IT’S A YEAR SINCE MICHAEL MOSLEY DIED – HERE ARE 5 PIECES OF ADVICE HE WANTED US TO KNOW

It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since the much-loved Michael Mosley died after going missing on the Greek island of Symi. In a moving post on Instagram, his widow Dr Clare Bailey Mosley wrote: ‘Not a day goes by without thinking of him – his warmth, his laughter, his endless curiosity about the world, and his deep love for our family.’

He left us an extraordinary gift through his podcasts, books and TV shows – a collection of science-backed steps we can all take to gain better health. He tested many of the theories on himself first – and while most of us will not want to swallow a tapeworm or cover ourselves in leeches, his no-nonsense, evidence-based investigations into diet, exercise, sleep and other fast and effective ways to boost our health have helped thousands of us reclaim our energy and wellbeing.

So, what are some of his top nuggets of advice for a longer, healthier life? Good Housekeeping health editor Sarah Maber picks her favourite five.

Eat (a lot) less for two days a week

The concept of intermittent fasting is so ingrained into our healthy-eating psyche that it’s easy to forget no one had heard of it before Michael Mosley’s ground-breaking Horizon documentary in 2013. After taking advice from world experts, he reversed his own type 2 diabetes by drastically cutting his calories to below 600 on two days a week. The diet became known as The Fast Diet and produced a slew of books, recipes and online forums. Michael’s work also kick-started the conversation around time-restricted eating, which is now known as a powerful tool to help weight management, and reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes.

Stand on one leg (while doing your teeth)

This is a surprisingly effective way to help improve your body and brain. Balancing is hard work for the brain, which has to take in signals and cues coming from your inner ears, your eyes, your joints and muscles. The ability to balance wanes as we age, but there are still things you can do to overcome this decline – and standing on one leg while doing an everyday action like brushing your teeth is a relatively easy answer. It’s the wobble that’s important – so don’t worry if you can’t stay ramrod straight.

Try short bursts of exerciseMichael was a fan of HIIT workouts – High Intensity Interval Training, which is a fast way for many of us to fit exercise into our lives. You don’t need to run for hours on end or endure hours of exercise classes; instead, as Michael demonstrated in the Horizon documentary The Truth About Exercise, try three sessions of 20-second high-intensity workouts on an exercise bike, three times a week. He did – and improved his insulin sensitivity by 24%.

Then there’s ‘exercise snacking’: doing a few minutes of physical activity whenever possible. Michael recommended avoiding lifts, running up the stairs (just two minutes of stair climbing over the course of a day, over an eight-week period, could improve resting blood pressure and fats in the blood), going for a brisk walk and making these exercise snacks part of your routine.

Eat two squares of dark chocolate daily

A self-confessed chocolate lover, Michael was delighted to inform the nation on his podcast about the health benefits of dark chocolate and its role in a healthy diet. Eating just two squares every day can have significant effects on blood pressure and heart health, and it can even boost blood flow to the brain. Why? It’s all down to the flavonoids, which may improve the elasticity of blood vessels, insulin sensitivity and cholesterol levels.

Take a cold plunge

Michael was an avid cold water swimmer and keen to uncover more about how cold temperatures could improve our health. Over the years, he investigated different forms of ‘cold therapy’, from cold water swimming to sleeping in a cold room and cold showers. He also tried exercising in the cold and turning down his thermostat at home, which had a measurable impact on blood sugar levels and mood. An easy way to action this at home? Michael recommended trying a warm shower with a blast of cold at the end, for around 30 to 40 seconds. Why? Well, the shock of the cold causes short-term stress to the body, which, in the right dose, is beneficial to health, impacting everything from immune response to stress hormones.

2025-06-05T18:52:36Z