VDA Nutrition

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

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

In your 20s, you could eat carbs and barely think about it.Now, in your 40s, especially in perimenopause, it is the same...
05/06/2026

In your 20s, you could eat carbs and barely think about it.

Now, in your 40s, especially in perimenopause, it is the same food but a different body.

When you eat carbs now, you feel:

● Energy crashes and sleepiness
● Weight gain around the middle that feels “new”
● Stronger cravings, incl. sugar
● Afternoon fatigue
● Harder weight loss than before

It's not your imagination, and it's not failure, it's feedback.

Your body isn’t becoming harder to manage, it’s becoming more honest.

Midlife health isn’t about tightening control, it's about learning new rhythm, new awareness, and new respect for what your body actually needs now, as your physiology shifts.

I look forward to my next IG Live guest, Caroline Labouchere of .I met Caroline last year at the Health Optimisation Sum...
31/05/2026

I look forward to my next IG Live guest, Caroline Labouchere of .

I met Caroline last year at the Health Optimisation Summit in London, and was inspired by her outlook and philosophy to health, wellbeing and ageing, and wanted to share them with you.

Together we will discuss her nutrition, how she trains, hair and skin care, most importantly her e-book, Aging Without Apology. (A Myth-Busting Guide).
⁠
DATE: Wednesday, 3 June 📅⁠
TIME: 12pm (SAST)⁠
⁠
Look forward to seeing you there.⁠⁠

EATEat the meal, even if it’s not “perfectly balanced.”Have the fries if it’s part of the moment.Enjoy the glass of wine...
26/05/2026

EAT

Eat the meal, even if it’s not “perfectly balanced.”
Have the fries if it’s part of the moment.
Enjoy the glass of wine without turning it into a story.
Eat sugar when you truly want it, not as a rule, not as rebellion.
Stop overcorrecting every choice with restriction.
Have the late-night snack if your body is asking for it.
Say yes to food that feels like life, not just fuel.

MOVE

Miss a workout without making it mean anything about you.
Walk because it feels good, not because you “should.”
Let rest days be actual rest days, guilt-free.
Count a night of dancing as movement that matters (because it does).
Skip training when you’re tired, not because you failed.
Trust that consistency is built over time, not in a single week.
Let your body lead more often than your plan does.

MIND

Get lost in something you love without “productivity guilt.”
Have lazy days where thinking is optional.
Avoid hard conversations when your nervous system is full.
Watch something comforting before bed if it helps you unwind.
Stay up a little later for joy, not just discipline.
Let your brain rest instead of constantly optimising.
If something helps you create, feel, or connect, then allow it.

Sometimes the body does better when it’s not being controlled all the time. Healing isn’t only structure, it’s also safety, softness, and trust.

Health includes your life, not competes with it.

Ageing well isn’t just about adding years to your life, it’s about extending the years where you feel strong, clear, ene...
21/05/2026

Ageing well isn’t just about adding years to your life, it’s about extending the years where you feel strong, clear, energised, and resilient.

Peakspan gives us a new term for this.

It helps us notice the difference between simply getting through the years and truly thriving in them.

It also reminds us that the small, everyday choices we make, like how we eat, how we move, how we rest, how we manage stress, aren’t just about helping prevent disease down the line, it's about protecting the years where life feels most full.

In the end, it's maybe the most valuable kind of longevity there is.

Read my latest blog - Meet “Peakspan”. The Real Measure Of Ageing Well - for more on this topic.

https://vdanutrition.com/meet-peakspan-the-real-measure-of-ageing-well/

We’re often taught that if we can just control enough, our schedule, our food, and our environment, we'll finally feel c...
19/05/2026

We’re often taught that if we can just control enough, our schedule, our food, and our environment, we'll finally feel calm.

But the mind doesn’t work that way.

Research on emotional regulation is clear: stability doesn’t come from eliminating uncertainty,�it comes from how you process it.

You cannot control enough to feel safe. Because safety isn’t created externally, it’s built internally.

What actually changes things is developing the capacity to stay grounded when life feels unpredictable, and your nonconscious mind is always learning from what you practice.

So when you practice steadiness in small, everyday disruptions, your system begins to manage the response. This is how regulation is built, not through perfect conditions but through repetition.

Real growth doesn’t look like a perfectly calm life, it looks like a body and mind that can hold steady even when things aren’t.

How to best regulate your state?

It’s all in the roots you build daily, taking full responsibility for your life at all times, less judgement and more compassion, being more gentle with yourself and others, and having a deep knowing and comfort within yourself that all is well.

I’m seeing this more and more lately.Women in their late 30s to early 40s struggling with hormone imbalances, unstable b...
14/05/2026

I’m seeing this more and more lately.

Women in their late 30s to early 40s struggling with hormone imbalances, unstable blood sugar, low mood, stubborn belly fat, hair loss, and intense anxiety.

Then we check their labs—and their 3-month fasting insulin is above 5.5, pointing to insulin resistance or a prediabetic state.

Years of yo-yo dieting, overtraining, fasting–binge cycles, undereating, and chronic stress are finally catching up.

Blood sugar control is one of the most powerful levers for optimising health and slowing down ageing.

These are my recommendations. Try for 60-90 days as a reset and let me know if you feel the difference.

● Remove sugar and starch, including honey and sweeteners—all of it. Whole fresh fruit in season is fine, removing it altogether will cause insulin sensitivity. After a 90-day reset, ease back into eating starchy veggies, fruits, beans, and whole grains.
● Eat 3 meals a day, 5 hrs apart, with no snacking between. Some people prefer to have two meals a day; that is fine IF it doesn’t cause your to binge or drink excess coffee just to do get through the fasting periods
● Cook from scratch, sit down with the family/friends & slow down. Get your body into a parasympathetic state to optimise digestion
● Eat protein, fat & fibre with each meal. A slice of sourdough with avocado is not a meal, add an egg
● Stop using caffeine to suppress hunger or as a snack. Have it after a meal. Caffeine raises insulin in a stressed person. Rather hydrate with water or herbal tea
● Eat with your Circadian Rhythm, so more food earlier in the day & less in the evening. Insulin blocks melatonin for sleep
● Take berberine 30 min before each meal for blood sugar control
● Sleep is everything! Remove blue light screens before bed and if supplementing, try ashwagandha & magnesium
● I like trace minerals in the morning to assist with my adrenals, you can also use some good sea salt in water
● Ease down on the cardio. Rather walk 3 times a week and lift weights. Insulin resistance drives muscle loss as we age, so building muscle strength is NB. They are your glucose disposal organ.

There is an underlying belief that ‘if I do more, track more, and optimise harder, then I will feel better and this is d...
12/05/2026

There is an underlying belief that ‘if I do more, track more, and optimise harder, then I will feel better and this is driving most biohacking behaviours.

But in practice, this often leads to

● Dysregulated energy
● Poor sleep despite strict routines
● Increased reliance on stimulants
● Plateaus in fat loss
● Heightened food and body awareness (bordering on hypervigilance)

At some point, the pursuit of health becomes a source of stress in itself.

Many of the things marketed as “wellness” are physiological stressors:

Fasting
High-intensity training
Cold exposure
Caffeine
Sleep restriction

Used strategically, they can be beneficial, but stacked daily, without recovery or flexibility, they increase the overall load on the system. And the body keeps score.

Health is not built through intensity, it is built through consistency and regulation.

That means

🤍 Eating enough, regularly
🤍 Training in a way that your body can recover from
🤍 Supporting circadian rhythm, not overriding it
🤍 Reducing unnecessary inputs and noise
🤍 Allowing flexibility without guilt

The basics are not less effective, they are simply less marketable.

Instead of asking, "Is this optimal?”

Ask, “Is this sustainable for my physiology?”

Because the goal is not to create a perfectly controlled routine, the goal is a body that is

🤍 Energetically stable
🤍 Metabolically responsive
🤍 Hormonally supported
🤍 Resilient under normal life conditions

You want a system that feels safe.

Let's start with ...* BLOOD SUGARYour body uses sugar and proteins instead of fat when your blood sugar is imbalanced, w...
07/05/2026

Let's start with ...

* BLOOD SUGAR

Your body uses sugar and proteins instead of fat when your blood sugar is imbalanced, which leads to spiked energy along with the release of cortisol which causes a hormone imbalance.⁠

Shop for:

Organic grass-fed animal protein
Free range (organic) eggs
Fibre - fruit and veg, seeds and nuts
Healthy fat and fatty fish
Organic fruit in season
⁠
* DIGESTION

You can’t address adrenals and hormones without ensuring that your gut and digestion are working optimally as your gut microbiome supports the synthesis and regulation of hormones.⁠
⁠
Shop for:

Sauerkraut or some type of fermented food
Olives
Apple cider vinegar
Licorice tea
Resistant starches like green banana flour⁠
I also love ginger and lemon for digestion
⁠
* DETOX

Support your liver's detoxification to help extract unwanted hormones.⁠
⁠
Shop for:

Antioxidant foods like cruciferous vegetables, berries, wild and a variety of greens
Fresh herbs - one of my favourites is parsley as a blood purifier and natural diuretic
Organic rooibos, peppermint, chamomile
Lemons and/or lime⁠
⁠
* ANTIINFLAMMATORY

Inflammation is often the root cause of hormonal imbalance. Chronic inflammation can damage cells, which leads to an overproduction of certain hormones for repair.⁠
⁠
Shop for:

Spices (turmeric, sumac, paprika, cinnamon and marjoram)
Raw garlic and ginger
Activated nuts and seeds
Avocado
⁠
* ALKALINITY⁠

An acidic environment can lead to hormone irregularities, aggravated by things like yeast, bacteria and viruses.⁠ Drink lots of lemon water, and keep hydrated with good PH mineral water.
⁠
Shop for:

Mineral water with a good pH balance
Lemons
Seasonal organic vegetables
Dark leafy greens
Seaweed like nori sheets

For my suggested supplements, read my blog MY HORMONE-LOVING GROCERY LIST but remember that the number 1 rule is to have your hormonal blood work done and from there work with a functional medicine practitioner to have a plan tailored for your needs.⁠
⁠
www.vdanutrition.com/my-hormone-loving-grocery-list/⁠⁠

It may be that you are not meeting your PROTEIN needs.If you’re eating meals low in protein or poor-quality protein, you...
05/05/2026

It may be that you are not meeting your PROTEIN needs.

If you’re eating meals low in protein or poor-quality protein, your body’s going to keep sending hunger signals even if you’ve technically eaten enough “calories.”

This is one of the reasons people snack all day, feel constantly hungry, and can’t figure out why they’re never satisfied.

According to the protein leverage hypothesis (PLH) developed by Stephen Simpson and David Raubenheimer, you will continue to overconsume foods until you meet your protein needs. ⠀⠀

Protein is considered the most satiating of the macronutrients and is often associated with weight loss, which could be mediated in part by protein-induced stimulation of appetite regulatory hormones, including GLP-1.

Once you start prioritising high-quality protein like organic grass-fed meat, eggs, wild-caught fish, and raw dairy and pair it with some fibre, you have the perfect combo.

● Cravings stop
● Energy goes up
● You fuller for longer
● The food noise stops

Simply put, the amount of protein you need drives the total amount of calories you eat, since the appetite for protein is so strong that we keep eating until we reach our target.

This increased protein intake can further explain why low carb diets are associated with increased satiety per calorie.

Aim for three meals a day, five hours apart with each meal containing the trifecta of protein, fat and fibre.

Try this:

Start the day with 2 or 3 eggs, some avocado, fresh tomato and rocket or microgreens

Or

Leftover meat, chicken or fish or even a tin of sardines.

Watch your blood sugar stabilise, hunger decrease and appetite regulation.

There’s a lot of noise around this.Yes, your hormones shift.But muscle loss doesn’t just happen because of menopause.Wha...
30/04/2026

There’s a lot of noise around this.

Yes, your hormones shift.

But muscle loss doesn’t just happen because of menopause.

What actually drives it?

● Not enough resistance training
● Not enough protein
● Chronic stress (this one is huge)
● Under-eating or inconsistent eating

But here’s where it gets important:

During menopause, your body becomes less forgiving.

The habits that once "worked," such as skipping meals, doing only cardio, and eating too little, now backfire.

So it can feel like:

“My body changed overnight.”

But really, your body is asking for a different kind of support.

This isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing the right things consistently.

Focus on this:

● Strength training (this is non-negotiable now)
● Protein at every meal
● Blood sugar stability (no more grazing all day)
● Nervous system regulation (your body won’t build muscle in stress mode)

There’s actually some interesting research on this.

Studies show that:

● Muscle loss during menopause is smaller than we’ve been led to believe
● Ageing and lifestyle play a bigger role than hormones alone
● Your body still responds to strength training and protein

So the goal isn’t to “fix your hormones." It’s to support your body with the right inputs.

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