How Hollywood gets healthy

Celebrity nutritionist Kimberly Snyder’s famous clients include Fergie and Drew Barrymore.  Here she explains how she helps the A-list glow with health and lose weight.

A liquid breakfast

Forget the old adage: ‘breakfast like a king,’ as it’s more likely to slow you and your digestive system down.  Instead, do what Hollywood A-listers swear by and start with a nutritious, easily digestible green juice (below) and build up to heavier, but healthy, foods during the day.

Glowing green juice

This drink is packed with cleansing, energy-boosting nutrients.  Use organic ingredients.

• 1 bunch of kale or spinach
• 3-4 stalks celery
• 1 small apple, cut into quarters
• Juice of half a lemon
• Blend all the ingredients in a juicer, gradually adding each one at a time.  Ideally, drink the juice within 15 minutes of making it.

Must have minerals

Silicon is good for your hair, nails and skin.  It also increases energy and flexibility.

Foods: oats, rice and green vegetables

Zinc is vital for healthy youthful-looking skin, as it helps to prevent wrinkles and stretch marks

Foods: chickpeas, shellfish, eggs, raw almonds, cashew nuts, turkey, brazil nuts, organic beef and wholegrains.

Iron boosts energy levels and immunity.  It encourages restful sleep and is essential for healthy skin.

Foods: dark, green leafy vegetables, avocados, red meat, liver, eggs and wild fish.

Magnesium is a powerful detoxifier and helps the bones to absorb calcium.

Foods: spinach, chard. Broccoli, brown rice, raw almonds, avocados, hazelnuts, okra and garlic.

Potassium helps the body to maintain healthy fluid levels, regulates the transfer of nutrients into our cells and is needed for the elimination of waste material.

Foods: most vegetables including leeks, cauliflower and runner beans, grains, nuts such as almonds and hazelnuts, bananas, dried apricots and pilchards.

Calcium is vital for keeping bones, teeth and nails strong.

Foods: leafy greens including broccoli, sardines (including the spines), wild salmon (including the bones) and tofu.

Essential enzymes

Certain enzymes help to repair cells, absorb and digest nutrients in food and keep skin healthy.  If we don’t get enough of these, our health suffers and we can age prematurely.  Fresh, raw green vegetables are packed with enzymes.  Try this green smoothie:

Glowing green smoothie

• 1 head of romain lettuce, chopped
• Half a head of a large bunch or three quarters of a small bunch of spinach
• 3 – 4 stalks of celery
• 1 apple, cored and chopped
• 1 pear, cored and chopped
• One third of a bunch of coriander including stems (optional)
• One third of a bunch of parsley including stems (optional)
• 1 banana
• The juice of half a lemon

Blend the lettuce, spinach and 375ml of water at a low speed. Add the celery, apple and pear, gradually increasing the speed of the blender.  Add the coriander and parsley if using, followed by the banana and lemon juice.

Ditch these

You won’t catch Kimberly’s clients near:

GMOS or genetically engineered foods.  Kimberley argues that when the genes in food are tampered with, it can lead to an increase in allergic reactions and a decrease in nutritional value.

Soy, as it contains trypsin inhibitors.  Trypsin is an enzyme needed to digest and absorb protein properly.  Kimberley says you can eat fermented organic soy products, such as miso, as the fermentation deactivates the inhibitors.

Dairy, as it can be difficult to digest, which puts burden on our bodies.  Kimberley suggests choosing other calcium-rich foods such as wild fish (with bones), green vegetables, root vegetables, seeds and pulses such as chickpeas and kidney beans.

The anti-ageing secret

Often, what you may think of as ‘age-related’ wrinkles and puffiness are simply signs of poor health, says Kimberley.  By improving your health your cells will become more purified and you’ll look younger.  According to traditional Chinese medicine, our face can reveal our inner health.  For example breakouts around the chin and jaw area may be a sign of congestion in the colon, our Slim Bomb Detox Tablet could really help with this problem.  Lines above the upper lip could indicate poor digestion.  Deep laughter lines could be due to constipation.  Crow’s feet, dark circles and puffiness around the eyes could be a sign of kidney and adrenal weakness caused by stress and lack of sleep.

Useful to know

‘Raw apple cider vinegar has natural antiseptic qualities and can help cleanse the digestive tract.  It also encourages the growth of friendly bacteria, ‘ says Kimberly.  Use it in salad dressings instead of ordinary vinegar.

Are you a fan of juicing to help you lose weight?