22.04.2024 Christin Müller 19620

Dr. Eckart von Hirschhausen: About hard-boiled brains

He is probably the most popular doctor in Germany. Dr. Eckart von Hirschhausen has become famous as the presenter of countless TV science programmes, as a humorist and as an author. As a passionate environmentalist, he is passionately committed to a clean environment. His credo: only on a healthy planet can we humans lead a healthy life. On October 10, he will be the top speaker at Health Day 2024. We talk to him about extreme situations, laughter and healthy ageing.

Growing old in good health is the declared goal of many people. What factors help people to lead a long and fulfilling life?

Dr. Eckart von Hirschhausen: The best trick to extend your life sounds easier than it is: by cutting out everything that shortens it! In my live program 'Finally!', I put it in a nutshell: 10 to 15 years of our lives depend on our lifestyle. There is no pill, no operation and certainly no cream that protects us better than five very simple everyday things: don't smoke, exercise, eat vegetables, grow up and stay a child. Health doesn't start with an operation or a pill. It starts with the air we breathe, the water we drink, the plants we eat, tolerable temperatures and peaceful coexistence.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. How can humor play a role in coping with mental health problems?

Humor is good for you. Laughter is medicine. This is not only popular wisdom, but is now also known to science. Positive psychology in particular has done a lot of research into this in recent years. We can't tickle ourselves. Humor happens between people, and I have spoken to these people. We have produced a YouTube series in our own studio on the subject of mental health entitled "All crazy?", which will be released on my channel on May 1 and deals with eight different diagnoses. At eye level with those affected, but also with the opportunity to smile in order to make the topic approachable.

This year's pme Health Day on October 10 is dedicated to the topic "Learning from extreme situations for everyday health". How can you deal with personal challenges to stay mentally strong?

The climate crisis is also making our souls ill. In Germany, we have one million more people with mental illnesses due to the consequences of heat and particulate matter, the trauma caused by extreme weather and the loss of home. Whatever "the soul" is, one thing is clear: a functioning brain helps. And self-efficacy is the magic word here. Taking action is the best way to combat helplessness. Everyone in their own place, with their own resources. Connected instead of alone.

We can be "infected" with ideas, with passion, with laughter. Karl Valentin put it beautifully: "When it rains, I'm happy, because when I'm not happy, it rains. A lack of humor will not save the world. I have therefore developed a challenge for my book "Mensch, Erde": The most important thing an individual can do is not to remain an individual! Everyone knows someone who knows someone who can do more than you.

With your foundation 'Healthy Earth - Healthy People', you are addressing the close connection between the health of our planet and the health of people. What is the ultimate goal that you personally want to achieve through your commitment?

"One Health" means understanding the health of people, animals and the environment together. Everyone is better when everyone is better.

With the Healthy Earth - Healthy People Foundation, I would like to help give new impetus to the necessary transformation of the economy, politics and society. To do this, we need a fresh "spirit": non-partisan, cooperative, cross-generational and with an infectious good mood. My team and I are currently working hard on many levers and are mobilizing the medical and nursing professions to take a stand on the issue as key multipliers in the middle of society. We are working with large foundations and networks, with church organizations, the World Climate Conference and are present at the World Health Summit. The aim of all our activities is to make the clear majority of our society aware of this: Healthy people only exist on a healthy planet. And for this we need radical changes in the way we live in order to be sustainable and fit for our grandchildren.

What obstacles do you repeatedly encounter when communicating this important topic?

The facts have been clear for 50 years. And simply communicating more science has not been proven to lead to more sensible action. So we need communication that combines brain and heart. And that's exactly what I'm doing to reach the middle of society and get them excited about this mammoth task. It starts with the terminology: we don't have to save "the climate", "the earth" or "the polar bears" - we have to save ourselves! I always like to use the example of the egg to get to the heart of the problem of irreversibility:

If you put a raw egg in warm water, above 45 degrees, it will harden irreversibly. Even if the water cools down again, the egg will no longer become soft. A boiled egg will never become a chick again. There is no going back. The chance of life is lost forever. But what is an egg made of? Water, fat and protein. What is our brain made of? Of water, fat and protein. We have exactly the same building blocks. And that's where I always notice how people suddenly drop a penny. Of course we have to reduce emissions, but what we need to do now is to become aware: The next few summers are all going to get hotter and hotter and hotter. And that's why it's so important to put the idea of "There are things that belong to all of us, and when they break, we all suffer" at the forefront.

How do you recognize that your work is already achieving success?

There are some things that give me hope, such as the next generation. They think about many issues in a more natural and global way and have really kicked things off with "Fridays for Future". And not just in politics, but also in the private sphere: discussions at home around the kitchen table have changed completely, because the younger generation is really demanding that we boomers - and I'm one of them - get involved and get involved. Much more has happened in the last three years than in the last 30.

To what extent can artificial intelligence help to address the major health issues of our time and find sustainable solutions for both the planet and human well-being?

On my trip to the documentary "Medicine of Tomorrow" (ARD Mediathek), I experienced direct points of contact with artificial intelligence. In the case of a rare disease, a strange irregular skin change and suspected black skin cancer, routine X-rays or even in the early detection of blood poisoning from laboratory data, AI is already very good today, even more precise than a human being. No wonder, because computers never get tired, are constantly learning, have a practically infinite memory to compare older data with current data and are not as easily distracted as humans.

But what I definitely don't want to do without in the future is humane human medicine. Computers have no compassion, no sensitivity in dealing with difficult diagnoses and life decisions, and no sense of humor. When the avatar said "I'm sorry that you have these complaints", I realized that I was getting angry because the machine was pretending to have feelings that it didn't have. We need committed people in medicine, nursing and all social professions today and even more so in the future. In the next ten years, there will already be a shortage of skilled workers in every third position in the healthcare sector. This is the core problem - and for this we need appreciation, decent pay, compatibility with family and career opportunities - in other words, everything that doesn't interest a computer - but people!

From digitalization to the climate crisis: what key insights do you think are crucial for the young generation to lead a healthy and fulfilling life?

Nobody has to do everything right, you can't. This focus on personal footprints and moral pressure is nonsense. We won't save the world with bamboo toothbrushes and train travel alone. Of course it's important to cycle instead of driving, take the train instead of flying and eat vegetables instead of meat. Even more important: investing money fairly, constructing and renovating buildings to be energy efficient and getting involved in politics. The majority often don't know that they are the majority! The big levers are the political framework conditions. Everyone has a "handprint" there! Specifically in the European elections. Elections will be held in June, and the EU's most important positive projects such as the Green Deal, the restoration of peatlands and nature, effective emissions trading - all of this is at stake if the right-wing populists from Germany and other countries paralyze or destroy the Parliament, as they have announced.

So my big plea is for everyone to vote, united for democracy! Vote as a whole family for our future, grandma with her granddaughter, who can vote for the first time at 16. And everyone in between anyway. Don't give away your vote. The more people make a sensible democratic choice, the smaller the proportion of declared enemies of democracy will become. We have a future in Europe or none. Please be smart. And open your mouth. Gladly also in this order (laughs).

Interview: Simone Bohny, Christin Müller, Michèle Penz