Mid-winter often gets a bad rap as “cold and flu season,” but for those of us navigating the transitions of midlife and perimenopause, it can feel like a double whammy. With the shorter days and dropping temperatures, our bodies are naturally inviting us to hunker down—yet the demands of life rarely slow down to match.
If you’re feeling more depleted than usual, catching every sniffle, or finding that your “get up and go” has been replaced by brain fog and fatigue, you aren’t alone. During perimenopause, our immune system and our nervous system become much more sensitive to the world around us. This is our time to go slow, get cosy, and focus on the deep nourishment that replenishes our energy stores rather than just “pushing through.”
Why Gut Health is Your Midlife Superpower
When we talk about immunity, we are really talking about the gut. Around 70% of your immune system lives in your digestive tract, but for women in midlife, the gut does even more heavy lifting.
We now know there is a direct link between our gut microbes and our hormones (called the estrobolome). Your gut health influences how you metabolise oestrogen and how you manage the inflammation that often spikes during perimenopause. If your gut is out of balance, you’re more likely to feel the effects of seasonal bugs and hormonal shifts.
Top tips to support gut health & keep your “internal defence team” and your hormones happy this winter.
- Prebiotic Diversity: Our microbes thrive on variety. Seasonal stars like leeks, onions, garlic, and chicory provide the fiber that “feeds” your good bacteria, helping to stabilize your mood and your immunity.
- Fermented Foods A daily forkful of sauerkraut or a glass of kefir acts like a natural reinforcement. For midlife women, this can also help with the bloating and sluggish digestion that often crops up during this transition.
- Detoxifying Brassicas: Winter is the season of cabbage, kale, and purple sprouting broccoli. These aren’t just great for vitamin C; they contain compounds that support the liver in processing hormones effectively.
The Winter Toolkit: Nourishing the Whole Self With Specific Immune Supportive Nutrients and Practices.
- The Power of Protein: As our hormones shift, we need more protein to maintain muscle and build the antibodies that fight infection. Aim for a good source—eggs, lentils, wild-caught fish, or organic meats—at every single meal.
- Vitamin D for mood and inflammation. Protects cell function to help reduce inflammation. Keeps bones, teeth and muscles healthy and acts as an immune modulator. The main food sources are oily fish, liver, eggs, mushrooms, and fortified foods.
- Zinc for fighting infection. Zinc helps the immune cells function properly and supports the body’s ability to fight infection. Find it in pumpkin seeds, lentils, chickpeas, oats, and meat.
Try this: Sprinkle a handful of seeds onto your porridge or add lentils or chickpeas to your soups or stews. - Vitamin A for your body’s “barriers.” Often overlooked, but key to maintaining the barriers that protect the body from getting sick. Beta Carotene (which the body will convert into vitamin A) is found in orange and yellow produce like sweet potato, carrots, and squash as well as dark leafy greens. The richest animal source is liver and other organ meats. Not always a favourite and best avoided in pregnancy due to the concentration of vitamin A. Butter, full-fat dairy products, egg yolks, oily and oily fish are also good sources of this active form.
- Get outside, even for 10 mins. Every bit of light and movement helps the immune system function better. Movement supports immunity in two key ways. First, regular movement improves circulation, which helps immune cells travel around the body more efficiently. Second, being outside during daylight hours helps regulate circadian rhythm, cortisol levels, and mood, all of which impact immune resilience.
Try this: take a 10 min walk at the start of the day, or wrap up and enjoy your first cuppa outside. - The Art of the “No”: High cortisol (our stress hormone) is an absolute thief of health in midlife. It suppresses the immune system and makes perimenopause symptoms feel much louder. This week, try saying “no” to one thing that drains you.
Join Me: The 10-Day Live / Online Immunity Cleanse
If you’re feeling a bit lost in the “wellness” noise and want to hit the reset button in a way that feels supportive and hormone-friendly, I’d love for you to join me.
On February 2nd, I’m hosting a 10-day Live Nutrition Programme in Central Lewes. This is a space specifically designed for those who want to reclaim energy, clear brain fog, and arm the immune system for the rest of winter. You can also join in online.
What’s Included:
- 3 Live Sessions in Lewes: We’ll gather for delicious, nourishing suppers and juices (catered for all diets) and dive into the “why” behind the food we’re eating.
- A Starter Box: Thanks to our friends at The Seasons, you’ll have the essentials to kickstart your journey.
- The Results: Expect to head into spring with a clearer mind, better sleep, improved digestion, and a much more resilient immune system.
Change is always easier when we do it together. Let’s spend ten days restoring your glow and finding your mid-winter rhythm.