The three wellness issues we’ve stopped worrying about | UK News

With so much information out there about how to look after yourself, it can be overwhelming knowing what advice to follow.

This is where identical twin brothers, medical doctors and podcast hosts Dr Chris and Dr Xand van Tulleken come in.

In their series What’s Up Docs, they discuss competing claims about health, wellbeing and how to live better.

“There are several public health issues where you feel like there are things you’ve got to worry about, panic about and deal with yourself, but it doesn’t have to be that way,” says Dr Xand.

Here are three wellness issues that through the experts they’ve hosted on their series that they’ve learnt not to worry about.

“We did an episode on microplastics”, says Xand, “where we talked about a scientific paper that estimated there was about a spoon’s worth of microplastic in your brain”.

Chris says this equates in his mind to a couple of Lego bricks.

Xand says this theory was “carefully debunked” by expert Dr Stephanie Wright, who said the methods were “hugely overestimating” the amount of plastic in the brain.

Some research on microplastics has suggested plastic particles can absorb environmental toxins and carry heavy metals, whilst there are also concerns that chemicals in plastic can interact with hormones in the body.

The brothers say that they have come to the conclusion that there is no point worrying about the amount of plastics you are exposed to because they are “everywhere”.

Chris says “our clothes have got plastic, our homes have got plastic, our food is wrapped in plastic and even if you get all the plastic out of your life, your water is still flowing through plastic tubes or carried in plastic bottles”.

He adds he went into the podcast recording thinking he would “ditch my chopping board, buy cotton or wool clothing” and instead he has realised it’s everywhere and there is nothing he can do personally about it.

Protein is vitally important in the body for growth, repair and maintenance of cells in the body and for protecting our muscles, bones and skin whilst it also plays a part in supporting the immune system and producing hormones.

It’s a health trend, food producers have cottoned onto.

There is “nothing you can’t buy that doesn’t have added protein in.

“In everyday life people ask me about protein all the time, even my 16-year-old son talks about getting more protein,” says Xand.

Xand says it is important to note that adding the word “protein” to products is more about profit than health.

“A health claim of ‘high protein’ doesn’t mean you’re getting a better product,” he warns.

He says some young people in particular are increasing their protein intake “to look good in the gym” but says this is”expensive and unnecessary” and instead we should worry less about protein consumption and instead focus on a balanced diet that includes fibre.

If you want to perform well in the gym, “The best thing you can do is eat lots of healthy, whole and minimally processed food,” says Chris.

The doctors say there is also “no evidence” that isolated protein powders are effective either.

Magnesium is used to maintain nerve and muscle function in the body, keep the heart beating steadily and regulate blood sugar levels.

Whilst preparing for their episode on magnesium the pair scrolled through lots of enthusiasts on social media who were “aggressively promoting” supplements.

“There was simply no problem that magnesium could not fix,” Chris jokes.

Xand says that it is easy to get sucked into thinking that your health problems are caused by magnesium deficiency, but as a species we have “evolved to use lots” of magnesium we absorb and as a result “don’t need to worry about it”.

The key thing to remember, he says, is “magnesium is abundant in our diet and we are getting enough of it”.

Xand says it is very easy to get absorbed in social media influencers or what newspapers are saying about magnesium, but now he chooses to ignore it.

“It is about tuning out the noise and not being distracted by headlines,” he adds.

Chris adds that doing this podcast has “strengthened my desire to reassure people who are anxious, which is most of us in the age of social media”.

“There is so much about our bodies that we should not and do not need to worry about.

Ultimately Chris says his aim is to remind listeners “to believe their bodies are strong and functional”.