Experiencing a zinc deficiency isn’t a big problem if you’re generally well nourished. However, those with a comprised digestive system are far more at risk than the average person, due to potential absorption issues. 

Zinc is an important nutrient that plays many vital roles in your body. You don’t need loads of zinc, but you do need some and you need to obtain it from your diet and supplements, because the body doesn’t produce it.

Zinc is vital for –

• Immune health – including fighting infections and healing wounds. If you’re low in zinc, you’ll be more vulnerable to infection and disease.
• DNA repair
• Vision, particularly age-related macular degeneration
• Taste and smell
• Growth
• Gut health
• Conception – If you’re trying to conceive then ensuring your zinc levels are optimal is extremely important.
• Thyroid health
• Stress resilience and mood – through the regulation of the stress hormone, cortisol

There are two groups of people who are more prone to deficiencies – they are those suffering with GI complaints, and those who mainly eat a plant-based diet, so strict vegetarians and vegans.

You need optimal gut health to ensure not only that your zinc is absorbed properly throughout the small intestine, but that you’re producing enough stomach acid to ensure it’s broken down and absorbed properly.

Adequate levels are also necessary for the production of stomach acid.

If you’ve got digestive problems then you could be at risk of impairing your absorption of zinc.

If you’re worried your diet is impacting your gut health, I’d highly recommend downloading my online course The Ultimate Gut Health Programme to help support both your digestive sysem and hormone health, whilst avoiding triggering symptoms.

It’d be impossible to include all you need to know in one blog, but the programme will have all you need to know to ensure you’re soothing your digestive system, whilst eating delicious and filling foods.

Signs and symptoms of a zinc deficiency include:

• Diarrhoea, as mentioned
• Vision problems, including age-related macular degeneration
• Mouth ulcers, skin ulcers and acne
• Loss of taste or smell
• Poor appetite
• Depressed mood
• Decreased immunity
• Delayed wound healing
• Histamine intolerance

Although many plant-based foods contain plenty of zinc, it’s trickier for us to absorb it due to the high concentration of phytic acid they contain. Phytic acid is an anti-nutrient which binds to minerals and prevents absorption by us. Hence the problems vegetarians and vegans will have. However, all is not lost as if you take a good quality vitamin and mineral supplement it should contain adequate levels of zinc – you ideally want between 10-15mg per day.

‘Having candida’ is a much bandied about and over-used phrase. The fact is, the candida albicans yeast is a normal part of our gut flora and should always be present in our gut in small quantities – keep reading to discover ten of the main candida symptoms.

The problems start when candida begins to overgrow. If it gets out of control candida can grow into your gut lining, start to break it down and cause ‘leaky gut syndrome’ which can give rise to many immune related issues.

Candida Symptoms

Normally, our ‘good’ bacteria will keep candida in check. However, when candida starts to overgrow you may experience any of the following symptoms –

• Exhaustion
• Sugar Cravings
• Cravings for yeasty food (like alcohol or bread)
• Brain fog
• Recurrent UTIs
• Sinusitis
• Allergies
• Gas and bloating
• Low immunity
• Thrush and other itchy, fungal patches on the skin such as athletes foot

What causes candida?

If you’ve experienced any of the following scenarios, then you could well be looking at candida as the cause of your issues –

• A course of broad spectrum antibiotics
• Ongoing antibiotic treatment
• Taking the contraceptive pill
• Eating lots of sugar
• Prolonged stress
• Diabetes
• Corticosteroid medications
• Drinking a lot of alcohol

If you’re worried your diet is impacting your gut health, I’d highly recommend downloading my online course The Ultimate Gut Health Programme to help support both your digestive sysem and hormone health, whilst avoiding triggering symptoms.

It’d be impossible to include all you need to know in one blog, but the programme will have all you need to know to ensure you’re soothing your digestive system, whilst eating delicious and filling foods.

5. Digestive symptoms

Again, another common cause of ‘IBS’ type symptoms, candida can often give rise to bloating, cramps, diahorrea and constipation.

For more tips of getting rid of gut aches and pains have a look here.

6. Brain fog

Another huge symptom of candida is the dreaded brain fog – this is so common. Do you ever have that feeling of having cotton wool between your ears? Or that you can’t concentrate, have a poor memory or lack focus? Again, if this is bothering you it may well be worth getting tested.

The best way to get on top of candida symptoms?

The first thing to do is to get tested. (detail on tests) Although candida can commonly cause a lot of these symptoms it’s definitely not the only trigger. There are many different yeasts, parasites and bacteria that can cause similar issues and testing is the only way to know for sure where your symptoms are stemming from.

Once you know what you’re dealing with, the usual course of action would be to modify your diet – taking out sugary and very high carb foods and replacing with lots of fresh vegetables, lean proteins and good fats.

Anti-fungal supplementation is also usually recommended, along with replenishing levels of good bacteria. Beware – anti-fungal supplements are very strong, although you can buy them freely I wouldn’t use them unless under the supervision of a practitioner.

It’s a good idea to work with a nutrition specialist when dealing with candida, as its not advisable to restrict your diet too much when doing battle with a yeast overgrowth. It’s also essential to make sure all your detoxification and elimination pathways are functioning optimally so you don’t get too much of the dreaded die-off reaction.

If you’re female and pre-menopausal, a vegan or vegetarian or you’ve got any kind of digestive problem you may well be at increased risk of iron deficiency symptoms.

Iron is an essential nutrient that is instrumental in performing many functions throughout our body every single day. One of the most important functions of iron is to help transport oxygen throughout the blood.

Iron deficiency is most commonly linked to the development of anaemia, which is a condition where there’s a lack of healthy red blood cells being produced.  Iron is needed to produce haemoglobin, a type of protein found in red blood cells that has the role of carrying oxygen from your lungs and transporting it throughout your body to your cells.

An iron deficiency can mean that you aren’t able to produce enough oxygen-carrying red blood cells — therefore, your body struggles to transport oxygen to your brain, tissues, muscles and cells, leaving you feeling exhausted and weak.

If you’re worried your diet is impacting your gut health, I’d highly recommend downloading my online course The Ultimate Gut Health Programme to help support both your digestive sysem and hormone health, whilst avoiding triggering symptoms.

It’d be impossible to include all you need to know in one blog, but the programme will have all you need to know to ensure you’re soothing your digestive system, whilst eating delicious and filling foods.

Iron deficiency symptoms: Gut health

Aside from preventing anaemia, iron is a nutrient needed to maintain general well-being, energy and a healthy metabolism because it helps support overall cellular health and is involved in many enzyme functions. Iron plays a part in many enzyme reactions that help our bodies to digest foods and absorb nutrients. These reactions also balance hormone levels and support brain, heart, skin, hair, nail and metabolic health.

Iron deficiency symptoms

The symptoms of an iron deficiency are many and far-reaching, but the more common ones tend to be –

• Anaemia
• Chronic fatigue or low energy
• Paleness or yellowing of the skin
• Shortness of breath
• Abnormal heartbeats
• Signs of a hormone imbalance
• Trouble exercising
• Muscle weakness
• Weird food cravings like craving ice, or dirt.

So who’s more at risk –

• People with gut or absorption issues, or who restrict their diet.
• Women with heavy periods
• Pregnant women
• Vegetarians and vegans

If you are a vegetarian or vegan, you’ll want to be careful about getting enough iron and may want to consider taking an iron supplement. This is because the type of iron found in plant foods is known to not be as absorbable as animal sources of iron are. Iron from meat, poultry and fish − heme iron − is absorbed two to three times more efficiently than the iron from plants (non-heme iron) is absorbed.

Variety is key

It may seem complicated to pair the right foods together in order to absorb iron in the best way, but if you eat a varied diet overall that includes plenty of whole foods, you’re unlikely to need more iron.

So in general, try to eat a varied, whole-foods based diet that includes good sources of iron like grass-fed meat products, organic free-range poultry, cage-free eggs, organic (ideally unpasteurized) dairy products like raw milk, plenty of different fruits and vegetables, beans, and whole grains.

If you suspect you may be low in iron a simple blood test from your GP will tell you if you are or not, and then you can supplement appropriately, if you need to.

Firstly, it’s important to recognise that IBS is unique to each person who has this diagnosis. Symptoms, and the reasons for these symptoms, vary from person to person that’s why the standard ‘one size fits all’ treatments tend not to be very effective a lot of the time.

These symptoms are very real and disruptive to everyday life BUT thankfully there is plenty that you can do to help your situation. With that in mind, here is a rundown of some common areas we need to consider when we look at the cause of IBS symptoms, and how to go about addressing it. 

It’s important to note that these are only four out of a whole array of different areas to consider. 

If you’re worried your diet is impacting your gut health, I’d highly recommend downloading my online course The Ultimate Gut Health Programme to help support both your digestive sysem and hormone health, whilst avoiding triggering symptoms.

It’d be impossible to include all you need to know in one blog, but the programme will have all you need to know to ensure you’re soothing your digestive system, whilst eating delicious and filling foods.

Parasites in IBS

You might also have parasites present in your digestive system.  This is not normally as horrifying as it sounds, I can assure you, although these parasites can give rise to all sorts of unpleasant digestive symptoms.

If you’ve been eating a diet high in sugar, lots of white carbs or alcohol, for example, this may also have been feeding the bad guys a bit too much and allowing them to overpopulate.

Have a look here for more information on having disrupted gut flora and the symptoms this may cause.

 Can food sensitivities cause IBS?

There could also be some food sensitivity going on and people who come under the IBS umbrella tend to find their symptoms are a lot better when following a low FODMAP diet. FODMAP stands for Fermentable Oligo-, Di-, Mono-saccharides And Polyols.
This simply means that foods which are ‘high FODMAP’ contain starches which are a bit harder to digest than others. So avoiding them – usually just for a short time whilst you heal your gut – can prevent pain, bloating and all the other symptoms you may be experiencing.

Gluten and dairy tend to be the main offenders here, but there are other fruits and vegetables which contain high levels of FODMAPs and can cause IBS symptoms.

Undertaking a low FODMAP diet really should only be a temporary measure whilst your gut heals. It’s OK to be avoiding one or two foods long term, but IDEALLY the aim is to get you enjoying as wide a range of different foods as possible. This is so much more likely to happen once your digestive system has had a chance to heal.

We’re just over a week into the new year and there are January challenges everywhere! Dry January. Veganuary. 21 Day Sugar-Free Challenges and countless weight loss groups to join. BUT are they always the best thing for you if you need to de-stress and get into the habit of putting yourself first in 2025?

Undoubtedly these are all great goals to aim for, but if you’re already feeling very stressed and overwhelmed they’re probably not the best place to start.

Just to be clear, I’m definitely not saying that minimising sugar and alcohol in your life is a bad thing – OF COURSE THAT WOULD BE GREAT FOR YOU!  But if it’s stressing you out, or not making you feel good, then unfortunately it’s just adding to your overwhelm. If that’s you, you’ll probably find starting in the spring or summer suits you better.

Stress and Gut Health

As you probably know, the link between gut health and stress is huge. You can read more about that here. So adding more pressure with unrealistic goals probably isn’t going to be very helpful for you. And what’s going to happen when you ‘fail’ or ‘fall off the wagon’ by the middle of the month? It’s not going to do much for your confidence and stress levels, and won’t be the best way to start considering your own needs first in the New Year.

So, I thought I’d go in with a different kind of January challenge. How about a ‘Put Yourself First and Start to De-Stress Challenge‘?

Here are four really simple strategies you can easily start to implement today, to carve out some space for YOU in your life.

If you’re worried your diet is impacting your gut health, I’d highly recommend downloading my online course The Ultimate Gut Health Programme to help support both your digestive sysem and hormone health, whilst avoiding triggering symptoms.

It’d be impossible to include all you need to know in one blog, but the programme will have all you need to know to ensure you’re soothing your digestive system, whilst eating delicious and filling foods.

No screens in your bedroom

A tricky one I know! But really try and aim to switch your phone off a good hour or two before you go to sleep.  This will really help you sleep much better.  And if you’re not tired you’ll be much less prone to stress.

When you think about it, there’s not usually anything that needs your urgent attention late in the evening which can’t wait until the next morning.  People don’t usually expect you to reply to them immediately if they email you outside work hours.

The other thing is that the light emitted from phones and gadgets – blue light – has been proven to disrupt sleeping patterns. So you’ll be doing yourself a huge favour, and definitely putting yourself first in 2025, if you can keep your phone out of your bedroom.

Walk in fresh air every day

No matter how busy you are, aim to make it a habit to step outside for a breath of fresh air each day. Doing this, even for short increments at a time, provides you with many health benefits—both physical and mental.

Research suggests spending time outside helps you sleep better at night, lowers heart rate, reduces stress levels, boosts mental health, and stimulates the immune system.

So if you’re always really, really busy think about where you can squeeze in a quick walk. Maybe walk to do the school run, take a walk at lunchtime (in a leisurely way, not racing about) in a relaxing environment like a park or next to a river, if you’re lucky enough to be near one.

And it’s not just a case of doing these small things once or twice, it’s important to get into the habit of doing as much as you can to create space for YOU every single day. It’s the constant repetition of many tiny habits, which together soothe you and make sure you’re at your optimum—emotionally, physically, and mentally.

Of course there are millions and millions of things you could do to look after yourself, put yourself first and create space in your (probably) very hectic life. 

If you have IBS, bloating, heartburn, or are prone to indigestion then these five tips should help you survive Christmas without feeling like you’re missing out.

Tip #1 – How to avoid digestive symptoms over Christmas – keep anxiety under control

Accept that you probably are anxious and stressed, even if you don’t feel like you are in the moment. It’s usual not to feel like you’re stressed while you’re stressed, but you may well recognise it as such afterwards.

Anxiety, worry and digestive symptoms such as IBS unfortunately often go hand in hand. Your gut and brain are always talking to each other – you can read more about that here – so it’s very important to avoid anxiety as far as you can.
Unfortunately Christmas and all the running around shopping, wrapping and cooking can cause even the most laid back people to become stressed – so make sure you ask for help when you need it, if you want to avoid aggravating those IBS symptoms.
When we experience stress (and it doesn’t have to be excessive) we tend to produce less stomach acid and digestive enzymes, and it also has a negative impact on our friendly gut bacteria. This can result in uncomfortable digestion and excessive bloating and gas.

If you don’t already, a crucial part in overcoming gut symptoms is learning to manage stress with techniques such as meditation and yoga. If you’re already in the habit of practicing these, then remember to fit them in over the festive season too.
Read more about managing stress and anxiety here.

Christmas IBS survival tip #2 Eat mindfully

This leads us nicely into tip number two – eat mindfully.  It’s necessary to get your body into the right mode for eating, especially if you’re sitting down to a large meal, larger than you usually eat. You need to smell your food and relax to get those digestive juices flowing nicely.

A good way to do this is to take some time before eating to do some simple breathing exercises.

Here’s a good one –

Breathe in for a count of six
Hold for a count of six
Breathe out for a count of six

Repeat this several times until you feel yourself begin to relax.

If you’re feeling stressed and eating lots more than you usually would, you may not be producing sufficient levels of digestive enzymes to properly digest your food. This is where apple cider vinegar may help you – add a tablespoon of ACV to a glass of warm water before meals to help stimulate your digestive system.

If you’re worried your diet is impacting your gut health, I’d highly recommend downloading my online course The Ultimate Gut Health Programme to help support both your digestive sysem and hormone health, whilst avoiding triggering symptoms.

It’d be impossible to include all you need to know in one blog, but the programme will have all you need to know to ensure you’re soothing your digestive system, whilst eating delicious and filling foods.

Tip 4 – keep hydrated

Water is vital for your digestive system, it really does keep everything lubricated and moving along nicely.  It also helps you avoid constipation.

The temptation is always there over christmas to consume too much alcohol – this is very dehydrating and the dehydration will wreak havoc with your digestive system.

You need plenty of water on board to ensure your gut can make all the digestive enzymes and acids it needs to.

Keeping hydrated will also help your liver to detoxify if it is getting over burdened.

When you do drink alcohol, make sure it’s a good quality wine and drink less of it – avoid anything too sugary.  Aim to alternate an alcoholic drink water to keep things moving along nicely.

I hope that helps you survive this year’s festivities and I hope you have a great Christmas!