Series 3 - Episode 8 Genetics & Long COVID with Emma Beswick

Series 4 is ending on a high with this really interesting and thought-provoking conversation with neuroscientist, Dr Miguel Toribio-Mateas. Through his understanding of the brain, he's able to explain clearly and with compassion how we can - quite unwittingly - programme our brains into thinking we're reacting to specific foods that we deem to be 'bad'. Not only that, how our brains can control the way we absorb and use the food we eat for energy and fat storage. Understanding this is powerful, because in making sense of how detrimental neuro pathways are set up and reinforced, we can then learn tools and techniques to remodel our brains, in a way that ultimately allows us to live more joyful lives, and be free to enjoy food on a whole new level.   Thank you to the sponsor of this series of Healthily, Kalla Probiotics, who are offering you as a listener £10 off your first order with them. Simply visit www.kalla.com and use the code HEALTHILY at the checkout.   www.nicola-moore.com Nicola Instagram: @nicolamoorenutrition Nicola Facebook: NicolaMooreNutrition Join my Facebook Group Nutrition and Wellbeing - Forget Perfection, and Find Balance   Short Bio: Dr Miguel Toribio-Mateas is an internationally recognised clinical neuroscientist with a research focus on the connection between the gut and the brain. Not coincidentally he is known as “The Gut Brain Doctor” on social media.   Business Name: The Gut-Brain Doctor Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drmiguelmateas/

This episode is a must-listen for anyone on a restrictive diet, who feels fed up and at a loss as to what to do about it. In this episode, baker Vanessa Kimbell shares the story of her love affair with baking, alongside the health challenges she faced following years of multiple rounds of antibiotics, which led to her becoming sensitive to her favourite food: Bread. Vanessa's quest to recover the health of her gut microbiome and tolerate food again spurred her mission to understand bread on a whole new level. Fast-forward to the present day, and Vanessa is now on course to complete a doctorate in Nutrition and Digestibility of Bread, having founded The Sourdough School and authored 5 books on the subject. I can't think of anyone more qualified to discuss bread, baking, and a love of food with! I really hope you enjoy our conversation.   Nicola: www.nicola-moore.com @nicolamoorenutrition   Short Bio: Vanessa Kimbell is the author of the bestselling The Sourdough School book, and its sister title The Sourdough School – Sweet Baking. Her book Food for Thought won the most Ethical and Sustainable Book at The World Cookbook Awards in 2016. Her fifth book is due to be released in September this year. When she’s not baking, writing or teaching, Vanessa is studying for her doctorate in nutrition and digestibility of bread and mental health. She is passionate about understanding the connection between our food, the gut microbiome and the potential impact on mental health.   Business Name: The Sourdough School & The Sourdough Club www.sourdough.co.uk

Dr Surina Sehgal is a dentist on a mission to help people prevent issues with dental health, as she understands the impact of the oral microbiome on the whole body. In this episode, I quiz Surina on the best ways to support good oral health, why it's so important, and practical measures we can take for ourselves, including diet and what dental products we should consider, including toothpaste. It was fascinating learning from Surina, and I hope you find this episode helpful.   Nicola: www.nicola-moore.com     Short Bio: Surina Sehgal is an energetic dentist practising in London treating NHS and private patients. She believes the mouth is one of the most important organs, the state of which resonates in the rest of the body. After spending time with patients in practice discussing healthy eating, she started ‘The Foodie Dentist’ to spread the message wider and inspire others about the positive effects nutrition has on oral health. Surina is also the Global Brand Ambassador for Zendium, a toothpaste designed to nurture your mouth not fight against it. Using natural enzymes and proteins Zendium has a prebiotic benefit, boosting good bacteria in your mouth to improve the balance of the oral microbiome and strengthen the mouths' natural defences.   Business Name: The foodie dentist IG: @thefoodie_dentist

In today's episode, we hear from Clemmie Oliver, a nutritional therapist specialising in IBD. We cover the differences between IBD and IBS, what to look out for and how to get your gut health assessed. This episode is also packed with really useful, practical information about the positive changes we can make to diet to bring about relief from symptoms, and live a more comfortable life if you've been diagnosed with an inflammatory bowel condition.   www.nicola-moore.com     Short Bio: Clemmie Oliver founded the Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine Clinic in 2018 where she works internationally with people with Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis helping them improve their quality of life. She has been on her own journey with IBD having been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis aged 9. Aged 11 she had lifesaving surgery and lived with an ileostomy bag until the age of 18. She continued to suffer for years with debilitating symptoms until she discovered first-hand the hugely powerful impact that food and lifestyle changes can have on our health and quality of life. This life-changing experience inspired Clemmie to want to help others with IBD change their lives too and to help everyone understand the hugely powerful tools we have at our disposal to help us thrive.     Business Name: The Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine Clinic www.nalmclinic.com IG: @clemmieolivernutrition

Today's conversation is with Zoe Blaskey of the Motherkind podcast. As a self-declared 'recovering perfectionist' and transformational coach, I thought she would be the ideal person to speak to about perfectionism, a trait that I see so frequently in the clinic with the clients I work with. While perfectionism has its benefits, it can be a real blocking factor in improving relationships with food, or just getting started on a path to better health, even if both outcomes are really desired! I hope you find this episode of interest and help.   www.nicola-moore.com   Short Bio: Zoe Blaskey is a qualified transformational and executive coach specialising in working with parents and the founder of Motherkind, a personal development platform for parents. Zoe has coached hundreds of parents of all backgrounds on how to navigate the huge challenges of modern parenthood. There is currently a year-long waitlist to work with Zoe one on one. Zoe hosts The Motherkind Podcast which is the UK’s number one family podcast on iTunes and has been featured in Red, The Telegraph, Psychologies, Goop, SheerLuxe and Mother&Baby. Zoe has delivered talks and workshops to some of the UK's leading businesses including Clearscore, BT, Sky and BBC. Zoe has two daughters, and lives with her husband Guy by the sea in Dorset.   Business Name: Motherkind www.motherkind.co IG: @motherkind_zoe

In this episode, I chat with friend and colleague Olga Bonde about how many of us pick up a range of limiting beliefs about food, and how we should live and take care of ourselves, throughout our lives. Is it correct that we label some foods 'good' while others are 'bad'? Does food need to be earned somehow, in order to be enjoyed? Are these limiting beliefs really serving us? Olga presents a new way to view things, and we cover a range of practical suggestions to step into a new way of viewing things.   www.nicola-moore.com IG @nicolamoorenutrition FB /NicolaMooreNutrition   Short Bio:  Olga Bonde has a love and passion for health and food back a very long way and the past 10 years of her professional life have been firmly dedicated to it. Her approach to nutritional therapy is very much gut-centric. Having spent years of her professional life in the field of gut health, she knows too well that the gut is the queen of pretty much every single bodily system. So gut health will always be a big part of our work together, no matter what health issue or situation is addressed. She runs a clinic in London (and online) and her practice is free of preaching and judging. She sticks to what`s real, pragmatic and doable in every personal set of circumstances. Using her professional expertise, she will help people find a way of eating that really works for themselves and their bodies.  And last but definitely not least, on top of her health/nutrition qualifications and credentials (Diploma of College of Naturopathic Medicine, mNNA, mGNC), she is also a classically trained Le Cordon Bleu chef.   Business Name: Olga Bonde Nutrition olgabonde.com IG: @olgabondenutrition

The number of clients I’m seeing with long COVID is growing, and I know there are many people out there who are suffering with the long-term effects of this confusing and shape-shifting illness.  My lovely friend and colleague Emma Beswick from @lifecodegx has been immersed in trying to unpick some of the genetic links affecting those with long COVID, so I wanted to capture a conversation with her about what she is learning, what it means, and what we can do about it.  You may remember Emma from the very first series of Healthily, when she spoke to me about Nutrition & Genetics. It’s one of the most popular episodes of the podcast to date! Emma is an incredible woman with a huge brain and unquenchable interest in nutrigenomics (the scientific study of the interaction of nutrition and genes, especially with regard to the prevention or treatment of disease).  In this episode we discuss how the genes involved in our stress response and oestrogen production that may well impact on our ability to recover from viral infection. And, Importantly, she covers the actionable steps that can be taken to support these pathways. There is so much to take away from this episode, and I’m very grateful to Emma for giving up her time to speak to me.  Thank you, thank you once again to Mother Root for sponsoring this series of the podcast.  Thanks also to all of you for listening and supporting this 3rd series! Today’s episode is the last in this current batch, but I hope to be back with a 4th series before the end of the year. As always, please tag anyone who you think might be interested in this episode, and please do give a 5 star rating (or even a review) if you’re happy to, as that really helps the podcast to be presented to other people.  www.nicola-moore.com www.lifecodegx.com www.motherroot.london

Happily, the peri-menopause and menopause is now big news, and there has been a real shift in attitude towards talking about, and supporting women though, this life stage. Over my 20 years or so working in the health and nutrition industry, I’ve seen a massive increase in interest in the menopause, and there are now many practitioners, from doctors, nutritionists, life coaches, and more, who are making it their business to work in this field. I’ve always worked with a predominantly female client base, so supporting women as they transition through the peri-menopause and into menopause (and beyond) isn’t new to me. It’s for this reason I wanted to speak to Nicki Williams about this crucial time in a woman’s life, because I know so many people will enjoy taking a listen. There is so much us women (and men!) need to understand about menopause, because it’s so much bigger than having hot flushes and becoming a bit forgetful. As I always say, knowledge is power, and this episode of Healthily is packed with education about the hormonal interplay that happens as we reach mid-life, and what we need to know to stay fit and healthy through the second half of our lives.  In this episode I talk to Nicki about all things hormones, from oestrogen and progesterone through to thyroid and insulin. We also cover the subject of HRT, as Nicki has plenty to say on this. At my clinic we offer testing support for women who are interested in understanding more about their hormone levels, and importantly hormone metabolites, so this is also covered in the episode. It was great to be able to capture this conversation with Nicki, who has so much to say, and such a passion for helping women understand the options available to them. I hope you enjoy listening, and please do share with anyone who you feel would benefit from this episode.  www.nicola-moore.com www.happyhormonesforlife.com

Fertility is understandably a hot topic, but I sometimes get a bit disheartened by the amount of fear mongering that’s put out on social media about all the terrible things we might unwittingly be doing or exposing ourselves to, that could affect our chances of conceiving.  While I’m a firm believer that knowledge is power, there’s a happy balance that needs to be struck, and when it comes to a subject as emotive as getting pregnant, we must acknowledge how vulnerable someone who is desperate for a child might be. It’s for this reason I wanted to capture a conversation with Sandra Greenbank that focussed more on the positives of what we can easily do to improve our chances of conceiving, because there are so many!  What I admire about Sandra is the reason for her desire to help people have healthy babies. Following an impactful experience within her own family unit, Sandra saw first hand that without our health, we have nothing. It was this realisation that compelled her to focus on working in the field of fertility, in order to support families and help the health of future generations to come. I hope this episode brings information, support, practical advice, joy and optimism to anyone who is interested in this important subject. Thank you to Mother Root for sponsoring this episode. Their delicious alcohol free drink is perfect for anyone trying to conceive, or who’s currently pregnant. Use code HEALTHILY15 for a 15% discount before the end of September 2021.

As a nutritional therapist, I find myself supporting clients with hypothyroidism on a regular basis, so I was really pleased when my friend and colleague Virginia Blake agreed to talk to me about this complex and often misunderstood condition. Virginia is a really experienced practitioner and has so much useful information to share about supporting health in a realistic way when living with a chronic health condition.  We cover the basics of the thyroid gland, how it functions, and its role in the body.  We look at what can go wrong with the thyroid, the importance of thorough testing, and Virginia shines a light on some of the symptoms that can be linked to a thyroid disorder, that aren’t always recognised as such. We also cover some of the lesser known considerations when it comes to  Hashimoto’s, which is an autoimmune condition affecting the thyroid gland. This episode provides a frank, insightful and balanced approach to understanding and managing thyroid disorders, and I thank Virginia for sharing her views and opinions, which are very practical and often delivered with her trademark dry humour! Thanks as always to Mother Root (www.motherroot.london) for sponsoring this episode too! Remember that you can order a bottle of their delicious Ginger Swtichel with a 15% discount using the code HEALTHILY15. This offer is available until the end of September 2021. www.nicola-moore.com