Dr Hazel Wallace: ‘You never get over grief, but you grow around it’

Dr Hazel Wallace. Picture: Lydia Collins

I grew up in Dundalk and moved to Wales when I was 18 to study medicine. I have two older sisters and my mum at home. I lost my dad when I was 14. The biggest challenge I've faced in my life so far was that grief as a teenager. It definitely changes you as a person. I don't think you can ever get over grief, but you grow around it. Putting one foot in front of the other, day by day, you just eventually move forward with life and the grief becomes a part of you, but not every part of you.

I decided to go into medicine after I lost my dad. I never thought I'd become a doctor or a nutritionist. I always thought I'd do accountancy or business, I was good at maths and that was what my dad did. But I think it was definitely in the cards for me. I'm a big believer in everything that's meant to be, will be.

The first couple of months of the pandemic were a complete blur. You just go into fight or flight mode. We were learning about this new virus and changing guidelines day by day. No one had ever experienced anything like this in our generation of doctors. As strange as it sounds, part of it was exciting because it was new, but it was also terrifying. 

Initially, everyone was just getting sick. You were watching your colleagues going home with really low oxygen saturations, out of breath, some of them were being hospitalised and then you were caring for your colleagues. I think it's something that will take me a long time to get over. The doctors, nurses and all hospital staff have gone through — are still going through — a really difficult time.

I think my greatest qualities are that I am very hard-working, caring, and compassionate and that’s what makes me a good health professional. I am very busy, but I feel very grateful to have The Food Medic which is like a creative outlet where I can use my knowledge and skills to do something that reaches many more people than I would reach if I was just in a doctor's office. 

Dr Hazel Wallace. Picture: Lydia Collins

I feel very lucky with the people I get to speak to via the podcast. One of my favourite episodes was the conversation with Professor Green on a recent podcast, because I think a lot of people have these ideas of who he is and what he's about based on his music. I got to know him through Instagram because he was asking me for advice on houseplants and we just started chatting. He's a really lovely guy, a new dad and he is really interested in gut health. So I really enjoyed that podcast because it just showed a different side to him.

I would like to be remembered for making a change in the world. In my line of work, that change would be based around improving people’s health.

The person I turn to most in my life is probably Nora Miller, she's my manager but also my best friend.

And my mum. Sometimes we will go a couple of weeks not speaking and then we'll have a big catch up and nothing's changed. She’s the person I go to when I feel like the sky is falling in and I just need someone to give me a level head and tell me everything's going to be okay.

The lesson I would like to pass on is to not live your life based on other people's expectations of you. I don't really do things the traditional way and I get a lot of women who come to me and say thank you for being very vocal about being an empowered, single, independent 30-year-old woman who isn’t feeling the pressure to settle down and have kids. The fact that I'm a doctor, but I am not traditionally working in that sense and have gone out and ventured into my own things and I've taken time out and I've traveled… a lot of people find that uncomfortable. 

I used to fit myself into boxes to make people comfortable, I don't do that anymore.

The greatest advice I have ever been given came from one of my consultants in my first year as a doctor. She said to me, 'don't be afraid to be the black sheep'. I had just released my first book and there was a headline that referred to me as a black sheep amongst junior doctors and it implied I was different, in a bad way. She said, 'you're different in a good way and you shouldn't be afraid to be different'. I remember that whenever I get moments where I question if I am crazy for pursuing X, Y and Z.

A running joke in my family is that I am terrified of ET. Always have been, always will be.

I think what I am best at is working under pressure. Every job I’ve fallen into has been high pressure, but I thrive under pressure.

What surprises me is how different 30 feels than what I thought it would be. When you're growing up you think a 30-year-old is an adult but now that I'm here I don't feel like an adult! And it’s a good surprise because when you reach 30 you realise it’s not the end of the world and you've got so much life left in you.

Dr Hazel Wallace is a doctor, registered associate nutritionist and founder of The Food Medic.