Feeding success: Dr Rupy Aujla gives a talk on nutrition

We were delighted to have Dr Rupy Aujla, a medical doctor in the NHS and the founder of The Doctor’s Kitchen, come to our school to give a talk to our students. During the event, our students had the opportunity to taste some of Dr Rupy’s delicious recipes from his book, Dr Rupy Cooks.

He then gave an inspiring talk to our Year 7 and 8 students on various topics related to food, such as nutrition, gut health, and common myths about nutrition. Dr Rupy also discussed how food can improve performance and mental well-being.

Dr Rupy’s background is in medicine, but his true passion lies in food. He spoke to the students about the power of food:

Food can connect you with your goals; whether it’s feeling better about yourself or feeling happier, whatever it is, food can be a tool to help you achieve that sense of being able to strive for your goals.

He mentioned that food is not only important for health and performance but also for cultural connections.:

Food provides pleasure, connects you to different parts of the world, and creates connections between you and your colleagues and between parts of your family across generations.

Dr Rupy underscored the importance of gut health, explaining how a diverse and colourful diet supports microbial well-being and, consequently, overall performance:

If you eat a variety of food, get those colours in, and think about what your microbes need to function to their best, then you can support all areas of your success. Thinking about what your goals are, whether it is to be happier, whether it is to be more confident, food is there to help achieve all the different elements that you want, like being a ballerina, whatever it might be in your career as you move through life, your food is a tool for that.

During a Q&A session after his talk, students asked Dr Rupy about his thoughts on fast food. He emphasised the importance of enjoying food:

My advice is not necessarily to remove all junk food or label it as bad, but to recognise it as something that isn’t going to improve your performance. It’s something that you use as a treat rather than something that you have regularly to fuel you. It’s more of a short burst of energy. It’s more for pleasure.

Thank you, Dr Rupy, for extending some of your knowledge and delicious recipes to our students.