Clare Bellini Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine

Clare Bellini Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine I support busy individuals uncover the root cause of ill health, rather than simply masking symptoms.

30/07/2026

Clients don’t just leave me with a sheet of foods to avoid.

They leave with an actual blueprint, a working understanding of their own body that keeps paying off months, even years, later.

Messages like this are exactly why I love my job. I feel proper chuffed to have been part of someone’s story long after I thought my part in it was done.

✅If you want to build your own blueprint rather than another quick fix, you’re welcome to message me or book a free 20-minute call.

24/07/2026

The FODMAP diet is a test, not a treatment.
It tells you which foods set you off. It never asks why you react to them in the first place.

✅Sluggish motility.
✅Bacterial overgrowth.
✅That course of antibiotics three years ago.
✅The food poisoning on holiday you never quite got over.

None of that gets investigated by taking fermentable carbs off your plate.

Removing the trigger is not the same as removing the cause.

The low FODMAP diet was designed to run for two to six weeks, followed by a structured reintroduction where you bring foods back one group at a time. That second half is the whole point. It is where the information is.

Most people I speak to have never heard there is a second half. They were handed a leaflet at appointment five, or found it online at 11pm looking for anything that might help. It worked, so they stayed on it. Months. Sometimes years.

I understand why. When you have been uncomfortable and dismissed for that long, you do not go dismantling the one thing that gave you relief.

But the safe list keeps shrinking, and the fibres you have cut out are the ones feeding the bacteria that keep your gut resilient.

If you have been restricting for a long time with no plan for getting your foods back, that is the gap, and it can be sorted. My DMs are open, or book a free 20-minute call.

14/04/2026

Yesterday I shared a client’s story who had been struggling with IBS for over 10 years.

She was eating really well. Home-cooked meals, trying different eliminations, putting in the effort… but still dealing with loose stools, nausea, and low energy.

One of the biggest misunderstandings is assuming that a “healthy” diet will automatically fix gut symptoms. But if your digestion isn’t working well, or your gut is out of balance, even healthful foods can leave you feeling worse.

This is why I don’t just look at what someone is eating.

I want to understand what’s actually going on in the gut. That includes looking at how well digestion is working, if the gut is inflamed or ‘leaky’, blood tests to assess nutrient deficiencies and sometimes using a comprehensive stool test to get a clearer picture. From there, everything becomes much more personalised and a lot less guesswork.

If this sounds like you, here are a few gentle things to try this week:

• Slow your eating down and chew properly. It makes a bigger difference than you’d expect.
• Include a good source of protein at each meal to help with energy and balance. Don’t go longer than 5 hours in between meals.
• Start noticing patterns. When are your symptoms worse and what’s going on? What are your stress levels and sleep like?

Small shifts can go a long way.

If you feel like you’re doing all the right things but not seeing results, you don’t have to keep guessing. You’re always welcome to message me or book a free 20 minute call.

This client had been dealing with IBS for over a decade, alongside low energy and nausea. Her diet was already “good” o...
13/04/2026

This client had been dealing with IBS for over a decade, alongside low energy and nausea. Her diet was already “good” on paper. Everything was home-cooked, she'd tried eliminating foods, she was making a real effort, but her body still wasn’t responding positively.

So instead of guessing, the first thing we did was run a comprehensive stool test to properly understand what was going on in her gut.

Once we had that information, everything became much clearer. We could focus on the areas that actually needed support, from lowering inflammation to supporting her gut lining and building a healthier, more diverse microbiome.

We increased protein to support her blood sugar, kept gluten out for a period whilst we worked on her gut and gradually built up her fibre intake.

We didn’t just focus on food, because it’s never just about food. We looked at sleep, stress, and building habits that actually felt realistic for her life.

She really committed to the process, and it showed.

Within three months, things felt very different. Her symptoms had improved so much that she was able to reintroduce gluten, go on holiday, and enjoy it without worrying about her gut.

No more relying on Imodium. More energy. More confidence in her body now everything felt a lot calmer and more predictable.

If you’re dealing with ongoing gut symptoms and feel like you’ve tried everything, you don’t have to keep guessing. You’re always welcome to reach out or book a free call to discuss how I might support you.

30/03/2026

In your younger years, your brain was very happy running on glucose.

But in perimenopause, that starts to change.

Your brain becomes more reliant on ketones
which are made when you burn fat for fuel, not just glucose.

Here’s where it gets interesting…

Most women have lost the ability to switch between burning glucose and burning fat.

Years of:
• eating little and often
• snacking throughout the day
• constant access to food

means the body doesn’t need to tap into fat stores.

So it downregulates that ability.

Then perimenopause hits
and your brain starts asking for ketones…

…but your body isn’t very good at making them.

And that can feel like:
• brain fog
• poor memory
• lack of focus
• energy dips

This doesn’t mean you need to go keto.

But it does mean your body needs to become more metabolically flexible again.

That’s something I work with clients
because when your brain has the fuel it needs, your brain feels sharper, less fatigued and you remember why you walked into the room.

Send me a message if this resonates, book a free chat if you want to see how I could support you. See the link in my bio and message me directly.

26/03/2026

Hair thinning is one of the most common symptoms I see in perimenopause.

One of the first things many women try is collagen, biotin, or hair treatments.

Sometimes they help.
But when they don’t that’s because hair loss at this stage of life is rarely caused by just one missing nutrient.

Your hair can be affected by things like:

• low iron from years of heavy periods
• thyroid changes
• chronic stress and high cortisol
• dieting or not eating enough protein
• blood sugar imbalances
• gut issues affecting absorption
• insulin resistance, which becomes more common in menopause

If the root cause is iron deficiency, collagen won’t fix it.
If stress has pushed hair into a resting phase, biotin won’t stop the shedding.
If the body is under-fuelled, it won’t prioritise hair growth.

This is why quick fixes often feel disappointing.

Real improvement usually comes from looking at the bigger picture and supporting the body properly.

That’s what I focus on in clinic.
Not just what supplement to take, but why the hair loss started in the first place.

If your hair has been thinning for a while and you feel like you’ve tried everything, it may need a deeper investigation.

You can book a discovery call through the link in my bio if you’d like to talk it through. Also, see my blog Why does Hair Loss Happen in Perimenopause and Menopause.

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