Whole Mind Health

As women enter perimenopause and menopause, hormonal shifts - especially declines in oestrogen and progesterone - don’t just affect the body; they reshape the brain. Many women report brain fog, memory lapses, difficulty concentrating, low mood, and mental fatigue. This isn’t “just in your head” - the changes have a real biological basis.

Food sensitivities have become one of the most confusing and frustrating issues people deal with today. One week you’re fine, the next week you react to foods you’ve eaten your whole life. Add in a food sensitivity test that lists 20–40 “trigger foods,” and it’s easy to feel like your body is rejecting everything.

Hormonal fluctuations, especially during life transitions like perimenopause, can have a significant impact on mental health. Many women notice mood swings, anxiety, irritability, or brain fog when hormones are shifting, but understanding why this happens - and what you can do about it - can help you feel more in control.

For decades, fat has been unfairly labeled the enemy. But your brain thrives on fat - in fact, it’s about 60% fat by weight. The right fats provide the building blocks your brain needs to communicate, regulate mood, and function optimally. Without them, neurons can’t signal efficiently, inflammation rises, and cognitive performance suffers.

In today’s world, our bodies are constantly exposed to toxins - from environmental pollutants and processed foods to household chemicals and even stress. Functional medicine recognises that true detoxification is not about quick-fix cleanses or harsh diets, but rather supporting the body's natural detox systems in a personalised, sustainable way.

In our modern world, we're exposed to a wide range of environmental pollutants, but few are as insidious and damaging to brain health as heavy metals. Substances like lead, mercury, cadmium, and arsenic, even in small amounts, can accumulate in the body over time and wreak havoc on the nervous system. Emerging research continues to link heavy metal exposure to a range of cognitive and mental health disorders, raising serious public health concerns.

Vitamin B12 is a vital nutrient for brain health, energy production, and nerve function. Yet, many people are misdiagnosed, or completely overlooked, because the most common way of testing B12 levels is far from perfect. A simple blood test for “serum B12” may seem reassuring, but it does not actually tell us how much B12 is available where it matters most: inside your cells.

For millions of people worldwide, psychiatric medications can be a lifeline - a critical short-term tool to stabilise intense emotional suffering, manage psychosis, reduce anxiety, or help someone function during a crisis. In these moments, medications like antipsychotics, antidepressants, mood stabilisers, and anxiolytics can be life-saving. They offer relief, restore sleep, ease intrusive thoughts, and help people get through the darkest periods of their lives.

When experiencing symptoms like depression, anxiety, brain fog, or low energy, many people turn to psychiatric medications for relief. While these can be effective in some cases, they shouldn’t necessarily be the first step. Mental health is intricately linked to physical health, and imbalances in the body can mimic or worsen psychiatric symptoms. Before committing to medications, it's essential to explore potential underlying causes that might be contributing to your symptoms.

When starting a ketogenic diet, many people get excited when they see high ketone readings on a blood meter or dark purple strips on a urine test. It feels like proof that the diet is "working." And in some ways, it is - a rise in ketone production means your body is beginning to shift away from burning glucose (sugar) as its primary fuel source.

It’s a common and frustrating experience: you’ve stopped your psychiatric medication—often after battling side effects like weight gain—yet the extra kilograms refuse to budge. You expected the scale to start shifting in your favour, but it doesn’t. Why? Unfortunately, psychiatric medications can have long-term effects on the body, and weight regulation is far more complex than simply removing the drug. Here are five key reasons why weight loss might remain elusive even after discontinuing psychiatric medication.

The ketogenic diet has gained attention as a promising support for mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, and even bipolar disorder. It works by shifting the body from burning glucose to burning ketones, which is an alternative fuel source that may enhance brain energy, reduce inflammation, and stabilise neurotransmitters.

The ketogenic diet is best known for its ability to support weight loss and control blood sugar, but its impact on brain health is perhaps even more profound. One of the key ways keto supports mental well-being is by helping balance two critical brain chemicals: glutamate and GABA. These neurotransmitters play opposite roles, and a healthy brain needs the right balance between the two to function properly

If you’ve ever felt shaky, irritable, panicky, or wired for no reason, only to realise you haven’t eaten in hours, or you just ate something sugary - you’ve already experienced the powerful connection between blood sugar and anxiety.

The root cause of autoimmunity is a complex and multifactorial issue that is not fully understood. Autoimmune diseases occur when the immune system, which is designed to protect the body from foreign invaders like viruses and bacteria, mistakenly targets and attacks the body's own tissues and organs. While the exact cause of autoimmunity varies depending on the specific autoimmune disease, several factors are believed to contribute to its development:

The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, moderate-protein, and very low-carbohydrate diet. The goal is to shift your body into a state of ketosis, where it primarily burns fat for energy instead of carbohydrates. Normally, your body uses glucose (from carbohydrates) as its primary energy source. When you drastically reduce carb intake, your body doesn't have enough glucose to fuel itself, so it begins to break down fat into ketones—small molecules that can be used for energy instead. This process is known as ketosis.

Abdominal fat, particularly the kind that clings stubbornly to your waistline, is one of the most frustrating aspects of weight management. You may have tried various interventions such as intermittent fasting, low carb diets, ketogenic diets, paleo diets or just simply reducing your caloric intake, but nothing has had much impact. Whether you call it a "spare tire," "belly pooch," or simply "love handles," it can seem nearly impossible to get rid of. But why is this fat so persistent?

Have you recently tested low on your vitamin D3 levels?

If so, you may have received a prescription from your GP for a short course of a mega dose of vitamin D. Now whilst I agree that it’s important to maintain healthy vitamin D levels and it’s therefore crucial to intervene with a vitamin D supplement, I do not find that short term dosages of 50,000iu once a week for a few weeks is sustainable or helpful. Instead, I think it’s important to first understand why you may be deficient, as well as understanding what some long term solutions may be to prevent deficiency.

As winter approaches, many will seek essential remedies to boost immunity and avoid colds and flu, especially parents facing seasonal viruses at school. I want to share a powerful supplement I use when I feel an infection coming on. This supplement has been shown to resolve COVID symptoms within 4-5 days and help prevent chronic respiratory infections in children. Read more below!

Supporting methylation can enhance overall health, improve energy levels, and help manage various health conditions. There are some key factors that are important to take into consideration, which can have a negative impact on the functioning of methylation.

If you suffer with hypertension and you have ruled out or already addressed other factors, such as obesity, smoking, medications, and kidney disease, it may be a good idea to think about your oral health.

An ancestral or traditional diet focuses on eating whole, nutrient-dense foods similar to those consumed by our ancestors, emphasising foods that are minimally processed and closer to their natural state. Adopting an ancestral diet during the postpartum period can be incredibly beneficial, as it naturally includes many of the nutrients needed for recovery after childbirth, supports breastfeeding, and helps balance hormones.

The fascinating dialogue between our muscles and brain is an area of scientific inquiry that has revealed intricate connections pivotal for our overall health, performance, and wellbeing. This crosstalk, a complex biochemical exchange, highlights the body's remarkable capacity for integration and adaptation. Understanding the mechanisms behind this dialogue not only sheds light on the holistic nature of human physiology but also opens new avenues for enhancing physical and cognitive health.

Ever wondered why when you start eating snacks like Doritos or popcorn you can’t stop going back for more? Let me reassure you it’s got absolutely NOTHING to do with your willpower and everything to do with the evil science of food engineering, which literally hijacks the brain and leaves you feeling unfulfilled.

Whilst there are incredible benefits of intermittent fasting on factors, such as reducing weight and improving insulin sensitivity, and therefore preventing diabetes, fasting can have a negative impact on the delicate web of hormones in women.

While researchers continue to explore various aspects of long COVID, one intriguing avenue of investigation is the role of the gut microbiome in shaping the trajectory of this condition. In this blog post, I delve into the fascinating interplay between the gut microbiome and long COVID, exploring how disruptions in this microbial community may contribute to symptoms and potential strategies for restoration.

Functional medicine is an approach to healthcare that focuses on addressing the underlying causes of illness rather than just treating the symptoms. When applied to Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), functional medicine aims to understand the unique factors contributing to an individual's IBS and develop a personalised treatment plan.

The practice of intermittent fasting has long been in mainstream knowledge and one of the most common questions I get in my educational work is ‘does intermittent fasting really work?’…

My answer is, yes, it can be pretty miraculous actually in supporting healthy weight loss, improving blood sugar regulation, digestion, energy levels and brain health. However there are some caveats that I believe are important to highlight (see the end of this article).

The brain is an EXTREMELY energy hungry organ. Despite the fact that it weighs a mere 1.5kg (on average), it takes up at least 25% of the overall body’s energy requirements - that’s massive. It’s no surprise, therefore, that energy deficits in the brain drive the development of mental health conditions and cognitive health diseases.

IBS stands for Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and encompasses a vast number of symptoms - bloating, cramping, diarrhoea, constipation, wind, pain, indigestion, acid reflux, nausea. Just like the number of symptoms, there are a large number of reasons why anyone can suffer with any of the above complaints, and this is where conventional medicine is lacking - its solutions are rarely tailored to any of the root cause of these symptoms, and instead mask them and often perpetuate them.