MetaWell

06/12/2025

UPFs linked to harm in all major organs

“World’s largest scientific review warns that consumption of UPFs poses seismic threat to global health and wellbeing”
--The Guardian 18th Nov 2025

A series of papers published in the Lancet that included more than 100 review studies concluded that consumption of ultra-processed foods causes harm to every major organ system in the human body.

We know that, on average, almost 60% of calories come from UPFs in the UK, while for many children and poorer families this figure can be as high as 80-100%.

These "food-like substances", manufactured by a handful of multinationals and formulated to be irresistible to us, create a reward response in the brain that drives food addiction.

They are readily available, hyperpalatable, often cheaper than fresh food and hence difficult to resist.

They are nutrient-void but full of synthetic additives.

On the packaging, they claim to be healthy but are nothing but!

We now know that they are linked to gut inflammation and altered gut microbiome with reduced abundance of crucial beneficial bacteria. Along with gut issues, increased consumption is driving brain related health issues, such as cognitive decline and mental health disorders, as well as obesity, cardiometabolic illness and mortality.

If these are your staples, it's time to rethink your diet. Start by cooking from scratch, one meal at a time. You don't have to be perfect but the more home-cooked and fresh food you eat, the better.

One of my favourite quotes about what the best diet is comes from a talk by Michael Pollan (he's quoting a food industry marketing expert):

"Eat anything you want, just cook it yourself."

And that really is true!

It is the only way to avoid letting food industry control your eating behaviours and damaging your health, which these addictive, irresistible “food-like substances” do!

Check out my simple tips on the last but one slide. 👆🏼

If you need help to understand how to get away from eating too many UPFs, I’d love to help. 🥰

Get in touch, clickable links via bio, or DM me here.

24/11/2025

Are you using the greatest power you have?

What you believe, you become! Your beliefs become you!

Read more in my latest blog.

What you believe, you become! It's the greatest power you have. By Minna Wood, Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine Practitioner

22/11/2025

🦋 Thyroid Hormones, Testing & Factors Supporting Thyroid Function

🦋 The thyroid is a butterfly shaped gland of the endocrine (hormone) system, located in the front of your neck.

🦋 It’s the main control centre for metabolism of all cells, your thermostat and regulator of myriad of functions in your body.

🦋 Because it influences so many functions and systems, the list of symptoms of dysfunctional thyroid is long and very individual.

Read more about the different hormones, antibodies and factors that affect/support your thyroid function by swiping though. 👇🏼

20/11/2025

𝗠𝗼𝗼𝗱, 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗼𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗙𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀.

This is the title of a talk I'm doing today at the Face2Face Maidenhead networking meeting.

I will show some statistics and survey results of the state of health at work in the UK and how ill health is affecting productivity of not just the individual people but also businesses as a whole.

I will also talk about ultra-processed foods and their health effects, the gut-brain axis (of course!! 💩 🧠 ) and how to improve gut, mental and overall health with the power of food.

Can't wait to meet all the other local business owners. This meeting is sold out but check out their next one in December if you want to visit (link in comments).

17/11/2025

𝐇𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥! 🤸‍♀️

I bought a new yoga headstand stool recently that has been sitting in the corner waiting to be used.

I've been looking at it, feeling a bit scared of it, not knowing how exactly to approach practicing with it and getting used to being upside down (not a very natural position for us humans!), and most importantly, to trust my body strength.

Luckily I have a fantastic yoga teacher who knows her stuff and has a lovely studio near me.

So I asked her help.

And last weekend I had a great 1:1 session with Phyl Hyland to learn the correct technique and build up my confidence for using my new yoga prop.

Phyl is brilliant in breaking things down and encouraging you to take it slowly, step-by-step. So that's what we did, and with each step I got more and more confident with getting into, and staying in, the final position, which for me, for now, is with my heels against the wall.

The next step is to get the heels off the wall and my body straight. And that will come with more practice and patience.

It's was hard work and I felt it in every muscle of my body! And it def tested my mindset!

The step-wise approach really helped, I felt heard, supported and guided, and that was exactly what I needed in order to get through my limiting beliefs.

'I can't do it' got overwritten by 'Yes, I can!'.

Changing health habits is not unlike learning a new skill.

I too use this same approach when helping my clients who are ready to change their behaviours to improve their health.

💜 I simplify things for them, I encourage them to take one small step at a time and build from there.
💜 I ask them to focus on small goals, and the bigger ones will eventually follow.
💜 I'm there to hold their hand when they need it and guide them through challenges.
💜 I encourage them to question their limiting beliefs and work on them.
💜 And we'll celebrate each small win before setting a new goal.

There are few people who can learn new skills just on their own without support from an expert.

And acknowledging that you need help is the first step towards achieving your goals.

Habit change is difficult - you've perfected your old habits for decades so it will take some time to unlearn them and learn new ones.

If your health issues are wearing you down and you have been trying to do it all by yourself but are not getting anywhere or are struggling to understand what your next step should be, it's time to get help!

Get in touch for a chat and we can discuss more on how I can help you dig deep to understand your health issues and support you as you take small steps to address these, so you can start feeling better and more confident in trusting your body.

Don't expect to know it all yourself. I would be happy to take some of that burden off your shoulders.

Let's chat! 🥰

06/11/2025

Are you ready to prioritise yourself and your health?

Then let's chat about where you are now and how we can work together to help you feel strong, energised and truly well again.

Get in touch via direct message or via my website (link in bio 👆🏼).

I look forward to meeting you soon. 😍

27/10/2025

What do your cholesterol results mean?

To understand whether you really need statin medication, you should understand what blood tests you need to request from your doctor and what your results actually mean.

Don’t just blindly accept that your need medication because your “cholesterol is high”.

Here is a quick guide for you, swipe through. 👇🏼

Focusing on total/LDL cholesterol alone without looking at the rest of the numbers and your lifestyle is pretty meaningless.

Statins are only useful in lowering your cholesterol if there's metabolic dysfunction present and the mechanism of action is via reducing clotting and inflammation.

But in most cases the same can also be done with dietary and lifestyle changes (and without side effects of medication).

My Wellness Check covers most of these markers and I can also run further markers for you when you work with me.

You can find more information on my website, by booking a free discovery call via my website or emailing me.

Get in touch to learn more.

19/10/2025

Your values and beliefs are not just important determinants of your life in general but crucial for your health too.

They guide and motivate you to do the things you do.

Health is my value No 1.

It gets priority over most things.

It guides me in my actions.

Health is my WHY also for my business.

It's the driving force for what I chose to study over a decade ago (because of my own health issues), for setting up my MetaWell Ltd clinic, for what I do for living now, and all the work I do with clients and corporates as a registered nutrition practitioner.

So when I cook my meals, I think of the quality of the food and the ingredients I'm using, and I ask myself how will they support my health now and in the future.

And I'm instantly more motivated to cook healthier meals.

If I feel like I can't be bothered doing something (usually exercising 😄), I think of why I'm actually doing it, what it is doing to my body and brain, and and how it will be helping my health.

And this makes me get it done.

If my body feels tired or I feel down, I ask what my body needs to feel more energised or happier.

Sometimes the answer is to take a nap, or to slouch on the sofa in front of the TV while eating chocolate, and I then allow myself these too because I know my body needs balance and a giving myself a break will support my health in that moment.

And of course, this same value is my constant guiding principle when helping my clients in clinic.

Does health come up high in your values?
Or is it rather an afterthought?

If the latter, what can you do to move health further up in your priority list?

Because if your health is not in this list, the reality is, unfortunately, that it won't be anyone else's either.

If you don't value your health, who will?

Your body is your only home. If you don't take care of it, where else will you live?

What's your number 1 value?

10/10/2025

Happy World Mental Health Day!

Did you know that the use of antidepressants in the UK almost doubled between 2010 and 2021?
(https://tinyurl.com/3a32hwem)

Why do we still use antidepressants as the first or the single treatment approach for depression when we know that diet and lifestyle play a huge role in mental health? Using an approach that focuses on diet and lifestyle can be very effective in many cases. We know that antidepressants are linked to many (and some serious) side effects and patients need to be very carefully weaned off them when they want to stop using them.

We now know that inflammation, gut health and diet quality are the big drivers of symptoms in depression and other mental health conditions. When your gut is inflamed your brain can become inflamed. Reducing gut and neuroinflammation via an anti-inflammatory diet can be as effective as medication in some cases and can also increase the efficacy of medications. A 2019 systematic review also found that low-grade inflammation reduced the effectiveness of antidepressants, while an umbrella review from 2024 linked the consumption of ultra-processed foods to 32 adverse health outcomes, including common mental health disorders.
(https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00458
https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2023-077310)

A paper from 2018 (PMID: 30254980) analysed foods for their antidepressant nutrient content (the nutrients being folate, iron, omega-3 fatty acids, magnesium, potassium, selenium, B1, vitamin A, B6, B12, C and zinc) and gave them an antidepressants food score. The top scoring foods were oysters, mussels and other seafoods, and organ meats for animal foods, and leafy greens, lettuces, peppers, and cruciferous vegetables for plant foods.

Another paper (PMID: 39756916) showed that a high dietary intake of live microbes (that you get from fermented probiotic foods) may be associated with a lower risk of depression as well as improvements in bowel habits. The study found that participants with hard and loose stools had a higher risk of depression than those with normal stools, and participants with depression had a higher risk of hard and loose stools than those without depression.

What a beautiful demonstrations of the gut-brain axis in action! 🥦 💩 🧠

An anti-inflammatory, gut-friendly and minimally processed diet is your insurance against many illnesses, including mental health disorders. So make sure to include some healthy fats, good quality protein, plenty of colourful foods and some fermented foods, in your home-cooked daily meals.

09/10/2025

I was at The Potting Shed Community Cafe launch yesterday.

Well done Clare and Mandy! What a great concept you have created. And what a great timing too as tomorrow is World Mental Health Day.

Check out their events page for different events at the cafe on different days.

I will be at their Monday Mindfulness event on Monday 27th 9.30am talking about nutrition. Please come and join us.

If you plan to come, please click 'going' on the event (link in comments below) so we know how many of you to expect. There will be a special healthy breakfast that I have helped to create. 🥰