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A warm cup of water first thing in the morning (and even better with a squeeze of lemon) goes right through the bowels and cleans mucus out from the day before. Drink another cup of warm water in the evening too.
2. Lubricate, don't flood
Your stomach needs to be lubricated, not flooded. When you drink fluids with meals, you drown your digestive enzymes and only partial digestion takes place. Therefore, drink fluids, juices, or preferably water, 30 minutes away from the meals – say 30 minutes before or after, but not during.
3. Chew slowly
Chewing slowly until food becomes liquefied is one of the most important recommendations. Really savour each mouthful. Feel the texture and capture the flavour of your food. It's when your saliva comes into contact with your food, as it is being chewed, that the digestive process begins. The chewed food will then pass easily through your digestive system with maximum nutrient uptake.
4. Eat when calm
You physically can't digest food properly if you are upset or have just had an argument. Eat when calm. Your digestion will be much better.
5. Not too hot – not too cold
The temperature of food and drink entering your body affects the strength of your spleen, your energy battery, and other organs too. Ice-cold drinks weaken the organs. Eating piping hot foods that burn your palate isn't much better, since they injure mouth membranes, damage gastric stomach lining, and degrade taste buds. Tepid or air temperature foods, drinks and water are best.
6. Decorate your plate
When you smell food, feast your eyes on it or even think about it, your brain spurs into action, sending a message to the salivary glands to secrete saliva, which contains a digestive enzyme. So prepare attractive delicious meals to enhance your digestion.
7. Alternate your foods
Don't eat the same foods every day. You don't need too much of one single food and it can often lead to food allergies, sensitivities and intolerances. So instead eat a particular food just once every four days as opposed to every day. You'll not only prevent allergies, but will also nourish your body with a broader array of varied nutrients.
8. Listen to your body
Take note of what food you crave. If you really want a specific food – its colour, the smell or the feel – just enjoy and go with the attractions. It may be that your body needs something nutritionally contained within that food. I'm not talking chocolate cookies here! I'm referring to all those fresh herbs, fruits, vegetables, seasonings, and so on that are readily available in any food shop or supermarket. Walk the produce aisle for fresh fruits and vegetables with an open mind and an open spirit. What looks good? What feels good? What smells good? Which foods look healthy and robust? Then make your choices.
9. Enzymes, enzymes, enzymes!
Sprouted seeds, raw vegetables, raw fruits, nuts and seeds are loaded with live enzymes, the key to nutrient absorption and vibrant health.
10. Break the fast
Always eat something healthy and substantial for breakfast. This is the time period when your stomach energies are at their strongest, and your digestive enzyme juices are raring to go. You will gradually weaken your stomach and digestive function if you skip breakfast. No matter how little it is, eat something decent. Fresh fruit, oatmeal, millet and quinoa porridge are all good morning choices.
11. Nibble at night
Eat your last meal of the day at least a couple of hours before bedtime. When you eat too late, you stress and wear out your body. You cannot digest a late meal effectively if you go to sleep on a full stomach. It's bad for your digestive organs, heart and liver, not to mention your libido!
12. Choose cruciferous veggies
Eat lots of cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts or cauliflower. These will help you detox and energise your blood.
13. Drink your greens
Once a week, make yourself a green juice. Green juices, made from a variety of green vegetables, have a rejuvenating effect on the body because they are rich in chlorophyll (the life blood of the plant) which helps to purify the blood, build red blood cells, detoxify the body and provide fast energy.
Green juice is the perfect fuel for your body. Its high water content means it is easily assimilated and it contains the whole vegetable except for the fibre, which is the indigestible part of the plant. Green juice therefore provides all the healthful ingredients in a form that is easy to absorb and digest. Here is just one option. Feel free to experiment with your own ideas:
1 carrot, 1 cucumber, 4 celery stalks, 1 fennel stalk, some spinach leaves, a tiny piece of root ginger, a parsley sprig and a handful of alfalfa sprouts (optional).
14. Food combinations
Fruit +Meat/Fish = Gas
Fruit by itself = No Gas
In other words, eat foods together that don't compete.
15. Kidney massage
The kidneys are the most important organs for overall vitality. At the end of each day, treat yourself to a kidney rub. Before retiring to bed, find your kidneys by placing your hands on your back below the waist, but above your bum. Visualise a warm white light coursing through your body to your hands. Your hands will begin to feel warm as you transfer the heat and light into the kidneys. Massage the kidney region. Then lie down on top of a ready-prepared hot water bottle.
16. My little secret
I keep a trampette tucked away in the cupboard in the office at my clinic. In between seeing patients and presenting the very dignified health practitioner front, I bring out my trampette and start jumping. The patients never know, because I do it the minute they leave my room. Any form of regular moderate exercise, stretching, walking, bicycling, swimming, tai chi – even dancing – will help move lymph, expel toxins, motivate the blood and revitalise the body.
17. Rub a dub
At shower/bath time, but before you actually get in the bath or shower, take a body cloth, soak it in hot water and rub it all over your body. Start at the feet and work your way up the legs, torso and arms, always towards the heart. This will get your blood moving and spur the energy meridians, improving your digestion.
18. Skin brush
Brush your skin with a dry skin body brush once weekly to get your lymph moving.
19. Early to bed
The earlier you get to bed, the better you will feel. The liver and gallbladder conduct their detox work generally between the hours of 11pm and 2am. If you are not in bed by 11pm, you disturb the natural cleansing process, and as a result you will feel sluggish.
20. Just be
Take five minutes of quiet time each morning to "just be", stop and reflect, before you start rushing for the day, don't think, don't do, just be. Your eyes can be open or closed, it doesn't matter. But take a few precious moments just for you.
