I'm VJ, and I am a Nutritionist and Autoimmune Disease Expert.
19/11/2025
Proud daughter moment. 💛
Today, my Dad completes his year as Men’s Captain at Rudding Park Golf Club () — and what a year it’s been. He’s raised the visibility of what the captaincy truly represents, brought the community together, raised a significant amount for charity, and hosted some brilliant events along the way.
After a really difficult couple of years losing my step-Mum, having something meaningful to pour his energy into has been so special to watch. And he’s managed it all while still running his business — which says everything about his work ethic and character.
One of the things I love most about him is how he remembers everyone — not just names, but people’s stories, families, backgrounds. He genuinely builds relationships and cares about being part of a community and contributing to it.
It’s bittersweet that his captaincy has come to an end (it’s gone so fast!), but I couldn’t be prouder of what he’s achieved. And knowing him, this is far from the end of his contribution to the club.
Well done, Dad. You’ve done an incredible job. 🏌🏼♂️
18/11/2025
The vagus nerve is one of the most overlooked regulators of autoimmune health — yet it influences inflammation, gut function, energy, mood, and the body’s ability to recover from stress.
If you’d like to know how I reset my stress each day with simple, science-backed practices, comment ‘stress reset’ below and I’ll share the routine with you.
When vagal tone is low, the immune system becomes more reactive, the gut–brain axis becomes more sensitive, and symptoms often flare more easily. When vagal tone is supported, the body shifts more reliably into rest-and-repair, helping reduce inflammatory signalling and improve resilience over time.
This post is part of my 5-Part Vagal Tone & Stress Resilience Mini Series, now available inside The Autoimmune Forum — my private community for people navigating autoimmune and chronic inflammatory conditions.
If you’d like to explore these tools more deeply and access the full series, you can join The Autoimmune Forum at www.theautoimmuneforum.com — or message me and I can send you the link directly. 💛
17/11/2025
I was genuinely humbled (and honestly a little surprised) to receive an award at this year’s IHCAN Annual Summit — selected by IHCAN as their Most Inspirational Practitioner as part of Nutrition Network’s () 15-year anniversary.
It’s a wonderful feeling to be acknowledged by peers and colleagues I deeply respect — but nothing feels more rewarding than seeing my clients experience real change. Watching someone reclaim their health is powerful, but it’s the ripple effect that moves me most: when they rediscover their confidence, change direction in their career, find purpose again, or start putting themselves first after years of self-neglect. That’s the part that truly matters.
When I think back to the little girl living with alopecia, trying to find some hope and positivity in the everyday, I could never have imagined that those challenges would one day lead me here — into a career that feels both meaningful and fulfilling. Back then, it was simply about getting through each day and holding on to the belief that things would improve. I’m grateful to that younger version of me for keeping that faith.
This award feels like a quiet reminder of how far things have come — and how something that once felt like a setback can become the foundation for something much bigger.
As I plan what’s next, I’d love to know — what would you find most helpful from me right now? More on autoimmune nutrition? Gut repair? Nervous system support? Your feedback always helps me make sure what I share genuinely gives you more clarity — and guidance on the next steps to reclaim your health.
14/11/2025
Fibromyalgia affects 2–3% of the population, yet so many live for years without answers — cycling between specialists, told “it’s all in your head.”
Recent genetic studies involving millions of people are finally shedding light on what’s really going on. They’ve found dozens of genetic variants that affect how the brain and nervous system process pain — but that’s not the whole story.
Other research from King’s College London has shown that autoantibodies (the same immune markers involved in autoimmune disease) can trigger fibromyalgia symptoms when transferred to animals — creating pain sensitivity and fatigue.
That means fibromyalgia may not be just a brain condition. For many, it’s also an immune-driven process that involves nerves outside the brain, the gut–immune axis, and impaired detox and antioxidant systems — patterns I see repeatedly in clinic.
Many of my clients describe years of “mystery” symptoms before diagnosis:
• Pain that moves around the body
• Fatigue that feels cellular, not just tiredness
• Brain fog and poor concentration
• Heightened sensitivity to chemicals, smells, or cold
• Sleep that never feels restorative
• Digestive issues and nutrient deficiencies
I’ve also lived through this myself — when my immune system was overloaded, I became sensitive to chemicals, perfumes, and even the slightest environmental stress. It’s the body’s way of saying “enough”.
The good news? These sensitivities and pain pathways can calm when the terrain is supported — through gut healing, nervous-system regulation, nutrient repletion, and gentle detoxification.
Fibromyalgia isn’t the full story — it’s a message from the body. And when you support the systems underneath, those messages can soften, calm, and even transform.
If this resonates with you, my free Autoimmunity Recovery Plan shares simple ways to begin supporting your body’s terrain and calming immune chaos.
👉 Download it via the link in bio.
12/11/2025
Your gut isn’t just about digestion — it’s the command centre of your immune system.
Around 70% of immune cells live along the gut wall, constantly communicating with your microbiome. These microbes teach your body when to defend and when to tolerate — the balance between protection and overreaction.
When the gut becomes imbalanced — from stress, antibiotics, less fibre or sunlight — this communication breaks down. The lining can become more permeable (leaky gut), allowing bacterial fragments into the bloodstream. This triggers low-grade inflammation that keeps your immune system on high alert but less precise — leaving you more vulnerable to viruses.
I see this pattern often in clients, especially through winter — increased fatigue, slower recovery, and more infections. Years ago, that was me too: recurring colds, sinus issues, psoriasis flares. Supporting my gut was the turning point — and I’ve never looked back.
Now, each autumn I winter-proof my gut before cold season hits 👇
1️⃣ Feed your microbes (prebiotics)
Stewed apples, leeks, onions, oats, and cooled potatoes feed beneficial bacteria that produce butyrate — a compound that strengthens the gut lining and regulates immune balance.
2️⃣ Top up beneficial strains (probiotics)
I rotate between a liquid probiotic proven to reach the gut alive, and a spore-based blend for microbial diversity.
3️⃣ Support postbiotics
These are the compounds your microbes make — like butyrate and urolithins — that reduce inflammation and boost energy. I use Urolithin A and sodium butyrate, or boost them naturally through fibre and resistant starch.
When your gut is balanced, your immune system can protect you — not overreact.
💛 Comment WINTER-PROOF below and I’ll send you my gut health tips
11/11/2025
Endometriosis affects 1 in 10 women, yet it remains one of the most underdiagnosed and misunderstood conditions in women’s health.
For years, it’s been framed as a hormonal or reproductive disorder — but new research from Oxford University confirms what many women have long suspected: Endometriosis and autoimmune diseases share a genetic link.
The study, published in Human Reproduction, analysed over 8,000 endometriosis cases and 64,000 immune conditions, showing that women with endo have a 30–80% higher risk of developing conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, coeliac disease, and psoriasis.
Researchers identified shared genetic variants driving both endo and immune dysfunction — even suggesting a causal link between endometriosis and rheumatoid arthritis.
In clinic, I see this connection daily. Endometriosis symptoms often go far beyond pelvic pain — they can include fatigue, bloating, joint pain, allergies, brain fog, and immune reactivity. It’s not just hormonal — it’s immunological.
When we support immune balance, gut integrity, detoxification, and systemic inflammation, symptoms often improve across multiple systems — not just around the menstrual cycle.
This research helps explain why endometriosis symptoms often reach far beyond the pelvis.
Pain that worsens around your cycle, bloating that flares mid-month, fatigue that feels immune-driven, or joint aches that ebb and flow with hormones — these are all clues that the immune system is involved, not just the ovaries.
Recognising endometriosis as a whole-body immune condition is what allows us to treat it more effectively — not just manage the pain, but calm the inflammation at its root.
💬 Comment “AUTOIMMUNE RESET” below to get my free guide and learn the first steps to support your immune-endocrine balance from the inside out.
10/11/2025
When I first started lowering my toxic load, I didn’t suddenly empty my cupboards or throw away all my skincare. I simply began replacing the things I used most — my moisturiser, my frying pan, my water bottle — and each time something ran out, I made a slightly cleaner choice. It wasn’t about being perfect; it was about progress, and over time, I noticed small but tangible changes. My skin felt calmer, my energy steadier, and my mind clearer. It was as if my body finally had more room to breathe.
That, to me, is what detoxification truly means. Not the juice cleanses or quick fixes we so often associate with the word, but the quiet, consistent act of reducing the everyday chemicals that place an unnecessary burden on the body. These exposures might seem trivial — a fragrance here, a coating there — but they add up.
For anyone living with autoimmunity, this matters on a deeper level. Many of these compounds are known endocrine disruptors, meaning they can interfere with hormone signalling and disrupt the delicate communication networks that regulate our cells. Over time, this disruption can create oxidative stress, mitochondrial strain, and inflammation — conditions in which the immune system can begin to lose its tolerance and misidentify the body’s own tissues as the enemy.
By lowering that chemical burden, we’re not just helping our liver or hormones; we’re restoring cellular harmony. We’re creating an internal environment that is calmer, clearer, and more conducive to repair.
In this week’s episode of The Autoimmune RESET Podcast, I explore five simple, science-backed ways to detoxify your life without the overwhelm — starting with the items you use most. Because every small, intentional change lightens your toxic load and brings your body one step closer to balance.
If you’d like to listen, comment “Detox” below and I’ll send you the link to the episode.
06/11/2025
Most people don’t realise that hair shedding is part of a normal cycle — around 10% of our hair is always in the resting (telogen) phase while new strands quietly grow underneath.
But when the body is under pressure — illness, surgery, childbirth, calorie restriction, trauma, or even a big emotional shock — that balance shifts. Suddenly, a much higher percentage of hairs move into the telogen phase at once. Three months later, you start noticing them on your pillow, your clothes, and in the shower. That’s Telogen Effluvium — a temporary shedding caused by physiological stress.
For some, it resolves quickly. For others, it becomes chronic — especially if nutrient stores weren’t rebuilt, hormones remain imbalanced, or the stress response never truly reset. Cortisol, thyroid hormones, iron, zinc, vitamin D, and protein intake all play huge roles here.
I often see it after burnout, prolonged dieting, perimenopause, post-viral fatigue, or stopping medication. The trigger might have passed, but the body still believes it’s in survival mode — and hair growth is never a priority in survival mode.
If your shedding hasn’t slowed after three months, it’s worth exploring deeper: hormones, nutrients, stress resilience, and mitochondrial energy — because when those are restored, the cycle resets and regrowth begins.
Next week inside The Autoimmune Forum, I’m running a new mini-series — Vagal Tone and Nervous System Resilience — where we’ll explore how the stress response, mitochondrial energy, and immune signalling directly impact hair growth and recovery.
Comment AUTOIMMUNE FORUM below and I’ll send you the link to join.
05/11/2025
If you’re living with alopecia — I want you to know this: you don’t have to do it alone.
Hair loss is one of the most emotionally difficult symptoms I see in clinic. It affects your confidence, your identity, your sense of safety in your own body — and yet it’s often brushed aside or met with quick fixes that don’t go deep enough.
You might have been told it’s stress, hormones, or genetics. That it’ll grow back on its own.
Or you’ve already tried everything — steroid creams, elimination diets, expensive shampoos, biotin, collagen — and nothing feels like it’s really working.
But here’s the truth: alopecia is autoimmune, inflammatory, and deeply individual. And there is a way to understand what’s happening at the root.
That’s why I created the Root Reset™ Circle — a private membership for people with autoimmune hair loss who want a structured, supportive path forward.
Inside the Circle, I share everything I’ve learned — both from my own journey of living with alopecia as a child and overcoming it after 25 years, and from supporting so many clients through their own hair loss journeys.
We go beyond the surface to explore what’s really driving alopecia — from gut health and nutrient status to immune stress, trauma, hormones, and nervous system overwhelm.
Each week we meet live, dive into focused themes, and have honest conversations. It’s a space for real answers and real support — no fluff, no false promises. Just the kind of help I wish I’d had years ago.
If you’re ready to feel seen, supported, and guided through your recovery — you’re so welcome here.
💬 Comment CIRCLE to find out more. I’ll send you the link personally.
You don’t have to figure this out alone.
04/11/2025
November always feels like the quiet before the rush. The light changes, the air cools, and there’s a natural pull to focus inward — especially before the festive season begins. For me, it’s a time to steady the pace, take stock of what’s working, and gently recommit to what really matters in my health and routines.
Inside The Autoimmune Forum, I’m introducing two new mini series that have come directly from the conversations we’ve been having in the group. They’re short, practical, and rooted in both clinical experience and lived reality.
The first starts on 10 November and focuses on vagal tone and nervous system resilience — how your vagus nerve impacts digestion, inflammation and mood, and the simple daily tools (like breathwork, sound, food, and gentle stimulation) that can make a difference. This is something I come back to again and again in both my own healing and in clinic work.
The second series will look at stealth infections in the gut — low-grade bacterial and fungal imbalances that quietly drive inflammation, fatigue and immune dysfunction. These are often missed on standard tests, but they show up again and again in complex autoimmune cases. We’ll explore how to spot the signs and what to do about them.
Both series will be followed by a live Q&A so I can answer your questions and help you apply the tools in a personalised way.
On the podcast this month, I’m joined by Dr. Jill Carnahan to talk about histamine, MCAS and hidden immune stressors, and by Nagina Abdullah who’s sharing her insights on weight management and inflammation, especially relevant as we shift into winter.
And of course, the Root ReSET Circle continues — a space where we’re digging deep into the real drivers of hair loss and rebuilding health step by step, with guidance and community support.
Whether you’re feeling focused, frazzled, or somewhere in between, you’re not alone. November can be a powerful time to reset — not with pressure, but with clarity.
What’s something you’d like to strengthen or come back to this month? I’d love to hear.
31/10/2025
Last week, I had the pleasure of presenting a Lamberts Health Lunchtime Webinar on Rethinking Thyroid Health: A Deeper Dive into Endocrine Function. It was such a joy to deliver because the thyroid is one of those topics that seems simple on the surface, yet the more we explore it, the more we realise how interconnected it really is.
The feedback afterwards was wonderful to read, with so many practitioners sharing how they were already putting some of the ideas into practice. That’s always the most rewarding part for me — knowing the information is useful, practical, and helps make sense of the more complex mechanisms we see in clinic every day.
One of my favourite things about this work is taking something complex and breaking it down in a way that feels clear, relevant, and meaningful. I’ve always been endlessly curious about how the body communicates — those subtle biochemical conversations between the thyroid, the adrenals, the liver, the gut, and the brain. When you begin to understand those connections, everything starts to make more sense.
That’s also why I love creating The Autoimmune RESET Podcast. It allows me to share what I’m learning in real time — translating science into something practical and human. There’s something so powerful about simplifying the complex without losing the depth. Nearly 200 episodes in, the podcast has become a space to explore everything from thyroid and immune health to menopause, fasting, fatigue, and stress recovery.
If you haven’t listened yet, you can find The Autoimmune RESET Podcast on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts. There’s a full library of episodes ready to explore, each one focused on helping you understand your body better and support healing from the root.
And if you’re a corporation, healthcare company, or practitioner organisation, and would like me to present a session for your team — on topics like immune health, thyroid function, menopause, or stress resilience — please do get in touch. I genuinely love teaching and creating spaces where learning feels both evidence-based and empowering.
A huge thank you again to Lamberts Health for inviting me to speak, and to everyone who joined live. Your enthusiasm, questions, and passion for understanding the body more deeply make this work so rewarding.
30/10/2025
For as long as I can remember, my skin reflected what was happening inside my body. I had breakouts that never fully cleared, dry patches that appeared without warning, psoriasis, histamine rashes, and even recurring ringworm. For years, I was told it was hormonal, immune-related, or simply something I’d have to manage — but over time I began to see the pattern. They were all connected.
What linked them all was a disrupted skin barrier.
The skin barrier isn’t just a layer of protection; it’s an active immune and metabolic organ that’s constantly communicating with the gut, liver, and nervous system. When that communication breaks down, the skin becomes reactive, inflamed, and unable to defend or repair itself.
For years I focused on the outside — changing products, eliminating foods, chasing every flare — but the real change came when I started supporting the barrier from within. I rebuilt my gut health, restored nutrients like glutamine, zinc carnosine, omega-3s and phospholipids, supported detoxification through food, hydration, and rest, and worked on calming my stress response because cortisol and barrier repair are deeply connected.
Gradually, my skin became calmer, more resilient, and far less reactive. It finally began to feel balanced again — and it’s stayed that way for years.
Our barriers — skin, gut, liver, even the brain — are the foundations of our health. When they’re strong, the body finds equilibrium. When they’re compromised, we see it everywhere: in our skin, our energy, and our immunity.
If you’d like to know the five nutrients I recommend most often for skin barrier repair, comment SKIN below and I’ll share them with you.
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Contact The Practice
Send a message to VJ Hamilton: The Autoimmunity Nutritionist:
I have always had a interest in health and nutrition which probably started when I was young as my Mum was conscious about eating healthy food and trained as a nurse when I was a child, so I was familiar with illness and disease, and the fact that a good diet and a healthy lifestyle could help support these conditions.
I went on to study a BSc Honours Degree in Biochemistry and Immunology where I focused my studies on Vasculitis, an autoimmune disease which affects the vessels in the body causing inflammation and systemic damage in the body – it’s a tragic condition and made my passion to help people live a healthier life more intent.
In my early twenties, my brother discovered after a short illness that he had Multiple Sclerosis – it was a scary time as a family, but luckily my previous studies helped us understand what this strange illness was and ways to try to manage the symptoms. 12 years on, my brother still struggles with his illness, but he has managed to stay strong both physically and mentally since his diagnosis and is an inspiration to me everyday.
I was then engulfed by the corporate world for the next 12 years, as a Chartered Accountant, but I always stayed in touch with the science and health industry attending events on autoimmune disease, cancer, heart health, medicinal mushrooms and many more…
Over the last couple of years I have rerouted my career and trained as a Nutritionist, Pilates instructor, and health writer – all the things I love.
I studied a DipION (diploma) in Nutritional Therapy at the Institute for Optimum Nutrition in Richmond, London and I have completed the Comprehensive Pilates on the mat, reformer, ladder barrel, trapeze table and the Pilates chair at Polestar Pilates. I also write articles for Thrive Magazine on a regular basis as well as being a part of their team as a Thrive Expert. And I am a Dnalife Practitioner which gives me the tools to understand someone’s underlying genetic profile and the interactions these have with the environment (epigenetics).
Health, Nutrition and Humanity
My aim is to try and find solutions for those suffering with health issues, with a particular focus on autoimmune conditions, but so many illnesses including blood sugar regulation, weight management, gut issues and circulation have similar underlying causes. I would like to provide information, aspirations and other options to those who are not at their best – we can achieve better health with improvements to our diet and lifestyle, we just need to change our priorities and often perspective with some advice and coaching, we can all get there.
I also believe in movement, core stability and body alignment to help our bodies function properly which is so often overlooked. Our body is an energy system, communicating through nerve signals, so we need to ensure our pathways are free and aligned, and that our muscles are apportioned to support our skeletal system so that our bones stay strong and our nerves stay comfortable.
With an integrated health solution you can be the person you were meant to be in life – and my hope is to help those who are struggling get to where they would like to be in life whilst enjoying the experience of getting there.
