Quirky Cooking Chats

Calorie restriction, colitis, leaky gut, nourishment in time of stress, weight gain, weight loss, kids that don’t eat vegetables – these and much more are on today’s agenda. Jo and Foo take questions from listeners for a session of ‘Ask Us Anything’. Join us for another information packed episode of A Quirky Journey!

Useful Links:

Weston A Price’s recommended diet for pregnant & breastfeeding mothers

Our Life-Changing Food Cookbook for simple nourishing meals

Solidteknics Pans – our favourite non-toxic cooking ware (use the code 10QCP for 10% off)

Podcast: Ulcerative Colitis and Changing Your Mindset for Healing

Vegetarianism Explained by Dr Natasha Campbell McBride

Fouad’s “Fire, Feast, Fable” Event

The post AQJ 126: Q&A with Jo & Foo appeared first on The Wellness Couch.

A few years ago, the Australian government introduced “My Health Record”, a nation-wide health database which Australians could choose to be a part of. Australians will now be automatically opted into this system unless they choose to opt out before November 15th, 2018. Some feel there are data security risks with having a centralised system that contains your sensitive information. Today we are joined by journalist Kale Brock to discuss the pros and cons of this system, what it would mean to have your health record online, and why many are choosing to opt out.

Kale Brock is an award nominated writer, producer and speaker. With a background in TV journalism, Kale has a special interest in health & wellbeing. His recently released documentary, The Gut Movie, investigates the human microbiome in a scientific and fun journey in which he travels to Namibia to live with The San tribe. Kale’s books, The Gut Healing Protocol and The Art Of Probiotic Nutrition, have generated international acclaim. (More about Kale Brock here.)

Useful Links:

Watch Kale Brock’s video discussing My Health Record here.

Follow Kale on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

Find out more about Fouad’s Fire, Feast, Fable event in the Blue Mountains!

The post AQJ 125: My Health Record – What’s It All About? appeared first on The Wellness Couch.

Join us for part 2 of our podcast on adrenal fatigue. Once more we are joined by our GAPS practitioner Elyse Comerford (and her very cute son, Dylan!), to dive more deeply into this fascinating topic. So many of us, whether we know it or not are dealing with some degree of adrenal fatigue. In part 2, Elyse talks about iodine treatment, thyroid, supplementation, and cortisol. We also touch on how adrenal fatigue affects weight gain, and look into practical advice that helps us overcome this condition!

Useful Links:

Elyse Comerford – Website, Facebook, Instagram, Podcasts, Blog, Events & Retreats

Microbiome Store

Iodine program

Blue Blocker Glasses

Iodine Books:  ‘The Iodine Crisis’  Lynne Farrow; ‘Iodine: Why You Need It, Why You Can’t Live Without It’  Dr David Brownstein

The post AQJ 124: Healing Adrenal Fatigue – Part 2 appeared first on The Wellness Couch.

Find yourself feeling constantly tired, always needing that second cup of coffee, or day-dreaming about sleeping on the couch? Our GAPS practitioner Elyse Comerford joins us to talk about adrenal fatigue, a super common cause of daily exhaustion. In part 1 of 2 episodes on this topic, Elyse discusses how to identify adrenal fatigue and what we can change in our lifestyle, emotional and mental lives to overcome exhaustion.

Useful Links:

Elyse Comerford – Website, Facebook, Instagram, Podcasts, Blog, Events & Retreats, Online Programs, Shop

Adrenal Fatigue Webinar with Elyse

Kakadu Plum Powder for Vitamin C

The post AQJ 123: Healing Adrenal Fatigue Part 1 appeared first on The Wellness Couch.

Earlier this year, Jo and Fouad were excited to connect with Dr Kama Trudgen and Tim Trudgen of Hope for Health and learn about the important work they are doing with the Yolngu people in Arnhem Land, a remote part of the Northern Territory of Australia. In this podcast they interview Kama about the story of the Yolngu people, and how Hope for Health is helping to reawaken their health and wellbeing by combining traditional practice with modern approaches to health.

For thousands of years the Yolngu of East Arnhem Land had thrived, enjoying a vibrant and self-reliant culture. However,  in just 50 years their diet has changed so dramatically that they now face a significantly reduced life expectancy due to a resulting epidemic of chronic disease. But there is hope.  Through the development of this Indigenous-driven, diet and lifestyle program, the community is seeing transformational changes. By blending traditional Yolngu culture with experiential nutritional education and an integrative approach to medicine a movement within the community has been created. We welcome you to join us in supporting this pioneering program empowering the Yolngu people.

Jo and Fouad will be joining Hope for Health on their next retreat as volunteers, managing the kitchen and cooking nourishing food for the attendees and workers. Hope for Health depends on donations and community support for these retreats, so if you’d like to do your bit to help, please see links below. Thank you!!

Useful Links:

Learn more about Hope for Health

Join Hope for Health on this journey by becoming a regular monthly sponsor or making a one off donation: https://www.hopeforhealth.com.au/donate

Follow their journey on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – and please share with your friends!

The post AQJ 122: Hope for Health – Reawakening Indigenous Health appeared first on The Wellness Couch.

This week Jo chats with Becky Plotner (naturopathic doctor and certified GAPS Practitioner) about some of the most common GAPS questions. In their last podcast together, Becky shared the science behind how the gut works and how it is damaged, and how to begin the healing process. In this second podcast, Becky answers questions from our listeners, covering subjects such as:

• how to make a nutritious, healing meat stock (and how meat stock helps to heal the gut)

Helpful Links:

Becky’s website, Nourishing Plot

Our last podcast with Becky, “Healing with Food”

Upcoming Life-Changing Food Events

The post AQJ 121: GAPS Q&A with Becky Plotner ND appeared first on The Wellness Couch.

Jo and Fouad have been talking a lot lately about how to make simple yet powerful lifestyle changes that will help to get your health back on track, before you even begin making major diet changes. One of these lifestyle changes is detoxing your home – your body products, cleaning products, home environment, and pantry. So of course, they had to get their good friend Alexx Stuart, the queen of Low Tox living, on the show!

Alexx has recently released her first book, Low Tox Life, and Jo and Foo review the book plus chat with her about ideas for simple improvements in the home. They then dig deeper into Alexx’s personal story of recovering from mould illness – the symptoms, tests, and solutions, and what she has learned along the way.

Useful Links:

Alexx’s Low Tox Life website

The Low Tox Life book – available in our online store, and from bookshops in Australia or through Amazon UK & US

Our upcoming ‘Life-Changing Food’ and ‘Nourishing’ events in Tasmania, Adelaide & Perth

Fouad’s ‘Spice & Smoke’ dinner in Katoomba

The post AQJ 120: Low Tox Life with Alexx Stuart appeared first on The Wellness Couch.

We are joined by the legendary Marcus Pearce, who has just come back from Ikaria, the island where people forget to die. Marcus was running a retreat in this special part of the world, to introduce people to the lifestyle and habits of some of the longest living people on Earth. In this episode, he shares some of the findings he came across on this recent trip. We also talk about the upcoming Wellness Summit, what junk media is doing to us, and a whole lot of more lighthearted, fun topics. If you’re in the mood for a bit of a laugh, join in!

The post AQJ 119: The Island Where People Forget To Die – Marcus Pearce on Visiting Ikaria appeared first on The Wellness Couch.

It’s a common story. A person becomes sick, and then starts looking at ways to change their diet to heal. Other contributing lifestyle behaviours are often missed, and these can be important factors in the decline of their health. For many, identifying and addressing lifestyle issues before any food changes are made means that more space and energy can be given to the healing journey. Join Fouad and Jo as they talk about some of these issues, how to identify them, and possible ways of addressing them.

Useful Links:

Our “Top Tips for Good Gut Health” – this is a free download on our Quirky Cooking for Gut Health home page.

Elyse Comerford – videos about Adrenal Fatigue on Facebook

Help to detox your home: Low Tox Life

Help to declutter your home: The Konmari Method

Our upcoming events: Life-Changing Food Events

The post AQJ 118: Before You Change Your Diet appeared first on The Wellness Couch.

We often talk about the bacterial microbiome on A Quirky Journey, and today we have Dr Jason Hawrelak, a leading expert on the microbiome. Dr Hawrelak has been researching the microbiome for around 2 decades, and is an educator and clinician whose work has been cited over 800 times. In this episode, Dr Hawrelak shares his wealth of information on the gut microbiome, and offers actionable insights on how to eat and supplement in order to support the colonies of bacteria that play such a massive part in human health. This is, without doubt, one of our favourite episodes and we know you’re going to love it too!

Useful Links:

Learn more about Dr Jason Hawrelak here

Dr Jason’s ‘Meet Your Microbiome’ 4 week online course

Our upcoming Life-Changing Food Events

Concentrated ‘Meadow & Marrow’ broth, our cookbook, Solidteknics pans, and more… in our online store

The post AQJ 117: Meet Your Microbiome, with Dr Jason Hawrelak appeared first on The Wellness Couch.