I'm joined in this episode by my colleague and co-teacher, registered herbalist and fertility specialist Liane Moccia, to talk more about the responses to the question, "Are you ovulating?" 

We cover what signs to look for, how to interpret tracking data (cervical fluid, LH strips, temperature), and why ovulation is a vital marker of hormonal and overall health even when someone isn’t trying to conceive.

We also discuss practical intake phrasing, common misunderstandings, and introduce our Menstrual Health Intensive: a physiology-focused course with live teaching and case observation groups for clinicians who want to support clients experiencing menstrual health concerns.

Key Takeaways

Many clients have never been taught to recognize ovulatory signs/symptoms

Cervical fluid is a reliable, free marker of rising estradiol, though some clients may mistake it for infection

Having a baseline understanding of ovulation before perimenopause makes later changes easier to interpret and may reduce the need for expensive testing

Clear, specific wording on intake forms prevents misinterpretation

The luteal phase length and confirmed ovulation timing help us place premenstrual symptoms accurately on the timeline

Links referenced in this episode:

Let's talk about a "normal" menstrual cycle. What counts as "normal," how can we spot concerning signs, and when does it make sense to consider medical referral or further testing? We'll dive into this and more in this brief episode. For more information and clinical strategies to support clients around menstrual health, join the upcoming Menstrual Health Intensive. 

Key Takeaways

Bleeding longer than 8 days warrants referral for possible clotting issues, fibroids, or other concerns

Heavy menstrual flow is often subjective, but if it interferes with daily life or causes soaking through protection, refer for assessment

A stable luteal phase is a good sign; significant variation may indicate something else is going on

Many clients were never taught basic cervical fluid physiology - this is valuable clinical information to share

Reference

Bahamondes, L., & Ali, M. (2015). Recent advances in managing and understanding menstrual disorders. F1000Prime Reports, 7, 33. https://doi.org/10.12703/P7-33

Upcoming

Liane Moccia and I are launching an 8-week Menstrual Health Intensive for Practitioners starting September 15, 2026 (you can join later!). Review the sales page and join us if you're interested in more education on this topic. 20 NPCE available. 

It might help to think about this in terms of mindful eating. When you feel the urge to sign up for something, stop and ask: is my practice actually hungry for this?

If you've decided newsletters are your main marketing focus and you're specifically hunting for newsletter training - amazing. Dive in.

If you're just responding to a sale email, a fear of missing out, or a vague sense that you "should" know more? Take a step back. You might find the urge is actually about avoiding visibility work, not about needing to know this information right now.

When I'm tempted by a program but my business isn't actually hungry for it right now, I keep a running document with the link, price, and details. About 80% of the time, I realize that I don't need or want to do the program right now. It's a "nice to have eventually" versus a "I need to implement this right away and I think this course will help." Programs and classes are almost always offered again later.

Before you sign up for anything this fall, ask yourself:

Is this a hunger in my business right now?

Am I going to implement what I learn, or just collect more information?

Am I using learning as a way to avoid the harder work of being seen?

We want synergy between what we're taking in and what we're putting out. Make sure there's a balance between the two.

Submit a question for a future episode at intheclinic.com

Sign up for my weekly Practitioner Notes newsletter at intheclinic.com or camillefreeman.com

Find all episodes and show notes at intheclinic.com

I'm Camille Freeman, DCN, RH, and I host In the Clinic with Camille, a podcast for herbalists and nutritionists building and growing their private practices. I've been in clinical practice since 2003 with a focus on fertility, pregnancy, and menstrual health.

I've gotten several questions lately about whether or not I recommend Substack to clinicians who want to start a newsletter to help promote their clinical practices. TLDR: it's  not the best tool for the job. 

In this episode, I spell out why I don't think herbalists and nutritionists are well-served by using Substack as a way to promote a private practice. 

Essentially, it all boils down to: 

I go into a few other reasons in the show, but these are the big ones.

Go ahead and use an email service provider that's designed for the type of promotion we do when we write a newsletter. I use MailerLite, but there are tons of great options with similar features. 

For more on writing newsletters, check out my book: Write Better Newsletters: Grow your 1:1 practice with newsletters people actually want to read. 

And/or join my newsletter for practitioners to get a new note from me every Thursday. 

Thanks for being here!

- Camille

A behind-the-scenes update on a change I've been making at Bloom & Grow: after years of offering my freebies as open downloads, I'm now requiring an email address to access them. I wanted to share my full (evolving) thinking in case it gives you permission to change your mind on something in your own practice.

Key Points & Timestamps:

00:00 - Welcome and intro

00:18 - The backstory

01:10 - Why I've had a change of heart

01:35 - People don't click on web search results anymore, apparently

02:24 - Web traffic is down overall

02:53 - AI roadblocks

03:52 - Freebie set up

04:53 - Keeping an eye on results

05:13 - New website navigation

06:07 - It's okay to change your mind

Resources Mentioned:

My freebies page: camillefreeman.com/freebies

My book: Write Better Newsletters: Grow your 1:1 Practice with Emails People Actually Want to Read

My weekly practitioner notes: sign up at camillefreeman.com (or grab a freebie and join the list at the same time)

If you want to check out the new setup, head to the freebies page; some are still in transition, so you might see a mix of old and new setups. If there's something in your own practice that doesn't feel in alignment anymore, I hope this gives you a little wiggle room to change it. You can always change it back 🖤

I got a great question from Cora about whether I recommend that practitioners put their prices on their websites. Short answer: yes, I think it makes sense to publish your prices. In this episode I walk through why I feel strongly about this, what can happen when you don't share prices upfront, and how transparency frees up time and makes discovery calls more meaningful. 

Sign up for my weekly Practitioner Notes newsletter at camillefreeman.com

Submit a question for the podcast at intheclinic.com

Find all episodes and show notes at intheclinic.com

I'm Camille Freeman, DCN, RH, and I host In the Clinic with Camille, a podcast for herbalists and nutritionists in private practice. I've been in clinical practice since 2003 with a focus on fertility, pregnancy, and menstrual health, and I love sharing the business and clinical lessons I've learned along the way.

I got a question in a recent Q&A call about wild yam (Dioscorea villosa) cream and progesterone. A client felt the cream was helping raise their progesterone, but the practitioner had questions about whether that was realistically happening. So what's the deal? I share a few thoughts on why a client might be noticing a difference and things to be on the lookout for as an herbalist or nutritionist if your client is using wild yam cream. 

Wild yam (Dioscorea villosa) contains diosgenin, which can be converted to progesterone in a laboratory setting, but the human body does not have the enzymes to make that conversion.

If a wild yam cream seems to be helping with progesterone-related symptoms, the cream may actually contain progesterone (check the active ingredient label - some do).

Lower-quality or less transparent products can sometimes contain undisclosed ingredients or contaminants, including hormones, so it's worth investigating the brand and looking for third-party testing.

The placebo effect is a thing and may be at play here.

Wild yam does contain phytoestrogens, and while topical absorption levels are unclear, this is a more physiologically plausible mechanism than progesterone conversion.

Progesterone blood levels are pulsatile (they fluctuate roughly every 45-60 minutes), so a single lab draw in the luteal phase should not be interpreted as evidence of "low progesterone" without proper clinical context.

Sign up for Camille's weekly Practitioner Notes newsletter at camillefreeman.com

Submit a question for the podcast at intheclinic.com

Find all episodes and show notes at intheclinic.com

Camille Freeman, DCN, RH, is the founder of Bloom and Grow, offering continuing education and community resources for herbalists and nutritionists in clinical practice. She has been in practice since 2003 with a focus on fertility, pregnancy, and menstrual health.

As I was out on a walk this morning, something I heard on Cal Newport's podcast resonated with me. I'm sharing a small takeaway point regarding over-optimizing and how I think that applies both to our clinical work and to everything that goes on behind the scenes to keep a clinical practice running. 

The optimization paradox: over-optimizing a single area can throw the whole system out of balance

In client work, you don't need to move every health pillar from a 2 to a 10. Moving several from a 2 to a 5 or 7 often produces better outcomes.

In your practice, "good enough" marketing across multiple channels beats getting one area in tip-top shape. 

This framework is especially useful for solo practitioners without formal business or marketing training as it takes some pressure off and offers multiple ways to improve

Cal Newport's Deep Questions podcast: Optimization Paradox episode with Brad Stulberg

Sign up for Camille's weekly Practitioner Notes newsletter at camillefreeman.com

Find all episodes and show notes at intheclinic.com

Camille Freeman, DCN, RH, is the founder of Bloom and Grow, offering continuing education and community resources for herbalists and nutritionists in clinical practice. She has been in practice since 2003 with a focus on fertility, pregnancy, and menstrual health.

If you were trained to recommend RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) for strains and sprains, it may be time to update your knowledge a bit. In this episode, I share what came up in a recent Monday Mentoring session: the shift from RICE to PEACE & LOVE, why icing and total rest can slow tissue healing, and steps to promote recovery from soft tissue injury. 

In this episode, we cover:

Why the medical community moved away from RICE for soft tissue injuries

The PEACE acronym explained: Protection, Elevation, Avoid Anti-inflammatories, Compression, Education

The LOVE acronym explained: Load, Optimism, Vascularization, Exercise

Why suppressing inflammation with ice or NSAIDs may extend healing time

When gentle movement and load are better than total rest

My clinical additions: topical herbs and nutrient density for tissue repair

Where to find the BMJ graphic to share with clients

Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction: soft tissue injuries in Monday Mentoring

01:00 - The RICE paradigm and why it's becoming outdated

02:05 - Introducing PEACE & LOVE as the updated framework

02:40 - P for Protection: why total rest slows healing

03:33 - E for Elevation: managing swelling without stopping inflammation

04:00 - A for Avoid Anti-inflammatories: ice and NSAIDs reconsidered

04:38 - C for Compression: gentle support and lymphatic flow

05:02 - E for Education: trusting the body's healing capacity

05:50 - Moving into LOVE: the sub-acute and recovery phase

06:06 - L for Load: reintroducing movement without pain

06:48 - O for Optimism: mindset and conditioned recovery

07:23 - V for Vascularization: blood flow, cardio, and circulatory stimulants

08:05 - E for Exercise: returning to strength and mobility

08:30 - Herbal topicals and nutrition support for tissue healing

09:10 - Link to the BMJ graphic and client handout resources

PEACE & LOVE blog post and graphic (BMJ)

Have a clinical or business question you'd like me to answer on a future episode? I'd love to answer it. Click on the "Submit a Question to Camille" button at intheclinic.com.

Want more clinical tips and practice-building resources? Join my practitioner email list, sent out every Thursday with a short note and three specific recommendations to make running your practice a little easier. Sign up at intheclinic.com or camillefreeman.com.

Gummy multivitamins are everywhere now, from adult formulas to prenatal and senior blends - but are they actually a good substitute for capsules or tablets? In this episode, I discuss clinical considerations, including quality control findings, sugar content, and formulation limits that affect dosing and nutrient stability.

In this episode, we cover:

When gummy multivitamins might be the best (or only) tolerable option for a client

Sugar and non-nutritive sweetener content to review before recommending

Why iron and higher-dose B vitamins may be missing from gummy formulations

Why gummy multis tend to have lower overall nutrient doses than capsules or tablets (which isn't necessarily a bad thing)

Consumer Lab quality findings: degradation issues, overages, and what they mean clinically

Upcoming Multivitamin Deep Dive class details

Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction: answering questions about gummy multivitamins

01:00 - When gummies are a reasonable alternative (dysphagia, pregnancy aversions, palatability)

01:50 - Sugar, non-nutritive sweeteners, and blood sugar considerations

02:55 - Missing ingredients: why iron and higher-dose B vitamins rarely make the cut

04:10 - Lower nutrient density: how the gummy base limits room for active ingredients

05:00 - Consumer Lab findings on quality control, degradation, and nutrient overages

06:45 - Clinical bottom line: who gummies work for and when to supplement separately

07:50 - Other ingredients to review: dyes, excipients, and lower-quality fillers

08:30 - Multivitamin Deep Dive class invitation: July 13th, 5:00 - 6:30 PM Eastern

Links Mentioned:

Consumer Lab summary of gummy multivitamin quality testing

Multivitamin Deep Dive class (July 13th, 2026 from 5-6:30 pm; 1.5 NPCE available through Dec 2028)

All-Access 2026 Supplement Deep Dive Pass

Submit a Question

Have a clinical or business question you'd like me to answer on a future episode? I'd love to answer it. Click on the "Submit a Question to Camille" button at intheclinic.com.

Join the Practitioner Notes Newsletter

Want more clinical tips and practice-building resources? Join my practitioner email list, sent out every Thursday with a short note and three specific recommendations to make running your practice a little easier. Sign up at intheclinic.com or camillefreeman.com.