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Mental health disorders are only becoming more and more prevalent with time. Supporting our mental health holistically (through nutrition aswell as our lifestyle), is essential for everyone, no matter if you have a mental illness or not. You simply deserve to feel good ! These simple tips are effective ways to work on improving your mental health and supporting adaptation to stress, in realistic & achievable ways that can slot into your lifestyle. Because at the end of the day, our daily habits make up our weeks, months & years, so it makes sense to lay the foundations of a good mood through our daily routines. Nutrition tips Anti-inflammatory foods Anti-inflammatory foods protect from neuroinflammation which may contribute to mental health conditions & poor mental health. Omega 3 fatty acids in particular, are beneficial for brain and mental health, supporting the transmission of nerves within the brain and nervous system. Note: oftentimes neuroinflammation stems from the gut, so particularly if you do have digestive issues, it's essential to investigate this further. Foods to incorporate - Fatty fish (e.g. salmon, sardines, mackerel, herring, anchovies) Turmeric (fresh or dried, can be used in sweet or savoury dishes aswell as turmeric lattes) Fresh fruits and vegetables. Nuts and seeds Protein Ensuring adequate protein in your diet is essential to ensure optimal production of neurotransmitters (brain chemical messengers). Aim to include 20-30 grams of protein with each meal. Food sources - Legumes Nuts and seeds Protein powder Tofu / tempeh Edamame Fish Meat Eggs Nutrition tips Complex carbohydrates over simple Simple carbohydrates (such as white bread, white rice, pasta, sugar), allow glucose to be quickly absorbed into the bloodstream, which soon after will come crashing down. And with this comes your energy & your mood ! So to avoid this, focusing on a range of complex carbohydrates with each meal while reducing refined sugar consumption. Simple swaps - White bread --- Wholegrain sourdoughWhite rice --- Brown riceWhite pasta --- Pulse pastaLollies --- Fruit paired with some nuts & seeds Plus ensure you're getting a wide range of fruits and vegetables each week. Support the gut brain axis As mentioned before, the gut can drive neuroinflammation, heightening and contributing to mental health issues. The gut brain axis is multidimensional and has many other factors that play into their relationship. Supporting your gut with prebiotics to fuel probiotics (beneficial bacterial species), will assist with this communication. Prebiotic food sources - Sweet potato Leek Pumpkin Green banana flour Cooked & cooled rice Lifestyle recommendations Take time out (without feeling guilty about it). Especially if you have little ones running around, it can be very difficult to find a moment to yourself in our fast paced world ! But you have to make time for this otherwise your body will make time for you. Our body can only adapt to certain levels of cortisol and adrenaline, and if these hormones are elevated for prolonged periods of time, it can lead to nutrient deficiencies, immune dysregulation and much more. Take some time to yourself daily, whether it be 10 minutes in the morning or before bed. This can be for whatever you enjoy from reading, journalling, gardening, walking, listening to music. Make it something that brings you joy and that you can stick to. Spend time away from screens With busy lives & heightened stress levels being the norm in today's day and age, social media and screen time are added stressors. Especially with short form video content on social media, this can put our sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight response) into overdrive. Our body can't tell the difference between watching a hectic TikTok video and being chased by a tiger ! This can impact our mental health significantly over time. Not to mention the impact of blue light from screens on sleep quality and reducing sleep promoting hormones and neurotransmitters. Try and avoid screens and social media at night time in particular but also schedule a full day per week or as often as possible to avoid your screen to reset your nervous system and nurture your mental health. Nurture social connections. Loneliness can be a major amplifier of poor mental health, so surrounding yourself with supportive community is vital. Some ways you can do this is - Join local sporting or running group Try out a dance class See if there are any ocean swimming groups nearby to you. Optimise sleep quality. 7-9 hours of quality sleep is foundational for mental health. If you have troubles with sleep, discuss this with your practitioner to see if you may benefit from specific supplementation. And most importantly ... Don't forget to reach out for help if you feel you may need it. Your feelings are valid. See your local GP for a mental health care plan, or contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 (24/7) or headspace. headspace also have great resources.

I'm writing this at 8 months postpartum with my second. So let's just say I'm not writing this from theory. Some nights my youngest sleeps in four hour stretches. Some nights it's forty minutes. There's no pattern I can plan around, no hack that fixes it. That's just where we're at. But here's what I do know, both as a clinician and as someone in it - chronic sleep deprivation isn't just "feeling tired." It's a physiological state, and it has consequences worth understanding. What's actually happening When sleep is consistently disrupted, cortisol regulation gets affected. Your body's stress response system doesn't get the downtime it needs to reset. That's part of why sleep deprivation and that "wired but exhausted" feeling go hand in hand, your nervous system is stuck partway between "on" and "off." Magnesium status is also commonly affected during periods of chronic stress and disrupted sleep. It's one of the nutrients your body draws on more heavily when you're under sustained pressure. This isn't about fear-mongering you into thinking one bad night is doing damage. It's about the cumulative, sustained pattern - the kind that new parents, shift workers, and anyone in a genuinely demanding season of life know intimately. What I'm not going to tell you I'm not going to tell you to "just sleep when the baby sleeps" (impossible, and makes me eyes roll when I hear it). I'm not going to tell you this is a phase you should just push through on willpower. What I am going to tell you Support your nervous system where you actually can. For me right now, that's non-negotiable magnesium, because I know what happens to my mood and my patience when I let it lapse. It's not a fix for the disrupted sleep itself as nothing replaces the sleep. But it's one lever I have some control over, in a season where a lot of things feel out of my control. If you're in a season like this too, new baby, high stress job, study, caring for someone else, whatever your version is - you're not imagining how hard it is. And you don't need to just push through it. Katherine x

Let's talk mastitis because the guidance has changed significantly in the last couple of years, and a lot of women (and a lot of GPs) are still working off the old guidelines. My top recommendation is to seek the support from a lactation consultant as soon as you think there is any sign of inflammation. The quicker you are at act, the more likely you can avoid antibiotics. What mastitis actually is: Mastitis is a spectrum of inflammatory conditions. The ducts aren't clogged, they're inflamed, which causes them to narrow and restrict milk flow. This sounds like a small distinction but it completely changes how you manage it. It can start with oversupply, lead to painful ductal inflammation, and in some cases progress to bacterial mastitis. In rare cases, an abscess. Most women sit somewhere in the middle of that spectrum and never get to the severe end, especially with early, correct intervention. What the old advice got wrong The previous approach treated mastitis as a milk flow and bacterial problem. Women were told to apply heat, massage aggressively, and feed or pump as much as possible to clear things out. We now know that approach was likely making things worse. What we actually know now: Ice, not heat. Cold compresses are now recommended over warm ones for inflamed ducts and inflammatory mastitis. Heat increases inflammation, the opposite of what you want. Gentle lymphatic massage only. Light sweeping of the skin rather than deep tissue massage. The aggressive kneading approach can cause further tissue damage. Gentle hand expression - not aggressive pumping. High suction or prolonged pumping can traumatise breast tissue. The goal is comfort drainage, not emptying. Ibuprofen. This actually makes sense now that we understand inflammation is the core issue. NSAIDs address the problem directly. Antibiotics aren't always necessary. They're appropriate when bacterial mastitis is confirmed and a fever over 38.5°C is not improving within 12–24 hours, systemic symptoms worsening, but they're not a first-line reflex. Unnecessary antibiotic use disrupts the breast microbiome and can increase the risk of progression. Probiotics are increasingly being considered for mastitis prevention, given the role of microbiome disruption in how things progress. The immune piece and where Better Immune fits in: Mastitis isn't just a ductal inflammation problem. It's also an immune load problem. The women who tend to struggle most are those who are already depleted - broken sleep, the physical demand of lactation and nutrient depletion. Your immune system is running below capacity before mastitis even enters the picture. Better Immune with Vitamin C, Zinc glycinate, Vitamin D3, natural beta-carotene, Echinacea, and Reishi - supports immune resilience and antioxidant defence during exactly this kind of load. Not a treatment. Support for the body doing the fighting. → Shop Better Immune And if something feels off and symptoms escalating, fever not settling, a lump not resolving please see your GP or lactation consultant.  

There's a version of postpartum depletion that doesn't look like collapse. It looks like functioning. Getting through the day. Doing all the things. And then lying awake at 2am even though the baby is finally sleeping, heart racing, mind going, wondering why you can't just switch off. That's not weakness. That's your nervous system telling you it's been running in survival mode for too long. What's actually happening Pregnancy and lactation place an enormous demand on your nutritional reserves. Your body will always prioritise the baby - milk production, foetal development, growth and it will do so at the expense of your own stores if intake isn't keeping up. The result is a system that's physically depleted but neurologically wired. This is where the HPA axis comes in. Your hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis - your stress response system has been working overtime since birth. Disrupted sleep elevates cortisol. Elevated cortisol disrupts sleep further. The cycle feeds itself, and over time your HPA axis loses its ability to regulate properly. You stop being able to wind down. You stop being able to fully rest even when you get the chance. Layer nutrient depletion on top of that and you have a system that genuinely cannot recover between demands. Magnesium is one of the most critical minerals for nervous system regulation and sleep and is heavily drawn on during lactation and chronically low in most postpartum women. B vitamins, depleted by stress and high metabolic demand, are co-factors for neurotransmitter synthesis, serotonin, GABA and dopamine. When they're low, your brain's ability to produce the chemicals that calm you down and help you sleep is compromised at a foundational level. This isn't "you need to relax." This is biochemistry. Where Natal Support comes in Natal isn't just a pregnancy supplement, it's a postpartum one. The full B vitamin complex including activated B6 (P5P), methylated B12, activated folate, and B5 directly supports adrenal function and neurotransmitter production. Choline supports brain function and mood regulation. Zinc and selenium support thyroid and immune function, both of which take a hit postpartum and both of which influence how you feel day to day. Keeping your nutritional foundation solid is step one. You cannot out-supplement a depleted base. Where Stress & Sleep Support comes in This is the targeted layer formulated specifically for the wired, depleted postpartum nervous system. KSM-66 Ashwagandha: we use the most clinically studied form of ashwagandha. KSM-66 has robust evidence for reducing cortisol, supporting HPA axis regulation, and improving both sleep quality and stress resilience. This isn't a sedative, it's an adaptogen that helps your stress response system function the way it's supposed to. Magnesium glycinate: glycinate is the most bioavailable and best tolerated form of magnesium, chosen specifically because it's gentle on the gut and highly absorbable. Magnesium supports GABA activity, your brain's primary calming neurotransmitter and is essential for muscle relaxation, nervous system regulation, and sleep onset. Glycine: an amino acid with significant evidence for improving sleep quality and reducing core body temperature at night, which is a key physiological signal for sleep onset. Glycine also supports collagen synthesis and liver detoxification - relevant for postpartum recovery beyond just sleep. Passionflower: a well-established nervine with evidence for reducing anxiety and improving sleep quality through GABAergic pathways. Works synergistically with magnesium to calm the nervous system without sedation. Together, this formula works on cortisol regulation, GABA support, and sleep architecture - not just helping you fall asleep, but improving the quality of the sleep you do get. Paired with Natal's nutritional foundation, you're addressing depletion and dysregulation at the same time which is what postpartum recovery actually requires. You're not meant to just survive this season. You're meant to thrive as best you can. Katherine x

I've spent this month sharing a lot about breastfeeding. The nutrition, the science and the updated guidelines. So it felt right to share my own story too. Because it hasn't been straightforward. With Goldie, I had mastitis twice. And even as a clinical nutritionist who knows exactly what mastitis is, how it progresses, and what to do, it still took me out. Knowing the theory doesn't make the fever, the chills, or the sheer speed of it any less brutal in the moment. What I'm grateful for is knowing what to do immediately. Lymphatic drainage massage, getting a breast ultrasound and keeping on top of my supplements to support my immune system through it. It was tough at the time but I managed to avoid antibiotics twice. Sheer relief. And then at three months, Goldie started refusing the breast. Honestly, that one hit harder than the mastitis. There's something about your baby turning away from you that logic doesn't really touch. I knew clinically what was happening, I understood the mechanics of breast refusal but in those moments, clinical knowledge and mother's heart are two very different things. A month of persisting, lactation consultant appointments, many tears, second-guessing, trying different positions, wondering if this was the end of our feeding journey. It wasn't. We worked through it. And now at seven months postpartum, we're still breastfeeding and genuinely going strong. I share this not to suggest pushing through is always the right answer, it isn't and your journey is yours entirely. But I know how isolating those hard stretches feel. And I want you to know that the woman behind this brand has lived them too. Whatever your feeding story looks like, it's valid. All of it. Katherine x

Let's talk about foods for breastmilk production — what actually helps, what's mostly folklore, and why your supply is about so much more than just "eat more oats." First, the basics. Milk production (lactogenesis) is primarily hormonally driven, prolactin and oxytocin do the heavy lifting, triggered by demand and frequency of feeding or expressing. No food is going to override poor drainage or infrequent feeding. That's the non-negotiable foundation. But nutrition absolutely plays a supporting role, both in volume and in the quality of what you're producing. Energy availability matters more than people think. Breastfeeding has a significant energy cost, roughly an extra 500 calories a day for exclusive breastfeeding. ( New research is suggesting up to 1000 calories). If you're under-eating (which happens easily in the chaos of early postpartum), your body will still prioritise milk production, but often at the expense of your own reserves - iron, B12, calcium, and fat stores particularly take the hit. So step one, always, is adequate intake. Not "clean eating." Adequate. Galactagogues — the foods with traditional and some evidential support: Oats - high in beta-glucan and iron. The iron link is interesting: low ferritin has been associated with lower milk supply in some studies, so oats may help indirectly by supporting iron status, not through some magic "milk-boosting" compound. When I think of iron rich foods I'm also looking at liver, spleen and red meat etc. Fenugreek - probably the most studied galactagogue. Some RCTs show a modest increase in milk volume, but the evidence is mixed and dosing varies wildly between studies. It also has a known side effect - your sweat and milk can smell like maple syrup. Worth knowing before you panic about it. Fennel and fenugreek combinations - similar mechanism, thought to have a mild oestrogenic or phytoestrogenic effect that may influence prolactin pathways. Evidence is more traditional-use than robust RCT. Brewer's yeast - rich in B vitamins, chromium, and protein. Anecdotally popular (hello, lactation cookies), but the evidence base is thin. The B vitamin density alone makes it worth including for general postpartum recovery, separate from any supply claims. Leafy greens, especially dark greens - provide calcium, iron, and folate, all of which are being drawn on heavily during lactation. Not a galactagogue in the "boosts supply" sense, but critical for maintaining your own nutrient status while you're producing milk. Protein generally - milk synthesis is metabolically demanding, and adequate protein intake supports both supply and your own tissue repair postpartum. Aim for protein at every meal - eggs, legumes, fish, meat, Greek yoghurt. The honest clinical take: Most "lactation foods" work, if they work at all, through nutrient adequacy rather than some specific supply-boosting compound. The exception is fenugreek, which has actual (if mixed) trial data behind it. Hydration matters too, but the "drink a gallon of water" advice is overstated - thirst is generally a reliable guide, and overhydration won't increase supply beyond what your body needs. What moves the needle most, in order: frequency and effectiveness of milk removal, energy adequacy, protein intake, then specific galactagogues as a supportive extra - not a fix for an underlying supply issue. If you're genuinely worried about low supply, that's worth a proper assessment, there can be physiological reasons (retained placenta, thyroid dysfunction, insufficient glandular tissue, previous breast surgery) that no amount of oats will resolve. Or the help of a lactation consult to check things like your latch, feeding support etc. Katherine x

  Ingredients 3 tablespoons coconut oil 150g fresh turmeric, grated (or 1 tablespoon powdered) 75g fresh ginger, grated 1 tablespoon ground black pepper 1 lemon, juiced 1 tablespoon cinnamon 1 tablespoon ground fennel seeds 1 tablespoon rice malt syrup Method Melt 2 tablespoons of coconut oil in a pan. Add turmeric, ginger and pepper and sauté for 3 minutes. Transfer to a food processor with ½ cup water, the lemon juice and remaining coconut oil. Blitz until smooth. Add cinnamon and fennel. Blitz again. Allow to cool, then add rice malt syrup and blitz until smooth. Pour into jars and store in the fridge. To serve: Stir 1 tablespoon into a cup of warm nut milk. Add a dash of honey or extra cinnamon if you like. Also brilliant stirred through smoothies, soups or on top of porridge.  

This is the porridge I come back to every winter. It is simple, warming and full of ingredients that support your body through the colder months. Immune-Supportive Winter Porridge Serves 1 You’ll need: 1/2 cup rolled oats 1 cup milk of choice - I use coconut milk 1 tablespoon chia seeds 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric * optional A pinch of black pepper * optional 1/2 teaspoon fresh grated ginger or 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger 1 small apple, grated 1 tablespoon chopped walnuts 1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds 1 tablespoon Greek yoghurt or coconut yoghurt to serve Optional: drizzle of honey Method: Add the oats, milk, chia seeds, flaxseed, cinnamon, turmeric, black pepper and ginger to a saucepan. Stir through the grated apple and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook for 5–7 minutes, stirring regularly, until thick and creamy. Pour into a bowl and top with walnuts, pumpkin seeds, yoghurt and a drizzle of honey if you like. Why these ingredients were chosen: OatsOats provide fibre to support your gut health, and a healthy gut plays an important role in supporting your immune system. Chia and flaxseedThese provide healthy fats and fibre to help keep you fuller for longer and support overall gut health. CinnamonCinnamon adds warmth and flavour and is a simple way to make breakfast feel a little more comforting. Turmeric + black pepperTurmeric contains curcumin, which has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Black pepper helps your body absorb it more effectively. GingerGinger is warming, soothing and perfect for the colder months. AppleApples provide fibre and natural sweetness without needing loads of sugar. Walnuts and pumpkin seedsPumpkin seeds provide zinc, which plays an important role in immune health, while walnuts provide healthy fats to help keep you satisfied. YoghurtYoghurt provides protein and, if you tolerate it, beneficial bacteria that can support gut health.  

Before we talk about what to take can we please talk about what to eat.