Suzy Shinner Nutrition – Personalised nutrition for a joyful, balanced life

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Personalised nutrition
for female hormone balance

Helping you go from exhausted, moody and foggy to balanced, energised and focused.

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These are a few of my favourite things for stress.

These are a few of my favourite things for stress. While I always take a ‘food first’ approach, supplements can sometimes be a helpful tool alongside dietary and lifestyle interventions. When it comes to stress, these are some nutrients which research suggests may be supportive:

🔹Ashwagandha - Ashwagandha is part of a family of plants called adaptogens, which can strengthen our body’s resilience to stress. Research suggests this herb can be helpful for anxiety and stress, as well as sleep.
🔹Rhodiola - Another adaptogenic herb, Rhodiola works in a unique way – both helping with our stress response, but also boosting energy levels. Thought to contribute to optimal mental function and protect the body during times of physical stress.
🔹Magnesium - Research suggests that magnesium helps to regulate our hypothalamic-pituitary adrenocortical (HPA) axis, the system that regulates our stress response and ultimately produces the stress hormone cortisol. Magnesium may also have a calming effect on the central nervous system, as it influences neurotransmitters such as GABA that reduce brain excitatory activity.
🔹L-Theanine - L-Theanine is an amino acid found in black and green tea, which has been shown to promote calm and clarity for relaxation without the sedation effects.
🔹B Complex - B vitamins are a family of vitamins that are especially useful for energy production and psychological function. B vitamins are also helpful in the management of stress.

Please note that everyone’s different when it comes to supplements, and the supplements above might not be suitable for you - especially if you’re on medication. Please speak to your GP or healthcare practitioner if you are in any doubt.

#stress #stressmanagement #stressrelief #nutritionaltherapy #nutrition #nutritionforstress #nutritionadvice #nutritionaltherapy

📣 OPEN MORNINGS NEXT WEEK! 📣 I’ll be in @

📣 OPEN MORNINGS NEXT WEEK! 📣

I’ll be in @goodhealthboutique on 2nd & 3rd May next week offering free 30-minute hormone reviews. This is a great chance to have a chat about the symptoms you’re experiencing, and get some easy to implement tips to achieve more balanced hormones and feel more energised, balanced and focused.

This is for you if:
💚 You can’t remember the last time you felt really good
💚 You want to make changes to your diet and lifestyle but don’t know where to start
💚 You feel overwhelmed by nutrition information online
💚 You’re struggling with symptoms of hormone imbalance like fatigue, low mood, anxiety, irregular periods, PMS, weight gain
💚 Perimenopause has got you down 😫

I’ve got a limited number of consultations available - to book, just follow the link in bio and select a time that suits you on the 2nd or 3rd May.

Please share with anyone that might be interested!

See you then!! 🙌🏼

REASONS* NOT TO MEDITATE We know we should, but

REASONS* NOT TO MEDITATE

We know we should, but still - for some reason there always seems to be an excuse not to meditate 😬

Here are some of the things I hear in my consultations:

‘I’m too stressed to meditate’
‘I’m rubbish at meditating’
‘I don’t have time’
‘I don’t know how’
‘My legs hurt’

But there are so many benefits to meditation, in particular for helping with stress levels. Research (see details below) has found that meditation is associated with reduced physiological markers of stress, such as decreased cortisol, blood pressure, heart rate and cytokine levels, compared to a control group that did another activity (e.g. relaxation, exercise or education).

So here are some tips for those new to meditation who want to give it a go:
🧘🏻‍♀️Start small. Start with 5 minutes a day and build up from there. I know we’re all busy but I believe everyone can take 5 minutes out of their day - and if you can’t, there might be some things that need addressing!
🧘🏻‍♀️Find a comfy position. Don’t worry if you can’t sit cross legged on the floor for hours. Start in a chair if that’s better for your legs and knees!
🧘🏻‍♀️If you’re new to meditation, find a guided meditation that you like. I love Headspace but there are loads of other meditation apps and videos out there, some free, some paid for.
🧘🏻‍♀️Don’t have any expectations. Sometimes you’ll be peaceful and calm, sometimes your mind will be running at 100 miles an hour. You might have a great meditation practice on one day and then the next day you can’t focus at all. That doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong.
🧘🏻‍♀️Try and create a routine. Maybe you meditate as soon as you get up in the morning, after doing the school run, at lunchtime, or just before bed. Whenever it is, try and stick to the same time each day - you’ll be much more likely to create a daily habit.
 Let me know how you get on!

* EXCUSES 😛

Pascoe MC, Thompson DR, Jenkins ZM, Ski CF. Mindfulness mediates the physiological markers of stress: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Psychiatric Research. 2017;95:156e178.

Struggling to lose weight but not sure why? If y

Struggling to lose weight but not sure why?

If you know that high stress levels are an issue for you, it might be that this is affecting your ability to lose weight. Stress triggers cortisol to be released from the adrenal glands, which in turn causes the breakdown and release of glucose from our muscle stores. Over time, this can lead to elevated blood sugar and insulin levels, which causes the conversion of sugar into stored fat (especially round in the middle). All this happens without us putting anything in our mouths!

So what can we do about it? Well, sadly there’s not one miracle solution for tackling stress - instead, I believe this is about looking at diet and lifestyle factors to reduce any stressors, whether physical or psychological, as far as possible. Focusing on a diet rich in wholegrains, lean protein, healthy fats and colourful plant foods, as well as other stress supporting herbs, gentle movement, mindfulness practices, sufficient sleep, and reducing toxic exposure and infections as far as possible are all things that can help.

Need some support with this? Use the link in bio to book in for your free discovery call ☎️

#stress #stressrelief #weightloss #weightmanagement #nutrition #nutritionaltherapy

When it comes to stress, diet and lifestyle can pl

When it comes to stress, diet and lifestyle can play a big role in its management. The foods we eat have the power to both support and exacerbate stress and its symptoms. I know some wellness trends to help support stress are wildly expensive, time-consuming or inaccessible to most normal people, so I’m sharing a few simple foods to include as part of a balanced diet.

Of course, stress comes in many different forms and everyone is different, so if you are struggling please do seek support, and send me a message if you have any questions about this!

🍊 Vitamin C-rich foods - e.g. salad greens, broccoli, peppers, strawberries, citrus fruits
🥬 Magnesium-rich foods - e.g. e.g. Swiss chard, spinach, kelp, squash, steamed broccoli, other green vegetables
🌰 Healthy fats - e.g. oily fish, nuts, seeds, avocados
Protein - e.g. meat, fish, tofu, beans, legumes, seeds, nuts
🌾 Complex carbs - whole grains like oats, barley, spelt, millet, quinoa, bulgar

#stress #stressmanagement #stressrelief #nutritionaltherapy #nutrition #nutritionforstress #nutritionadvice #nutritionaltherapy #stressawarenessmonth

Coffee: Will it make me more stressed? This is a

When we think of stress, we often just think of ps

When we think of stress, we often just think of psychological stress - stress we experience because of that exam, argument, demanding boss, poorly child, traffic jam etc etc. But actually, stress can be physical too, and comes in many different forms. For example, lack of sleep, recurrent infections or illness, and toxins from our environment can all cause stress on the body. Diet is also a factor, with certain foods, drinks and dietary patterns adding to our stress load, as well as overexercise and fasting.

When I work with clients I’m looking at all of these areas to see where there might be stress, and how we can potentially reduce this through changes in diet and lifestyle. To find out more, get in touch and book in for your free 30 minute discovery call.

#stress #stressmanagement #stressrelief #nutritionaltherapy #nutrition #nutritionforstress #nutritionadvice #nutritionaltherapy

Meet cortisol, aka ‘the stress hormone’. Whe

Meet cortisol, aka ‘the stress hormone’.

When we experience stress, whether real or perceived, this results in the release of cortisol from the adrenal glands, to trigger a ‘fight or flight’ response. In basic terms, cortisol is there to help us deal with a threatening or dangerous situation - as a result of cortisol we experience increased heart rate, blood flow to the muscles, our breathing quickens and our pupils dilate. It also releases stored glucose into our bloodstream so that we have the energy to deal with the situation.

The issue is, this was only ever meant to be a short term solution (e.g. running away from a sabre-toothed tiger) - our bodies are not designed to deal with chronic stress that never resolves (e.g. 10 million emails a day, a phone that you never switch off, 24/7 news). High levels of cortisol over a long period of time can be damaging to our health, affecting various systems in the body such as our cardiovascular, nervous, reproductive, immune and endocrine systems. Some signs and symptoms of high cortisol include disrupted sleep, high blood pressure, poor immunity, weight gain, imbalanced blood sugar levels, subfertlity and infertility.

And despite what you might be thinking, we don’t want NO cortisol - cortisol is important to get us up in the morning, to give us that ‘get up and go’ and to help us deal with stressful situations that require all our body’s efforts. So, as with most things in the body, it’s all about balance.

As a Nutritional Therapist, this is something I look at very closely - I ask lots of questions to get a picture of your stress levels, what might be triggering cortisol release, and will sometimes recommend cortisol testing when I think there might be an imbalance (either too much or not enough).

To find out more and to see how I can help, get in touch...

#stress #stressmanagement #stressrelief #nutritionaltherapy #nutrition #nutritionforstress #nutritionadvice #nutritionaltherapy