LIZ EARLE MBE: A BETTER SECOND HALF

We are all familiar with the Liz Earle brand and of course the celebrated 'hot cloth cleanser' so many of us have enjoyed, but the woman behind the brand (sold in 2020) is today one of the most trusted voices in the wellbeing space, with a string of podcasts, books and tv programmes to her name.

Liz's latest book 'A Better Second Half' is her very personal, tried and tested guide to future-proofing your life for a more energised, healthier and happier second half of life. In researching her book Liz spends time scouring the supermarkets and checking online sources for nutrients and vitamins, debunks common health misconceptions and shines a light on simple ways to improve your quality of life.  She draws on her experience as a business leader, mother, industry influencer and media star to write this inspiring book.

How did you come to be so fascinated by the wellness space and how different is your understanding of wellness today versus the start of your career?

My journey has been a long one – almost 40 years in fact, before ‘wellness’ was even a thing! I started as a beauty journalist and quickly moved on the writing about what was then called New Age therapies, having had my eczema sorted by diet and lifestyle changes. That was a defining moment for me – that we can influence how we look and feel by the way we live our life – especially what we eat. My first book, Vital Oils, highlighted the importance of healthy fats and oils in the diet at a time when the mantra was “low-fat, no-fat” for health, something we now know is simply not true: Sugars are the dietary bad guys, not fats.

Your research for this book spans the latest in scientific discovery and longevity expertise to your personal sleeping, snacking and wellbeing habits. You also look at mental wellbeing, share your relationship highs and lows and how you handled emotional pinch-points in your life. Do you find this transparency difficult in your writing?

This is the first book I’ve written entirely in the first-person and I think authenticity is important. It’s easy to make life look entirely hunky dory through the glossy lens of Instagram etc. I’ve been fortunate with the opportunities I’ve had in my life, but it hasn’t been an easy ride and I wanted to share some of the reality here. I’ve become more open in recent years on my Instagram page (I opened up my house during the devastation of Lockdowns) and have had such a positive reaction, and it was this that made it easier to write more openly and personally in the book.

Why do you think we tend to lose a sense of self care as we hit our mid-life and what would you like people to learn from your book?

It’s a time of life when we can get so distracted by the needs of others – older parents requiring care, the demands of growing children, busy-ness building more senior career roles as well as the time given to others in our families and local community. It’s so easy to lose ourselves and our self-worth amongst all this. But self-care is not self-ish. My book starts with a call to arms to move yourself up the To-Do list and start to prioritise your own wellbeing, alongside those you already give care to.

How challenging is it to wade through the research or do you enjoy the deep dive into factual support for your theories?

Weeding through the mounds of data to find hidden agendas, vested interests and statistical significance amongst the vast amount of published science is a pretty mammoth task, to be honest. But I can be like a terrier on a trouser leg when I feel I’m onto something, and Iove the Ah-ha! moment, when I prove something that I knew instinctively was right - such as the clinical science that supports something as woo-woo sounding as barefoot grass grounding…

You are an ambassador for the Royal Countryside Fund and their work in supporting farming communities across the UK. Are you an outdoor girl at heart?

I am very proud to be an ambassador for the Royal Countryside Fund, a charity especially close to the King’s heart for so many years. It’s extremely important that we support the physical, mental and financial wellbeing of those who support our nation’s landscape and national food security. I spent my mid-life living on and running an organic, regenerative farm – I am one of the founding farmers for the grass-fed organisation Pasture For Life. Having long supported organic and regenerative farmers and growers I learnt so much from having to walk the talk. Although I no longer farm, my heart still belongs to the West Country, where I spend much of my time now. My garden is bordered on three sides by farm fields and woodland, so I still feel very much part of the rural community.

SOME QUICK FIRE Q'S

  • Top surprisingly good snacks for a nutrient rich energy boost: (We loved the time dedicated to reinforcing the good qualities of coffee and dark chocolate!)

Dark chocolate (at least 70%) for polyphenols and magnesium (and just because…)

Couple of Brazil nuts (daily allowance of selenium)

Slices of cheese straight from the fridge – high protein, good for calcium and keeps me feeling fuller for longer, curbing a sweet tooth

  • The best wellness practices to start the day

Open a window or step outside and get real daylight into your retinal cells. Do this before turning on your phone to better set up your circadian rhythm and hormone cascade. Drink electrolytes or a pink of sea salt in a large glass of water before drinking anything else, to rehydrate after the night with no fluids. If you can, spend at least 5 minutes barefoot on the grass or ground to connect with the earth’s negative ions (and no, it’s not that woo-woo!).

  • Your mantra for what you choose to eat

Put protein on your plate before anything else and build your meal around this

  • The most important thing in your life right now is....

To love and laugh more. Both things and free but also priceless

What is next for Liz Earle MBE?

I’m currently researching my next book, which takes the foundations I explore in A Better Second Half onto the next level… There’s always more we can learn and do for ourselves when it comes to living, feeling and looking well. I’m excited for the future of longevity science, so we can all live better than ever.

KEEP UP WITH LIZ

Liz's TROY Favourite - The Fairweather

Fairweather Parka in Olive - Faux

Fairweather Parka in Olive - Faux

Fairweather Parka in Olive - Faux

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£450.00

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