Beat SAD Naturally: Feed Your Gut, Elevate Your Mood
BEAUTY, WELLBEING & PARENTHOODFOOD & DRINK
As daylight fades and autumn sets in, roughly two million adults across the UK, representing between 3% and 5% of the population, prepare to face Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Figures from Nuffield Health and the Royal College of Psychiatrists highlight a familiar pattern: creeping fatigue, persistent low mood, and an instinctual craving for high-sugar foods that frequently traps individuals in a challenging cycle.
Public nutritionist and gut health specialist Dr Lucy Williamson points to our digestive ecosystem as a vital component in navigating these seasonal shifts:
"Many of today’s health challenges are linked to our food choices and here’s why. Our gut microbiome is made up of around 100 trillion microbes living primarily in the large intestine. When well nourished, these microbes help regulate inflammation, support our immune system, contribute to heart health and healthy weight, and may reduce the risk of several chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and some cancers. Our gut microbes also produce compounds that, through the remarkable gut–brain axis, influence pathways involved in mood and brain function, affecting mood, stress resilience, and mental wellbeing.
"This becomes particularly relevant as we move into autumn, when with shorter days, many people notice a change in mood or energy, and some experience SAD. While supporting our gut health isn't a treatment for SAD, nurturing a healthy gut microbiome is one valuable part of a broader approach to building resilience through the darker months."
Rediscovering Human Biological Rhythms
This perspective draws upon long-standing principles of natural eating. Prior to modern industrial food production, human diets changed organically with the calendar. Late summer berries provided protective plant compounds and quick energy before the cold set in, where vivid colours served as a natural marker of dense nutritional value. Daily life moved in tandem with solar cycles and local environments.
Modern routines often pull us away from these evolutionary baselines. Early alarms, prolonged indoor working hours, and ready-made food supply chains can obscure natural physical cues, leaving many feeling disconnected from basic biological rhythms.
Across Northern Europe, cultural traditions offer insight into managing seasonal change. The Danish concept of hygge encourages slow living, warmth, and quiet social connection throughout winter, mirroring the rest cycles seen in nature. At the same time, human biology carries an ancestral connection: every individual inherits a unique microbial foundation from their mother at birth, linking modern metabolic health directly to past generations.
Bridging Agriculture and Microbial Health
Modern nutritional research increasingly aligns with sustainable land management. Regenerative farming practices focus on restoring topsoil, encouraging local biodiversity, and cultivating food richer in essential nutrients. Aligning meal choices with regional harvests supports both ecological systems and natural human biology.
Ultimately, human physiology developed alongside natural ecosystems, making seasonal alignment a practical tool for daily wellbeing.
Core Habits for Microbial Support
Dr Williamson highlights three practical strategies to support digestive wellness as temperatures drop:
Integrate small portions of fermented foods into daily meals.
Target approximately 30 distinct plant foods each week, incorporating vegetables, fruits, whole grains, pulses, nuts, seeds, herbs, and spices.
Prioritise local seasonal produce alongside frozen alternatives, which maintain their nutrient profile and offer an accessible year-round option.
Autumn Gut-Health Recipes
The following recipes, adapted from Dr Williamson's book Soil to Gut:
How to Regenerate Your Health with Food, showcase how sustainable agriculture, soil nutrition, and dietary diversity interact to support
digestive health.
Roasted Squash and Nutmeg Soup with Spiced Chickpeas
Root vegetables and British squashes reach their peak in early autumn, providing rich colour and natural sweetness when roasted.
Serves 6
Preparation: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 45 minutes
Oven Temperature: 180°C (350°F) fan
Ingredients
1 onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves
1 large winter squash (butternut, pumpkin, or crown)
200 g chickpeas
500 ml quality stock (vegetable or chicken), combined with 300 ml water
1 tbsp raw apple cider vinegar
Extra virgin olive oil and cold-pressed rapeseed oil
½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of chilli powder
Sea salt and cracked black pepper
Method
Halve the squash, scoop out the seeds, and set the seeds aside. Place the halves flesh-side up on a roasting tray, drizzle with olive oil, season, and place a garlic clove in each central hollow.
Dry the chickpeas thoroughly with a clean towel. Spread them on a lined baking sheet, toss with ½ tbsp olive oil and sea salt.
Roast both trays for 30 minutes until the squash turns tender and the chickpeas crisp up.
Sauté the onion in rapeseed oil with a pinch of salt over low heat for 10 minutes until soft.
Scoop the roasted squash flesh into the onions, pour in the stock, add the nutmeg, and simmer gently for 5 minutes.
Puree until smooth, stir in the apple cider vinegar, and adjust seasoning. Season the crisp chickpeas with pepper and chilli powder before using them as a garnish.
Zero-Waste Additions:
Squash Crisps: Slice the roasted squash skin into small pieces, coat in the remaining tray oil, and bake at 160°C fan for 10 minutes until crisp.
Toasted Seeds: Rinse the reserved squash seeds, dry thoroughly, and toast alongside the skins with sea salt.
Vegetable Fritters and Labneh
Labneh is a strained yogurt used predominantly in the Middle East. It is similar to cream cheese and is a fun and easy thing to make at home. You can vary the flavour by mixing in fresh herbs or lemon zest once strained. It can also be used as a cream cheese replacement in baking but paired up with these delicious savoury fritters for a delicious light lunch or a super supper snack simply couldn’t be better!
Make 12 large fritters
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
For the fritters:
3 large carrots grated
2 small onions
2 garlic cloves crushed
250g feta
½ lemon juiced
1 bunch parsley, finely chopped
3 eggs
Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil
125g yellow pea flour (we used Hodmedod’s)
1tsp whole cumin seed
2tsp baking powder
Sea salt and pepper
For the Labneh:
500ml thick bio live yogurt
1tsp sea salt
Method
For the fritters:
Sauté the onions in a non-stick pan with a little cold pressed rapeseed oil a pinch of salt. Once soft, add the crushed garlic, cumin seeds and grated carrots. Cook for 5-10 minutes
In a large bowl, crack the eggs and whip. Whisk in the yellow pea flour, baking powder and seasoning. It should resemble thick pancake batter
Add the contents of the pan, the feta, lemon juice and parsley. Mix well, season to taste
Wipe out your pan and cover with 1tbsp of rapeseed oil on a medium to high heat (do not allow to smoke)
Spoon in tablespoons of the mix and shallow fry into individual fritters until golden brown on each side. You will need to do a few batches
Place on kitchen roll once they are ready, to remove the excess oil before serving.
You can reheat them afterwards if required
For the Labneh:
Place the yogurt in a mixing bowl and stir in the salt
Drape a clean muslin cloth over a sieve and spoon in the yogurt
Gather up the sides of the cloth and tie with string
Suspend the muslin ‘bag’ overnight from a tap or other, with a bowl underneath
In the morning turn out the contents of the muslin – this is your labneh
Store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to five days
To Serve: either put out a sharing platter of fritters with a bowl of labneh of serve individually on plates with a side salad.
Sourcing and Sustainability
Head to your nearest farm shop or choose as local as possible; at least British, from the supermarket. If you’re really lucky maybe you grow your own veg or have a community garden nearby... These fritters freeze well too so they’re great for batch cooking.
Nutrition
With such colourful plant variety (including the herbs and spices) and nutrient-dense labneh, these are a fabulous way to get children to enjoy vegetables and nurture those precious gut microbes!
Mushroom Risotto with Crispy Kale
Using British barley and spelt in this recipe instead of arborio rice gives it a lovely nutty texture and its umami taste may help with our natural appetite system too. A wonderful hearty autumnal recipe – add toppers of your choice!
Serves 4
Prep: 20 mins
Cooking: Two methods here – 40 mins or 20 mins for a simpler version.
Ingredients
100g pearl barley and 100g spelt
1 onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
50g butter
2 tsps cold pressed rapeseed oil or extra virgin olive oil
500ml good quality chicken or vegetable stock (check the soup recipe)
25g dried wild mushroom mix, rinsed well.
100g fresh mushrooms eg chestnut
200g kale – leaves removed from thick stalks and washed.
1 Sprig of fresh rosemary or 1 tsp of dried rosemary; thyme also works well.
1 lemon, zest and juice
1 leek
100g spinach
100g grated hard cheese (Parmigiano or equivalent)
Salt and pepper
Method
Place a non-stick pan over a low heat, add the butter and oil. Add the finely chopped onion and cook gently for 5-10 minutes with a little salt until translucent (but not coloured), then add the garlic and chopped rosemary, cook for a further 5 minutes.
Add the pearl barley, spelt and dried mushrooms. Stir well to ensure it is coated in the butter/oil.
Keeping the heat on medium start adding in the stock, stirring frequently. The barley and spelt will take about 25 minutes to cook through, and you will be gradually adding liquid throughout. Add a little more water if necessary.
Next, prepare, chop and wash the leeks – remove their outer tougher dark green ends and stalk, slice in half lengthwise and chop into 1 cm pieces. Sauté the leeks with a pinch of salt in a little extra virgin olive oil and add them to the risotto pan, once tender and still bright green. Adding the leeks at the end like this helps to retain their bright colour.
Sauté the sliced fresh mushrooms and add them into the risotto with the grated cheese, lemon zest and juice, and seasoning.
Finally wilt in the spinach.
Check the taste and adjust as necessary with extra salt and pepper.
While the risotto is keeping warm over a low heat, quickly stir fry the kale in the oils left from the leek and mushroom pan. Grind in a little sea salt at the same time. Stir it swiftly over a medium heat until crispy – about 5 minutes.
To Serve: Drizzle over some extra virgin olive oil and melt in the goat cheese. Enjoy the crunch of the crispy kale on the side! Extra toppings: roasted walnuts or hazelnuts (170° for 5-10 minutes), chicken (see Spatchcock Chicken recipe) and extra parmigiano shards all work well.
Sourcing and Seasonal
Mushrooms: try to choose ones which have been grown outdoors. These will be a good source of Vitamin D. Did you know you can also leave fresh mushrooms out in the sun, and they make more vitamin D?! You can use this recipe as a ‘risotto base’ (without the mushrooms) then simply enjoy with other seasonal vegetables. Green leaves like watercress, rocket or beetroot leaves work well as a topper too. You can find barley and spelt fairly easily or Hodmedods online for British, nature-friendly growers
Nutrition Notes
With so many different types of plant fibre this is a fabulous recipe for getting plant variety into your week! Mushrooms can be a valuable source of vitamin D if they’ve been grown outside and their umami flavour together with the bitter tasting vegetables here (kale, onion, garlic, walnuts if using) help with a feeling of fullness. Packed with gut healthy antioxidants, and extra toppers bring extra goodness too.
Adapting to seasonal changes requires a holistic view of personal wellbeing, balancing light exposure, daily rhythms, and internal chemistry. While Seasonal Affective Disorder presents real challenges each autumn, supporting the gut microbiome with diverse, seasonal, and fermented plant foods provides a meaningful foundation for physical resilience and mood stability through the winter months.
To find out more visit www.lwnutrition.co.uk or read Soil to Gut available in hardback retailing at £24.99 To order https://5mbooks.com/product/soil-to-gut
Ollēdi © 2026
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