Health & Wellbeing
GOOD INFLUENCE

Scroll through The Food Medic’s Instagram profile, and you would be forgiven for assuming that with 586k followers and the coveted verified blue tick, she’s just another influencer. But in actual fact, Dr. Hazel Wallace (the brains behind the account), has a long list of credentials including medical doctor, personal trainer, nutritionist, author and podcast host - to name but a few. Here, we sit down with The Food Medic herself to learn how she manages it all, her kitchen must-haves and more on her latest book: The Female Factor.

Talk us through your career path - what led you into health and nutrition?

“When I was 14, I lost my dad to a stroke. It was after that happened that I realised I wanted to become a doctor. So I moved to Wales four years later to begin my degree in medical science and once I completed that, I went on to qualify as a Doctor. My interest in nutrition, too, stems from my dad passing away as it’s a condition that is hugely related to our lifestyles so it made me look into this area of health and I became interested in my own health and nutrition too.”

Where does your ambition come from and what keeps you so motivated?

“It sounds a bit cheesy but The Food Medic and the work I do feels like a vocation for me. That in itself inspires me and keeps me motivated. That said, I also have days - like everyone else - where I doubt everything I do and have zero energy. Those days can be challenging but I just need to remind myself why I do what I do.”

What inspired your new book: The Female Factor?

As a woman and as a doctor to so many women, I noticed there was this clear gap between how we treat men and how we treat women in the hospital. And also when it comes to the guidelines we use as doctors, they’re based on research that is largely based on male bodies. How we treat female patients is based on the assumption that we’re just smaller versions of men which I found quite concerning. Women have fluctuating hormones, we can get pregnant, we go through menopause - even psychology we’re just very different. So I began researching the topic and realised women were being misdiagnosed, underdiagnosed, undertreated - like they weren’t being heard. I wanted to write a book to help women learn more about their bodies and to make them feel heard.”

"I think when you go through something really challenging in your life, it will either make you or break you and, for me, it put me on the right journey." - Dr. Hazel Wallace

What advice do you have for anyone who struggles to eat healthily?

“I think everyone has barriers when it comes to eating healthy. Whether that it’s too expensive or too time-consuming, they’re all valid. But I would say if you’re finding it too expensive, it doesn’t have to be about eating all organic fresh produce - healthy eating can be frozen, it can be tinned. But for anyone struggling in general, the best advice is to start at the very beginning. Start at the most basic level and task yourself with simply introducing more fruit and vegetables into your diet. Then try more fibre. Start batch cooking on Sundays so you’ve got lunches for the week. Just don’t try to make all the changes at once, make it manageable.”

If we were to rummage through your kitchen cupboards right now, what ingredients are we guaranteed to find?

“Oats, nut butter, frozen berries, bananas and chickpeas.”

"F or me, healthy means ensuring that your fueling your body in a way that allows it - and you - to live at your fullest. And that includes your mental health." - Dr. Hazel Wallace

What are 3 items you believe no kitchen should be without?

“I recently bought the Always Pan from Our Place and it’s a non-stick frying pan that can make everything. It’s totally revolutionised how I cook. I don’t think a day goes by either where I don’t use my blender. Whether I’m making soups, sauces, smoothies, hummus, dips - you name it! I’m also a huge fan of frothy coffee so no kitchen would truly be complete for me without a good milk frother.”

The Female Factor by Dr. Hazel Wallace is out now. Pick up your copy at WHSmith, located on the Lower Ground Level in-store at Arnotts.