Want to live healthier, happier, and longer and keep your brain working in optimal condition? Then Vitamin D, the nutrient which is now being hailed over the news, could be the answer. I'm sure we'd all like to bathe in the sun to absorb this vitamin (the body produces Vitamin D in response to ultraviolet light). However, in my clinic I've found several patients worryingly deficient, despite them coming from a  hot country! Most of my patients think sunbathing could be one answer to boosting their vitamin D, but don't forget the post effect of sun exposure.

This vitamin is essential to life, affecting your bones, skin, hair, immune system, functioning of the intestine and mood. The best of vitamin D is through liquid form or good quality tablets. Here are some excellent reasons why you need vitamin D:

1) Bone Health: The skeletal muscle depends heavily on vitamin D. A lack of it can cause osteoporosis, osteopenia and cracks in the bones.

2) Prevention of Obesity

3) Cancer Prevention: vitamin D has been linked with fighting numerous cancers

4) Healthy permeability of the intestine

5) Supports thyroid

6) Protection against cardiovascular disease

7) Strengthens the Immune System

You are what you absorb - meaning the whole functioning of your body depends the minute you begin swallowing. We all assume that what we put in our mouth is immediately absorbed - but your mistaken. The lining of your gut, also known as the permeability of the intestine, is what makes a world of difference to your health. : if your stomach is functioning well, you'll benefit from the supplements and healthy foods you're eating.

Let me give you a brief description of absorption: during digestion nutrients, are extracted from food and absorbed by the small intestine. These nutrients are carried through the bloodstream and into the tissues, muslces and organs. When malabsorption begins to develop, it's a sign of inflammation in the intestinal wall, preventing the nutrients from being absorbed.

Imagine your intestine is like a pipe: if this pipe is clogged with fermentation, bad bacteria and toxins, it begins to seep into your blood stream, causing the following problems:

- Hair Loss

- Abdominal Pain

- Food Allergies

- Chronic Fatigue

- Brain Fog

- Itching

- Bloatedness

- Chronic Rhinitis

- Headaches

- Difficulty in concentrating

- Hormonal Problems

Repairing the intestine can take time but is definitely not impossible. Malabsorption can cause deficiencies of all nutrients, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals. The "damage" created by overgrowth of yeast, inflammation, food intolerances, chronic stress and exposure to bad diet can all be repaired through extensive blood tests (this is to spot the problem) and the correct diet wil be administered.

Chocolate gives you a migraine, wheat bloats you and dairy gives you skin rashes: these are the red flags of food intolerances.

Humble foods such as wheat, milk, cheese, eggs and chicken are just some of the foods behind intolerances. Food intolerances and allergies cause inflammation of the intestinal mucosa, interfering with the absorption of nutrients. Given the vast amounts of convenient, processed foods we eat that are full of additives and chemicals can eventually lead to a damaged intestinal lining. You could be eating a very healthy diet, consuming the best supplements and vitamins, but nothing is being absorbed if you happen to be allergic or sensitive to certain foods (some of which you may be unaware of).

Having food intolerances and allergies is a sign your gut is unhappy - another sign is hearing embarrassing and noisy gurguling in your stomach; an indication of bad bacteria growing or food which is proving difficult to digest.

Intolerances can cause a lot of discomfort; ranging from IBS, to gas, to respiratory probelsm, eczema and chronic fatigue to name a few. As well, you could be damaging the enzymes, intestinal lining and good bacteria, which are crucial for absorbing food and vitamins. 

So is there a cure for an unhappy gut?

1) Through blood and urine tests, I'll be able to establish your food intolerances, whether the intestine is permanently or temporarily damaged and which nutrients aren't being absorbed.

2) Once this is established, you'll start on a diet free from food that causing food allergies and intolerances.

Vegetables: a vague word that can be easily misinterpreted, especially if you suffer from a lazy thyroid, otherwise known as hypothyroidism.

Green vegetables are essential to feed the butterfly-shaped thyroid gland located in the neck, but there are so many vegetables that fall under the "green category" that we often become confused as to which ones are really beneficial: peas, green beans, spinach and asparagus amongst others. Majority of the time, I hear people say their daily quota of green consists of peas, broccoli, green salad or brussels sprouts. These vegetables are the ones that need to be avoided because they affect the thyroid. Even though these veggies are healthy in their own way, it misses the target when it comes to nourshing your thyroid hormone.

Thyroid regulates the energy and without it, one can feel tired or exhausted. For example, if after a good night's sleep you still feel exhausted, then this could be a sign of a sluggish thyroid. One of the best and natural ways to increase the thyroid is by eating a big bowl of leafy green vegetables in the morning and throughout the day. Spinach, spring green, watercress and wild rocket will surely nourish your thyroid hormone gland, as well as clean out some toxins floating around in your intestine (best to combine with some good probiotics to keep a healthy intestinal flora and increase the absorption of nutrients).

Ever feel like you are walking around in a haze? Or lack laserlike focus during work hours? Feeling abnormally detached and spaced out affects thousands of people, from adults to children. Symptoms of brain fog vary from: feeling confused, forgetful, fatigued, difficulty in concentrating and focusing. Unfortunately, no medical tests pinpoint such a vague condition and its not recognised as a medical disease. An alarming rate of people live with brain fog, thinking its normal... but it isn't.

Causes of Brain Fog are:

1) Dehydration: water transports key hormones, chemical messengers and nutrients to the brain - make sure you drink plenty.

2) Hypoglycaemia: starves the brain of fuel

3) Candida - otherwise known as excess yeast in the intestine.

4) Chronic fatigue: when energy levels are nil, it has a knock-on effect on the brain

5) Food intolerances: irritate the intestine causing leaky gut syndrome, letting toxins into the bloodstream.

6) Nutrient deficiencies: the brain requires many nutrients, such as amino acids, calcium, magnesium, zinc, copper and B vitamins.

7) Liver/Kidney/Bowel toxicity: when toxins such as mercury or ammonia remain in the blood stream, it can leave you feeling muddled. The brain requires fresh, clean blood flow and is sensitive to toxins. Undigested food putrefies in the intestine causing tocins to be absorbed back into the blood stream. So, instead of producing energy, your body focus on clearing out harmful substances

8) Stress: chronic stress on the brain shut down important neurotransmitters

9) Sluggish thyroid: slows down the pumping of blood and essential nutrients to the brain.

10) Menopause: low levels of estrogens causes fluctations in memory and concentration

AVOID

Refined sugars that fluctuate your blood sugar and play havoc with the adrenal glands

Caffeine

Alcohol

Sweet fruits juices that spike blood sugar levels

Processed foods

Smoking has harmful neurotoxins that affect the brain

Mercury tooth fillings that increase toxicity in the body and disrupt the brain's neurotransmitters.

What a nightmare cracked, dry, flaky skin can be! When all those promising moisturisers in the supermarkets do nothing, it's time for further investigation. Little do we know that a butterfly-shaped gland in the throat could be the cause of chapped, dry textured skin.

So many women complain of the "lizard" or "leathery" texture appearing on their arms, legs, thighs and soles of the feet - all of which can be caused by a slow thyroid. An undeactive thyroid slows down metabolic function and blood circulation, causing unflattering skin you'd rather hide.

Silky skin is every woman's ambition - but the question is, can feeding this hormone with essential nutrients and vitamins, soothe the flakiness and drive away dryness for good? The answer is a resounding yes!

A good way to start is nutrition: the thyroid gland is really sensitive to the wrong foods that are processed, greasy or fried at high temperatures. Instead, the hormone gland responds to leafy green vegetables, iodine, meats and essential fatty acids from oily fish and nuts.

The thyroid hormone produced in the form of T3 and T4 regulate hair growth and skin cells. When the thyroid gland doesn't produce its hormones, it can result in hair loss or skin that feels leathery and excessively dry on the palms of the hands or soles of the feet - in extreme cases the outer ends of the eyebrows disappears.

To get your hair and skin back into optimal condition, a full endocrine blood test to check the thyroid levels is done at The Wimpole Medical Centre.

The world's first anti-ageing pill seems to have caused quite a stir amongst the female population who are desperate to reduce their wrinkles. Anti-ageing pills aren't a new discovery: if anything these nutrients have been around for many years, but are now neatly manufactured into tiny pills, purporting to reverse the signs of ageing.

The pill uses blends of natural food extracts, from omega 3 fish oils, vitamin E and vitamin C to encourage estrogens receptors to help build up the production of collagen - these nutrients on their own are not enough. For people who age with good skin is probably due to good genetics and nutrition.

As much as the  media causes a frenzy about anti-ageing pills, the reality is, it takes more than popping pills to encourage estrogens in the body.

Estrogens, the female hormone, is responsible for think, moist, silky textured skin. When menopause kicks in, the drop in estrogens, causes thinning, sagging and dull-looking skin.

This may all sound doom and gloom, especially when you want your skin to look naturally radiant and beautiful without the tell tale signs of ageing. Keep your head held up high because by topping up your hormones with bioidentical hormones (and using them directly on your skin to obtain a better effect without risk) along with the essential vitamins and minerals, resulting in glowing skin.

 Topical application of vitamin C and vitamin E are excellent protectors for the skin and they have been used for skin rejuvenation for years. Vitamin C enhances collagen, as well as strengthens the structure of the skin; vitamin E is a miracle moisturiser for the skin. The beauty about these oils is they can be applied anywhere in the body. In other words, the idea of taking these vitamins for the skin is not new, the miracle pill will not change the wrinkle problem.

You need sex. Weeks of lying in bed with no stroking or foreplay can leave the most submissive, sweetest woman boiling in frustration. Despite the efforts at buying sexy lingerie, losing weight and lighting candles for a romantic mood, sex has become a one way path.... and one which you are not happily walking on.

So where does that leave you? Awake, frustrated and numb with anger at the lack of sizzle and heat between the sheets. All in all, the forecast for sex is grey and your libido is non-existant. Perhaps, sexual dysfunction is plaguing your life? 

Sexual dysfunction, be it physical or psychological problem can be a sensitive topic to discuss with your medical practicioner.

Some of the cause are:

- Hysterectomy

- Fatigue or lack of interest

- Hormonal imbalances

- Thyroid disease

- Adrenal fatigue

- Lack of orgasm

- Contraceptive pill

Other factors such as peri menopause and post-natal depressions are session is a woman's life can cause a severe dip in the sex life. During this time, most women complain of vaginal dryness, soreness or plain lack of interest- all common yet uncomfortable changes - usually caused by low levels of estrogens and testosterone. The most important hormone is testosterone - the hormone of love and lust (it increases your desire and makes your orgasm).  

The solution needn't be complicated because all it requires is topping up your depleted hormones and a nutritional programme to fix your non-existant libido.

What good does regular, greasy food and continuous smoking do for your sex life? Nothing. Zilch.

Sex is a pleasurable, yet tiring act. When your hormones are out of sync, it can leave you feeling tired even before you've hit the bed or every time your partner mentions it to you.

The adrenal glands play a crucial role in having a steamy sex life: they squirt out sex hormones into your blood stream, but if they are under considerable stress, then you are bound to have a variety of hormone difficulties, one of them being loss of libido.

The food we eat these days hardly contributes to a healthy sex drive. In fact, bad nutrition and high stress has a profound impact on the delicate balance of hormones: it contributes to a sluggish thyroid and weak adrenals.

It's not uncommon for people suffering from hypothyrodisim or chronic fatigue to have no interest in sex - in fact, its the common complaint in the clinic - even amongst 30+ women!

Luckily, there is a solution to regain your mood. Below are outlines of what can be done to strengthen your adrenals:

1) Patients with adrenal fatigue require plenty of rest, therefore it's really important your body heals before you begin to exert yourself

2) Cut down on harsh stimulants like: coffee, bread, alcohol and smoking as they add additional stress to your adrenals

3) Eat more fat and good cholesterol contained in animal meats, such as duck and beef. The adrenal glands require good cholesterol to help the adrenal glands recover.

There are two parts of your body that give away your true age. Any guess which ones? Nope, it's not your face or your decolletage.

Look further down.

Deep groves on knobbly knees and crepey hands are the new skin woes amongst us women. Unfortunately, with no surgical solutions in sightt means these body parts (unlike our faces) reveal the internal ageing process.

Much as we expertly hide these body parts, at some point (mainly during the summer) you will be surprised, to recognise the gathering wrinkles on your knees or dry, rough hands. A devoted facial skin regime (using Botox, chemical peels and microdembrasion) has always been hailed, without much attention to the rest of our bodies. Now knees and hands, aren't the sexiest parts of your body, but would you rather they unashamedly expose your true age?

Small areas they may be, but they do speak volumes about the internal ageing. Luckily, all can be remedied through simple and effective skincare solutions for knees and hands.

These body parts require slathers of topical hormones (prescribed after blood tests), hydrating oils and moisturisers. Below is the skincare programme I offer in the clinic:

KNEES

Before we begin with treatment, a consultation is performed to find out the causes of the poor skin. After that the following programme is implemented:

- Vitamin A prescription cream to remove sun damage and improve the skin texture and reduce wrinkles

- Prescription DHEA (cream) to stimulate oil production in the skin and encourage thickness

- Prescription bio-identical estrogen cream at a low concentration to help stimulate collagen production

- Creams to stimulate collagen production

HANDS

There are no surgical treatments for hands bulging with veins or showing liver spots. However, the following DIY tips will maintain skin elasticity and hydration:

- Moisturise your hands each time you wash your hands

- Wear gloves during winter time

- Prescription creams to build up collagen