UNITED KINGDOM. Like many before her, the controversial British nutritionist Gillian McKeith was sceptical about the paranormal - until she experienced it for herself. Now McKeith, whose television series shows her turning overweight people, including celebrities, into thinner, healthier individuals, says she is a firm believer in the afterlife.

Interviewed by the Independent on Sunday about her beliefs on various topics, as part of the promotion for her new book Dr Gillian McKeith's Shopping Guide, she revealed:
"I believe in an afterlife. I used to be a complete cynic, but after my nephew and father died I experienced so many extraordinary things that I was forced to change my mind. Things would appear, disappear, taps turning themselves on, bottles oozing, things being moved, lights going on and off, and - I'm almost afraid to say it - voices talking.

"I know people will be like 'We already knew she's crazy with the adzuki beans but now she really has gone overboard,' but I believe with certainty that there is life after the physical body leaves this earth."
McKeith's "trademark" is her penchant for asking her subjects to collect a sample of their excrement so that she can inspect it and discuss its relevance to their health and diet - as she did on her primetime TV series, You Are What You Eat.

She told the Sunday newspaper: "I've got this new German loo where the poo lands on the ledge and you can see it very clearly for analysis. I don't inspect my own every day, but I try to look regularly."