Articles by Clinical Nutrition

Difficulties with sleep are becoming a mainstream problem across a number of age groups. In our busy world of constant connectivity, it can be difficult to switch off and devote the time and space for sleep that the body needs, resulting in possible damaging health issues and further effects across broader aspects of life. With this in mind, we trailed our Sleep NutriPowder with a group of poor sleepers and we had some fantastic results. From falling asleep more easily and staying asleep for longer, the participants also found they woke up more refreshed, had improved relationships and better productivity during the day. 

Pregnancy often comes with unwelcome side effects, ranging from nausea in the first trimester to constipation and heartburn later on. Whilst these are often a result of hormonal changes, pre-existing problems such as poor digestive health or nutritional deficiencies, can play a role and exacerbate these symptoms. Some of these symptoms are to some extent unavoidable, however, with some nutritional help, we can minimise their impact on your daily life so that you can enjoy being pregnant even more.

Is there any such thing as a pregnancy diet? Contrary to popular belief, pregnant women do not need to ‘eat for two’. Energy requirements do not change in the first six months of pregnancy, and the calorie requirements only increase by 200 calories a day in the last trimester, which is only equivalent to about two apples. ^​1​  

Following on from our Low Immunity and Supporting Immunity series, we hope that you feel empowered with an understanding about how to comprehensively and holistically reduce your risk of infection in the first place, and support yourself if and when you have an infection. Now, we are shifting our focus towards how best to support ourselves post-infection since this is often characterised by symptoms which have a significant impact on an individual’s quality of life.

We often under-estimate the importance of supporting our immunity until we fall ill, and also how long it can take to recover until we experience lingering symptoms following an infection. Recovery from an infection ‘normally’ lasts one to two weeks. For some, however, this recovery process can last months, even years, characterised by prolonged post-infection symptoms, such as chronic fatigue, brain fog, muscle aches, and loose bowel movements. So, why do some individuals experience this prolonged recovery period, and others do not?

Identifying the underlying drivers of lingering post-infection symptoms, and how they can go on to affect our physical and mental health, facilitates implementation of tailored nutrition and lifestyle interventions which have the most chance of helping individuals to feel better. This is important now more than ever given the emerging problem of ‘post-viral fatigue/ syndrome.’

Over the next few blogs, we will delve into the ‘why’ and ‘how’ behind these prolonged post-infection symptoms, focusing on three integral areas: energy, cognitive health, and digestion.

Perhaps one of the most critical processes that underpins our health and wellbeing is methylation. This relatively simple chemical process, occurs billions of times every second, and is important for the proper functioning of virtually all body systems. It's a process that is called upon a lot when we are under stress, so can potentially become depleted. The research into methylation and related genetic mutations that may predispose people to an array of symptoms and chronic disease, has exploded in the last 10 years.

A good understanding of methylation is just as important for health practitioners, who want to provide a personalised plan for their clients, as it is for each one of us, enabling us to take charge of our own health and wellbeing. Knowing how to support this process with diet and lifestyle is key to achieving optimum health and hopefully preventing disease.