Welcome to May, and with the arrival of spring we will start to feel more energised by the colours of bluebells, blossom and longer days, so this may be a good time to review your diet.
One food group that we get asked a lot about is gluten – should I have it? Symptoms of brain fog, lethargy, bloating, reflux, fluctuating bowel movements or headaches can be connected to issues associated with eating gluten. If our Nutritional Therapists suspect the issue may be wheat, then they might suggest taking out wheat from the diet to start with, or possibly go further and go 'gluten free' by removing rye and barley too. This can be a minefield for many customers so we are pleased to guide you in store when you are looking for gluten free products, and we have also put together a comprehensive group of gluten free options on our website.
If you think you may have developed an intolerance to gluten you can take an intolerance test through our partner laboratory Cambridge Nutritional Services. We arrange for a test to be sent to you or it can be collected from store. You choose which food groups you would like to be tested for, the most popular being the 40+ test which includes the test for gluten and dairy. If you need some guidance or to discuss options that would work best for you, please do come in store and speak to one of our registered Nutritional Therapists or click here to book a FREE Health Check-In with Alison to find out more.
As we enter May and the days ahead will hopefully be warmer and certainly longer, you may consider taking a vitamin D test. This will ascertain if your Vitamin D is at an optimal level and - if it is - you may choose to stop taking your vitamin D supplement and instead top up over the summer with some sunshine, taking care to do so responsibly. We stock the NHS vitamin D test, this is a simple pin pick test you can do at home. Supplements have their place, and it is always good to take a break and not to take supplements unnecessarily.
Wishing you a happy healthy May,
Kate
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