that viral infection to then become chronic fatigue?

That's where it's been actually really complex for people, for scientists to study and actually understand it because quite often these people go and get blood tests and everything comes back negative.

Normal, they look super healthy, but they don't feel super healthy and they actually can't function, can't work, can't do everyday tasks.

Even the simple task of just doing jobs around the house, they can't actually do.

It creates a delayed malaise or delayed fatigue that kind of gets triggered off from that.

So there has been some more recent research done, especially around changes in the brain.

And it's not saying that it's mental that's leading to the fatigue, but actually more the virus will then trigger off changes within the brain function.

physical as opposed to

So we sort of understand where it might start, but what kind of triggers that viral infection to then become chronic fatigue?

That's where it's been actually really complex for people, for scientists to study and actually understand it because quite often these people go and get blood tests and everything comes back normal.

They look super healthy, but they don't feel super healthy and they actually can't function, can't work, can't do everyday tasks.

Even just the simple task of just doing jobs around the house, they can't actually do.

It creates a delayed malaise or delayed fatigue that happens.

So there has been some more recent research done, especially around changes in the brain.

And it's not saying that it's mental that's leading to the fatigue, but actually more the virus will then trigger off changes within the brain function.

Yeah, and

I

think in theory we think that's a good idea.

But actually, if you look at the clinical research, it shows that actually the...

the yoga pattern starts that way when you start doing it as a crash diet or really a diet that's too extreme plus excessive amounts of exercise because it's not something that is sustainable.

And it also hasn't created the lifestyle changes in your habits.

And that's really what comes down to long-term health is actually long-term health is all deeply rooted in change in behavior and and changing your habits so they become just part of your everyday life.

When we do these sort of quick fixes of whether it's a diet plan or an exercise program or both together, or even like jumping onto like a GLP-1, which is becoming a bit of the current trend, it's not actually changing your habits.

and then you're like oh hang on yeah a little bit more than i thought

Would it be fair to say that sometimes people might do a 30-day challenge, an exercise one, to kind of kickstart them? They know that it's not a long-term solution, right? I

think in theory we think that's a good idea but actually if you look at the clinical research it shows that actually the yo-yo pattern starts that way when you start doing it as a crash diet or really a diet that's too extreme plus excessive amounts of exercise because it's not something that is sustainable and it also hasn't created the lifestyle changes in your habits that And that's really what comes down to long-term health is actually long-term health is all deeply rooted in change in behavior and change in your habits.

So they become just part of your everyday life.

When we do these sort of quick fixes of whether it's a diet plan or an exercise program or both together, or even like jumping onto like a GLP-1, which is becoming a bit of the current trend, it's not

and then you're like, oh, hang on, that's a little bit more there than I thought.

Quite often you write it down and then you think, oh, I have four chocolate biscuits.

Maybe that wasn't the best decision.

But it actually starts you to observe where are your weaknesses and what changes do you need to start to make.

If you're emotionally exhausted, you sort of feel like you are stuck in survival mode.

Yeah, I think so many people feel like this in modern day life, trying to run around all day, taking the kids from two to four and also running a job and running around doing so much thing, so many things and trying to do everything.

And I think when you live in that state of high stress all the time, it's hard on your nervous system.

And the thing with the autonomic nervous system, it's like the control center of the body.

So we really need to keep it in this balance and And it has an ability to oversee involuntary processes like heart rate, your digestion, your breathing.

And it's all about how it regulates between the two branches.

So we have the sympathetic nervous system, which is your fight or flight system.

the

If you're emotionally exhausted, you sort of feel like you are stuck in survival mode.

Yeah, I think so many people feel like this in modern day life, trying to run around all day, taking the kids from two to four and also running a job and running around doing so much thing, so many things and trying to do everything.

And I think when you live in that state of high stress all the time, it's hard on your nervous system.

And the thing with the autonomic nervous system it's like the control center of the body so we really need to keep it in this balance and it has it has a ability to oversee involuntary processes like heart rate your digestion your breathing and it's all about how it regulates between the two branches so we have the sympathetic nervous system which is your fight or flight and which is really helpful in a time of acute stress when you really need to leap into action to get something done.

Obviously, we don't want to stay in that state.

Or the parasympathetic nervous system, which is our rest and digest, which really helps to calm down.

So when we've had those moments of acute stress, we can then calm down and re-find the balance.

It just feels you're on edge the whole time, doesn't it?

Because you can't cure a viral cold overnight, but you can shorten its severity, can't you?

Absolutely.

I think it's more people think that they can get some quick fix medication and take a decongestant and be healed overnight.

But actually that does take a little while for the virus to run its course.

And usually you'll feel really fatigued the first bit and then you're into that more congestion as the body's managing the inflammation past having the virus.

And that's where doing things like resting, so taking time off, making sure you're recovering properly, hydrating really well so you can help to thin the mucus and soothe a sore throat, making sure you've got a nice warm home that's ventilated and even letting a bit of fresh air through the house is actually really helpful.

and using steam and humidity so we can help to really move some of that congestion and help with a dry throat.

What else can help reduce those symptoms for a quick recovery?

Because you can't cure a viral cold overnight, but you can shorten its severity, can't you?

Absolutely.

I think it's more people think that they can get some quick fix medication and take a decongestant and be healed overnight.

But actually that does take a little while for the virus to run its course.

And usually you'll feel really fatigued the first bit and then you're into that more congestion as the body's managing the inflammation past having the virus.

And that's where doing things like resting, so taking time off, making sure you're recovering properly, hydrating really well so you can help to thin the mucus and soothe a sore throat, making sure you've got a nice warm home that's ventilated and even letting a bit of fresh air through the house is actually really helpful.

and using steam and humidity so we can help to really move some of that congestion and help with a dry throat.

What else can help reduce those symptoms for a quick recovery?

internet to talk about it, you know, to diagnose ourselves.

And there's a difference between going to Google and looking up your symptoms and the health influences that are more on your social media platform.

So this is what we're going to chat about today.

It's more those AI-generated doctors.

So they're actually fake doctors, not doctors.

Yeah.

and health influencers that are really about sharing particularly health tips and it's a big growing concern is that how can you tell when you're scrolling through social media what is real content from a real doctor or a real health influencer or person or practitioner and what is fake and actually just trying to sell you something and actually concerning information and that's where there's a real problem with this is it's creating a lot of misleading information health claims, and it's a real huge danger to actually public safety, especially our younger generations that use social media a lot.

And he was talking about how we could simplify medicine so much if we just got back to the fact that we actually stopped and looked and connected and examined a patient.

We've always turned to the internet to talk about it, you know, to diagnose ourselves.

And there's a difference between going to Google and looking up your symptoms and the health influences that are more on your social media platforms.

So this is what we're going to chat about today is more those AI generated doctors.

So they're actually fake doctors, not doctors, and health influencers that are really about sharing particularly health tips.

And it's a big growing concern is that how can you tell when you're scrolling through social media, what is real content from a real doctor or real health influencer or person or practitioner? And what is fake and actually just trying to sell you something? and actually concerning information.

And that's where there's a real problem with this is it's creating a lot of misleading health claims.

And it's a real huge danger to actually public safety, especially our younger generations that use social media a lot.

Right.

Is that what you're suggesting compared to skipping meals, which is very irregular and you're getting...

Absolutely, absolutely.

Because if you think about the whole body having a body clock and actually even with your meal times, if you eat at the same regular times, the body gets used to when it gets fed and it will actually help to regulate your hormones.

with your appetite and how you also regulate your glucose levels.

So you can actually do intermittent fasting properly.

It's more when you're doing skippy meals, the body doesn't know when it should be eating or not eating, and actually that actually puts it in a stress state.

And it's actually nearly in there in between normal eating and actually disordered eating is actually skipping meals because it's actually not healthy for your body and will have long-term health impacts as well.

Erin, what about if you're one of these people that sort of says, look, I eat when I'm hungry?

Is that what you're suggesting compared to skipping meals, which is very irregular and you're getting...

Absolutely, absolutely.

Because if you think about the whole body having a body clock and actually even with your meal times, if you eat at the same regular times, the body gets used to when it gets fed and it will actually help to regulate your hormones.

with your appetite and how you also regulate your glucose levels.

So you can actually do intermittent fasting properly.

It's more when you're doing skippy meals, the body doesn't know when it should be eating or not eating.

And actually that actually puts it in a stress state.

Erin, what about if you're one of these people that sort of says, look, I eat when I'm hungry?

But it's not really all that great for our health, is it?

Not at all.

And I think there's that real hustle culture of like, the more you do, the more successful you're going to be.

And that hustle culture also links busyness with your worth and equating that the more you grind along, the better you are.

And actually, if you're not working long hours, this is huge, silly hours that you're actually classified as being lazy.

And that's not really the truth.

This hustle culture really rewards always being on.

What other boundaries should we be putting in place? What other strategies should we put in place?

But it's not really all that great for our health, is it?

Not at all.

And I think there's that real hustle culture of like the more you do, the more successful you're going to be.

And that hustle culture also links busyness with your worth and equating that the more you grind along, the better you are.

And actually, if you're not working long hours, it's huge, silly hours that you're actually classified as being lazy.

And that's not really the truth.

This hustle culture really rewards always being on.

What other boundaries should we be putting in place? What other strategies should we put in place?