Immune System

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With the increasing knowledge around these days about how our gut health impacts our whole body,  fermented foods have become extremely popular.  It’s now common to see kombucha (fermented tea) being sold in the cold drinks aisle in the local supermarket, sauerkraut at community markets and all kinds of yoghurts […]

Can Fermented Foods Be Bad For You?

At the time I am writing this (summer 2019), Australia (and particularly my home state of Queensland as well as New South Wales) are in the grip of a combination of smoke haze from bushfires, and dust in the air from the unprecedented drought.   While we can't do much […]

Top 6 Tips For Dealing With Smoke & Dust

No, not the kind that you’re thinking of!   While I consider them no less ‘magic’, I’m actually talking about medicinal mushrooms.   You might be surprised to learn that some of the herbs we use as remedies strictly speaking aren’t actually ‘herbs’ at all – and certain mushrooms fall […]

The Good ‘Shrooms

2017 was an infamous flu season, both here and abroad. Here in Australia we saw a spike in the number and severity of flu cases, with so many people falling ill – even those who normally escape these kinds of infections. With this in mind, I’ve been seeing plenty of […]

Why We Get Sick – And What To Do About ...

Allergies – causing sneezing, wheezing and sinus trouble can really put a dampener on your day! And with around 14% of people currently experiencing recurring episodes of hayfever (a figure that is increasing each year), allergies certainly are not uncommon.   Unfortunately for those of us in the Toowoomba region, […]

Are Spring Allergies Getting You Down?

I’ve recently returned from a couple of weeks away in beautiful NSW, where I was lucky enough to attend the Metagenics 2017 International Congress on Natural Medicine. This event oh-so-conveniently happened to be held in the Hunter Valley (lets just say that this naturopath received an education in local wine […]

Your Gut is an Amazing Thing

Like many herbs that I use in my clinic on a day-to-day basis, Elderberry (Sambucus nigra) has been around for quite a while. Thousands of years, in fact. It is a well-known plant that was used by Native Americans, those living in medieval Europe and even right back to the […]

Elderberry For Colds, Flus…And More

Zinc.  In my opinion it’s one of the most underrated and overlooked nutrients when it comes to health.   Thankfully, it happens to be one of the easiest minerals to assess for, and also one of the easiest deficiencies to correct with the right foods and if necessary, appropriate supplements. So […]

7 Things You Didn’t Know About Zinc (And Why You ...

Vitamin D
There have been a few interesting articles regarding Vitamin D in the media recently.  If you haven't seen them, here's a bit of a summary:   Vitamin D reduces asthma 1 A review of several studies has shown that supplementing with Vitamin D resulted in fewer asthma attacks, with less need […]

Vitamin D Helps Prevent Asthma and Infections

I recently attended a great seminar by Metagenics, entitled ‘Cellular and Systemic Bioenergetics: Effective Solutions for Clinical Fatigue’.  It sounds like a fancy name, but all in all it was a seminar that focused on why people feel tired a lot of the time, and what we can do about […]

Chronic Fatigue

If you have a child who is a fussy eater, they may be low in zinc. Low zinc levels, in turn, affect the sense of taste and smell, which can then create further problems with appetite.   Zinc is an essential mineral that is involved in the function of every […]

Is Your Child A Fussy Eater?

Chicken soup has long been a home remedy for colds and flus - and it turns out there is actually scientific evidence that good old chicken soup helps relieve symptoms.   This is a great recipe to make regularly during cold and flu season. Freeze some of the leftovers (in […]

Chicken Soup For Colds & Flus

Growing your own herbal remedies is both easy to do and rewarding.  I keep a few ‘dual purpose’ herbs on hand in my herb garden, and I use them in both cooking and medicinally.   Making a herbal tea is simple - you just need a good-sized teapot with a […]

DIY Home Herbal Remedies

With cold & flu season well and truly approaching, have you thought about steps you can take to help prevent infections occurring in the first place?   As the old saying used to go - ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’!   Here are a few […]

Supporting The Immune System Naturally