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Free guides

Free guides from Charmaine

Clear, practical guides on the questions I hear most in clinic. Pop in your email and I’ll send your guide straight to your inbox. No cost and no obligation.

Charmaine Shepherd smiling, wearing green
Leafy greens, pomegranate, lentils and seeds beside a blood sample tube on linen
Iron & ferritin guide

Why your iron tests keep coming back “normal”

A guide to ferritin, the full iron panel and the gut connection most people miss.

Inside the guide

  • Where ferritin needs to be, not just where it’s flagged
  • How to read every line of your iron panel
  • Why your gut may be blocking iron absorption
  • A results tracker and questions to take to your GP

We’ll only use your email to send this guide and a few short follow-up emails on the same topic. Your details are stored securely with our email provider, Brevo. See the privacy policy.

Prefer to read online? Read the article version →

A jar of sauerkraut, a bowl of kefir, figs, oats and sage on a linen cloth
Gut & menopause guide

The missing link: your gut and perimenopause

How your gut could be driving bloating, brain fog, anxiety and other perimenopause symptoms.

Inside the guide

  • A symptom checklist you can tick through
  • What the 2026 study of 964 women found
  • Five ways oestrogen and the gut affect each other
  • Practical first steps, and when to look further

We’ll only use your email to send this guide and a few short follow-up emails on the same topic. Your details are stored securely with our email provider, Brevo. See the privacy policy.

Prefer to read online? Read the article version →

A clipboard, pen and five blood sample tubes in a rack beside a sprig of rosemary
5 blood markers guide

The 5 blood markers your GP doesn’t usually test

Normal versus optimal for ferritin, vitamin D, thyroid, hs-CRP and fasting insulin.

Inside the guide

  • NHS and functional ranges side by side
  • Signs each marker may be out of balance
  • What to do if yours isn’t where it should be
  • A one-page results tracker

We’ll only use your email to send this guide and a few short follow-up emails on the same topic. Your details are stored securely with our email provider, Brevo. See the privacy policy.

Prefer to read online? Read the article version →

Next step

Want to know what your own results mean?

The guides explain the patterns I look for. A consultation applies them to you: your symptoms, your history and your test results, read against functional target ranges.

Start with a free 20-minute discovery call, by phone or video. See the tests I use or join an online workshop.

Ready to get to the root of it?

Book a free discovery call and we’ll work out the best next step together.

Book a free discovery call

Free, no obligation. First consultation £354, including a health coaching session. See fees

Consultation room at the clinic, 4 Albyn Place, Edinburgh
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