I recommend stewed apples a lot to my clients with gut issues because they are great for reducing inflammation and healing the gut wall, but I have to admit I hadn’t eaten them myself for quite a long time. Until recently when I was trying out a recipe for a new client and now I’m hooked. They are really tasty, really cheap, really easy to make and really really good for you.

If you ask me, as a nutritionist, about the one thing you should do to improve your diet. I’m not going to get into, low carb v high fat, probiotics or fasting? It’s so much simpler than that.

A lot of people don’t get on with antihistamines and you might not want to be taking them for long periods of time.

As a naturopath, I am looking to get the immune system to respond in a more appropriate manner rather than to wait for, and mask, the symptoms.

If you’re feeling a bit sluggish and feel like your liver could do with a bit of extra loving care after Christmas, and/or you’d like to start to think about making some improvements to the way you eat this year, here’s a 7 - day liver support plan to get you on your way.

I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease 24 years ago. Today I live medication and symptom free. Here are 7 things I wish I’d known back then.

Autumn is well and truly upon us and soups are back on the menu.

Soup is incredibly nutritious and nurturing. It incorporates lots of seasonal vegetables and can be a great way to use up leftovers and scraps, reducing food wastage. AND it’s very cheap to make (never more needed than now).

Everybody knows you should ‘eat your greens’, right? Broccoli is one of the foods which is pretty undisputed when it comes to its health benefits. It’s high in vitamins and minerals, as well as fibre, so great food for your microbiome, but it also contains sulforaphane. And this is very exciting!

If you’re experiencing some unexplained, allergic style symptoms, you may have developed an intolerance to histamine. Symptoms are wildly different and include sinus problems, hives, dizziness, headaches and/or migraines, flushing or itchy skin and heart palpitations as well as bloating and other digestive issues. If this sound familiar check out what you can do regain equilibrium.

If you feel a bit of a dip in the afternoon it’s easy to reach for a sugary snack. But refined sugars and ultra processed foods are highly inflammatory and detrimental to health. Here are some sweet alternatives which are healthy and will sustain you.

Tryptophan is an essential component for the production of serotonin, a signalling molecule which regulates mood and promotes contentment as well as facilitating gut motility and good digestion. Further downstream serotonin converts to melatonin which helps regulate circadian rhythm and sleep. So, it’s SO important for all aspects of health, in particular digestion and mental health.

There’s a lot of talk about healing the gut, and so there should be. The gut is the epicentre of all health. Symptoms such as bloating, gas, brain-fog, depression and other mood disorders, hormonal imbalances, skin complaints and many more, can be attributed to poor gut function and imbalances in the gut microbiome. BUT if you are currently struggling with digestive issues then healing the gut might be a bit more complicated than eating a lot of pre and probiotics and necking some bone broth. Whilst these are all gut friendly foods, this strategy could worsen symptoms in the short term. For an already compromised gut a gentler approach might be more suitable, there’s no point eating foods you just can’t digest. This blog post looks at things to consider to get you started.

If you’ve ever had ‘butterflies’ or felt your stomach 'flip', you already know that your brain has a direct line to your gut. This intimate bi-directional relationship between the brain and the gut means that not only can you feel what’s happening in the brain in your gut, i.e. nerves, butterflies, IBS symptoms, but what’s happening in our gut has a profound affect on your brain, leading to disorders such as poor cognition, anxiety and depression.

Scientists estimate there are roughly 40 trillion bacterial cells, mainly in your gut and on your skin.

Everybody’s microbiome is unique and dependant on a whole load of dietary and environmental factors starting from birth. We are now learning more and more about these colonies and are starting to see from clinical trials the incredible impact that our gut microbiome has over all aspects of our physical and mental health.

Learn what you can do to influence your microbes for the better and in turn improve our health.

The body has an innate ability to heal. Getting your body into the best shape possible in order to deal with everything from pathogens to cancer cells is key to better disease outcomes and something which is often overlooked in modern medicine, where the focus is on the ‘medicine’. Find out more about how you can prime your body to heal.

An autoimmune disease doesn’t necessarily mean a life of chronic illness. In this blog I outline my key elements for healing autoimmunity. For each person there are reasons which need to be identified and can then be addressed.

If you’re thinking of getting back on track this spring, here are 5 things to do to make a start, practise them for a month and see how they impact your overall health and happiness. Keep them up for longer and you can ditch the diet, reduce inflammation and prevent chronic illness.

What you put in your body is one way you can positively (or negatively) influence the way in which your body responds to stressors and reduce the harmful effects stress has on the body. Here are 6 tips for eating well for stress management