WHEN the author and star of the BBC’s Doctor of the House favorite nearly died of six-month-old son Dr Rangan Chatterjee on a family holiday in France, he changed his approach the generous doctor in terms of treatment.
“We went on holiday one Christmas to Chamonix. I still remember how it was yesterday. I was in the kitchen when my wife called out to me. My son was in my arms and she said, ‘ Rangan, it has stopped moving. ‘I froze.
“He had been very phlegmy that day, so I turned him in front of him and tried to throw him on his back to clear his airway, because I was thinking that it was choking, but nothing happened, “Chatterjee, 43, recalls.
They made the dangerous car journey in the snow to the hospital.
“When we got there, it was clear that the medical staff were very upset and put lines in his throat. In fact, he was compelled due to low levels of calcium in his blood, which we found later discovered to be high to low levels of vitamin D.
“It was crucial for me, because not only was that the worst thing that ever happened to any parent – we didn’t know if he would do it that night, we thought we would lose it [he was in hospital for five nights] – but in the end he almost died of a vitamin deficiency that could have prevented it.
“That was hard for me to stomach. I felt a lot of guilt around that because I thought, I’ve been to one of the most prestigious medical schools in Edinburgh, there is an immune degree- my experience, special tests, GP tests, with all that is called, but I could not protect my own son from getting sick from a vitamin deficiency that could prevent it.
“We were completely in a panic. It’s just a little sad.”
From then on, Chatterjee began to discover things he had not learned at medical school.
“Modern medicine saved my son’s life, but they didn’t teach us about the effects of vitamin deficiency. I became depressed. I studied nutrition, gut health and microbiology,” he says. .
All of this happened ten years ago and inspired Chatterjee’s more proactive approach, addressing the root causes of mental and physical health problems, rather than just treating them with medication.
His wholesale books – including and – they are all built around this focus, including looking at lifestyle as a key part of the picture. Now his latest title, , exploring how people can adopt long-term habits for permanent weight loss, rather than any formal calorie-counting diet regimens.
It explores the roots of why people gain weight and how you can use a toolbox of techniques and lifestyle changes – without trying to crash a diet or endlessly gruesome approaches – help build better and healthier relationships with food and lead to sustainable results.
At times the path of his GP career has attracted media attention, first as a BBC host His acclaimed podcast, Feel Better, Live More, attracts more than 1.6 million listeners each month and has welcomed guests including Hollywood star Matthew McConaughey to share ideas on their well-being. physical and mental.
His work has been supported by the likes of Chris Evans and Fearne Cotton – but he doesn’t have a notebook full of celebrities and he won’t let fame go to his head.
“Fearne Cotton invited me to do a Penguin Live event with her about a month ago. I was just thinking, ‘How does Fearne Cotton even know who I am?'”
His passion for helping others with a more holistic approach to health and healing remains at the heart of his work: “It never came from the idea that I wanted to be on television, that I to be known. I don’t care too much. that. I want to change people ‘s lives. “
Living in the north west of England, with his wife Vidhaata – who makes his podcasts – and their two children, now aged 10 and eight, have helped Chatterjee find shelter from overcrowding. showbiz.
“When I drop out of school, I’m unstable, in my minutes, and I have a nine-year-old car with black gaffer tape holding the wing mirror on it,” he says. telling the truth.
His late father, a consultant at Manchester Royal Infirmary, retired at 58 suffering from the autoimmune lupus disease, then his kidneys failed and he was on dialysis for 15 years. Chatterjee became his father’s caretaker, along with his mother and brother, which is why he moved back to the north-west of England from Edinburgh, he explains.
“Being the caretaker of my father was my complete identity,” he reflects. “I would be up at five, I would shower it, salt it, give him breakfast, go to work and return at lunchtime to lunch.
“I was devastated by his death. I had just filled this huge gap in my life that I didn’t know existed. But he put me off on a journey of self-discovery. As an Indian immigrant in the UK, things would he’s been proud of me he’s never seen. “
While quick to remove questions about reputation, Chatterjee is still a medical eye candy for some. He is known as ‘Dr McDreamy’ – after the fictional surgeon who played Patrick Dempsey in the famous TV series Anatomy Gray – and is a little embarrassed when asked about it.
“If that had happened in my 20s, it probably would have gone to my head. But the goal was never to have a TV or a podcast. The goal was learn more things to help people, more than I have ever helped them before. “
It’s sometimes recognizable when it’s out, and people come to it about their symptoms, but Chatterjee says it’s the same for all doctors.
He has been busy during the pandemic, writing his latest book, still working as a GP one day a week and adding to the workload. with a new weekly wellbeing show on BBC Radio 2, with inspiring guests and an advanced music soundtrack.
In the future, Chatterjee reflects: “I feel the impact of 2020 is going to bite next year. We have been kept away for so long, I am worried about the mental health effects .
“I’m worried that when the pressures of the economy bite, we may be on one level of mental health depression. But I’m optimistic, so the flip side is like thinking we have remembered what is important this year.
“I’m optimistic, so once we can start coming back together and doing things together, I feel optimistic.”
Feel Great Lose Weight by Dr. Rangan Chatterjee is published by Penguin Life, price € 16.99. Available now.