Holistic Health Coach Shweta

In the first episode of Fibre Files, let’s talk about fruits.

Not all fruits contribute the same amount of fibre. And small choices can make a difference.

Keeping the skin on apples and pears increases their fibre content. Choosing whole fruit over juice also means you keep the fibre instead of losing much of it during juicing.

If you’re trying to increase your fibre intake, start by looking at the fruits you already eat. Swap lower-fibre choices for higher-fibre options more often, keep edible skins on, and choose whole fruit instead of juice.

And remember, fruit is only one part of your daily fibre intake. Vegetables, dals, beans, whole grains, nuts and seeds matter too.

The goal isn’t to eat more fruit just for the sake of it. It’s to make the fruit you already eat work harder for your fibre intake.

Save this for your next grocery run.

Most gut protocols focus on the bacteria but overlook what caused the overgrowth in the first place. That is why the bloating keeps coming back.

Your gut has a built-in cleaning wave called the migrating motor complex (MMC). It sweeps leftover food and bacteria out between meals. When it stops working, everything stagnates. Supporting healthy gut motility starts with getting this process working properly.

Here is the 60-day roadmap I use:

Days 1 to 20: Restore the Flow

- Space meals 4 hours apart. Constant snacking never lets the sweeper wave run.
- Eat without screens. Scrolling keeps you in fight-or-flight, and stress shuts down digestive juices.
- Sip ginger tea before bed to keep things moving overnight.

Days 21 to 40: Cleanse & Support

- Wake up your digestion 15 minutes before meals with digestive bitters or a thin slice of ginger with lemon.
- If antimicrobial herbs are part of your plan, pair them with the right binder to avoid die-off fatigue. This step needs practitioner guidance. Do not DIY it.
- Keep meals simple and low-fermentation so the gut is not overloaded while it cleans up.

Days 41 to 60: Repair & Rebuild

- Heal the gut lining with L-glutamine and zinc carnosine, taken on an empty stomach.
- Skip the fancy IgG food intolerance tests. Long restriction lists starve your good bacteria.
- Slowly reintroduce a wide variety of plant foods and targeted probiotics.

Morning is the most sensitive window for a sluggish gut. A heavy, greasy, or ice-cold breakfast can undo your progress. Keep breakfasts warm, simple, and easy to digest.

The sequence matters: remove first, replace second, repair last.

What goes on your plate matters just as much as what goes on your hair.

Your hair follicles need a steady stream of nutrients, vitamins, and good fats to stay healthy. Following are the hair-loving superfoods:

🔹 Moringa & Amla: Time-tested Ayurvedic staples, rich in antioxidants and vitamins. They strengthen the roots and protect hair from oxidative damage.

🔹 Black Sesame & Pecans: Packed with healthy fats, zinc, and magnesium. These nourish the scalp and bring back natural shine.

🔹 Lentils: A powerful plant source of iron and protein. This is the raw material your hair strands are built from.

🔹 Cucumber: Rich in silica and water. It supports hair elasticity and overall hair health.

THE UGLY TRUTH: Eating the right foods is only half the story. If your gut is not absorbing these nutrients, your hair shows it first. Thinning, dullness, and slow growth often point to poor absorption, low iron, thyroid imbalance, or hormonal shifts. Your lab reports may look “normal” and the problem can still be there. Heal the root, and the hair follows.

Which of these foods is already on your plate? Tell us in the comments.

Most people with hypothyroidism get one test: TSH.

But TSH alone can miss Hashimoto’s because Hashimoto’s is an autoimmune condition where your immune system attacks your thyroid. It is one of the most common causes of hypothyroidism.

In Hashimoto’s, thyroid antibodies can rise years before TSH looks abnormal on a report.

This may explain why:

Your symptoms persist, but your reports look “fine.”
You keep gaining weight despite medication.

Medication replaces the missing hormone. The immune attack continues underneath.

Research links gut health to autoimmune thyroid disease. Chronic stress and food sensitivities may make the gut lining more permeable. This can drive inflammation and keep the immune system on high alert. In Hashimoto’s, the thyroid becomes the target. It slows down, and TSH climbs.

Next time you test your thyroid, ask for:

- TSH
- Free T3
- Free T4
- Reverse T3
- Anti-TPO
- Anti-Tg

Save this list for your next blood test. Do not stop or change your medication without speaking to your doctor.

You think you are eating enough fibre. But you’re not.

Most foods sold as “healthy” contain shockingly little fibre like muesli, brown bread, granola bars, smoothies, etc.

And fibre is not just about digestion. It feeds your good gut bacteria, steadies blood sugar, helps clear excess hormones, and keeps inflammation down. Low fibre shows up as bloating, constipation, sugar cravings, and stubborn hormonal issues.

The fix is not “eat more fibre.” It is choosing the right sources.

Your dal-rajma-chana rotation was doing gut health before it was a trend.

A good gut is built on what you feed your gut bacteria daily. Fibre is their food. Starve them and your digestion, hormones, and immunity all pay for it.

Which of these “healthy” foods were you relying on for fibre? Tell me below.

A blood test is more than a list of numbers.

One marker rarely tells the whole story. Symptoms, medical history, lifestyle, and multiple lab values need to be interpreted together.

These are some of the blood markers I pay close attention to, and the functional ranges I work with:

1. Ferritin (50 to 150 ng/mL) - reflects your iron stores, not just whether you’re anaemic. Below 50 is linked to fatigue and hair loss even when haemoglobin is normal.
2. Fasting Insulin (2 to 6 µIU/mL) - can reveal early insulin resistance long before blood sugar becomes abnormal.
3. hs-CRP (below 1.0 mg/L) - helps identify low-grade inflammation that may otherwise go unnoticed.
4. Vitamin D (50 to 80 ng/mL) - plays an important role in immune function, bone health, and overall wellbeing. Test before supplementing. Above 100 is toxic.
5. Free T3 (3.2 to 4.2 pg/mL) - the active thyroid hormone your cells actually use.
6. Homocysteine (5 to 7 µmol/L) - can provide insight into cardiovascular health and methylation.
7. TSH (0.5 to 2.0 mIU/L) - the pituitary’s signal to the thyroid. A “normal” TSH of 3.5 can still come with symptoms.

These are functional targets, not the reference ranges printed on your report. Lab ranges tell you what is common in the population. Functional ranges aim for what is optimal. They still vary by age, s*x, and pregnancy.

No single test should be interpreted in isolation, and no lab result should be treated without considering your symptoms.

That’s why Functional Medicine looks for patterns, not just individual numbers.

Which blood marker would you like me to explain next? Let me know in the comments.

Most people start taking supplements because someone online recommended them. Nobody’s body is the same, though, and what works for one person may be unnecessary for another.

Test for deficiencies first. Then build from what your body actually needs.

Mine looks like this:

1. Vitamin D with K2, always together.
2. Omega-3 at breakfast for inflammation, skin, and heart health.
3. Activated B-Complex after lunch because food just doesn’t carry the nutrition it used to.
4. Ashwagandha Adi Leham after dinner for stress and sleep.
5. And magnesium bisglycinate an hour before bed for recovery and sleep quality.

Comment SUPPLEMENT, and I’ll send you the links.