It’s hard not to get overwhelmed by the amount of ‘wellness’ advice that comes our way these days. When there’s too much information it sometimes becomes paralysing and then we don’t implement anything at all.

I’m a medical herbalist and healing though food is my passion but even I find the constant information about new supplements. exercise and even breathing techniques a bit much to take in sometimes! I research as much as I can and then it helps me to have a few non negotiables when it comes to looking after myself – the basics to staying well for me. When I can do more I do but I don’t worry about it as long as I’ve checked my non-negotiables,

1. Probiotics 

These are the backbone of our immune system. Probiotic cultures are like the little soldiers in our gut fighting the bad bacteria that cause illness. Not all probiotics are the same. Different strains do different jobs and my favourite cultures for being in optimal health are Saccharomyces Boulardii and cultures from the Bifidus family. I take these every day in the form of either Eat Live Magic (included in my Ayurvedic cleanse boxes) or my raw ferments

2. Seasonal Cleansing

When I developed my Three Day Cleanse it was important to me we weren’t just selling a one-time detox that wouldn’t have much effect long term. The reason I do this work is because I want to help people transform their health. A one off juice cleanse for instance is unlikely to have any long term benefits and for some people will make things worse. My Cleanse is based on the traditional Ayurvedic kitchari cleanse and is a protocol I have adapted and developed to shed accumulated toxins and repopulate your gut even after just one cleanse. When done seasonally or at least a few times a year it goes deeper each time.

I fall off the healthy eating wagon all the time too, it’s hard not to in our culture, also I don’t want to live on green smoothies and quinoa permanently! That’s ok, our bodies are designed to be able to withstand some toxins and knowing that each season I will spend three days (with a gentler pre and post cleanse week before and after) focused on self-care and working with my body to remove toxins, cleanse and reset means I don’t worry too much about a takeaway here or there or some sugar on the weekends.

3. Exercise

Before I go to bed each night, I take a few minutes to plan my next day and amongst other things, this involves asking myself how am I going to move my body the next day? It could be my regular weekly zoom yoga class, a HIIT workout or if I’m not feeling up to much just parking further away from my son’s school to get a walk in for us both. I’m not naturally drawn to exercise but when the benefits for detox really hit me, the fact that it stimulates our lymph system and is vital to this detox pathway I was sold.

What are your health non negotiables? If you feel like you could use some help getting started why not plan a weekend where you can take some time to focus on your self-care. I have created a free weekend gut cleanse guide to support you with this that you can download here.

Emma-Louise Follows is a medical herbalist, wellbeing advocate and solicitor. She runs Eat Live Wellness in London offering 3 Day Ayurvedic Reset Boxes, a 12 week Deeper Detox and Gut Reset Programme and supportive gut health products. You can find her at eatlivewellness.co.uk or on Instagram much more than she probably should be https://www.instagram.com/eat_live_wellness/

Love and wellness

Emma-Louise Follows,Medical Herbalist at Eat Live Wellness, www.eatlivewellness.co.uk

Thank you Emma-Louise for contributing to the Being Your Best You Blog.

We love to keep our followers up to date with great advice & tips and having test driven your 3-day cleanse myself, I highly recommend it!

With love,

YvonneB x