How to Lower Your Stress Levels

If your stress levels have become overwhelming or are causing you to have physical symptoms such as IBS, Acid Reflux, high blood pressure, head aches or other aches and pains, this blog will offer you some strategies to help.

Stress can be neutral, positive or negative.  While a little stress can encourage growth, adaptation and progress (such as with exercise that you enjoy), too much stress can affect countless functions in the body such as high cortisol and adrenaline, suppressing production of sex hormones, raised blood pressure, fatigue and mental ill-health.

What often tends to put physical stress on our bodies is often the product of what happens in our heads.  The human brain is the most sophisticated thinking machine on Earth, but boy are we good at inventing problems for ourselves!

Self-care is key to building up some resilience to daily challenges that can be interpreted as stress.  A good first step is to make sure that you eat well to support a healthy brain and body.

Food for a Healthy Body and Mind

• Lots of water, teas and moderate amounts of caffeinated drinks

• Minimal sugar and avoid artificial sweeteners

• Protein with every meal

• Oily fish

• Nuts, especially walnuts

• Dark berries

• Very dark chocolate – yay!

• Lots of veggies, especially leafy greens

• Tryptophan-rich foods (these help to make happy and sleep hormones!) – these include cherries, strawberries, dairy products, oats, nuts, soy and poultry

What Else Can I Do About Stress?

You cannot take away all stress triggers in your life – many things that happen are not within our control.  But working on resilience to cope with all of your day-to-day challenges will make a big difference to how your body responds to stress.

When you are overwhelmed, over-committed, overburdened or overworked, doing anything about your stress levels can seem insurmountable.

But like many other recommendations I make to clients, baby steps and trying one little thing at a time can help you on your way.  When you have little successes and notice how those little things can make you feel good, you will start to see a way through any difficult aspects of your life and feel motivated to move on to slightly bigger steps, and so on.

One thing to remember is that when you have others to care for or responsibility that affects other people, the impact of stress can make you less effective, less tolerant and have less of the energy you need.  So, looking after yourself benefits everyone else because you become the best version of yourself for those around you.

If you can find one thing to try from the options below, start there and before you know it you may have built in a few of these as non-negotiables to feel better in yourself and stay well:

1. ASK FOR HELP

If you’re fearful or ashamed of admitting you cannot do everything, you are far from alone.  But everyone has their limits and regularly pushing yourself past what feels comfortable to cope with mentally, emotionally, or physically can lead to burnout.

People often want to be of help but do not always know how to offer it or what you need.  It may be that friends or relatives are not only happy to help, but would get the feel-good effect of being helpful too.  Even if you think something is too much to ask, put everything you need help with down onto paper.  Then be specific about what someone can help you with (what, when, how, why) and you may be pleasantly surprised at the outcome.

What happens if they say no?  Well, they could.  But equally you have the right to say no to things that don’t work for you either.  If they say no, it’s not about you, but about them and what’s going on in their life.  But don’t give up!  Speak to other people you trust, or perhaps the timing might have been off and the person you asked will be ready to help another time.

2. GET THOUGHTS ONTO PAPER

If your head is always swimming with worries, tasks and dilemmas, journalling is a good way to get some of those thoughts out of your head. You can use bullet points, a mind map, full sentences, poetry, or any style that makes sense to you. Lists may be another way to make sure you do not forget anything without using too much mental energy on it.

3. EXPERIMENT WITH MINDFULNESS

Although the idea of mindfulness or meditation can seem a little niche, the act of mindfulness is simply being fully present in any part of your day. In other words, giving something your full, undivided attention. This could be your morning shower, eating, walking, doing a chore, a lecture, conversation or taking in your surroundings.

Every time your mind wanders off to thoughts, you bring yourself back to the present moment, using your senses. Your brain is designed to think – a lot! So be kind to yourself when it naturally goes off into thought.

The magic of using mindfulness is that over time, you can catch yourself in unhelpful thought threads and bring yourself back to the present moment more quickly. This leads to less rumination and creating problems in your imagination, which can be pretty draining.

4. MOVEMENT

Any form of movement that feels good to you is a great way to release tension and clear your mind. If it feels unrealistic to fit 45 minute or hour-long sessions in where you are at, starting with getting up from your desk every 30 minutes and doing some gentle stretches may be manageable. If you feel drawn to certain types of activity such as a brisk walk, yoga, pilates, martial arts, running, dance or any other type of movement, then work with what you are going to love. Even some vigorous housework or gardening counts, although that’s not everyone’s idea of fun!

5. BE HONEST ABOUT HOW YOU FEEL AND YOUR LIMITS

This can involve a process of building up to a conversation. Take your time and write down what you need to say. Give yourself plenty of time to think about the best way to get yours points across. If you have a safe person to rehearse your conversation with, then you can find the best way to say what you need to in an assertive but non-confrontational way.

6. TAKE BREAKS

A good way to help this to happen is to plan and schedule breaks, whether they are a few minutes, up to a couple of hours or even a day off.  And not just from your work or study – it’s important to take breaks from being a main carer, spending time around people that take up a lot of your energy, from technology and from being on the go.

These breaks could be as simple as stopping what you’re doing and spending a few minutes sitting, lying or standing somewhere quiet, taking yourself away to somewhere else or going for a walk.

7. NOTICE YOUR BREATHING

You may have noticed that your breathing tends to change when you are stressed. The great thing however is that by becoming aware of the change in your breathing, you can learn how to make subtle changes to your breathing pattern to calm your mind and body.

You can start first by observing how your body feels when you breathe, when you are in a safe place on your own and with minimal distractions.  Make a mental note of how your mind feels.  Then gently try to extend your exhale, or breathe a little deeper into your belly, and try a few rounds breathing in this way.  See how your mental state compares to when you started.

When you feel your stress levels rising, focusing on those exhales can help to tell your nervous system that you are safe and that you can cope with the challenges at hand.

8. USE THE SENSE OF PHYSICAL TOUCH

Feeling gentle sensations on your skin can be very calming for the nervous system.  We all have different sensitivity to touch and so you may have your own preference for either very light touch, firm pressure or somewhere in between.  Take ticklish feet for example!

There are lots of therapies that involve touch (for example massage, reflexology, having a facial, Bowen therapy), but you can also very quickly use gentle self-massage at no cost at all, such as on your hands and arms.  Learning some simple tapping techniques, known as EFT on acupressure points can quickly help to relax yourself also.

Bath and shower time is a great opportunity to bring in the sense of touch, whether it’s the use of a body scrub, taking a few extra minutes to moisturise or using good old mindfulness again to become tuned in to the feeling of water on your skin.

9. GET A COACH

If your stress stems from overwhelm and it’s hard to see a way through it, a coach may be able to help. A coach can work with you in a way that empowers you and helps you to find manageable steps that you can take to get closer to your goals.

There are so many different types of coach, depending on what you need help with.  A few examples include health, business, relationship, divorce, life, grief and spiritual coaches.  You have every right to make enquiries with a range of coaches before you decide on someone who you feel aligned with and would be a good fit for you.

10. CONSIDER OTHER THERAPIES

If you are chronically stressed and no matter what you do, you feel as though you are destined to be forever on an uphill struggle, this may be a call to action that deeper issues are getting in the way of joy.

We are all mostly operating in autopilot, run by a system (brain) that mostly formed it’s programming when we were young.  What tends to happen when we have experiences as a child or teen, is that our brain stores beliefs that were completely appropriate for a child’s mind.  But many of the beliefs we have stored no longer serve us, hold us back and create unnecessary misery. 

Examples of how these beliefs might manifest include low self-worth, imposter syndrome, people pleasing, generalised anxiety, self-neglect, addictions, depression, emotional eating and difficulty in relationships and friendships.

Experiences in adult life can also create PTSD which often goes undiagnosed, while many people need some help to work through bereavement, loss, experience of discrimination or sudden life changes. 

There are a range of styles of therapy that can help you overcome many of the daily challenges that you might be experiencing.  If you are worried about opening up and revealing your deepest secrets, there are other ways that a skilled therapist can help you to address your issues.  No good therapist will ever make you say or do anything that you do not want to.

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Victoria Bell is a Registered Nutritional Therapist, Health Coach, Breathwork Coach and qualified as a Mindfulness Teacher for Children.  To enquire about her Women’s Wellbeing Coaching Programme or to get help with IBS or perimenopause you can contact her here or book a free 30-minute Health Review here.

Does Stress Cause IBS?

If you have been secretly dealing with uncomfortable symptoms such as bloating, constipation or diarrhoea for quite some time, you are not alone.  Or were you absolutely fine and suddenly these symptoms came from nowhere?  Have you been wondering if stress could have caused these problems for you?  You will find plenty of clues about whether stress is a possible cause in this blog.

But wait.  I don’t know if I have IBS

If you haven’t already spoken with your GP, it’s important to take your concerns to them first.  Especially if your bowel habits have changed suddenly, you are getting frequent diarrhoea, if you are having pain that never goes away, and (sorry for TMI) if you are seeing blood in your poo. 

If you experience unexplained weight loss alongside any of these symptoms or you feel full when eating very little, it’s also best to get these symptoms checked out.

Doctors will listen carefully to your symptoms and may run some tests to rule out certain possible causes. It is often when all these checks have been done and no other causes have been identified that irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is diagnosed.

Testing for IBS

IBS is a functional gastrointestinal disorder (FGID), with no standard testing options to diagnose it in the UK.  However, if your tummy is swollen and painful when you see your GP, they may feel your abdomen and identify whether distention (when there is a build-up of gas in your bowels) is present and this is a common problem in IBS.

Blood tests, x-rays, ultrasound or internal investigations such as endoscopies are all testing options that can be used to rule out other causes.

The science bit

According to the Mayo Clinic, FGIDs are “brain-gut interaction disorders that affect 1 in every 4 adults.” There are other FGIDs in this category and it is estimated that IBS affects between 10 and 20 percent of people in the UK.  The most common age group to develop these symptoms are in their twenties or thirties (BUPA).

The distinction between IBS and other bowel disorders is identified by the lack of evidence of an “organic disorder” (for example a blockage or ulcer), any structural abnormality or other potential cause of long-lasting gastrointestinal symptoms (Mayo Clinic).

A common characteristic of IBS is persistent or recurrent pain or discomfort and altered bowel habits.  This can show up as frequent constipation, diarrhoea, or a mixture of the two.

Medical Treatments

If IBS is suspected, your GP may offer medications such as antispasmodics, pain relief or even a mild antidepressant which relaxes the gut.  With constipation, laxatives may be offered, while an anti-diarrhoeal medication may be used for diarrhoea. 

When acid reflux features as a recurring problem, you may be offered a type of medication called a Proton Pump Inhibitor (PPI), such as omeprazole, pantoprazole or lansoprazole.  These medications prevent production of stomach acid and last for up to 24 hours.  These medications however are intended for short term use until the root of the problem is resolved.

Many people will often try over-the-counter medicines that suppress their symptoms temporarily, only to find that they need to return to the medication repeatedly or the symptoms quickly return.

Other side-effects of IBS

Clients often describe feeling and looking like they’re seven months pregnant, or their bellies swelling up and cramps soon after eating.  Many people find that certain foods will trigger a quick onset of these symptoms and may find themselves avoiding lots of foods.  Or for some they may feel worried or fearful about eating anything in case they have a flare up.

You may find that your clothes feel tight or that you can’t or don’t want to wear favourite outfits because of the discomfort or embarrassment about your swollen abdomen.

And sadly, many people who suffer with IBS find themselves worrying about trips out in public, social occasions, eating out and may even find themselves needing to plan their activities based on whether a loo is nearby.  This can make unfamiliar places or travelling more stressful.

Is Stress the Cause?

IBS is a complex condition involving lots of different systems including nerves, hormones and muscles in the digestive tract, plus digestive enzymes and the microbiome – the trillions of bacteria and other organisms in the gut.  And then of course there’s the interaction of food itself with the gut.  So, there’s seldom one clear cause.

For some people, IBS arises after a tummy bug, food poisoning, or use of strong antibiotics.  IBS can seem to run in families, implying a possible familial disposition.  This may potentially involve certain genetics and often involves the nervous system too.

While an imbalanced diet may potentially be a big trigger, one issue that often seems to lead up to the development of IBS is stress.

Not all Stress is Equal

Stress itself can be neutral, good, or unhelpful.  For example, we experience physical stress when we exert ourselves, which generally keeps us fit and encourages adaptation in the muscles.  And generally, exercise can make us feel pretty good!  But over-exercising and inadequate rest can put too much stress on the body and drive cortisol up - the stress hormone.

You may well have met the type of person who seems to breeze through life and be able to deal with absolutely anything and function on little rest.  Or perhaps you’re all too familiar with your own tendency to try and burn the candle at both ends? Or trying to please everyone and never putting yourself first?

Internalising stress so that you do not show it on the outside can mean that on the inside, the body is still having to deal with being overburdened. 

Then, you might also have met the type of person who seems to be very easily tipped over the edge.  Running on adrenaline, reacting to everything, missing all the good things and on high alert for all the dangers, risks and failings they can easily see in life?

Often people who are at this stage were once the swans, appearing to glide along while under the surface their legs were madly paddling away.  Too long in this mode and never quite dealing with it can tend to push you towards burnout.

As you near burnout, you can often find yourself reacting to everything, losing control of your emotions.  It’s like being on a runaway train.

Unresolved grief, trauma, big life changes and being unable to speak truthfully around friends or loved ones are all other reasons why the body can start to show physical stress.

Adverse Childhood Experiences

The long-term health effects of serious trauma experienced by children has been repeatedly studied in recent decades.  A significant experience causing trauma or distress to children is known as an Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE).

The Rome Foundation, a not-for-profit organization working to provide the most up to date information on gut-brain disorders to health practitioners, has documented key studies on this subject. Their article on chronic stress and IBS makes for interesting reading. Most significantly, 76% of people with IBS have suffered at least 1 ACE.  The higher the amount of ACEs, the higher the risk for IBS.

Large scale studies have shown that as well as IBS, ACEs can increase the risk of heart disease, diabetes, chronic lung disease, obesity and substance abuse.

Chronic Stress

We’re supposed to experience little bursts of stress as human beings.  It helps us to stay alive, avoid serious injury (most of the time!), achieve and succeed at things in life. 

Back in the times when we didn’t have jobs, the time spent foraging, hunting and escaping predators was actually quite a small part of our awake time.  Most of it would have been spent relaxing, eating together, playing and doing activities that gave enjoyment.

We are not designed to spend our days switching in and out of a stressed state most of the time.

A job we don’t enjoy, excessive working hours, financial worries, disharmony in relationships and friendships, over-consuming social media, addictions, habits that cause us more pain than joy, not being physically active…. The list could go on and on, these all contribute to chronic stress. 

If this is the state you live in for years or decades, rather than just minutes or hours, this is a long time for stress to be affecting how your body functions.

How Does Stress Affect IBS?

As an embryo, the large bundle of nerves in your gut started to develop before your brain did.  Which is why the gut is sometimes referred to as your second brain!  There is a constant cross-talk between your digestive tract (muscles and friendly bacteria especially) and the dense network of nerves linking your gut and your brain.

This is why an upsetting experience, or even an exciting one, can trigger a clenching of the gut, “butterflies” or even an upset tummy.

One way that early-life stress and trauma can create the conditions for IBS is by heightening the sensitivity of the nerves in the gastrointestinal tract. This can cause the gut to be more sensitive, and in response the muscular contractions stimulated by the nerves affected are more extreme.  This can cause the gut to spasm, contributing to the cramps, pain and sometimes diarrhoea.  And it’s why anti-spasmodic medications are often prescribed and can provide relief.

The changes in nerve sensitivity can become permanent, making a child who has had trauma have permanent hypersensitivity.  This effect can also take hold during the teen years and early twenties.

Another effect is the way that stress turns off the part of the nervous system that helps to digest food. This is the parasympathetic nervous system, also known as “rest and digest” mode.  When you are in the “fight or flight” mode, known as the sympathetic nervous system, blood is diverted to vital organs and many bodily functions are suppressed to allow you to fight or flee.

During this time, you do not produce so much stomach acid or digestive enzymes.  The stomach acid helps to break down protein, and the digestive enzymes help you to break down all of your food.  So, food will sit for longer in your stomach and small intestine.

When Stress Becomes a Problem

It’s normal to switch briefly in and out of the sympathetic nervous mode (fight or flight) numerous times each day, normally in response to automatic cues in the body to breathe, pump blood around your body and to maintain balance with all your systems. 

But when a stressful event happens, you spend longer in this mode, telling your mind and body that you are not safe.

This is all fine if you accidentally step into the road and need to move quickly to get out of the way of a car, but if you spend hours in this prolonged state (say always having high pressure at work, having difficult relationships and so on), your digestive capacity is being switched off for long periods of time.

All the hours of suppression of your digestive system can lower your stomach acid, prevent enzymes from being sent in to digest certain foods, and allow food to sit for longer in the gut fermenting and causing uncomfortable symptoms such as bloating and smelly gas.

Plus, when your food is not being digested well, there is no way of knowing how much of the nutrients you need for your health are being absorbed to be used, or just passing through.  You could be eating all the right foods and be left wondering why your tummy feels bad, you feel tired and your skin isn’t glowing like all the healthy eating messages promised you it would be!

Friendly Bacteria

Everything about our health is reliant on the balance of bacteria and other organisms that outnumber our human cells, known as the microbiome.  We actually have several microbiomes, the best known one being in the gut.

When we have mostly friendly bacteria, they all run the show and keep everything ticking along.  Absolutely every function in your body depends on this. 

When you experience stress, the cross-talk between your nervous system and gut influences which types of bacteria thrive.  Not only just that, but the way that your stressed state suppresses your digestion also weakens your guts defences against more harmful types of bacteria.

This creates a recipe for an imbalanced gut microbiome – often too few of some of the types of friendly bacteria and an overgrowth of the less friendly ones.  When present in small amounts, many of the more harmful or pathogenic bacteria are generally kept under control by the other microbes and immune defences. 

But when left unchecked, these bacteria wreak havoc – interfering with how you detoxify and get rid of toxins and oestrogen, creating their own toxins and challenging your gut’s immunity.  And of course, what you’ll tend to notice first will be digestive symptoms such as bloating, diarrhoea, constipation, reflux, tiredness, feeling sluggish, skin break outs and more!

Food Intolerances

Often another symptom of an imbalanced gut microbiome is reactivity to certain foods.  This can often be temporary – the symptoms you get can be the result of the types of bacteria that are overabundant or lacking in the gut.  You may be low on those digestive enzymes that are not being secreted because of the dampening effect of being stressed most of the time.

Many clients come to me having already undertaken food intolerance tests, or otherwise avoiding a growing list of foods, because they are under the impression that their intolerance is likely to be permanent.

Addressing the balance of the gut microbiome with a balanced diet is an important step to move towards being able to tolerate all foods well again.  But if stress is a big factor in your life, stress-reduction needs to also be part of your recovery.

For some tips on how to address your stress levels, you can read on here.

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Victoria Bell is a Registered Nutritional Therapist, Health Coach, Breathwork Coach and qualified as a Mindfulness Teacher for Children.  To enquire about her Women’s Wellbeing Coaching Programme or to get help with your IBS you can contact her here or book a free 30-minute Health Review here.

How to get help with your perimenopause

If you caught Davina MCall’s documentary on Channel 4 ‘Sex, Myths and the Menopause’, you may already have shed a tear or two about how many women have been let down by a lack of awareness and support for their menopause.

Or are you frustrated that you didn’t know what had hit you when your own perimenopause started? Are you still not sure that what you are going through even is the perimenopause?

If you have been experiencing brain fog, low moods, anxiety, irritability or rage, disrupted periods, hot flushes, vaginal dryness, insomnia or sweating, you may have started to wonder. There are so many more symptoms! A survey amongst women rounded up 34 symptoms of menopause but so little research is done on perimenopause and menopause that there are many others that are not on the list.

Whilst many people are working hard to raise awareness and get better help in place for all women during this normal and significant life phase, are you hoping there might be more help now for you when you really need it?

Sadly at present in the UK, an opportunity is missed for guidance about diet and lifestyle habits that could relieve menopausal symptoms to be shared with us all. So much is left for you to find out for yourself! But that said, there are lots of things that you can do that would help to have an easier ride.

Don’t worry – we will get to how you can get help elsewhere!

Let’s start with diet and lifestyle - and what may help with your perimenopause:

1. Minimising sugary foods and refined carbohydrates such as white pasta, bread and quick cook rice helps to balance your blood sugar. This reduces the risk of diabetes which can be higher during the perimenopause because of fluctuating oestrogen and progesterone.

2. Self-care strategies to reduce susceptibility to stress is important because the adrenal glands have to take over making oestrogen and progesterone. This can make you more prone to exhaustion. Some options to relax include walking, gentle exercise like yoga and meditation.

3. Increasing the quantity of foods which contain phytoestrogens can help to restore some balance. Phytoestrogens are found in some plant-based foods that act as weak oestrogens. Examples include chickpeas, peanuts, flaxseed, soybean, oats, broccoli, carrots, apples grapes, berries, plums and green/black tea.

4. Minimal alcohol consumption will reduce fatigue, headaches and weight gain, all of which are more prevalent during the perimenopause.

5. By limiting your intake of fatty foods, caffeine and salt, can help to reduce many of the problems such as hot flashes, irritability and insomnia.

6. Oily fish or fish oil can help to balance out your hormones, improve brain health and they are anti-inflammatory – reducing aches, pains and other inflammatory conditions.

If you need help with your diet, working with a nutritional therapist is one of the many ways to get support and help to keep you on track. Nutritional therapists can also advise on personalised supplement options and order private health tests for you to find out any underlying causes of worsened perimenopause or digestive issues such as irritable bowel syndrome. Also known as IBS for short, this common condition will often flare up or even start during the perimenopausal years.

Some women find that during this time their thyroid stops functioning well, leading most often to an underactive thyroid, or hypothyroidism. This can show up as feeling very cold when everyone else seems to be warm enough, weight gain, constipation, feeling sluggish, struggling to rise in the morning and foggy thinking.

Having your thyroid tested by your doctor can help, and a nutritional therapist can work with you to help identify why your thyroid is struggling and how to help you get back on an even keel.

Wondering how else you can get help with perimenopause?

Some of these might seem obvious but we’re often unsure to whom we can turn. Hopefully some of these will inspire you and give you some fresh options to try:

1. Fitness, yoga or pilates instructors who have a specialism in midlife or menopausal health - there are so many women who can help you to find activity that really works for your body with your energy levels. These experts often are well connected also to refer you for other therapies or people who can help.

2. Counsellors, hypnotherapists, NLP practitioners or life coaches – again, many of these have special training and knowledge about what you are going through. They may be able to help you have a safe space to talk and give you tools to find peace and acceptance, both which may help to reduce your stress levels and in turn your symptoms.

4. Your GP – it’s always best to start a conversation with your doctor, especially if you have any severe symptoms or need to rule out other possible causes. If you find that you don’t get the response that you want, you could ask to be referred to a specialist menopause clinic.

5. Friends and family – Starting a dialogue so people know how they can help you and if there’s anything they can do that would make your life a bit easier during this challenging time isn’t selfish. In fact, many people may be a bit embarrassed to ask but would love some direction from you on what they can do that would help you to feel a bit better. You may even discover other women were too embarrassed to speak up about similar challenges!

GET A COMPLEMENTARY HEALTH REVIEW >>

If you would like support with any perimenopausal symptoms, email me at info@victoriabellnutrition.co.uk or book in a complementary 30-minute health review.

What are the 34 symptoms of menopause? And 5 that will surprise you most

It’s little wonder that the area of menopause health is a growing area for focus when a commonly Googled question is ‘What are the 34 symptoms of menopause?’ When you start to research, many people are surprised that there are so many symptoms and some of them are not widely known. In this blog, we will explore 5 of the symptoms of menopause which can often be overlooked by caregivers and women themselves.

So, what are the 34 symptoms of menopause?

According to the London PMS and Menopause Clinic, there are 34 symptoms of menopause that are officially recognised by medics due to ongoing research.

1. Hot flushes

2. Night sweats

3. Irregular periods

4. Mood swings

5. Vaginal dryness

6. Decreased libido

7. Headaches

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8. Breast soreness

9. Burning mouth

10. Joint pain

11. Digestive problems

12. Electric shocks

13. Muscle tension

14. Gum problems

15. Tingling

16. Itchy skin

17. Fatigue

18. Disrupted sleep

19. Hair loss

20. Memory lapses

21. Poor concentration

22. Anxiety

23. Weight gain

24. Dizzy spells

25. Bloating

26. Stress incontinence

27. Brittle nails

28. Allergies

29. Irregular heartbeat

30. Body odour

31. Irritability

32. Depression

33. Panic disorder

34. Osteoporosis

(List compiled by The London PMS and Menopause Clinic)

Some of these symptoms are widely known and spoken about, such as hot flushes, night sweats and irregular periods. Others have had much less press and many women are not aware that what they are experiencing is a menopause symptom.

Want a complementary health review? >>

5 symptoms of menopause that may surprise you:

1. Memory lapses

Fluctuating oestrogen levels can impact the brain, making it harder for you to remember the right word, memorise data and even recall what you went into a room to retrieve. Mild memory problems may be irritating but strategies such as note taking and having routines can help with this symptom. More pronounced memory issues are sometimes bad enough to cause women to leave their jobs or stop driving because they no longer feel capable. Changes to diet, exercise and managing stress can help with these issues.

2. Body odour

The body’s natural scent is affected by hormone levels so you may find that your odour alters during menopause and this can be distressing. This can sometimes be caused by the body’s inability to eliminate toxins due to sluggish digestion. Toxins are excreted via sweat glands causing an odour change.

3. Burning mouth

Burning Mouth Syndrome affects the tongue and the inside of the mouth and lips which experience burning, stinging or tingling sensations. It’s believed to be caused by oestrogen and other hormone imbalance and can affect up to 1 in 3 women. Some women also suffer from strange tastes, dry mouth and sensitivity to certain foods. There are a range of options including improving the diet to help manage symptoms.

4. Electric shocks

Electric shock sensations are felt throughout the body. These are due to inappropriate firing of neurons due to changing oestrogen levels and are often felt before or after a hot flush. This symptom is not dangerous, but it can feel rather unpleasant and can be relieved by addressing the hormone level fluctuations.

5. Allergies

As oestrogen levels drop this can impact the nervous system, causing the body to produce more histamine. Histamine is a protective substance but if the body is stressed it can produce excess and this can lead to allergy symptoms. Women can suddenly become allergic to things that have never been a problem before.

As with all menopause symptoms, there are many remedies and options which could help to alleviate some of the issues. Improving your nutrition can play a huge part in reducing problems such as allergies, weight gain, brittle nails, joint pain and digestive issues. It’s also possible that better diet and supplementation could reduce the severity of mental health related problems such as anxiety, depression and memory problems.

Get a complementary health review >>

If you would like support with any of the 34 symptoms of menopause, download my free guide to healthy happy hormones or email me at info@victoriabellnutrition.co.uk.

Why am I constantly tired? Is this normal?

Does the idea of springing out of bed in the mornings and breezing through your day seem like something you outgrew when you hit your teens?  Or do you look back and wonder when you stopped feeling that way and started putting constant tiredness and lack of energy down to age? 

As we hit our 30s, 40s, 50s and beyond, many of us despair at the vague signs of ageing that creep in over time.  Whether it’s a few grey hairs, thinner hair or a noticeable difficulty in retaining the same shape we had in our 20s, we generally figure out that it’s a sign of us approaching a new life stage and needing to consider the way we look after our bodies to slow the process down! 

Energy is one of those things, that we can easily pass off as something you just have less of as you get a little older.  But hang on, isn’t our 40s meant to be the new 30s and our 50s the new 40s?  Aren’t we supposed to be glowing with vitality and self confidence as we celebrate more years of wisdom and getting more in tune with what we need in life? 

Would it surprise you to know, that being tired all the time, having big energy slumps throughout the day and lacking in energy isn’t something we should consider as normal? 

Here’s the thing about energy – it is one of the many signs that your body gives out about how much stress your systems are under.  The problem with accepting constant tiredness and low energy as normal, is that we miss the chance to sit up and take notice, potentially avoiding years of misery and ill health later on. 

WHAT YOUR TIREDNESS AND LOW ENERGY MAY BE TRYING TO TELL YOU: 

• Well, this should come as no surprise, but you’re not getting enough rest! (Duh.) 

• Excessive screen time, going through traumatic life events or trying to please everyone at your own cost may be causing overstimulation and stress 

• That you could potentially have high amounts of cortisol (the stress hormone) rushing around more often than is good for you, and that this could be also preventing you from sleeping well 

• That stress and anxiety is taking a toll not only on your mind but your hormones, digestion and essentially everything your body needs energy to do 

• Your body is struggling to cope with high sugar foods and over time this could increase your risk for insulin resistance, weight gain and diabetes 

• There might be foods in your diet that are creating inflammation in your body 

• You might not have the ideal conditions to digest your food properly or get the nutrients from it 

• You may need some emotional or mental health support 

• Your diet might be lacking in vital nutrients (vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fats, carbohydrates and proteins), or you have an increased requirement for some nutrients compared to the average person 

• You may be frequently dehydrated 

• Other toxins and stimulants may be putting your body under stress 

• That your female hormones may be out of balance and are interacting with high cortisol levels 

• You might have underlying undiagnosed conditions 

A WORD ON ADRENAL HEALTH 

What is adrenal health?  Your adrenal glands sit just on top of your kidneys.  They help along with your kidneys to control your blood pressure, but their main role is to produce cortisol (the stress hormone) and adrenaline.  Adrenaline helps to keep you alive – we need it in little sharp bursts to maintain balance in some of our body systems (such as our heart rate) and it is useful for spurring us on to react immediately to danger.   

But, in our modern world, where threats can involve the idea of being late to work or school, someone cutting in front of you on the road, the sudden realisation that we’ve forgotten a friend’s birthday, or someone making an unkind comment on a social media post, we experience the state of fight and flight far too often.  We are not fleeing tigers every day, but our adrenals think we are!  For this we can thank the oldest part of the brain, the amygdala which evolved when we would have been escaping mortal danger quite often (but not on a daily school run). 

So every time we get that threat trigger, our brain tells our adrenals to pump out adrenaline and over time we end up with more circulating cortisol too.  Cortisol then prevents us from sleeping well because we can only make the sleep hormone melatonin when we are not making cortisol.  Over time, our adrenals will get more and more tired and that’s when you notice the tiredness and low energy getting increasingly worse. 

If this goes on unchecked for a long time, we eventually might reach a phase of burnout.  It might be incredibly hard to get up in the mornings.  Little events may trigger strong emotional reactions, even having no control over bursting into tears in public.  We might be quite to lose our temper, overreacting and then feeling terribly guilty afterwards multiple times a day. 

For some people, when this burnout continues to spiral, they reach a point of not being able to feel joy, to care about their jobs, even to be able to react quickly to genuinely dangerous situations.  It might feel like brain fog, or it might just be a sense of not being able to feel anything.  This can make life very difficult as we start to lose our ability to function, engage in life and nurture relationships with loved ones.   

This last stage happens because our adrenals have lost the ability to respond quickly, or our receptors for cortisol and adrenaline have been overworked.  Either way, you can recover from this state and you can start to feel more “normal” again. 

So much to figure out!  But don’t panic – you don’t need to know everything and fix everything in one go.  The last thing you need is more overwhelm! 

HERE ARE SOME STEPS TO FIGURE OUT WHAT IS CAUSING YOUR LOW ENERGY AND SUPPORT RECOVERY: 

1. SEE YOUR GP – If you have unexplained fatigue or low energy, especially if you also have unexplained weight loss, unexplained bleeding or heavy periods, it is worth a visit to your GP for them to investigate any possible medical causes.  It’s always best to get this done soon and put your mind at rest 

2. START A BEDTIME ROUTINE – Taking steps to get your body and mind into a restful state for sleep in the hours before bed can help to improve the quality of your sleep.  Think about how you might reduce screen time in the last 1-2 hours, having a comfortable uncluttered space to sleep in that’s not too warm, including some relaxing activities such as a nice bath, drinking a relaxing tea, gentle yoga, meditation, breathing or reading can all help 

3. ASK FOR HELP OR SUPPORT – It can help to talk how you’re feeling through with a supportive relative or friend, and if you need mental or emotional support, you could consider who you might be able to reach out to locally or online too.  Feeling supported and cared for can really help, but equally somebody could help you to plot out aspects of your lifestyle that might need some tweaking and to set out a realistic plan of action to start reducing the stress on your mind and body 

4. MAKE SOME GRADUAL IMPROVEMENTS TO YOUR DIET AND WATER INTAKE – You don’t need to attempt to fix everything in one go, but moving towards a diet higher in fresh fruit, vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats, plenty of water and if you eat it, dairy, meat and fish could be a long term project.  You can read more about supporting a healthy body in my blogs about weight gain during COVID and healthy diets for busy mums.  You will find that reducing your sugar intake, eating good quality proteins and carbohydrates, along with sufficient water will help to make a big difference.  A health coach or nutritional therapist may help you work on this by providing a personalised meal plan that works for you, and potentially identifying some of the other causes of your low energy. 

5. CONSIDER SAFE SUPPLEMENTS – If your diet needs some improvement, or you are already eating well and still don’t feel great, you could try a good quality multivitamin for a few weeks.  Speaking to a trusted manufacturer of high quality supplements could help. Some of us can unknowingly have a higher need for iron, vitamin D, vitamin A, B vitamins, magnesium or a variety of other nutrients.  But it’s best to speak to your doctor and potentially a qualified nutritionist or nutritional therapist if you are considering having anything more than a typical multivitamin and mineral product. 

6. INCLUDE SOME MOVEMENT EACH DAY – Depending on your fitness level, this could be as simple as gentle or brisk walks, a few stretches throughout the day, some cardio activity such as high intensity interval training (short sharp bursts) or an exercise class.  Even housework and gardening can count!  Moving helps to support your circulation, can help your immunity, detoxification and digestion.  When any of these functions aren’t running optimally, they can affect your energy levels.  Moderate activity can also boost your happy brain chemicals so you feel more upbeat afterwards too.  The best exercise is one that you can safely enjoy – if it’s so much fun that it doesn’t feel like “hard work”, you’re more likely to want to keep doing it! 

7. ASSESS YOUR STRESS LEVELS – We all know that life can be stressful, but it can start to snowball if we don’t have a few self care measures in place to keep it from getting too much.  What we perceive as stress is really our response to situations, circumstances and events that we may not have full control over.  Being aware of how stressed and overwhelmed you might feel can be an indicator of the need to take breaks, get help, say no to requests that put too much pressure on you, and start to notice what tends to trigger you.  You can use all the strategies covered in the steps above to start to dial down your default ways of responding to stress.  This isn’t to say that you will not have emotional responses to upsetting events and even little moments from day to day.  The key is to notice those emotions and acknowledge them, without having high expectations of yourself to stuff them down and push on with your day. 

8. EXPECT YOUR RECOVERY TO TAKE A WHILE – Although you may notice quick improvements with better food choices and some of the other steps, it’s difficult to know how quickly you can build your energy back up.  You are unique and the causes of your low energy are likely to be different from other people, depending on what’s going on in your life.  Giving yourself a high expectation of suddenly having a new spring in your step is another added pressure as we’ve covered above.  Making changes will take time too – you can pace yourself and find manageable ways of creating healthier habits, and the more time you give yourself to get used to one or two at a time, the more likely they are to stick.  If you have had adrenal fatigue for example, whereby your adrenals have been put under stress by (guess what?) stress, then most people find it takes a few months to start to really clear the fog and feel better. 

If you’re a mum with young children or are a carer, you may have interruptions to your sleep and circumstances which provide an added challenge with keeping your energy in balance.  The same strategies above can help though, and it’s important that you have support and are able to exercise self care regularly. 

As the saying goes, put your oxygen mask on first. 

If you need help identifying the causes of your low energy and feeling tired all the time, you can book in for a free consultation here.

Confused About Nutritionists and Dieticians? Here’s What You Need to Know

You’ve made the decision that you are ready to seek some support in improving your diet, and you’ve started the search for the person that is just right for you. The options that come up are a bit baffling…. nutritionist, nutritional therapist, dietician, health coach….. the list goes on. How do you tell the difference? Read on for a quick guide on what’s what.

First, let’s talk about Dieticians

Dieticians will often appear in the top search results and the interesting thing about these specialists is that in many cases, they aren’t necessarily your go-to for general help with your diet. Why? Because dieticians are the only nutritional specialists in the UK permitted to prescribe medication (think insulin, thyroid medicines etc) and to supervise patients with specific diets for serious medical conditions.

Dieticians therefore are often critical members of the medical team for patients within the NHS. What they do is a precious resource, and as such it is on offer to people only if they meet certain medical criteria. There are private dieticians and they offer vital services which provide other options for people in need of their expertise. But, for the majority of people seeking help to relieve symptoms aggravated by diet, or weight loss support, other nutrition specialists are often better to tap into.

Often people know roughly what they should be eating, but need personalised advice, coaching, or perhaps a greater understanding about what is preventing them from feeling better. There are plenty of different therapies and coaching programmes available for us to take ownership of our own health, but broadly speaking, what do they all do?

Nutritionists

At the time of writing this blog, anyone could legally call themselves a nutritionist. This may sound a little out there, but ‘nutritionist’ is currently not a protected or regulated title. So, the range of skills and training between nutritionists can be varied. However, nutritionists can have bachelors and masters degrees in nutrition which guarantee high levels of training. So don’t discount them yet!

Generally, nutritionists that have studied diplomas and degrees will look at health and nutrition through the eye of science-based-medicine. All their training will be based on what is scientifically proven, tried and tested. Any nutritional recommendations they make should therefore be based on what the best quality science available tells us is reliable and safe for clients.

Nutritionists work in a vast range of industries, ranging from health clinics and private practices to food production, technology, supplements, functional testing and more. You may have even spoken to one when you’ve made an enquiry about a product!

How do you know if a private nutritionist is adequately trained and has your best interests and safety as a priority? Be curious about what accreditations they have – are they registered with at least one? Are the organisations they are registered with credible and a true authority? How do their members stay accountable and do they have CPD (continued professional development) requirements and a strict code of conduct?

A Word About What Nutritionists Should Not Do….

Unless also having the appropriate medical qualifications, nutritionists are healthcare professionals, but they are not medical professionals. This means that they are not allowed to make claims that they can use nutrition to diagnose, treat or cure medical conditions. If you listen and read what they say carefully, you should hear talk of supporting health and promoting wellbeing. If anyone claims their methods can treat or cure an illness, they are providing misleading information and could offer advice that is unsafe or poorly researched. Avoid!

What Do Nutritional Therapists Do?

You might have come across nutritionists that you later discover are registered nutritional therapists. More people have heard of a nutritionist than a nutritional therapist, so it’s just a way of keeping things simple so you find what you’re looking for. Nutritional therapists must have studied as a minimum a diploma or degree, so they will have studied for at least three years, with many of their study requirements being at degree level.

Based on the concept that our bodies are designed to stay healthy with the right nutrition and environment, nutritional therapists help their clients to achieve optimal health. They enable people to support good health and prevent illness, instead of only reacting when we get ill. Nutritional therapists work alongside conventional medicine, rather than as an alternative. Whether you want to stay healthy or have a diagnosed medical condition, nutritional therapy can support you.

This is All Very Interesting, But Why Would Anyone Choose to Pay for Nutritional Therapy?

Often people only seek advice and support when pain and other symptoms become unbearable, or when the constraints of the health system leave them wanting to take proactive action and take back control of their health.

Certain life stages (think conception, pregnancy, menopause etc), health events or diagnoses can lead to someone wanting to eat more of the foods that help them to stay healthy and less of the foods that cause harm and aggravate symptoms. But one man’s (or woman) meat is another man’s poison – nutrition is highly individual. Genetics, upbringing, previous health, birth, childhood, life experiences and our environment can all leave us responding very differently to foods and having higher or lower requirements for different nutrients.

So, nutritional therapists provide a very tailored and personalised solution just for you. Investing in their expertise opens up the following to you as a client:

• Meeting you where you are in your life, as a complex and unique individual, with compassion, care and non-judgement.

• Assessing your health holistically, looking at all the parts of your body, emotional state and mind as interconnected and identifying underlying causes of symptoms.

• While a doctor’s appointment is limited to a few minutes, you spend a great deal more time with a nutritional therapist. They will give you a very thorough comprehensive health assessment and delve deep into what could be underlying ill health.

• Most nutritional therapists support you to make gradual manageable changes rather than strict rigid diets, helping you to create enjoyable healthy habits that stick.

• Many provide meal plans, recipes or meal suggestions, with easy changes that fit in with busy family life.

• Nutritional therapists can write letters on your behalf to take to your GP. This takes all the stress out of trying to explain to your doctor in a short few minutes the symptoms that need investigating. They also can advise on private tests, order the tests and interpret the results.

It’s Quite an Investment to See a Nutritional Therapist – Is it Really Worth it?

If you’ve ever looked up “how much does a nutritional therapist cost?” or “how much does a nutritionist cost?” and looked no further, you’re not alone! There are however a few things to consider about the value that a good nutritional therapy programme will add to your life so hang in there and find out more:

• You only see the time that you are in the consultations and the time that you are in contact by email or phone but there’s so much more they do! Imagine your nutritional therapist as you would a good PA. Most of what they do is done behind the scenes. Before they’ve even seen you for your first appointment you can bet that they’ve already poured over your health questionnaire, done research that is highly specific to you, and possibly even picked the brains (not literally, ewwww!) of industry experts. Between appointments, they will spend more hours going over your case, more research, finding the best foods and supplements for you and leaving nothing to chance.

• They can order tests for you that you cannot order without going through a practitioner. This may sound like an annoying barrier to getting those test results but for good reason. These private tests can provide information that you cannot get as standard with the NHS, and they can give you answers that you otherwise would never know about what is triggering unwelcome symptoms. But, if you’ve ever looked at one of the reports that comes back, it will look like a different language. Knowing what to do with those results is where your nutritional therapist can add value and give you answers. In most cases they will spend time speaking with the labs and test specialists getting very personalised advice for you.

• Seeing a nutritional therapist can help you to completely transform your health and wellbeing. This transformation will last you a lifetime – it can help you to have better health as you age, allow you to stay more active, more engaged with life, enjoy time more with loved ones, it could even mean that you have more active years in a career that you enjoy. If you’ve ever had to take time off work for illness, you will know how important it is to stay fit and well, keep progressing in your career and have the health to enjoy your leisure time.

• If you have kids, giving them a healthy foundation will set them up for success for life. It’s never too late to start instilling more healthy habits with your children!

• Nutritional therapists also provide coaching – they are your accountability buddy, checking in with you, motivating you, helping you to break down those mental barriers to making those changes that stick.

How Do You Know Which Nutritional Therapist to Work With?

Look for a Registered Nutritional Therapist or a Registered Nutritionist with at least a diploma or degree in nutritional therapy, nutrition, nutrition science or similar. Most therapists will be registered with either BANT, CNHC or ANP. You can find qualified and accredited therapists at these sites, amongst others: Bant (British Association for Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine), Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council and the ANP (Association of Naturopathic Practitioners).

What About Health Coaches?

Health coaches have a particular skillset that works particularly well with certain health goals. If you have uncomplicated health issues and want someone to coach you to make diet and lifestyle changes that guarantee results, a health coach can be perfect. They have trained to use coaching skills to motivate, provide accountability and keep their clients on track, which for some people can be exactly what they need. They are not trained to investigate health issues or deal with complex conditions and illnesses in the same way that nutritional therapists are, which is why you would often choose one or the other depending on your own needs.

Want to find out more? Why not book a free 30-minute, no-obligation consultation.

What is the Best Diet for Busy Mums?

Have you tried every diet you can imagine and been cycling ‘on’ and ‘off’ diets for years? Not much fun, is it? When we all set out as independent adults, I can bet that most of us didn’t dream of being in the constant pursuit of the perfect diet. Or of the amount of money and time spent on products and programmes to shed a few pounds.

At the time of writing, we are living in a kind of limbo land between lockdown and “the new normal”. With a whole variety of completely mixed and natural reactions to the situation, many women have either found themselves eating in “emergency mode”, seeking out ways to eat more healthily to stay well or anything in between. Every different approach is perfectly understandable.

But, as a little weight gain has been hard to avoid for many, it’s also natural to be starting to wonder what to do now! Mums often ask me what the best diet is, so let’s dive in and find out.

Firstly, there tend to be two different uses of the word diet, and the distinction is important. In nutrition science, the word diet simply refers to typical intake of different foods for any person or group of people. This could be a cultural or geographical diet, or it could be influenced by health requirements or a preference for a particular style of eating.

The word diet as we tend to think of it more commonly, is associated with a very set and controlled way of eating. It could be designed with the aim of losing weight, gaining weight, changing body composition or for a particular health issue. Many of these diets may indeed lead to meeting a goal, but dieting this way often has some setbacks:

• In many cases, diets make it impossible for people to eat their favourite meals and treats

• The whole mindset of being “on a diet” immediately leaves us feeling that we are missing out. As soon as you put restrictions in and use words such as ‘can’t’ or ‘not allowed’, it is natural for us to rebel against these new rules imposed on us and start looking for loopholes to get some freedom back

• Products designed to replace food, or our favourite treats are often artificial, lacking in nutrients and potentially more harmful than the food they replace

• These products can be expensive and potentially dangerous

• Socialising and eating out can become more difficult, more stressful and the joy of meeting up with loved ones is overshadowed by worrying about the food

• Preparing for another diet can involve a lot of time planning, shopping for different food products and trying to get your head around the rules.

• In susceptible individuals, dieting can encourage disordered eating behaviours and contribute to mental illness

• Many diets are unrealistic, overly restrictive, bland and hard to keep up for several weeks or months

• Every time we “fail” or fall off the wagon, our motivation and confidence take a real knocking

• This often results in a rebound effect where all self-control goes out of the window, and we’re back to square one!

It’s also worth considering that fat has a few very important jobs to do. One of them is to store toxins, walling them off so that they can’t wreak havoc elsewhere in the body. So if we release a lot of fat from our cells very suddenly, we often end up with the “detox effect” and it’s not pretty!

Symptoms may range between headaches, mild or severe cold or flu-like symptoms, skin breakouts, mood swings, anxiety and agitation. Did anyone else experience the delightful halitosis effect in the early noughties, courtesy of Dr Atkins?

WHAT CAN I DO INSTEAD?

Firstly, it’s worth bearing in mind that as a grown adult, you have the right to decide what is right for you, and that intentionally or unintentionally, you create your own reality. If you allow other people’s rules to dictate how you eat, the value of your self-worth, and whether you are getting it “right” or “wrong”, then you’re letting these beliefs and rules put limitations on your way of living.

Is there a better way? Absolutely!

First, let’s work on your WHY. If you have been dieting to look better, to be accepted by other people or because somebody else has told you to, these reasons all suggest that you may need to take some time to work on your self-worth. No matter what you have been led to believe in your life, you deserve to enjoy life with confidence, be comfortable being you and surrounded by people that love you and make you feel great.

If you feel that you are lacking any of these really important aspects in your life, it may be worth exploring how you feel about your life as it currently is and what you could do to make it better. If you despair at the thought of this, know that feeling better is achievable but it is likely that it will be a slow process with lots of baby steps.

There are plenty of options open to you to help you on your way to making these changes. Confiding in someone you can trust is a great start – it’s important that you don’t work on this completely on your own. Finding a good counsellor or therapist may help you to gradually make sense of your situation and empower you to start speaking assertively and be kinder to yourself. A journal can help you to put your thoughts and feelings onto paper and get some clarity.

Using self-care to remind yourself that you do matter is really important. Whether that involves meditation, gentle exercise, getting more sleep, some pampering or just taking time away to do something that you really enjoy – it’s completely up to you. As you start to do more for yourself, you will start to feel more confidence as you are reinforcing your self-worth. And getting some time out is pretty good for you too!

Now back to that WHY. If you have a lot of weight to lose or are battling with chronic pain or an illness aggravated by lifestyle and diet, losing weight is of course a way of relieving your discomfort and supporting your health. And we will talk about the HOW shortly. But first, let’s think about what contributed to your weight gain in the first place. There could be so many reasons. Some are medical and may have been very difficult to prevent, for example taking certain medication or health issues, such as an underactive thyroid.

Whether the weight gain was unavoidable, or happened because of certain life events or your upbringing, in any case you are likely to benefit from some support. Getting your mindset working for you rather than against you, setting yourself up for success is vital. Having the self-belief that you can achieve your goals and that you deserve to feel great is more important than any diet programme.

Have you ever wondered why “healthy” people consistently make good food choices? It is likely that these are some of the reasons:

• They have connected healthy natural foods with feeling better, and know which foods make them feel worse

• They see the bigger picture – that overall a healthy diet will support their health and give them a better future

• If they weren’t always healthy, at some point in their life they have decided to repeatedly choose healthier food options until it became habit

Does that sound boring? You may be surprised that the healthy option isn’t all about rabbit food and weird-flavoured “super foods”. Far from it! Food should be tasty, something we enjoy eating with our loved ones and get excited about cooking. And a healthy diet isn’t necessarily about a treat free, fun free carousel of samey meals either.

SO, BACK TO THE ORIGINAL QUESTION: WHAT IS THE BEST DIET?

If you set aside the discussion over finding a good reason to eat well, let’s for a moment consider what a good diet actually does for us. With the right balance of different types of food, we can aim to get enough carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals. We need all of these to function, stay healthy, fit, alive and have children. While some fad diets may come and go, one diet that often ranks highly for meeting all the above requirements for Europeans is the traditional Mediterranean diet.

You may associate the Mediterranean diet with heaps of pasta, pizza and four course lunches, which might necessitate a little lie down after. But that’s not the traditional form of the diet! We are looking at the way of eating that worked well for hundreds of years, before food was mass produced and shipped across continents. Traditionally, food was grown and sourced locally, in season, and not processed in factories. It would have consisted of a large quantity and variety of plant foods, lots of brightly coloured fruits and veg, some whole grains, good fats and small amounts of fish, meat and dairy.

OK, so we don’t all live in places where we can easily source all of our food locally and in season. Supermarkets will continue to be a very convenient way of providing food, and the fact that they offer foods which do not grow locally does offer a benefit, because it does allow us to have more variety. But, we can aim for a middle road, one between following the principles of the Traditional Mediterranean Diet and having a realistic diet that still allows us to enjoy everything in moderation.

Moving away from measuring everything, calorie counting and relying on packaged foods that promise some kind of dietary benefit, convenience, or both, is a start. Using the nine steps below, will help you to gradually improve your eating habits, without making eating for a healthy weight something that controls your life and steals your joy.

HOW TO HAVE A HEALTHY DIET FOR LIFE

1. Make Changes Gradually – Forget “the diet starts tomorrow” trend, it’s so last decade! Every diet that uses this approach sets you up to fail. You don’t have to overhaul your kitchen in one go. Start with one small change, pick any from the steps below and get used to it. Take your time and be really proud of every single change that you manage to make stick. You’ve got this.

2. Drink Lots of Water – Keep hydrated, as much as possible with water rather than fizzy or sweet drinks. Even the sugar free drinks wreak havoc with your blood sugar balance. It may take time to retrain your taste buds, but they will get used to it! Teas and coffees count, just add an extra glass for each cup of coffee and try to keep to 1-3 caffeinated drinks a day max.

3. Limit Alcohol – OK, don’t stop reading just yet - I said limit, not cut out! Reducing the frequency and amount of alcoholic drinks you have each week can do wonders for your health, ideally at least 4-5 days alcohol free a week is a good goal to build up to.

4. Choose Complex Carbohydrates – These are your sources of energy, and they release more slowly into your bloodstream than simple carbohydrates. So less of the simple carbs such as refined sugar, white bread, pasta, rice etc and more wholegrain bread and pasta, oats, brown rice. You could try swapping sweet potato in for white potato and explore other whole grains such as quinoa, spelt, rye and buckwheat

5. Eat Plenty of Fruit and Veg – We’re told to aim for 5 a day, but many people don’t manage 5. If you can increase to 5, work your way up to 7! Eat the rainbow with lots of different colours, use fruit and veg as snacks too and work towards filling half your plate with veg. You can do it!

6. Have Protein with Every Meal and Snack – Protein will stop you from feeling peckish all the time, plus you need it for immunity, recovery from injury, your skin, even to think clearly! Go for fresh, minimally processed forms such as meats, eggs, good quality dairy, nuts, seeds, beans and lentils.

7. Use Good Quality Fats – Fat is not the enemy, if you eat the right types! Include some oily fish each week if you like it, then use good quality olive, nut and coconut oils, nuts and seeds. And some good quality butter and natural yogurt is pretty good, and don’t stress over eggs – they’re full of protein, vitamins and minerals.

8. Minimise Processed Food – This is the trick that nearly all diets miss – if you fill your plate with the right nutrients, you never need to calorie count or find diet products. By making most of your food come from the categories above, you will eat more real food and less of the stuff that’s full of sugar, additives and things on the ingredients list that are impossible to pronounce.

9. Have Treats Occasionally – It’s all about moderation. Sometimes the homemade all butter brownie, is better than any diet imitation than you can buy from the shop. It’s no wonder people give up on the synthetic, lacking in flavour, low-nutrient diet products and end up gorging on what they really want! Go for quality and really savour your treats rather than eating them whilst distracted. You can also find recipes to try making your own healthier versions of your favourite treats, such as with coconut nectar, pure maple syrup or dates.

If you work to the principals above, you can start to fine tune what you are eating, one small change at a time. Be realistic about how quickly you can make changes, but also know that you can achieve your goals if you work towards them consistently.

Got any questions? Feel free to book onto one of my free phone consultations.

Stay well x