DORÉ

Sometimes to find your health you have to almost lose it. That’s what happened to Seamus Mullen, the renowned New York chef who nearly died of an autoimmune disorder after years of ignoring his body’s subtle signals. He is my guest today and I can’t wait for you to hear him speak passionately of food, culture and health; three things he mixes with passion in his new book, Real Food Heals.

[podcast_episode episode=”264480″ ]

On growing up in a rural environment…
We didn’t have a toilet until I was 16. It was a pretty rustic existence. We had an outhouse, which is basically a shit house in the woods!

On wishing he had a more suburban life…
Growing up in a really rural environment, I got Thrasher magazine and was yearning to be a skater and live in California. Here I was riding a skateboard down a gravel road because there was no pavement anywhere to be found!

On the importance of growing up around animals…
We were very involved in everything. There is something really amazing about growing up that closely with animals. You have a real sense of what it means to be a part of that cycle of life. There’s a responsibility that comes with it. I don’t know any farmer or hunter who actually enjoys killing animals. There’s no joy.

On how his grandma influenced his path in life…
I had an amazing moment with my grandmother. We were going on a wine tasting trip and I always heeded her advice. She told me, “You should cook, Seamus, that’s what makes you happiest. Figure out a way too cook and focus on being the best cook you can be.” So I made a decision I was going to be a chef.

On the deterioration of his health…
My body started breaking down in my late 20s and then in my early 30s, I felt like shit all the time. My hands were swollen all the time, so were my feet. It got to the point that I was having really serious medical issues. I had a really big tumor in the back of my neck. My body hurt, my bones ached, I had a headache all the time, my vision would be blurry, but the worst was that every couple of weeks, I’d have an attack in one of my joints and every time I would have to go to the emergency room.

On he coped after finding out about his health…
I felt very sorry for myself, like a victim, and I was really angry. And I was angry for a long time. The next few years were really very hard. I was in severe chronic pain for years, and that in and of itself erodes your being and feeds anger.

On how a functional medicine doctor finally helped him change his life…
He told me “You’re going to have to do all the work, Seamus, it’s going to be on you. You have to get up everyday, think about this, make every decision based around trying to be a healthier person, but I’m going to give you some rules and guidelines and coach you along the way. But I’m not fixing you, you’re going to fix yourself.”

On the empowerment of responsibility…
It put the responsibility of getting better on me, or getting sicker. I held some power, had some autonomy over my own health. That was really empowering and the most positive thing that could have happened to me. That was the moment I stopped thinking of myself as a victim.

On knowing you’re not alone…
The single most important thing that I can put out into the world is a sense of hope that we can all make positive changes in our lives through the decisions we make, the behavioral choices we make. And that if you’re suffering, you’re not alone, there are people who are going through the same or similar situations.