Vital Force Naturals

1 Start the day with a big cup of lemon and ginger water before anything else. During the night your liver has been working hard to cleanse, you’ve been asleep for maybe 7 or 8 hours and naturally you will be dehydrated. Lemon is very alkalising to the body so this helps the liver to flush ready for everything you will throw at it during the day. Just a slice of lemon and one of ginger in a cup of hot water topped with cold so you can drink it as quickly as possible.

2 Drink a cup of water before every meal. So you’ve had your lemony water before breakfast, but half an hour before lunch and dinner drink a good half to full pint of pure clean water. This prepares the digestive system for food. It takes a lot of water to digest and assimilate optimally so you want to make sure you’re properly hydrated for it. It helps to flush the system before eating and can help with overeating as we often think we’re hungry when we’re in fact thirsty.

3 Talking of food, eat natural, organic, high-coloured non-processed foods whenever possible. Different colours of different vegetables and fruits have different nutrients and they all work together in harmony so as the saying goes, ‘eat the rainbow’. Processed food however tend to be pretty beige in colour and have had a lot of their goodness processed out, so whenever possible eat as close to the original plant as possible.

4 When it comes to eating are you a grazer or a meal eater? Or both?! Either way it’s a good idea to stop eating and go hungry for a while. Ok, so we do this overnight, but it can be really beneficial during the day too. It gives the digestive system a chance to cleanse. Those rumbling noises your stomach makes when you’re hungry? They’re your system using cleansing peristalsis (the movement of pushing food through the digestive tract, contracting and relaxing) clearing the intestines ready for the next meal. That’s why you often need a poo as soon as you’ve eaten! It also gives the liver a chance to do all the other jobs it has to do. Digestion takes a lot of energy, so if you fast for a while that energy can be directed elsewhere (again that’s why you feel drowsy after a big meal) Not to mention it helps you to burn stored fat rather than constantly topping up. As in point 2, get to recognise when you’re actually hungry and not just thirsty.

5 Movement is key. Especially if you have a pretty sedentary job, exercise is a must. And it’s not just about looking good, it’s about keeping joints mobile, muscles flexible, bones strong and heart and lungs healthy. When blood has circulated to, say, your feet, it then has to come all the way back to the heart with very little help and against gravity. If you’re sitting all day your circulation can become very slow and sluggish. When you move the heart starts to pump faster to deliver more oxygen to the muscles and the contracting and relaxing action of the leg muscles help the blood move back up to the heart. The fitter you are, the easier this is for your body even when resting. Your abdominal muscles contracting and relaxing during exercise also have the same effect on your digestive tract which helps to promote a healthy regular bowel movement. It’s a bit like an internal massage! And we all know the effect regular exercise has on our mental health, releasing endorphins, the happy hormone.

6 Hormones are the body’s regulators and messengers and when they’re out of balance they can cause havoc with the smooth running of your system. Cortisol is vital for the stress response, helping regulate blood sugar levels and is generally higher in the morning to help you get up and out to work. However chronic stress can cause high cortisol levels all the time, meaning your body is in a constant state of fight or flight, which can lead to weight gain and various digestive issues because your digestive system has shut down. Doesn’t matter what you eat, you won’t lose those pounds. Get into the habit of taking time for yourself. Notice when you’re highly stressed and make an effort to do something about it. Exercise helps, as does hydration, in fact all of the above. You might find it’s as simple as turning off your phone and reading a book. Try it, you never know…

7 Sleep. Sleep is very underrated. We need around 6-9 hours of sleep a night, depending on age and who we are and how we function. I personally can sleep for England, and when my diet is good and since I gave up alcohol I now sleep through the night. Night time is a time of rest and recuperation, and although your digestion and brain slow down, there’s still a lot going on in your body. Your liver is hard at work during the night, but it needs the rest of your body to be quiet to do it. If you don’t sleep at night your body gets confused. Sleep deprivation affects performance, mood, blood pressure and increases cortisol (see above) and weight gain. Make sleep a priority, go to bed at the same time every day, make sure you are comfortable, good mattress and pillows, temperature and darkness, no devices at least an hour before sleep. When you wake up, avoid the snooze, open curtains, get into the light, fresh air if you can. If you don’t sleep enough hours and those hours aren’t ‘quality’, then everything else in your life will suffer.

For more information on nutritional healing click HERE and contact me direct on

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‘If you want to be well stop doing the things that are making you sick’