The Hotstars interview - Dr Gillian McKeith

"I haven't had a hamburger for 15 years"

Dr Gillian McKeith star of Channel 4's You are What you Eat, has scared participants with her stern manner,analysed Brian McFadden's faeces and would love to get her hands on Simon Cowell's Love Handles. So it comes as no suprise that we banished all bad food from the office and spent a morning nibbling on organic nuts while interviewing the Scottish food expert.

But while Dr Gillian tucks into a bowl of split pea soup and explains the joys of healthy living, we can't help but wonder how she managed to keep her appetite whilst taking about the furry tongues of the rich and famous...

You are what you eat has been a real TV success. You must be pleased?
"Yes I don't pull any punches with participants, which entices people to watch. I'm not being mean to people and I am not humiliating anybody, I'm telling the truth to these people for the first time ever."

Were you shocked by the state of them?
"Yes. I was horrified. The worst person was Nick from Leeds, who would eat three or four fry ups during the day and then get up in the middle of the night for another one. He ate no raw fruit or vegetables and had no desire to lose weight."

Did you worry you'd fail to change someone like that?
"When I met Nick. I honestly thought "this isn't going to happen" He was the first person I worked with and I left thinking he would fail."

But he didn't?
"None of them have failed and gone back to bad eating habits, which is quite suprising. Nick lost five and half stone in eleven weeks. There's no going back for him. In fact this weekend I am going to a raw foods weekend and Nick is coming with me."

Thats amazing - you can see how healthy people are by looking at their tongues- do people stick their tongues out at you now?
"Oh yes, everywhere I go people are sticking their tongues out at me to look at them. I was at a tv show the other day and when the taping finished there were 10 people stood in front of me with their tongues hanging out. At least they're not handing me their poo!"

Urgh. You must be pretty obsessive with food and health?
"Yes I can be watching someone being interviewd on tv and if they open their mouths wide I know immediately what is wrong. Once I have worked out what is wrong with them I'll switch off, but it's always there. It's like being a peeping Tom because there are things I know about people that they don't know."

Are your friends paranoid about what they eat in front of you then?
"I think my friends throw a lof of thiings out before I go to their houses. People to apologise a lot and people who don't know me are very nervous about what they are going to eat around me".

So when was the last time you had a hamburger?
"I haven't had a hamburger for 15 years. I just couldn't eat one. I think I'd be phsically sick."

Did you used to eat a lot of junk foods?
"Of course. I had a meat and potato based diet when I was younger. Then when I lived in Spain I ate a lot of pork chops and white rice and drank Sangria like it was going out of style. I was about two stone overweight."

So why change your diet?
"When I was in my 20's I lived in America and I became ill. For two years I had a constant migraine and I was seeing specialists. I thought I ate healthily, but I lived on frozen food and potato chips.

A couple of things happened to make me change my diet. A woman told me to be tested for deficiencies and someone else advised me to try eating algae. I did and my migraine cleared. Then a boyfriend introduced me to a macrobiotic diet. I did that for seven years and then devised my own one."

And now you advice celebrities. if is true that Madonna is a client?
"No she is not a client, but I do know her. My children play with hers sometimes. But she's not a patient, we just wouldn't go down that road together. But Charlize Theron uses my Living Food Energy Powder and apparantly Jennifer Lopez does too".

You worked miracles on Bryan McFadden didn't you?
"When I first met Bryan he looked so bloated and dumpy. He needed to do something about it."

Wasn't he on the Atkins diet?
"Yes on and off. nearly every celebrity I have had has been on Atkins and I have had to get them off it. They are usually constipated, tired and depressed. I have no time for Atkins."

So what do you think of Bryan now?
"I'm very proud of him. I saw him a couple of weeks ago in Spain and he looks phenomenal. His biggest downfall was alcohol, and junk food and chips. Now he drinks nettle tea and eats a balanced diet.

Kerry has taken on some of it too although her weight loss wasn't a big issue for her."

What do most celebrities come to you for?
"They usually want to lose a few pounds but the biggest complainy is they're tired and wanting more energy. They will be duffering from things like constipation,m indigestion and irritable bowel syndrome."

So you spend a lot of time looking at celebrity poo then?
"I've been talking about poo for years with patients and am totally comfortable about it. I don't think everyone needs colonic irrigation, but if you're contipated or have lived on lots of junk and fatty food then you will need one."

What the most unusual thing you have seen in a colonic?
"Worms. And i had one patient who brought in a stool sample crawling with worms. Horrible!"

Gross! What do you make of celebrity fads like Victoria Beckham's strawberry diet?
"I guess she would move her bowels a lot! I would be starving if I only ate strawberries all the time. I hope they are organic otherwise she will be taking in a lot of pesticides.
Strawberries are really good for sex drive, strengthening the liver and they help throat problems. However, if she lived on them for a very long time, she would get very thin and her body would be out of balance. It's not something I would recommend long term. her bowel movements would be much looser that is for sure."

Do you think Victoria looks healthy?
"It doesn't look like she is eating a balanced diet to me. She's got bad skin and has hormonal problems. She's certainly deficient in certain things, but I'd have to look at her closely to identify which ones."

Many celebrities are accused of being too thin. What do you think?
"A lot of celebrities have become thin by means of starvation, which is a bad image. They are not naturally thin. I think they have a responsibility to look after themselves."

What about fast food junkie Britney Spears?
"Her diet is abominable and it's starting to show. I've seen her tongue in pictures and I know a lot about her health, she might not know. She's definitely vitamin B deficient. I'd put money on it. That means she will be tired and her digestive system won't be up to scratch. It'll start showing in a few years, if it's not already. She's not going to get away with a bad diet for long."

And what do you make of Michelle McManus?
"I've seen pictures of her and there is a reason why a person is that overweight. it could be many things: genetic, terrible eating or emotional. There is obviously an emotional problem to get that large. I'd love to get my hands on her but I don't know if she cares enough, or if it's important enough to her to loose weight."

So, who else would you like to get your hands on?
"Robbie Williams because I have had success with people who have been addicted to substances. And I've been trying to get hold of Simon Cowell as well. He's put weight on over the last few years. I want to make a major effort to meet him and make him my next job."

August 2004