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Alicia McCarthy | Autoimmune disease & Gut Health Nutritionist
Online Nutritionist & Wellness Coach
Learn what your body needs to feel well
Gut health, IBS, Inflammation, Autoimmunity
Associate Registered Nutritionist (NSNZ)
B.AppSc Human nutrition

28/04/2026

Perimenopause can impact more than hormones, it can also change how your body responds to food.

Hormonal shifts can influence gut health, inflammation, immune function, and blood sugar balance, potentially increasing food sensitivities or making symptoms more noticeable.

You may notice more bloating, fatigue, headaches, skin flare-ups, or digestive discomfort from foods you previously tolerated well.

This doesn’t mean you should keep cutting out more and more foods, it means finding what support your body needs, what foods are contributing to symptoms and rebuilding gut resilience.

Prioritising gut health, balanced nutrition, and identifying personal triggers can help reduce symptoms and improve how you feel through perimenopause and into menopause.

Know someone dealing with gut symptoms or chronic inflammation during perimenopause or post menopause?

Share this with them, nutrition and supporting gut health can make a real difference.

24/04/2026

Hormonal fluctuations, especially during perimenopause can certainly introduces some challenges...

With a lot changing in the body, gut symptoms can pop up, inflammation can increase and even autoimmune disease can be triggered.

Progesterone and Oestrogen both have roles with inflammation and gut health in our body.

Oestrogen can be both anti-inflammatory and inflammatory depending on which receptors are activated by oestrogen. While progesterone is generally more reliable as an anti-inflammatory, helping regulate the immune system, but is the first to decline in perimenopause.

This is why many women notice:

– more inflammation in perimenopause and menopause

– joint pain or worsening autoimmune symptoms

– increased gut symptoms

When oestrogen and progesterone are present they help support:

- your gut barrier
- gut microbiome diversity
- your immune balance
- your long-term health

As levels decline or fluctuate, our nutrition and lifestyle habits become one of the biggest things we can do to support changes in inflammation, gut and whole body health.

It’s not about being perfect, it’s about supporting your body in a way that helps you feel your best over time, ease symptoms, and enhance your overall quality of life.

If you’re navigating gut issues, chronic inflammation, or hormone-related symptoms and want support, this is exactly what I help with inside my 1:1 online nutrition and wellness coaching programs. Using personalised support, gut microbiome testing and functional testing to truly understand whats going on for you and support sustainable change.

16/04/2026

Such an amazing honeymoon getaway, time to relax, explore and be in nature. To say the last 6 months has been full on feels like an understatement. With training for a 100km bike race 1 week before the wedding (we thought it was a good idea at the time 😅), trying to manage autoimmune flares with training and life stressors, wedding planning, running a business (although been a bit absent on the socials...), and dealing with a fair few unexpected stressful additions in our personal lives to really put the icing on the cake, this was such a wonderful getaway to reset.

Glamping at the most magical
And spending some time in Golden bay, exploring Ngaru and Rawhiti caves, labyrinth rocks, swimming, snorkeling, beach relaxing, seeing the most beautiful springs at Te Waikoropupū springs, and horse trekking with the most amazing views and lovely horses

Slightly sad to be back to reality already but looking forward to spending more brain power on doing what I love building this business and supporting more amazing clients with their nutrition and wellness this year 😊💪

24/02/2026

Think a food and symptom diary could support you?
Coment 'Diary' or Download yours via the link in my bio 📔

If you suspect there may be connections between your symptoms, food, or daily habits but can’t quite piece it together, writing things down can make patterns much clearer.

A food and symptom diary can help you:
- Identify patterns and possible triggers
- Confirm or rule out suspicions
- Monitor consistency with habits
- See how lifestyle changes impact you over time

Whether you’re dealing with ongoing gut symptoms, IBS, chronic inflammatory conditions like autoimmune disease or endometriosis, low energy, mood shifts, skin flare-ups, this simple tool can be a powerful step toward understanding your body.

Have you used one before? 👇

11/02/2026

Low zinc can make it harder for your gut lining to repair and protect itself-so getting enough is crucial.

Whether you’re dealing with chronic inflammation, autoimmune conditions, or digestive issues like IBS, zinc is one of the key nutrients that supports gut health, helps regulate inflammation, and keeps your immune system strong.

Where do you get your zinc?

28/01/2026

For complex symptoms like endometriosis, autoimmune conditions and confusing persistent gut symptoms, more effort isn’t always the answer,

Clearer information is.

Gut microbiome testing isn’t about perfection or obsessing over results.

It’s about understanding your body better, so we can work with it, not against it.

If it feels like you've tried everything and you still can't quite figure out what's working, what isn't, or what steps to take, gut microbiome testing can be a game changer.

Want to chat to see if it is a good next step for you?

Book a free strategy session - link in bio

22/01/2026

Changing our habits can take some time but having a plan, figuring out how to implement them into your life and making small, sustainable adjustments over time can make a real difference.

Comment “Habits” for a free habit tracker or follow the link in bio 😊

19/01/2026

When it takes a few days to figure out why something might be hurting and whether you tweaked something, overused a muscle, or if it’s actually arthritis…

Have you experienced this?👇

Naturally managing arthritis isn’t always easy. It’s taken time to learn what triggers my inflammation & what works well for me to reduce it when I feel it creeping up again.

Different stages of life of course bring different challenges and can make managing autoimmune disease symptoms more challenging. Which anyone with autoimmune disease or chronic illness will be able to relate to.

And the latest one is pretty much self inflicted… and still incredibly frustrating.

I’m training for Le Race, a 100km road cycling race from Christchurch city to Akaroa, and if you know those roads, you know, there’s a lot of hills.

The high intensity training and demand on my body, plus the fact you really need to have a lot of simple carbs, well sugar, to fuel well when doing endurance sport, adds an extra challenge to balancing the inflammation in my body.

With high intensity exercise being shown to increase intestinal permeability, plus the fact that sugar can increase inflammation, makes it challenging to keep my inflammation low.

I thought going into it that this might happen… maybe my inflammation would increase because of the many hours training, high intensity exercise, and sugar intake all in one.

And it certainly did.

Some days it’s not so bad and others there has been tears from frustration and pain, so sick of my body not allowing me to just do what I want it to.

You might be thinking.. of course, she’s just doing too much!

And you might be right, my back has been less than pleasant, and my neck, some days hard to turn easily, but when I am supporting my body as much as I can in all the other ways, it helps.

I’ve been focusing more on supporting my nervous system and slowing down when I can to try to feel relaxed (outside of biking) as much as I can. Prioritising enough good quality sleep for recovery and helping my inflammation.

Continued in comments 👇

16/01/2026

If you like ticking things off my free habit tracker will be great for you! ☺️

Comment "Habits" or follow the link in my bio for yours 😁

29/12/2025

What's yours? 👇

22/12/2025

I might have gotten a bit carried away with some of the images here 😅🤣 but at least I was entertained 😆

What's your go to, or must have Christmas tradition or food?? I'd love to hear! 👇

☃️🎅🤶🦌🎁🎄

12/12/2025

When most people think about gut health, they thing about the gut bugs/microbiome.

They jump straight to probiotics, maybe ⬆️ fibre, and quite often cutting out certain foods (often leading to a more & more restricted diet that ends up missing key nutrients & compromising gut health & wellbeing more)

One of the biggest pieces of the puzzle is often completely overlooked?

Your gut barrier

Your gut barrier is a single layer of cells that decides what gets in and what stays out.

It’s designed to absorb nutrients while keeping microbes, toxins, & food particles where they belong - inside the gut.

When that barrier becomes stressed or inflamed, the tight junctions loosen.

This is what we call increased intestinal permeability (or “leaky gut”).

And when this happens, symptoms can show up anywhere - not just in the digestive system.

Think:

- Bloating or IBS symptoms
- Food reactions
- Skin issues
- Brain fog + fatigue
- Joint pain
- Autoimmune disease & flares in autoimmune or inflammatory conditions

Because when substances cross the gut barrier more easily, the immune system is activated & chronic inflammation can increase.

What supports a healthy gut barrier?

Fibre + diverse plant foods: Feed beneficial microbes & supports production of short-chain fatty acids like butyrate (great for the gut lining & reducing inflammaiton).

A Mediterranean-style eating pattern: Rich in antioxidants, healthy fats, & polyphenols that protect the gut.

Key nutrients: Like Glutamine, vitamin A, zinc, vitamin D, tryptophan - all important for barrier integrity.

Reducing alcohol, ultra-processed foods & sugar: These can all negatively affect the gut barrier & microbiome.

Managing stress & getting enough good quality sleep: Your nervous system has a big influence on digestion & gut barrier function.

Ultimately,

You can take all the probiotics in the world… (some of which may or may not be effective),

But if the gut barrier isn’t supported, symptoms will often linger.

Rebuilding gut resilience, supporting gut barrier & microbiome health- can be what finally makes a real difference to how you feel.

Want personalised support?
Book a free 15 min chat - Link in bio 😊

Address

Christchurch

Website

http://www.groundedhealth.co/

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