http://www.optimalhealthnutrition.co.uk/

Optimal Health Nutrition, Bournemouth (2025)

25/11/2025

Perimenopause and Protein Intake:

It is very common when going through the Peri- menopause to for cortisol levels to go up ( partly due to the ‘mid-life squeeze’) and partly due to fluctuating s*x hormones and for blood sugar levels to fluctuate - leading to symptoms such as dizziness, fatigue, weight gain (especially around the middle), anxiety and elevated blood sugar, triglycerides and cholesterol markers on labs.

One of the best dietary changes to make is to increase protein intake ( fiber is also very important, will talk about it in another post).

I find having a protein rich breakfast ( and any caffeinated drinks AFTER) helps sets you up for the day. Women chronically under eat protein I find, and here I am talking about 25-30 grams of protein for breakfast and then roughly a quarter of the plate made up of complete protein ( eggs, meat, fish, quinoa, buckwheat etc) for lunch/dinner.

30 grams of protein for breakfast would look like:

- 3 egg and veggie scrambled eggs and 1/2 cup of Greek yogurt with some chia

- 1 cup of cottage cheese mixed with some almond or peanut butter and berries plus some h**p

- 1 roasted turkey steak ( I had this for breakfast today) with some veggies

- 1 roasted chicken breast covered in yogurt and masala spices plus some veggies

Yes, having a sweet cereal based breakfast is a myth and a marketing scam. I usually go for eggs loaded with lots of veggies or left over / batch cooked meat and fish.
*xhormones

20/11/2025

I don’t mean to scare you but you really need to pay attention to the food you are eating these days. Not talking just about avoiding fast and ultra processed foods, but also foods full of micro plastics, heavy metals (most dark chocolate) and endocrine disruptors (most farmed fish).

Paying attention to what fruit and veg have been grown with and treated with should also join this list. In this case I want to bring your attention to - which is a synthetic fungicide most non organic mostly citrus fruit is treated with - with highest levels found in tangerines and clementines.

Studies have found that:

- it is a probably human Carcinogen linked to significant DNA damage

- a potent hormone disruptor linked to increased risk

- it is so powerful that animal studies have found that maternal exposure can disrupt the endocrine system of the offspring ‼️

What you can do:

- buy organic citrus fruit
- if buying conventional soak and wash the outside of the fruit
- store in a separate fruit bowl
- wash your hands after peeling
- do not cook the peel - I’ve seen a few Christmas recipes - buy the organic variety for that and still wash

11/11/2025

Unfortunately this is so true….health is wealth and we only realise it too late.

06/11/2025

Easy GF pizza waffles:

I dusted off my (non toxic) waffle machine last weekend to try yet another recipe with my son (aka budding chef) and these turned out great, so I thought I’d share on here .

These can be batch cooked and kept in fridge.

Ingredients:

- 1/2 cup GF flour
- 1/2 grated cheese, mozzarella would also work
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano, but dried basil would also work
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 3 tbs of tomato sauce, I used Mr Organic Lentil Ragu ( for some sneaky legumes)
- 1/2 tbs olive oil

Method :

Whisk the eggs together and add tomato sauce and cheese, fold in the flour slowly , add all the spices.

Oil the waffle machine with a brush between each batch.

04/11/2025

Breast Cancer is one of the most common cancers in the UK, with 1 in 7 women currently being diagnosed ( it also affects a small percentage of men).

Recently, a very large study ( tracking over 2 million women aged 13-49) for two decades has found that it increases the risk of breast cancer by ‼️24%‼️(overall risk - compared to never users).

Both combined pill and progestin only were examined, with women on the mini pill - containing synthetic progesterone called ‘desogestrel’ 21% more likely to develop breast cancer , whilst women on combined - 12% increase in risk.

The study also found the risk increases the longer you use the pill.

The study does not examine mechanisms of how this is possible , but I suspect ( based on my cancer training) is to do with:

- Oestrogen and synthetic progestins (don’t confuse with natural progesterone) stimulate cell proliferation in breast tissue. Other studies have found higher risk when girls under 18 are taking the pill as their breasts are still developing

- Synthetic progestins ( again, not progesterone) can mimic oestrogen at receptor levels. Some studies examining the links between HRT and breast cancer risk are also finding this - it’s the issue with progestins and how they behave

- The pill generally can deplete B vitamins, which are important for methylation and genomic stability

- The pill can affect the liver in multiple ways - and this is an important detox organ

- the pill affects the gut micro biome - altering composition and gut bacteria diversity- and there is a group of gut bacteria called ‘oestrobolome’, which help detox unhealthy oestrogens , plus most of your immune system lives in your gut

Again those are just suspected mechanisms, several of those or others can be at play.

The good news is that even if you have been on the pill for years, there are so many EVIDENCE based prevention strategies you can employ, and this is something I can help with.

31/10/2025

The scariest thing about Halloween? How much mould and mycotoxins your carved pumpkin breeds after 2/3 days.

I work with a lot of people with illness and this is often the main reason behind conditions such as , multiple types of autoimmunity including sclerosis, and , , , issues, , chronic infections and others.

Mycotoxins can come from water damage and usually do, but also a lot of foods such as peanuts and coffee and some fruits and veg breed them.

Obviously keeping your home mould free is key ( the spores of mould called mycotoxins travel far, so even a leaky basement you never go in would affect you).

There is a urine test that I use to assess mycotoxin levels and treatment protocols depending on the type found.

I hope you found this helpful

30/10/2025

Having children later in life & perimenopause:

I’m continuing my posts about spreading awareness about the perimenopause.

This one is very common - jumping from just having had a baby into perimenopause and having the worst symptoms without being to pin point exactly.

Many women who have babies in their late 30s and early 40s find themselves in that boat - meaning that’s when the perimenopause usually starts.

Often post-partum symptoms such as insomnia, fatigue , cycle irregularities and anxiety overlap with Peri-menopausal symptoms and also symptoms of thyroid issues ( also very common after you’ve had a baby).

My advice is to work with a functional medicine professional if your Dr is not helpful.

What tests I’d run in those cases:

- full thyroid panel with antibodies ( often women unlock Hashimoto’s at that stage and it’s important to check through a full panel)

- full blood count and full iron panel - symptoms of iron deficiency can be multiple - from fatigue to insomnia and heavy periods - iron deficiency anaemia is very common post-partum

- A DUTCH hormonal test to see levels of progesterone, adrenal function and oestrogen levels as well as how you metabolise those. This is the best test to run to check your s*x hormones, however, you have to wait at least 6 months after having a baby before you can do that

Depending on results of those you can have a tailored support plan to manage symptoms. There is a HUGE MISCONCEPTION that in early perimenopause you need HRT such as Oestrogen and this is not right as you have usually still high Oestrogen ( which can give you heavy periods and worse PMS than before) at that stage. Plus you should NEVER take HRT without checking hormones and their metabolism ( DUTCH) and checking pre-existing conditions and family history of on top of discussing the pros and cons with a trained professional ( most GPs need additional training for that).

It is usually Progesterone that is low or fluctuating and that may need support along with stress/adrenal support.

28/10/2025

When looking to improve health it is always important to take a diet first approach, believe me taking NAD ( like every influencer is telling you 🙄) but having a rubbish diet will take you nowhere.

I find mushrooms ( culinary) are often a very overlooked superfood. They are very good at supporting your immune system, have high anti oxidant and anti inflammatory activities and direct anti-cancer effects :

- Higher mushroom consumption is linked with reduced risk of all types of cancer (PMID:33724299)

- Turkey tail mushrooms have been studied alongside more conventional cancer therapies (PMID:32466253)

These are just edible mushroom studies, there is plenty of other studies on other types and anti-cancer activities.

I personally try and cook mushrooms at least once a week. I buy whatever I can find organic on Ocado such as these chestnut mushrooms and I simply wash chop drizzle with olive oil, add salt and thyme ( such an underrated herb!) and bake. Simple and delicious 😋

21/10/2025

👎Air fryers - a promise to ease cooking, but people generally use them to cook at high temperatures ( produces dangerous carcinogenic by-products) already cooked at high temperature fast food. Also the Teflon surface on most is carcinogenic

👎Brazil nuts - promise to be a dream because of high selenium levels, but a radioactive nightmare - they absorb radium from the soil - avoid

👎Gummy supplements - full of sugar, only for kids and read the label, recently I was looking at a vitamin C for my toddler and some of them ( from a reputable brand) contained 4 grams !!! Of sugar per dose

👎Avocado oil - full of phalates because of processing, avoid, still eat avocados though as very good for you

👎Protein powders - ultra processed food, high in lead ( heavy metal you don’t want in you)

👎‘BPA-free’ anything - as in plastics , still avoid as it has other BPA -like compounds such as BPS/BPF harmful to health and disrupting hormones

👎Most kefir drinks - read the labels - full of sugar and they don’t tell you what beneficial bacteria is in them ( the good ones do, see previous post)

👎Margarine/spreadable butter - margerine is a frankenfood, please avoid and the whole ‘heart healthy’ is a marketing trick. Spreadable butters are made spreadable by bad seed oils such as rapeseed - avoid

👎Fake meats - where do I start!? Ultra processed , full of gluten (inflammatory for
some) , not great ingredients to make the products more ‘meat-like’ avoid. If you want to eat a Beyond Burger, get the real thing ( in moderation)

👎Shop bought matcha - oh how trendy it is!!! Yes it has many benefits, however shop bought varieties have up to 13 grams of sugar!!!!

👎Biohacking without the basics - to simplify it - you don’t need the treandy or or another longevity supplement promising miracles if you don’t eat a balanced diet, exercise, manage stress, clean up your environment- starting with clean water and air and looking at things such as plastics, personal care , etc

15/10/2025

It is more important to know what person has the disease than what disease a person has.

After seeing now hundreds of clients with complex chronic illness this adage is becoming more and more true.

The way a person is - in a sense, their stress levels, perception of themselves, ability to manage stress and trauma , outlook on life and how they see their diagnosis ( or lack of such in some cases) , their social networks or lack of such, can be more predictive of how they are likely to recover or live well with their condition.

Even researchers now have identified certain personalities linked to disease:

- the cancer personality - traits like emotional suppression , high stress levels and from experience - lack of boundaries have been linked to higher chance of getting the disease

- the autoimmunity personality - often linked to trauma on childhood and Type A personalities , who overachieve and often overcompensate, but neglect themselves until the ‘body slows them down’. I’ve written about this in my book ‘Lyme in the Limelight’. I was one of those…

- Cardiovascular disease personality - sometimes type D personality (Distressed) sometimes Type A ( as above) but more on the impatient and hostile side of things…

Considering this I ask clients at the beginning of each consultation simple questions such as ‘do you believe you can get better’ and ‘tell me what ethical /emotional/social/financial barriers I need to consider when making my recommendations’ so that I can start exploring the person as well as their case…

14/10/2025

Easy protein cups:

I make a version of these very often, easy to prep and batch make on a busy week and perfect balance of protein and fiber, plus my toddler likes them 😎This recipe makes about 6 of them.

Ingredients:

- 4 organic eggs , crack and whisk slightly
- 100 grams organic feta, crumbled
- 1/2 red pepper chopped
- 1 handful of washed and chopped organic spinach
- 1 tbs of washed and chopped mint
- 2 tbs gluten free flour, or almond flour also works well
- Salt/pepper to taste

Method:

Mix all ingredients and leave the flour last - fold in gently. Put into unbleached paper muffin cases or bake in bread tin. Cook for approximately 15 minutes at 180 C.

They keep in the fridge for about a week.
👩🏻‍🍳❤️

09/10/2025

Is the a social media phenomenon? No , it’s not, but you’re likely to find a lot more useful tips on here than in a medical setting.

You don’t have to put up with tiredness, insomnia, anxiety and heavy periods, there is quite a lot you can do in terms if lifestyle changes and I intend to do more videos on the subject

Optimal Health Nutrition

25/11/2025

20/11/2025

11/11/2025

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04/11/2025

31/10/2025

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