How To Be More “Likeable”... 

I’ve been interacting with patients for over 16 years and in the thousands of patients I’ve come across I’ve accidentally learned a few things about communication and being more charismatic. 

Charisma, in my opinion, is a skill that you learn from experience and can deconstruct. I studied the succesful behaviour traits of colleagues, seniors and my bosses to improve how I interact with the world: 

1. Pause before speaking: Wait two seconds before giving your answer or replying to something in conversation. You always have more time than you think, and 2 seconds does not make it awkward. 

2. Give the importance to the other person: Don’t be the INTERESTING person, rather be INTERESTED. Remember people’s names, keep eye contact, and ask good questions! 

3. Communication is about far more than the words you use: the bulk of communication and how much people feel an affinity towards you is based on your tone of voice, facial expressions and body language. Non verbal communication is king. 

4. Add a sprinkle of humour: In 10 years of making content on social media, I’ve found that humour works best to engage people. Even in my clinical world interacting with colleagues and patients, having a sense of humour makes people feel good.  

5. Eliminate gossip: When you talk bad about other people, what’s to stop others assuming you talk bad about them too? Leave it out 

How To Get A* Oral Health.. 

As our understanding of the microbiome has evolved, what’s also evolved in parallel is the understanding of the interconnectivity of multiple organ systems with each other.

Oral health in particular has always been regarded as somewhat separate from the rest of the body but as the first pit stop in the GI tract, its health outcomes can have wide reaching effects.

Poor oral health is linked with cardiovascular disease risk and even dementia.  

Here’s what I try to ensure daily to keep my oral cavities well cared for: 

1. Sugar is not the enemy and in moderation it’s fine but it does affect your enamel as bacteria in your mouth feast on it to produce acidic waste which can erode your enamel. Don’t fear sugar alternatives... 

2. I am partial to the odd soda now and then but I’ve come to realise it’s worth limiting the consumption of fizzy drinks because the extended exposure to acidic fluids is not beneficial to the teeth. Even when drinking sodas, try to limit the overall time of exposure and avoid nursing the drink for a long time. 

3. Stay hydrated. Water is the key to life and the rule stays the same in the mouth. Being hydrated means more saliva which is protective for your teeth and helps to remineralise your enamel and makes it stronger 

4. Wait before brushing: If you eat food, wait at least 30 mins before brushing as the enamel is temporarily softened and an abrasive scrub can weaken it! 

5. Please visit a dentist at least once a year. Your oral cavity is one of the few body parts where it’s hard to get a full 360 look at yourself. Visit your dentist to check your gums, plaque levels and general oral health and find the problem (if one exists) at an early stage. 

6. Electric brush: This one is a no brainer. The bristlers are soft and you end up applying less pressure to your teeth and gums. 

How I Stop Procrastination... 

I have a major issue with procrastination. It reached its peak in my 2^nd year as a doctor when I began revising for my surgical exams and realised it was potentially derailing my career aspirations and that’s when I decided to do something about it. 

Here are some PROVEN methods to beat procrastination (hopefully most of the time): 

1. The 2 minute rule: This has been a mainstay for me. If you can complete something in under 2 minutes, do it immediately. Small wins build momentum so you can tackle the biggest tasks. 

2. Write it down: Having clear goals are great. Having clear goals WRITTEN down are even better. You are far more likely to succeed in your aims than if you just have a mental list of things to do 

3. Kaizen: The art of breaking things into smaller chunks to turn mammoth tasks into bite size smaller components. When you scale a mountain you don’t make a dash for the peak.. you do it in stages. Same principle here 

4. “Mood follows action”: Sometimes to do a task, your mental state needs to change. I’ve often got far more energy and drive to do things after a quick walk, gym session or when I’ve had some food. Look for triggers that can change your mental state. 

5. The 4 quarters: I like this idea of segregating my day into 4 pieces or 4 quarters – 9-12, 12-3, 3-6, 6-9. If you have a bad outing on one of the quarters, you’ve got 3. more to get back on track! 

Why I Love Fibre, And You Should Too... 

People have this belief that longevity science is all about the elite of society spending millions of dollars trying to “beat” death and unnaturally extend their lives.

That may well be true but for me longevity and anti-aging is more about decreasing the chances of spending your life infirm.

I want to live as healthily as I can for as long as I can.. the healthiest old man I can be and having an optimised healthspan rather than a pure focus on lifespan. 

One very easy route to begin this today is through fibre. 

A study of almost 6000 US adults  (NHANES Study of Biological Aging) looked at the relationship between fibre intake and telomere length (this is the bit at the end of chromosomes and is a marker of ageing/health). 

The study found that for each 10g increment in fiber equates to 5.4 fewer years of biologic aging... even if just 1gram of fibre for every 1000 calories consumed can shrink your biological age by 6 months! 

Naturally going to 30g of fibre a day has untold benefits! 

How Fewer Vultures =

More Deaths... In India 

When I read this I was in shock. 

An example of the butterfly effect in the real world and having a massive impact on society. 

In India  the pain killer diclofenac is commonly given to arthritic cattle to alleviate pain. When these diclofenac chomping cattle die, the vultures that consume these cattle developed kidney failure as the drug accumulates in their comparatively smaller bodies thus leading to a fatality. 

Vultures also function as a sanitation system of sorts and typically help to control diseases that could otherwise be spread through carcasses and this collapse of the Indian vulture population led to an additional 100,000 human deaths per year (according to one paper – The Social Costs of Keystone species collapse: Evidence from the decline of vulture in India). 

In fact this paper outlines how the collapse of vultures in India was triggered by the expiry of a patent on that one painkiller and thus leading to the functional extinction of these efficient scavengers which were key in removing carcasses from the environment.

It makes sense that with a dwindling vulture population, comes more rotting carcasses in the environment and more parasite and flies swarming, and the higher the risk of diseases spreading to food and water sources. 

In addition to increasing human mortality by over 4% due to negative impact on sanitation but the damages were almost 70 billion dollars a year! 

Interestingly, it also affected the Zoroastrian community and their traditions around human burial which involves vultures! (another interesting rabbit hole for another time...but if you’re keen and can’t wait look up the vulture population decline in India and the tower of silence in Mumbai) 

Do You Need A Poop Stool? 

I spend of time in my corner of the internet talking about bowels and poop. 

I love it. 

I’ve mentioned how to optimise your “poop dynamics” and ensuring that the physics line up so you have the best statistical chances of having a great dump and in the course of events I have also paid homage to the simple but effective poop stool or “squatty potty”. 

But does everyone need one? 

No. If you have no issues going to the toilet, you probably don’t need one. 

The main function it serves is to minimise straining which can exacerbate and worsen conditions like haemorrhoids, pelvic floor disorders or even if you’ve had major abdominal or pelvic surgery you don’t want to put undue strain on your body in the first few weeks. 

We have evolved, our colons have evolved to be optimised at emptying themselves in a squat like position. When you squat, your puborectalis muscle releases its strangehold over the rectum and you strain less. 

In fact many cultures still adopt the squat but the modern upright 90 degree toilet is a scourge that reverses our natural biology and defies the freedom of the poop by forcing a kink in the rectum which forces us to strain more than we should. 

A study in the Joural of Clinical Gaatroenterology found that using a footstool when using the toilet significantly reduced the time needed for defecation and decreased the subjective sensation of straining.  

Another study published in Digestive Diseases and Sciences found both the time needed for the sensation of satisfactory bowel emptying and the degree of straining in the squatting position, were reduced significantly in all participants compared with sitting positions. 

In terms of useful things to have in your house, if you frequently suffer with constipation or any of the above mentioned conditions... it’s no harm having it lying around the house. The worst case scenario is it doesn’t work for you and you double use it as a stool to reach things on the top shelf. 

It’s a harmless, relatively cheap item that could help in a pinch BUT its a combination of behavioural habits that can hopefully prevent you getting into the sticky wicket of constipation in the first place! 

P.S If you want to learn more valuable tips about constipation and improving your gut health order my book “This Book May Save Your Life”: 

P.P.S If you’ve already read or listened to my dulcet tones narrate it, drop a review on Amazon (every little helps!)