I am often asked by clients what’s the secret for glowing skin. The answer is: a disciplined lifestyle. I started a clean campaign on myself in my 20s. I removed foods that could imbalance the body’s pH levels. When I finally took the macrobiotic path, dairy, sugar, refined flour (maida), processed foods, foods with preservatives went out of my diet. I worked hard on restoring my body’s pH levels and a gut where good bacteria thrive. Lots of plant foods, whole grains (brown rice, millets), vegetables, legumes, good quality fermentated foods, nuts/seeds, fruit and some antioxidants (which I mostly got through food) is what I relied on. I also started eating fish recently.
Movement and exercise to oxygenate your body need to be an integral part of life. I have been practicing yoga, swimming, skipping, walking and strength training from when I was in school.
Detoxes are also on the calendar. Every year, before the month of March, I start detoxifying. Lighter foods, more juices and smoothies, and a diet of 30 percent raw and 70 per cent cooked foods makes it to my plate. In the summers, it changes to a 50:50 approach.
Fermentation is the cornerstone of my health practices. For good skin, inoculating the gut with good bacteria is essential. My book The Detox Diet has many recipes to help you along.
Always use a sun block, don’t smoke, and eat a diet rich in foods that contain phytonutrients (they have anti-inflammatory properties). No face cream, serum, or cleanser can work unless blood condition is in balance, and the gut, healthy. What you are on the inside, manifests on the outside.
Recipe: Khimchee
Ingredients:
Green papaya: 1 medium, peeled, seeded and julienned
Red bell pepper: ½ sweated, skinned, and julienned
Carrot: 1 medium, shredded,
Ginger: 1 ½ inch, sliced thin
Garlic: 2-3 pods, sliced thin
Apple cider vinegar: 1 ½ cup
Pineapple juice: ½ cup
Sea salt:1 tbsp
Method: Squeeze water from the julienned papaya, transfer it in a flat dish, spread and dry in the sun for one hour. Mix vinegar and salt in a small saucepan and simmer till everything dissolves, and add pineapple juice, and set aside. Combine the ingredients with papaya, add the liquid mixture, press mixture firmly into a jar and allow it to sit for an hour. It stays well for two weeks in the refrigerator
—Shonali Sabherwal is a macrobiotic nutritionist, chef, and instructor
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