Bridgette Hutchins (2025)

I run regular menopause solution days and can be booked as a speaker. Please refer to my website for information.

17/06/2024

All of us have some candida or yeast in our bodies, it is natural and indeed has its place, normal concentrations promote gut health, nutrient absorption and also aid digestion but too much of something, in this case, is not such a good thing.

Overgrowth of candida makes it become an opportunistic pathogen that can cause invasive infection resulting in systemic candidiasis. Anything that reduces the efficiency of bile acids will encourage overgrowth, like certain medications and antibiotics. Disturbed microbiota in the gut from a suppressed immune system or leaky gut will promote translocation into the bloodstream causing systemic disease under predisposing factors. So keeping the gut healthy is key to keeping overgrowth at bay, as is stress reduction and a robust immune system.

Clinical signs for overgrowth of candida are most obvious on a whitened tongue that needs a tongue scraper to keep it at bay. There may also be additional issues like fungal toenails, digestive issues like bloating, gas and irregular bowel movements, fatigue due to nutritional deficencies, thrush or recurring UTI infections, itching or rashes on the skin and joint pain.

To combat this, focus on a diet that is low in sugar, refined grains, dairy, processed meats, fermented foods and reduce/remove alcohol. Incorporate nutrients that help to keep candida at bay - garlic in food or capsules, oil swilling or pulling with coconut oil to reduce mouth candida and supplementing with curcumin and berberine have also been indicated to to reduce yeast growth. Pomegranate and cranberry are useful for UTI infections and the probiotic Saccharomyces Boulardii is known to also reduce growth and protect against infection. There are many natural remedies using herbs that target certain areas including foot soaks for fungal nail infections, and drinking essiac and mullein tea for blood purifying and in all cases liver support is required.

Stool testing can pick up on candida overgrowth in the gut and blood testing for the mannan antigen can reveal systemic candidiasis.

10/06/2024

As we move into our forties and beyond we start to lose some of the supportive hormones that aid in stress resilience meaning we are likely to encounter some anxiety that we may never have experienced before.

I have so many clients that report to me more feelings of overwhelm, overthinking and paranoia. Disrupted sleep can bring in worst case scenario thoughts or catastrophising of situations that in the light of day you wouldn't worry quite so much about. I had a client only last week telling me how she used to see the best in everyone but now only seems to see the worst.

Our neurotransmitters can definitely be affected during peri/menopause which can lead to a lower mood. As we age, we are less able to make the levels of serotonin that we did, especially if our gut health is poor, we also naturally produce less melatonin which aids a more restorative sleep. There is a tendency for our brains to revert to reactive lizard thinking as a protective mechanism, protecting us from all potential outcomes that could be deemed to be a threat (physically, or to our ego) which can take over from the logical mind. If you can recognise this, you can tell your lizard brain - it's fine, I'm good, I've got this!

When I have clients experiencing this type of thinking there are many things I look to in my toolbox that can help:

➡️ Herbal adaptogens - supplements like l-theanine, phosphatidylserine, passionflower, lemon balm and stabilium. Ashwagandha and rhodiola in certain individual circumstances.

➡️ Keeping well hydrated and supporting the liver to detoxify the myriad of toxins in our environment, like EMFs from our phones helps with reducing inflammation. Getting the blood and lymph flowing with brisk walks, sweating and cold therapy.

➡️ Meditation is like weight lifting for the brain and aids resilience. Sitting with the physical sensations of stress and breathing through them allows perspective to reframe a situation. This brings increased inner happiness (so much more important than external happiness!), keeps you grounded at testing times and frees up more positive energy for yourself, and for others.

26/05/2024

As you approach menopause, the perimenopausal years can be a rollercoaster and generally, for most women, progesterone is the first hormone to start to deplete which can lead to some oestrogen dominant symptoms like bloating, heavier periods, sore breasts, mood swings, headaches and weight gain.

We are fortunate that in the last five years GPs have got more educated on the symptoms of perimenopause and body identical HRT is more freely available – however – perimenopausal symptoms and oestrogen dominant symptoms are so alike, without testing it is impossible to know what is right for you as an individual. Which is why, as a practitioner specialising in women’s hormones I would recommend, before you set yourself on an HRT programme, you do a DUTCH test to see what you natural production of hormones actually are, so that those symptoms are not exacerbated by additional hormones. Not only that, how do you, as an individual, detoxify your oestrogen? Do you use a pathway that is less effective and therefore puts you at higher risk of DNA changes and hormonal cancers? The DUTCH test will analyse this so that you know that when you do take HRT you are supported, by a practitioner, in metabolising that additional oestrogen safely.

Gut health also plays an extremely important role in oestrogen detoxification. When oestrogen has been used in the body, it goes through a process in the liver where it is detoxified, metabolised and finally eliminated via the gut. Our gut bacteria regulate this oestrogen through an enzyme called ‘beta glucuronidase’. If we have high levels of this in the intestine this can deconjugate (unpack) the oestrogen and allow it to be recirculated and reabsorbed back into circulation leading to a high overall oestrogen load and therefore create likely oestrogen dominance.

Elevated levels of oestrogen will lead to the symptoms mentioned above and increased health risks. Knowing what is right for you can be daunting and the world of perimenopause is a minefield – but it is important to get it right for you as an individual and unfortunately our current healthcare model is not advanced or resourced enough to do this. So if you need help with working out the exact right route for you and not risk further symptoms working it out for yourself, seek out someone like myself who can do the appropriate testing and save you a great deal of time and energy meaning you enter this next phase of life informed and symptom free.

25/02/2024

Sudden insomnia? Brain fog? IBS symptoms? Low energy? Achy? Low Mood? Headaches? Anxiety? It's not you, it's the Full Moon!

Every moon cycle a lot of us are affected by unexplained symptoms that we can't put down to anything, but sleep problems, jaw clenching, low mood and feeling bloated or dizzy are all side effects that many of us feel on a Full Moon.

Why is this? Well, most of us carry some parasites. And at the full moon, these little critters get active. During a full moon cycle we make more serotonin and less melatonin (hence not sleeping so well) and parasites have a motility receptor for serotonin that helps them get out and about and lay more eggs. So this is a perfect time to kill them off.

Usually parasites will protect themselves with biofilm keeping them safe and much more resilient, but at the full moon and with the aid of biofilm busters we have a really good opportunity for flushing them out.

But there is a protocol we should follow in the lead up (like making sure detox pathways are open - see previous post) using antimicrobial herbs and eating things like pumpkin seeds that help to paralyze and eradicate them.

Unfortunately most parasites carry some toxins and when they die we can be exposed to die-off symptoms and unless we user binders, these toxins can also give off some rather nasty symptoms. Incorporating elements like activated charcoal, bentonite clay or diatomaceous earth mean the toxins are less likely to be re-absorbed, which can also make you feel pretty awful.

Working with an accomplished practitioner will ensure that the protocol and important steps required are right for you as an individual to secure success.

So if you are feeling a bit out of whack this weekend, this is probably why, the good news is it will pass, as all full moons do and you should be feeling a whole lot better by Tuesday!

16/01/2024

We hear this phrase bandied about when discussing detox but what does it actually mean? It is an important phase that is needed before any form of detox, before you are ready to introduce parisitical or anti-pathogenic supplements, binders or elimination protocol.

Essentially it means ‘getting things flowing’. If you have a sluggish metabolism or are constipated, if you spent Christmas sitting around and fuelling yourself with foods that might be a little more processed than usual, then you need to do this phase for a while first. If you don’t, the chances are, when you do attempt any detoxification you are going to feel awful when those toxins are released.

Make sure you are emptying your bowels at least once a day. This might need a month’s focus in itself. So improve your diet with more plantbased foods and fibre, add in some psyllium or magnesium, hydrate more with warm lemon, chew more thoroughly or maybe invest in an e***a kit and some green coffee. Just get eliminating. If you have stagnant faeces hanging around you also have a higher chance of biofilms where pathogens and parasites hide, clearing out will prepare you for success.

Exercise is key, our drainage pathways include our circulation, our lungs, our skin, so get moving, breathing and sweating. If you sit all day behind a desk at home, invest in a mini trampoline and every hour, get up and jump on it for a few minutes. Find a sauna or do something that gets you sweating to help with skin detoxification. Dry brush to aid lymphatic drainage. At the end of your shower switch to cold for a couple of minutes. Your monthly cycle is another way we detoxify so ensure that is regular, once your periods stop, detoxifying hormones is something else your liver has to deal with.

We all feel the need to cleanse in the New Year and we all should, but for an easier and safer journey, make sure you do the groundwork first.

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