Discovering the Power of Incremental Changes for a Healthier You

Today, I want to share with you an enlightening journey that began with a personal health scare and transformed into a lifelong passion for wellness through simple, yet profound changes.

This blog, discusses how our bodies have an incredible capacity to heal and rejuvenate themselves, often through the smallest adjustments to our daily routines, and also outlines some daily techniques to help you rebalance.

A Wake-Up Call

My journey began 18 years ago, following a distressing episode that landed me in hospital. Facing a severe health scare related to a miscarriage, I was left feeling depleted and in search of a path to recovery that didn't involve further medical intervention. My path took a turn towards healing when I decided to explore the power of food as medicine. This choice led me down a path of discovery, where I learned to listen to my body's cravings, leading me to foods that naturally cleanse and replenish.

The Healing Power of Food

One of the first foods I was drawn to was moussaka, but with a twist - no pasta, cheese, or meat. What I craved was essentially a dish rich in vegetables and aubergines. My research revealed that aubergines are esteemed in Chinese medicine for their unique ability to cleanse the uterus. This revelation was a pivotal moment for me, solidifying my belief in following my body's natural inclinations to guide recovery.

Embracing Simple Changes

Through exploration, I discovered the rhythm of absorbing and eliminating that our bodies naturally follow. It’s not just the importance of what we eat, but how we can support our body in its constant effort to detoxify. For example, I found the surprisingly effective practice of oil gargling first thing in the morning. This method, despite initial resistance, proved to be a powerful way to aid the body's natural elimination processes.

The Journey Continues

My dedication to wellness led me to share insights through cookery demonstrations and books, introducing the concept of the "Jigsaw Method," which outlines how our bodies can cleanse themselves without drastic changes to our diet. This approach is all about embracing one small change at a time, leading to significant benefits such as increased energy and better sleep.

A Path Forward

Making incremental changes can lead to lasting health benefits. It's not about drastic diets or overwhelming lifestyle overhauls but about small, manageable adjustments that align with our body's natural rhythms and needs.

So, why not start today?  Changing what we eat helps support our body’s natural elimination rhythm but we can also do other things where we do not change anything that we eat and still support our body to eliminate effectively.

Here’s some daily techniques to help you rebalance:

Rise and start your day between 5am and 7am. This helps your bowels get going and is the peak time of activity of our large intestine. Getting up stimulates your body to have a bowel movement, instead of leaving the unwanted faeces in our body for further unnecessary time. If you do not rise between this time your body may not have a bowel movement until after lunch, a possible extra 6 hours. This may take time if your routine needs changing. Your weekly rebalance of a light meal may help you get to bed earlier and then rise earlier. This will hopefully spill over into the rest of the week. Take one step at a time so you do not overdo it and get too tired. 

Gargle with oil first thing in the morning. Using sunflower (cold pressed and organic if possible, or any other oil) as a gargle first thing activates the elimination of toxins into your mouth. We often have bad breath in the morning: this is our body’s natural method of eliminating toxins. Gargle for 5 to 20 minutes and spit out in the toilet. Then rinse your mouth several times with water and brush your tongue (and teeth if you like). If you don’t fancy the oil gargle, at least brush your tongue before you consume anything.

Drink one mug of warm water before your breakfast. This helps clear the colon lining of yesterday’s food so it’s not all mixed up with today’s food, reducing further toxins entering your body.

Stop eating food after 7pm. If you are hungry after 7pm try drinking water or do some light exercise or at least eat just fruit as this is most easily digested. This leaves your liver to do its daily elimination process in the night and not have to digest the food you ate late in the evening. If you find that socially you are eating late and then do not rise early and have a late breakfast or none at all you are out of rhythm with your internal organs. Your weekly rebalance can help you get back into rhythm, and it is then like a self-regulating routine.

Eat your carbohydrates at different meal times from protein (food combining principle). If this is too challenging at least try it for your evening meal. This helps speed up digestion and absorption of food, providing you with more energy and reducing the risk of your microbiome getting out of balance.

Eat sauerkraut with your meals. The sauerkraut contains probiotics and can help create more effective digestion of food. If you are buying this make sure it is unpasteurised and has no sugar or vinegar added (only cider vinegar is properly fermented and is alkaline forming). Or see this recipe to make your own https://www.integratinghealth.com/recipes-and-resources 

Try drinking water between meals rather than having a snack. We are often thirsty rather than hungry between meals but we too often eat instead of drinking water. If you are still hungry try getting some extra oxygen to your brain to tide you through the low phase. This could be a light walk or if you are a runner a 5-minute run. Do not over stretch yourself as this causes stress on a cellular level and reduces your ability to absorb water and minerals, so if you really need a snack then have one.

Stop drinking (and eating) by 8pm. This helps your body really rest so it can do its cellular regeneration. If you are thirsty in the night just rinse your mouth out with water so you are thirstier during the day.

Cooking Along Online

My upcoming cookery demonstration is on March 12th, and will be an interactive session that's not just about cooking but about integrating healthier habits into your daily life.

Whether you're able to cook along live or catch up with the recording later, the demonstration, along with my two books, provides valuable resources for anyone looking to make positive changes in their health and wellness journey.

To register for the cookery demonstration visit: https://www.integratinghealth.com/contact