Que los hábitos sean tu medicina by Dr Borja Bandera: Habits, Discipline and Health
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit." Que los hábitos sean tu medicina (Let Your Habits Be Your Medicine), by the Spanish doctor Borja Bandera, applies that idea to health: optimising it and preventing disease through the things we do every day.
Author: Dr Borja Bandera Merchán
Title: Que los hábitos sean tu medicina (2023)
Format: Spanish paperback (Grijalbo), 320 pages
Language: Spanish (no English edition found)
Amazon: www.amazon.es/dp/8425364388 (ASIN 8425364388)
Identity and Environment
First change your identity. Your environment controls your desires without your noticing, so design it intelligently: if you want to read more, keep your favourite book on your desk or bedside table. Willpower alone is not enough.
Discipline over Motivation
Train regardless of mood or motivation: when the moment comes, you execute, you don’t decide. Procrastination and doubt go hand in hand, and what paralyses us is not a lack of desire to change but indecision. Not deciding is also a decision. Hard decisions are long-term investments with an attractive return, and the discipline to act virtuously when no one is watching is developed through practice. Stop seeking validation or the applause of others.
Health as Responsibility
Being healthy means being responsible, in the sense of being able to respond. Movement, relationships, work and beliefs all count, as do rest, leisure and fun. A life without difficulty does not exist; the Stoics valued adversity, and the darkest moments bring personal and spiritual growth. Avoiding hospital is the best way to avoid uncontrolled use of medication. Learn to say no, set limits, and remember that the perfect can be the enemy of the good.
The Author
Borja Bandera Merchán is a Spanish doctor specialising in endocrinology and nutrition, a researcher in metabolism and nutrition and one of the most influential health communicators in the Spanish-speaking world, with a large audience on YouTube and Instagram. He has created online training programmes in health and nutrition and is a co-founder of an academy for sport and health professionals. This book gathers the advice he shares with his followers in a structured, practical form.
A Quotation With a History
The quotation that opens the book is usually attributed to Aristotle, but the famous wording comes from the American historian Will Durant, who used it in 1926 to summarise Aristotle’s ideas on virtue and habit. The thought, however, is genuinely Aristotelian: for the Greek philosopher, we become just by doing just acts and brave by doing brave ones. Bandera applies the same principle to health, which he sees as the sum of countless small daily choices.
The Pillars of Health
The book covers the main areas in which habits shape health: diet, physical activity and especially strength training, sleep, stress management, relationships and a sense of purpose. Rather than offering a rigid plan, it explains why each area matters and how to build changes that last, drawing on research into behaviour and on the author’s clinical experience.
Who Will Find It Useful
Readers who know what they should do for their health but struggle to do it consistently, and anyone interested in preventing disease and ageing well. It is available only in Spanish.
Its short chapters and memorable phrases make it easy to return to whenever motivation flags.
Small steps add up over time.
The author’s online videos complement the book well.
Why Read It
Among the reviewer’s favourite lines: "Be the warrior in the garden, not the gardener in the war", "Continuous progress is permanent satisfaction" and "Your brain is a compulsive liar." A practical Spanish book for anyone trying to turn good intentions into daily habits.
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