Celebrity Health – Miriam Hussey

Image of Miriam Hussey ©Julia Dunin

Pharmacist and wellness expert Miriam Hussey has spent more than a decade working in health and wellbeing. Alongside her background in pharmacy, she has trained extensively in integrative health and wellness, nutritional wellbeing, yoga, meditation and mindfulness. Together with her husband, bestselling author Gerry Hussey, she is the co-founder of Soul Space, an international movement of mind, body and soul events and programmes. Her debut book, Light-Up, is out now. Here, Miriam shares her top tips for supporting your health and wellbeing through good nutrition.

This is my toolkit for nutritional wellbeing. Eating well will make you feel well. It’s an inside job.

Simplify things: Batch cook meals and freeze so that you’re cooking once, eating twice.

Increase wholegrains: Trust me, it’s not these types of carbohydrate that have led to the obesity epidemic, it’s the processed goods like cakes and white bread. Wholegrains (e.g. brown rice, quinoa, buckwheat) are some of the best sources of nutritional support and provide long-lasting energy.

Practise home cooking (also known as vitamin H): It’s a fundamental step to healthier living. When you make your own meals you know what’s going into them – and they don’t need a long list of ingredients or to take hours to prepare.

Drink enough water: Hydration not only impacts our inner health and vitality, it’s also important for our external glow and sparkle. In today’s world, many of us are living in a state of chronic or mild dehydration. If you are experiencing lack of concentration or focus, irritability, decreased cognitive function, aches and pains, dull, lifeless and dreary skin and eyes, or you are experiencing constant fatigue and tiredness, you might just be suffering from mild or chronic dehydration. When we think of a well-hydrated body, we can imagine the cells resemble a fresh, firm, plump, round grape. Unfortunately, when we get dehydrated, that grape shrinks down and becomes shrivelled like a raisin. In the mind, dehydration can feel similar – you might experience feelings of being withered and dried up.

The best way to check your hydration is to become aware of the colour of your urine. If your urine is dark yellow, it is a sign that you are dehydrated and need to drink more water. If it’s too clear, it’s a sign that you may be drinking too much water. This isn’t great either as you could be putting extra pressure on your kidneys and bladder, which can flush out essential electrolytes from the body. The ideal colour of your urine should be a pale, straw-yellow colour.

The suggested daily water intake is 1.5–2 litres per day. Generally, the more active you are, the more water you should drink. Keep a bottle with you at all times to encourage sipping throughout the day (in your car, in your handbag, on your desk). Add lemon, mint or berries to your water to add variety and set reminders on your phone to remind you to drink.

Increase sweet vegetables: Naturally sweet vegetables (e.g. sweet potato, beets, carrots, butternut squash) are the perfect medicine for the sweet tooth. Instead of depending on processed sugar, you can add more naturally sweet flavours to your diet and dramatically reduce sugar cravings.

Increase leafy green vegetables: These are essential for creating long-lasting health. They are packed with phytonutrients and help to alkalise the body and cleanse the blood. More specifically, they help to detoxify the body and improve liver, gallbladder and kidney function.

Crowd out: Eat less sugar and processed foods; consume less coffee, alcohol and tobacco. Eat more vegetables, fruits, wholegrains and drink more water. Add more meditation, exercise, sleep. Eventually, you will naturally crowd out processed foods, sitting on the couch, fatigue and low mood.

Drink hot water and lemon (or ginger tea) first thing in the morning (ideally 30 minutes before eating) or before meals to help your digestion. This will help stimulate your liver and bowels and acts as a powerful cleansing process for the body.

Buy local and eat in season: Eating in season and locally is not only a sustainable practice, it ensures the freshest and most flavourful produce while promoting variety and diversity in our diet. It is a small but impactful way to support our health, immunity, community and environment.

Bless your food: Saying grace before meals is a powerful way to make mealtime a sacred space. Take a moment to be grateful for the hands that made and prepared the food and for the blessings this food will bring to your body. With each bite you will be reminded of the abundance and love that surround you. Take a moment to thank every cell in your body, particularly your digestive organs, for all that they will do to assimilate this food so that you can be truly nourished.

Go back to basics: Avoid ultra-processed foods as much as possible and eat the rainbow instead.

Increase fibre: Fibre is essential for gut health and for the health of good bacteria in the gut. It helps to regulate digestion, maintain a healthy weight and reduce the risk of some chronic diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease.

Reduce blood sugar spikes: When blood sugar levels spike the body releases insulin to help regulate it, but consistently high levels of insulin can lead to insulin resistance and increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Additionally, frequent spikes in your blood sugar levels can contribute to other alarming factors such as inflammation, weight gain and increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

By eating a balanced diet rich in fibre, healthy fats and lean protein, as well as lifestyle habits such as staying active and managing stress, you can help stabilise your blood sugar levels. Prioritising a diet that’s low in refined sugars and carbohydrates can also help prevent blood sugar spikes and promote overall health and wellbeing.

Eat mindfully: Slow down and chew your food. Good nutrition is key to nourishing your body, fuelling your mind and balancing your nervous system.

Extracted from Light Up by Miriam Hussey (€22.99, Gill Books).

More celebrity health articles...
Articles from our latest issue...