From punishment to nourishment: how herbs can help our bodies find balance.

Alongside fresh intentions and resolutions, January inevitably brings a barrage of marketing campaigns pitching quick fixes and silver bullets! And although we know, deep down, they rarely work, it can be hard not to be drawn to the promise of an overnight solution to our goals.

Why not make 2025 about a sustained and transformative approach to nourishing your body and mind? An approach that encourages you to rethink your relationship with food - and one that uses herbs as a foundation layer to further support your hormones.

Let’s start by taking a quick look at the link between hormone imbalance, our menopause transition and weight gain.

The biochemistry of menopause:

Our transition into menopause begins a lot earlier than many of us realise. From the age of about 37, most of us will be experiencing hormonal changes and, statistically, we’re likely to enter perimenopause around the age of 41. Menopause itself is a retrospective date that marks 12 months since our last period. And, again statistically, this will happen for most of us around the age of 51. It’s important to note that some of us will experience early menopause, as a result of an underlying health condition or surgery. And some of us will fall outside of these markers too. Every journey is unique. And your experience of menopause will be individual too.

Weight gain in midlife:

The natural hormonal changes that take place across our menopause transition  impact our propensity for weight gain in a number of ways. For example:

• Research shows our base metabolic rate slows, in part as a result of muscle loss
• Hormonal shifts mean how where we gain weight may change - it tends to appear around our waist / belly which is much more visible to us in the mirror too
• We become more predisposed to high blood sugar levels, which in turn can lead to an increase in food cravings and a shift in where we are getting our calories
• Our gut health is often impacted which influences how well we digest nutrients, our mood and energy..which again can lead to craving quick energy fixes to get us through the day
• We also know that we become less resilient to stress which impacts cortisol..further contributing to weight gain around the waist and on the food we crave and our lifestyle choices too
• Finally, sleep is an issue for about 60% of us. Poor sleep spikes cortisol as well as our hunger hormones so we receive signals to reach for food more than our body really needs.

It can feel overwhelming. But the important thing to know is that none of these factors are your fault. Weight gain in midlife is not a lack of willpower, greed or letting yourself go. Your body is undergoing a transition. It wants to be in balance. But, because multiple factors impact the unsettling of your hormone orchestra, the best response requires a whole body and mind view.

Where to begin?

We believe the best place to start is with a focus on the health of your gut microbiota. Not only does a happy gut ensure you extract the nutrients you need from food, but it influences your mood and your energy levels too. There is emerging research pointing to a link between a change in gut microbiota in menopause and neurotransmitters, hormones and compounds (SCFAs) that affect anxiety, sleep and even hot flushes / flashes too.

And the great thing about your gut? It responds pretty swiftly too!

The role of Bitters in rebalancing the gut:

Bitters have been used for centuries in traditional medicine to promote digestive health.

This wonderful family of plants also contain compounds that have been shown to stimulate the secretion of GLP-1, a hormone naturally produced in the gut in response to food which regulates blood sugar levels, insulin secretion and appetite. As GLP-1 rises, the gut literally signals to the brain, ‘I am full’! And the brain senses, ‘I am satisfied!’.

Bitters also help us digest fat by increasing digestive secretions such as bile by the liver. And, when used synergistically with herbs that support digestive capacity, reduce gut inflammation and feed the ‘good bacteria’ in our gut, we can get our body doing all it is designed to do, naturally.

3 herbs to introduce into your gut-balancing routine now:

1. Artichoke Leaf: This is the queen of the Bitters family! We work with Artichoke Leaf because of its long traditional use as a powerful digestive aid but also as one of the most well researched Bitters. Clinical trials have demonstrated the potential of Artichoke Leaf Extract in significantly reducing symptoms of indigestion and digestive discomfort, and improving quality of life.
2. Ginger: This humble and delicious root is one of the most powerful digestive aids you can use in your kitchen. With carminative properties, it reduces stomach discomfort, bloating, gas/flatulence and cramping.
3. Slippery Elm: This traditional herb belongs to a class of botanicals called demulcents. Herbs with demulcent properties release a mucilage (consisting of a complex profile of polysaccharides) in the gastrointestinal tract that protects the gut barrier, resulting in reduced inflammation and less sensitivity to gastric acids. Slippery Elm is very effective at reducing constipation and alleviating symptoms of heartburn and acid reflux, and research shows that this mucilage contains prebiotic properties too.

You can find these hard working plants in LIMINAL Gut Instinct, blended too with Actazin, a patented extract of the Green Kiwi, for its additional prebiotic properties. Actazin has also been shown to reduce constipation, bloating and gastric discomfort in clinical trials.

What makes LIMINAL Gut Instinct different to the rest?

Gut Instinct is pretty unusual in the gut health supplement space because it is a wholly botanical and prebiotic formulation.

As a naturopathic company, we  advocate systems that encourage the body to do what it should, naturally. Prebiotics are distinct from probiotics in that they feed the gut microbiota so that it can produce the strains of good bacteria the individual uniquely needs. In midlife, this is a gentle and highly efficacious approach to bringing your body and mind back into balance.

The plants we choose are informed by scientific research and traditional wisdom and work synergistically to improve digestion, delivering swift relief but also, critically, promoting a healthier microbiome over time. This in turn helps you to manage cravings, blood sugar, gastric discomfort and bowel movements.From punishment to nourishment: how herbs can help our bodies find balance.

We believe the best place to start is with a focus on the health of your gut microbiota. Not only does a happy gut ensure you extract the nutrients you need from food, but it influences your mood and your energy levels too.

We are so excited to have partnered with LIMINAL on our Ultimate Reset programme. Receive a complimentary pack of their high-quality Gut Instinct supplements as part of your Ultimate Reset toolkit, alongside a bundle of other luxury wellness gifts worth £430 and 20 days of a transformative & regenerative meal plan of choice. Limited numbers available! Reserve your spot before it’s gone.