The Midlife Mood Nutritionist

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The Midlife Mood Nutritionist

Helping midlife women get to the root of low mood and anxiety, so antidepressants aren't the only option.

Nutritional therapist and functional medicine practitioner, 16+ years' experience helping you understand your own biology. Urban Wellness is an online nutrition and functional clinic run by Nicola Shubrook. We specialise in female midlife health, helping you to nourish and (re)connect with your health whilst ensuring that all advice is practical, realistic and fits in with your life.

08/09/2026

You might notice this page has a new name today.

For a while this was the Urban Wellness Clinic page, but from now on it's home to The Midlife Mood Nutritionist (to match my content over on Instagram, if you follow me there too).

Nothing about my clinical work changes. I'm still a nutritional therapist and functional medicine practitioner, still looking at hormones, gut health and nutrient status, and more, as the root causes behind low mood, anxiety and burnout in midlife women, and still running Urban Wellness, with my team: www.urbanwellness.co.uk

What changes is simply the name.

I'd love you to continue to join me here, as I share the research, the science and my own thoughts on mood in midlife.

This is genuinely my passion. So many midlife women are handed antidepressants the moment their mood shifts in perimenopause, or they have been on and off them for years, without anyone stopping to ask what else is going on underneath, their hormones, their gut, their nutrient levels. I don't think that's good enough, and it's exactly why I do this work, looking at the whole picture rather than reaching for the same prescription every time.

10/08/2026

If you're on an SSRI, there's a conversation that almost never happens at the prescription stage: what that medication might be doing to your nutrient levels over time.

Folate and B12 are needed to make and recycle serotonin, the same pathway SSRIs work on, and long term use has been linked to lower folate and B12 status in some people. Vitamin D and magnesium both play a role in how well the medication's own mechanism functions, and both are commonly low in midlife women regardless of medication. CoQ10 can also be affected, and it matters for the basic cellular energy that keeps you feeling like yourself.

This isn't a reason to stop or change anything. Any decision about your medication is between you and your prescriber, always.

What it does mean is that supporting these nutrients alongside your medication can be part of why some people feel their antidepressant is working well, and others feel like something's still missing, even at the right dose.

If you've been on an SSRI for a while and haven't had these levels checked, it's worth asking about, alongside your medication, not instead of it.

This is exactly the kind of layer we look at together in Beyond the Low Mood, the waitlist is open: https://www.urbanwellness.co.uk/beyond-low-mood-group-programme

09/08/2026

I was ready for the physical symptoms like hot flashes, as both my grandmothers had had them with some severity, but even I, a registered nutritional therapist, was not prepared for the mental health ride perimenopause landed me.

I can look back now as well and see that in my late thirties, when I thought I was just stressed and burnout from my advertising job (which I was btw), I was also riding the first waves of perimenopause as well (sorry to my old team!)

Now in clinic, I see it happening time and again when women come in wearing a mental health label that didn't tell the whole story.

Rage that gets called anger management. Panic that gets called a new anxiety disorder. Tearfulness that gets called depression. A loss of confidence that gets called burnout.

None of this means what you're feeling isn't real. It means the label often stops at the symptom instead of asking what's driving it, and in midlife, hormones are frequently part of that answer.

Understanding the cause changes what actually helps.

Which of these has shown up for you?

08/08/2026

My content isn't for everyone, and it's not meant to be.

I'm not here to hand out quick fixes or tell you your mood swings are just down to too much stress. But what I am here for is to help you understand what's actually happening in your body, so you can make sense of your mood, and do something about it.

I'll also always be open and honest about my mental health journey too, for it has been a roller coaster at times, and I have often wanted to step off or question "why me?", but it is also what fuels me every day.

So, if that sounds like what you need, I'd love you to stay. If you're after a miracle supplement, or you want to avoid looking any deeper, this probably isn't the place.

If you're still here, the waitlist for Beyond the Low Mood is open: https://www.urbanwellness.co.uk/beyond-low-mood-group-programme

Are you with me?

07/08/2026

I was 27 when a GP handed me a prescription and told me to get used to living with panic attacks.
Something in me knew that wasn't the whole story.

Sixteen years later, everything I've learned about mood, hormones, nutrition, and your nervous system is coming together in one place, for the first time.

This isn't about hacking, tracking, or quick fixes. It's about the practical, everyday changes that actually shift your mood, for good.

If you're in midlife, struggling with your mood, and tired of being told it's just stress or just your age, this is for you.

All the details, and the waitlist, are here: https://www.urbanwellness.co.uk/beyond-low-mood-group-programme

What would it feel like to actually trust your own mind again?

06/08/2026

The waitlist for Beyond the Low Mood, my new Group Programme, is officially open.

Six weeks, live, with a small group of ten women, working through the same foundations I use with every 1:1 client: nutrition and blood sugar, sleep, hormones, gut health, and the nervous system, because in over 16 years of clinic work, this is where I keep seeing the real shifts happen.

Each week, new content lands on a Sunday morning, a handout, shopping list and recipe, so you have time to prepare before a live call every Wednesday lunchtime, where we review, answer questions and go deeper into that week's topic. A private WhatsApp group runs alongside for support in between, plus a printable workbook to track your symptoms and a before and after questionnaire, so you can see your own change by week 6, not just remember it.

This isn't about overwhelm. It's not a reset, and it's not another overhaul. It's about building the foundations your body's been asking for, the kind you'll still be using long after the six weeks end.

This is a founding cohort. Ten spaces, priced to reflect that, and it won't run at this price again.

We start on Sunday 6th September

Get on the list now: https://www.urbanwellness.co.uk/beyond-low-mood-group-programme

03/08/2026

Something new is coming, and I'm super excited about it.

If you've been following Urban Wellness for a while, you'll know my personal passion is improving mood in midlife, and supporting women who may have been offered or are on antidepressants but are looking for more answers.

So, this September, I'm running the first ever Midlife Mood Reset Group Programme. Six weeks, live, with a small group of ten women, working through the same foundations I use with every 1:1 client: nutrition and blood sugar, sleep, hormones, gut health, and the nervous system.

This is a founding cohort. Ten spaces, priced to reflect that, and it won't run at this price again.

The waitlist opens later this week, and being on it means you hear first, before spaces go to anyone else.

Comment "YES" below, or send me a message, and I'll make sure you're one of the first to know.

03/03/2026

One of the simplest, most powerful ways to support your mood is to stabilise your blood sugar – and that starts with how you eat from the moment you wake up.

When women implement these basics consistently, they often notice fewer energy crashes, less “hanger”, steadier mood and better sleep within a few weeks.

If you suspect your depression might be a fuel problem, not just a serotonin problem, we dive deeper into the blood sugar–mood connection in our latest blog.

We break down:

- How low blood sugar triggers adrenaline and cortisol surges. 
- Why this depletes neurotransmitters and drives inflammation in the brain. 
- The midlife patterns (breakfast‑skipper, restrictor, busy woman) that quietly set you up for depression

🔗 Read “Blood Sugar Imbalance and Depression: The Fuel Crisis Your Brain Can’t Ignore” via the link in bio. 
📞 You can also book a free 20‑minute call with our team to explore tailored support.

27/02/2026

Here at Urban Wellness, we’re all about one things

Understanding YOU and what is driving your mood.

We map systems, not just symptoms.

- We take a full health history (body, mind, life events)
- We join the dots between your systems (gut, hormones, genetics, inflammation, etc)
- We use targeted testing when needed
- We build personalised, targeted nutrition and lifestyle plans that suit you, and only you

We’re not anti-medicine or anti-therapy, but it’s about filling the gap between ‘here’s a prescription’ and ‘symptoms-based’ medicine.

👉🏻 Share with a friend who needs to hear it
👉🏻 Follow us for more on midlife mental health
👉🏻 Book a complimentary call to find out more - LINK IN BIO

22/02/2026

Ever wondered who’s actually behind Urban Wellness?

We’re a small, specialist team of Nutritional Therapists who focus on mental health in midlife – and then carefully explore things like hormones, gut health and your relationship with food when they’re part of the picture.

Nicola supports midlife women whose mood, energy and everyday life are being affected by hormones, gut issues, histamine and long‑term antidepressant use, with a particular passion for changing the narrative around depression and meds.

Irina specialises in eating disorders and disordered eating alongside gut and hormone issues – including binge and emotional eating, restrictive patterns, reflux, SIBO and complex digestive concerns – using a deeply compassionate, non‑judgemental approach.

Sophie focuses on the gut–brain connection, supporting women whose mood, sleep and digestion are all tangled together, and runs NeuroNourished Kids for mums of children with ADHD or suspected neurodiversity who want to use nutrition to support a developing brain.

If you’re a midlife woman whose mental health doesn’t match what your bloods or prescriptions are saying, you don’t have to figure it out alone. Tap the link in bio to book a free discovery call or feel free to DM us and we’ll help you work out who might be the best fit to support you.

Address

Woodford Green

Website

http://www.urbanwellness.co.uk/, http://www.instagram.com/nicola.shubrook, https://www.naturopathy-uk.com/, https://www.

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