I have been challenged to take The Super Elixir by WelleCo, from £36, - an alkalising greens powder - for 30 days over the festive period to see if it can counteract some of the sins of the season. Ahead of starting, I took some time to talk to its co-founder Elle Macpherson.
Elle is known for her body. But a few years back it stopped responding as well, ‘I was craving sugar, I was moody and hungry; my blood sugar levels were up and down’. Unlike, many of us, Elle’s pretty strict with her diet, ‘I couldn’t have been any stricter’ she laments, ‘I have to live, I love meringue and dark chocolate’.
It was a meeting with Dr Simone Laubscher (rejuv.co.uk) that set her on the right track, ‘I had no idea that my behavior could affect my body – I travel, I’m a working mum, always on the run, I like coffee, skip the odd meal and don’t sleep enough this was all making my body acidic’.
An overly acidic state has been linked with illness; our bodies should sit at 7.4 on the pH scale, which is slightly alkaline.
At first Laubscher prescribed Elle a cocktail of powders to take, but the model wanted something convenient – one supplement that she could easily travel with. And so the seed was planted for The Super Elixir. The duo spent over a year working on getting the right balance of ingredients, ‘I wanted something that would speed up the metabolism but not translate as hunger; I wanted to sleep better but not wake up groggy, we tweaked the formula and the taste to get it right’.
The green powder loved by Kate Moss and Daisy Lowe contains a blend of 45 ingredients from Acai to Zinc Citrate that helps put your body in an alkaline state. Taking 10g per day mixed with water should rid sugar cravings and unnecessary hunger, give you more energy and help give you a flatter stomach thanks to the probiotics.
Elle explains it should take just 10 days to see a difference. She takes hers with cold spring water or coconut water, although the WelleCo website has a wealth of smoothie recipes to inspire. Elle sometimes blends hers with almond milk, strawberries and banana, instead of breakfast.
So what does a typical day of eating look like for ‘the body’?
On waking: I have ½ litre of room temperature water.
Breakfast: apple compote – I stew organic apples and store them in the fridge. I heat a spoon of the apples and mix with chia seeds, linseed and flaseed before mixing with almonds and any fresh fruit such as raspberries and blueberries, it’s an alternative to porridge.
Mid morning: a couple of espressos
Late morning: 1.5 hours later I’ll take The Super Elixir (the delicate ingredients are not absorbed efficiently if taken at the same time as caffeine).
Lunch option 1: animal protein – chicken or fish with salad
Lunch option 2: vegetarian protein like quinoa or pulses with pearl barley, beetroot, kale and goats cheese – whatever is in the fridge.
Dinner option 1: vegetable soup with lentils
Dinner option 2: piece of fish or chicken with vegetables
Elle’s tips for December:
If you’re craving chocolate you’re probably lacking in magnesium. The ELLE team loves an Epsom salt bath to dose up on those salts.
If you’ve had a late night give yourself 20 minutes the next day to meditate or contemplate.
When it comes to exercise, like the Nike ad says ‘Just do it’, don’t think about it. No one has ever said ‘god I wish I didn’t do that workout’ – you always feel better afterwards.
Check back next week to see how to do The Super Elixir 30 Day Challenge and how team ELLE is getting on…
Amy Lawrenson is an established health and beauty journalist with over 13 years experience working for titles including ELLE, Women's Health and Byrdie. Today, Amy is based in Amsterdam and works as a freelance journalist creating copy for various brands and
titles.
