'HEALTH HAS TO BE PERSONALISED'

With October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we speak to Julia Bradbury about how her diagnosis transformed her approach to healthcare

- Interview: Joanna Ebsworth

I considered myself to be fairly healthy before my cancer diagnosis in 2021. I walked, enjoyed nature and ate reasonably healthy food (or so I thought), but I know now that I didn't really do any of those things with intention and purpose or think about how they fitted in with my lifestyle. Once it was confirmed to me that I had breast cancer, I started doing research - which quickly turned into 'me-search' - and I realised there were fundamentals I was getting wrong. My job was, and still is, very involving with a lot of travel and crossing time zones, but I didn't really honour my sleep or look after myself emotionally or psychologically. I also didn't understand the importance of moving or eating at the right time during the day, or why it is so crucial to sync our circadian rhythms with the day-and-night cycle of the earth.

Today, I take a 'whole person' approach to health. And that means taking care of my body, environment, nutrition, sleep and mental health all at the same time. Because you could be eating the healthiest diet, but if you're not sleeping very well, that's really going to impact your health. And if you're sleeping well and eating well, but you're not doing the recommended amount of movement per week to get your heart rate going - as well as spending enough time outdoors in nature, which is a different thing entirely and important for very different reasons - that can really impact your health, too.

My new book Hack Yourself Healthy is about my personal journey to reclaiming my health. I've put myself through all these incredible tests and experiments to really examine myself in detail for it, and there are lots of experts who help to unpack everything in an accessible way.