Nicky Lowe [00:00:07]:

Hi. I’m Nikki Lowe, and welcome to the Wisdom For Working Moms podcast show, where I share insights and interviews that support women To combine their family, work, and life in a more successful and sustainable way. Ask most working moms, And juggling work with a sick child can be hard, particularly if you’re the default parent or the flex point in your family. You’ve got a busy day of work ahead. You’ve got client meetings booked in, or you need to be at that important meeting And your child is ill. What do you do? For most of us it’s a tear your hair out type of situation. The stress, the pressure, the guilt and the anxiety and All Build. This podcast episode launches as we approach the autumn and winter months when typically our children are more prone to catching bugs and germs.

Nicky Lowe [00:00:59]:

So today’s guest is here to help us be proactive in boosting our children’s immune systems. I learnt early in my motherhood journey the importance of my child’s immune system. You probably heard me say my son was born with a hole in his heart. And at just a few weeks old, he was classed Hi. It’s as failing to thrive, a term I hate and a term I can’t quite say without my own heartbreaking Luckily, I believe the NHS don’t use that term anymore. So I made it my mission to understand how to help him to thrive. And during that journey, I was supported by the incredible team at Embracing Nutrition. You may have heard me talk about them and how vital they’ve been to my and my family’s health Back in episode 15 of this podcast, what they’ve done to empower me with the knowledge to proactively boost my and my family’s health has Hi.

Nicky Lowe [00:01:55]:

It’s been life changing. And I asked them to join me on this episode to share these insights with you too. All parents should be armed with this information, in my opinion. So if you find this episode useful, please share it with family and friends. Today, we’re joined by Lottie Strutt from Embracing Nutrition. Lottie is a physiotherapist and a nutritional therapist Specialising in children’s health and autoimmunity. She studied at the College of Naturopathic Medicine, CNM, and has a fellowship in ADHD Dee and nutritional therapy. And Lottie is currently studying to specialise in dyslexia and nutritional therapy and also genomics, which is about how the body’s genetics interact with the environment and how we can best support ourselves to be at our best in this world.

Nicky Lowe [00:02:42]:

Lottie has personally supported me with my daughter’s health, so I can personally vouch for her and how amazing she is. I know you’re going to gain so much from this conversation. You’re probably going to want to have a pen and notebook at the ready to make notes. I found it really fascinating to hear about how Lottie came to do the work that she does and why she’s so passionate about it after her own health journey. She shares with us some really powerful insights into what we can practically do as parents. I particularly liked where she shares her own Kind of journey in motherhood about it’s made her pay attention more to what she puts into her children, on her children, everyone, and around her children. So I think you’re really going to want to listen to that. And hopefully you feel more empowered after this episode on what you can do to support your children.

Nicky Lowe [00:03:31]:

So I can’t wait to dive in. Let’s welcome Lottie. So welcome, Lottie. Thank you for joining me on the Wisdom For Working Months Podcast Show.

Lottie Strutt [00:03:40]:

My pleasure.

Nicky Lowe [00:03:42]:

And, obviously, I have had the pleasure of working with you and your team, and I know how amazing you are. But For people that may not have come across you and your work, can you just describe what you do? And also give us a backstory, like, how did you come to do this?

Lottie Strutt [00:03:58]:

So So it’s interesting one. So I’m a nutritional therapist. I’m functionally trained. So there’s the term functional medicine, which is more to do with so, yes, we always work with food, But we’re very much looking at the whys behind illnesses. So the functional medicine side is saying, okay. But why do we have the symptoms that we have, and what can we do about it more I’m just trying to find a pill for an ill. And I got here because I needed a functional medicine practitioner. So I was Quite unwell.

Lottie Strutt [00:04:27]:

I’ve got an autoimmune disease called SIVID, which means that I’m immunocompromised. So I was getting really poorly. Hence, this this is an interesting conversation for Us from an immune system perspective. So I was getting constantly ill, always needing antibiotics, and I had very little energy, and I was just being Basically managed by the NHS quite poorly. Not their re not their fault, but they just don’t know what to do with people other than here’s the medication that we suggest. Other than that, we don’t know what to do, which wasn’t really working for me. It was okay in that that’s all they have, but I needed more. And I was trying to work as a children’s physio as well, so I was getting constantly sneezed on and snorted on.

Lottie Strutt [00:05:07]:

And I absolutely adore my children, but I don’t adore their snot. And I would get everything within 24 hours. So I needed to boost my immune system, support myself in order to get my Job fulfilled so that I could keep working, keep living, and keep feeling as good as I could. So I saw a functional medicine practitioner, changed my world. I became well, and I obviously haven’t changed my diagnosis. But I have created a body which can then manage in The days of snots and colds and viruses and even had COVID and didn’t really even know I’d had it, and it has changed the way that I live. Hi. So functional medicine nutritional therapy is ingrained in me and who I am because I know it and I feel it and I’ve lived it, And I understand why people need something else other than just the medical model.

Lottie Strutt [00:05:58]:

Oh, wow.

Nicky Lowe [00:05:58]:

And I didn’t know that about you. So that is Hi. Absolutely fascinating. So it’s not just the job that you do, it’s you’ve lived and breathed that journey. So your autoimmune diagnosis, Had you had it all of your life, but only got diagnosed as an adult, or was it something that came on

Lottie Strutt [00:06:14]:

as an adult? So it came I think I’d had it for a long time, but, again, I’d gone back and forth to GP as I hear so many of my clients saying, I’m not well. I’m absolutely exhausted. Please, there’s gotta be something wrong. This can’t just be normal. So I think I probably had it from my twenties. Because, again, even as a physio student, I was being injected with vaccines to try to get immunity to hepatitis because I need to have it to be working on the wards. And I could not make their Tighter work, so I did not create an antibody towards it. And in the end, they gave me something like 6 vaccines and then just said, oh, I don’t know.

Lottie Strutt [00:06:50]:

We’re giving up with you. Just Just go on to the walls anyway and work. And I was thinking, well, this isn’t right because everyone else is making Titus, but nobody ever asked Why? And this is one of my favorite question in functional medicine is, yeah, but why? Why wasn’t I making titers? Why was I getting poorly more poorly than anyone else? Why was I feeling the way that I was? So, finally, I managed to see a rheumatologist on the medical, NHS and who amazingly just did some blood tests, really simple blood tests, IGs, IDG, IDA, or DMI. I was missing all of them And sent me to an immunologist who just but you just get the diagnosis to say you don’t have an immune system effectively. You or IGs are low, and the way to manage it is I have to inject IG therapy from other people. So other people give blood, they spin it Part, and then I get the IGs to inject into myself, which is amazing. Big big up the people who donate blood. And so, yeah, I think, again, this is why I work with autoimmunity because I’ve also got celiac disease.

Lottie Strutt [00:07:52]:

And I feel my story, and this is everyone’s really different, but my story for SIVID, I feel, was I was undiagnosed celiac disease in my childhood, ate gluten. It bombarded the immune system. The immune system can’t work properly, and I found research papers on this. The immune system effectively switches off and says, I can’t deal with that a product that’s making your immune system go haywire. So I’ll deactivate myself and then created this ability to have CVID. So, obviously, everyone’s very different in that they have triggers. Their genes have the pre or the potential to turn on an autoimmune disease, but something’s gotta Britt. So this is where I love working with autoimmunity because I, again, have lived this story to say I didn’t I wasn’t born with this.

Lottie Strutt [00:08:36]:

I was born with the potential for it, and I created that perfect storm. Whether it’s your genes interacting with whether it’s stress or toxins Or illness, virus. Something made that trigger. So I would say say my twenties. Something made that trigger, and we all know what twenties happens. And then, like, go to university. You don’t eat very well. You get Dress.

Lottie Strutt [00:08:55]:

You don’t sleep very well. There you go.

Nicky Lowe [00:08:58]:

Oh, I love that. So that has kind of fueled your passion to almost be forensic with kind of your immune systems. Ah, that would make absolute sense. And you also specialize in kind of children’s immunity as well. What’s fueled that? Is that your background as a child physiotherapist?

Lottie Strutt [00:09:16]:

Yes. So I have always wanted to work with children since I was ten. Well, I was looking after children and babysitting them and going to creche and working in I would volunteer aged 11 in a special school. I’ve always wanted to work with children with special needs. So going into physiotherapy was really about, I really want to work with special needs children and Get them being their very best self. So as a physio, you’re working with the physical needs of children. So I’m you know, how can I get You stronger? How can I get you walking? How can I get your walking better? How can I get you in less pain? Can I get you sitting better in your wheelchair? And then I started working with autism. And I was looking at these autistic children and thinking, I can help you because I can provide the sensory input that you need to feel calm and to feel grounded so that you can concentrate, so I can get you Living your best self, but there must be more.

Lottie Strutt [00:10:16]:

So, again, I went down this road of thinking why I was working with premature babies as well. So, again, I I’ve watched this journey through very prem babies turning into wonderful little human beings, but they their start in life has been very different. So whether it’s Autism at a later day, and I’m saying is there more that I can do for your gut, which is the thing that makes your neurotransmitters, which helps you to feel calm or if I’m looking at a premature baby who’s had a really difficult start in life and they’ve had antibiotics and they’ve come out of the room at 24 weeks. And, Again, it’s nutritional therapy, functional medicine, and physiotherapy, which allow you to provide this amazing building block Bob, what can I do for your internal, which is your gut, your microbiome, your neurotransmitter? What does your brain need? What does your nutrition status need? And what does your physical self need as well? And you can put it all together.

Nicky Lowe [00:11:12]:

Love that. So it’s almost like the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle. Hi. Now my next question, you’ve already started to kind of allude to some of this, is obviously we’re talking about children’s immune system. Can you share what Hi. What we mean by that? Because you’ve also you’ve already talked about microbiome. You’ve already talked about neurotransmitters. So can you kind of share, actually, a, what we mean by immune system, and what are the components that make it up that we might be exploring today?

Lottie Strutt [00:11:36]:

Yeah. Sure. So, I mean, generally, 60 to 70% of your immune system, what we think of as either fighting something we want it to fight All trying to understand whether we should or shouldn’t fight ourselves comes from our gut and our microbiome. So the good bacteria in our gut should be the place that creates a lot of our immune system where we are fighting properly. What we are finding more and more is our immune is not necessarily regulated the way it should. So what we’re trying to get back into is saying, is our immune system how it should Be. Back in caveman area where we came across a virus. To be fair, virus and bacteria were very different back then.

Lottie Strutt [00:12:14]:

But we came across something that our immune system had to attack, But I had to assess it first and say, you are a friend. I don’t need to attack you. You’re a food particle. You are a So you’re a virus. I do need to attack you. I need to get you surrounded and engulfed, and I’m gonna gobble you up. And then you’re not going to attack me and cause problems for the body. So Hi.

Lottie Strutt [00:12:34]:

So that’s the immune system then going, I’m understanding you, your friend. I don’t understand you. I don’t want you in here. I’m gonna get rid of you. Or Nowadays, what we’re seeing more is that the immune system is getting very confused and saying, actually, you are, for example, the thyroid gland. I’m going to attack you. But, actually, it’s mistaken itself, and it’s gotten confused. And it’s starting to attack your own tissue instead of attacking something that it should.

Lottie Strutt [00:12:58]:

So that’s where the autoimmunity side comes in. Brilliant. And so in

Nicky Lowe [00:13:05]:

kind of my childhood, we used to think I was kind of led to believe that your immune system is like your white blood cells. But also you’ve talked about here the microbiome, about bacteria. We’ve got good and bad terrier that predominantly sits in our gut. Is that fair to say? Yeah. And that has a job as well. Could you just, At a high level, talk about how perhaps microbeumb and white blood cells and how they work together.

Lottie Strutt [00:13:32]:

They they are slightly different in that you go, We’re wanting the white blood cells to be at the ability to fight. So that’s a slightly different way that I don’t necessarily work specifically with white blood cells, red cells, macrophages, etcetera, because that’s what’s going on almost, like, underneath that blood level Yeah. Versus the way we get our immune system primed for what goes into us for it To assess because if we think about it, the only place really that the external environment comes into contact with us internally is through our gut. No one unless we obviously cut ourselves and we’re open to the elements, no other part of us really comes across something from the outside other than the gut. So that’s generally where the functional medicine nutritional therapy side of it will always focus is get the gut working. And, obviously, if someone does have a lymphocyte ratio that’s out, It’s still telling me there’s something wrong from a virus or an infection or something you’re in is in you that we do need to support and get rid of, and we can work on viruses. But they are almost like you’ll get those bugs done by the GP. I’ll have a look at them to be able to say, that’s interesting.

Lottie Strutt [00:14:34]:

That’s part of the puzzle, but I won’t work on it Typically, per se, I’m working on the other direction, which is more getting the gut immune system into a better place.

Nicky Lowe [00:14:43]:

Brilliant. That makes Absolute Sense. So thank you. What are you seeing at the moment, kind of over the last few years, or kind of In this generation around children’s immune systems, what kind of what might somebody come to you with that you you might work with them on?

Lottie Strutt [00:15:01]:

So there’s 2 different things when we’re talking about this podcast and ideas. There’s 2 different areas where I see, which we can cover. 1 is more Oh my goodness. My child will I just keep getting coughs and colds and snots and chest infections and eye infections and sinus problems and ear infections, and they’re being just Driven mad by poly polys, particularly, actually, post COVID, honestly, because we’ve had a lot of what we call COVID babies, which are they were in lock down, and their immune systems were not primed appropriately. So they didn’t come across lots of different people who held them. They didn’t get passed around lots of family members. They didn’t get bugs, and then their immune system struggled as a result. So I’m getting so that’s one of the arms, which is Our immune systems need to be primed.

Lottie Strutt [00:15:46]:

We are born, in theory, via the vaginal canal. We get coated in good bacteria from our mamas. We then create our immune system from that. So we’re seeing quite a change in either if someone’s a c section baby, we’ll see a change in their microbiome and Can be that I see a little bit of a pattern, and the research does suggest if you’re a c section baby, you are more likely to have a to p or coughs or colds or immune system or allergies because you didn’t have that immune system priming response. So, Again, lots of things we can always work on. As I always say, this is not a mum guilt thing. If a kiddo’s coming out through the sunroof and they needed a c section for safe reasons, Oh, I will happily say it is so much more important to get a child out safely and well, and then we work on the rest of it, which we always can.

Nicky Lowe [00:16:33]:

Which is what you and your team have done for me and my children because both my children were C section, 1 emergency, 1 planned. And at the time, I didn’t understand those, But you’ve educated me and worked with me to kind of help, as you say, prime my my children’s immune systems in the right direction, which has been fantastic.

Lottie Strutt [00:16:49]:

Yep. And then so the next sort of phase on from that priming is, actually, we do need our children to get a couple of coughs and colds and bugs, and they need to be able to come across them, Hear that they’re a foe, fight it. And then, yes, they’ll maybe get a high temperature, but it’ll go, and their body copes with it. If you don’t come across those things, it’s actually quite difficult for your immune system to know how to then fight the things that they are coming across. Well, then I’ve had so would you say that probably the children are around about 3 ish now, and they’re going to nursery. And they are getting Everything, and they’re getting everything really quite badly. Then they get virus that turns into bacteria. The bacteria then turns into, I need antibiotics, which, again, you need antibiotics, you need antibiotics.

Lottie Strutt [00:17:36]:

It’s incredibly important to make sure if you need them, you need them. But we then need to be educated around how can we then help your microbiome because the antibiotics might have Disrupted how the good bacteria is thriving.

Nicky Lowe [00:17:47]:

And I and could would you mind sharing a bit more on that? Because I think some people listening will absolutely get that, But for some people that might be new news because I think in the UK, we’re not educated on that. I think other European countries, I know one of the mums at school, she’s Polish. And whenever, in Poland, they give out antibiotics, they also then give out a pre or probiotic. You you might need

Lottie Strutt [00:18:08]:

to tell me. Yeah. That sounds good. Okay. Yes. Absolutely. So the way that antibiotics work, if you’ve got a bacteria so if you have a virus, for example, you get a cough, Fine. We should be able to fight it.

Lottie Strutt [00:18:19]:

Sometimes that virus can turn into a bacteria, say, in your lungs, and you’ll get a chest infection, which If a doctor then hears that and says, do you know what? Yes. You are getting an infection. You’re struggling to fight, so you need some antibiotics. The antibiotics are hopefully gonna kill off that bacteria. But, But, obviously, you take them orally, meaning they do go through your gut. Now because your gut is made up of bacteria, it means that the antibiotics also can kill off the Hi, There’s a lot in there. They should be all friendly and holding hands and doing really good jobs of things like your immune system. So, again, let’s go back to that.

Lottie Strutt [00:18:58]:

70% of your immune system comes from the good bacteria in your gut. But if your antibiotics has gone through your gut and wiped out quite a lot of your good bacteria in the gut, it then means you could have a secondary impact Dante. What if my good bacteria in the gut made my immune system work really well, but I’ve just wiped out the bacteria? You’re going to have a disease system which is going to struggle longer term to then create an immune system response, which is appropriate. So there’s loads of research which says you’re actually more likely to have even things like anxiety and depression post antibiotics because, again, the good Activia make your neurotransmitters, which are things that talk to your brain and tell your brain how to feel, or people are more likely to get, another infection if they’ve had antibiotics because their immune system is not necessary, then in tip top sheet.

Nicky Lowe [00:19:48]:

And what you’ve said is So important then if people didn’t catch it about the neurotransmitters, because am I right in saying now the research shows there’s more neurotransmitters in our gut than there is in our brain. And we think of, like, the brain just being in our head, and it’s actually far more systemic than that.

Lottie Strutt [00:20:04]:

Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. And the That phrase, you know, what what do what does your gut say or what’s your gut feeling? The gut is almost your 1st brain, and your brain is the 2nd brain because the gut is the place that makes the things that talk to your brain. So if we didn’t have the good connectors, it’s almost like, you know, the the postmen that are sending out the letters to the Brain for your brain to then be able to say, this is how I’m meant to feel. And I can working with a lot of ADHD and autism and neurodivergent behavior, I very rarely look at the brain per se. I might say you need some fish oils for your brain, but I will always look at your gut to say what’s your gut telling your brain.

Nicky Lowe [00:20:40]:

Brilliant. And it’s interesting because my journey with your organization and you and your team, I a lot of my health issues that you’ve, Like you’ve worked with me on for the last 10 years and I would not be in the position I am with my health without you guys. Came from when I was eleven and I started my periods, I had really bad acne. And what was being presented was polycystic ovaries, But they didn’t diagnose it. What they did do was gave me long term antibiotics, tetracycline, for, I want to say, yeah, years. And, you know, I did what I was told, took them. And then, you know, decades later, the knock on impact of that on my system It was pretty brutal. And like I’ve been we’ve been forensically going back to, okay, so what do we need to do to get me? You know, I’ve got nonspecific autoimmune system problems.

Nicky Lowe [00:21:35]:

And, Yeah. And you can kind of chase it all back to that. So I think I have

Lottie Strutt [00:21:39]:

a lot of teenagers on my caso too who have had that, the concept of, like, Roaccutane or an antibiotic for acne and have ended up with a lot of mental health troubles as a result of it.

Nicky Lowe [00:21:50]:

Yeah. So this absolutely fascinates me. So we’ve talked about kind of the picture of what is our immune system? What are some of the things that we’re experiencing, particularly post COVID? So as parents, what can we be doing to support our children’s immune system?

Lottie Strutt [00:22:09]:

So there’s lots that we can be doing, and I always say this right in the start, which is everyone’s really different. So when we’re talking like this, it’s quite generic. And then if you want to know more and be more towards your child or your family. And, obviously, come see us because we can do more specific, info gathering. But what we can do generally is always it’s not for me to say I want to Stop your child getting poorly because I actually don’t. There’s even research to say even things like chickenpox, if you don’t have chickenpox, you actually could be more at risk of things like cancer because it’s Doing something important for your immune system and priming you so that you can then get an immune system that’s more active I’m looking for sales. So I don’t want to stop your child getting poorly, but what I do want to make sure is that they can fight. So we wanna get there in the, like, early phases of there’s a sniffle.

Lottie Strutt [00:22:58]:

Someone said there’s something going around at nursery. What can we do to almost, like, prevent the Spiralling cascade of getting really poorly and not being able to kick it. I also really wanna support mama and dad’s Health and siblings’ health because, again, when you’ve got a whole household full of poories, it’s really, really rather unpleasant. And if I can look after mama and dad and whoever’s else looking after these kids, You’re going to have someone who can help fight help fight for the child. So I’m all about prevention. It’s what can we do to make sure that we’ve A child who is nutrition, the status is high so that they’ve got all the good nutrients they need to make sure their immune system works nicely, But also having things like your emergency first aid kit in the cupboard, which is, if they’re getting poorly, what can I do? So first steps, I would say, honestly, what can we do is looking at food. Food is always gonna be first first line because that’s what’s gonna contain your nutrients, which is gonna keep you at the place that you want to be in long term. And that’s especially difficult with children, honestly, because they’re quite Fussy, and they’re very like, I don’t want to eat this.

Lottie Strutt [00:24:03]:

I don’t want to eat that. Honestly, the things they don’t want to eat are the things we really want them to eat. So this is where the trickies come in, and it’s like, how do we get in Things like zinc rich foods. Zinc is really important for your immune system. Zinc comes in things like oysters. Well, that’s not really gonna happen, is it? Zinc comes in things like pumpkin seeds. If we can go fair enough. My child won’t necessarily nibble on pumpkin seeds, but we could put them into a smoothie, for example, All vitamin c rich foods, which again we know is quite important for your immune system.

Lottie Strutt [00:24:33]:

They come to things like strawberries and berries and oranges and orange food. So how can we get those into our children? So first steps, I’d say, get yourself a rainbow diet Chart, and there’s a rainbow pretty, you know, picture on the fridge, and you can each have 1. And it’s all like, have I eaten something purple today? Have I eaten something green today? Have I eaten something orange today? Because you can get your child looking at their plate of food, and instead of going, oh, yuck, broccoli, we get them going, oh, green And oh, yellow. Oh, I haven’t eaten something orange today. I’m gonna go grab a carrot. Then it’s a different thought process than just You must eat your greens.

Nicky Lowe [00:25:12]:

Yes. Yeah. And I love that. And a couple of things it’s making me think, I think, again, you’ve educated me on, is it We should be having, you know, we talk about we should have our 5 a day. Actually, it’s it that’s not accurate really. So what is it 30 different types of fruit and veg across a week?

Lottie Strutt [00:25:31]:

It’s it’s quite a lot. And, you know, the reason they said, oh, we’ll just say 5 or we’ll just say 10 is because it’s actually something like 30 a day for you be able to have and if if you said that and the government made that as a pledge, you just wouldn’t get people doing it. Versus if you say 5, we might get 5. So, ideally, what we’re aiming for for a couple of different reasons is the color of the food. When you look at food and you see that’s red, that’s orange, that’s yellow, that’s, purple, that’s green. They all contain antioxidants and different nutrients. So you’re gonna be getting an antioxidant means antioxidant, which is effectively anti inflammation. So you’re gonna be supporting your immune system, and you’re gonna be supporting any inflammation.

Lottie Strutt [00:26:12]:

And you’re gonna help yourself to fight If you’ve got those different colors in you, that’s why we need all the different colors. And then those different colors turn into, like you said, varieties. And the other thing that’s amazing with the variety when you say, like, 30 over the week or 10 a day or 30 a day. Honestly, it’s however many you can get into your system is is what you need. But what we’re trying to do is, again, your gut microbiome, so the good bacteria, gobbles up all the different types of fiber that are in the different colors of the food that you eat. So, again, if your child only ever eats sweet corn and, broccoli, for example, it’s still only 2 even if you eat it twice. Like, On Monday, you had sweet corn and broccoli. On a Tuesday, you had sweet corn and broccoli.

Lottie Strutt [00:26:53]:

It’s still only 2 varieties.

Nicky Lowe [00:26:55]:

And, again, that’s really educated me because I I would just say that I was aware that, you know, eating fruit and veg was great. But if I go to the supermarket or do my online food shop, I tend to buy the same ones each time, I wasn’t getting the variety.

Lottie Strutt [00:27:11]:

So the variety is the thing that you allow your good gut bacteria to Thrive because they they all eat something different effectively. So with kids, I always I don’t know whether you’ve seen I get these pop up on my Facebook adverts. I swear it’s gonna talk about it. But there’s a little videos of hamsters or guinea pigs or rabbits, and, like, they’re getting laid out a lettuce platter, and it’s got all different types of I’ve not seen these. You’re you’re the algorithm’s working for you, definitely. But all

Nicky Lowe [00:27:32]:

these little Gretam’s working for you, Jack.

Lottie Strutt [00:27:37]:

But all these little guinea pigs are going they’re all going to different parts of the salad platter, whether it’s, like, The carrot, the broccoli, the they’re all eating something different. And so when I tell these and this sometimes it works because sometimes kids get freaked out, but so go with your child. But If you think about your bacteria in your gut, every different bacteria is like a different guinea pig, and it wants to eat something different. So that that little guinea pig that wanted the carrot is gonna be different to the guinea pig that wanted the lettuce. And they’re all going on different like, you know, Trying to find different things, and I’m saying you need to try and think through I need to feed my guinea pigs in my tummy different foods, different colors, different exciting things. And For moms and dads or whoever’s doing the shopping, try and just go, I’m gonna put 1 new thing on a plate once a week and See if you can interest your kids. See if you can eat it. And, again, whatever you as a parent are eating, your children are going to watch.

Lottie Strutt [00:28:31]:

So if you’re trying to feed your children broccoli and Carrots and spinach and kale and you’re eating a burger in a bun, they’re not gonna be wanting that versus if you go, actually, we’re all gonna try it. Let’s do a taste test. What do you think? Is it better done like this? Is it better done like that? How do we all like it or rate it? What color is it? What does it smell like? It’s much more of an explorative Play thin rather than just shoveling the food and don’t think about it.

Nicky Lowe [00:28:56]:

Yes. No. That makes sense. And I I know Jo, your colleague, talks about I remember her telling me it’s almost like you’re planting a garden. And if you just planted the same plants, it might look beautiful for a little while, but when those plants die off, you’ve got nothing else. So you want to Seed all these different. And that’s what you’re doing to your kind of gut microbiome is seeding a beautiful garden that’s going to kind of have all these different things at different times of the year and that variety.

Lottie Strutt [00:29:21]:

Yeah. And things like the you talked about a little while about the prebiotic versus the probiotic. Yes. Yeah. Pre like, on that Thought process. If you think about your gut like a flower bed, the prebiotic’s almost like the soil that you’re lining the flower bed with, And then the probiotics can help the bacteria or the flowers to thrive. So, again, that fiber and the color of food that you’re putting in, it’s helping you to have a flower bed Hi. It’s not just sort of, you know, concrete.

Lottie Strutt [00:29:45]:

Nothing’s gonna grow. It’s the soil. It’s the fertilizer. It’s the seeds. It’s the flowers. It’s the food. It’s Everything that goes into a flower bed to make it grow.

Nicky Lowe [00:29:55]:

Because I still get mixed up between pre and probiotics. So what are the foods that fit into those 2 different categories? Because there’s, like, fermented foods.

Lottie Strutt [00:30:03]:

Which are probiotics.

Nicky Lowe [00:30:05]:

Okay.

Lottie Strutt [00:30:05]:

So the fermented foods have got bacteria in them. So, again, if you can get your child onto any kind of probiotic food. So if you think like kefir Yeah. Kefir has got bacteria in it, which when you just you know, all you have to do is put it on your Porridge or your cereal or put it into your yogurt. And, again, you only need a smallish amount, couple of tablespoons in the morning. You’re going to be supporting the bacteria going into your gut. And if haven’t been like, if you if your child likes things like sauerkraut, that’s amazing. And if they don’t, that’s fine.

Lottie Strutt [00:30:35]:

But as as parents or as adults, we can be eating sauerkraut for sure. And any expectant mother, again, it’s like, you know, think about the probiotics that you can put into your gut to make your gut into a better place for your future child who’s gonna be coming out of you? Yeah. But more like with prebiotics and more They’re quite difficult to get into children, honestly, because they’re things like Jerusalem artichokes, which are which are known for a different word. Like, they do create quite a lot of wind. So there are different types of prebiotic food. Honestly, the best way of putting prebiotics in is getting, like, a powder form and just putting it into a smoothie, and then you are And your child will not even know that it’s in there because it doesn’t taste anything if you do it in

Nicky Lowe [00:31:14]:

powder form. Which is what I’ve done with you with my children. There was something I was gonna say then, and it’s just gone from my mind around. So we were talking about oh, yes. And in terms of Getting these kind of 30 different, although, you know, the highest amount of variety that we can get, what are your tips for that? Because obviously you’re experiencing working specifically with children. What are you’ve talked about smoothies.

Lottie Strutt [00:31:40]:

Yes, we do.

Nicky Lowe [00:31:40]:

And kind of what are some of the tips like that that we can perhaps hide, or encourage our children to

Lottie Strutt [00:31:46]:

be getting that variety? One thing I always say is, yes. We can hide. Do hide. Also, don’t hide. So, well, I always put on my child’s plate who who is at 18 months is Quite picky. And I’ve gone through a phase of she won’t eat anything till she’s now finally putting things into her mouth, and I’ll take it as a win even if she picks up and looks at it, it’s a win. If you pick something up and puts it into her mouth, even if it comes back out again, it’s a win. But you have to be Really aware of going, yes.

Lottie Strutt [00:32:16]:

I wanna hide these nutrients so that you do get them in, but I also want you to see and touch and smell and feel what these are. And I always say I’ll put 1 safe food on her plate that I know she will eat and she’s very happy with. And I’ll always put a new or a different or a slightly unsafe food that she’s not familiar with. Because if you never put it on their plate because you they’re never gonna eat it. They never do. It’s a waste. I do appreciate it’s a bit of a waste, but they will never look at it, smell it, touch it, be anywhere close to wanting it verses you’ll often find if you repeat it over and over again and it just sits on their plate and you never say, go on. Just try a bit.

Lottie Strutt [00:32:56]:

Go on. Just do it. Just try it just because that becomes quite a negative loop, and you will often find that a child will say no, almost on principle to say no, versus it’s just there, and my question more would be, what’s it feel like? Is it squishy? Is it warm? Is it cold? And it makes Some be like, I don’t know. Is it? And they’ll squish their finger into it. And so instead of going try it, it’s just a different question. So that’s kind of on one hand, which is always put something on their plate that they’re not so sure about, but just keep trying, just keep doing it, keep changing it, Keep putting it on there because, eventually, they will touch it, and then we all go, and then they get the positive feedback rather than the negative feedback. When it comes to hiding food, I 100% agree. I do need to get some nutrients into her.

Lottie Strutt [00:33:44]:

So the places that I do hide food is in smoothies. Again, I can use things like organic berry powder, which means she’s getting antioxidants and color. I can put avocado in, which means that she’s getting fats. I can put nuts and seeds in as long as there’s no allergies. So it means she’s getting, again, the proteins, the nutrients from it, and the fats. And then anything like spinach, you can cook again. You’re getting greenery. It’s amazing.

Lottie Strutt [00:34:08]:

You can also freeze them. So if you would like I’ve already, for example, cook some sweet potatoes the night before and you just scoop out the middle part. You can put that into a smoothie mixture, but then freeze in a lollipop mold. And, again, most children really like the, like, fruit pouches, which you just sort of, like, suck out because it’s all really fun. So I bought some of the pouches, and they’re like silicone pouches. And I’ve made the concept of what she thinks is a smoothie pouch. But it’s me, and I’ve done organic sweet potato mushed up. And I’ve done the organic carrot because she won’t touch spiralized and turned into a wiggly worm, and then she finds it really fun.

Lottie Strutt [00:34:47]:

So, you could basically do anything, and you can freeze it. You can smoothie it. And the other options are always trying to go. If you’re making a lasagna or a bolognese, for example, you blend up the vegetables We’re making reasonable so they can’t find them and they can’t see them, and it’s just in in the passata sauce. Meaning, they’re getting herbs. They’re getting ginger. They’re getting garlic. They’re all anti inflammatory.

Lottie Strutt [00:35:10]:

They’re getting red. They’re getting orange. They’re getting, you know, onions. They’re getting all the different types of color that you would want them to eat, but they don’t know they’re eating it.

Nicky Lowe [00:35:19]:

Oh, do you know what’s amazing? I’m sitting here listening to you going, I am so grateful that you guys have been working with me for the time that you have because I realise that I do a lot of this naturally now. But I also hear that if somebody’s listening, they’re going, ‘God, on top of being a busy working mom, this sounds like even more.’ And you’ve taught me some great ways of doing this in terms of one of the things that I now do is I have a veg box delivered once a week. Hi. And it can be the wonky veg. It doesn’t have to be an expensive one because they choose the veg for you almost. So Like last week, I had aubergine courgette, asparagus. And those aren’t typically things that I would pick up in my shop. One of the things it does make me do is I have to think a little bit more about, okay, so how am I going to use these so they don’t go to waste? But I batch cooks over weekend.

Nicky Lowe [00:36:11]:

The only way I can feed my family healthy food across a week is to batch cook. Because if I wait until the evening to cook, I can have all the food in, but I’m tired. I haven’t got the brainpower or capacity to think. So over the weekend, I made a massive vat of, Slow roasted veg, with passata and blended it up. And I’ve got we’re having that tonight, pasta sauce. All I’ve got to do is cook the pasta and add it in, And that’s me done. And I tried it a few weeks ago because my kids typically wouldn’t choose to eat in aubergine or courgette. Well, I absolutely get what you’re saying, Giz, about introducing because my daughter will look at a courgette and think it’s a cucumber.

Nicky Lowe [00:36:51]:

So I think it’s really important that she knows different because they are quite similar. So this is a courgette. But, and they loved that pasta sauce. So I’m now really grateful because, as you say, they’re getting garlic in there. They’re getting all of that mix of veg, And they love it.

Lottie Strutt [00:37:06]:

And they love it. And they don’t necessarily know it.

Nicky Lowe [00:37:08]:

Yeah. And I will freeze half of that. So it’s being smart in terms of doing it. And snoothes for us are the easiest way for us to my kids love making them with me. So again, they’re getting to love and handle and know the food and Appreciate what’s going into them, but, yeah, that’s juices and is a big enough house.

Lottie Strutt [00:37:30]:

I think it starts. And the other thing is, I mean, I even get My 18 months old to help me unpack the shopping, and she’s like, oh, what’s this? And I guess her pepper, and she will literally just go and and take

Nicky Lowe [00:37:39]:

it to my tell us. I used to call her the little caterpillar. She would go through the fridge and take bites out my peppers and put them back.

Lottie Strutt [00:37:45]:

So And I knew I did I kinda don’t mind. Obviously, I always make sure it’s washed, But I don’t I think that’s a really good way of her going. I don’t know what that is. I put it in my mouth. Yeah. Fair enough. It’s a mushroom. Yeah.

Lottie Strutt [00:37:55]:

Not sure. And until it comes, that’s fine. It’s a carrot. Yeah. Like that. It’s fine. So I always think just start the whole process of, I don’t know, can you grow a piece of like, can you grow 1 tomato plant in your garden, which Hi. If your kid can water, and then they go, wow.

Lottie Strutt [00:38:09]:

There’s a tomato on that. That’s amazing. Bite it. Oh, it’s a very different thought process for a child to watch a tomato grow And it is just to pull 1 out of the packet. And I know we are all busy mummers. But, like, on the weekend, I went to a garden center, and I went, actually, my kiddo loves to water things, Makes her be outside. She’s got her fingers in the mud. She’s gonna grow a tomato, and she’s gonna know where it came from rather than it just comes through a packet.

Nicky Lowe [00:38:32]:

And that’s an important piece actually. You say there about, fingers in mud because because as we said right at the beginning, both of my children were born via c section. Jen. And I remember speaking to a mum who’s actually been on this podcast. She’s got 4 children and one of her children has got life threatening allergies. And she got really curious about that. Like, I’ve had 4 kids. Why this one? And that was the one that was born by C section and it’s taken her down.

Nicky Lowe [00:38:57]:

And she’s actually, She’s an MCT teacher by background. So she now works with midwives to educate them on, layering baby microbiome. And I remember saying to her, well, I can’t change the fact that my child was born by C section. What can I do instead? And I remember her saying to me, live on a farm if you can, have a dog and let them play mud. So what is it about those that actually help the microbiome? It’s it’s coming across all the different types of bacterias areas that

Lottie Strutt [00:39:24]:

you’re gonna come across that are not gonna harm us as long as we go we are obviously washing our hands before we then go, I’m gonna go and eat my food. So I I There’s quite a fine line between, yes, live on a farm. Yes. Do put your fingers in the mud because you’re you are basically coming across back Your body’s trying to do that thing that we said right at the start, which is, are you a friend or a UFO? Do I need to fight you or don’t I? And it’s like, actually, I don’t I love you. I don’t want you in me, so I’m gonna fight you if you come into me. But I’m alright because you’ve put me on the outside of you, And it’s helping me just to understand good and bad. So that is there are again, there is absolute research out there which says, You know, a dog can be incredible for your child’s microbiome, but you do have to be careful to go. But I equally don’t want you running in their poop.

Lottie Strutt [00:40:09]:

And but so there’s always this balance of We aren’t caved women anymore. We are in this world, which is we have a different, different area or a different way of our bodies interacting with the environment because in caveman time, we didn’t have toxins, pesticides, antibiotics, And things that were disrupting our immune system, we only had the bacteria that might be in the soil to deal with, and that’s where we’ve got to be a little Careful whiz. Rolling around in mud and expecting ourselves to be totally fine with it if we were to eat it versus some kids who, yes, they grew up on a farm or they visit a farm and actually get because they aren’t used to it, and their body isn’t aware of how to fight. So it’s it’s everything in moderation. Like, Everything is everything in moderation and and being aware of what also could be in that soil or what could also be sprayed all over that Plants, for example.

Nicky Lowe [00:41:06]:

You’ve just said a couple of things that are kind of really important that I want to explore. And I’m just in my head going, which one should we go with first? So you talked about parasites there. And as you know probably from my family history, that’s something that my children had to work on. So Just for people listening, my son was born with a hole in his heart and we were under a pediatric Consultant for a number of years and we used to see them regularly. And I remember when he was about 18 months old going to this, pediatric consultant and saying, His stool’s really, really loose, but he was my 1st child. I was breastfeeding and I didn’t know what was normal. And they just said, well, We’re testing for celiac because he actually is presenting as somebody that could have it because apparently it’s a Northern European. And so if you’re pale skin and blonde hair, you’re more likely to be predisposed to it.

Nicky Lowe [00:41:57]:

So they tested him for that and it came back negative. And they I, diagnosed him with toddler diarrhea. And I, at 18 months old, I was like, okay. Went back 6 months later and he was 2 and I was like, I’m trying to potty train and his stools are so loose. It’s really stopping us. So And I remember looking at the leaflet and going, well, what age will he grow out of it? And they went, probably by the age of 5. And I remember thinking, well, That’s not going to be good if he’s at school with like, and he’s not potty trained. And I came to you at Embracing Nutrition and just went, this doesn’t seem right.

Lottie Strutt [00:42:36]:

And a word came out, why?

Nicky Lowe [00:42:38]:

Yeah. And you said, let’s do a stall stall analysis. And he came back with a parasite. And literally you gave me some tinctures that I put into water. And within the week, his stools were solid and he was out of his nappies day night within a week. And I remember going, like, you guys are just like, you’re magic. Like, I need you supporting my family. Like, this is just incredible.

Nicky Lowe [00:43:01]:

And I went back took the pediatric consultant with the name of the parasite and was like, this is what you need to know. And she even said, she was like, thank you. She said, I will feed this back to the medical board. She said, but we don’t test for it because we don’t know what to do with it. And she said, in years to come, we will know from a rheumatoid arthritis. Like all of this perspective, we have missed so much. So that’s the kind of work that you do. You really get forensic with this stuff.

Nicky Lowe [00:43:25]:

So what might somebody, a, how would somebody know that their child has got a parasite? Because I didn’t. And I would say that I was probably more okay with this kind of stuff than most people. And how do you work with people? So what might somebody do if they’ve got And, you know, suspicion something else is going on.

Lottie Strutt [00:43:43]:

Do you know parasites are interesting, actually? Sometimes they can make a really big difference getting rid of them, and sometimes they Don’t. They can be a bit of a are they like a you know, one of those things that you go might work, might not work. But, I mean, because what we often see is parasites come quite hand in hand with some bad Hi. Bacteria in the gut and some possible fungal overgrowth and a possible leaky gut, etcetera. So there’s some things that parasites can come along hand in hand with. But if we just think about from a parasite perspective, Again, you know, back in caveman era, actually, honestly, they’ve all probably had parasites, and it actually assisted them to to have an immune system which understood what was going on in the world. But, again, because we’ve got a bit of this and a bit of that and a bit of that and a bit of that, plus antibiotics, plus pesticides, plus toxins, plus our guts and our body can’t cope with it. So it might be, you know, in your case, particularly, where you got to that parasite with a massive difference.

Lottie Strutt [00:44:31]:

How you know you’ve got a parasite particularly is actually quite tricky. Some people can say they have an itchy bum. They could watch their children be quite itchy. And what we often find with even just, like, the sort of simple tapeworm that kiddos get a lot in, mom, nurseries and schools Is that you’ll often find that they’re kind of, I’m itching and I’m uncomfortable. That’s quite a giveaway sign. And other symptoms can be really random. There’s one that your Child can, in theory, their behavior can get worse on a full moon, which I know that sounds really kooky. But I’ve heard it a lot when people have said my child, They they change on a full moon, and it’s because parasites can, in theory, become more active at that point.

Lottie Strutt [00:45:10]:

So that’s something just to watch. Is your child’s behavior or immune system or something dysregulated more cyclically for you to monitor and go, what is that cycle?

Nicky Lowe [00:45:19]:

And I think it’s important for people listening that if they were to come and work with you, these are the type questions you’re asking, aren’t you? You ask, like, the most in-depth questions. You ever been around lead or mercury or like, you want to know everything.

Lottie Strutt [00:45:32]:

And what I always say about what we do, I will never test something if I don’t have a kit bag for it. The reason the medical model, the NHS, etcetera, don’t often test is because they don’t have the kit bag currently to do much with it. And it’s not because they don’t care. It’s not because, like, they don’t well, sometimes they don’t understand it fully because they’re not trained in that line particularly. But I often say if they don’t have a kit bag for it, they won’t test. Whereas if I find a parasite, I will test, and it won’t be antibiotics. It will be a natural tincture. It’ll be a natural if it’s a Drew.

Lottie Strutt [00:46:06]:

If it’s a bacteria, it would be like an antibacterial, but it’s natural, and it’s from plants originally. And if it’s a fungal overgrowth, again, we can do natural antifungal kill off. So all of the things I might find if we were to do a stool test, we’ve always got a kit bag full of

Nicky Lowe [00:46:21]:

Now interesting, you’ve man you’ve mentioned antifungal a couple of times. What might somebody be presenting with that that would be the kind of underlying cause?

Lottie Strutt [00:46:29]:

Yeah. Fungal is interesting. So fungal symptoms In a woman can be more like I get, like, thrush all the time, for example. In a baby, you might be getting thrush in their mouth, but that could be just The situation that they’re in is a, you know, a tip tiddly top breastfeeding, etcetera. But as a child, what I often find is if I’ve got a neurodivergent child, so their behavior is Neurodivergent. I will again always look at the gut, and 99.999% of my children with autism or ADHD or Asperger’s or Something neurodivergent have got some form of fungalovirus in their gut because the and I and and I’ll know it effectively because their their behavior. They’re not because of their gut symptoms. And this is what’s tricky is that we kind of have to look what’s your behavior and what’s your gut doing, but what’s What’s that doing to that? What’s the spider diagram with the big picture? So this is where I’ll gather all the information.

Lottie Strutt [00:47:23]:

I’ll create a spider diagram and think, right. That’s where it’s coming from. We’ll test if we can test because you can then get definitive answers. But the type of behavior that I’ve seen in children who’ve got fungal overgrowth is fungal overgrowth is a neurotoxin, meaning toxic to your brain. So they give off a toxin, and it goes to your blood and it goes to your brain, and your brain then gets, You know, the way your brain works can change. And I’ve had children who are autistic and almost not able to go School scratching, biting, can’t sit still, climbing up the walls. And within 4 weeks of doing a fungal kill off, they’re sitting still, and they’re getting some words, and they’re communicating, and they’re not biting. And, like, those, excuse me, things are life changing.

Lottie Strutt [00:48:06]:

If a child can’t sit still and can’t even go to school and a mom can’t then go to work or a mom can’t do the things that mom needs to do because they’ve got to sit at home with their child who is really challenging. Actually, that’s life to be able to say, my child isn’t poos mirroring. My child can sit on the toilet. My child can go to school. My child can sit still. My child is happy in their space, in their head. And that’s that could just be from Hungolo, Bruce.

Nicky Lowe [00:48:31]:

And as you were saying all of that, I was, like, getting tingles up my spine about how powerful this is. So just got a couple of questions left. And we’ve actually said, haven’t we, that if people are interested, we could do an episode specifically on Kind of that whole area of neurodiversity and what we can be doing from a kind of nutritional functional perspective. So, If people are interested, please message, and we will kind of absolutely look at doing that if that’s useful.

Lottie Strutt [00:48:57]:

We haven’t even talked about the autoimmune side of immune system either. We can do a whole new section on

Nicky Lowe [00:49:02]:

that as well. Okay. Brilliant. Oh, I love this. So I’m intrigued about, obviously, your personal experience And then with the work that you do, how do you think that’s changed you and how you parent and the things that you would do in your home, for example?

Lottie Strutt [00:49:18]:

It’s a 100% changed our parent. In my old life, which I always say is, like, be be before functional medicine, I wouldn’t have known and this is where it’s like there was never any judgment coming from me because I’ve changed who I am through functional medicine. So if someone comes to me, they they’re often like, oh, no. I know. I feel so bad. Like, I’m feeding them gluten. I’m doing this. I’m doing that.

Lottie Strutt [00:49:37]:

I like you, but I do feel bad because you don’t know these things, and I didn’t know these things. But the way that I now parent is very much Sort of what we’ve talked about from a food and hear me when I’m like, I’ve got a picky child already, and that’s because toddlers are. Toddlers Want to a say no and, you know, push boundaries and they don’t love, certainly, that’s fine, and I hear that. The way that I work is I’m very careful about what goes in her. I’m very careful about what goes on her, and I’m careful about what surrounds her. She’s got my genetics as in, you know, she’s got the potential. I’ve got autoimmunity, so She’s got the potential for autoimmunity. I actually run her genetic there’s a you can do my LifeCode, GX, you could do a genetic panel, and I did it on her because I was like, do you know what? I need her manual.

Lottie Strutt [00:50:22]:

I need to understand her genetics, her How her genes interact with the environment, which is what we call genomics, for me to know how to manage her, which is, Actually, she shouldn’t have gluten because she’s got my genetic potential for celiac disease. I don’t wanna switch that on. So I’m like, she doesn’t have gluten in her diet. She just doesn’t. And I will generally aim for her not to because I don’t wanna switch anything on. I will always say she needs higher levels officials. I’ll always go down the route of I’ll always give her some probiotics. She’ll always have kefir in her food somehow.

Lottie Strutt [00:50:58]:

She’ll always have different types of fiber, whether it’s in her smoothies. She’ll always have color or an antioxidant, but I I have to work really hard to get it in there. And we have to come up with different ways, and it is hard. What I would say is try and get a bunch of girls, parents, moms, dads, whoever it is, And almost, like, start a WhatsApp feed to be like, who’s got a good idea of how the hoo hard to get some spinach into their kids? And my friend will send me a link too. And, like, she does eat gluten, so she’ll send me a link to, hey. I’ve tried these spinach muffins, and and he loves it. And I’ll just go, That’s amazing. I’ll switch mine into almond flour instead, paten flour, and then we’ve got a different recipe.

Lottie Strutt [00:51:39]:

So pull together, Ask your pals who’s doing what, or each one make a different type of muffin, and then you can share them the next time you see each other. But help each other because it is hard Brain wise to always be coming up with a recipe every single week with something different in it.

Nicky Lowe [00:51:56]:

And it’s also there are some brilliant people out there on social media, The whole Deliciously Ella because she’s all of her kind of foods and, you know, there’s loads of area of inspiration. And you talked there about what she puts What you put on her. So tell me a little bit more about that.

Lottie Strutt [00:52:11]:

Yeah. So everything from a whether it’s cream that’s going on her bottom or whether it’s the nappies I use or whether it’s the washing powder, I’ll always aim for, like, organic vests are going near her because if you it’s honestly, it’s terrifying. Part of me goes, I wish you didn’t know it, but I do. So then I’m like, no. No. Let’s share the information. But Even when you look at things like kids’ pajamas, they have got horrendous amounts of fling retardants and toxins on them and things like anti crease toxins. It’s like, who cares that your jammies are creased? So if we look at what is sprayed onto our children’s clothes, I think she’s gonna be breathing those in.

Lottie Strutt [00:52:50]:

Our children are sucking in toxins morning, noon, and night if we’re not aware of some of the toxins that are on their clothes. So where would you choose to get your clothes from? Then are there particular brands? Yeah. So, I mean, even if you just type and say Fruge and Kite to all organic. Even H and M is a really good way of getting there. Something like 87% organic cotton.

Nicky Lowe [00:53:13]:

I never knew that.

Lottie Strutt [00:53:14]:

Yes. You have a look at the H&M website because, again, H and M is pretty pretty reasonable. Some of the other organic Cotton, like, you know, kites and boogies are expensive. But, honestly, if you go if you just go, I’m gonna go in the sale, I’m gonna buy them organic clothes. When it comes up for the season. You’ll do better than buying it, than when they’re full price. But I generally go organic clothes at least if it’s her vest and her sleep sacks. I’m really careful about her sleep sacks and her mattress because, again, your face is right up against your mattress.

Lottie Strutt [00:53:43]:

I’ve got a wool mattress. It’s I’ve not got any nasties in it. So it’s more just not to stress moms out to go, oh my god. My child’s running my toxins. But if you’re going to buy something new because they need it, like new dramas, Yeah. Look for an organic cotton blended one. And if they’re going to be for example, if you’re doing their bedroom up and it’s saying, okay, they have A new carpet. Again, just look for more like an 80% wool carpet.

Lottie Strutt [00:54:09]:

If you’re gonna put curtains up or they’re new and something’s coming out of a packet, I always put it nowhere near anyone, and then the packet is open outside, and it’s put through the wash. And this is where if you can wash your Children’s clothes 3 times over before it goes anywhere near them, they’re not gonna be breathing in those things.

Nicky Lowe [00:54:27]:

Interesting. And What washing powder did you choose to use?

Lottie Strutt [00:54:31]:

I use an aloe vera washing powder. I can send you the link to it. It’s actually just on Amazon.

Nicky Lowe [00:54:37]:

Okay.

Lottie Strutt [00:54:37]:

But, again, there’s nothing grotty in it. And any cream, I just go on to natural dispensary. Like, calendula cream for bottom nappy change cream is a really nice one. And my kiddo’s never ever ever had nappy rash, and I swear to god it’s because she uses bamboo nappies or reusable cotton ones. So she’s never had a problem ever because I think that the toxins that, again, are in no. I don’t I won’t say any brands, but that was some of the less natural brands. When the we interacts with whatever’s in it, it can create quite a lot of toxins which are sitting against your skin for quite a while. So I feel, having talked to a lot of my other friends who don’t necessarily understand what I do from an organic and natural perspective, their children are often at the GPs.

Lottie Strutt [00:55:23]:

They’re often taking antibiotics. They’re often needing, you know, really quite strong creams for nappy rashes and eczema. And and I could just be really lucky, or it could be that, actually, what we’re putting on is not filling up her bucket. And I always say this. Every child has a bucket. Obviously, the bucket, but the concept of a bucket, which is people can only deal with so many toxins, and everyone’s ability to detox So far is different. So if you fill up that bucket with what we can’t really help, which is the, you know, fumes from cars and planes and paint and carpets, And then you add in the toxins from your clothes, and then you add in the toxins from the sprays from the foods and the herbs that we eat. And then you add in A bit more from something that your toxic bucket is getting full, and it can then create quite a problem on whether it’s your immune system or your brain and how that works.

Lottie Strutt [00:56:15]:

But there’s always gonna be everyone is different, and I never wanna fill my child’s bucket up.

Nicky Lowe [00:56:22]:

Yeah. And I love that. And thank you for for sharing those because, Again, that’s a huge education process I’ve gone through. You know, you talked about the genetic testing, you know, I’ve learned that I, I have a methylation issue, which means that that impacts my ability to detoxify and therefore I have to pay attention to, to these things. And the chances are, as you say, my daughter’s got my genetics. I can I can trace? I think that’s my mom’s genetic line. You know? And it just it opens up this, you know, I’m a lot more careful now about I love Lighting candles. But I now, again, through what you’ve kind of educated me, I’m really careful about the candles that I choose because even something as simple as that is adding toxins in if you’re not So thank you.

Nicky Lowe [00:57:02]:

That was great to get those insights. So we’ve covered so much, but if there was just one thing that you want somebody listening to this So to take away from what you’ve said, what would you want that to be?

Lottie Strutt [00:57:14]:

I think it would be, don’t stress, but Look. Almost like what I’ve just said. Look at what’s going in. Look at what’s around them. And is there anything that you can change over time bit by bit that makes that a more healthy place to be? Because Our genetic well, our what we call genomics, what our genes are interacting with, is the thing which could cause The immune system dysregulation or the neurodivergence or the something that’s happening to our children. I don’t know about you, but I will do anything and everything I can to protect my child And make them happy and well. And if you can look at what’s around them and look at what’s going in them, you’ve got a Hope and Hill’s chance of Keeping them safe or safe as we possibly can. So just open eyes, I think, and just say, is there anything I can do which does? Do what we’ve talked about.

Lottie Strutt [00:58:10]:

Put more color in. Put more goodness in. Take out or reduce the load of the not so good to see whether we can get them in a better balance.

Nicky Lowe [00:58:19]:

Thank you. You shared so much wisdom there. Love it. So how can people find out more about you, your work? Where would you point them to?

Lottie Strutt [00:58:27]:

So you could email me directly, lottie@embracingnutrition.co.uk. If you go on our website, it’s ww.embracingnutrition.co.uk, And you can ask for a discovery call. So if you go, I want some information. I don’t know whether I wanna book yet. Can you talk to me more specifically? Just click the link, and you can get 15 minute discovery call with me, and you just say this is a problem. Do you think you can help? Tell me a bit more before you can book. You can book straight online, all the diaries online, and you can just Get Trudy. Click on me.

Lottie Strutt [00:58:57]:

There’s lots of different practitioners on there. I’m generally the person that works with children and autoimmunity, and then you can follow us on Instagram. So, again, you just get little snippets. If you go on Instagram, you can follow us on there. I think we’re on Facebook. So, but we’re everywhere.

Nicky Lowe [00:59:11]:

And I would highly recommend you do regular Facebook, Instagram lives, where you will dive deep into a particular area. And There’s always like so much goodness in those. You share so much of your wisdom so freely as well. So thank you, Lottie. I really appreciate you joining me, and thank you for everything you’ve done my family as well. My pleasure. It was lovely to see you. And Wisdom For Working Mums.

Nicky Lowe [00:59:36]:

Please share it on social media and with your friends and family. I’d love to connect with you too. So if you head over to wisdom for Ucky Mums.co.uk. You’ll find a link on how to do this. And if you love the show and really want to support it, please go to Itunes, write a review, and subscribe. Abe. You’ll be helping another working mum find this resource too. Thanks so much for listening.