VDA Nutrition

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VDA Nutrition

Inspiring people on how to eat and live for optimum health + well-being. Qualified Nutrition expert, author and speaker. www.vdanutrition.com

Come play here, have fun, inspire and live consciously. Masters of Science in Nutrition - Expert in alternative and nutritional therapies, health and wellness speaker, author, founder of the Eco diet and VDA nutriiton, consultant to international organizations and research and development expertise in the health industry. Expert in supplement and alternative medicine. My passion is to share my experiences, my knowledge and philosophy on nutrition, life, what inspires and uplifts me!

11/11/2025

I look forward to my next IG Live guest, Matthew Furlonger, co-founder of .

Matt is a licensed brain health clinician and performance coach. His journey into brain health and resilience began over a decade ago after a near-death experience. That moment sparked his ultimate mission: to understand the brain and human potential at the deepest level.

NeuroVita is a Cape Town-based health practice that focuses on enhancing brain health and function, with the basis that as your brain is your greatest asset, when it works better, everything works better.

Their coaching and support focuses on science-based strategies to optimise brain wellness for sharpened focus, energy, enhanced mood, and unlocking mental edge.

They don’t diagnose or prescribe medication but collaborate with medical professionals, when needed, to ensure the best outcomes for their clients.

I will be experiencing their NeuroVitals Brain Health Assessment and their Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy capsule tomorrow, and so I will be able to share firsthand what one can expect.

DATE: Thursday, 13 November 📅⁠
TIME: 11am (SAST)⁠

If you have any questions, comment below or DM me.

Hope to see you online on Thursday.⁠⁠

06/11/2025

SEEKING help with FERTILITY⁠
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It's no coincidence that infertility has increased alongside diabetes and obesity, and many issues around hormone imbalances are primarily caused by pre-diabetes.⁠
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A diet heavy in sugar and refined carbohydrates increases insulin levels, which can trigger hormonal imbalances in women, leading to Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS).⁠
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Studies show PCOS affects 8-12% of women, similar to the number of couples who suffer infertility.⁠
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PCOS symptoms include:⁠
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➜ irregular or heavy periods⁠
➜ acne⁠
➜ facial hair⁠
➜ scalp hair loss⁠
➜ increased belly fat⁠
➜ increased levels of testosterone.⁠
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Research carried out by Dr. Walter Willett of Harvard on infertility caused by pre-diabetes found that infertility might be treated effectively through diet, lifestyle and supplements to help reverse pre-diabetes and balance your hormones, therefore improving fertility.⁠
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Consider implementing these to reduce PCOS symptoms and reset your hormones:⁠
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● Zero Sugar, including sweeteners, refined grains and all flours⁠
● Remove dairy and all commercially raised animal products. ⁠
● Only grass-fed, organic animal products⁠
● Remove endocrine disruptors, plastics, cosmetics, household cleaning products and choose natural alternatives⁠
● Control insulin spikes in a day⁠
● Inositol, omega 3, berberine and ashwagandha - my choice of supplementation⁠
● Choose foods in their whole state and eat enough fibre for optimal daily elimination⁠
● Lose weight⁠
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Then explore taking these targeted supplements:⁠
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✔ inositol⁠
✔ ashwagandha⁠
✔ berberine⁠
✔ magnesium⁠
✔ omega 3⁠
✔ coenzyme q10⁠
✔ vitamin D3⁠
✔ curcumin⁠
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Have you experienced PCOS? How have you dealt with it? I would love to hear your story.⁠⁠⁠

04/11/2025

Magnesium supports your central nervous system, helps improve stress levels by reducing cortisol, helps improve sleep quality, supports muscle relaxation, and supports cognition and focus—to name a few.

In fact, it is involved in most major metabolic processes, and levels affect how every cell in your body works.

Yet, you will be surprised at how many of us are deficient!

In a study (PMID: 16542786), researchers were able to show that magnesium treatment was effective in treating depression and that magnesium deficiency can be the cause of most major depression and related mental health problems.

For women, magnesium is a crucial mineral and a non-negotiable supplement.

Here is why:

Alleviates PMS Symptoms: Sufficient magnesium levels can lessen the severity of cramps, fluid retention, and emotional issues linked to PMS.

Supports Hormonal Balance: Magnesium is essential for managing hormonal changes, particularly during menstrual cycles, perimenopause, and menopause.

Reduces Stress and Anxiety: Magnesium serves as a natural sedative, aiding in soothing the nervous system and enhancing mood consistency.

Improves Sleep Quality: Magnesium aids in promoting relaxation and deep sleep, which can frequently be affected by hormonal fluctuations.

Blood Sugar Regulation: It aids in sustaining stable blood sugar levels, which helps minimize fatigue and cravings associated with hormonal changes.

For women navigating hormonal changes, maintaining optimal magnesium levels is crucial. It’s not just about preventing deficiency — it’s about empowering women to feel balanced, energized, and resilient through each phase of life.

I recommend incorporating magnesium-rich foods such as leafy greens, nuts, seeds, and legumes, as well as targeted supplementation when necessary.

In summary:

Magnesium is not just a mineral; it’s an essential component of maintaining hormonal health. Adequate levels can reduce discomfort, enhance emotional well-being, and improve overall vitality.

30/10/2025

New research (PMID: 36899275) has shown that higher magnesium intake is linked to two powerful markers of long-term brain health, memory, and cognitive function, namely:

● Larger brain volume�
● Fewer white matter lesions

The benefits were especially strong in women, suggesting that magnesium’s protective effects on the brain may be even more important post-menopause, when hormonal shifts impact cognitive and neurological health.

The bottom line is that brain health starts now. Don’t wait for symptoms.� Support your nervous system, memory, and mood — especially as you enter midlife.

I recommend taking magnesium daily

● It reduces neuroinflammation and oxidative stress�
● It supports learning, memory and mood regulation
● It slows cognitive decline—even in women with “normal” magnesium levels

Even if you’re not deficient, increasing your magnesium intake now may offer long-term benefits.

Whether you're using magnesium for ...

Better sleep
Calmer stress response�
Brain ageing prevention�
. it’s one supplement I recommend again and again.

28/10/2025

Changes in weight, water retention, digestive distress, poor skin, loss of hair, feeling fatigued and burnout is often linked to your insulin and cortisol levels

I see this all the time with my ladies.

They drink too much coffee, are fasting, counting calories, and working out to the point of exhaustion ... and it's showing.

Your state of health always shows on your face and in your physical body.

This is what it looks like:

● Waking up between 2 and 4 am
● Puffy eyes, puffy fingers and overall a heavy feeling in the body
● High visceral and belly fat
● Ravenous hunger
● Hair thinning
● Brittle nails
● Lack of lustre in the skin
● Dehydrated skin�

Bringing cortisol back into balance is key; this is when your weight starts to shift, your skin glows, you feel rested, you crave less, and you have more energy and more zest for life.

It’s not about doing more, but doing less.

🤍 Watching morning sunrises
🤍 Less screen time
🤍 Nourishing meals
🤍 More nature walks
🤍 More time with friends and family
🤍 A massage
🤍 A sleep-in
🤍 Learn to downregulate your nervous system

I love ashwagandha and magnesium in the evening and saffron in the morning as an adjunct to these lifestyle modifications. These natural therapeutics work as adaptogens for your nervous system.

Know that your body is always communicating with you; look and listen out for the signs.

23/10/2025

You have cleaned up your diet, you are eating your protein, your plate is full of greens, you are walking, doing Pilates etc, etc, etc ....but your scale won't budge?

It is not your willpower or your diet that’s causing it, it’s stress hormones, poor sleep, and burnout. They can completely block fat loss, no matter how hard you try.

Read my latest blog—Can’t Lose Fat? Cortisol, Poor Sleep & Burnout—for more on this and my guide on what you can do.

www.vdanutrition.com/cant-lose-fat-cortisol-poor-sleep-burnout

16/10/2025

I look forward to my next IG Live guests, Natalie Castel and Marisa Testa of .power_meno_tribe, helping women to master their midlife and peri/menopause journey.

m.Power began out of a need, from their own experiences, to create a space where women going through peri/menopause could connect.

Through their masterclasses, 1-on-1 coaching, workplace programs and even their upcoming newsletters, which will provide practical tools to navigate this transformation, it's a well-needed initiative, and I can't wait to share more on what they offer.

I will be attending their masterclass this Saturday in Cape Town and so will also be able to share my personal experience of what M.Power has to offer.

DATE: Tuesday, 21 October 📅⁠
TIME: 11am (SAST)⁠

Click here if anyone wants to join Saturday's masterclass or would like to find out more about what they offer.

https://www.mpowerconsult.com/

Post any questions; post below or DM me.⁠⁠

14/10/2025

Let's talk about "inflammaging".

It's where chronic, low-grade inflammation leads to accelerated biological ageing, proven through multiple studies.

Research has found that this association may be particularly strong in women. Women with higher inflammation age faster biologically.

These are some key studies.

GENDER-SPECIFIC

A 2019 study published by NIH found that women had a stronger correlation between inflammatory markers and biological ageing compared to men.

PERI/MENOPAUSE

A 2023 study found that the perimenopause and menopause transition is an inflammatory period, and the natural decline in reproductive hormones contributes to immune system dysfunction and increased chronic inflammation, increasing ageing.

DIET and INFLAMMATION

A 2023 cross-sectional analysis of 4,510 adults in Italy confirmed a link between pro-inflammatory diets and accelerated biological ageing, and was significantly stronger in women.

REPRODUCTION

A 2022 review article in Reproductive Sciences highlighted that maternal inflammation, or "inflammaging," can negatively impact fertility and pregnancy outcomes and accelerate a woman's ageing process.

EPIGENETICS

A 2023 study in the journal Geroscience linked systemic inflammation to accelerated DNA methylation age, a marker of biological ageing measured by epigenetic clocks.

Get your levels tested; it is a simple test where they check your CRP (C-reactive protein)

Know your levels and learn to reverse it.

09/10/2025

Daily habits for health are simple but we tend to complicate things.⁠
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It’s all about making small choices that shape your health in the long term, and this applies to nutrition too.⁠
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While it takes 3 months of practice to make a new habit stick for life, you can change the chemistry in your brain in a matter of weeks.⁠
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These are my recommended daily nutritional rules.⁠
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● Organic whole real food in season⁠
Eating seasonal organic fresh produce is more sustainable, has generally travelled less and tends to be more nutritious. Organic fruit and vegetables will be free of toxic pesticides too and fresh organic fruit in season is nature’s treat.⁠
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● Know where your food comes from - this is everything!⁠
Go to the source. Research what you can buy locally, and which farmers and suppliers sell directly to the public.⁠
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● Protein, fat and fibre at each meal⁠
It is the perfect trifecta to balance blood sugar and control hunger.⁠
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● Cook from scratch ⁠
It is important to cook from scratch, then you know what ingredients are going into your dishes. It can be lots of fun too.⁠
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● Hydrate with electrolytes ⁠
My best is Concentrate Trace Mineral Drops in my water first thing. It contains all 72 ionic trace minerals which have so many physical benefits, including aiding digestion, metabolism, and mood. ⁠
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● Eat slowly⁠
Chewing your food in a calm environment changes the way your digestive system absorbs and assimilates nutrients and stops you from overeating.⁠
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● Make your own desserts or have a square or two of delicious dark chocolate.⁠
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● Love what you eat ⁠
Bless and enjoy food, and with loved ones or friends. ⁠
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I have had the privilege to work with some great minds in nutrition and health who have taught me so much in different ways.⁠
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We need to have freedom and joy around food, and we need to focus on self-love, nourishment vs. deprivation, and enjoyment and not punishment.⁠⁠⁠

07/10/2025

Menopause can cause metabolic shifts that increase the risk of metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, obesity, and cardiovascular disease.

Stabilising blood sugar levels alone can counteract hormonal changes that lead to weight gain and contribute to extreme hot flashes.

The good news is that lifestyle changes such as diet and physical movement can help to improve your metabolic health, increase insulin sensitivity, and promote stable glucose.

My focus is always to start with your nutrition, add in key supplements, optimise sleep, do resistance training to build and preserve muscle mass, which rapidly declines as we age, and find ways to get into a parasympathetic state more often to reduce cortisol overall.

Swipe for my guide.

Know that what you did before with little sleep, excessive exercise, under eating, poor nutrition choices, late nights, putting others first... the list goes on ... will not work for good reason.

It is important to be curious about this stage of life. Your body is not working against you; it is, in fact, signaling daily the changes you need to make.

03/10/2025

Dopamine is one of the most important neurotransmitters in your brain for mood, motivation, and sense of reward. It also plays a significant role in regulating mental health.

Our modern world is disrupting our mental health, causing our dopamine system to clash, creating a mismatch between what our brains expect and reality.

Many people report feeling surprisingly empty after accomplishing goals, an anticlimactic feeling.

We are hijacking our natural reward pathways, and our sensitivity is being diminished through 'artificial' or 'fake' dopamine.

It is a convenient, quick, low-effort stimulus, such as excessive social media scrolling, binge-watching, or consuming sugar, caffeine, and alcohol. It causes an intense dopamine surge followed by a crash. It can lead to addiction, lower motivation, and a diminished ability to find joy in natural rewards.

The effect of natural dopamine is vastly different.

It is released slowly in response to effort and rewarding behaviours like exercise, achieving goals, or creating art. It leads to motivation and reinforces behaviours that are beneficial for survival and well-being. The result is a good balanced feeling with no crash.

I have learnt that in life it’s the little clusters of simple things that create the beautiful tapestry of your life, so this is my natural dopamine menu:⁠�⁠�

● Alone time first thing in the morning, I plan my day and use tools to rewire my brain. No outside influence. Morning coffee before my family awakes⁠�
● Prayer/meditation⁠�
● Resistant workout. Nothing beats feeling strong⁠�
● Making a healthy breakfast and lunch box for my daughter⁠�
● A nourishing breakfast⁠/brunch�
● My work⁠. I always focus on my why�
● Fetching my daughter from school and listening to her about her day�
● My people and my tribe. They are everything⁠�
● My husband is my daily inspiration and best friend⁠�
● Nature, beach walks and sunsets⁠�
● Family dinners and lazy lunches⁠�
● Bedtime rituals with my daughter⁠�⁠�

You have a choice to fill your day with things that make you feel good. What are your moments of joy?⁠�⁠⁠

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Cape Town
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Website

http://www.vdanutrition.com/

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Masters of Science in Nutrition - Expert in alternative and nutritional therapies, health and wellness speaker, author, founder of the Eco diet and VDA nutriiton, consultant to international organizations and research and development expertise in the health industry. Expert in supplement and alternative medicine. Functional Medicine practitioner and B-School Graduate My passion is to share my experiences, my knowledge and philosophy on nutrition, life, what inspires and uplifts me!