Are you experiencing hot flushes and night sweats during menopause? Have you ever considered that it might be caused by insulin resistance? I’m not saying that this definitely will be the case, but it’s certainly worth looking at. I see a lot of this in my midlife nutrition clinic and it really could be the reason you’re tired, hungry and that losing weight seems impossible. Let me tell you what insulin resistance is… Insulin resistance occurs when the body's cells don't respond properly to insulin, leading to high blood sugar levels. Insulin is the fat storage hormone and it plays a key role ..read more

Are your cupboards full of cooking gadgets you never use? Hands up if you have a pasta maker getting dusty in the shed? Clients in clinic often ask me what they really need to make healthy eating a breeze, so here are my favourite must-have kitchen gadgets that you’ll actually use! Just in time to ask Santa … Obviously the first one is an air fryer. If you don't have one, this really is the season for it, what with all the austerity and such like. I wrote an entire blog about it (https://www.foodfabulous.co.uk/blog/air-fryer) because I love mine so much and think they are an excellent add ..read more

Unless you’ve been living under a stone, you will know that air fryers have become a BIG DEAL, now burgeoning in popularity since their launch in 2010. If you don’t already own one, now might just be the greatest excuse you’ll ever have to splash out. Black Friday and all the shopping frenzy ahead of that will be on you before you know it, and I’m going to be giving your some pretty darn good reasons to get one. As a piece of kit, they are so versatile – not just for people who want to make healthier chips – that most families I know say theirs is in use every day. That includes me and other n ..read more

When it comes to diet, food is so much more than macronutrients like protein, carbohydrate and fat. And even more than the sum of its vitamin and mineral content. I wonder how we forgot that. Even as far back as BD400 or so, that Greek guy Hipocrates - now considered the father of modern medicine - said "let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food" and that trend continue right through the Middle Ages when, if doctors weren't medicating with leeches, they might have an apothecary whip you up a potion, and these were largely made from medicinal herbs. Right there, you have the origins of ..read more

We’ve all been there… You wander into a room and can’t quite recall what you’re doing there. You can’t remember what you did with the car keys or your mobile phone. Someone’s name is just that little bit out of reach when you need it most… Feels like your brain is suddenly made of cotton wool? Forgetfulness can happen to the best of us. In perimenopause, this can escalate, causing untold awkward moments, embarrassment, and it can also increase anxiety levels even further. You no longer trust yourself to remember even the most basic fact, and become even more anxious about important work events ..read more

Books, magazines, and, yes, even your trusted nutritional therapist always have some handy, easy-to-follow advice to keep you healthy. “Just 5 minutes of face yoga per day prevents wrinkles”, “get a flat tummy in just 10 minutes a day” or “a simple 30-minute walk at dawn ensures better sleep at night” … That’s 45 minutes before you have even started looking after the rest of your life or even cooked a meal. If you’re not a celebrity and cannot afford a chef, a personal trainer, and a housekeeper, it can be difficult to find the time.  Add to that the restrictiveness of advice - like “avoi ..read more

Many people fear a heart attack. Think of it as the last straw. Heart disease is, in many cases, a lifestyle disease that is avoidable and, with the right focus, you can avoid it, too. There are some pretty big risk factors (outside of smoking and drinking in excess), and these include being diabetic, having high cholesterol and being overweight.  What I want to talk to you about today is which dietary changes you might start to make from today, to protect your health and that of your loved ones. There’s fantastic news in this regard because a number of huge studies point to diet and life ..read more

These days, finding organic food is easier than ever. Back in the day, if you wanted to eat organic, you’d have to grow your own or find a health food shop. The range of organic products available today – even in supermarkets - leaves hardly anything to be desired. You can buy wholemeal flour as well as white flour, light and dark pasta, organic strawberries and organic asparagus, natural juices, organic meat, sausages, fish, poultry, eggs and dairy. Even ready or almost-ready meals such as pizza, tortellini and frozen chips are available  organic, as are delicatessen specialities, wines ..read more

Many children are fussy eaters. Although it is entirely normal, it can be frustrating and hard to handle – particularly when there’s always at least one mother whose angelic offspring eats everything and still asks for second helpings of broccoli. What you need to know is that, most of the time, fussy eating isn’t about food, and it’s (usually) not about you either. It’s about children wanting to be independent.  If you’re graced with a fussy eater in the family, I’d like to share some tips on how to handle it.  First, a word about fussy eating… Children frequently object to the shap ..read more

Sleep matters big time. Without enough sleep, you create an uphill battle in so many different ways. Sleep – how much you have and the quality of it – matters even more than you probably realise, and not getting enough is sabotaging your health and any health goals you might have. Today I’d like to share exactly why it matters so much and what to do about it.  SLEEP AND WEIGHT Sleep and weight are intimately related. If you are not getting enough sleep on a regular basis, you are setting yourself up to be hungrier, eat more, weigh more, and have a harder time losing weight. It’s not all i ..read more