An interview for UK Health Radio with Patrick Holford
The holidays are often a busy, hectic time but can provide an ideal opportunity to take a step back from our usual routines in life. It can be a chance to reflect on the last twelve months as we also consider the year ahead. Due to technological advances and our modern world the pace of our lives has changed dramatically and not necessarily all for the better. Alongside this change we’ve seen explosions in mental illness and many people experience a level of disconnection, discontentment and unhappiniess. Patrick Holford’s latest book, The Chemistry of Connection, provokes us to consider the meaning of life and embark on a quest to live a richer happier, fulfilling and meaningful life.
Patrick Holford, is a leading spokesman on nutrition in the media, specialising in the field of mental health. He is the author of 36 books, translated into over 30 languages and sells millions of copies worldwide, including The Optimum Nutrition Bible, The Low GL-Diet Bible, Optimum Nutrition for the Mind and The 10 Secrets of 100% Healthy People, 10 Secrets of Healthy Ageing and Good Medicine. His educational website www.patrickholford.com attracts half a million visits a year.
Patrick started his academic career in the field of psychology. He then became a student of two of the leading pioneers in nutrition medicine and psychiatry – the late Dr Carl Pfeiffer and Dr Abram Hoffer. In 1984 he founded the Institute for Optimum Nutrition (ION), an independent educational charity, with his mentor, twice Nobel Prize winner Dr Linus Pauling, as patron. ION has been researching and helping to define what it means to be optimally nourished for the past 25 years and is one of the most respected educational establishments for training nutritional therapists. At ION, Patrick was involved in groundbreaking research showing that multivitamins can increase children’s IQ scores – the subject of a Horizon television documentary in the 1980s. He was one of the first promoters of the importance of zinc, antioxidants, high-dose vitamin C, essential fats, low-GL diets and homocysteine-lowering B vitamins and their importance in Alzheimer’s disease prevention. Patrick is also the Founder of the Food for the Brain Foundation and on the board of trustees, and a Director of the Brain Bio Centre, the Foundation’s treatment centre that specialises in helping those with mental health issues, ranging from depression to schizophrenia. He is an honorary fellow of the British Association of Nutritional Therapy, as well as a member of the Nutrition Therapy Council and the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council. He is also Patron of the South African Association of Nutritional Therapy and in 2014 Patrick was inducted to the Orthomolecular Medicine Hall of Fame. He released his latest book in September, The Chemistry of Connection, which is an ideal read this holiday season when we may have time to reflect and begin to reconnect.
In his book, Patrick coins the term ‘disconnexia’ which he identifies as a dis-ease of the Western world. It’s associated with the fact that loneliness, suicide and spiritual disconnection are on the increase. Many people feel we’re much more connected today through modern technology such as social media but there’s an interesting train of thought that social media actually commodities us and challenges our true social connection. To find out how connected you are Patrick has developed an online quiz, which calculates a Connection Quotient (CQ) across a range of key areas. This provides an ideal opportunity to consider your connection level and talk with others about what areas you could develop further and how. Patrick proposes connection is when ‘I’ and an ‘other’ become one, which can be an experience such as through art, music, sport, nature or intimacy. It’s something we all seek, it can help us to resolve our own personal conflicts and can take us on a journey of discovery to identify what we want out of life.
Over the holiday period we’re likely to socialise with friends and family and Patrick suggests that we can engage at a higher level. Rather than simply asking how someone is, consider asking more interesting questions to find out a little more about peoples lives. Patrick advocates a one-minute heart balancing coherence technique, which helps to open us up and engage at a deeper level with people. A little act of kindness over the holidays can also help us to consider our purpose, what we want out of life and how we can achieve it. Whilst some of us use the holiday period to eat, drink and watch TV actually making us numb from the reality of life, we can also use this time to get better connected and reengaged. He recommends we consciously enjoy the foods, flavours and experiences of the holidays, taking time to enjoy the moment.
Patrick has identified 5 key areas of connection:
- Sexual, sensual and erotic connection
- Body and Earth connection
- Social and self connection
- Intellectual connection
- Spiritual connection
With all of these areas combined the experience to live in a connected state can become achieved. So go into 2017 with the intention to develop your connections and enrich your life.
If you have an interest in a particular topic or comments about the show please email: info@thefoodteacher.co.uk
Look out for the competition to WIN a copy of Patrick’s book, The Chemistry of Connection on Facebook
To find out more about Patrick Holford visit:
Web address: https://www.patrickholford.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/patrickholford
Twitter: https://twitter.com/patrickholford
Book: The Chemistry of Connection
