Dr Alex George: ‘When I started fuelling my body, everything changed’

After weighing over 20st and struggling with grief and depression two and a half years ago, Dr Alex George says his “diet was poor”, he wasn’t exercising and was “consuming too much alcohol and processed foods”.

The TV doctor, who was launched into the public eye appearing on Love Island in 2018, says: “I made a change at that time though to remove things that were harmful for me. I stopped drinking for one and then I started putting things in my body that were helpful to my health, such as having a diverse diet that included proteins, carbohydrates, nutrients and plants.

“When I started fuelling my body like that, everything changed. That’s not to say that what you eat can fix all of your problems or that by eating certain plants your depression goes away, but as part of broader health changes, it’s powerful.”

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George, who previously was an NHS A&E doctor, says when he started out at medical school, he had “nowhere near the level of appreciation” he should have for the benefits of gut health with mental health.

“The gut is often referred now to as the second brain and there is this idea that so much of our nervous system, mental wellbeing or lack of wellbeing can be affected by or influenced by our gut. For example, the building blocks for serotonin – one of our key mood hormones – is synthesised in the gut, and an inflamed gut or poor gut health can implicate and impact our serotonin and the way our mind operates.”

When it comes to his current diet, George says that through having his podcast ‘The Stompcast’, he has interviewed people in the nutrition and dietitian space that have gave him a lot of knowledge. “It goes back to the quite core basic concepts that can easily be lost,” he says.

“What we should be trying to do is find healthy ways to get sources of protein from lean meats – if you don’t eat meat then sources that are vegetarian but high in protein like nuts or seeds. We also need to be making sure we get fats into our diet as they are really important for the immune system too, especially healthy fats. Then we need carbohydrates to fuel our brain and our body as it is vital to things we want to do. So I make sure I get all of those everyday.

George who has partnered with the Vietnamese food brand Pho, emphasises the importance of bone broth – which is in one of their meals.

“I discovered bone broth – basically beef bones – and as a medic I had heard of the benefits around it. It contains a high dose of collagen which is great for skin and joint health. It smells amazing as it is slow-cooked over 12 hours to get as much of the nutrients and flavour out of it as possible. I’ve been having it for a long time.”

He explains that when it comes to making changes around wellbeing, it’s fundamental for everyone to understand that it’s a compounding effect that they should be looking for. “You want small changes that on their own, have very small effects but when combined with five or six other changes, have this huge overall compounding benefit,” he explains.

“For example, I stopped drinking alcohol, started eating better, fuelled my body and also started moving it. I also started taking care of my mind – I got help and started therapy. As my diet changed, I lost weight, was able to exercise more and started feeling better.”

He isn’t looking for perfection though.”This mindset makes people feel like they are chasing something that can’t be done,” he says, admitting his own diet isn’t perfect all of the time.

“It’s very difficult to do and it can cause all sorts of issues. You have to also be able to live and enjoy your life, so I look at my diet to be [around] 80 percent the way I want and that feels like a good place for me.”

George says: “Broadly it is about looking at your plate and [asking], is it colourful? Or is it a beige plate? If all your plates and all your meals look beige, then that’s often a sign that perhaps we aren’t having diversity in our food. If you can try and eat 30 plants a week then that’s a brilliant start.

Another issue that has been in the spotlight in the last year is “trying to avoid ultra processed foods as much as possible”, he adds.

“It is impossible to avoid ultra processed food in its entirety, but what we want to do is try and eat as little of it as we can.”

Lastly, he adds that food should be fuel and people should be careful that it doesn’t turn into a chore.

“I enjoy foods that taste good, but you want to also feel good afterwards. It’s actually a good way of looking at it – if you eat something that makes you feel bad afterwards, that’s an indication your body’s telling you something.”

Dr Alex George’s go to meal at Pho is the chicken pho, served with mango salad and an apple, mint and lime juice.