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00:00  – Introduction to Dr Jenny Brockis
01:41  – Health reform and the roots of lifestyle medicine
05:00  – Workplace stress and chronic disease
10:31  – Philosophy of holistic, preventive healthcare
11:10  – The Natural Advantage: why nature matters
14:22  – Forest bathing and science of nature’s effect on stress
18:52  – Biophilic design and urban health
21:10  – The sun: friend or foe? Vitamin D and mental health
26:28  – Nutrition, the Mediterranean diet, and diabetes reversal
32:12  – Gender differences in heart health
34:30  – Final thoughts on consistent daily habits for long-term wellness

The Natural Advantage: Reconnecting with Nature for Mental Clarity & Resilience

Dr Ron Ehrlich [00:00:05 ] Hello and welcome to Unstress Health. My name is Dr. Ron Ehrlich. Well, today we are going to explore connecting with nature. And what a powerful tool. It is, how accessible it is how cheap it is and most importantly how effective it is. My guest today is Dr Jenny Brockis. Now Jenny is a medical practitioner and a lifestyle medicine physician. She connects to what matters, simplifying the complex. And getting the most out of life and work. She’s a speaker, she’s a trainer. And an author, she’s written four or I think five books and we talk about Many of them in this podcast forever curious, she is. Passionate about people performance. And about being practical. Her purpose. Is to inspire positive change that makes work. Work better. For everyone. I hope you enjoy this conversation I had with Dr. Jenny Brockis. Welcome to the show Jenny.

Dr Jenny Brockis [00:01:03 ] Thank you for having me.

Dr Ron Ehrlich [00:01:05 ] Jenny, there’s so much we want to talk about today and I think… We kind of have a lot in common philosophically anyway. I was really struck by… The fact that you describe yourself as being. Cautiously optimistic. And at the same time a fierce advocate for health reform. And sometimes when I think about health reform, optimism isn’t really the word that I’d use. But I love it. Tell me why you are cautiously optimistic. Or maybe, and also I know fierce health reform. Tell me what you think the problem is and what we need fixing.

Dr Jenny Brockis [00:01:41 ] So I’ve been working in the… Health and wellbeing space. Since 2009. Helping people at work to Do work better. But also to feel. Better about themselves and to manage their stress more effectively, et cetera, et cetera. And At first it felt like I was… A lonely figure on top of a mountain shouting into the wind. Not making much difference to anybody in particular. And then in 2014, I think it was. I fell over lifestyle medicine. Which. Has actually been in Australia for over 20 years. Became sort of. Create it as a… Society. 10 years ago. And I thought, these people… Are talking the same language as I talk. They’re talking about going back to the basics of. What keeps us well. What can we do to prevent illness and disease? And I thought. This is music to my ears. And coming from. Medical practise. Because I worked as a GP for many years. Where you’re very much reactive. You’re responding to illness. And you’re putting the Band-Aid on. Hoping it doesn’t fall off before they get home. But knowing that… In a short time, they’re likely to come back and need another Band-Aid. My optimism is that. I sense that there’s a growing desire. Within. The health profession itself. And I’m not talking just about doctors. I’m talking about all the allied health. Practitioners. Who see that the existing healthcare system. Is. No longer fit for purpose. It was fine when it was designed, but it doesn’t fit what is needed today. And I think the other aspect is that. Our clients, our patients themselves. Are looking for. A different way of applying health. They wanted to have more autonomy in their choices and their decisions. They want to drive. What they need to do. To stay well, not just for today, but for the next 20, 30 years. So I am cautiously optimistic. Because I sense the wind of change. But anything to do with change within the healthcare system. As we know is notoriously slow. And we can keep banging our drum. Singing loudly from the rooftops. What do you trust? Takes time. So I think we just have to adopt the long-term approach. And know that politicians never work. Like that, they always want the short term gains that make themselves look good. And there’s chip away at it because I think the the undercurrent of desire for change. From the health profession. And from our clients is what’s going to bring it about.

Dr Ron Ehrlich [00:04:28 ] Hmm. Yeah, no, no. I tried to share that. I actually, when you put it like that, I share the optimism because If I think the optimism for health care reform. Is going to come from the healthcare industry. I’m filled with dread. I paradoxically. But consumer led. Yes. And I think there’s another interesting area which I think you’re involved in too, and that is the workplace. Very much so. As the place. Where I think There’s a confluence of interest. And, as you know… That not only does good health make sense, but it also makes dollars, which is ultimately what speaks. So this is an area, but I’m intrigued to know too. Jenny and I have I’m getting this right is that you, you know, you came into this area in 2009. But I’m guessing you were a doctor for a few years before then.

Dr Jenny Brockis [00:05:20 ] Absolutely. Yeah It was great, I mean I trained in the UK, I migrated to Australia with my husband because he was headhunted by… A company here. And I’d always had the idea of setting up my own general practise, which in the UK would be almost impossible to achieve. But I was able to do that here. It was magic, absolutely magic. And I was able to practise medicine in the way that I thought. It ought to be practised. Patient-centred. Giving people the time that they need. To be fully heard. And understood and making sure that it was a journey we undertook together to get them. But I did become increasingly. Frustrated. You know, the push to always see more people more quickly. The fact that we were never getting to the nitty-gritty of what was leading people to become unwell. And I also developed the realisation, as you’ve just alluded, that. Much of the illness that we were seeing was coming from this place we call work. Um, people were stressed to the max. Bye. Unrealistic deadlines, taking on too much. Being driven to do more than was actually humanly possible. And suffering the consequences of chronic disease. As I’m sure you’re only too aware. And your audience are. We live in an era of chronic disease and so much of it is preventable. And I think. You’re right, in that the workplace. Has been overlooked. As a potential conduit of. Change. But over the last. Five, ten years, there’s been this real drive. Employers, HR professionals, the same. What can we do? To enhance health and wellbeing in our staff, because they get. They actually do get that. A hap