I recommend taking a vitamin D supplement. Vitamin D is actually a hormone synthesised by the body from sunlight, and is essential for keeping bones and muscles strong and healthy. Even a mild lack of vitamin D can cause muscle aches, tiredness and general pains. However, there’s very little vitamin D in our food, only a small amount in egg yolks, oily fish, liver and wild mushrooms. We need sunlight to make vitamin D, and it’s thought that 15 minutes a day of sun exposure to the arms and legs in Caucasian skin is enough to get the recommended amount. People with darker skin may require 30 minutes a day. In both cases, avoid wearing sunscreen, at least for the allocated time, in order to absorb the vitamin D effectively. In the UK especially, we simply don’t get enough sunlight to synthesise sufficient vitamin-D levels. Therefore we’re all at risk of being deficient. Supplements need to be in the form of D3 to be best absorbed. It is recommended that we take between 600–800 IU (international units) a day but I recommend taking a minimum of 1000 IU. I routinely measure all my patients levels of vitamin D3 and some of them have to take 5000 IU a day in proven vitamin D deficiency. This is so mood and energy can improve, as well as other health benefits. Vitamin D deficiency is a topic especially close to my heart. A couple of years ago I felt very flat. My mood and energy were extremely low and I tried lots of ways to get out of it and couldn’t shift it. Eventually my colleague forced me to have some blood tests and it revealed I was extremely deficient in vitamin D. I took a high dose supplement and within the month I was back to my usual sparkly self! MY ADVICE... Get a good quality vitamin D3 supplement and start taking it consistently.

I know sleep is a big problem for many people. You may feel you are sleeping a lot of hours but not being refreshed. In that case it could be that the quality of your sleep is poor. These tips will help in either case. As this a big topic, I’m splitting it in to things you can eat/take to help sleep (tomorrow!) but first and most importantly is how to improve your sleep routine: 1. Turn off your TV/computer/smartphone an hour before you go to bed. Electrical appliances stimulate the brain and won’t aid sleep. Reading is also too stimulating. Who hasn’t decided to read just one last chapter of their book before bed and found themselves still engrossed at 2 a.m. 2. Try and get into a bedtime routine, like when you were a child. Take at least 30 minutes to wind down. You can listen to relaxing music and use the time to take stock of your day. Don’t use the time to do chores or watch TV dramas. 3. Take a hot bath. A night’s sleep is normally preceded by a drop in body temperature. When you have a comfortably hot bath, artificially raising your body temperature, when you go back into your cooler bedroom it helps the body be more receptive to adjusting its body temperature. 4. Psychologically, if you spend all night wide awake and tossing and turning in your bed, you can think negatively of your bed. So for 20 minutes try to get to sleep and if you can’t, get up, and read something relaxing or do something sedentary until you can. In the same way, the bedroom should only be used for bedroom activities, and not for watching TV or eating, to create a more relaxed sleep-inducing atmosphere. 5. If you have a digital clock in your room, I’m afraid you’re going to have to turn it off, as well as your phone. Both release electromagnetic waves into the room that can interrupt sleep. Consider turning your Wi-Fi off too for the same reason. Along a similar vein, make sure your room is as dark and quiet as possible. Invest in an eye mask and earplugs if needed. 6. Try to sleep the same amount of hours every night and go to bed and wake up at roughly the same time, even at weekends, if possible. This allows your body to know when to secrete your hormones and make repairs, and doesn’t confuse it with too many late nights. By going to bed at 11 p.m. one night and 3 a.m. the next, it can induce a mini ‘jet lag’ where our body becomes out of sync. This means we cannot get into Stage Four deep sleep, and this can affect our energy, mental performance and judgement the next day. It may sound boring, but getting into a routine with your sleep is a great way to regain your vitality. MY ADVICE Get clear on what your current sleep routine is. Is there a way of improving it? Which of the above tips can you easily integrate into your life?

Benefits of Green Smoothies Everyone who knows me knows what a big advocate I am of juicing and smoothies. Buying a juicer is one of the best investments I’ve ever made as I love juicing. I only have a basic juicer but it’s made a huge difference to my nutrition. There has been some bad press about juices and smoothies as they’re full of sugar, but I’d like to point out these studies have been done on shop-bought smoothies and juices that have been pasteurised and have lost their nutritional content, not freshly made green juices with plenty of benefits. Pasteurised juices have been heated up and all the nutrients have been killed, so in essence you are drinking a glass of sugar. In some parts of the country you can buy fresh juice or cold-pressed juice, or order it from companies online. Sometimes I make my juices in advance and freeze them. There’s a lot of conflicting information about whether this depletes the nutritional value, and of course the best option is to make your juice fresh and drink it immediately, but if this isn’t possible then I think that if you have to make your juices in advance or freeze them, this is still a better option than eating something unhealthy. It’s about making the best decision with the time and resources you have. Smoothies are also great, and you blend the fruit whole so you can get extra fibre and nutrients from it. A lot of people are using nutri-bullets to make their smoothies these days, but a good old fashioned blender will also do the trick! In my opinion, this a quick and easy way to get your 5 a day, reduce inflammation in your body and feed your body nutrients to boost your energy. MY ADVICE: RECIPE The recipe below is for one of my favourite green smoothies. Serves 1: 1 medium apple, sliced but unpeeled 2 slices fresh pineapple, peeled 2 large handfuls of spinach or kale ½ avocado, peeled and stone removed ⅓ cucumber, unpeeled 2 sticks of celery 1/2 lemon, peeled Wash the apple, spinach or kale, cucumber and celery. Blend the ingredients together in a blender until smooth. Add some water or coconut water to thin out based on your preference.

I prefer my patients to try the methods I’ve outlined below before we look at prescribing sleep supplements such as melatonin to improve their sleep. Cleaning up your lifestyle and your eating habits will definitely make a difference to your sleep. 1. A banana before bed can aid sleep. They release natural chemicals to relax the body and help you fall asleep due to their calcium content. They contain tryptophan, which can be converted into serotonin by the body which can help you to feel sleepy. 2. Almonds are rich in magnesium, which is essential for a good night’s sleep. If magnesium levels are low, it is hard to stay asleep. You can also take a magnesium supplement to help you get to sleep. 3. Foods rich in B6 are fish like tuna, halibut and salmon, as well as raw garlic and pistachio nuts. 4. Certain foods that can raise the glycaemic index can induce sleep. This is because after eating them you have a natural spike in your blood sugar and insulin levels, and after this spike you can feel tired. Normally you want steady blood sugars in the day to avoid mood and energy swings, but if you are looking to get rest, this could help. Foods like white rice can help this process. 5. Chamomile tea really can help sleep. It contains glycine, which relaxes nerves and muscles and can act as a mild sedative and also help reduce any anxiety. A little bit of honey in your chamomile tea can help too as it raises insulin and tryptophan. 6. Avoid caffeine, sugar and alcohol. Caffeine and sugar shouldn’t be consumed late in the day as they have been proven to cause restless sleep. Consider making 2 p.m. your cut-off time for caffeinated drinks if you’re having trouble sleeping. Some people believe alcohol helps them sleep, but it actually leads to a less regenerative slumber, so the body doesn’t rest well and you feel tired the next day. This is because alcohol disturbs chemicals in the brain that help with the deeper patterns of sleep. What actually happens is that brain waves increase from small ones in Stage One to deep slow waves in Stage Four. Stage Four is the deepest level of sleep that makes us refreshed the next day. But as alcohol starts to wear off during the night, we experience more Stage Five sleep –known as Rapid Eye Movement (REM) –than Stage Four. During this period, there is a high level of brain activity. Although this stage is associated with dreaming, it is a lighter type of sleep which is not as refreshing as Stage Four –and can affect our mental performance and mood during the next day. 7. A few drops of lavender oil on the pillow are relaxing, but more than that is stimulating so use with caution. MY ADVICE... Decide on 2 things from above to try and see if it helps improve your sleep.

Why Sugar Makes You Tired... Consuming large amounts of processed  sugar  causes spikes in your body’s blood sugar. This causes a temporary surge in energy, but then causes a massive crash that leads us to feel more tired than we did to begin with. These constant highs and lows cause the body to stop being able to regulate our own energy. The bottom line: a diet rich in sugar is going to worsen any tiredness you already feel. And this is why sugar makes you tired. In Britain, the average person consumes 237 teaspoons of sugar a week! This is often from hidden sugar in processed foods, soft drinks, even in bread. Of course, there is also sugar in fruit. So does this mean we have to stop eating fruit too? Not necessarily, as it would take much higher quantities of fruit to get the same amount of sugar that you could get in a chocolate bar, so if you are having a couple of pieces of fruit a day, that wouldn’t normally be enough to affect your insulin functioning. MY ADVICE... Keep a food diary for a few days and seeing how much sugar you really consume. Once you are aware of it you can try and cut down slowly. If you crave sugar and normally have a bar of chocolate every night, try and only have half instead. Replace sweet treats with healthier options like fruit with yoghurt. It is also important to consume lots of proteins like lean meat, fish, hummus and eggs and fats like coconut oil, avocados, nuts and seeds to help balance blood sugars in the body and curb cravings.

There are 2 major factors I consider in my patients who are not getting the results they want when they’re on HRT. In this video, I explain what they are and what I do about them with my patients. HRT Results

DHEA and Pregnenolone are both hormones that are not really prescribed by a normal GP. In this video, I explain why I prescribe them, and how they can benefit my patients. As always if you think this video will benefit someone you know, please feel free to share it. DHEA and Pregnenolone

I this video, I talk about redefining health and how much I really feel patients benefit from looking at more of a 360 approach to their definition of health. Health is connection, community, laughter, being meaningful, spirituality, prayer. Not just diet, exercise, or supplements! As always if you think this video will benefit someone you know, please feel free to share it. Redefining What Health Is

A reason I spend quite a bit of time looking at gut health with my patients, is because gut health can really impact the rest of your health. In this video, I explain why! As always if you think this video will benefit someone you know, please feel free to share it. Why Gut Health Is So Important

Private hormone healthcare specialist versus NHS GP. Patients sometimes ask me why they can't get the sort of treatment or advice that I offer, from their own GP. In this video, I share my thoughts on this.  As always if you think this video will benefit someone you know, please feel free to share it. The Difference Between Seeing Me, a Hormone Specialist Versus Your GP for Hormonal Issues

In this video, I talk about my methodology in working with people in menopause. As always if you think this video will benefit someone you know, please feel free to share it. My Methodology In Working With People In Menopause

Wondering when it's the right time to start hormone replacement therapy (HRT)?  In this video I share insights on recognising the signs and signals that may indicate you're ready for this transformative journey! As always if you think this video will benefit someone you know, please feel free to share it. When Is It The Right Time to Start HRT?