Welcome to 🧠Second Brain!
Simple, science-backed nutrition and gut health - for better energy, mood, and whole-body health, now and long term. From scientist, dietitian, and former chef, Dr Emily Leeming.
🔗 All subscribers get access to the Second Brain vault, packed with practical cheatsheets, checklists, and downloadable guides.
Why ‘Second Brain’?
You’ll often hear the gut called the second brain.
That’s because it has its own nervous system and is constantly sending and receiving messages around the body.
The brain is part of that conversation, which is why phrases like gut feeling or butterflies in your stomach exist.
But gut health affects nearly every major system in the body, not just how we think or feel.
When the gut isn’t working well, it tends to show up everywhere else.
At its core, gut health is about creating a strong foundation for whole-body health.
What you’ll find in Second Brain
Second Brain is about nutrition that actually fits into real life.
I write about how food supports your gut, energy, mood, metabolism, immunity, and long-term health, without turning eating into a project or a set of rules.
You’ll see a mix of:
clear, evidence-based nutrition advice
gut microbiome science (explained simply, without hype)
practical food ideas you can actually use
myth-busting when nutrition headlines get noisy
The gut microbiome shows up often (because it matters) but always as part of the bigger picture of whole-body health.
No restriction, no overthinking, just useful information that helps you make everyday food choices with a bit more confidence.
My approach
Most people don’t struggle because they don’t care about their health, they struggle because advice feels overwhelming, contradictory, or hard to stick to.
My approach is about add-ins.
Instead of focusing on what to cut out, I focus on what you can add in.
That might be:
adding more fibre-rich foods
building meals that keep energy steady
supporting digestion without obsessing over it
making nutrition feel calmer and more intuitive
It’s evidence-led, realistic, and designed to work in everyday life - and most of all, enjoyable (and tasty too).
Second Brain is written by Dr Emily Leeming PhD MSc RD - a registered dietitian with three degrees in nutrition, and an active researcher in nutrition, fibre, and the gut microbiome at King’s College London, TEDx and international keynote speaker, and former chef.
I’m also a bi-weekly columnist for the Daily Mail, and the author of Genius Gut and my upcoming book, Fibre Power - your four week plan to eating 30g of fibre a day, with 60 delicious recipes.
You can also find me on Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Hope to see you soon!
Emily xx
