Ask the Doctor

TV.Cynic · April 11, 2017, 9:15am

##Ask The Doctor

From Tuesday 16 May at 8pm

ABC announces that the 12-part factual series Ask The Doctor, will premiere on Tuesday 16 May at 8pm on ABC and ABC iview.

What’s the one thing that we all wish we could preserve forever? No, it’s not the bank balance, our first love or grandma’s best recipes. It’s our health.

Produced by WTFN, Ask The Doctor is an innovative, fun and exploratory factual series that addresses the state of the nation’s health, the latest in medical treatments and the future of healthcare as we know it.

Our trio of accomplished Aussie doctors, Dr. Shalin Naik, Dr. Renee Lim, and Dr. Sandro Demaio, travel the country to tackle our big health questions, bust medical myths and uncover the wonders of the human body. Here to answer Australian’s health questions from how to treat the common cold to how much alcohol to drink, our medical experts deliver reliable, up-to-date medical advice to help people live healthy lives.

Each of the 12x30 minute episodes features a different theme ranging from diet, to pain, to sexual health to allergies. From the bedroom to the science laboratory, the dinner table to the operating table, we take a peek behind the medical curtain and explore both the most common and the most uncommon health concerns. We learn what the leading experts in their fields are discovering and witness firsthand the advances they’re making in medical technology and treatments.

Join the doctors each Tuesday at 8pm, as they answer the health questions of the Australian public and deliver the latest in medical advice in a relatable, entertaining, and factual way.

###Meet the Doctors:

LtoR: Dr. Shalin Naik, Dr. Renee Lim and Dr Sandro Demaio

Dr. Shalin Naik (PhD, BSc) has achieved some of the highest honours in his field of molecular medicine. He’s a recipient of the Victorian Government’s Premier’s Commendation for Medical Research award and was a finalist for the Australasian Society for Immunology’s New Investigator Award. Shalin was named as the Young Tall Poppy of the Year by the Australian Institute of Policy and Science and has represented Australia internationally as a Nobel Laureates participant. From his early work as a website reviewer and research assistant in the UK as he completed his PhD, Shalin now heads his own stem cell research laboratory at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Melbourne. As well as being a member of scientific bodies around the world and continuing to research the future of science in medicine, Shalin is also a published science reviewer, regular speaker at international institutions and can break out a mean riff on the guitar.

Dr Renee Lim (MBBS) is an emergency doctor, a published writer and a regular speaker in the medical field. She is passionate about engaging and educating others in all facets of health communication. Renee is a medical school lecturer, speaker, and consultant, and has worked in the design and implementation of medical school curriculums. And as a director of program development, Renee teaches others in the medical and health industries how to develop and use their own communication skills. She is the CEO of her own education technology company and continues to work in medicine as a locum medical practitioner. Creatively, Renee also works as a producer, writer, and actress. Renee maintains that she does still have free time.

Dr. Sandro Demaio (MBBS, MPH, PhD) is an Australian doctor who now calls Geneva, Switzerland ‘home’. His passion and expertise in medicine focuses on disease prevention and all aspects of global health. Harvard-educated Sandro has a Masters in Public Health and a PhD in Global Health (Epidemiology and Policy). Formerly an Assistant Professor and Course Director at the University of Copenhagen’s School of Global Health, Sandro shares his knowledge at international conferences, medical science universities, and seminars in global health. Sandro was a 2008 finalist for the Young Australian of the Year award. He’s since taught public health in a Mongolian yurt while advising the government on public health policies, and has worked as a medical doctor on the Australian Medical Mission for tsunami aid work. Sandro is a TEDMed Frontline Scholarship Fellow and now works on a global level as a medical officer for noncommunicable conditions, nutrition, childhood obesity, and malnutrition. Sandro loves food, so much so that in 2015 he founded a festival that celebrated food, community, and future in his hometown of Melbourne. He’s also a self-proclaimed gourmet chef.

We’ve asked the Australian public to get involved in the conversation, sharing their burning health questions via #AsktheDoctor

Ask The Doctor is a WTFN production, developed and produced in association with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and produced with the assistance of Film Victoria. Executive Producer: Ariel White, Series Producer: Ged Wood. ABC Commissioning Editor: Julie Hanna, ABC Head of Factual: Steve Bibb.

Herb · April 11, 2017, 9:22am

Dear Doctor,
I’ve had this stinging in my an… oh wait, it’s just a title of a new show.

…Disregard.

TV.Cynic · April 11, 2017, 9:23am

Unfortunately this has nothing to do with The Doctor but is instead

and

Groan

TV.Cynic · August 31, 2018, 8:50am

Ask the Doctor - Series 2

From Tuesday 2 October at 8:00pm

Everyone is confused about health claims How much sugar can I eat a day? How much can I drink? How much exercise do I need to do? Ask The Doctor has the answers on how to be a better you. This fun, fact-filled Australian series delivers up-to-date health advice and examines the latest in medical break-throughs.

Joining Dr Shalin Naik and Dr Sandro Demaio is Dr Caroline West, experience who is and an expert on nutrition, mental health and preventative medicine. Our medical experts question the big health questions of our times, bust medical myths and test cutting-edge treatments. From do alcohol warnings, food labelling, calling for a sugar tax to how to live longer and which fad diets work. This team cuts through the confusing information and misleading claims.

Often putting their own bodies on the line, the doctors brave challenging experiments in the quest for answers. In larger trials, they enlist members of the Australian public to participate in ground-breaking research that reveal surprising results.

Each of the 12x30 minute episodes explores a different theme, including how to age well, get fit, be less stressed and how to live well in our modern world. The season begins with the sticky topic of sugar, revealing the startling amount sneaking into everyday food and the shocking health problems facing the most vulnerable in our society. Later, a poignant episode looks at why loneliness is the silent health crisis and what we can all do to help. Another episode investigates one of the greatest threats to the human race - antibiotic resistance - with surprising solutions being researched right here on home soil.

Across this season Shalin learns how to stave off dementia, reveals the key to effective pharmacy medicines, and tempts fate by eating street food in a superbug hotspot. Caroline discovers how high school students can manage their moods, exposes the hidden heart danger lurking in processed foods, and breaks down menopause myths by throwing an unusual party.

Sandro runs a pop-up biological age clinic to identify vital lifestyle changes, road-tests confronting alcohol warning labels on the public, and submits himself to a humiliating stress test - with hair raising results!

The doctors also reveal which cooking oils are healthiest, uncover promising new cancer match between archfield - all in the name of science!

From the school classroom to the science laboratory, the dinner table to the operating table, the doctors answer a wide variety of health concerns. Along the way, they meet leading experts in their fields and witness firsthand the advances being made in medical technology and treatments. Join Shalin, Caroline and Sandro as they help Australians improve their health and well-being with the latest medical advice in a relatable, entertaining, and factual way.

TV.Cynic · March 16, 2019, 9:32am

Returns Tuesday 9 April at 8pm with Episode 7

EPISODE 7 – FOOD, PART 1

In part one of a two-part special, the doctors help navigate the minefield of modern food fads. Caroline teams up with diet expert Professor Clare Collins from the University of Newcastle to begin an experiment on which popular diets deliver the best results. Four couples volunteer to road-test the Ketogenic, Paleo, 5/2 and Flexitarian diets

TV.Cynic · June 8, 2019, 9:08am

Series 2 returns with new episode

Tuesday June 25 at 8:00pm

Everyone is confused about health claims – How much sugar can I eat a day? How much alcohol can I drink? How much exercise do I need to do? Ask TheDoctor has the answers on how to be a better you. This fun, fact-filled Australian series returns to ABC to deliver up-to-date health advice and examines the latest in medical break- throughs.

Our medical experts, Dr Sharlin Naik, Dr Sandro Demaio and Dr Caroline West, question the big health questions of our times, bust medical myths and test cutting-edge treatments. From alcohol warnings, food labelling, calling for a sugar tax, to how to live longer and which fad diets work. This team cuts through the confusing information and misleading claims.

Often putting their own bodies on the line, the doctors brave challenging experiments in the quest for answers. In larger trials, they enlist members of the Australian public to participate in ground-breaking research that reveal surprising results.

The series returns to with a two-part special on modern food fads, a poignant episode looks at why loneliness is the silent health crisis and what we can all do to help. Another episode investigates one of the greatest threats to the human race - antibiotic resistance - with surprising solutions being researched right here on home soil.

From the school classroom to the science laboratory, the dinner table to the operating table, the doctors answer a wide variety of health concerns. Along the way, they meet leading experts in their fields and witness firsthand the advances being made in medical technology and treatments. Join Shalin, Caroline and Sandro as they help Australians improve their health and well-being with the latest medical advice in a relatable, entertaining, and factual way.

Part 2 Tuesday 2 July at 8:00pm

TV.Cynic · June 27, 2019, 10:34pm

Ask The Doctor, Series 2, Ep 8 – Loneliness

Tuesday 9 July 8.00pm

Being lonely is the silent global health crisis deadlier than obesity, affecting a third of the population. During this episode, our medical experts Dr Sharlin Naik, Dr Sandro Demaio and Dr Caroline West, discover it carries a risk similar to smoking up to 15 cigarettes per day, and can lead to increased blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, depression and premature mortality.

Help is at hand, as Caroline shows how to spot the warning signs and gives out a range of practical tips to build confidence and social connections. She attends a community Neighbour Day in Sydney, run by Relationships Australia, which highlights a modern-day irony that people living in dense, urban centres are socially isolated. These community events show how bringing people together can form important social bonds.

Young people are feeling intense pressure and are often at risk of emerging mental illnesses. Recent studies show that 80% of young Australians have experienced periods of loneliness. Caroline meets Dr Michelle Lim, a Senior Lecturer in Clinical Psychology at Melbourne’s Swinburne University of Technology, who’s run a promising pilot program using group therapy to combat loneliness in vulnerable young people.

Men of all ages are notorious for not reaching out when they should. So Shalin visits an Australian initiative that’s now going global - Men’s Shed. They’re places for men to learn or teach trades, get involved in community projects, or simply to socialise. It turns out having a purpose can be a vital step in beating the growing loneliness health epidemic. Lastly, Sandro reveals how a new trial with trained assistance dogs is making a real difference to people suffering from isolation and helping them engage with society.