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Clarifying the purpose and direction of the New Normal Project (NNP #50)

New Normal Project

Release Date: 03/18/2019

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Episode 50 of the podcast is here! And it’s the 2nd birthday of the podcast too. That’s two years and many hours of enjoyable podcasting to acknowledge, especially given the value our inspiring guests have provided.

After a busy first year followed by 12 months of far fewer episodes, I thought it was time to clarify what the true purpose of the podcast is and to realign its direction. My wife, Claire, and I started the New Normal Project with the aim to produce a podcast on the topic of a healthy lifestyle. We made our lifestyle transformation based on 6 healthy pillars: (1) eating more plants, (2) getting more sleep, (3) practicing mindfulness, (4) being more active, (5) building healthy relationships with people and things, and (6) better understanding our authentic purpose. We continue to aim for the most healthy, fulfilling and conscious life we can live.

50 episodes later the podcast is still going and, despite Claire deciding not to work on the podcast for the time being, I remain passionate to listen, read and think about what I call a plant-based, body-moving, mind-focused lifestyle. As a Doctor I wish to demonstrate the healthiest lifestyle I can, to keep learning from guests on the podcast, and to gently educate and guide you as a listener to find out what works best for you.

I’m also a Doctor working in the Intensive Care Unit, which can be an unpleasant, uncomfortable and intimidating environment for those critically unwell people who are our patients. Intensive Care is a focal point for people with chronic diseases like heart disease, stroke, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, cancer, dementia, asthma, emphysema, chronic liver disease, mental illness and obesity. We now have evidence that many of these diseases are modifiable with healthier lifestyle choices. This means the same lifestyle that gives you the highest chance of staying alive longer and disease-free is the very same lifestyle that in my view can stop you from being admitted to the ICU. As an ICU doctor this is my genuine desire and is how I wish to help you with the podcast.

I’d like to bring more scientific information to the show using the experience I’ve gained from conducting a number of research studies in the ICU. But I also understand that scientific information can be insufficient on its own to change medical practice and people’s lifestyles, so a mix of story-telling and information is the way the New Normal Project podcast can help to transform or enhance your lives.

Whilst I think more about how I can bring more scientific evidence, how I can combine this with telling you of my own lifestyle change experience, and how I can challenge us all to try new lifestyle habits together as a community, I’ll continue to bring you guests who are experts on one of the pillars of a healthy lifestyle, people who have made lifestyle changes successfully or simply people who inspire by the way they lead their lives. That is what makes this really a Project of living a New Normal and which hopefully inspires and empowers you to live a healthy lifestyle.

Thanks for reading and listening. I am very grateful for your support of the podcast.

 

Live well, feel well, do well.

 

Andrew Davies

 

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Links to people, organisations & other resources mentioned:

Episode 1 of New Normal Project podcast

Mastering Intensive Care podcast

Randomised controlled trials

Observational study

Case series research

TED talks

Dr Scott Stoll

Episode 49 of New Normal Project podcast with Scott Stoll

New Normal Project podcast

New Normal Project website

New Normal Project on Facebook

New Normal Project on Instagram @newnormalproject

New Normal Project on Twitter @newnormalproj

Email Andrew Davies

Andrew Davies on Instagram @andrewdavies66

Andrew Davies on Twitter @andrewdavies66

Andrew Davies on Facebook

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