When we think about trauma, we often picture emotional wounds, difficult memories or the impact it has on our mental health. But what if trauma also affects your gut, your eating habits and even the way your body holds onto weight? These are the questions Lydia explores in Episode 28 of Riding the Trauma Train with Charlotte Price, founder of Eat Nourish Heal. As a naturopathic nutritional therapist, wellness coach and yoga teacher, Charlotte takes a holistic approach to health, helping people understand how nutrition, lifestyle and nervous system regulation work together to support healing. Their conversation is a powerful reminder that recovery isn’t just about healing the mind. It’s about supporting the whole person.
Why Trauma Changes Our Relationship With Food
Many people who’ve experienced trauma notice changes in their eating habits. Some lose their appetite entirely, while others find themselves reaching for sugary snacks, comfort foods or eating mindlessly when they’re overwhelmed. Charlotte explains that this isn’t simply about lacking willpower. When the nervous system becomes dysregulated through trauma, our brains naturally seek ways to regain a sense of safety or control, and food is one of the easiest and most accessible ways to do that. Sugary foods, in particular, create a quick dopamine release, providing temporary comfort. The challenge is that this relief doesn’t last, often leaving us craving more and reinforcing the cycle. Understanding this can help us replace self-criticism with compassion, recognising these behaviours as adaptations that once helped us cope.
The Gut-Brain Connection
One of the most fascinating parts of the episode is the discussion around the gut-brain connection. Your gut isn’t just responsible for digestion. It’s constantly communicating with your brain through a complex network of nerves, hormones and neurotransmitters. Charlotte explains that when the balance of bacteria within the gut microbiome becomes disrupted, it can influence mood, energy levels, cravings, digestion and overall wellbeing. This means that poor gut health can sometimes amplify the effects of stress or trauma, creating a cycle that’s difficult to break. While nutrition isn’t a cure for trauma, supporting your gut health can become one important part of a wider healing journey.
Healing Requires More Than One Approach
One of the themes that runs throughout this conversation is that healing is rarely one-dimensional. Therapy may help us process difficult experiences. Nutrition can support our physical health. Movement helps regulate the nervous system. Sleep, stress management and self-compassion all have a role to play too. Rather than seeing these as separate approaches, Charlotte encourages us to think about them as pieces of the same puzzle. Looking after your body isn’t separate from healing your mind—they’re deeply connected.
Eating the Rainbow
When people think about healthy eating, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by complicated diets or restrictive food rules. Charlotte takes a refreshingly simple approach. Instead of focusing on what to cut out, she encourages adding more variety. Her challenge? Aim to eat 30 different plant foods each week, including fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices, nuts, seeds, beans and pulses. Different plants feed different beneficial bacteria within the gut, helping to support a healthier and more diverse microbiome. It’s a practical reminder that nutrition doesn’t have to be perfect—it just needs to become more varied.
Progress Over Perfection
One message Lydia and Charlotte return to throughout the episode is the importance of balance. Too often, health advice becomes all or nothing. Charlotte instead advocates for an 80/20 approach. Most of the time, nourish your body with foods that help you feel your best. Sometimes, enjoy the meal out, the slice of cake or the chocolate without guilt. Restriction often creates more stress, and stress itself can affect both the nervous system and overall wellbeing. Healing isn’t about perfection. It’s about consistency, kindness and making sustainable choices.
Movement as Part of Healing
Charlotte also shares how yoga has become an important part of her work. Practices such as Yin Yoga and Yoga Nidra offer more than physical flexibility. They encourage slowing down, reconnecting with the breath and giving the nervous system an opportunity to settle. For many people living with trauma or chronic stress, gentle movement can become another valuable tool for building resilience and creating moments of safety within the body. Healing doesn’t always have to involve doing more. Sometimes it begins by slowing down.
For Those Who Want to Go a Bit Deeper…
One of the most powerful ideas discussed in this episode is that our bodies often adapt in remarkable ways to help us survive difficult experiences. Whether that’s changes in eating habits, energy levels or even how safe we feel in our own bodies, many responses that seem frustrating today may once have been protective. Recognising those patterns isn’t about assigning blame or searching for a quick fix. It’s about approaching ourselves with curiosity and compassion. As we begin to understand why our bodies respond the way they do, we create opportunities to support healing rather than fight against ourselves.
Final Thoughts
Trauma doesn’t just affect the mind. It can shape our relationship with food, influence our nervous system and impact the way our bodies function long after the original events have passed. The encouraging message from this episode is that healing is possible—not through perfection or punishment, but through understanding, nourishment and learning to work with your body rather than against it. If this conversation resonated with you, remember that you don’t have to navigate your healing journey alone. Seeking support from trauma-informed professionals, whether therapeutic, nutritional or medical, can be an important step towards greater wellbeing.
Listen to Episode 28
Trauma, Gut Health & Healing from the Inside Out with Charlotte from Eat Nourish Heal
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