If you have been trying to “fix” your health for years and still feel tired, bloated, hormonal or stuck, I want you to hear this first.

Your body is not broken.
You are not failing.
And there is almost always more that can be done.

This episode, and this blog, is my end-of-year reflection on the biggest lessons I have seen again and again with my clients. These are the patterns that had to be understood before real healing could begin. Not quick fixes. Not trends. But foundational shifts that changed everything. (Want to hear more transformational stories so you brain ca see what is possible or you – click here)

I am sharing this to give you hope, clarity, and a clearer sense of what actually matters if you want to feel better in 2026.

 

1. Your symptoms rarely come from just one place

Most people desperately want one cause and one solution. Low iron. Dairy intolerance. A single hormone problem. Low B12.

In reality, symptoms usually come from multiple systems interacting. Digestion, hormones, nervous system, sleep, inflammation, stress, trauma history and nutrient status often overlap.

For example, I worked with a client whose ferritin had been chronically low for years. On paper it looked like an iron problem. In reality we had to support digestion, absorption, sleep, nervous system regulation and hormones before her iron stores could rise. When we did that, her ferritin more than doubled on her recent blood test with GP.

Healing tends to happen when you stop chasing one culprit and start supporting the whole body as one system.

 

2. Nervous system regulation is foundational to gut and hormone healing

This is one of the most resisted truths (I resisted it for years), and also one of the most powerful.

If your body is stuck in chronic fight or flight, digestion and repair simply are not the priority. Survival chemistry takes over. Cortisol rises. Blood sugar swings. Gut motility slows. Hormone symptoms worsen.

Many people focus intensely on food and supplements while remaining deeply dysregulated. That approach rarely works for long.

This does not mean you need to be calm all the time. It means you need regular practices that signal safety to your brain. Music, movement, breath, time outside, rest, connection. The tool matters less than the outcome.

When the nervous system begins to settle, healing accelerates. (AKA the para-sympathetic nervous system state is the healing state.)

 

3. Perimenopause amplifies unfinished business

Perimenopause is often blamed as the cause of everything. In reality, it usually amplifies what has already been there for years.

Undernourishment, chronic stress, poor sleep, nutrient deficiencies, unresolved gut issues and disordered eating patterns often pre-date midlife. Hormonal shifts simply make them louder.

This is why some women struggle enormously during perimenopause while others move through it with far fewer symptoms. It is not about perfection. It is about foundations.

Midlife is not the villain – it’s the highlighter. 

 

4. You cannot restrict your way into good digestion

Food restriction is often over-used in gut health. Many people arrive having removed huge numbers of foods and still feel unwell.

Good digestion depends on digestive fire. Stomach acid, bile flow, motility, vagus nerve tone and neurotransmitter signalling matter deeply. Removing more foods does not fix weak digestion.

The goal is not a smaller and smaller diet. The goal is stronger digestion so you can tolerate and enjoy more foods again.

Restriction may have a place short term, but it is rarely the long-term solution.

 

5. Mitochondria are often the missing link in fatigue

Fatigue is frequently framed as a motivation or willpower problem. It is not.

Energy is created inside your cells. When mitochondrial function is impaired, you feel exhausted, foggy, flat and reliant on sugar or caffeine just to cope.

Many clients experience dramatic shifts when we support cellular energy properly. Brain clarity returns. Motivation lifts. Sugar cravings ease naturally.

This is not about trying harder. It is about supporting your cellular biology.

 

6. Hormone symptoms are not random chaos

Hormones give feedback. Heavy periods, PMS, migraines, sleep disruption, mood shifts and cravings often follow patterns.

Tracking cycles and symptoms creates clarity. Many clients discover their gut symptoms are cyclical. Others realise insomnia or low mood reliably appears at the same point each month.

When patterns are visible, symptoms feel less frightening and far more manageable. Hormones affect far more than periods. They influence pain, brain function, sleep and emotional resilience.

7. Most women are unintentionally under-eating, especially protein

This shows up constantly in my work.

Many women eat whole foods but still fall short on protein. Nuts, yoghurt and peanut butter are nutritious, but they are not high-protein foods.

Adequate protein supports blood sugar, hormones, muscle, mitochondria and recovery. For many women, 25 to 30 grams per meal is transformative.

If eating more protein feels hard to digest, that is information, not failure. It tells us digestion needs support.

 

8. Supplements only work when used in the right order

Supplements are not magic. Random supplementation rarely moves the needle.

They work best when used strategically, based on your data and your root causes, and taken consistently for long enough to matter.

I often describe supplements as scaffolding. They support healing while the body rebuilds. They are not forever, and they are not random.

Used well, they are powerful. Used chaotically, they are just expensive.

 

9. Healing often accelerates when your work environment changes

I have seen this repeatedly.

Chronic stress, sensory overload and extreme work demands can block healing no matter how good your diet is. Some clients reach a point where they realise their body cannot recover in their current environment.

This does not always mean quitting a job. Sometimes it means changing boundaries, hours, roles or expectations.

Your nervous system responds to your daily environment. That matters.

 

10. It is never just about food

Healing is about the whole body and the whole life.

Emotions, grief, trauma, relationships, work stress, parenting load, neurodivergence and self-talk all influence physiology.

Clients who heal do not just eat differently. They live differently. More honestly. More compassionately. More in tune with their needs.

When the body feels safer and better supported, life often shifts too.

 

If you are ready for clarity

If you are done guessing and trying random things, book a Clarity Call with me.

These are relaxed, practical conversations where we look at your symptoms, your history and your patterns so you can understand what is actually going on and what to focus on next.

You do not need to be “bad enough”.
You do not need to be simple or complicated.
And you are not wasting my time.

You can book directly here: keziahall.com/book

There is more possible for you than you might think.