Julie Forrester Julie Forrester

Taking vitamin D versus Making vitamin D

Vitamin D3 has had more attention in the last decade, with research recognising how crucial it is to good health. We’ve seen a shift from marketing calcium for bone health to focussing on vitamin D instead, recognising its important role in regulating bone mineral density. It’s not the calcium that puts itself into the bones, it’s the vitamin D which determines this! Doctors are routinely testing for vitamin D and many of us are coming up short.

During the COVID pandemic it was identified as having an impact on severity of the symptoms, as those with low levels suffered more significantly. In those crazy times it was one of the supplements that people were taking by the handful.

Research on vitamin D shows that deficiency is associated with everything from suppressed immune function to autoimmune disease, brain and muscle health - and almost everything in between. On the other hand, studies show that supplementation hasn’t demonstrated the benefits that were expected on conditions with known links to deficiency. So, what are we missing?
It’s easy to think that vitamin D made in our body from sunlight is identical to the molecule we buy in capsules, but, should we be taking vitamin D3 as a supplement? Or, is it better to make it naturally? Have we been too overcautious in protecting ourselves, and thrown the baby out with the bathwater?

This article discusses the huge variety of benefits of making vitamin D. It looks at some of the other beneficial molecules we make when our skin is exposed to sunlight, and the potential issues with taking it as a supplement.

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Julie Forrester Julie Forrester

How sunshine influences gut health

Circadian rhythm is so much more than the sleep and wake cycle, or even when to eat. It governs every cell to optimise tasks at different times of the day. The microbiome, too, works differently depending on the time of day, and a number of aspects of digestion are timed. So, how does the body tell the time? How does circadian signalling impact digestion and the microbiome? And, how can you improve your gut health with getting your light exposure right? This post explains why circadian signalling is important for the whole body, in particular the gastrointestinal tract and all of the organs of digestion, and how to optimise your digestive health by improving your circadian rhythm.

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Julie Forrester Julie Forrester

Mitochondrial health, sunshine, sleep and frequencies

The most important regulator of ALL health in the body is a tiny little bean-like structure contained in all of our cells. Called the mitochondria it’s commonly known as ‘the powerhouse of the cell’, and new advances in science that bring Quantum physics and biology together, shows that this powerhouse is SO much more than that. And the ways we can improve it are literally outside our front door, free, and easy.

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Julie Forrester Julie Forrester

Simple hacks to improve sleep. How sleep impacts health, weight, and mood.

Sleep, we all do it, in fact, we spend around a third of our life asleep.

Some of us are better at it, and some struggle to consistently get good sleep. These patterns can change in different life stages, and some people seem to survive on only a few hours each night!

This article aims to answer all the questions…What happens in sleep? How does it affect our health? Why is it important and how to get better at longer, deeper and more restful sleep for better health? And, is it really possible to get away with less than optimal sleep?

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Julie Forrester Julie Forrester

Menopause and IBS - what is the link?

So many women find that digestive symptoms are worse around perimenopause, experiencing uncomfortable constipation, diarrhoea, urgency, bloating, flatulence and other embarrassing symptoms.

Why is that?

More importantly, what can you do about it?

Read on to find out why this time of life can be the start or worsening of these uncomfortable and embarrassing symptoms, and how natural medicine can help you to feel normal again.

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