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Is it time for change?

Is it time for change?

By in Uncategorized
6 years ago
3 0

It’s January and we hope you’re feeling invigorated by the year ahead, becoming more conscious of your health goals again. It could be following a carefree Christmas or you may have just decided this is the year to become a better version of yourself…..one with more energy, glowing skin and better sleep habits? Losing weight is a common goal for our clients but as naturopaths and holistic nutritionists we’re also focused on your long term health and wellness so you feel great and can maintain results. We know short term diets don’t work because they aren’t sustainable so there’s no standard plan, it all depends on your individual health needs, goals and preferences. If you’re ready to commit to change then take advantage of our new year offer with naturopath Olga Bowers-Taylor. Olga is an experienced naturopath, during the initial consult she’ll take a full health history, review your current

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Does the festive season Stress you out?

By in adrenal health, Diet, stress
6 years ago
0 0

As we get into the busy Christmas season it’s even more important to think about how you manage your stress levels, get some tips with this article written by naturopath Olga Bowers-Taylor. Stress! What is it? ‘A state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances’. We all experience it, sometimes for a short time, sometimes for longer, sometimes it doesn’t seem to go away. How we deal with it is very important. Some people seem to manage it better than others. Experiencing a bit of stress every now and again is good, it motivates us, it allows us to get moving, get things done, finish tasks and so on. When this happens, we activate the fight or flight response and the stress hormones cortisol and adrenalin are release from our adrenal glands. This is helpful as we become sharper, more awake, more responsive, more

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Period pain is normal, right?

By in womens health
7 years ago
2 0

Errr, no….it’s very common but it’s not normal! Many women suffer from period pain and disruptive premenstrual tension (PMT) but the pain can be debilitating affecting a woman’s ability to work and enjoy her life during that time.  Period pain is abdominal pain which is experienced during or before menstruation, most typically in young women two to three years after the onset of menstruation. The pain can be in the form of spasmodic cramping, lower abdominal pain, lower back pain or a pulling sensation in the inner thighs. There are often headaches, dizziness, vomiting, nausea, diarrhoea or constipation (or both). There is a massive industry on controlling period pain, whether it be pharmaceutical drugs, vitamins and minerals or even heat bags which can all be effective. But because it’s considered normal, we often think we should just grin and bear it. However, by addressing the underlying cause/s period pain is definitely

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Thinking about a Spring Detox?

By in Uncategorized
9 years ago
5

We’re getting excited as summer makes its way to Melbourne and it’s a great time to focus on health, especially if you need to shed any winter layers. A detox is a popular kick start to a healthier looking you but what exactly does it mean? With promises of weight loss, increased energy and glowing skin it’s easy to understand why they’re a marketeers dream……however juice fasts, lemon detox and over the counter liver cleanse packs are NOT on my list of recommended things to do. However in general I agree, doing a good detox programme can be an enlightening experience and beneficial to both short term and long term health. As always, there’s never a one size fits all protocol and you should approach anything that seems too extreme with hesitation because there are times when detoxing and using the wrong programme could be detrimental for your health or

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Gut Reaction

By in Uncategorized
9 years ago
1

I work a lot with digestive health including all kinds of symptoms from bloating to severe pain and nausea. It’s amazing what many people (and medical professionals) think is normal or just the way things are. Let me warn you, like most naturopaths I’m very comfortable talking about toilet habits so if you’re perturbed by the topic maybe skip this post (or the final paragraphs). However I’ve been inspired to write about digestive health since it’s a very common treatment area for us and I recently watched an ABC programme, Catalyst, which was investigating the association between diet and gut health. They opened with ‘Could what you eat be affecting your health?’ Ah duh, I almost switched off in protest. But the programme was actually much more insightful since it was reporting research from the last decade which links the health of your gut flora (good and bad bacteria) to

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Is Paleo the Way?

By in Diet
9 years ago
3

Unless you’ve been living in a cave you’re likely to have heard of the Paleo diet, it’s been gaining momentum in the past few years and there’s a few variations on the theme popping up online and in the media. I was initially a little sceptical as I’m not a fan of very high protein diets which can put a strain on the liver and kidneys. However, I now know that paleo isn’t just lots of protein – it’s actually based on small amounts of animal protein from meat (not dairy), the right fats from both plant and animal sources and plenty of vegetables. So implemented correctly, it can be a therapeutically useful diet, especially for people with autoimmune and digestive disorders who will always benefit from avoiding dairy and gluten. In the interest of learning more I attended an event a couple of weeks ago in Melbourne, The Paleo

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Why Should I Eat Organic?

By in Uncategorized
9 years ago
1

It’s a common question and I do advise my clients to eat as much organic food as possible, for good reason…. Firstly I have to admit I wasn’t a quick convert as I thought it was so expensive, especially here in Australia where groceries are already costly as compared to my native UK. I’d also seen the studies which showed there wasn’t a significant difference between the nutritional content of selected non organic and organic vegetables. I was eating a good balanced diet high in plant foods, quality protein and otherwise looking after myself as any good nutritionist/naturopath would do. So surely that would be enough…well, unfortunately not and one big health scare later and I started to embrace the organic way. Here are my top three reasons to go organic: It’s not all about the ‘nutrients’. There are little things in fruit and vegetables called phytochemicals, which is a

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Feeling cold and tired this winter – is it your Thyroid?

By in Uncategorized
9 years ago
2

Yes, a common complaint at this time of year in wintry Melbourne. But have you considered that it may be more than just the weather that’s making you cold? This is a topic that is of great personal interest to me as I’ve suffered from sub-clinical thyroid issues for around 10 years. My symptoms weren’t too bad which is why my steadily rising TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone, the clinical marker for thyroid function) and the fact I wasn’t presenting the other major signs of underactive thyroid (Hypothyroidism) such as weight gain, depression, hair loss or dry skin, didn’t cause concern for my GP. My main issues were cold intolerance (I’d complain a lot!) and hibernate until warmer weather appeared, my morning temperature would often sit around 35 degrees, that’s almost 2 degrees lower than normal body temperature. It doesn’t sound like much but I now realise it was making me

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Find Your Winter Glow!

By in Uncategorized
9 years ago
3

Part of the reason I live in Melbourne is to enjoy the seasonal changes. I love the start of winter with the refreshingly crisp mornings, sunny days and the occasional grey days which make it feel more acceptable to stay indoors and catch up on your favourite TV shows. It can be harder to stay motivated to exercise and eat well but this is the time when it becomes even more important since your body may be more prone to infection from cold and flu viruses. Stay away from stodgy, rich and processed foods which burden your digestion and liver making you feel tried and sluggish. Vegetable rich soups are ideal foods as they retain nutrients in the broth, however since heat will destroy some nutrients limit the cooking time to the point when the vegetables have just softened. And don’t forget to add some protein rich foods such as

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Welcome to my Wellness Blog!

By in Uncategorized
10 years ago
5

How are you feeling today? Do you remember a time when you felt better – perhaps when you last had a holiday or was it when you were a carefree teenager and could stay up until 2am, eat junk food and your body wouldn’t hate you for it the next day. What happened – well we all got things like jobs, social lives, houses, mortgages, partners, kids, gym memberships and pets. There’s nothing wrong with all this but too often it leaves us little time to look after ourselves and nourish our bodies with good food, daily exercise, relaxation and sleep. As a qualified naturopath and nutritionist I want to provide you with credible information which stems from my 7 years of degree level education, 4 years of clinical practice and passion for healthy food and living well! Let’s face as the internet is an amazing resource but there’s also

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