Webchat with Liz Earle, Wednesday 9 May at 9pm

[RachelMumsnet]

Liz Earle is joining us for an evening webchat on Wednesday 9 May between 9pm and 10pm where she’ll be on hand to answer your questions about health and wellbeing.

Liz Earle MBE has been a respected and award-winning authority in the world of beauty, natural health and wellbeing for over thirty years. She is the bestselling author of over 35 books (including her recent number one best-sellers The Good Gut Guide and The Good Menopause Guide, a TV presenter, an entrepreneur and a farmer. Liz is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Liz Earle Wellbeing a print and digital magazine, which is full of Liz’s personal advice, experience and research to bring you the best ways to look good and feel great. Liz lives with her husband and five children on their pasture-fed organic farm in the West Country.

We hope you can join Liz for the chat about health and wellbeing on Wednesday evening but, if you can't make it, feel free to post your advance questions for Liz here.

Hi all,

Many thanks for your questions so far - please keep them coming.

As this webchat is only a few hours away, we thought we'd post a quick link to our Live Webchat Guidelines and highlight point 4 which says: "Obviously you're free to voice your opinion, but do be civil/polite - please afford our guests the same cordiality you would if they stopped by your own house." We'd be really grateful if everyone could bear this one in mind.

Hi Liz, do you have any words of wisdom about the dreaded night sweats? I'm late 40s and bang in the middle of what I imagine is peri-menopause - not having any problems with hot flushes yet, but the night sweats are pretty horrible. Does anything make a difference? I don't drink (all that much!) alcohol, am not overweight and am fairly active, for what it's worth. Just not getting much sleep these days.

Hi Liz, Over the past few months I've really upped my exercise and am now doing different classes, running and yoga 4 or 5 times a week. However, I don't seem to have lost any weight . Although I am definitely more toned, my stomach still hangs over my jeans and I'm keen to lose about 1 stone. I have been looking into the 5:2 diet and wondered what your thoughts are on intermittent fasting. What would be your best advice to someone who is looking to shed afew pounds and look and feel lighter and more nimble!

Hello Liz,

I'm the mother of three teenage girls (who have all the usual teenage concerns about spots and diet and exercise - or make that lack of exercise ;) If you were able to give just one piece of advice to them about health and wellbeing, what would it be?

I was a Liz Earle customer in the very early days and loved your original products. When I recently picked up a copy of your magazine I was immediately put off by the extreme air-brushing/manipulation of the cover image. (Spring issue)
It seemed so at odds with the natural approach and lifestyle which you promote. Would you consider a more down to earth, realistic presentation?

Hi Liz I am a big fan of your books and your podcast. I would love to know your tips on how to manage healthy eating, exercise, beauty and self care etc with a busy family and job. How do you fit it all in! Thanks x

Could you give us Three top tips for better wellbeing (internal or external), thank you.

Good evening and a warm welcome to Liz Earle who is joining us this evening to answer as many Qs as possible over the next hour. Welcome Liz, and over to you...

Hello!
Good to be back and thanks for joining me here to chat all things Wellbeing :)
XLiz

@ppeatfruit

Oooh this is exciting ! Lovely to have the opportunity to communicate with you Liz. I've got your Vital Oils books and I've taken the advice to have EPO every day and I have 2 table spoonfuls of linseeds in my seasonal smoothies every day! I use mostly essential oils in my daily routine too. T tree is the most incredible mouth wash and deodorant!

One thing to mention to you, as a scientist, is that I follow my Blood Type Diet (by Dr. Peter D'Adamo) and at 67 am the healthiest person I know! (including many much younger than me , I know it's not a coincidence). I wondered if you have ever come across it? it explains the many reactions we all have to different foods etc.

Hello – thanks so much. Vital Oils was my first book 28 years ago! And one of the first to highlight the importance of essential fatty acids in the diet at a time when the world seemed to be turning low-fat. Really pleased to hear this has helped you. Am not sure about the Blood Type Diet tbh, it’s certainly an interesting theory and if it works for you then great!! LX
PS Sorry about the discontinuation of the cosmetics – a decision made by the company’s owners after they took it over a couple of years ago now (tho’ the brand was first sold back in 2010). X

@TheRumoursFive

Liz - I had an earlyish menopause (46) and my GP said no need to take anything as I wasn't having any unpleasant symptoms. Then in 2015 NICE guidelines changed but still GP wasn't keen to prescribe HRT and I had too much life stress going on to argue.

So now, I'm about 9 years post meno and panicking about heart disease and brittle bones. Is it too late for me to adopt the advice given in your book - I'm too scared to do too much research in case I've missed the boat!

Hello TheRumoursFive - The NICE guidelines clearly state women should be prescribed HRT if they want/are able to take it. Never too late to start – I know ladies in their 60’s who started taking it to stop their longterm debilitating symptoms such as crippling anxiety and night sweats. Not too late no, although research shows the earlier you start HRT the better protection it confers re. CHD and osteoporosis (and new studies on helping prevent dementia too). LX

@PoliticalBiscuit

I would love to know if drinking water is all it's cracked up to be? Are you absolutely sure that drinking coffee isn't just as good?

I read a couple of days ago how to tell the difference between dry skin and dehydration and I wonder if I've been complaining about my problem skin but really, that 2 litres of water a day that everyone's talked about for years isn't actually bollocks like I had assumed.

Hello PoliticalBiscuit,
Well, tea and coffee are both diuretic so unlikely to hydrate as well… tho’ tea does also contain a little bit of magnesium. Coffee is not all that bad either – see this!
lizearlewellbeing.com/health-benefits-of-coffee/
I think drinking water is a good thing all round (many headaches are caused by dehydration, so drink water before reaching for a painkiller), but the amount is not exact science – depends on if you are exercising, losing moisture due to hot flushes (!!) etc
LX

@Ilovesliz

Liz, you advocate drinking collagen in the form or bone broth. Is there a vegan alternative?

Hello Ilovesliz (is that me??!!)
Collagen comes from bones, so no vegan alternative… however you can eat the amino acids that are the building blocks of collagen (glycine, lysine, proline…). You can try eating foods that contain some of these (as a vegan you’ll hopefully know all this anyway) such as asparagus, beetroot and sea veg, especially spirulina as it contains gut soothing glutamine or veggie broths containing skiitake mushrooms, miso and fermented soy foods. hth,
X

@AuntyElle

I was a Liz Earle customer in the very early days and loved your original products. When I recently picked up a copy of your magazine I was immediately put off by the extreme air-brushing/manipulation of the cover image. (Spring issue) It seemed so at odds with the natural approach and lifestyle which you promote. Would you consider a more down to earth, realistic presentation?

Hello AuntyElle,
I don’t much like my image being re-touched no,, although for a magazine cover it’s common to highlight the whites of the eyes and change the colour balance. The spring issue cover wasn’t extremely air brushed or manipulated - if an image looks re-touched it may be because our studio lighting is rather flattering! You’ll find plenty of laughter lines inside the magazine that were shot outside. As an aside – I recently emailed my mag designer to complain about her shrinking the size of my arm in a shot in my new summer issue, only to be told in a huffed tone that she hadn’t touched the image, it was just shot at a very flattering angle ;)

@Bakingberry

Hi Liz

Do you have any tips that would help give me a boost when I'm feeling sluggish or low on energy?

Hello Bakingberry,
Re. low energy, many women are low in iron without realizing this (we’ve been researching a piece on this for my magazine), especially if you have heavy periods (a significant cause of iron loss) or don’t eat much red meat. If you are a meat-eater, add a bit more meat into your diet (grass-fed is higher in Omega-3’s) or I like a veggie tonic containing a readily absorbable form of iron called Floradix. Funnily enough, exercise often gives you more energy – sounds weird but it works.
X

Good evening Liz, What's your biggest recommendations for combatting wrinkles and maintaining youthful looking skin?

@Blondie1984

Hi Liz

In some of your books (like The Good Gut Guide) you give recommendations on diet however I can't seem to see what your nutrition credentials are - please can you share?
This is particularly of interest to me as the concept of detoxing and cleansing the system is something that I know a lot of professionals take issue with as the body (liver, kidneys, skin) takes care of this for us without needing us to intervene

Hi Blondie1984
I’ve been working as a writer and researcher in the world of health, wellbeing and nutrition for over 30 years and I report on current findings, so if you look in some of my books, such as The Good Gut Guide, you’ll find all the clinical references etc at the back of the book. I tend not to use the word ‘detox’ so much - although it is useful to give the body a break from overloading it with stimulants (alcohol, caffeine, sugar etc) which is what I would tend to classify as ‘cleansing’ and also to help re-populate with beneficial bacteria to boost our microbiome (in terms of better gut health), where supplementary intervention can often be helpful.
X

@GorkyPark

Hi Liz, I saw that you have recently written a book about menopause and wondered what advice you have for those of us reaching peri-menopause. Should we adapt our lives at all? I enjoy running but have been told that this isn't such a good sport for menopausal women. Also any advice on hot flushes? Are there any food supplements you would recommend? Finally (sorry, lots of questions) what are your views on HRT?

Hi GorkyPark,
Thanks – running is great for menopausal women as it’s weight bearing, so helps maintain bone density… Some women may have achy joints as a result of declining oestrogen levels, so may find running harder, but if you’re topping up your levels with oestrogen (HRT) then you should be fine. Do take a listen to my Podcast on this with Niamh Barker when she talks about menopause, depression and HRT (and running!). I’m a fan of HRT in the form of gels/patches (NHS prescribed). Lots more on www.lizearlewellbeing.com on this… (Menopause category under the Live Well tab)
X

@TrumpTrump

Hi Liz? What's your favourite (non-Liz Earle) beauty product that's under £10?

Hello TrumpTrump,
I love purified lanolin, fantastic skin salve and great for the lips too. Am never without a tube… Am also researching retinoids atm for a beauty special for my Liz Earle Wellbeing magazine – these are pretty fascinating and there’s several budget ranges, eg The Ordinary and Beauty Pie that come in under £10. HTH X

Hi Liz,

As a new first time mum, my skin has become very dull, oily and the bags under my eyes are worse than ever. Make up just seems to make me shiny and greasy no matter what brand I try. I am trying to wear minimal make up now, so what products or routines would you recommend to get my skin glowing and less oily!! Thanks

Hi Liz, What do you consider to be your biggest achievement to date? And what do you hope to achieve in the future?

Liz I have awful rosacea that flares and then goes away. Any advice?

@spaghettiWeston

Hi Liz, do you have any words of wisdom about the dreaded night sweats? I'm late 40s and bang in the middle of what I imagine is peri-menopause - not having any problems with hot flushes yet, but the night sweats are pretty horrible. Does anything make a difference? I don't drink (all that much!) alcohol, am not overweight and am fairly active, for what it's worth. Just not getting much sleep these days.

Hi spaghettiWeston,
Night sweats are caused by declining oestrogen levels, so best way to stop them is to top up oestrogen levels with a patch or gel (body identical oestrogen is readily available on the NHS from GP - it is derived from wild yams, not many GPs know that! is very safe too - I write more about this in my book, The Good Menopause Guide). if you want to go the herbal route, black cohosh probably best bet but some studies say effectiveness is no more than placebo. Also take care with dosage and only buy an approved product as can cause liver failure if over do it... Herbal supplements can be helpful but they should be used as directed... Hope helpful X

Hi Liz

I really enjoy reading your wellbeing magazine and books. Any clues as to what your next book will be about?

@Madorange

Hi Liz I am a big fan of your books and your podcast. I would love to know your tips on how to manage healthy eating, exercise, beauty and self care etc with a busy family and job. How do you fit it all in! Thanks x

Hi Madorange and big thanks :) I love eating well so 'managing' that is not a struggle - if you get my mag you'll know all the lovely recipes and I test all these for a living! fab job. Self-care? Well, i go for a run most mornings (only 20 mins or so, but enough to give my metabolism a boost and get my skin glowing). After writing my book on gut health, the Good Gut Guide, i now drink a glass of kefir every morning and swear that gives me more energy and boosts skin... I try and be super-organised with lots of lists when it comes to family life - and not to sweat too much over the small stuff then things (inevitably!) go a bit awry. Taking HRT has helped me to sleep better - and a good night's sleep helps on every level!! LX