Michael Mosley's 5 key simple tips to transform your health

Michael Mosley who has sadly died in a tragic incident on holiday was famed for transforming the health of people around the nation. His eating advice has focused in many cases on fasting, with his 5:2 and Fast 800 plans credited by many for losing weight and transforming their health.

Dr Mosley who worked for the NHS early in his career, then joined the BBC as a producer, and said his own life had been transformed through weight loss. The 67-year-old whose body was found at the weekend on the Greek island on Symi, discovered in his 50s that he had got type 2 diabetes, he stuck to the diet for five weeks, eating fewer than 600 calories on fasting days, with a light breakfast and dinner and plenty of water and herbal tea in between. During that time, he lost nearly a stone and his blood markers, including glucose and cholesterol, improved.

He has recently written a book and been appearing on a BBC podcast called Just One Thing where he advocated small things which people could do to transform their lives - which were easy to do and fit into a normal day, rather than spend a long time doing - which potentially might never happen.

Here are some of Dr Mosley’s key suggestions for transforming your life

Fasting:

The Fast 800 diet recommends lower-carb, higher-fat meals packed with essential nutrients and protein and fibre that keep you feeling fuller for longer, improve blood sugar levels and help you lose weight. It also claims to reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

It also involves lots of fasting - starting with a rapid weight loss phase lasts between two and 12 weeks, during which the person follow a daily 800-calorie eating plan -which is far below the recommended calorie intake. The second stage of the plan involves intermittent fasting, restricting calories to 800 a day for two days of the week, then eating a healthy, low-carb, Mediterranean diet for the remaining five.

For those who manage to keep to it, they have found it does lead to rapid weight loss. He said: “When I discovered I was Type 2 diabetic as the result of a blood test I did for TV, my GP wanted me to start medication but I thought there must be something better so I started searching the literature and I came across this thing called intermittent fasting.

“From there, I came up with the 5:2 diet, which involves five days of eating regularly and two of low-calorie consumption. I lost 10 kilos in 12 weeks and reversed my diabetes and have kept the weight off ever since. That then evolved into The Fast 800 to create an easy-to-follow programme that helps you lose weight, improve your mood and reduce blood pressure, inflammation and blood sugars. With the fast 800 you can take your future health into your own hands.”

Fermented food

Dr Mosley has revealed scientific tests have shown that eating and drinking a superfood - which is anything that’s fermented - can have a massive impact on inflammation, reducing pain and aches and improving conditions such as osteoarthritis. It can be things like sauerkraut, kimchi and kefir - all available in supermarkets. Dr Mosley said anyone with issues relating to their immune system and digestive system could see real benefits from changing their diet to include fermented products. And he said that research has shown that it can also help people sleep better and reduce aches and pains. He said they greatly help our gut microbes and explained:“Topping up your gut microbiota with friendly microbes may also relieve aches and pains. In a randomised control trial 500 patients with osteoarthritis were asked to drink two daily servings of milk containing lactobacillus bacteria.

“After six months they reported less pain and stiffness in their knees and blood tests showed reduced signs of inflammation. That’s important because on of the reasons why fermented foods are said to have such widespread beneficial effects is because of their impact on our immune system - damping it down when it overreacts. An overactive immune system can lead to chronic inflammation which in turn can cause many of the diseases which we associate with ageing such as joint pain, type 2 diabetes, and depression.”

Resistance exercise

Dr Mosley revealed there is a way of exercising which is better at burning belly fat than cardio. He said that scientific tests proved that it targeted the areas around the stomach more - and also had other benefits including helping your memory, sleep and even make you live longer. Dr Mosley said that resistance exercise was proven to be the best way to get rid of belly fat. He said: “Resistance exercise can also help you lose fat particularly around your belly. Researchers at Harvard University followed around 10,000 men for 12 years and they found minute for minute strength training targets belly fat better than cardio.

“That’s important because the fat that accumulates around your belly doesn’t just sit there passively, it produces chemicals that can have a negative effect on your blood sugar levels. Muscle cells on the other hand have a positive effect. When you exercise they soak up blood sugars like a sponge. In fact one study found that for every 10 per cent increase in your skeletal muscle, there was a 10 per cent reduction in your risk of pre-diabetes.

“Which means not only does building muscle make you look and feel younger but it could also add years to your life. A recent analysis found that 30-60 minutes of resistance training a week, reduces the risk of dying from heart disease and cancer by up to 20 per cent.”

Short intense bursts of exercise

Dr Mosley said: “We all know that exercise is good for us but one of the best ways to get the biggest impact in the least time is with short intense bursts. Dr Matthew Robinson at Oregon State University has shown that following a high-intensity interval training, or HIIT, programme can encourage cells across your body to make your mitochondria more efficient. Mitochondra are your cells’ “powerhouses” – you can think of these as tiny batteries that live inside our cells and provide them with energy.

“Pushing yourself hard triggers your body to remove damaged mitochondria and replace them with better functioning ones – think of this as being a bit like replacing that worn-out battery in your smartphone. Exercise not only builds muscle, it boosts your memory, improves your immune system and increases the collagen in your skin – to keep you feeling and looking younger.”

Dr Mosley said: “Exercise also comes with big benefits for your heart. Incredibly, after just 30 minutes of exercise, you start releasing stem cells from your bone marrow to help you make new blood vessels. But even shorter two minute stints of vigorous activity can improve your heart health.”

Eating a special kind of superfood

Dr Mosley said that brightly coloured fruit and vegetables were the easy and natural way of doing your best to stay young looking. He said: “There is some pretty convincing science behind the skin benefits of fruit and veg, especially the brightly coloured ones.” The vegetables contain carotenoids, Dr Mosley said, compounds that give carrots, mangoes and tomatoes their bright red and orange colour – and they have been shown to boost your skin’s collagen and moisture, improving wrinkles, skin plumpness and texture. He explained: “Carotenoids are chemical cousins of retinol, considered to be the anti-ageing compound when it comes to wrinkles. They’re highly effective anti-oxidants which can protect your skin at the cellular level. In lab tests carotenoids have been shown to protect collagen-producing skin fibroblasts from damage caused by UV radiation and oxidative stress - both big drivers of skin ageing.”