Virginia Nutritional Therapy

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Virginia Nutritional Therapy

Nutritional Therapist •International Lipedema Nutritionist• Women's Health Advocate I also offer zoom consultations worldwide.

Virginia Ziulu DipNT mNTOI

I am passionate about good Food and Nutrition and I strongly believe that every person is unique and therefore has different dietary requirements. My aim is to provide you with the best possible tools and knowledge in order to improve your quality of life. I offer 1:1 private consultations in the Active Body Clinic, Portlaoise and Roches in Dublin. Areas of expertise:

Lipedema and Lymphedema,Thyroid dysfunctions,Menstrual irregularities:Endometriosis, Fibroids, PCOS, Peri-Menopause, Menopause. Men's Wellness support: Sport and athletic performance

Fatigue, Sleep disturbances,Immune health. Healthy weight management support: Mindset coaching, Food education. Digestive wellbeing, Sleep fundamentals. Stress and lifestyle coaching, lifestyle support tools.

03/09/2026

📍GLP1 and systemic inflammation

When a medical professional makes a statement saying "we should be careful not to make the same mistake we did with the over prescription of anti depressants with GLP1 now" that actually tells you the provider has not grasped any understanding of how these medications actually work and is NOT listening to Lipedema patients obviously.

➡️Firstly....anti depressants were over prescribed because the providers failed to understand the role of hormones in Female health and the simple solution was an anti depressant instead of a deep dive on their hormonal history and needs!!!

➡️Anti depressants can be a life saver tool for many but the patient should always be encouraged to come off them because they are not replacing something your body doesn't make...they are altering brain biochemistry.

What is the difference with GLP1s then?

1️⃣They have a considerable low risk when taken correctly and on a low dose combined with a correct dietary and lifestyle approach. But when you stop taking them the benefits will stop. You wouldn't deny a patient insulin for their type 1 diabetes so why shall we think it's different from GLP1?

2️⃣GLP1s are not just weight loss medications. They are powerful anti inflammatory medications that switch off the master switch of inflammation which is NF-kB regardless of weight loss.

3️⃣By switching off NF-kB you are also switching off all the inflammatory cytokines involved in Lipedema inflammation which also involves blood vessels and lymphatic vessels. Hence why it's now been studied for Lymphoedema.

But here is the catch ..

GLP1 alones are not the magic bullet as they are a tool to help you get your body into the right place of health in conjunction with a personalized diet and lifestyle. Personalization is the key. A standard diet will not really address your genetic issues, hormonal issues and what actually drives your body into that inflammatory state in the first place. GLP1 switches off the button, you switch on the action.

01/09/2026

📍Conventional V Functional Medicine Care

Over 2000 GPs were invited by the to the Lipoedema National conference and only 1 raised their hand when asked how many were in the room. This was very disappointing to see but let me explain what the answer to this may be and how things can change in the future.

-GPs trained in primary care are trained to deal with 1 issue at the time because they are trained this way and they also do not have time to do more than that. Simple as that. They look for the "absence of disease" in blood tests and treat acute care issues and not "optimal" health.

"Lipedema is not an "acute" care disease and does not require immediate care. This is how it is seen in conventional medicine hence why there is still very little support for it"

To change the narrative Lipoedema must be recognized as a "systemic" condition that affects multiple areas of the body because your adipose tissue is not a standalone endocrine organ, it communicates with the hormonal, immune and nervous system hence why we have to address the body as a whole.

➡️Functional Medicine addresses the body as a whole looking at the root cause. Unless a GP has genuine interest in it or is trained in it we will not get very far with it.

Over the 12 years working as a Functional Nutritional Therapist I have actually found many GPs being more interested in this area and supporting the work I was doing with their patients. Listening to requests and to what their patients were saying. I have gotten very far with some and not so much with others. But I was the one putting the dots together and coming up with the right treatment plan which involved a medical and natural route.

Team work is essential, a multidisciplinary team is the only way forward for Lipedema care and that's the only way it's going to change the outcomes for women living with Lipoedema.

Next I'm going to cover a GLP1 statement moreso than a question and you don't want to miss this one 😌

What are your thoughts on this and how do you think things can change? 👇

30/08/2026

🟪1st National Lipoedema Conference Ireland 🇮🇪

Words cannot describe how the Lipoedema community felt yesterday. A day to remember and make history. The first ever Lipoedema National Conference took place in Cork with 370 attendees and a waiting list of over 150 people 🥺🥺. This would have never been possible without the incredible hard work of Annmarie, Steph and Aileen, proud leaders of Lipoedema Support Network Ireland. A huge thank you to these ladies who put a tremendous amount of work for the community on a daily basis and on a volunteer basis. Forever grateful 💜.

It was a pleasure to have Maeve O'Connell and Jerry Buttimer TD in the room spreading awareness about Lipoedema🙏

A particular thanks to clinical lead PD Dr. Ghods and Team and Dr. Ghods team for all their work and 20 years of dedication into Lipoedema care.

Wonderful talk by psychotherapist and patient Louise George | Holistic Psychotherapist | Yoga Teacher | Coach that really hits home. A great reminder of how Lipoedema is not just a "fat" leg disease but it can affect multiple aspects of our daily life and can greatly impact our mental well-being too.

Great talk by Susie Birney from ( Irish coalition for people living with obesity) explaining the complexity of obesity and the stigma around people living with this condition who also needs appropriate treatment and care. Many women with Lipedema also live with obesity so a particularly important topic to discuss.

I was honoured to have been asked to speak and present some of my clinical findings and work together with Dr. Scully who unfortunately couldn't be present on the day.

The message to shout out from yesterday's conference is our community is strong and loud but we still need more GPs and medical professionals to listen, we need better care and more research and I'm proud to be contributing to this change 🙌

Looking forward to the next one already.It was very special to meet so many of you in person.
💜💜

Grazie mille 🙏

14/08/2026

📣Wild Poppy Emporium is delighted to invite you to their very first Menopause Wellness Workshop in Clane this September. 🌸

Are you experiencing perimenopause, menopause or post-menopause symptoms? If so, this workshop is for you.

A relaxed, enjoyable and carefully structured day covering hormonal awareness, practical nutrition and lifestyle advice, with time to slow down, reflect and unwind.

The speakers on the day are going to be Virginia Ziulu|The_Inflammation_Specialist and Deirdre Comerford and we will share more details soon.

📅 Sunday, 20 September 2026
🕙 10am–3pm
📍 The Westgrove Hotel, Clane
🎟️ Ticket Price €75 — including lunch and a complimentary goody bag worth €30

We’ve designed the day to be welcoming, informative and easy to understand — whether you’re just beginning to experience changes or are further along your menopause journey.

Pre-booking is essential and places are limited.

Book online at wildpoppy.ie, through Eventbrite, or pop into Wild Poppy in Clane.

We’re really looking forward to sharing this day with you. 🌸

10/08/2026

➡️Follow Virginia Ziulu|The_Inflammation_Specialist for all things Lipedema, inflammation&hormonal health.

🟪CVI and Lipedema

Up to 50% of Lipedema patients will have a form of chronic venous insufficiency. The numbers are high and I strongly encourage all patients to get a comprehensive Duplex ultrasound done.

I recently had a full body colour Duplex scan to assess my venous health( my full exam body was done for other reasons and not exclusively for Lipedema) and I was diagnosed with CEAP C1 which is a mild stage of chronic venous insufficiency( at the spider veins stage). This is confined to my calves.

This is what I'm doing to avoid worsening of CVI into later stages:

1️⃣ Wear medical grade compression( Class II) and or use pneumatic pumps( which I recently purchased and love them) daily. This would be non-negotiable.

2️⃣Reduce my overall body fat and limb circumference to reduce pressure on the veins and micro circulation. Continue to take microdosed Tirzepatide which is also showing to have a protective effect on the cardiovascular system.

3️⃣ Take Diosmin&Hesperidin daily which have been shown to be the most beneficial compounds to support venous tone, have anti inflammatory and and anti oxidant proprieties. Other compounds that be of support are Butchers broom, horse chestnut, red vine leaf.

4️⃣Continue with strength training and mobility exercises that supports blood flow and circulation. Building muscle alone is a major advantage in improving venous health.

Next I'm going to share how hormones can influence venous health and why you see a worsening on your luteal phase of your cycle.

Do you have CVI?

07/08/2026

🌞😎Summer 2026

I had a little break from social media while I was away and honestly It was the break I truly needed. I spent 5 weeks in my beautiful Sardinia this year and I enjoyed every moment of it....aside from the heat which nearly broke me as it was record high this summer and not good for my Lippy legs and my dysautonomia 🥵

What I enjoyed most was the simple things, the old friends chats and laughs, the slow days and the beach days. Family time, new projects and space for my brain to take in new things. One of the promises I made to myself is to have more breaks during the year, plan the trips and rest more. I am such a high achiever and I give a lot in my job but if I don't get to recharge I cannot give anything out anymore. This will be the biggest gift of my 40s.

I hope you are all having a great summer so far. Content will slowly resume with more to come. A lot happening in the next month alone and I'm ready for it 🙌

💕💕

13/07/2026

🔒Progesterone resistance and Lipedema

Let's clear this concept once and for all.

Lipedema is not a high estrogen condition but a tissue "sensitivity" to it or signalling issue. Women have been scared to death about estrogens and how bad they are for Lipedema when in reality most of the women I have seen had low to normal estrogen levels but very low progesterone or something called progesterone resistance.

➡️In Lipedema the adipose tissue is very sensitive to all hormone fluctuations especially estrogens but this may well be because the progesterone is not there to compensate. Or if it is there it's not effective( progesterone resistance).

I have been testing tissue estrogen levels for many years now on myself and on my clients and I have seen the patterns. Estrogens is divided into 3 different types which are:

E1: Estrone( predominantly made in menopause)
E2: Estradiol( predominantly made in reproductive years)
E3: Estriol( predominantly made in pregnancy)

I have seen elevations in E3 on myself and other Lipedema clients since I have started testing hormones in my clinic. But wait I'm not pregnant so how am I making more E3 and practically zero E2? 🤔

↪️E3 can be made in the adipose tissue as a metabolic breakdown of the other estrogens like E1 and E2. But E1 remains the primary estrogen made within the adipose tissue( Estrone).

So although my E2 is very low I am still presenting with symptoms of estrogen "dominance" because Estriol and Estrone are still dominating and because my progesterone is not doing its job.

There are currently no "official" testing to diagnose progesterone resistance but it has been shown to be more prevalent amongst conditions like adenomyosis and endometriosis. It is a hormone receptor issue not an actual elevation issue.

Lipedema is in fact a hormone receptor issue which involves a cascade of metabolic issues like Insulin&Leptin resistance that affect way more than just the adipose tissue. Lipedema is a systemic condition.

Did you know this?

27/06/2026

When my heart belongs 💙

Address

Active Body Clinic
Port Laoise
R32K295

Website

http://virginiashealthcorner.ie/

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