58 • happiful • May 2019
With nearly 140,000 Instagram followers, a podcast, and two books under his
belt, not to mention being a practising doctor, you won’t need us to tell you that
Dr Rupy Aujla is somebody pretty special. Here we chat about the important role
of nutrition in medicine, and how he’s cooking up a change...Writing | Ellen HoggardThe
Everyone needs variety and
flavour. Introduce spices, root
vegetables, and quality fats and
fibres. Stock up on chickpeas,
legumes, and beans. Also focus on
colourful foods, particularly greens and
reds – cabbage, spinach and Brussels
sprouts (in season). Don’t be afraid of
freezer foods! Peas, sweetcorn, frozen
berries. They’re so versatile, cheap,
easy to use, and very nutritious.Rupy’s
must-have
ingredientsT
hey say an apple a day
keeps the doctor away,
but that may not be the
case for the incredible
Dr Rupy Aujla – if you’re
cooking up a healthy dish, he’ll be
the first one grabbing a plate and
cheering you along!
While many people get into
medicine by following in the
footsteps of family members, for
Rupy, it was all new – in fact, his
family tried to convince him not to
do it! His biggest inspiration was
actually his mum’s experience, as she
suffered from idiopathic anaphylaxis- a severe form of allergy. After being
prescribed medication for life, she
was able to overcome it with changes
to her lifestyle.
Rupy explains: “Watching her make
these changes as a child was my
inspiration. I realised that I liked the
field of helping people. I liked the
concept of changing lives through an
overhaul of diet and lifestyle.”
And he’s got some big plans to do
just that.
“I want this book to be the doctor in
everyone’s kitchen,” Rupy says, elated
but humble, as we discuss his new
book, Eating to Beat Illness, hitting
the shelves. With his sensational first
cookbook, The Doctor’s Kitchen, a
must-read for so many health and
food conscious people out there, we
can’t wait to have an intimate chat
with our favourite doctor on healthy
living, and his prescription for a more
balanced life.HI RUPY! HOW DID THE IDEA FOR
THE DOCTOR’S KITCHEN FIRST
COME ABOUT?
About eight years ago I fell ill. I was
suffering from atrial fibrillation (an
irregular and often abnormally fast
heartbeat) and after many tests, I was
told to have an ablation procedure. It
was this that sparked a change in my
own lifestyle.
The power of food and healthy
living isn’t taught in medical
school, and it took my own
experience to realise just how
much of an impact nutrition
can have.
The driving force behind The
Doctor’s Kitchen was the idea of
creating motivating, exciting, and
accessible recipes that encourage
people to recognise food as an
important health intervention.
Now, I’m trying to understand
how we can equip the modern
doctor to feel confident having
conversations about food in a
clinical environment.IS THAT WHERE YOUR UK
CULINARY MEDICINE COURSE
COMES IN?
Culinary Medicine is a concept that
started in the US. They graciously
licensed me the course, and we have
adapted it for UK practitioners.
In a nutshell, it teaches doctors the
foundations of clinical nutrition and
how to cook. If you can cook, you can
better motivate your patients to look
after their health using food as another
clinical tool, not a replacement.
The goal is to scale that to create a
new generation of doctors that can
appreciate the medicinal effects of
eating well. Continues >>>Doctor’s Kitchen