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If your hair is thinning, read this (Our hair growth blueprint)

By Kaya Kozanecka

You notice it in tiny, unsettling ways at first. A few more strands circling the shower drain. Your ponytail feeling a little thinner between your fingers. A hairline slowly creeping back. Or maybe your hair just refuses, stubbornly, to grow past a certain point without snapping.

And yet, when you finally mention it to someone, you’re told it’s simply “part of ageing… postpartum… hormones…”, the usual script. So you start blaming it on a bit of recent stress, telling yourself it’s temporary, and try to push away the quiet suspicion that maybe, just maybe, your body is trying to tell you something. While it feels personal, like your body is betraying you in the most visible way, you’re probably right. Hair is one of the most reactive tissues in the body and it tells the truth long before blood tests, symptoms, or even your mood give the game away.

We've previously covered '6 reasons your hair might be thinning', but here are the core culprits worth understanding:

Leaky gut syndrome

We all know diet matters. But what matters more is what you absorb, not what you eat.

Your gut lining is a delicate, one-cell-thin barrier. When it becomes irritated, inflamed, or leaky, and modern life throws plenty of opportunities for that, your ability to absorb minerals, amino acids, fats, and vitamins drops dramatically. You can swallow all the iron, zinc, protein, and B vitamins you want, but if the gut wall isn’t intact, very little makes it through.

And since hair depends on those nutrients to even exist, the follicle interprets low absorption as scarcity. Scarcity tells the body: “Now is not the time to grow hair, now is the time to survive.”

Your hair is one of the first things sacrificed when your digestion is under pressure.

This is exactly why people experience explosive improvements in hair thickness when they bring in gut-healing foods like collagen, bone broth and gelatine. These foods don’t just add nutrients, they rebuild the gut environment so those nutrients actually get in. They tighten the intestinal junctions, reduce inflammation, stabilise the immune response, and restore the digestive fire (stomach acid, enzymes, bile flow) that hair absolutely depends on.

Gut repair always shows up in the hair.

It's very likely a hormonal thing

Now let’s talk about the hormonal storm behind most shedding.

Insulin & blood sugar

If your blood sugar spikes and crashes all day, your insulin spikes right along with it. Chronically high insulin is an inflammatory signal, and follicles never fare well in inflammation. Insulin resistance is strongly linked to both female and male pattern thinning because it destabilises androgens, increases inflammation, worsens PCOS symptoms, and disrupts nutrient delivery to the scalp.

When cortisol steals your hair

Stress makes hair fall out, everyone knows this. But most people don’t understand why.

Cortisol doesn’t just “stress out” your follicles. It disrupts every upstream system that hair depends on. Chronically elevated cortisol tells your body it’s under threat, so the body diverts nutrients away from “non-essential tissues” like hair. It also weakens the gut lining, disturbs stomach acid, destabilises sex hormones, and exhausts the thyroid, all guaranteed paths to shedding. This is why people can lose handfuls of hair after a breakup, job pressure, exams, moving house, sleep deprivation, or prolonged burnout.

Relaxation isn’t a luxury. For your hair, it’s medicine.

Undernourishment

Hair is built out of amino acids. That’s the foundation. Without them, you can forget thickness, shine, and regrowth entirely. Then come the cofactors: heme iron for oxygen, zinc for cell turnover, vitamin A for follicle signalling, B vitamins for energy production, selenium for antioxidant protection, copper for pigmentation and enzyme function, and minerals to keep everything firing.

This is exactly where the beauty industry loves to step in and sell shortcuts... keratin pills, “hair vitamins”, synthetic multis. Unfortunately, keratin supplements are one of the biggest scams going.

Keratin is a structural protein. Your digestive system breaks it into simple amino acids the same way it would break down a steak or a scoop of collagen. You’re not absorbing keratin, you’re absorbing basic building blocks. There is nothing magical or hair-specific about it. The marketing sells the illusion, not the biology.

And synthetic multivitamins? They try to cheat the system by megadosing isolated nutrients. But isolated nutrients often absorb poorly because the body doesn’t recognise them as food. The cofactors are missing, the enzymes aren’t activated, the mineral ratios are off, and the absorption pathways don’t match what your body expects. It’s like delivering bricks to a construction site with no cement, no workers, and no blueprint.

Whole foods are the opposite. When you introduce these nutrients in their natural form, organ meats, egg yolks, bone broth, collagen, colostrum, high-quality meat and dairy, you’re not just giving your body the raw materials. You’re giving it the entire building kit... the scaffolding, the instructions, the tools, the transporters, and the energy required to put it all together. Hair thrives when nutrients arrive packaged exactly as nature designed, with their cofactors, peptides, fats, and minerals intact.

Toxin haircare

Shampoos can absolutely contribute to shedding, not because washing is bad, but because many shampoos are loaded with irritants that inflame the scalp, disrupt the microbiome, dry the hair shaft, and choke the follicle environment.

The biggest offenders:

SLS / SLES Super harsh detergents that strip the scalp’s protective barrier, increase inflammation, and cause dryness and breakage. Usually marketed as "deep clean"
Fragrance / Parfum This is a legally protected umbrella term for hundreds of chemicals, including many known endocrine disruptors or allergens. Chronic irritation = chronic shedding.
Silicones (dimethicone, cyclopentasiloxane) Coat the hair so it feels smooth but build up on the scalp, clog pores, and suffocate follicles over time.
Formaldehyde-releasing preservatives (DMDM hydantoin, quaternium-15, imidazolidinyl urea) Linked to scalp inflammation and widely criticised in consumer lawsuits for contributing to thinning.
Isopropyl alcohol & harsh solvents Dry the scalp, damage the hair cuticle, and create brittleness.
Artificial dyes Another common irritant

Okay, let’s zoom out for a second. Chances are you don’t want another doom-laden explanation of everything silently sabotaging you. You’re just looking for a way forward, and some actionable steps you can actually take away. Lo and behold....

The hair growth blueprint

Step 1: Understand the root cause (pardon the pun)

Before we cover the hair practices that are helpful for almost everyone, there’s one step that matters more than all the rest, and it’s a deeply personal one. We need to start by thinking about what might be behind your hair loss.

Could it be recent pregnancy or hormonal changes? A high-stress job? Maybe a crash diet? Or are your thyroid or iron levels playing a role? Understanding what’s contributing can help guide you toward the right solution. Address any medical issues with a professional (e.g., get thyroid or nutrient testing if needed).

2. Release the fascia

Try this...place your fingertips on the top of your head and gently push the scalp forward, then back, then side to side.

Did it glide? Or did it feel like you were trying to shift a fixed piece of carpet? For many people, the scalp barely budges. It’s surprisingly common, the result of years of unconscious jaw clenching, forehead scrunching, stress stacking, and the general modern habit of carrying tension like a second skin. The fascia, which is the connective tissue wrapping your head in a soft architectural web, responds to all of this by tightening. slowly, silently, consistently.

Fascia contracts → blood vessels compress → microcirculation drops → follicles get less oxygen, nutrients, and growth signals.

Hair follicles are extremely metabolically active. They need constant blood flow to stay in the anagen (growth) phase. When circulation is restricted, follicles miniaturise, the same process seen in androgenetic hair loss.

This is why many people with thinning hair also describe:

A tight or “stuck” scalp
Soreness around temples or crown
Tension headaches
Neck and jaw stiffness

It’s all connected by the same fascial network.

The key areas that matter most...

Suboccipitals (base of skull) These tiny muscles sit under the skull and are packed with nerve endings and proprioceptors. When they’re chronically tight, usually from tech posture, they compress blood vessels like the occipital artery and restrict venous drainage. Less arterial flow in means slower drainage out, creating stagnation around the follicles. Releasing this area increases perfusion to the entire scalp.
SCM & neck fascia The SCMs run from the sternum to the mastoid process behind the ears. They all sit beside major vascular highways:
-The carotid arteries (which feed the scalp and face)
- The jugular veins (which drain them
- Lymphatic channels that regulate inflammation
When the SCMs become shortened or ropey, they compress these pathways, resulting in sluggish blood flow to the scalp, inefficient removal of inflammatory waste, and lower oxygenation to the follicles. Loosening SCM tension literally improves nutrient delivery upstream.
Jaw & temporalis Clenching or grinding activates the masseter and temporalis muscles. These muscles attach into the fascial system of the temples and scalp. Chronic tension here creates fascial drag across the galea, pulling it tight, reducing its mobility, and compressing the microvasculature beneath it. People with TMJ often report crown thinning for this exact reason.

When you massage these areas, you mechanically rehydrate fascia, break up adhesions, and restoring glide between tissue layers that have been stuck together for years. Consistency matters more than intensity. A few minutes a day, done gently and regularly, is far more powerful than the occasional brutal massage that leaves you sore. Think slow circles at the temples, knuckle pressure along the jaw hinge, fingertip kneading at the base of the skull, and long, dragging motions across the scalp to restore mobility. When in doubt, there are plenty of tutorials online.

And once you’ve softened things manually, you can take advantage of gravity.

Lying upside down, or simply with your legs up a wall or over the edge of the bed, is an underrated, almost absurdly simple way to increase blood flow to the scalp. Even 5–10 minutes in the evening can significantly boost perfusion, bathing follicles in oxygen and nutrients without effort. Many people like to pair this with scalp massage or slow nasal breathing before bed, creating a powerful signal of safety and circulation right before the body enters its overnight repair window.

3. Feed the follicles

Center your diet around hair-loving nutrients:

Eat high-quality protein daily (pastured eggs, grass-fed meats, wild-caught fish).
Include organs like liver once or twice a week for iron and vitamins, and bone broth or collagen for gut and hair support.
Get plenty of iron, zinc and B vitamins from red meat and shellfish
Don’t skimp on healthy fats, enjoy oily fish, grass fed butter, tallow, bone marrow, coconut oil, and avocados. They help absorb fat-soluble vitamins and provide essential fatty acids for scalp health.

4. Craft your natural hair routine

Start with rosemary oil

Begin with a rosemary oil scalp massage a few times a week. Rosemary has been shown to increase microcirculation around the follicle, boost mitochondrial activity (your hair’s literal energy production), and support the anagen, or growth, phase of hair.

Rethink shampoo

Most conventional shampoos are detergent-based. They don’t just clean hair, they strip the scalp’s lipid barrier, disrupt its microbiome, and alter pH, often leaving you with flaking, tightness, breakage, or hair that feels dry one day and greasy the next.

Instead, experiment with some of these:

Raw goat milk
Clay washes
Aleppo soap
Soapnut
Raw eggs (a favourite of our founder NIall)

These cleanse without annihilating your scalp’s natural oils, help maintain an acidic pH (crucial for cuticle smoothness and shine), and allow your scalp to relearn how to regulate itself rather than overcorrect.

Did you know your hair loves tea?

No, seriously, it’s not just for your morning cup. Herbal rinses like nettle, rosemary, or horsetail deliver minerals directly to the scalp and hair shaft. Over time, herbal rinses can noticeably reduce shedding, increase shine, and improve overall hair texture.

Apple cider vinegar (ACV)

ACV rinses play a different but equally important role. Hair and scalp naturally prefer a slightly acidic environment, and when modern shampoos or hard water push things too alkaline, the cuticle lifts and hair becomes rough, dull, and prone to breakage. ACV gently brings things back into balance. Used once every week or two, it also discourages yeast and bacterial overgrowth, making it especially helpful for dandruff, itchiness, or that tight, squeaky-clean feeling left behind by shampoos.

Be patient with the transition.

If your scalp has relied on detergents for years, it may temporarily overproduce oil as sebaceous glands recalibrate (cue greasy hair) Once the microbiome and acid mantle stabilise, oil production usually evens out, and hair starts behaving very differently.

And finally...

Natural shampoo can be a battlefield. You buy the artisanal, herbal, eco-friendly bottle and somehow your hair ends up feeling like hay, or sticky, or coated in wax like you rinsed it in medieval glue. If the fully natural route doesn’t love your hair texture (or your tap water’s questionable personality), it’s okay. Just choose the least-offending shampoo you can find (no SLS, no synthetic fragrance, no silicones) and let the rest of your routine (oils, mineral rinses, fascia release, nutrition) do the heavy lifting. No need to suffer in the name of purity.

5. Sunlight on the scalp

Ever notice how your hair seems to grow faster in summer? You’re not imagining it.

Sunlight anchors your circadian rhythm, which in turn regulates hormones, thyroid function, and cellular repair. When your body knows what time it is, it knows when it’s safe to grow. Cortisol drops, metabolic signals improve, and follicles are more likely to stay in the anagen (growth) phase instead of slipping into shedding.

There’s also a direct, local effect. Hair follicles are packed with mitochondria, tiny energy factories that respond to light. Red and near-infrared wavelengths from the sun penetrate the scalp, increase ATP (cellular energy) production, improve blood flow, and reduce inflammation around the follicle. More energy means better circulation means better growth conditions. Summer quietly stacks all of these advantages at once.

And while we’re in the depths of winter, don’t panic. This is where red light therapy earns its place. Red light panels or scalp devices emit the same growth-supportive wavelengths found in sunlight, without needing long, bright days. Used consistently, they can help wake dormant follicles, improve density and thickness, and support regrowth when natural light is limited.

Putting it all together

Daily

Cup of bone broth/ portion of collagenous meat
Massage to release jaw & neck tension
Mineral-rich diet (eggs, meat, seafood, fruit, raw dairy)
Sunlight/red light on the scalp
Prayer/journaling/yoga/ favourite nature activity (nervous system release practice)

Hair wash days

Massage rosemary oil into scalp
Natural shampoo & hair mask
Nettle rinse

Weekly

Beef organs 2-3x a week
Portion of oysters
Keep scalp clean, wash whenever feels necessary rather than 'hair training'
Regularly audit and remove any unnecessary chemicals that sneak into your hair routine
Regularly check iron, vitamin D, B12 if shedding is heavy.

Published on: December 13, 2025

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What Christmas tasted like 100 years ago

Christmas is a time for indulgence, and you absolutely should enjoy yourself. But here's something worth thinking about: you can savour every single festive treat exactly the way our ancestors did a century ago, when Christmas tables groaned under the weight of real food, made with real ingredients, and people somehow managed to feast without feeling utterly wretched afterwards. The secret? They used saturated fats instead of industrial seed oils, kept ingredient lists refreshingly short, and had never heard of a synthetic preservative or artificial flavouring. Every mince pie, every crispy roast potato, every rich gravy was made from scratch with ingredients you could actually pronounce. The beauty of ancestral eating is that it doesn't mean sacrificing flavour or indulgence. If anything, you'll discover that the old ways taste infinitely better. Here are six simple swaps that will transform your Christmas table into something our great-grandparents would recognise and approve of. 1. Bone broth gravy instead of gravy granules Those little pots of gravy granules might be convenient, but they're packed with maltodextrin, flavour enhancers, and seed oils. Real gravy, the kind that simmered on stoves for generations, is made from bones, time, and very little else. The flavour difference is staggering. Rich, deep, and satisfying in a way that makes you realise what you've been missing. Plus, you're getting all the collagen and minerals from those bones, turning your gravy into something genuinely nourishing rather than just brown liquid. You can also use meat stock, left over from slow cooking a roosting joint of meat. The recipe Start by roasting your bones in a hot oven for 20-30 minutes until they're deeply browned. This caramelisation is where the flavour lives. Transfer them to a large pot with roughly chopped onions, carrots, and celery. Cover with cold water and bring to a gentle simmer or use a slow cooker. Let it bubble away for at least 4 hours, preferably 8-12 if you have the time. The longer it goes, the richer it gets. Strain the broth through a fine sieve and let it cool completely. Once chilled, skim off the fat that's solidified on top and save it for roasting vegetables. Now for the gravy itself: heat your broth in a pan until it's steaming. Mix in a tablespoon of organic spelt flour. Pour this into your hot broth and start whisking. This is where patience comes in. Keep whisking steadily for a good 5-10 minutes. Your arm will get tired. The gravy will seem thin. Then, almost magically, it will start to thicken and turn glossy. Season generously with sea salt and black pepper. That's it. Real gravy, the way Christmas dinners tasted before convenience took over. 2. Roast potatoes in animal fat instead of vegetable oil There's a reason your grandmother's roast potatoes were legendary. It wasn't a secret technique or a special potato variety. It was the fat. Tallow, goose fat, or beef dripping creates a crisp, golden exterior that seed oils simply cannot replicate. The flavour is deeper, richer, more satisfying. Our ancestors would have looked at you strangely if you'd suggested roasting potatoes in extracted seed oils. They used what they had: the rendered fat from the Sunday roast, precious and flavourful. The recipe Peel your potatoes and cut them into generous chunks. Drop them into a pot of boiling salted water and boil for exactly 5 minutes. You want them par-boiled, not falling apart. Drain them thoroughly in a colander, then return them to the empty pot. Here's the crucial step: put the lid on and give the pot a good shake. You want to rough up those edges, creating a fluffy surface. These rough bits will turn into the crispiest, most delicious parts. While you're doing this, put your roasting tin in a screaming hot oven (around 220°C) with a generous amount of beef dripping, tallow, or goose fat. When the fat is properly hot and almost smoking, carefully add your roughed-up potatoes. They should sizzle immediately. Turn them once to coat in the fat, then roast for 45-60 minutes (lower the temp for cooking to 200°C) , turning once halfway through, until they're deeply golden and crispy. The result? Potatoes that shatter when you bite into them, with fluffy, steaming centres. Exactly as they should be. 3. Homemade yorkshire puddings instead of ready made Shop-bought Yorkshire pudding batter is full of raising agents, emulsifiers, and stabilisers that exist purely to make the product shelf-stable and foolproof. Real Yorkshire pudding batter contains four ingredients: eggs, flour, milk, and salt. That's it. The secret to perfect Yorkshires isn't in the ingredients but in the technique. Cold batter, smoking hot fat, and a reliable oven. The recipe The night before, whisk together 140g plain flour into a bowl and beat in 4 eggs until smooth with a good pinch of salt. Gradually add 200ml of whole milk and mix until it is completely lump-free. Then put in the fridge overnight which is crucial, it allows the flour to fully hydrate and creates lighter, airier puddings. The next day, preheat your oven to its highest setting, usually around 200°C. Add a teaspoon of beef dripping or tallow to each section of a Yorkshire pudding tin and place it in the oven until the fat is smoking hot. This is non-negotiable. If the fat isn't properly hot, your puddings won't rise. Remove the tin, and quickly pour the cold batter into each hole, filling them about halfway. Return to the oven immediately and shut the door firmly. Do not, under any circumstances, open that door for at least 20 minutes. Just don't. The dramatic temperature drop will collapse your puddings. After 20-25 minutes (check through your oven window) you should have golden, puffed, crispy Yorkshire puddings that tower above the tin. Serve immediately, because these wait for no one. 4. Dark chocolate dipped fruit and nuts instead of wrapped sweets Those shiny foil-wrapped chocolates that appear at Christmas might seem harmless, but check the ingredients. Glucose syrup, vegetable oils, emulsifiers, flavourings, even shellac! dominate the list. Real chocolate is remarkably simple: cocoa, cocoa butter, and a sweetener. Make your own chocolate-dipped treats and you'll never go back. They look impressive, taste incredible, and contain nothing but real ingredients. The recipe Choose a high-quality dark chocolate with at least 70% cocoa solids and a short ingredient list. Cocoa mass, cocoa butter, and a bit of sugar is all you need. Avoid anything listing vegetable fats or soy lecithin if you can. Melt your chocolate gently in a bowl set over barely simmering water. Don't let the water touch the bowl, and don't let any steam or water droplets get into the chocolate or it will seize into a grainy mess. While the chocolate melts, prepare your dipping ingredients. Organic dried apricots, dates, figs, whole Macadamia (low PUFA), walnuts, or cashews all work beautifully. Once melted and smooth, remove the chocolate from the heat. Dip each piece of fruit or nut halfway into the chocolate, let the excess drip off, then place on a tray lined with baking paper. Work quickly, as chocolate starts to set quite fast. Once everything is dipped, you can sprinkle with a tiny pinch of flaky sea salt, some crushed freeze-dried raspberries, or leave them plain. Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes. Store in an airtight container in a cool place. They'll keep for a week, though they rarely last that long. 5. Real cranberry sauce instead of shop bought The cranberry sauce that comes in jars is essentially cranberry-flavoured sugar syrup, often thickened with modified starch and preserved with additives and seed oils. Real cranberry sauce takes about 15 minutes to make and tastes sharply bright, fruity, and actually balances the richness of your roast rather than just adding more sweetness. The recipe Pour a bag of fresh cranberries (about 340g) into a saucepan. Add the zest and juice of one orange, a stick of cinnamon, and 3-4 tablespoons of honey or maple syrup. If you're feeling festive, add a small splash of brandy or port. Bring everything to a simmer over medium heat. The cranberries will start popping within a few minutes, releasing their sharp, tart juice. Keep cooking, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens to your liking, usually about 10-15 minutes. Taste and adjust. Cranberries are naturally very tart, so you might want a bit more sweetness. Remove the cinnamon stick and let it cool. The sauce will thicken further as it cools. Serve at room temperature. The flavour is incomparable to anything from a jar: bright, complex, and actually tasting of fruit. It cuts through rich meats and fatty gravies like nothing else. 6. Homemade mince pies instead of shop bought This is where the difference between ancestral and modern eating becomes most obvious. Shop-bought mince pies are an ingredient list nightmare: seed oils, palm oil, preservatives, emulsifiers, and glucose-fructose syrup. The mince pies our ancestors ate at Christmas contained butter, flour, dried fruit( free of seed oils) , spices, and not much else. Making them yourself sounds daunting, but once you've done it, you'll realise how simple it actually is. And the taste? There's simply no comparison. The filling Traditional mincemeat contains suet, but for a simpler version that still tastes authentically spiced and rich, combine currants (these are the key herring since raisins are preserved in seed oil and currants are not!), dried sour cherries, brown sugar and a finely diced fresh apple. 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What the f are antinutrients?

There’s a moment in every nutrition journey where someone casually drops the word “antinutrients”, and you’re expected to nod like you know exactly what that means. Most people don’t. Most of us have done the classic wellness pipeline…start by treating plant foods as universally wholesome (leafy greens for glowing skin, grains for fibre, nuts and seeds as the elite snacks of the health-conscious and ‘almond mums’) and then, somewhere along the way, dip a cautious toe into the world of carnivore or animal-based, where those same foods are suddenly treated like digestive villains. Two extremes. Same confusion. It’s no wonder no one knows what antinutrients actually are. What actually are antinutrients? Plants are living organisms with one primal objective: stay alive long enough to reproduce. They can’t sprint away from predators. They can’t grow teeth. So they do the next best thing, protect themselves using chemistry. Plants didn’t create these to ruin your smoothie bowl. 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Phytates (the mineral thieves) Phytates (phytic acid) bind to positively charged minerals like iron, zinc, magnesium and calcium. Once bound, the minerals are locked away, unavailable for absorption. This is why diets heavy in unprepared grains and nuts can create deficiencies even when intake looks adequate. Common sources: grains, nuts, seeds, legumes Possible effects: low iron, brittle nails, fatigue, slower thyroid function If you’ve ever eaten a saintly bowl of oats at 8am and felt inexplicably drained by midday, phytates are a good suspect. 3. Oxalates (the crystal formers) Oxalates are sharp, reactive compounds that latch onto calcium and form tiny crystals. In small amounts the body manages them well, but in excess, especially with gut dysbiosis or low mineral intake, they can irritate tissues. Common sources: spinach, almonds, cacao, beetroot, sweet potato Possible symptoms: bloating, kidney stones, vulva pain, joint pain, calcium depletion This is why “green juice all day” works for approximately three people, and only on the internet. 4. Tannins (bitter bodyguards) Tannins are polyphenols that give plants their astringent, mouth-drying bite. Their biological role is to discourage overeating by making the plant taste defensive. They also bind to proteins and iron, reducing absorption. Common sources: tea, coffee, wine, legumes, nuts Possible effects: low iron, digestive heaviness, nausea on a 5. Enzyme inhibitors (digestion blockers) Enzyme inhibitors are compounds that interfere with the enzymes your body uses to break down food: Protease inhibitors slow protein digestion Amylase inhibitors reduce carb break down, increasing internal fermentation Lipase inhibitors affect fat digestion When these enzymes are blocked, digestion becomes less efficient. Food sits longer in the gut, which can lead to bloating, gas, unpredictable hunger and a sense of being full yet under-fuelled. Common sources: soybeans, legumes, raw nuts, raw seeds, whole grains Possible effects: bloating, gas, loose stools, cravings shortly after eating, difficulty tolerating beans or certain nuts on an empty stomach So, can you still eat plants? Yes, of course. The goal isn’t to avoid plants. It’s to understand them, so you can prepare and combine them in ways your body actually benefits from. Every traditional culture that relied on plant foods developed techniques to neutralise or reduce antinutrients long before the term existed. They didn’t have PubMed, they had observation. And they learned that plants often need a little processing to become truly nourishing. Here’s how they did it: 1. Soaking Soaking kick-starts the germination process, activating enzymes inside the seed that naturally reduce phytates, lectins and enzyme inhibitors. It’s why traditional beans rarely cause the same digestive issues modern ones do. Soak beans, lentils, nuts and seeds for 6–24 hours Add an acidic medium (lemon, vinegar) or a pinch of salt to accelerate the breakdown Discard the soaking water, always This single step transforms most legumes. 2. Sprouting (nature’s nutrient unlock) Sprouting takes soaking one step further. As the seed begins to grow, antinutrient levels drop significantly, and mineral availability increases. Sprouted grains, lentils and mung beans are far easier on digestion and have a higher micronutrient profile. Sprouting sounds intimidating, but it’s as simple as draining soaked seeds and rinsing them twice a day. 3. Fermenting (the most powerful) Fermentation uses microbes to do what our ancestors understood instinctively: break down the difficult bits so you can access the nutrients. Think: Sourdough bread (reduced phytates, improved mineral absorption) Fermented oats or porridges in many traditional diets Fermented buckwheat pancakes Kvass Beyond reducing antinutrients, fermentation also improves flavour, increases B-vitamins and (as you probably know and love) supports the gut microbiome. 4. Long, slow cooking Particularly for lectins and enzyme inhibitors, heat is a powerful deactivator. This is why pressure cookers, stews and broths make legumes tolerable for people who can’t digest them otherwise. 5. Pairing plants with animal foods Traditional diets rarely ate plant foods in isolation. Beans were eaten with broth. Grains with butter or ghee. Vegetables with eggs or cheese. Seeds with dairy or meat. The reason? Fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, K2) and minerals in animal foods counteract antinutrient losses and dramatically improve absorption. Context matters more than the plant itself. Who tends to be most sensitive? Some people feel the effects of antinutrients more than others. You might react more strongly if you have: Low stomach acid IBS or IBD A history of antibiotics (microbiome disruption) Thyroid issues Mineral deficiencies (iron, magnesium, zinc) A vegan or plant-heavy diet without traditional preparation methods Chronic stress, which reduces digestive enzyme output You've spent a long time believing “more plant = more health” and have as a result overconsumed high-oxalate or high-phytate foods If you recognise yourself anywhere in this list, it doesn’t mean “cut out plants completely", at least not permanently. It simply means you’re the type of person who can noticeably benefit from minimising certain plant foods, or preparing them properly (soaking, sprouting, fermenting, pressure-cooking, etc.). Your body’s not overreacting. It’s just asking for a little support.

7 health hacks every 9-5 worker needs

Staying healthy can sometimes feel like a full-time job. When you're juggling commutes, deadlines, and the demands of a 9-5, wellness often takes a backseat. But here's the thing... it doesn't have to be complicated. The key is maximising the time you actually have. So here are seven practical hacks to keep you thriving at work without burning yourself out in the process. 1. Slow cooking After a long day at work, the siren call of fast food or those dubious ready meals packed with seed oils is hard to resist. Enter your secret weapon... the slow cooker. This simple investment transforms your approach to weeknight dinners. Before you leave for work, throw in a quality joint of meat like lamb neck, lamb osso bucco, beef short rib, or shin. Add diced vegetables such as carrots, potatoes, and onions, toss in some rosemary and water, and let it work its magic while you're out. When you walk through the door, dinner is ready to serve. No stress, no processed junk, just wholesome food that practically cooks itself. Stews work even better if you want to make things even simpler. 2. Hydration with electrolytes Intense work doesn't just demand calories, it depletes essential minerals like magnesium, salt, and potassium. Your brain relies on these electrolytes to function at its best and ward off those focus-induced headaches. When your mind is properly fuelled, the quality of your work improves dramatically. Prioritise magnesium-rich foods and consider supplementation. Trace minerals are non-negotiable for sustained mental clarity. But here's where most people get hydration wrong. True hydration isn't about chugging endless glasses of water. It's about hydrating your cells effectively. Drinking plain water in excess actually depletes your minerals and electrolytes, leaving you worse off. Instead, turn to organic fruit juices, whole fruits, raw milk and bone broth, all of which provide hydration in forms your body can absorb more efficiently. When you do drink plain water (filtered or spring is ideal), always add a pinch of sea salt to preserve your mineral balance. 3. Block blue light Blue light is wreaking havoc on more than just your circadian rhythm. It's causing fatigue, eye strain, and poor sleep quality, even hours after you've logged off. Invest in daytime blue light blockers and activate screen filters with a simple click. These small adjustments significantly reduce eye strain and ensure a day spent staring at screens doesn't sabotage your sleep later. Natural light is your ally here. Get outside as much as possible throughout the day, and position yourself near a window or glass doorway to let natural light reach your eyes. This partly counteracts the artificial blue light exposure and keeps your internal clock regulated. 4. Frequent movement Starting your day with movement and fresh air sets the tone for everything that follows. But don't stop there. The more you move throughout your day, the better you'll feel. Make it a rule to never sit for a full hour without standing. This keeps your lymphatic system flowing, prevents stagnation, and helps your body flush out toxins that accumulate when you're sedentary. The result? More energy and better focus throughout the day. If you can squeeze in a workout during your lunch break, you'll feel rejuvenated and ready to tackle the second half of your day with renewed vigour. 5. Carry a mini metabolism kit Intermittent fasting might be trendy, but it's not doing your metabolism or your focus any favours. If you've ever experimented with low-carb eating, you know the brain fog that comes with it all too well. At Organised, we're all about metabolism maxxing. Keep easily accessible snacks on hand: dried or fresh fruit, raw honey, gelatine cubes (for example our Matcha Latte Gummies) , or a milky coffee with a dash of maple syrup. These deliver quick, usable carbohydrates that keep your metabolism humming and your brain sharp. Prep them at the start of the week so you're not scrambling daily. 6. Fix your posture and work environment Poor posture doesn't just cause back pain, it inhibits lymph flow and creates more stagnation in your body. Hunching over with your head craned forward puts unnecessary weight on your spine and kills your concentration. It also leaves you feeling drained by the end of the day. Sit upright but relaxed, never tense. Position your screen at eye level so you're not constantly looking down. Clear your workspace, add a desk plant or mini air purifier, and sit near a window that you can crack open slightly. Fresh air beats air conditioning every time, and these small environmental tweaks compound into major improvements in how you feel. 7. Clean lunch Under-fuelling or eating the wrong foods is an epidemic in work environments. Too many people skip lunch because they're swamped, or default to whatever processed snacks the office has stocked. Neither option serves you. Make it a priority to bring a clean, whole food lunch. If your workplace has a fridge, even better. Just guard your raw milk from opportunistic colleagues! The easiest approach is to cook a bit extra at dinner the night before. Nutrient-dense options like organ meats (heart or liver) are powerhouses. Smoothies or hearty salads with quality meat are excellent choices that don't require extensive daily prep. The truth is, staying healthy while working full-time doesn't require hours of elaborate routines or complicated protocols. These seven hacks are designed to work with your schedule, not against it. Start with one or two that resonate most, build them into solid habits, then layer on the rest. Remember, you can't perform at your best when you're running on empty. Prioritise yourself, and watch how everything else, including your work, elevates as a result.

Why you're always on edge (and how to finally switch off)

You're sitting comfortably but for some reason you don't feel calm. You feel on edge, almost like inflammation is running high and your body is missing something. You know you need to switch off, but even after a night's sleep, you still feel like you need more rest. This is because your nervous system is heightened and desperately needs some real rest. Deep rest, true switching off, and nervous system relaxation can only happen when the body has enough of what it needs and isn't being constantly bombarded from the outside. In this article, we'll dive into how to get your body and brain to switch on deep rest mode, which will unlock true recovery and that elusive sense of calm you've been chasing. The mineral deficiency keeping you wired but tired Before we talk about EMFs or any of the other modern stressors, we need to talk about minerals. Because without them, nothing in your body works the way it should, especially your nervous system. Your nervous system runs on nutrients. Every signal, every moment of calm, every production of GABA requires specific raw materials. Magnesium, vitamin C, cholesterol, B vitamins, vitamin D, potassium, these aren't optional extras. They're the foundational building blocks your body uses to create the neurochemistry of relaxation. Magnesium alone is involved in over 300 enzymatic processes in your body, many of them directly related to nervous system regulation. When you're deficient, which most people are, your muscles stay tense, your mind races, and that on edge feeling becomes your baseline. It's not anxiety in the psychological sense. It's your body literally unable to produce the calming neurotransmitters it needs because it doesn't have the raw materials. Not eating enough nourishing, nutrient-dense calories is incredibly common. You might be eating plenty, but if it's not the right things, your nervous system is starving at the cellular level. Prioritising nutrient-dense whole foods like organ meats, eggs, wild-caught fish, grass-fed dairy, bone broth, fruit and vegetables gives your body what it actually needs. When people cut calories too low or simply don’t eat enough the body is in a heightened state, think back to hunter-gatherer days, if food was scarce we needed to be on edge, ready to take advantage of the next opportunity. Then only when a large kill was made and everyone ate enough, could they enter a deep state of rest. The same goes for when you eat too little, your body stays tense and alert, instead you need to signal abundance to your body and allow that state of deep rest to happen. Magnesium baths and homemade magnesium spray bottles (Mag chloride flakes and water) can make a dramatic difference. Eating adequate calories, getting enough potassium, calcium and salt in your diet, not fearing dietary cholesterol from eggs and quality meats, all support the deep nervous system calm you're seeking. The screen flicker you can't see (but your body feels) OLED screens flicker hundreds or even thousands of times per second. Your conscious mind doesn't register this, but your nervous system absolutely does. It's like living under a strobe light that's pulsing just below your threshold of awareness. Over time, this constant imperceptible flicker keeps your nervous system in a state of subtle but persistent activation. Then there's blue light itself. Blue wavelengths signal to your brain that it's time to wake up, that you need to be alert and active. But now we're bathing ourselves in blue light from screens well into the night, suppressing melatonin production and keeping our bodies in artificial alertness long after sunset. Your circadian rhythm becomes completely dysregulated. Switching back to flicker free incandescent light bulbs in bedrooms and living spaces, using quality blue light blocking glasses after sunset, and stopping all device use at least one hour before bed can restore natural sleep-wake cycles. Consider using candles or salt lamps for evening lighting. Your ancestors spent hundreds of thousands of years seeing only firelight after sunset. Your nervous system is still calibrated for that rhythm. If you want to go a step further you can make the move away from OLED screens and back to LCD screens which do not flicker. The invisible electromagnetic storm WiFi routers pulse signals through your home 24/7. Your cell phone communicates with towers constantly. Bluetooth devices create a web of wireless connections. Wearable tech transmits data continuously. All of this represents non-natural electromagnetic fields. nnEMFs, that your body wasn't designed to handle. Your body runs on electrical signals. Your heart beats, your neuron’s fire, your cells communicate all through subtle electromagnetic impulses. When you immerse yourself in strong artificial EMFs, you introduce noise into these delicate biological systems. Many people notice they feel inexplicably on edge in certain environments or sleep poorly around technology. This isn't imaginary. Distancing your WiFi router from living spaces and turning it off at night can make a remarkable difference. Removing technology from your bedroom, switching from Bluetooth to wired headphones, keeping phones on airplane mode when carrying them, and ditching wearable tech while sleeping all reduce the electromagnetic burden on your nervous system. Creating one low-EMF sanctuary room gives your body a space to truly rest. Mouthbreathing Chronic stress from work, night shifts, financial pressure, or constantly leaving things last minute keeps your body stuck in fight-or-flight mode. But here's something most people don't realise: mouth breathing is itself a stressful state. When you breathe through your mouth, you activate your sympathetic nervous system and signal danger to your body. You might be creating stress just by how you breathe. Nasal breathing activates your parasympathetic nervous system, your rest and digest mode. It filters air, adds nitric oxide (which dilates blood vessels), and signals to your body that everything is okay. Practicing nasal breathing at all times, especially during sleep, can dramatically reduce baseline nervous system activation. Using mouth tape at night is a simple practice that many people find transformative. Addressing root causes of stress by building margin into your schedule, learning to say no, and creating consistent bedtime routines all signal to your body that it's safe to rest. The movement paradox This may seem counterintuitive to reducing the bodies stress, but you need to move. Your body is designed for regular movement, sweating, and physical exertion. Without it, your lymphatic system becomes sluggish, toxins accumulate, and paradoxically, you feel more tired and on edge. Movement completes the stress cycle. When you experience stress, your body prepares for physical action. If that action never comes because you're sitting at a desk all day, the stress hormones and tension have nowhere to go. Your lymphatic system, which clears waste from tissues, doesn't have a pump, it relies on movement and muscle contractions to function. Daily movement that makes you sweat, using a sauna regularly, and stretching throughout the day gives your body the physical outlet it's biologically expecting. If you're depleted, start gentle and build gradually. You're looking for healthy exertion followed by recovery, not over exhaustion. Your body needs to be worked like and engine in a car if it never exceeds a certain RPM it’ll develop a build up of soot, in your case toxins and stagnation of lymph. Toxic mould Mould exposure is far more common than most people realise. Mycotoxins, toxic compounds produced by mould, can devastate your nervous system, creating that persistent on edge feeling that won't go away no matter what you do. Mould hides in walls, under carpets, in HVAC systems, anywhere moisture accumulates. Mycotoxins also contaminate many foods, particularly coffee, grains, nuts, and dried fruits. These toxins directly inflame your nervous system and gut. They trigger mast cells to release histamine, which keeps you in an alert state. They disrupt mitochondrial function, leaving you simultaneously exhausted and wired. Your body recognises mycotoxins as threats and stays in a defensive, activated state. Inspecting your home for water damage or musty smells, addressing moisture sources immediately with dehumidifiers and ventilation, choosing mycotoxin-tested coffee brands, and using HEPA air purifiers can dramatically reduce this toxic burden. Gut inflammation Your gut and brain are in constant communication through the gut-brain axis. When your gut is inflamed, whether from pathogens, leaky gut, or a disrupted microbiome, it sends danger signals to your brain. Your brain interprets gut inflammation as a systemic threat and keeps your nervous system activated in response. Think of it as an alarm system that never turns off because the threat never fully resolves. Gut pathogens release toxins that directly affect brain chemistry. Leaky gut allows undigested food particles into your bloodstream, triggering inflammation throughout your body. A disrupted microbiome fails to produce the neurotransmitter precursors your brain needs. Eliminating inflammatory foods like seed oils, artificial colouring, preservatives and processed foods while including gut-healing foods like bone broth, organs, colostrum, and collagen can rebuild gut integrity. Addressing specific pathogens through proper testing, eating slowly, supporting stomach acid production, and giving your gut regular breaks from certain foods such as grains and coffee, all allow the gut-brain axis to calm down. The missing connection to Earth Humans evolved in constant contact with the Earth, but modern life has completely insulated us. Rubber shoes, elevated buildings, indoor living, we've engineered direct contact with the ground out of daily existence. And it matters more than you think. Grounding allows you to discharge electromagnetic stress and receive healing electrons from the Earth. Your body builds up positive charge from EMF exposure. The Earth has abundant negative charge. When you connect, there's an electron transfer that neutralises inflammation and calms your nervous system. Walking barefoot on grass, sand, or soil for at least 20 minutes daily is non-negotiable for optimal nervous system health. Spending time in nature regularly, listening to natural sounds, gardening with bare hands, watching sunrises and sunsets, and leaving devices behind during nature time all reconnect you to the rhythms your biology expects. Studies show that even 20 minutes in nature significantly lowers cortisol and activates your parasympathetic nervous system. The dopamine trap Constant stimulation from social media and rapid-fire dopamine hits from notifications and endless scrolling are literally frying your nervous system. Your brain isn't designed for this level of novelty and reward unpredictability. When your dopamine system is dysregulated from chronic overstimulation, nothing feels satisfying anymore. Everything feels urgent. You can't settle into rest because your baseline state has shifted. Social media platforms are specifically engineered to be addictive. Variable reward schedules, infinite scroll, algorithmic feeds, these exploit your brain's reward circuitry. The result is a nervous system that's constantly activated, constantly seeking, never at rest. Setting specific limited times for checking rather than constant browsing, turning off all non-essential notifications, and practicing dopamine fasting allows your baseline to reset. Replacing scrolling with activities that genuinely nourish you, reading physical books, walking without devices, face-to-face conversation, cooking, creating, rebuilds your capacity for sustained attention and genuine rest. Creating a morning routine without screens for the first hour sets a calmer tone for the entire day. Remember that boredom is healthy and necessary for nervous system regulation. Feeling constantly on edge isn't a character flaw or something you need to learn to live with. It's your body responding logically to the conditions you're giving it. Your body isn't broken. It's trying to function in an environment it wasn't designed for, with inputs it doesn't recognise as safe. Once you identify what's driving the activation, whether it's mineral deficiencies, EMF exposure, gut inflammation, or dopamine dysregulation, the solution is often more straightforward than you think. Replenish minerals. Clean up your electromagnetic environment. Heal your gut. Reconnect with nature. Reset your dopamine baseline. Change the conditions, and your nervous system will respond. That deep, restorative calm you're seeking isn't something you need to chase or force. It's your natural state. Remove the obstacles, provide what your body needs, and it will return on its own.

Steal these 5 winter remedies from Russian grandmothers

In Russia, wellness has always lived closer to the home than the hospital. Ask any babushka why, and she may lower her voice before she explains. For generations, many Russians have held a quiet suspicion that the medical system is not designed to cure you quickly. Not necessarily to harm you, but to keep you orbiting around it… dependent, confused, never quite well. This belief didn’t appear from nowhere, it has roots in Soviet-era shortages, overworked doctors, rushed appointments, and a culture where institutions were rarely transparent. So Russian grandmothers learned long ago… if you want to stay healthy, you take care of it yourself first. This is why their cupboards often look like pharmacies of the earth, rooted in a belief that the body can often be brought back into balance through simple, steady, ancestral means, long before a prescription is needed. Here are 5 things we can learn from them… 1. Keep the feet, head & womb warm Ask a Russian grandmother what causes half of all illness, and she won’t hesitate:“Cold feet, cold head, cold womb.” This belief is so old it’s practically genetic. Babushkas repeat it to daughters, granddaughters, even strangers at bus stops. And while it sounds like folklore, it’s rooted in a surprisingly accurate understanding of circulation and stress physiology. Feet In Russia, no one walks barefoot on cold floors. Ever. Cold feet constrict blood vessels and trigger a sympathetic stress response. Babushkas believed it “pulls warmth away from the organs,” lowering immunity. Modern physiology agrees: Cold feet → vasoconstriction → reduced immune cell traffic → higher susceptibility to infection. Wool socks were considered medicine. Head You’ll never see a Russian grandmother outside in winter without a scarf or hat. The head, to them, is the “chimney of the body”, the place where heat escapes fastest. "Cold head, weak thoughts,” they say. “Cold head, tired nerves.” And then there’s the cardinal rule: "Never, ever, go outside with wet hair" Babushkas react to wet hair in winter like it’s a life-threatening emergency. Here’s why: From a physiological standpoint, wet hair accelerates evaporative heat loss through the scalp. In a cold climate, this can lower core temperature, impair immune cell function, increase viral vulnerability & spike stress hormones. Even in summer, they insist on at least partially drying the hair before stepping into the wind. Womb This is the most sacred of the three. Babushkas believed that a warm womb meant regular cycles, easier fertility, smoother postpartum recovery & emotional steadiness. A cold womb meant stagnation, resulting in painful periods, low libido, hormonal swings and sluggish digestion. Modern biology echoes this folk wisdom: Pelvic warmth increases blood flow → better hormone delivery Heat relaxes uterine muscles → less menstrual pain Core warmth supports thyroid function → key for female metabolism This is why babushkas wrap wool shawls around their waist, drink hot herbal teas after cold exposure, and forbid anyone, absolutely anyone, from sitting on cold ground. Interestingly, echoes of this thinking appear in Traditional Chinese Medicine as well. In TCM, cold invasion to the head, feet, or lower abdomen is believed to disrupt qi, weaken reproductive and digestive fire, and scatter the body’s internal warmth, almost identical to Slavic intuition passed down through the centuries. 2. Pine resin for winter cough ( живица) Zhivitsa, pine resin gently softened into warm raw honey, is one of the oldest remedies in the northern regions. Babushkas collect the resin themselves, thick amber tears found on the bark of pines, hardened by sun and wind. When melted into honey over the lowest flame, it becomes a fragrant, golden salve. Modern research reveals why this old medicine endures… Pine resin is rich in pinene, a bronchodilator that eases airflow and relaxes the chest. Its terpenes and natural acids have antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties, while northern honey offers minerals, enzymes, and antioxidants that support the immune and respiratory systems. Together, they create a compound that both loosens congestion and calms irritation in the airways. Applied topically to the chest, the warmth of the honey and the volatile oils of the resin increase circulation and ease muscular tightness. If authentic resin is unavailable, pine needles or young pine buds can be simmered into tea or infused into honey, carrying a gentler version of the same forest strength. Even inhaling steam from pine branches offers a trace of what zhivitsa provides. 3. Banya (баня) If you need to find a remedy for surviving winter climates, why not ask those who are most experienced? In the West, a sauna or steam room is usually tucked inside a luxury gym or spa, something you “treat yourself” to, an optional indulgence in the category of wellness. But in Russia, banya has long been a weekly, sometimes daily, ritual for survival, a way to fortify the body against the cold, not pamper it. Step inside and you’ll feel why. Heat rises from stones that have been warming for hours. The air is dense, fragrant, with birch branches soak in a wooden bucket by the door, releasing a sharp, green aroma that feels like stepping into a forest after rain. And then comes the ritual that makes banya unlike any other heat practice in the world: venik pareniye, the whipping of the body with heated bundles of leaves. The venik, usually birch or oak, is warmed in hot water until the leaves grow soft and glossy. Then the body is rhythmically “swept,” pressed, and lightly struck against the body. Elders believed it “wakes the blood,” moving stagnation out of the limbs and pulling heat into the deeper organs. The leaves release essential oils, such as betulin from birch or tannins and antioxidants from oak, which open the lungs, clear the sinuses, and soothe inflamed skin. Modern physiology mirrors this perfectly: Rhythmic venik strokes stimulate lymphatic flow Increased peripheral circulation supports cardiovascular resilience Essential oils from birch act as bronchodilators Oak tannins have antimicrobial and astringent effects 4. Baking soda & chamomile gargle for a sore throat While we reach for lozenges, sprays, and medicated mouthwashes at the first scratch of a throat, Russia has long relied on a gentler, earthbound remedy. A warm gargle made from chamomile tea and a pinch of baking soda is one of the oldest household medicines in Slavic tradition. The preparation is simple: a strong infusion of dried chamomile flowers, cooled just enough to sip, into which a small amount of soda is dissolved until the water turns faintly silky. For centuries, this gargle was used at the earliest sign of a cold, after long days spent in crowded markets or dusty train stations, or whenever the voice felt strained from winter air. Elders believed it “washed away the day,” removing whatever microbes or heaviness had settled in the throat before they could travel deeper into the body. Children were taught to gargle after returning home from school, women used it after singing, fasting, or periods of emotional stress, when the chest felt tight and the breath shallow. Modern physiology now echoes this intuition… Chamomile contains apigenin, a flavonoid that calms inflammation in the mucous membranes while gently relaxing the vagus nerve, grounding the entire nervous system. Baking soda creates a lightly alkaline environment that helps loosen mucus, neutralise acidity, and support the throat’s natural antimicrobial defences. Warmth increases local circulation, delivering immune cells to the area precisely when they are needed most. 5. Beet Kvass (свекольный квас) We’ve all heard it by now, the immune system lives in the gut. But long before gut health became a wellness trend, Russian grandmothers were quietly fortifying it with one of the oldest tonics in Slavic tradition... beet kvass. Fermented from raw beets, rye crust, and pure water, kvass is a drink with roots deeper than its ruby colour. In villages, beet kvass was poured for those recovering from winter exhaustion, sluggish digestion, or low spirits. Babushkas believed it “cleansed the blood,” flushing heaviness from the liver and warming circulation after long months of cold. Women drank it after menstruation or childbirth, the tonic’s deep red hue seen as replenishing what the body had released. Modern physiology now speaks the same language in different terms: Fermentation creates lactobacilli, strengthening the gut microbiome and supporting immune function Betaine in beets aids liver detoxification and methylation Natural nitrates enhance nitric oxide production → improved blood flow and lower blood pressure Polyphenols protect cells from oxidative stress and support hormonal balance The gentle acidity stimulates digestive enzymes and bile flow If authentic kvass isn’t available, you can approximate its benefits by lightly fermenting grated beets with sea salt at home, or adding raw beet to other ferments like sauerkraut. We’ve been exploring the quiet wisdom tucked inside different cultures and if you're curious, you can read our past article: 6 wellness secrets from Japanese grandmothers. What’s most fascinating is how often the same principles echo across continents. These cultures never compared notes, never shared trends, never followed wellness gurus...and yet, their instincts align almost perfectly. But we also love to learn from each other (with the depths of winter approaching we need all of the tips we can get)... What winter remedies or grandparent tips were passed down in your family ↓

Why you always wake up at 2-3am (& what to do about it)

You fall asleep fine. But then, like clockwork, your eyes snap open at 2 AM. Or 3 AM. Your mind starts racing. Your heart might be pounding slightly. And no matter how tired you are, falling back asleep feels impossible. If this happens rarely, it's nothing to worry about. But if it's happening night after night, always around the same window of time, that's not random. That's your body sending you a message. Waking consistently between 2 and 3 AM isn't normal. It’s a sign of something deeper, a mineral problem, inflammation, blood sugar, stress, the list can go on. Understanding what's happening during those early morning hours can help you finally sleep through the night again. Lets dive into potential causes and what you can do about them!! The mineral deficiency stealing your sleep Before we talk about blood sugar or stress hormones, we need to talk about minerals, because without them, nothing in your body works the way it should, especially sleep. Magnesium is the master mineral for sleep. It regulates your nervous system, activates GABA receptors (your brain's main calming neurotransmitter), and helps maintain the electrical balance in every cell. When you're magnesium deficient, which most people are, your nervous system stays in a state of subtle tension. You might fall asleep, but you can't stay in deep, restorative sleep. Around 2 or 3 AM, when your sleep naturally lightens between cycles, that underlying nervous system activation pulls you fully awake. But it's not just magnesium. Your entire electrolyte balance, including sodium, potassium, calcium, affects how well you sleep. These minerals control nerve signalling, muscle relaxation, and cellular communication. If your electrolytes are depleted or imbalanced, your body can't regulate the electrical impulses that keep you calmly asleep. Waking to urinate is a common sign of electrolyte deficiency. Calcium, in particular, works closely with magnesium to calm nerve transmission. B vitamins are required to produce GABA, the neurotransmitter that keep you asleep. When any of these are low, your brain literally can't produce enough calming signals to sustain deep sleep through the night. This is why so many people notice better sleep when they start prioritising mineral-rich foods such as bone broth, grass-fed dairy, organ meats, and real sea salt. It's not about just taking a supplement and hoping for the best. It's about giving your brain and nervous system the raw materials they need to produce the neurochemistry of sleep. If you're waking at 2 or 3 AM and you need the toilet, or you can't seem to get back to sleep, mineral deficiency should be the first place you look. The blood sugar crash that jolts you awake Once minerals are addressed, the next most common reason people wake up in the middle of the night is a blood sugar crash. Here's what happens... you go to bed hours after dinner as you’ve heard eating too close to bed is bad for sleep. Your body is running on the glucose from that meal but your glucose levels can start dropping fast around 2 or 3 AM. Your body registers this drop as an emergency. Blood sugar too low? That's a survival threat. So your adrenal glands release cortisol and adrenaline to raise your blood sugar back up. That hormonal surge is what wakes you, heart racing, mind alert, body tense. You're not anxious for no reason. You're experiencing a physiological stress response triggered by low blood sugar. The fix? A balanced evening meal with adequate protein, healthy fats, and some quality carbohydrates (for inspo, we just uploaded a Beef Stroganoff recipe) as well as a snack 1 hour before bed, ideally something with carbs/sugars. This can prevent the crash. You're not trying to spike your blood sugar before bed, you're trying to stabilise it so your body can maintain steady levels through the night without an emergency cortisol release. Every night, you’re asking your body to get through hours with no calories coming in from food or drink. In order to do this you need to be stocked up, and leaving hours after your last meal is a sure way to experience a blood sugar crash. On the flip side you don’t want too much or a big meal very close to bed. It’s about finding the balance and having that snack around an hour before you go to sleep. When your liver runs out of fuel Even if you ate well at dinner, there's another layer to this: liver glycogen storage. Your liver stores glucose as glycogen, essentially a backup fuel tank that releases steady glucose into your bloodstream overnight while you sleep. This is how your body maintains stable blood sugar for hours without food. But if you're chronically under-eating, following a very low-carb diet, or your liver function is sluggish, those glycogen stores run out early. By 2 or 3 AM, your liver has nothing left to give. Blood sugar drops. Cortisol spikes. You wake up. This is especially common in people who restrict carbs heavily, skip meals, or are dealing with liver congestion from years of poor diet, alcohol use, or toxin exposure. Your liver isn't just a detox organ, it's your nighttime blood sugar regulator. When it can't do its job, your sleep suffers. Adding gentle carbohydrates before bed, a spoonful of raw honey, a piece of fruit, or some orange juice, can replenish liver glycogen and help you stay asleep. We're not saying to load up on sugar, but it's important to give your liver the resources it needs to keep you stable through the night. The histamine surge keeping you alert If you're histamine-sensitive, whether from gut dysbiosis, mould exposure, eating high-histamine foods, mutations or having low levels of the DAO enzyme that breaks histamine down, your histamine levels can rise overnight. This keeps your brain and body in an alert state, making it difficult to stay asleep. Addressing histamine intolerance or high histamine levels means supporting gut health, reducing inflammatory foods, avoiding high-histamine foods temporarily, and ensuring adequate intake of nutrients like vitamin C, magnesium, copper, and B6 that support DAO enzyme function. When histamine comes back into balance, sleep often improves dramatically. The oxygen problem you didn't know you have Sometimes the issue isn't metabolic, it's mechanical. If you're mouth breathing, snoring, or dealing with undiagnosed sleep apnea, your oxygen levels drop periodically throughout the night. Every time your oxygen dips too low, your brain registers a threat and partially wakes you to restore normal breathing. You might not fully wake up each time, but the disruption is enough to pull you out of deep sleep. By 2 or 3 AM, after several of these micro-disruptions, you wake fully. You might notice a dry mouth, morning headaches, or feeling unrested despite being in bed for eight hours. Addressing this often means working on nasal breathing only, using mouth tape, a simple practice that can really boost the quality of your sleep and treating underlying sinus inflammation. Your brain needs consistent oxygen to stay in deep sleep. Without it, you'll keep waking. The environmental stressors you're not noticing Even subtle environmental factors can be enough to disrupt sleep, especially during the lighter sleep phases around 2 to 3 AM. Blue light from street lamps, electronics, or alarm clocks. EMF exposure from phones, wifi routers, or devices near your bed. All can register as micro-stressors to your nervous system. Blackout curtains, turning off wifi at night, using candles or salt lamps over LED’s, wearing blue light blockers after sunset, keeping phones and technology out of the bedroom, and maintaining a cool room temperature (window open) can all make a surprising difference. Your nervous system is constantly scanning for threats, even while you sleep. Remove the signals, and sleep becomes easier to sustain. The pattern is the clue Waking up once in a while at 2 or 3 AM is normal. But waking up consistently at the same time, night after night, is your body trying to tell you something. It's not insomnia in the traditional sense. It's a metabolic, hormonal, or environmental disruption that's happening on a predictable schedule. Your body is following its natural rhythms and somewhere in the process, something is going wrong. The good news? Once you identify what's driving the wake-up, the solution is often straightforward. And if you're unsure, here is a checklist to try: Prioritise magnesium-rich and mineral-dense foods: bone broth, grass-fed dairy, organ meats, sea salt, potassium-rich fruits Balance your evening meal, include protein, healthy fats & quality carbohydrates; avoid long fasting windows before bed Have a bedtime snack (1 hour before sleep),choose something simple with carbs/sugars to stabilise blood sugar (fruit, raw honey, orange juice) Look into histamine triggers Practice nasal breathing only: try mouth tape; address nasal congestion or airway issues Audit your sleep environment: Eliminate blue light at night, remove EMFs near the bed, use blackout curtains, keep the room cool and dark Your body isn't broken. It's responding logically to the conditions you're giving it. Change the conditions, and sleep becomes effortless again, all the way through the night.