An Interview with Gut Health Coach, Mellissa Laycy

Mellissa is an Integrative Nutrition Gut Health Coach and Creative Chef. We are so lucky to have her as a Nuzest Affiliate. Keep reading to find out why she became a health coach, her top tips for the gut and why we are her go to brand!

How did you get into the field of gut health?

I had suffered very badly with gut health issues my whole life (which I later found out was a contributing factor to the depression and anxiety I was experiencing) and I was looking for answers anywhere I could. I had tried all the conventional methods the doctors advised such as nutritionists, pills and tests but met a dead end so decided to explore some alternative routes which took me on a soul searching journey across the world and opened up some doors to slightly more non conventional therapies. As time went on I slowly gained more knowledge about the important role the gut plays and by the time I had the final piece of the puzzle I was enrolled with the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. During the IIN course we were encouraged to find our niche and it made total sense to dedicate the work I do to helping people live a life free from IBS and gut related symptoms that manifest in the mind and body.

Why is gut health so important?

Gut health issues can be traced back to the root of most disturbances in the body and are very closely linked to mood disorders like depression, anxiety and even OCD, not to mention that the health of our gut affects our skin, the quality of our sleep and of course our weight. My approach with clients is pretty radical in that I look at the root cause of their health complaints rather than putting a plaster over symptom, people are amazed to find out that by concentrating on the health of their gut that there is a positive snowball effect throughout the rest of their mind and body.

How did you hear about Nuzest?

All of the recipes I write are keto, vegan and gluten free so I was searching for an incredible plant based protein powder that could tick all of those boxes whilst having a great flavour and smooth texture. A friend of mine in the health world told me about Nuzest and so I went down to meet the team at the Plant Based Live expedition and I fell in love with the variety of flavours, the velvety smoothness of the protein, the story of how Trevor (the founder) started Nuzest and of course the rest of the team.

What are your favourite Nuzest products?

Nuzest have hands down the best greens powder on the market, Good Green Vitality is backed by science for starters and after having tried many singular greens products like wheatgrass, kelp, spirulina and chlorella it was actually a relief to find one product containing everything I needed. Greens powders are not well known for their flavours and most are taken with a pinched nose followed by a shot of orange juice or something sweet but Good Green Vitality tastes really refreshing and delivers more nutrients per scoop than many of its competitors.

My other favourite from the Clean Lean Protein range for flavour and functionality is the Chai+Turmeric+Maca. In the history of trialling every protein brand I could get my hands on I have never found anything close to this, It is stand out delicious.

Top tip: mix a scoop of Chai+Turmeric+Maca with 1/2 cup of coconut yoghurt, 1tbs of milled flax seeds and 2tbsp of home made apple sauce or mashed banana. This quick and simple recipe tastes incredible and provides you with all a lot of protein, healthy fats and fibre in one small meal.

Why should protein be considered by everyone, not just gym bunnies?

Clean protein is such an important element of a healthy diet, it is the building block that repairs your tissue, bones, skin and cartilage. You need protein to make important hormones and also enzymes that help you to digest food. Protein is needed by everyone (at roughly 20-25g per meal) and the cleaner the source of your protein the better your body will function and the better you will feel.

What are your top tips to good gut health?

• As a starting point I suggest that all my clients reduce sugar from their diet wherever possible, sugar feeds the bad bacteria causing an imbalance and also increases inflammation. If you're familiar with my work, you know that I believe inflammation is the common denominator of most generic diseases.
• Manage and lower stress.
• Prioritise sleep.
• Make sure to get both probiotics and prebiotics into your diet.
• Eat the rainbow, colourful fruits and vegetables provide a wide range of insoluble fibre which is food for your good bacteria.
• Reduce processed grains where possible as these can convert into sugar and spike blood sugar levels and increase inflammation.
• Eat healthy fats first, this helps with energy, focus and curbs hunger cravings which means weight stabilisation or even weight loss.
• Remove inflammatory foods, this can be worked out with a nutritionist or a gut health specialist as everyone has different trigger foods, for the most part it is wise to experiment by reducing gluten and dairy from your diet.

What's next for you?

I've just finished filming an educational video for Holland & Barrett all about gut health and I'm finalising my first Gut health recipe book which features over 30 gut friendly recipes, they are all gluten free, vegan and keto plus a lot of the recipes in the book include Nuzest protein too so be sure to sign up to my newsletter to be the first to hear about it.

Where can people learn more about your work?

You can find me on instagram where I provide lots of free recipes from Nuzest @mellissalaycy and you can also download a free ebook '3 Gut Friendly Recipes' www.mellissalaycy.com/freebies-1