The Diet Doctors' eating advice

'We have one of the highest constipation rates in Europe,' says Dowling. In an episode of their TV show one of the women they treat had gone without a bowel movement for two weeks - which was remedied when she began following the DD's advice. 'If you don't have regular bowel movements, you are keeping what we consider to be toxic material in your colon,' says Dowling. 'You don't have to be a doctor to understand that's not going to be a healthy situation.'

Doing it for yourself
Of course we'd all like to have a consultation with a nutritionist and doctor to address all of our health and diet concerns - if we had the money and time. That's where the book comes in. Created as a guide to various physical symptoms and accompanied by photographs, The Diet Doctors Inside and Out serves as a DIY manual for addressing what's troubling readers, even as they wait for the next appointment with their doctor, says Wendy Dowling. 'It gives the reader - the layperson - some clues and indicators of what to look out for,' says Edgson, using your own observations about your hair, skin, nails, tongue and faeces as clues. (On that all-important topic of poo, there are even illustrations of the different types; what you should strive for: a sausage with surface cracks or a log that's smooth like a snake.)

The last few sections address food and include appealing recipes for meals and snacks such as lemon chicken with green vegetables and smoked mackerel dip. And the good news, the Docs say, is that once you start eating to nourish your body, as well as exercising it (they recommend a very do-able routine of 20 minutes of exercise, 4 times a week), the pounds will come off. 'If you are eating healthfully and you are overweight,' says Edgson, 'you will automatically lose weight until your body finds it own balance.'

'You don't have to be a goody-two-shoes to make this work for you,' says Edgson. 'Both Wendy and I have found that once people realise just how good they can feel, they throw up their hands and say, Why would I go back to what I was doing and feel so awful?'

The Diet Doctors: Inside and Out airs Thursdays 8pm on Channel 5