Alison Hayward Nutrition

28/10/2026

With Menopause Awareness Month coming to a close, I wanted to share a few thoughts to help you find a clearer path through the noise, conflicting advice and often misunderstood symptoms of perimenopause and menopause.

“I just don’t feel like myself” is something I hear often from women, particularly in their early 40s. From brain fog and disrupted sleep to changing menstrual cycles and struggling to recover from exercise as we once did, these symptoms can leave us feeling disconnected from ourselves and make everyday life that bit harder.

There’s a lot of noise around midlife health right now, from HRT and antidepressants to supplements and the booming wellness industry. Even as a qualified Naturopathic Nutritional Therapist, I find some of the conflicting messages frustrating and confusing. So I can only imagine how overwhelming it feels when you’re simply trying to understand your body and feel like yourself again.

Hormones are an important part of the picture of course, but so are nutrition, digestion, sleep, stress and our wider health.

So, where do you start?

Swipe through for four steps I’d encourage you to consider — from understanding your symptoms and speaking to your GP, to exploring the wider picture and seeking personalised nutritional advice. These can act as a clear pathway or roadmap to helping you get the answers you need without feeling like your head is spinning with where to start feeling like yourself again.

You don’t have to navigate it all alone, or choose between medical care and a more personalised approach to your health. You deserve to be heard, to ask questions and to find the right support for you.

Save this post as a reminder that there is more than one way to support your health through midlife. 🤍

12/10/2026

Back in the summer, I shared how breathwork helped me navigate an unexpected, stressful period. As a nutritional therapist, I’m always looking at how stress impacts the physical body—especially our gut. When we are stuck in “fight-or-flight,” digestion halts, making it incredibly hard for our bodies to absorb nutrients properly.
The beauty of breathwork tools is their flexibility—you can completely tailor them to your needs to support both mind and gut.
For lasting impact, consistency is key. Integrating just a few minutes into your daily routine—at your desk, on your commute, or at home—makes all the difference. It’s also a fantastic tool to teach children when their little minds feel anxious or overstimulated.
🧠 The Science: By intentionally changing your breathing rate, you shift your nervous system out of “fight-or-flight” and into “rest-and-digest.” This actively lowers cortisol, balances your system, and signals to your body that it is safe to digest your food.
Swipe through to try these 3 simple techniques! If you want to dive deeper:
🔸 Check out Stuart Sandeman - Breathwork Trainer for incredible resources.
🔸 Look for local, free workshops. A year ago, I did a weekly 8-week group course in Samatha (a traditional calming meditation) and loved the community aspect of learning together.
Have you noticed how stress affects your digestion? 👇

07/10/2026

I can’t deny that I love a sandwich, and it can still be a comforting meal I’m drawn to when life feels out of my control and overwhelming, or when I’m not feeling great.

But over the years, my sandwich game has changed a lot! Gone are the days when this was my daily lunch staple, 6 days a week, and contained things like just cheese, gherkins and salad cream… yes, this is a delicious combo, I promise you — well, my 17-year-old self would say so at least! 😂

Now, when I have a sandwich, I’m much more mindful of creating a balance of protein, complex carbohydrates, healthy fats and colour. They feature less often in my week and are frequently more like a Nordic open smörgås — one slice of bread topped with lots of delicious, nutritious things!

If you’re a sandwich lover but also want to give your body and brain the nutrients they need to support steady energy and balanced blood sugar, better moods and overall wellbeing, you don’t need to give them up.

Instead, try upgrading your usual sandwich with a few simple swaps and additions — think more protein, fibre, colour and healthy fats. Also swap the highly processed bread for fresh bakery versions which might include soughdoughs, seeded versions or grains like rye 

Swipe through for some of my easy nutritious sandwich swaps 🥪🌿

Because healthy eating doesn’t have to mean giving up the foods you love. Sometimes it’s simply about building a little more nourishment into them.

10/08/2026

Have you ever eaten a nice fresh salad for lunch and thought why do I feel so bloated afterwards? That was a healthy meal right?

It might not be what we are eating but HOW we are eating and the environment we are in whilst eating. I think lunch is often the worst culprit for this as it’s likely to be the meal we take the least time to consume and often we are simultaneously working, making calls, emailing or even eating on the run to somewhere else.

For us to effectively digest and get the most out of our food ideally we need to feel calm, safe and not like we are running from a metaphorical burning building 🙈

In calm, relaxed environments where our senses are fully engaged with the food we are eating, we likely have relaxed breath, and even in easy social conversations with our friends, family or even colleagues we shift into the Parasympathetic “rest and digest state” allowing proper blood flow to the gut, the release of stomach acid and enzymes to break down our food for maximum nutrient uptake.

There will always be mealtimes we don’t manage this, but try to take a few slow breaths before your next meal, putting your phone away and slowing down enough to really chew your food

Your body doesn’t just need nourishing food, it also needs the right environment to digest it.

Could slowing down at mealtimes be the missing piece?

21/07/2023

Whether you are a long term insomniac or are lately finding it harder to nod off and have frequent night time wakings, this is the article for you! Poor night time sleep is so common for women at all life stages and I think many of us just resign ourselves to the fact a good nights sleep is gone forever, but there are many simple steps you can take both dietary and lifestyle related, that can have a huge impact upon the most common factors that cause poor sleep from stress to hormone fluctuations, poor gut health and environmental lifestyle factors, so take a read and see if you can implement some of my top tips to improving your sleep today.

Sleepless nights are one of the biggest health complaints of women that I see in my practise. No matter what life stage you are in, sleep can illude us, wether that is pregnancy, the early days of looking after a newborn baby, the motherhood years of looking after school children or into midlife and...

18/07/2023

Here’s some summer salad inspo for you…..great side addition to meal to share or just add a healthy serving of protein if a meal for one, I love chicken, mackerel or tofu with this one

Check out Every Mother Nutrition's post.

09/07/2023

https://poll.app.do/nutrition-3419625

Which is the dietary or lifestyle habit you most struggle to stick to?
I’m currently adding to my toolbox of tips to help my clients implement and stick to new healthy dietary and lifestyle habits and would love to hear which of these healthy habits you find it hardest to stick to?

Use the link above or click the image to select an option!

Click the image to voice your opinion!

04/07/2023

Check out my new blog on the underlying causes of female hair loss and natural health solutions you can get started with today. So many of my clients report some level of hair loss, which can be so distressing, affecting our self esteem and confidence. Often the causes are related to hormonal imbalances, stress and nutritional deficiencies, but the positive news is that these factors are all possible to rectify, using a holistic, personalised approach to diet and lifestyle. If you would like to explore how I can help you get to the root cause of your hair loss, click the link below to book a free health review with me.
https://my.practicebetter.io/ #/6053af492a832607e0c6b3c9/bookings

Today we will delve into the topic of female hair loss, shedding light on its causes and exploring natural health solutions. Hair loss can be such a distressing experience for women, affecting not only our physical appearance but also our self-esteem and confidence. Understanding the underlying caus...

14/06/2023

Check out my new blog post

Perimenopause and menopause weight gain Weight gain and difficulty loosing weight, can be really distressing and many women experience this during the peri menopause and menopause years. It might be that you are doing the same, exercise and diet wise, as you have been for years and yet now it’s no...

02/06/2023