It is now known that there is a huge link between diet and mood, and certain foods can really transform how we feel. For example, tryptophan, an amino acid found in fish, chicken, turkey, oats and eggs is converted by the body into serotonin, our ‘feel good hormone’. If you want to boost your mood include some of the tryptophan foods in your diet everyday. Keeping blood sugar levels stable and improving digestive health including eliminating any food intolerances can also be very important in improving mood.

As well as diet, our lifestyles can affect our frame of mind such as being in a job we don’t enjoy, high stress levels, or perhaps being in the wrong relationship. Our life coaching services can help you to move from where you are now in your life to where you want to be in the future.

If you’re in need of a mood boost, get in touch to make an appointment at one of our London nutrition clinics.

Kim

When Sarah first came to see us, she was experiencing menopausal hot flushes, night sweats, fatigue and mood swings. She was also suffering from bad bloating and bowel changes. Sarah had always had IBS but along with many other women she felt it had got a lot worse since hitting the menopause.

We set straight to work to try and alleviate Sarah’s menopause and IBS symptoms. A stool analysis revealed a parasite and an overgrowth of yeast which was likely to be contributing to the IBS and bloating and affecting Sarah’s absorption of nutrients. We provided Sarah with a supplement programme aimed at eradicating the nasties in her gut. Other changes included diet recommendations to boost Sarah’s nutrient intake and to stabilise her blood sugar levels. We also added in some herbs and some essential fats to support her female hormones.

A few months on, Sarah is feeling much better – the menopause symptoms have really improved, and the bloating and IBS is no longer a problem. As an added bonus Sarah has lost some excess weight and feels much more energetic.

Are the menopause and IBS causing problems for you? If so get in touch to make an appointment at one of our London nutrition clinics. Click here for more information on IBS and the menopause.

Kim

Do you suffer from a skin problem such as eczema, psoriasis, acne rosacea or acne? If you do then you are certainly not alone. We often see clients with skin problems many of whom have suffered for years and come to us as a last resort having tried every pill and potion available.

Whilst creams and medication can help to control skin problems it doesn’t get to the root cause of the condition. In our experience skin problems such as eczema, psoriasis, acne or acne rosacea can be caused by an underlying health problem such as poor digestion, sluggish liver function, a lack of nutrients, and food intolerances.

For example, I recently saw a client at my Blackheath nutrition clinic who suffered from psoriasis. He was managing to keep it under control using various creams but he felt like it was getting worse and it was starting to affect his self-confidence. The client was a big drinker – he worked long stressful hours and a few drinks at the end of the day and binge drinking at the weekend was his way of relaxing.

I explained that his alcohol intake and stressful lifestyle was likely to be affecting his skin health. High alcohol levels and stress can take its toll on liver function, which is often shown in the skin. In addition, his diet was high in sugar and low in key nutrients required for skin health.

We got to work by cleaning up his diet and reducing his alcohol intake. I also recommended some supplements aimed at improving digestion as his gut health was far from optimal and this could have been contributing to the psoriasis. We also discussed some stress management techniques to help him cope with his hectic lifestyle.

Just a few months on the client’s psoriasis is greatly improved – he no longer relies on the creams to keep his psoriasis under control. He also feels much calmer and more energised.

Find out more about how we can improve your skin health and get in touch to make an appointment at one of our London nutrition clinics (Central London and Blackheath)

Kim Porter

Everyone it seems these days is on a quest to stay looking young and beautiful, and to defy the signs of ageing! There are now thousands of beauty products which we apply daily with the hope of banishing wrinkles. Cosmetic surgery is growing enormously in popularity with celebrities at the forefront, many of whom regularly get a botox fix. There are also hundreds of anti-ageing supplements now on the market which claim to help keep wrinkles and degenerative diseases at bay.

Like many people, I would prefer to grow old gracefully and don’t like the idea of going under the knife, not to mention spending huge amounts of money on surgery. Many of us are more interested in staying youthful and healthy the natural way through a healthy diet, lifestyle and supplements.

Yet, how do we know what is good for slowing down the ageing process? Hardly a day goes by without media coverage on what is good or bad for us. But much of this press coverage can be confusing – one day goji berries are the new anti-ageing superfood, the next it’s broccoli, one day red wine is good for longevity, the next it is bad. So who are we supposed to believe? And how can we stay looking youthful without spending a fortune on anti-ageing creams and cosmetic surgery?

The Nutrition Coach has developed an exciting and inspirational course – Eat Yourself Young. The aim of the Eat Yourself Young course is to teach the key principles to holding back the years through food to keep you looking and feeling young. It also covers the best anti-ageing supplements, skincare for youthful skin, and how your lifestyle can affect the rate at which you age.

Find out more about our Eat Yourself Young course and contact us to make an appointment at one of our London nutrition clinics.

Kim

“I’m tired all the time” is something I hear very often in my central London and Blackheath nutrition clinics. Low energy certainly seems to be a big issue for many people. I am sure this is partly due to the hectic lifestyles so many of us lead in both the workplace and at home but diet can also of course play a huge part in fluctuating energy levels.

Healthy eating often takes a backseat when you’re working long hours and racing to meet deadlines, or running around looking after children. When I go through a client’s diet during the first consultation I often find out that they rely on sugar and caffeine to get them through the day creating a vicious cycle of highs and lows in energy.

Once we have replaced the usual culprits such as sugar, caffeine and refined carbohydrates with more nutritious wholegrains, good quality protein, fruit, vegetables, healthy snacks and plenty of water most people feel much more energised.

Many people assume that healthy eating is time consuming. I fully admit that it can be if you make all your meals from scratch but there is room for cheating so you can still eat well if you are time poor. With a little know-how and some forward planning and preparation, healthy eating is easily achievable.

Energy levels can still be an issue despite cleaning up the diet. If this is the case, I look at the possibility of an underactive thyroid, stress levels, the health of the adrenals, and digestive health. Any issues in these areas can have a big impact on energy and vitality. I often use testing such as stool or hormone analysis to see if there are any underlying problems affecting energy levels. I can then draw up a specific action plan to tackle any problems areas and help clients regain their energy.

If you feel tired all the time why not get in touch to see how we can help?

Kim

Gluten intolerance seems to be a common problem amongst my clients. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, spelt, barley and rye.

Symptoms of gluten intolerance include bloating, diarrhoea, and constipation. However these often clear up once gluten is removed from the diet and gut health is improved. Gluten can then usually be slowly re-introduced into the diet.

A gluten intolerance is very different to coeliac disease which is an auto-immune disease and lifelong gluten intolerance. Some symptoms of coeliac disease are similar to gluten intolerance but many people also suffer from weight loss, bone pain, and mouth ulcers.

Going gluten free these days is not as hard as it used to be. Admittedly, some of the gluten free foods are not that tasty but there are now some fantastic gluten free ranges. There are also plenty of gluten free alternatives to wheat, rye and barley such as buckwheat (no relation to wheat), rice, millet, polenta, quinoa and amaranth. Oats are naturally gluten free however the vast majority of oats available are contaminated with gluten grains such as rye, wheat or barley. Some specialist suppliers sell uncontaminated oats – please note that not everyone with coeliac disease can tolerate them so consult your GP before trying them. Try www.spoff.co.uk for pure uncontaminated porridge oats.

If you suspect you have a gluten intolerance or have coeliac disease, contact us on 0845 0502442 or click here for more information.

Find out more about gluten intolerance and contact us to make an appointment at one of our London nutrition clinics.

Kim

I admit I found it difficult to eat healthily all the time during the first trimester but I figured that because my diet was healthy most of the time a few bowls of chips (my weakness) weren’t going to do any harm!

I found that a good pregnancy multivitamin and mineral and some liver support helped with the tiredness and the sickness. I also found the following helped greatly:

• Eating little and often – even if you feel sick do try to eat something. As soon as your blood sugar dips/you have an empty stomach, the nausea can come on. Having something to eat as soon as you wake up such as a cracker or an oatcake can help with the sickness first thing in the morning.
• Sea Bands – these are bands you wear on your wrists which work on a certain acupuncture point and can help reduce the nausea. I wore these during most of my first trimester (Amazon sells them).
• New Chapter Ginger and Honey Tonic (from a good health food shop).
• A course of acupuncture.

Thankfully I don’t feel sick at all anymore and my energy levels are brilliant. I am making sure my diet is as good as it can be (with the odd treat of course) and I am on a good supplement plan. I’m now making the most of my time before the little one arrives in November!

Find out more about pregnancy and nutrition and contact us to make an appointment at one of our London nutrition clinics.

Kim

The vast majority of snacks available at motorway service stations such as chocolate, biscuits and muffins are packed full of sugar – these provide a short lived sugar fix leaving you feeling tired. Rather than rely on service station snacks, get organised before you go and pack your own.

Try some of the following which can be easily transported in a Tupperware box:

• Nuts, seeds and dried fruit
• Raw carrot sticks or oatcakes with hummus
• Falafels
• Finger sandwiches (try rye bread, peanut butter and banana)
• Easy to eat fruit (e.g. apples, bananas, satsumas)
• Boiled eggs (ready peeled)

Whilst these nutritious snacks can’t guarantee the end of tantrums on long journeys, they may well help!

Happy holidays!

Kim

From experience, I have learnt that whilst diet can have a dramatic effect on IBS and bloating, it is not always the only answer. If there is some underlying digestive issue, even the best diet in the world will not clear up IBS entirely. For this reason I often recommend stool testing to assess digestive health and identify any ‘nasties’ such as parasites (surprisingly common), and bacteria and yeast infections.

Once we’ve worked on restoring a client’s digestive health and ensuring a healthy balanced diet, IBS symptoms such as bloating and constipation can be left firmly behind in the past.

Find out more about how we can help with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and contact us to make an appointment at one of our London nutrition clinics.

Kim Porter

Welcome to The Nutrition Coach Blog; your resource for news and opinion on matters related to health, nutrition and vitality.

Find out more about the team at The Nutrition Coach:

Kate Cook
Kim Porter
Sanna Anderson
Julia Alderman
Hilary Davies