TRANSCRIPT

Clare & Charlotte

Clare: Hi, and welcome to Hair with Clare. I’m your host, Clare Devereux. I’m a psychologist, a stylist, and founder of Hair Health Essentials. Join me every week with my guests where we talk about big hair, short hair, loud hair, quiet hair, shedding hair, wedding hair, everything in between the nasty and the good, and where you can find out how to have a good hair day.

Every day we’re gonna unlock the secrets to healthy locks.

Welcome to Hair with Clare. I am your host Clare Deveraux and I have another fabulous guest for you all this week. Her name is Charlotte Hunter and she is a nutritionist, but not any kind of nutritionist. She’s a nutritionist who specializes in helping women going through perimenopause and menopause and she’s joining me all the way from Surrey in England today.

Charlotte, thank you so much for coming on my podcast.

Charlotte: Hi, thanks for inviting me.

Clare: Oh, it’s wonderful to have you here. What’s the weather like over in the UK today? Is it, is it

Charlotte: sunny? It’s, I mean, I’ve got a lovely view out my window, but it’s just all misty, so I can’t really see very far. Misty, misty. Yeah, misty.

Yeah, and we know what mist, mist does to you when you’ve got curly hair as well.

Clare: Mine’s already doing all this today and you’ve curly hair like I do, although mine is probably not as curly as yours, but it’s pretty curly. And yeah, the humidity just, it kills it. I, I’m, I’m like fuzzball. So, you know, it’s not great for us curly girls.

Um, well, tell me about you, tell me a little bit about your background and how you became a nutritionist.

Charlotte: So I’ve been a nutritionist, um, for about 13 years. And I really got into nutrition like, I suppose for a few reasons, but like most nutritionists you’ve got your own sort of baggage or health baggage and you think, you know, you kind of, you know, turn to nutrition and see if that can help you.

So I think there’s probably an element of that, but also, you know, even when I was at school, I’d always been interested in nutrition, um, but just went down a completely different path. Um, I studied history, museum studies, worked in museums, had a brilliant career, um, and then just decided to change it all 13 years ago.

Um, and I was really lucky. I started working in a chiropractic clinic, also in Surrey, um, and I just had a full clinic of, of people, um, and it was everything from children to Um, older people and I was really lucky just get lots of experience working for lots of different people and then over the years, I think.

you know, as your life changes, your interest in different areas change. And, you know, as, as my hormones started going a bit wonky and a bit wrong in my forties, um, I started to notice that a lot of my clients were also going through the same thing. And really what got me into the menopause nutrition was going through a hysterectomy when I was 44.

That was four years ago. And I’ve really just concentrated on menopause ever since. And I don’t really work with anyone. Um, now if, if they’re not going through menopause, you know, it’s exclusively working in that area, which has been absolutely brilliant.

Clare: Wow. Okay. So that’s what your, that’s what your background is.

And that, I was wondering why you decided to focus on that and, and now I know why. So that must’ve been quite traumatic actually going through hysterectomy. So yeah.

Charlotte: Yeah, I think it was, but you know, people say it’s funny, you know, cause I get two views on it, you know, people will say, you know, wow, that must’ve been really traumatic.

And then other people say, go, you, you, you know, you took the easy way out. You didn’t have a really bad perimenopause, which is outrageous thing to say. Um, But you know, at the time, I didn’t think of it like that, because I was really unwell. I had endometriosis, PCOS, adenomyosis. pretty much everything except fibroids, that’s probably the easier way of putting it.

Um, so I’ve actually, hysterectomy was just one great big relief. Yeah. As soon as I woke up from the surgery, I thought, Oh my goodness, that was just the best thing I could have done. And I just felt better straight away. I mean, I know it’s been, there’ve been ups and downs. And, um, sorry, that’s my printer decided to suddenly talk to me.

Wow.

Clare: Well, I have, yeah, well, I suffer from endometriosis as well. So it’s been, so I totally understand, um, that it’s probably, it’s probably been a massive relief because, you know, I’m not going to lie, it hasn’t crossed my mind every now and then that it will be easier sometimes. But did it put you straight into, um.

Menopause. Yeah, it did. What was that like, your body going from that to that?

Charlotte: What was, what was that? Yeah, so I think, um, psychologically I just felt so much better because I wasn’t in pain, discomfort, constantly worrying and stressing about my horrid cycles. But then physically, yeah, I mean, it hit me like a train.

And I remember, I mean, I, I was given H R t I got started quite quickly, but I remember in those first couple of weeks, Um, I just felt like my knees joints were, you know, made of glass, you know, just so painful and crazy, crazy hot flushes. So people would come around to see me and I say, you can come visit, but I’m in a dressing gown and a vest and I may remove the dressing gown at any given moment without warning.

So, so just be aware, it won’t be pretty. And, um, yeah, it took a while. I think it’s probably taken me, you know, three years. Yeah, to nail my HRT and nail the supplements that I take and how I care for myself. Um, and it’s, it’s not a quick fix. And, you know, sometimes I think because You know, we’re at the mercy of our hormones and they’re changing from, you know, minute to minute, hour to hour, you know, day to day, month to month, you know, everything happens, you know, when it’s down to hormones.

Um, that’s, you know, I have good days and bad days, you know, it’s, I think that’s, you know, menopause for everyone. And that’s life for everyone, isn’t it? It’s not just menopause.

Clare: I think it’s life for everyone. And as someone who has. So for the endometriosis, I really find that, um, I think it’s your diet does definitely help.

And I think your lifestyle helps because I think exercise helps. And, um, I think stress levels can be, it can make it even worse to be honest with you. But I think it’s, did you find that you looked at your diet a lot more when you were going through those bad cycles before you had your hysterectomy or did

Charlotte: so?

Right. I mean, I think doing what I do, you know, being a nutritionist, I think you sort of, you’ve always got food on your radar anyway. Yes. Um, I think, you know, I think certainly when you first start studying nutrition, you, you pretty much try. Every crazy diet out there or you suddenly decide you need to exclude all of these foods or try all these supplements and you know, and it’s, you just constantly sort of on a, this treadmill, I guess.

Um, but I think the longer in practice, you, you work out quite quickly what works for you. And what supports you and what you need to take and what you should avoid. Um, and I think that’s, that’s just a natural learning curve. I think of being a nutritionist, but also being a woman who’s going through the different stages of her life as

Clare: well.

Yeah. Well, I see as a trichologist, I see a lot of women, obviously. Going through perimenopause and menopause and suffering with hair loss and dry hair and Also an awful lot of women and young girls as well who diet like these yo yo diets crazy diet So they’ve gone on some crazy diet or they’re training for something and then six months later All the hair is coming out because the diets are just so extreme their body never Really gets a chance to kind of get back on top of that.

So what do you I mean Going through every age really, I know you focus mostly on, on menopause now, are you, that’s what you focus on, but I mean, what would you say to most women, even when they’re in like those teens and in the twenties, what do they need to be looking at? What do they need to be doing and be aware of in their diet?

I

Charlotte: think there’s probably two big areas. And that’s the first one is relating to your blood sugar. So, you know, keeping the sugars down, honestly, it will make such a difference to your cycles now, but also in the future. And even if you’re way past menopause, you know, you really need to focus on the amount of sugar that you’re eating because we naturally become worse at handling our sugars.

You know, we, we don’t hear the signals from our insulin, you know, we don’t hear, you know, we’re not able to access that, um, you know, there’s carbohydrates in the same way we just, you know, we’re just not as efficient, I guess that’s the best way of putting it. So sugar is a massive one. Um, the other one is, um, I suppose it’s related to sugar.

It’s just stop snacking. Okay. We don’t need to snack. Human beings don’t need to snack. You know, we should be eating three meals a day, but three proper meals. You know, and, you know, if I think back to my parents and grandparents, I mean, they didn’t, they didn’t snack, you know, they’d have breakfast, have lunch, have dinner, that’s it, you know, occasionally might have supper, if they were, you know, having a cup of tea later in the evening or, or whatever they might be doing.

Um, but there was just none of this snacking and I think that’s the biggest issue we have and it’s really unpopular thing to say. Because, you know, you, you know, we all like going out for coffees and having, you know, cakes and flapjacks or smoothies or even healthy stuff, you know, you look at, you know, like little peanut butter balls with various things mixed into them, you know, that might be a healthy food.

But snacking on it isn’t, it isn’t great. You know, you’re better off having a meal, having a protein balls or whatever you’re having with your meal or your bar of chocolate with your meal. But even if you do absolutely nothing else to your diet and you simply eat three meals a day, you’ll notice. Big differences to how you can manage your blood sugar, your energy, and you’ll just feel better.

Um, it’s not very popular thing to say, like I said, you know,

Clare: but it, but healthy is difficult in a lot of ways for a lot of people. And it really is, you know, I suppose how you start off with, with your habits when you’re younger, I think is very important. Um, and I, I see that you’re a fan of a cooked breakfast.

I, you don’t like porridge. I saw that on your Instagram. So I don’t like porridge either. I don’t like it. My daughter loves it. My little girl loves it, but I, I don’t like it. I have even the look of it. I don’t like, so you like breakfast. So run me through what you think most women should be eating.

Definitely when they’re going through perimenopause, menopause, because you’re focused on that area. What do you think women should be having as a diet? What would be a normal

Charlotte: day for you? So this morning. I had, um, had some rye toast. Okay. With just, you know, that really skinny stuff that you get. I can’t, can’t remember what it’s called.

Um, my kids hate it. Um, just a slice of that with some avocado. Couple of scrambled eggs. I had an apple and I had a cup of robust tea. Very good. Okay. And that’s it. And that will, that will keep me going through to lunchtime. Um, I’m not saying never eat porridge. No, you just don’t

Clare: like it. I don’t like it either.

Yeah, I

Charlotte: just think, I think there’s better things you can eat. Because people say to me, yeah, but I’ve got my porridge, and I have my soy milk, and I have my coconut yogurt, and nuts and seeds, and I add my protein powders, and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And it’s like, yeah, but it’s still porridge. It’s still a massive grate.

loads of stodgy carbohydrates that your poor body has got to work its way through. Okay. Just, you know, you’re like, you’d have that, that, you know, that insulin peak and that glucose peak. Um, but actually, you know, and sometimes I think people get a bit, bit misled with the porridge thing. I think, yeah, well, I wear my continuous glucose monitor and it doesn’t shift my glucose at all.

Um, it keeps me going. I feel fabulous. Well, you might feel fabulous because you’ve run a great big sugar high from your porridge, but you don’t see on those glucose monitors how much insulin you have to pump out to get those carbohydrates, you know, out of your

Clare: system. Yeah. Okay. So that’s a great look now.

And what about fruit in the morning? A lot of people like to have berries and like natural yogurt. Do you like that as a breakfast?

Charlotte: I think you can. Um, and I think with things like yogurt, you’ve got to make sure you’re eating enough of it because people are, yeah, I have yogurt and berries, and I have yogurt and berries.

Right. Yeah. So, um, And I, you know, I might have some, um, goat’s yogurt because it’s really thick and fatty and creamy and lovely. Okay. But, you know, you have to have like half a tub, you know, the, the, the normal, the big cartons. Yeah. A couple of spoons isn’t going to cut it. You’re not going to get much protein from that.

You’re not going to get a lot of fat or anything. So you need to have like half a tub of that yogurt with your berries. Um, and that’s going to be

Clare: all wrong. Charlotte, we’re doing it all wrong. So that’s why I have you on to tell us what we’re doing wrong. So what about, um, lunchtime? What would you do?

Also, do you eat regularly? Do you regular time?

Charlotte: Yes. Hello. So. I have, I leave five hours between meals. Okay. Okay. So I’ve got a, I do a program with my clients. Um, it’s a one to one thing, hopefully going to be a group thing at some point, but part of that is to space out your meals and leave five hours between each meal because that is.

You know, the perfect amount of time for your, your body to reset, recalibrate and get ready for the next meal. It’s quite difficult to adjust to because, you know, we’re so used to snacking. Um, and people say, Oh no, I need to eat little and often. No, you don’t. That’s the worst thing you can do for your body.

You know, we’re just, you know, we’re much better if we have a proper size meal.

Clare: So that makes sense. So lunchtime for you then is like what, one o’clock or something?

Charlotte: So, yeah, so I’ll have breakfast about half seven, so about half to twelve to one I’ll have lunch, and then my dinner I’ll eat the same time as my kids.

So, um, sometime between five and six. Okay.

Clare: Um, what is lunch normally for you then? What, what do you normally have for

Charlotte: lunch? So, today, I’m going to tell you exactly what I’m going to have today. I’ve got chicken breast. I’ve got a salad. Um, I’ve got a big pile of sauerkraut going in there. Um, olive oil. I hate sauerkraut.

Clare: Oh, no, I know. Oh, no. I know it’s really good for you because it’s really good. Don’t get on board with the sauerkraut. Yeah. No, it’s just the look of it. I don’t like that. And the name of it I don’t like either.

Charlotte: Buy some in the supermarket. You can get some quite nice ones. You don’t have to, you know, do a lot of faffing about yourself.

You know, there are some quite good ones. You can get red cabbage ones. You can get them with different herbs in. Um, yeah, or kimchi or something. It just gives it a nice… It just gives your salad a bit more kick. Okay, I’ll try. Then I just chuck loads, whatever’s in the fridge will just go in my salad.

Alright, and

Clare: then for dinner then, for dinner as well then do you have like, so you obviously prep your meals, you’re very organised, are you very organised for the week? Is that half the key of all

Charlotte: of this? Yeah, I think, I mean it’s going to help isn’t it? I mean I think it’s planning, um, you know, or just having a vague idea.

I mean, sometimes my meal plan isn’t, you know, doesn’t list every single thing. It’ll just be, you know, chicken, salad, apple, you know, and then dinner, you know, tonight I’m having, um, salmon with stir fry. Um, but you know, they’re decent portions, you know, I’m not, you know, it’s not just like a little tiny pile of edge, but just lots of healthy oils.

That’s all. And what about if you’re

Clare: going out for dinner and stuff? Do you allow yourself a little like room? Yeah. You’re good like that. Yeah. So eating later or going out for dinner. If someone says we’re going out for dinner at eight or something, is that like, does that mess up your kind of day? Do you think with your, with your eating or do you feel that’s fine every now and then?

It’s fine. You know, I

Charlotte: think, I think when, when you find your groove, um, you can then, you know, you can be flexible, but I think it’s worth really focusing on your diet for, you know, two to three months and get some routine and bring in some new ideas and challenge the way you’ve always eaten. And then you’ve got that opportunity to be more flexible.

So, um, on Saturday, I went out for a massive Thai lunch. Stuffed myself silly.

Clare: Sounds fabulous. Yeah.

Charlotte: I’m not one of those like weird nutritionists that won’t eat out. And I mean, I have been known to tip boxes, the food to people’s houses. I’ll admit that. Um, but you know, there’s, there’s gotta be some degree of flexibility, but I think as well, when you go through menopause, I think you’re.

Your view of your diet changed. Or certainly my view of my diet has changed a lot because when I feel good, I want to hold onto that because I know what it’s like to feel really rough. And, you know, my, my big thing, or my big menopause challenge is probably migraines. Just, you know, just a nightmare. And, but if I’m very, very, very careful with my diet, how I’m eating, and I stick to my plan, I do what, you know, everything that works, I don’t get the migraines.

But as soon as I sort of start going, oh, I’ll just have that coffee. Oh, I’ll just have that ginormous muffin because it looks really nice. Or, yeah, I was going to have those fish and chips for tea. It starts feeling, it creeps back and I’m, you know, I’m busy. I’ve got two young children. I run my own business.

I work, I have other jobs. I mean, I’m spinning 500 million plates by the sounds of it. Um, so I’ve got to feel well, I’ve got to have a clear head. I’ve got to concentrate. I have to be able to sleep. I have to get up early for the kids. I’ve then got to be taxi driver after school, you know, all the things that.

You know, we all have to do, um, and you know, eating well allows me to, to function well. Yeah.

Clare: Um, I mean, when women come to you, are they, is there a one main thing that they have a problem with? Like, I know you do, I think, is it a midsection, a midsection over, so tell us about that. Is that about obviously women going through more belly fat and stuff like that and they’re finding it hard to shift?

Is that what this program helps with? It is.

Charlotte: It is. It is. It is. It is. It was interesting. I’ve talked about migraines, but the other thing that I noticed with my menopause is that I’ve always been slim. I mean, I’ve been the same weight since I’ve been about 13, you know, nothing’s changed for me. Um, but since going through menopause, I noticed that Become skinny fat, you know, I was really slim, but I just had this like great big muffin top.

I’m like, Oh my goodness, where has this come from? What’s happened? And it’s a weird one, you know, because we can go into all the science of it. And the, you know, our imbalances between our estrogen and our testosterone and the, um, our reduced ability to handle sugars. You know, there’s all this scientific stuff we can talk about, but when it happens to you, you just sit there thinking, well, why me?

This is so unfair. I’m doing everything right. I’m exercising. I’m, I’m taking all the boxes. Why do I still feel like this? Because it just makes you feel rubbish, especially when you just haven’t had this before. Um, and I suppose, you know, from, from my angle, I suppose I’m, I’m talking. You know, from a skinny fat point of view, but then also we have women who have struggled with their weight in the past and they hit menopause and it just, you know, it just goes mad, you know, it’s even worse.

Um, so I have put together a program, which is menopause midsection makeover, bit of a mouthful. Um, but it’s, it is, it’s about teaching women how to eat better again for their, for their bodies and what they need. So it’s based on, um, a series of blood tests, um, it’s a diet personalized for you. And then, you know, we, we coach you through that for three months, really, just to get you, um, I suppose invested in your own health and engaged with the whole process and also to help you feel better, really, you know, and not just physically, mentally feeling better about, about your body shape.

And I think it’s so easy to go through menopause and be told, well. You know, shit happens, you know, you’re going to put weight on around your tummy, you know, your metabolism changes or your metabolism slows down. Oh, no, no, you can’t do this. But really, there’s no reason why you can’t. It just, it’s just a bit harder.

You know, some metabolism does change, but it doesn’t mean that you can’t change it. Or, or adapt to that or, you know, find ways that work for you.

Clare: Yeah, absolutely. So after three months, do you feel that most women have gotten into new eating habits? That everything is a lot, you know, it changes a lot for them.

Yeah. Yeah,

Charlotte: definitely. Definitely. And I think it’s It’s feeling that sense of control rather than feeling like the food is constantly controlling them, you know, and I think so many mixed messages, you know, don’t eat gluten, don’t eat dairy, don’t eat this, don’t eat that, eat, you know, drink buckets of collagen drinks.

Um, you know, do the ZOE program, don’t do the ZOE program, you know, I mean, it’s, it’s, it’s the same messages that I hear from women over and over again, you know, wondering what they can do and just chasing the next solution. But unfortunately a lot of those solutions just don’t work. So what are the

Clare: most common signs?

I mean, you also have an ebook I see as well on what to expect when you’re going through a pregnancy. Right. So what would you say to women listening at the moment? I mean, do you think. Ignorance is bliss. Obviously, probably not. You probably think no one knows what’s ahead of you. I feel ignorance might be bliss with a lot of this, but anyway, um, I, I see so many women going through hair issues.

Obviously a lot of hair issues are hormonal. You know what I mean? Even, you know, my first product line was with postpartum hair loss and that was obviously hormonal. And the next one is, is, is for women going through perimenopause and menopause. So a lot of it is got to do with hormones. But what I say is, do you think are like A couple of things that you think everyone should know.

I mean, if you were to say to your, your friend, what would you say? Well, this is, you know, this is what I really feel. Get yourself ready for.

Charlotte: I think it’s the, I’m trying to think about what women say to me. Um, because I think it’s very easy to make it all about yourself, isn’t it? Um, but I think in terms of the ladies I work with, it is the, it is the Tommy fab really, you know, and I think if you.

really work, you know, work on your sugar intake, your frequency of meals, you know, all things we’ve talked about, you know, that can really help with that. Um, also the, the energy fluctuations, a lot of women complain to me about just feeling high as a cut at one moment and then flat as a pancake the next, you know, and, and those changes in their energy and just feeling, just feeling burnt out.

Yeah.

Clare: I think a lot of women, when you, when a lot of women get to even perimenopause or that menopausal stage, they’re going through so many other things in life. Usually they have got a family that they’re looking after, young children. They also possibly have parents that are getting older and then they’ve got the stresses of work and everything else that you’re trying to juggle on top of it.

And I think a lot of women get very depressed, to be honest with you, with the change in their body. And really not knowing how to cope with everything. So I think having someone like yourself to talk to and talk about your diet and, and, and really to change the way you look at things, I think is actually very, very important.

I thought it was very fascinating when I came across your Instagram. Um, and also, you know, you work obviously with a lot of supplements. So on the supplement front, I mean, obviously with hair, there’s a huge buzzword with biotin and things like that. And I’m, I’m always quite against when someone comes to me with hair issues straight away.

I will always get their blood work done first because I feel like I would never suggest someone take supplements when I don’t like people are iron. I have to take iron because obviously my hair is weak. I need to take iron. But sometimes you have too much iron and you need to know where you stand.

First of all, you need to go to your GP. I always feel and get your blood work done. So would you feel similar before you recommend supplements or do you think there’s something that everyone should take a vitamin D? Obviously we can all. Um, because we don’t get enough sun here in Ireland or England, really.

Um, so are there certain things that you think, like a multivitamin that’s good, or, um, that you don’t need to go and have blood work done, that it’s not going to affect you in any negative

Charlotte: way? Yeah, I mean, I, I, I’ve recently launched my own supplement. with a company called New Mind Wellness. And I suppose what, what I liked about their approach is that I got originally got involved with them because they have a stress response.

Uh, sorry, stress support formula. And I was using it with a lot of my. Um, menopausal clients, especially the perimenopausal ones, um, because it was an all in one, you know, solution for stress. And they spoke to me earlier this year and said, look, we’ve noticed that a lot of our customers are actually menopausal.

So what can we do to tailor this more for them? So I worked with them. We’ve added an extra capsule into the formula. But. The way that I work with supplements, and I completely agree with you, you know, getting your levels checked at the GP, you know, your iron, your vitamin D, B12, it’s really important. Um, but I think in, in a general sense, you know, I, I sort of don’t like menopause supplements.

I think that’s why I wanted to make my own, because they’re full of things that many women just don’t need. So they’ve, you know, they very often have things like sage in, the research is hopeless around sage and menopause. Black cohosh, again, not very good research. I think phytoestrogens can be helpful in some cases, for some women, some of the time.

Um, I mean, the list goes on, but I think the very menopause specific ingredients, especially the herbals, just don’t work very well in practice. Um, and the research is really questionable. So what I want to do is create a product that really looked at the foundations of menopause. So, blood sugar, which we’ve mentioned, stress, which we’ve mentioned.

And also inflammation, which can be, you know, another thing that builds up around menopause. So the ingredients are all about supporting those areas, which I think are common to most women, you know, whether they’re in perimenopause or even their postmenopausal. Um, so within, within new mind, there’s a little sachet and you get.

magnesium, which is great for stress, muscles, relaxation, and loads of other things. Adaptogens, which are herbal support for stress. Um, and also some flower remedies as well, which are very calming. Um, there’s a multi in there, which contain vitamin D, really important. B complex, great for stress, energy, and vitamin C, you know, all the usual suspects.

And then the menopause capsule has got some really, really special ingredients in it. So we’ve got saffron. which is brilliant for your mental health. It’s very calming. Um, it’s maybe possible to have some links with hot flushes and menopause symptoms. Um, but also lots of ingredients about, um, supporting blood sugar response.

So chromium and alpha lipoic acid. the antioxidants, which we need lots of in menopause, um, and aging as well. You know, I hate to say that, but, you know, down to aging as well. Um, but it’s just a one stop shop for menopause and you can take it with HRT, without HRT, um, there are very few, very few medications that.

Um, react to it. Um, but what I’ll do is I’ll, I’ll send you a voucher, um, not a voucher, a code. So if you wanted to share that with, with, um, anyone listening, I’m sure that yeah, we ship anywhere. So that’s not a problem. Okay, perfect. But I think in terms of supplements, um, question what you’re buying, you know, what, what are the ingredients going to do?

What are the claims? What are the promises? What are my individual symptoms? You know, are they hot flushes? Is it anxiety? Is it joint pains? Um, you know, not being able to sleep, you know, you have to think about why you’re taking a menopause supplement because many of them are just full of herbs that haven’t got very good research around them.

Um, my view in supplements is to work big picture. So looking at those foundations and supporting that rather than going in with. individual ingredients for individual supplements, because that’s never going to help your menopause. It’s like diet. It’s, it’s mad to think you can eat more of one certain food to support your menopause.

I mean, you’d send yourself mad, you know, you much off be, you’re much better off having like a, you know, a generally good, um, diet. You know, loosely raised based around menopause. Um, going my words out least based around the Mediterranean diets. So lots of protein, healthy fats, vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants.

Leave your five hours between meals, drink plenty of water, exercise, and you know, you can’t really go wrong. Well, you can. And when it goes wrong, you can come to me and I can sort you out, but generally speaking, it’s difficult for people. Annie was listening. If it goes wrong, go over to

Clare: Charlotte and she will sort it out.

Charlotte, let’s talk about, obviously it’s hair with Clare. So let’s talk about hair a little bit. Um, so you have curly hair, you’ve told me. So what do you, I mean, when women come to you, do you, do the stress, I find the stress That’s really the biggest thing I think that affects. Patients that come to me and women that get in touch, obviously hormonal as well, but stress.

I mean, the world is so stressful at the moment. So with you, have you ever had any hair issues or is it just that the humidity has your hair out here? Is it really a hair issue that you’ve had?

Charlotte: Yeah, she’s, uh, went to Mexico on holiday in the summer and I had big hair for a week.

Clare: Monica, did you ever see that one of friends?

Yeah. And she goes, actually, it looks pretty fab. And she goes the whole time. Sometimes it’s good to embrace that. I mean, you know, sometimes it’s good to kind of embrace the curly, you know, the whole curly thing. Right. Because I don’t do it enough and I should do it more. But so that’s your only thing you’ve never suffered with your hair in any other way.

Charlotte: I mean, I, I, I think when I, straight after my hysterectomy, um, I had, I had quite a lot of hair loss. Yes. Um, and it was, it was terrifying. I thought, Oh my God, I’m going to go bald. What am I going to do? I’m losing all my hair. I mean, it’s complete overreaction because, you know, I had, I had plenty, I had plenty of hair to start with, but I did notice just at the front there, just looking really sort of thin.

I remember going to the hairdressers and you know, when you, They sort of pull your hair up when they’re drying it and you kind of see through your hair, but oh my goodness, I can see my scalp. Where’s it all gone? Um, but I think, yeah, I mean, I think I was just being overdramatic perhaps. Um, but

Clare: I don’t think so.

I don’t think you’ve been overdramatic because it’s, it happens to so many women, particularly after

Charlotte: not just feel, it did just feel thinner. I mean, I’ve got, I’ve got really, I suppose I’ve got really fine hair and it’s wavy on top. So, you know, when it is straight, it actually feels really thin. I feel like I don’t have a lot of hair.

And then when it kind of like, fluffs up again, I’m like, okay, that’s fine, it’s fine. Um, but yeah, it was just, it was just, it was thinning and it was a lot drier, I think. Um, but, but again, it’s, as I said, you know, it took me about three years to get my HRT sorted, and it’s probably taken three years for my hair to get its groove back again.

Clare: Well, it’s affected, I mean, on any kind of operation, even going under anesthetic effects, your hair, a couple of months later, it won’t, it won’t happen straight away, but it’s, it’s that shock to your system. It always happens about four or five months after. Something very significant like that. And then it takes another probably six months to get back.

But if you are trying to sort out an underlying problem like your HRT and trying to sort out things like that, it will really take until we’ve sorted that out for your hair to get back to normal. It’s really like your skin, everything else. So it affects everything. But I do think that with curly hair is very in at the moment.

So I feel like you do need to embrace that Charlotte. If you’re, you know, maybe, maybe get away from the, the, the other kind of smoothing it out, if you don’t like it so much and embrace the curly hair.

Charlotte: Most photos of me on, on Instagram, I’ve either got my hair out or it’s tied up. It’s that, I think, you know how you see those girls with really, really beautiful, thick, thick curly hair and have those lovely coils and curls?

Um, mine always, I always look like, this is a friend who said this to me, she said, you look like the love child of Hagrid and Hermione on a night out. I was like… There you go! Not quite sure what to say about that, but I, when I get up in the morning, I’m like… You said that was a

Clare: friend said that to

Charlotte: Charlotte.

That was a friend, that was a friend. But you know what, she’s sort of on to something, because I look at her and I’m like, Yeah, that’s about right. So she’s usually a bit crazy, so um… Do you use products though

Clare: in your hair? Like when you’re leaving it to curl? Do you use anything like a serum? I do. Yeah, you do, okay.

Yeah,

Charlotte: but I’ve got, I think because my hair’s very fine, I’ve got to be careful, because all of the curly hair products are just too heavy. I’ll have to develop them for you. Yeah. I’ll have

Clare: to go natural and light. I’ll work with my own hair first. I’ll have like, and then, and then I’ll send it over to you.

Right. That’s, that’s something in the making.

Charlotte: Excellent. I’m dying for someone to create something for fit, not thin, but fine, fine wavy hair rather than, you know, all the curly products. I’m on you. You put it on it. It’s like my hair’s gone kind like weirdly straight and this’s meant to make my hair curlier.

Hmm.

Clare: Yeah. Or crispy. I find that a lot of make hair crispy, you know, like they, they dry like hard. Little hard. Yeah. Which isn’t very nice ’cause you want to have that fabulous flowing locks. Um, yeah. So that’s something have to work on for you. Tell us also you, do you also train. Um, are there nutritionists as well in this area?

Is that something that you do?

Charlotte: Yeah, so I’ve got, um, my menopause mastery membership, more M’s, more of a mouthful. Um, and it’s a training and mentoring space for the practitioners. So it can be anyone, you know, not just nutritionists. We’ve got coaches in there, health coaches. We’ve got some doctors, nurses, osteopaths, acupuncturists, you know, we’ve got a really good range of people in there.

Um, so we have different webinars, um, on different subjects with guest speakers, networking, um, a lot of discussion online. We’ve got a really lively Facebook group. Um, and it’s just, it’s just a really fun space, you know, and you know, it’s not really expensive. You know, I didn’t want it to be prohibitively expensive for, you know, your average practitioner who, you know, is.

Everyone’s struggling at the moment. Um, you know, with, with all the, you know, living cost, I couldn’t get that, cost of living, living, cost of living crisis, um, that must be like some kind of my brain trying to make me not say that. Yeah, you’re blocking it. You’re

Clare: blocking

Charlotte: Yeah, so it’s just trying to be inclusive to everyone.

So it’s quite affordable and there’s loads of resources and it’s hopefully a nice supportive space for everyone involved.

Clare: They can check all that out. So are you busy this month because it’s World Menopause Month and obviously the 18th of October is International Menopause Day. So have you anything lined up for this month?

Have you anything that you’re going to be?

Charlotte: Yeah, so I’m gonna do, um, a giveaway, um, of new mind wellness with some other goodies. So we’re gonna make a nice little menopause hamper. Um, so that’s coming over the next week or so. Um, also got some lives coming up. In fact, I can’t really remember. There’s quite a lot of stuff coming up.

Um, but I can’t remember what it is.

Clare: Keep up with you on your Instagram

Charlotte: anyway. Yeah, it’ll be on there. I mean, I think my, my Instagram knows more what I’m doing than I do myself. So a sad, sad state to be in.

Clare: So I’m going to go back now from this and I’m going to make sure I’m even five hours between my meals and And I’m going to get even healthier.

So the next time that we talk, I’ll be just like, wow, Charlotte, I’m not snacking. And no porridge, obviously. Well, I don’t like porridge. That’s not going to be a problem for me at all. But tell me this, I ask everyone when I’m wrapping up my little chat, do you have a hair personality? Because I kind of believe that everyone has a hair personality, maybe different ones at different times in their lives.

So right now, have you got like, what is your hair personality, Charlotte?

Charlotte: I would say it is.

I think just go with the flow, you know, just don’t stress too much, you know, just let things, let things be, just go, yeah, just take things as they come, not get too stressed. I think that’s kind of like what my hair’s like, you know, I just let it do its thing. And I think I do that in life as well. I’m quite well aligned with my hair at the moment, I think.

Clare: I like that, aligned with your hair, I do like that. We all need to be more aligned with our hair, although I don’t know what that would say about me because I change it every day. But anyway, but it’s been so nice to talk to you. Can you tell everyone where they can find you, what platform you’re on, what your handler is

Charlotte: on Instagram?

Yes, so I’m on Instagram. I’m a menopause nutritionist. So that’s nice and easy. And my website is charlottehuntednutrition. co. uk.

Clare: Amazing. Charlotte, thank you so much for coming on. I’m going to be changing all my ways. Probably going to have so many questions about this, but I will be putting all your information up as well.

So everyone will be able to get in touch with you and I hope you have a fabulous hair day and I look forward to talking to you soon. Thanks

Charlotte: so much. Thank you.

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