The Food Medic - S2 E3 - Sexual Health with Dr. Alex George and Dr. Neha

Episode Date: December 19, 2018

On this podcast Hazel is joined by Dr Neha Pathak, a sexual and reproductive health doctor in London, and Dr. Alex George, a doctor working in A&E and Love Island 2018 contestant. The three doctors di...ve deep into sexual health and discuss all of the things you want to ask your doctor from STIs, contraception, relationships, and issues during sex. You can find Neha on instagram @nxpathak, and Alex as @dralexgeorge. Hear more from The Food Medic over on www.thefoodmedic.co.uk or on social media @thefoodmedic. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:00:28 A well-marbled ribeye you ordered without even leaving the kiddie pool. Whatever groceries your summer calls for, Instacart has you covered. Download the Instacart app and enjoy $0 delivery fees on your first three orders. Service fees, exclusions, and terms apply. Instacart, groceries that over-deliver. Hello and a very big welcome back to the Food Medic podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Hazel Wallace, and today I'm joined by two very special guests to chat all about sexual health. Now, I don't know about you guys, but at school, I didn't get a whole lot of education on sexual health. And it really wasn't until I was at medical school that I fully appreciated how much there is to learn when it came to STIs and contraception and pregnancy etc. However it's still not talked about very much which only exacerbates the stigma attached to many
Starting point is 00:01:17 important issues regarding sexual health so hopefully this episode will help dispel some of the myths and open up the conversation when it comes to sex. So I hope you really enjoy the episode. I had a lot of fun with the guys and we had a bit of banter as well along the way. So it's a good episode. And don't forget to keep listening towards the very end when I share this week's challenge, which is festive themed in time for Christmas. Okay, so today I'm joined on the podcast by not just one but two guests dr alex george who is a doctor working in a&e but better known for recently featuring on this year's love island and dr neha pathak who is a sexual and reproductive health doctor working in london welcome guys
Starting point is 00:02:02 i don't know if it's that i'm better known for being on Love Island or if it's like is that a good thing or not. I don't know. It's better that I'm better known but I am. You are known for it. So today I've got you guys on to talk about sexual health. Great. I guess it's something that we haven't really talked about on the food medic before or within my platform but I think it's something really important that we talk about i feel like if we don't talk about it we're not going to break the stigma definitely it's quite a different uh different topic to your usuals about the salads and whatnot but just that's something that really affects young people i think it's uh it plays a big part in our health as a whole so yeah it's good and it's something that happens every day just like
Starting point is 00:02:42 eating so we've got to look after that so i don don't know about you guys, but when I was at school, I didn't really get much sex ed. I felt most of the stuff that I learned was from like listening to older siblings or like speaking to friends. Completely the same. Nothing at school. My favorite story is having the school nurse who was about 55 years old, really big, gray hair, squatting in front of us to show us how to put in a tampon and that was our whole sex education it wasn't even a mention of stis condoms nothing um so then you just have friends you just have family yeah that's it yeah i mean i feel kind of you know back in schools a lot of the time it's the teachers that are expected to
Starting point is 00:03:23 give this actual education but they're not taught about it before so that you're passing you kind of you're expecting them to talk about a subject which is quite awkward a lot of the time just kind of gets fluffed over with essentially doesn't it's like yeah yeah let's move on to next class math is back to numbers and if the teachers are embarrassed then obviously the students are embarrassed and then how are they going to be empowered to discuss it with their future partners yeah so i think it shouldn't just be sex causes disease be careful yeah it's about having healthy relationships and so i think you're teaching about sexual health and it's like not always a bad well it's not about yeah exactly how most of us are having sex at some point yeah you know we're all here because
Starting point is 00:03:59 someone's had sex so part of well-being good pointbeing that's really important as well but it's interesting because it's not just like kids and teenagers that are like i'm very confused it's also adults and before we started recording i put out a post on instagram to see what questions people had um which we're going to come to at the end but it was so interesting to see like the range of questions and people are like are just so confused but also like inquisitive so I think there's quite a few things that came up that I think we should talk about the first thing I want to talk about is STIs because that just kept coming back up so Neha do you want to kind of talk a little bit about what are the most common STIs that I guess you see? And what are the typical symptoms that people should be looking out for?
Starting point is 00:04:57 Yeah, so the most common STIs that you'll diagnose all the time in sexual health are chlamydia, gonorrhea, a lot of warts, a lot of herpes. And everything is being diagnosed more and more now because we're just getting better at identifying it. And people are a bit more empowered to say, look, I've got symptoms. I I don't have symptoms I should still be tested for it um for chlamydia gonorrhea for women any change in your discharge come see someone like me for men any discharge at all not a good sign go and see someone and then any new itches lumps bumps sores anything weeping or unusual it's better to see someone than to just keep waiting and putting it off because these are infections that are detectable, treatable and manageable and the earlier you get them the better. The big one we're seeing right now loads of especially in my clinic in Burrell Street is syphilis which you just never saw 10 years ago
Starting point is 00:05:44 and now we'll easily diagnose seven or eight a day what's great is that there's lots of discussion around it so people really know to look out for this painless ulcer unusual rashes on hands and feet and they're coming in telling us I think I've got syphilis and we're like yeah you probably do let's treat you right here and now and it's really nice to see that there's discussion around this outbreak yeah it's good to hear that like people are coming in and they already have the symptoms as well but some stis don't actually show symptoms initially you know the big one really you know i had a conversation about uh symptoms and stis or some university students and i said like do you always get kind of symptoms yeah yeah generally I'd know
Starting point is 00:06:25 if I had to change my discharge or whatever I'll go and get a checkup but if obviously if I'm well and there's nothing changed then I'm fine. 100% totally behind you on that and I think that's where a lot of fear comes that people are like well I don't I haven't got symptoms I'm not sure this person I'm with they look fine do they have symptoms or not and actually just getting regularly tested and being able to communicate that with each other that yeah I don't have symptoms and I've checked that I've not got it is so much more reassuring. 100% and I think you know like from my ops and gynae rotation at med school like one of the most I guess saddest things that I came across was women
Starting point is 00:07:01 who couldn't conceive and they were infertile because they had chlamydia all those years ago, never knew and then they became infertile. It's really important for people to get tested and get treated early so they don't come up against those problems later. Yeah, I think people knowing about the long-term consequences of some of these infections is really important. So chlamydia, gonorrhoea, if it's untreatedreated you get pelvic inflammatory disease you get prostate problems so men and women can suffer from subfertility and i think we know a little bit more about the women and that gets discussed a little bit more but we forget that men have to take that responsibility yeah no that's so true and um alex you worked in a gun
Starting point is 00:07:41 clinic right did you find um there was like a lot more women coming or a lot more men? I think generally I found that when women came in, they often were more relaxed. I think they're quite open to talk about their sexual history and the question you asked them. They seem to just be happier to essentially open up to you. I think sometimes men kind of come in with a kind of, you know, I don't want to say too much or they maybe aren't always maybe as honest as they could be. I think heterosexual men find it the hardest. Which is an area that we do need to kind of get men to talk more
Starting point is 00:08:15 and be more comfortable because at the end of the day, if we're not getting them tested and treated, then we're not going to solve the issue and we're going to continue to have a spread of STIs. Yeah. So for people who are thinking, I need to go to a sexual health clinic, but I'm nervous or what can they expect? Like what happens when you go there? Coming to a sexual health clinic, you're really in a safe environment, A, you're in a place that you can speak openly about your history and your symptoms and any problems you have.
Starting point is 00:08:51 And know that the people there, A, care about you and B, will keep everything confidential and look after you really. And at the end of the day, you're there for your own health. And, you know, that's what everyone wants to make sure is that people who go to these clinics are healthy and go away with, you know, feeling comfortable and that they've had a good service. I think the thing I'd really want people to know is that we do this day in, day out. We've seen everything. There is no judgment. We've heard all the stories. We probably know worse things than all of you.
Starting point is 00:09:16 And, you know, we're just here for a chat. Most sexual health doctors are super relaxed. We know when you're awkward to just keep a constant flow of chat going so you feel not awkward. But we know when to be quiet as well keep a constant flow of chat going so you feel not awkward but we know when to be quiet as well so I think that's across the board with all doctors like it blows my mind how many times like a patient will be like I'm really sorry I haven't shaved my legs I'm like I really don't care it's the last thing I'm looking at not me it's fine
Starting point is 00:09:40 absolutely definitely and um how often would you recommend people have go for testing should it be between partners should it be annually i think it depends on how much sex you're having and how many partners you have so between partners as standard if you have multiple partners at least once a year and if it's more regularly than that i have patients who i say come every three months we're more than happy to see you cool and in addition to just sti testing what else do gum clinics offer what other services can they offer it's also about a part of sexual health is the contraceptive side as well so um you can book in to see you know a doctor or nurse who's trained in that area and they'll talk through a wide range of contraception obviously we're trying to encourage condom use because we know that we know that can reduce the risk of of stis but there are a wide range of contraceptives available from injections to coils to
Starting point is 00:10:34 the tablets these you know these clinicians are experts in this area and they'll be able to advise you and help you make the right choice your sexual and reproductive health has become integrated so we never see just like STIs on their own it's making sure you feel safe in your relationship and that there is consent and you're not being forced to have sex so every single doctor nurse healthcare practitioner should be able to do some part of that so in our clinic for example everyone will be able to give most contraception and do STI screening and then there'll be someone like me around who can scan do implants do complex coils and you know we're just a knock away so we're all helping each other out and yeah you know you you want to get it all
Starting point is 00:11:16 done at once yeah and um before we started recording we're chatting about dating apps do you guys I would go into more detail about that but um do you guys think that that's led to people being a bit more carefree or careless when it comes to sex i think there probably is a shift in the culture the last five ten years with regards to sex anyway i think people are becoming much more open i think having multiple partners has become more normalized and in some ways i think particularly in london um and this is maybe a contentious point but people view each other as maybe a little bit more disposable i think there's maybe that's maybe a little bit controversial but think oh well if this is not the right person there's always a
Starting point is 00:11:52 next one there's a next swipe or there's a next date kind of thing and so yeah potentially that plays a part of it and i think what we should be careful not to do is judge people for having multiple partners what we're saying is have safe sex that doesn't mean don't have sex or don't have fun and explore it's about doing in a safe manner yeah definitely anecdotally we see more people that are meeting their partners through apps and online and i think that's just the shift in the culture overall there is an increase in sexually transmitted infections but we don't know from the evidence if that's just because we're better at detecting them and treating them or if it's because everyone's having more casual sex the reality is is that the more partners you have the more risk you have so you just need to be a bit more careful and i think we should be working with the apps to make sure
Starting point is 00:12:39 sexual health messages get out there at the same time yeah at the moment i don't think across most of the apps there is very little actual advice or help exactly ask any questions so yeah that's an area that we should think yeah it's just a no-brainer to me i guess the concern is that if people are meeting and they're having casual sex it's about are they using condoms or not yeah at the moment if you ask i don't know anyhow what you think from your experience but when you ask a lot of people what are condoms for it's like pregnant pregnancy it's contraception it's almost like the sti side of it At the moment, if you ask, I don't know, what you think from your experience, but when you ask a lot of people what a condom's for, it's like pregnant pregnancy, it's contraception. It's almost like the STI side of it is much further down the trail.
Starting point is 00:13:12 I think, you know, guys go home with a girl and say, oh, are you on the pill? Oh, yeah, I'm fine, I don't need a condom. That is unfortunately something that does come up, doesn't it? And what I always tell anyone I see in clinic is that condoms are for STIs they are 100% for STIs if you want to prevent pregnancy there are other things that are way better that you should definitely be using relying on condoms alone for pregnancy is not the best way
Starting point is 00:13:39 and so for me I think there needs to be I completely agree with you there needs to be the shift that condoms STII, condoms, STI. And why do you think people are so reluctant to use them? Sex isn't planned, is it? I think it's an unplanned event. I've been asked a lot about this, and I think there's quite a few opinions between men and women and vice versa. So, for example, a few things someone has said to me before is that,
Starting point is 00:14:02 oh, if a guy's on a night out and he's got a condom with him, he's out for sex. Oh, that's interesting. And I heard someone sadly say, you know, if a girl's got loads of condoms at home, then it must mean that she's sleeping around or she's really promiscuous. It's really sad. And both those statements are, like, ridiculous. Yeah. It's about you bringing a condom for your own health.
Starting point is 00:14:19 You could have had that condom for 10 years, hopefully not. Check the expiry date. Check the expiry date before you use a condom. Please, everybody. It shouldn't be there for 10 years hopefully not yeah check the expiry date before you use a condom please everybody it shouldn't be there for 10 years it's true though isn't it if you're carrying a condom that doesn't mean you're out to have sex it's just like and then vice versa i think we need a shift in attitudes that using one isn't about how much sex you're having it's about caring and respecting for the other person yeah so it shouldn't be seen as this dirty thing i just think if someone actually used ones they're showing you far more respect than someone that is refusing to use one 100 one thing that comes up
Starting point is 00:14:59 with some men and women that i've spoken to is this worry about interrupting sex that it's not planned you're a bit drunk you just kind of want to keep the flow going and I just think that's something where the more you start doing it the less it will feel like that and it's a bit practice makes perfect yeah and I think also people yeah exactly put them somewhere convenient yeah but I think there's also people would think that you put it on at the very end like at the end of sex when you really should be putting it on at the beginning so there's this whole confusion when to use it how to use it so practice if people view it as a normal thing as a normal part of having sex you're gonna have to take maybe five seconds maybe a bit
Starting point is 00:15:43 longer if you're slower to get the condom on then then that's part of it and the media has a role to play in that so showing films where condoms are never used makes everyone think but that's just normal and now you see in films they start referring to contraception referring to condoms it's great it makes it more normal it really does um so shall we try do some of these questions that i got on instagram first of all thank you to everyone who's sending questions there was so many questions but i just picked out 10 because we'd be here all day so the first question which i think is a really good one to start off on is the best way to have that have you been tested talk and how can you 100% trust your partner?
Starting point is 00:16:26 I mean, that's quite a big question, but let's tackle the first part first. So like, how can you have that have you been tested talk? I think a big part of this is, again, breaking down the stigma around sexual health so that you can have that kind of conversation comfortably. Because if you're going to say to someone, shall we have sex? You should also be comfortable enough to say have you been tested recently you know uh you know is your sti check screen and have you got a condom there should be really like a natural conversation to have it's almost weirder to think that you feel comfortable enough to have sex with someone but
Starting point is 00:16:57 not just to ask them that simple question you should be hopefully with someone that you feel in a safe place where to do that and I think that's really important and don't be scared it's your health at the end of the day yeah definitely I really empathize with everyone because if you're not used to talking about sex and STIs it is really hard to bring it up you know every day I'll ask someone about their sex life I take it for granted and so I think it is hard but there are some strategies that really help so making sure you do it before having sex not after um that does help I think that definitely helps sometimes it's like sharing a bit of you helps encourage someone else share a bit of them
Starting point is 00:17:40 so say to them like I just got tested such and such time this is what happened to me it's all fine what about you and there's something about just framing it that way that kind of makes it a bit calmer and a bit more softer and showing that you know you're just caring about their health like you say you deserve everyone deserves to be healthy absolutely and I think the second part of that question like how can you 100% trust someone, that's a really difficult thing. And I guess it's intuition. I think in all honesty, that is most of it. If you have doubts or concerns of someone, then you should question if you should be having sex at all, I guess.
Starting point is 00:18:17 Sadly, at that initial stage, you probably can't 100% trust someone. And so using a condom, even they say yes I've been tested the results are fine is really important until you've developed a more trusting bond to know actually this is someone you know stopping using condoms should be an important stage of a relationship it shouldn't be happening right at the start you should just still use it anyway and especially if you don't know whether you're going to be having regular sex with them just better be safe safe and sorry exactly use a condom okay next question do antibiotics affect the contraceptive pill uh so short answer no so we used to say that you needed to use condoms for seven days but now we know that it doesn't impact how effective the contraceptive
Starting point is 00:19:02 pill is which is great The one caveat is if your antibiotics are making you feel like vomiting or you get diarrhea from it, which can sometimes happen. And if that occurs within three hours of taking a pill, you've got to treat it like a mist pill. Cool. I think that one's covered. What causes thrush and what can I do to prevent it? So thrush is a yeast infection, which sounds very, very sexy. And the reality is it happens to almost everyone. So it's just part of life. It's important to say it's not considered an STI.
Starting point is 00:19:35 Exactly. It can be passed through sexual intercourse. It's a candida infection. As you say, it can affect any woman. So it's part of the natural flora and hormonal changes and any change of that environment can allow the candida to grow and then you get the symptoms i think you hit the nail on the head about reiterating that it's not a sti and i think that's what most people worry about oh my god i've caught this i'm so itchy i've
Starting point is 00:20:00 definitely caught this from my partner but actually it can be triggered by sex but that's just because there's something different in that place so any change to the vagina pregnancy stress diabetes so if you're getting it a lot make sure you get tested for diabetes but then yeah just a new partner they just have a slightly different natural bacteria that's not harmful that's not a sexually transmitted infection just makes things a bit different for a while yeah and some people are just more susceptible to it so i i'm commonly asked like oh what foods can i eat to prevent it but as far as i'm aware there's no like there's no real evidence when it comes to this and you see like the candida anti-diet or prevention diet there's there's nothing really like some people say oh high GI foods really sugary foods or go low yeast what I would say is that lots of people aren't aware
Starting point is 00:20:51 that if they do get it a lot we have special recurrent thrush and recurrent bacterial vaginosis clinics in gum clinics and we test for really hard to treat strains and then can give a totally different medication that's much more effective amazing so just don't feel embarrassed tell us you've had it seven times this year we'll do an extra test for you yeah absolutely um so can natural oils be used as lubricants I get asked it a lot. She's going no, isn't she? I know, I just wanted to know. Next question. Water-based is much better if you're using condoms. Chances are. I use water-based lubricants just better, isn't it?
Starting point is 00:21:36 I think that's fair to say. Yeah, I think it's just, it makes it easier to use the condom if you use a water-based lubricant. It means it's less likely to break and an oil one can irritate the vagina anyway so it just doesn't really help if people really want naturals the one that we often recommend especially around menopause is the yes yes yes range and they have a natural moisturizer you don't like that yes yes i know raised eyebrows over here from alex they have a natural one that people love but again the oil ones not safe for condoms okay
Starting point is 00:22:13 next question is it normal to bleed during sex um so bleeding after sex can be related to a lot of different things so it can be non- be non harmful things like there's a thing called an ectropion, which sounds crazy, but actually, it's just a normal change on the cervix. It's not worrying. It can be polyps. Again, they're not worrying. They're just a bit of a nuisance. But it can also mean sexually transmitted infections. It can also mean early changes that might suggest something worse like cervical cancer or cervical pre cancer. So if it happens, even though it might be absolutely fine, it's better to get it checked.
Starting point is 00:22:49 And if you're up to date with your screening, which has to happen for cervical cancer every three years, then again, that can help take out that worry that it might be related to that. But it's still worthwhile getting your cervix looked at and tested for STIs. 100%. I think there's still a lot of concern around around having that cervical screening and what the experience is like yeah i think some people are like girls gossip about these horror stories that it's really terrible but actually it's not no what advice do
Starting point is 00:23:17 you give to women when who who come in with concerns about it or they're a little bit fearful yeah so most of the time it depends on what the fears are so some fears are to do with the eventual diagnosis and actually engaging in screening is the one thing that's been shown to prevent cervical cancer and we've had a huge improvement in this country in reducing the number of diagnoses so it's going to pick up a pre-stage which isn't cancer if it picks up anything and that's the stage if you have anything you want to be able to stop it so it's better to know than to not know and have something that you just can't treat later the other fear what the other fears that come up
Starting point is 00:23:56 i get a lot about the speculum to be honest it's only a little brush i like to comment you don't know what it feels like well so what I say so there's some little tips and tricks that I use which from a female perspective I think
Starting point is 00:24:11 maybe I say them because I've had it done they're all looking at me it's not my fault we'll let you
Starting point is 00:24:20 answer our questions you can comment but you can comment on how it feels. Get them to use lots of lube if you're worried. That's like one way to feel a little bit more relaxed. I get my women to sit, this is really going a bit graphic and like practical now,
Starting point is 00:24:38 but it really helps. So I get women to sit right at the edge of the bed. It's going to feel like you're almost going to fall off, but it means that you're automatically more relaxed. and the main reason that a speculum ever hurts is just because you're nervous and tense it shouldn't hurt but as soon as you get tense it everything gets a bit tighter and then it naturally will so do what you have to do play music have a chat anyone doing it is really nice and they'll put up with whatever you want to feel relaxed. Yeah, I feel like the practice nurses are always,
Starting point is 00:25:08 they've done it so many times that they're always really lovely. Exactly. And the brush bit, that is so quick. I've seen some people say they thought it was going to be like a, like a big scraping tool. Yeah. You know, it is a brush. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:25:21 I can't comment on how it feels, but I know it's like brushing my teeth. It's not too bad, right? bad yeah and you're absolutely right i think the scraping thing it used to be like that many years ago and people aren't don't necessarily know that now it is a brush it is so quick yeah you know the cervical screening program obviously is very important and there has been a huge uptake in the program over the last few years but there is a concern that maybe there's a bit almost like a relaxed attitude or maybe i don't need to go is that fair? Yeah no no it's definitely the data shows there's been a reduction in the number of people coming and there's been a worry that with the vaccination are people engaging a bit less so we're there's a
Starting point is 00:25:57 lot of work going into trying to improve the screening process and you know hopefully one day we'll have self-sampling and stuff but that's not anytime soon so i would urge people do what you can to prevent it and just on the note of the vaccine the hpv vaccine now they're going to be bringing it in for young boys which is great massive advocate of that because we know that for you know young men oral cancers and esophageal cancers you know they're related to you to, you know, we think towards the HPV. Yeah, and there's a lot more oral sex now, so that's much more important. And I think it helps encourage this idea that, you know, it involves everyone. Sex involves everyone.
Starting point is 00:26:37 It's not one person's responsibility. So let's just get everyone involved. 100%. Okay, so the next question is is does peeing after sex really prevent UTIs well the jury's out on that one the evidence is very mixed so a few studies show that it helps and a few studies show it just doesn't make a difference what's your personal view because I think that's what comes into it yeah I mean the evidence base is pretty mixed exactly I think probably on this one it's down to the individual yeah i think you know some some ladies do get uh recurrent utis because of
Starting point is 00:27:09 sex and if they find that it's beneficial and they can see well actually for me it does reduce you know the number of utis or infections i have well yeah i would say the data is not really that good so i just kind of recommend well at the very least we know it doesn't do any harm so it's one of those ones that i think is probably least we know it doesn't do any harm so it's one of those ones that I think is probably a good idea it doesn't do any harm okay um and finally the topic of testicular cancer is quite prominent at the moment and someone actually asked how can I check for it and is a lump always cancer I think it's so important to basically know your own balls check regularly in the shower just check you know
Starting point is 00:27:45 what you learn is that what is different for you and anything that's changed is the time to go to the doctors you know that's all how big a lump should you worry about what should it feel like if you know your own testicles and you check yourself regularly you will know that something's changed and if that happens go and see your doctor so you can get a proper checkup and it's remarkable how many people just don't check. And actually, it's just the same as boobs. Just have a feel of them once a month in the shower. You know them better than we do.
Starting point is 00:28:13 Yeah, feel on the first. It's a good rule. Yes. Start of the month in the shower. Have a feel while they're in the mail. Cool. I think that's all we've got time for. But we've answered lots of questions so thank you
Starting point is 00:28:26 guys for joining me on the show do you want to give everyone a little note as to where to find you on social I'm sure everyone knows where to find you Alex anyway I'm on at Dr Alex George and follow me for my regular Q&A's and just general nonsense here and there. So yeah, a couple of car things. And I'm on Twitter at DrNeha Pathak and Instagram at NXPathak and I just mostly about sex. Wonderful. Thank you so much. So guys, that's the end of this week's podcast.
Starting point is 00:29:01 I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. And I think the biggest takeaway is to not be afraid to talk about getting tested and going to get tested yourself it's not a sign of being promiscuous it's actually showing that you care about your health and also your partner's health so before I leave you it's time for this week's challenge but before I jump into it I just want to say a huge shout out to everyone who joined in last week's challenge, which was on the meat-free day. It's been really cool to see all of you taking pictures of your food
Starting point is 00:29:33 and sending in pictures of the recipes that you've made from my website and my book. It's given me loads of inspo and I know that lots of you have been enjoying it also. So over on Instagram this week, if you've been following me and if you're listening to the episode the week that it goes out, then you will know that I'm currently doing the 12 Days of Fitness Challenge.
Starting point is 00:29:53 This is a challenge that I set you guys every year. This is my fourth year, I think, that I've been doing it. So I set you guys a workout every day in the 12 days leading up to Christmas. Now, these workouts are really short. They're like 10 to 15 minutes. You don't need any equipment. You don't need to go to the gym. You just need your body weight.
Starting point is 00:30:13 And the whole idea is to just send the year out on a bang. It's not about earning your calories. We're not about that at the food medic. It's just about getting fit and seeing the year out strong. So before you switch off for Christmas I'm challenging you to do at least 15 minutes of movement every day this week you can use my workouts which you will find over on my Instagram page or you can do your own I really don't mind but the whole key is that you're moving a little bit please do make sure to let me know by tagging me on social and using the hashtag the food medic challenge thank you so much for tuning into the food medic podcast please do
Starting point is 00:30:50 subscribe so you're the first to hear about any new episodes and if you are enjoying them please leave five star rating and a review so that we can reach as many people as possible before I go I just want to say a huge Merry Christmas from myself and everyone at The Food Medic make sure to take time with friends and family chill out and I'll see you in the new year for more episodes I'm actually going to be kicking off with a special episode on stress with Dr Rangan Chatterjee so I think that's the perfect timing when we're coming into January blues and thinking how am I going to survive the whole month? So we'll give you lots of tips and advice there.
Starting point is 00:31:28 But until then, have a really wonderful time and I will see you very soon.

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