I spoke about how low progesterone can sometimes be mistaken for anxiety. So the obvious next question is: “What can I do to support it?” First things first… There is no magic progesterone food. But your body does need the right building blocks. Foods I regularly recommend in clinic: 🥩 Irish beef Rich in zinc, iron and B vitamins. 🐟 Oily fish Salmon, sardines and mackerel provide the healthy fats needed for hormone production. 🍗 Dark chicken meat Think thighs, drumsticks and on-the-bone cuts. 🥑 Avocado Healthy fats, magnesium and potassium. 🌰 Pumpkin seeds A simple way to increase zinc and magnesium intake. 🥔 Sweet potatoes & root vegetables Your body needs adequate carbohydrates to feel safe and supported. 🍌 Bananas Contain vitamin B6, a nutrient involved in hormone balance. The bigger picture? Most women don’t need another detox. They need: • More protein • More healthy fats • More minerals • Better blood sugar balance • Less stress • Less alcohol Because hormones aren’t made from restriction. They’re made from nourishment. 💜 And if you’re still cycling… Don’t forget to have your progesterone tested at the right time in your cycle first. Because guessing isn’t a strategy. 🧡 Humble Gut – supporting your gut, so it can support you. #humblegut #progesterone #hormonehealth #perimenopause #womenshealth Which of these foods is already a regular in your diet… and which one has disappeared over the years? 👇🏻

“It’s anxiety.” Or is it? In my mid-30s, that’s what I was told. Yet nobody checked my progesterone. As a Nutritional Therapist, I now see women every week who are struggling with: • Anxiety • Poor sleep • Feeling overwhelmed • Mood swings • Loss of confidence • Feeling “not themselves” And sometimes the missing piece isn’t anxiety at all. It’s declining progesterone. Progesterone is one of our calming hormones. It supports sleep, stress resilience and emotional stability. If you’re still having periods and these symptoms sound familiar, insist on having your progesterone checked at the correct time in your cycle. For a typical 28-day cycle, this is usually days 19–21 (around 7 days after ovulation). The wrong timing can give a misleading result. I spent years believing I was just stressed. What if it’s not all in your head? What if nobody has checked the right thing yet… 💜🧡 Humble Gut – supporting your gut, so it can support you. #humblegut #progesterone #hormonehealth #perimenopause #womenshealth Have you ever had your progesterone tested at the correct time in your cycle? 👇🏻

🚨 That magnesium glycinate that helps you sleep? That vitamin D your doctor recommended? Those B vitamins that help your energy? They could all be affected by future EU regulations. The EU is discussing new rules that may limit the strength of certain vitamins and minerals sold across Europe. For the average person, that could mean: ❌ Lower-strength supplements ❌ More capsules needed to achieve the same dose ❌ Some products disappearing altogether ❌ Higher costs The aim is consumer safety, but many health professionals and consumers are concerned about losing access to supplements that people already use successfully every day. This isn’t just about practitioners. It’s about parents buying vitamin D for their children. It’s about women using magnesium to support sleep. It’s about people taking iron, B vitamins, zinc, folate and other nutrients as part of their health routine. No final decisions have been made yet, but the discussions are happening now. If having access to nutritional supplements matters to you, now is the time to pay attention. Petition link in bio/comments 👇 Had you heard about this? 💜🧡 Humble Gut – supporting your gut, so it can support you. Link in highlights #humblegut #SaveOurSupplements #Nutrition #MagnesiumGlycinate #VitaminD

POV: your Irish mammy thinks salad means… every random thing in the fridge on one plate 😅 Mammy salad starter pack: • 3 types of beige • boiled eggs from 2004 • ham folded fancy for no reason • beetroot juice touching EVERYTHING • one lonely lettuce leaf for “health” And somehow… it still works 🧡💜 and ……. It’s got the basic nutrient combo - protein , carbs & some fatty acids 🙌🏻 What’s the most “mammy salad” ingredient your house always had? 👀 💜🧡 Humble Gut – supporting your gut, so it can support you #humblegut #irishmammy #irishfood #salad #healthyeating irishhumour

80s babies will understand this immediately… 🍉💃🏼 I physically cannot walk past a watermelon without hearing: “I carried a watermelon…” in my head 😭🤣 Still my all-time favourite movie: Dirty Dancing And watermelon deserves main summer character energy anyway: 💜 Super hydrating 🧡 Refreshing when it’s hot 💜 Gentle on digestion 🧡 A sneaky little gut-friendly fruit because hydration helps everything work better Loving these , easier to cut baby watermelon in @lidlireland 🧡💜 Also fairly sure every woman over 35 has recreated that scene in a supermarket at least once 😂🍉

💜 HEALTHY food can turn UNHEALTHY very quickly if stored wrong… One of the biggest mistakes I see? Keeping seeds, nuts & omega rich foods in warm presses once opened 👀 Flax, chia, hemp, walnuts etc contain delicate fats that can go rancid from: 🧡 heat 💜 light 🧡 air exposure And rancid oils are NOT something we want building up in the body. They may contribute to: • bloating • inflammation • headaches • digestive irritation • that “off” feeling after eating really healthy foods This is why most of mine live in the fridge once opened ❄️ Especially: 💜 milled flax 🧡 chia 💜 hemp 🧡 walnuts 💜 omega oils Little gut health habits like this genuinely matter more than people realise. If your nuts or seeds smell bitter, stale, paint-like or “dusty”… trust your gut & bin them 😅 Humblegut – supporting your gut, so it can support you. #humblegut #guthealth #nutritionist #antiinflammatory #digestivehealth

💜 Cutting more foods… but your digestion isn’t improving? It feels logical. More restriction = more control. But if your “safe foods” keep shrinking and symptoms aren’t easing… something deeper is going on. 🧡 What’s actually happening After repeated flares your brain starts linking food with danger So each symptom reinforces: “be stricter next time” But a stressed system → digests poorly → reacts more → struggles to repair So the cycle continues 💜 This is where many get stuck Less food → less fibre diversity → less nourishment → no real symptom relief Restriction starts to work against you 🧡 What helps instead • Spot the pattern When “being careful” becomes constant restriction • Test, don’t guess One change at a time → clear cause and effect • Calm the eating state Slower meals, less tension → better digestive signalling • Rebuild variety gradually → supports microbes + confidence 💜 Healing isn’t about control It’s about creating a system that feels safe to digest again Humble Gut – supporting your gut so it can support you 🧡 Are you reacting to food… or to the pattern your gut’s been trained into? #humblegut #IBSsupport #guthealth #digestivehealth

💜 Not just “IBS flaring up”… That bloating after antibiotics? It’s often not new food triggers. It’s your microbiome trying to recover. 🧡 What’s actually happening Antibiotics don’t just target the “bad” bacteria → they reduce the beneficial ones too The microbes that kept fermentation steady? Lower. So now: → more gas from the same foods → more sensitivity → less tolerance overall It’s not intolerance It’s reduced capacity 💜 This is where people get stuck They cut more foods trying to find “the trigger” But if the ecosystem isn’t stable restriction won’t fix it 🧡 What helps instead • Start gentle Soft, cooked fibres (carrot, parsnip) → feed bacteria without overwhelming • Build variety slowly → supports diversity → improves tolerance over time • Find your fibre level Too much = symptoms Too little = stagnation → consistency is key 💜 This is how you rebuild digestion Not by removing more… but by restoring what’s missing Humble Gut – supporting your gut so it can support you 🧡 Are you reacting to food… or to a gut that hasn’t rebuilt yet? #humblegut #guthealth #microbiome #IBSsupport #digestivehealth

6 years ago I qualified… and honestly thought I knew everything 💜 Now? I trust experience over theory 🧡 Because real life shows you things textbooks don’t Protocols don’t always work as written And no two clients respond the same 💜 The real skill is: testing → observing → adjusting → repeating 🧡 That’s how real results are built 💜 And why I’ll always keep learning, evolving, and updating Because what worked 6 years ago… isn’t always what works now… Humble Gut – supporting your gut so it can support you #humblegut #guthealth #womenshealth #functionalnutrition #guthealthireland

💜 The blood sugar puzzle: it’s not just about food You can eat “perfectly”… and still wake up with higher glucose. That’s not willpower. That’s your nervous system. 🧡 What’s actually happening Poor sleep + high stress → cortisol stays elevated → your liver releases more glucose → insulin sensitivity drops So blood sugar rises… even when meals are on point 💜 This is the missing piece Most plans focus on food but skip the stress–glucose link So you’re left thinking you’re doing it wrong when your body is just… responding 🧡 3 patterns to watch 1️⃣ Night-time cortisol carryover Poor sleep = higher overnight glucose output → your system never fully “powers down” 2️⃣ Reduced insulin sensitivity Chronic stress makes cells less responsive → glucose lingers in the bloodstream 3️⃣ Sleep fragmentation Disrupts hunger hormones → more cravings, less stable energy 💜 One simple shift Create a 30-minute wind-down before bed → no screens → write out lingering thoughts This signals “safe to switch off” → lowers cortisol → steadier morning glucose 🧡 It’s not just what you eat It’s the state your body is in when it processes it Humble Gut – supporting your gut so it can support you 💜 Are your numbers about your meals… or your nervous system? #humblegut #bloodsugarbalance #metabolichealth #cortisol #womenshealth

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