#251 Nicole Bijlsma is a woman of passion, and her passion lies in environmental medicine. Nicole was a former naturopath and acupuncturist with 15 years of clinical experience who changed her career pathway to become a building biologist after noticing a strong correlation with many of her patients illnesses and health hazards in their home.

Nicole is the author of the best seller Healthy Home, Healthy Family, was a columnist for Body+Soul (Herald Sun) and is frequently consulted by the media to comment on health hazards in the built environment (The 7PM Project, Sunrise, The Today Show, The Circle, Channel 7 News, Today Tonight, Channel 74, ABC radio, Fox FM, numerous webinars and podcasts).

Nicole has thirty years experience lecturing at tertiary institutions in nutrition, Chinese Medicine and environmental medicine, and has published in peer-reviewed journals. Her extensive knowledge in environmental medicine has seen her speak at various conferences both in Australia and abroad (USA, Thailand and New Zealand). 

Nicole single handedly established the building biology industry in Australia, was the former President of the Australasian Society of Building Biologists and established the Australian College of Environmental Studies in 1999 to educate people about the health hazards in the built environment. The college is the only institution in Australia to provide nationally accredited training in Building Biology and Feng Shui. Nicole is currently completing her PhD investigating health hazards in the built environment under the supervision of Professor Marc Cohen at RMIT. For information about her research

In this episode we cover

• What different forms of mould related illness exist
• The obvious and not so obvious signs that a house may be experiencing issues with mould
• What may someone experience physically/emotionally when they are exposed to dampness
• Mould - is it all bad news or does it serve a purpose? Why is it important to get to the source (water damage) itself rather than being focused on mould.
• Nicole’s thoughts on Clove oil, vinegar, bleach, and air purifiers (how effective or ineffective are they?)
• Following a flood how long does it take for mould to take hold? And what can we do to prevent?
• When mould has been identified in ones home, car or working environment, what steps should one take?
• And so much more