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The little known secret to great health…is in your hands

Natural Medicine Melbourne Naturopath Nutritionist Melbourne No Comments

When I began studying Naturopathy in 2002, I was stunned and amazed by the host of health treatments and information that exists in the field of natural healthcare.

Who knew there was a whole wellness industry out there focused on the treatment and prevention of illness? What a concept!

Growing up, I had a mostly western medicine approach to health. My only experience of holistic healthcare was from eating a healthy diet, which my parents considered essential for health living.

As I was nearing the end of my Naturopathic studies in 2006, I had to decide on an area to specialise in. For me, Nutrition was my favorite modality in the whole course and the one which I naturally gravitated to.

I loved the whole concept of ‘Food as Medicine’ but also using the diet as a preventative treatment to maintain health. It just made so much sense that we all have to eat, so why not select foods that could reduce weight, decrease inflammation, improve energy, improve periods and other women’s health issues, enhance fertility, improve immunity, reduce anxiety and depression, enhance concentration and memory and improve just about any health concern you care to mention.

The study of Naturopathy is very comprehensive in the fields of study that it entails. Ranging from hands on therapies such as reflexology and massage to nutrition, herbal medicine, homeopathy and more. Not to mention the health science subjects such as chemistry, physics, anatomy & physiology, pathophysiology & symptomology and pathology to name a few.

So whilst Nutrition has always been my favorite treatment to share with clients, the combination of Nutrition and Naturopathic principals is quite exceptional in the results it can achieve.

The twin power of Naturopathic Nutrition can boost your health beyond belief.

Before I go on I should explain, I don’t use any hands on therapies (despite having trained in them). I prefer to work as an ingestive practitioner (ie. I prescribe diet, herbal and nutritional formulas in the form of powders, tablets, capsules, etc…anything that you ingest).

However, treatment recommendations don’t end there. Lifestyle recommendations and referrals to other treatment modalities (sometimes for hands on treatment, etc) or specialised testing also rounds out the Naturopathic Nutrition (NN) experience.

One the best things about using NN is that you will not only get well, you also be educated and empowered to take control of your health.

So that instead of just going to appointments and getting prescriptions when you’re sick, you’ll be able to help prevent getting sick in the first place. Or able to get better quicker by adjusting your routine, lifestyle & diet.

Working with a NN means you’ll learn what caused you to become unwell in the first place and you can use this knowledge to prevent it happening again.

For instance, as a past sufferer of sinus infections, I know my triggers are diary, sugar and stress. This trinty of factors repeatedly lead me to suffering horrible headaches, nasal congestion, fatigue and facial pain on and off for years until I made this discovery that changed my life.

Thesedays, my sinus infections are very mild or non-existent. But I could have gone my whole life without knowing that I had the power to prevent and treat these infections effortlessly.

There has never been a better time to invest in your health. Book today for a healthier tomorrow.

How do I know if I’m dehydrated?

Health Wellness Uncategorized No Comments

Dehydration can affect anyone, any time, anywhere and in any season including winter.

However, in the warmer months it’s very easy to become dehydrated without even realizing it.

There are many people who are at an especially high risk of dehydration. They include the elderly who have a reduced sensation of thirst. Athletes and tradespeople who perspire at a higher rate due to the physical nature of their jobs. And young children and infants who need to be offered liquids frequently, as they are unable to ask or know when they need it.

But you don’t just have to be in a high risk group to be affected by dehydration. 

Picture this…..you’ve just put in a long day at the office and have had a couple of coffees to keep you going. After work you go out for drinks with friends.

You notice that you’ve hardly gone to the toilet all day and when you did go, it was a horrible dark brown color with a strong smell.

Feeling a little head achy and weak, you decided to have something to eat…assuming that you must be hungry. Oddly, you seemed to be craving salt so a big serve of French fries seemed like the perfect snack. After eating the fries you felt nauseous and really unwell. Your head started pounding and you felt like you needed to lay down.

You decided it’s time to go home, take some Panadol and go to bed. All the while not realizing that much of what you experienced was simply a lack of water.

Caffeine and alcohol exacerbated the dehydration problem by acting as diuretics further reducing your available water and the salt compounded the issue.

For many, the signs and symptoms of dehydration are often missed or attributed to something else entirely. For instance, nausea and headaches are common in people who need to rehydrate. As are feelings of fatigue and weakness, irritability, lack of concentration, palpitations, dry skin and muscle cramps and spasms.

The sensation of a dry mouth is one of the last symptoms that people experience and by the time that people register that they’re thirsty, they’re already dehydrated.

So how do you know if you are hydrated?

Well aside from a lack of the symptoms above, you will also have very light colored urine. This is really the best indication to go by.

Sometimes you have to drink water even when you don’t feel that you need it. This just keeps you topped up to account for all the body processes that use water continually to detoxify and purify your liver, bowel, kidneys, skin, etc.

So when in doubt aim for 2-3 litres of water a day. A small glass every hour or two is absorbed better than a whole litre at once! Keep a jug or water bottle within eyesight to prompt you to drink more and you body will thank you for it.