eat well, feel great!
Welcome to my website! My hope is that my enthusiasm and love for great food, along with some sound information and advice, will guide you to make better nutritional choices. My motivation is simply that when we eat well and feel great, we enjoy our lives better…
Nutritional Consultations
Talks/Webinars
Recipes
Learn about how simple changes can make a huge difference, one step at a time
Any positive change, whether it is to your lifestyle or eating habits, will make a difference to your health. When we make one small step, then another and then another, we suddenly find that these small steps combined have made one big step! I don’t believe that there is any point in overwhelming people with too many changes all at once. We don’t need to start with perfect. Let’s just make some better choices to begin with…
About Lyn
Nutritional Therapist Dip Nut CNM
I have always loved food! Eating delicious meals around the table with family are among some of my fondest memories growing up. I also always thought that I could eat anything, because I didn’t put on weight. However, as a teenager I began to suffer from anaemia and began a cycle of iron and B Complex supplements.
With hindsight (twenty-twenty vision of course) I now understand, that as over the years my fatigue and brain fog became worse, the supplements were merely patching over symptoms, as opposed to treating an underlying cause.
As a result of other health issues which arose, I finally discovered that I had Coeliac disease and my digestive tract was in very poor shape. However, when I changed my diet, I began to feel more awake and the world became more colourful.
What is a Naturopathic Nutritional Therapist?
A Nutritional Therapist provides personalised diet and lifestyle advice, which is customized to suit your current needs and lifestyle, with your health goals in mind. This includes advice about food and lifestyle changes, practical recipes and ideas on how to incorporate all of these into your daily routine.
How I can help you…
Nutritional therapy supports people who are trying to alleviate specific symptoms, as well as those who would just like to improve their overall health and wellbeing. In a nutshell, Nutritional Therapy helps you to identify the foods which support your body to function optimally, and help you to look and feel your best. I will also throw in some personalised and manageable lifestyle tips for good measure!
Healthy Eating
Food plans based on your own particular likes and lifestyle and to support any health conditions you are experiencing
Planning Your Day
Personalising food and lifestyle tips which will work for you and support your health goals
Hormonal Issues
So many health issues are driven by hormone imbalances and can be extremely debilitating
Auto-Immune
Nutrition plays a huge role in reducing the impact of excess inflammation associated with Auto-Immune conditions
My Qualifications
A qualified Nutritional Therapist holds a diploma in Nutritional Therapy and is trained in basic biochemistry, physiology and pathology as well as supervised clinical practice. As such, a Nutritional Therapist is qualified to work in private practice and see clients on a one to one or group basis.
I achieved my Diploma in Naturopathic Nutritional Therapy from the College of Naturopathic Medicine in Dublin. This diploma course can be completed in four years, but I chose to do both my lectures and clinics together in third year and so completed in three. This was quite tough as I was also working full time, so let’s just say that I was a little tired by the end and was my own first client!
However, the main reason why I chose this particular course, was due to the fact that it offered its students the most supervised clinic hours. This was extremely important to me, in terms of learning how to apply the knowledge in a clinic setting. I was also very focussed on learning more about how we can support our health through a holistic lens, and so the naturopathic principles appealed to me enormously.
Stay in touch – Science, Lifestyle Tips and Recipes!
I will keep you up-dated with the latest science from my Continuous Professional Development Classes and about any new tips and tricks I find for making staying healthy simple and fun, so subscribe today!
Download FREE Recipes!
Click on the links for simple and nutritious recipes, which I am confident you will enjoy…
Have any questions?
If you have any questions about any of my services, I would be delighted to hear from you! Please send me a message here…
What do my clients say?
Lyn Sharkey is an absolute godsend and is phenomenal at what she does. Every session is informative and interesting as she explains everything is such a way to help you understand food, and make informed decisions. She has such an amazing personality, is so passionate about what she does. – Fertility Client, Cavan.
Lynn was amazing. Having a few different medical conditions I found it difficult to get someone who could take these into account, however not only did Lynn take these and my medications into account she gave me an easy to follow workable plan which we altered to best suit me. Lynn went above and beyond and I would highly recommend her. – Ed
Latest Blog Posts
Prebiotics & Probiotics: Essentials for Digestion, Immunity and Wellbeing
Encouraging a healthy microbiome, by consuming prebiotic and probiotic foods, is essential in order for us to maintain good gut health, and so overall health, immunity and wellbeing
Choccy Chia Treat Pot
I love a chia pudding and this recipe was inspired by many that I have seen online. As usual, I made it and tweaked to suit what I have in my store cupboard!
What oil should I use when I’m cooking?…
When it comes to oils, it can be really confusing to know which ones are the healthiest to use. Whether the chat is around smoke points, cholesterol or heart disease, how do we make the best choice. In other words, what oil should I use when I’m cooking?
What is it about dogs?…
As I was cleaning up our new pet pooch’s poop this morning (still in training but doing well, fair play to him), he looked up at me with an “I’m so adorable and innocent look”. I couldn’t be annoyed with him...
Quick & Easy Omelette (or Frittata)
We all need to have some quick and easy, but nourishing, go-to recipes for mid-week and this is one of mine. I am not sure if it is strictly speaking an omelette or a frittata so I like to call it an omelettata!
Smoked Salmon Starter
I hesitate to call this a recipe for a smoked salmon starter! It is actually more of an assembly, so really fast convenient and yet....looks so pretty!
Sun Cream – Stay safe in the sun…
We are all very aware that we need to avoid burning in the sun in order to reduce the risk of cancer and so sun cream is near the top of the list when we are preparing for hot weather.
The Relaxing Benefits of an Epsom Salts Bath…
Baths are a luxury these days! We simply don't seem to have time for them, or at least I haven't anyway. However, recently I have been making an effort to make time to enjoy the relaxing benefits of an epsom salts bath
Medicinal Mushrooms…
Medicinal Mushrooms possess therapeutic properties which have been harnessed by cultures around the world for millennia
Considering Calcium: Bone Health & much more…
While we know that it plays a fundamental role in the building of our bones, Calcium’s influence goes far beyond bone health. It plays a vital role in other processes including muscle function, nerve transmission, and even blood clotting. In other words, it helps us to maintain a well-functioning body, in addition to preventing bone diseases.
The Baby Wait
Lessons Learned While Trying To Become a Mum
“In this practical guide, Sharkey… explores the physical and emotional dimensions of infertility. Urging women to learn about their own fertility, charting, nutrition and exercise. More significantly, the author considers the “emotional layer cake” of hopefulness and grief… Sharkey’s voice is astute and appropriately funny… Readers may wish to hand out copies of the very useful concluding chapter on how to help a friend who struggles with infertility. This book is a welcome addition to the pregnancy and parenting shelves.
American Publishers Weekly June 2013
Also available to download in eBook format.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a “good” diet?
Generally speaking, a good diet is based on whole (natural and unprocessed) foods, which our bodies understand and can use as raw materials to keep us functioning well and healthy. However, the detail of your food plan can vary from person to person because we are all individual and may have complicated medical histories. Fad “diets” however, can be too restrictive and focus on weight as opposed to health. In order to achieve a sustainable healthy change to your nutrition, it is advisable to get some tailored advice to suit your current health needs and goals.
Should I give up eating meat?
Becoming Vegetarian or Vegan is a personal choice and I would not try to persuade a client to do this unless they were fully committed. Vegetarian and vegan meals are perfectly nutritious when you really understand how to make sure you are eating the correct proteins, sometimes in particular combinations, to ensure that you are getting all nine essential amino acids. Omitting animal proteins also requires you to supplement with Vitamin B12, and not all B12 supplements are made equal. In summary, giving up eating meat may be beneficial to your health, but it is really worth getting some good information about how to plan your vegetarian or vegan meals.
Should I be counting calories at my meals?
Counting calories is not something that I would be a fan of, simply because I believe that it has a negative effect on our relationship with food and does not focus on its nutritional content. For example, avocados have approximately 160 calories and yet are so nutritionally dense, they will not contribute to weight gain, but will have a positive effect on your metabolism which will support weight loss. Aside from that, counting calories must be a nuisance. My belief is that educating clients about food and its nutritional content, can inspire them to make sustainable long lasting changes to how they eat.
What are the Four Pillars of Health?
The four pillars are Nutrition, Exercise/Movement, Sleep and Relaxation/Spiritual. All four underpin our health and wellbeing and they can also drive each other positively or negatively. As a Naturopathic Nutritional Therapist, along with advice and information about food, I would include tips on the other three pillars as part of a client’s plan.
How long does a consultation last?
An initial consultation usually lasts about 1.5 hours, as we would go through current symptoms, medical history and family medical history. This all helps to build up a picture of the current state of health, root causes and what nutrional supports are required. Follow up consultations would just be up to ½ an hour.
How many portions of Fruit and Vegetables should you eat in a day?
The general guidelines would suggest 7-9 portions per day, with more vegetables than fruit proportionately. However, again this can vary from person to person depending on their current state of health and how their digestion is functioning. For example, if someone is currently eating one portion per day, they should not increase their intake too fast, but build up slowly. Also, they may need to consider which vegetables and fruit will suit them if their digestion is compromised.
Memberships and Associations
