Straight Talking Natural Health

Rhiannon Hardingham has become a leader in her field of all things fertility, reproductive health and IVF support. I've been super excited to watch her go from strength to strength, because we actually went to college together, 20 years ago. (Yep – 20 years!). She's a naturopath, and she had one of the brightest minds in our year level (pretty sure she shat all over me in biochemistry). She's gone on to become a clinician and also a speaker and author in her niche. So I thought she'd be the perfect person to speak to about navigating reproductive health in a post pandemic world.

In this episode we will cover:

• How the pandemic has affected fertility and IVF treatment.
• The effects of stress on reproductive health.
• How to address anxiety during IVF.
• The effect that Covid infection is having on male fertility (don't miss this – it's actually kinda scary!).
• Why sperm count rates have halved in the last 40 years.
• The different types of semen analysis (and why you want a high quality one).
• Supplements to support male fertility.
• Rhiannon's favourite immune boosting herb that you can take alongside IVF treatment.

Want to connect with Rhi? Visit her website here. Follow her on Instagram here.

Want to connect with Jules? Start Here to Connect. Naturopathic Appointments – Book Here

The post STNH 38: Rhiannon Hardingham – Fertility in a post Covid world appeared first on The Wellness Couch.

Meet Daniel Baden – an extremely well-known and respected name in the Australian naturopathic community.

He is a naturopath and homoeopath, and has also taken on many roles over the years including; working with industry regulatory committees, providing technical support to practitioners, assisting various groups in research projects, lecturer, author, and, possibly the role he's best known for, the co-founder and executive director of BioMedica Nutraceuticals.

He is a trusted speaker, with a "no stone left unturned" scientific approach to his research and presentations. He somehow manages to seamlessly blend traditional naturopathic philosophy with the latest cutting edge research. Which is why we love him, and why he's the perfect person to speak to about this episode's topic.

You see… there's been a "certain virus" on the loose for the last couple of years, and we're seeing a LOT of people pulling up super rough from it.

Now… in the naturopathic world, we've been banging on about something called post viral fatigue for decades… which means we already have plenty of tools and learnings that we can apply to the current situation. But this latest pandemic has really taken things up a notch. So let's pick Daniel's brain for some clinical GOLD.

In this episode, you will learn:

• What exactly is post viral fatigue?
• Who is susceptible to long Covid and post viral fatigue (and why?).
• Which factors can predispose us to ongoing symptoms?
• Why is Covid causing so many ongoing issues?
• How Covid triggers inflammation (and what to do about it).
• Things to consider when addressing long Covid (hint – it's not just about herbs and supplements!).
• A little about other viruses that cause ongoing fatigue, like Epstein Barr (glandular fever).
• Why the microbiome is so important when healing from a virus.

This is a fascinating blend of science and evidence-based info, with a wonderful heartfelt sprinkling of naturopathic philosophy throughout.

This episode is brought to you by BioMedica Nutraceuticals, an Australian owned natural health company dedicated exclusively to the needs of practitioners in clinical practice. As The Practitioner Company, BioMedica are known for their dedication to preserving and enhancing the role of holistic practitioners by providing a range of high quality, efficacious practitioner-only products and comprehensive, unbiased educational resources and clinical tools. Find them at biomedica.com.au and @biomedicanutraceuticals on Instagram and Facebook.

Want to connect with Jules?

Start Here to Connect.

Naturopathic Appointments – Book Here

The post STNH 37: Daniel Baden – Long Covid and post viral fatigue appeared first on The Wellness Couch.

This year has been the wettest, most humid, and consequently the mouldiest EVERRRR on many parts of the east coast of Australia. Which means – the numbers of people with CIRS (Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome), MCAS (Mast Cell Activation Syndrome) and mould illness are growing at an alarming rate.

Meet Sandeep Gupta – a board certified general practice physician practicing on Australia's Sunshine Coast (aka Mould Central right now!). He has a Fellowship and Masters degree in Nutritional & Environmental Medicine and five years experience of working in intensive care medicine. He runs a busy integrative medicine practice, Lotus Holistic Medicine, helping his patients to achieve optimal health and finding answers to complex medical problems.

He was the first non-US physician to complete the certification in biotoxin illness with Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker in 2014, and is now leading the way in Australia as THE go-to doctor for mould illness, CIRS and MCAS.

In this episode, we chat about:

• What are MCAS and CIRS.
• The different types of illnesses that can result from mould exposure.
• Pathology testing for mould and biotoxin related illness.
• Mould illness treatment protocols.
• Why looking at underlying emotional trauma is a MUST.
• What to do when clients are highly inflamed from mould exposure.
• How to find the right GP or practitioner to help you.

Dr Sandeep Gupta also has a course for those wanting to heal from mould illness. It's an amazing resource, and the perfect place to start for anyone affected by mould exposure.

It's called "Mold Illness Made Simple" (yep – it's the US spelling of "mold"), and you can check it out via my affiliate link here:

Click here to access Mold Illness Made Simple.

Want to connect with Sandeep? Sandeep's LinkTree The Lotus Holistic Health website. A list of mould literate practitioners in Australia.

Want to connect with Jules? Start Here to Connect. Naturopathic Appointments – Book Here

The post STNH 36: Sandeep Gupta – Mould Illness Made Simple appeared first on The Wellness Couch.

Rebecca Edwards is so awesome that she has joined us for 3 consecutive episodes. When we were originally teeing up an interview, there were literally SO MANY amazing topics being thrown around that we couldn't choose just one.

Rebecca is a speaker, writer, educator, and qualified naturopath. She has more than fifteen years of experience educating on all aspects of complementary and integrative health. She has lectured to undergraduate students in Australia, the UK, and the US, and delivered naturopathic education to healthcare practitioners all round the world. She is also the Director of Education at Activated Probiotics, so she's across all the latest studies and research.

She is also a complete microbiome nerd, and passionate about educating people about all the far-reaching effects a healthy, or an unhealthy microbiome can have on the human body.

So over 3 episodes we have explored 3 health issues that can be affected by a poor microbiome, and we've been covering the latest research in how to manage them.

This week's topic is mental health, and how probiotics are being used to help.

We are currently experiencing an epidemic of anxiety, depression and mental health issues.

Over the last decade, we've learned so much from research into the gut-brain axis, and the importance of gut health in order to create good mental health. But there's so much more to it than that. Cue – going down the nerdy rabbit hole of probiotic research with Rebecca, and exploring the exciting world of strain-specific probiotics for targeted therapy.

In this episode we chat about the role of inflammation in anxiety, low mood and sleep disturbances, the role of the microbiome in mental health, and the latest research on which strains are the most effective in helping to improve symptoms.

A huge thanks to Activated Probiotics for sponsoring this episode.

You can find out more about them (and see the results of Rebecca's great work) by visiting activatedprobiotics.com.au. Their Instagram is here and their Facebook page is here. Want more of Jules?

Follow her on Facebook at http://facebook.com/julesgallowayhealth and Instagram at http://instagram.com/julesgallowayhealth

Visit her website at http://julesgalloway.com

Are you at risk of burnout? Take this quiz to find out: http://julesgalloway.com/health-check.

The post STNH 35: Rebecca Edwards – New natural solutions for mental health issues appeared first on The Wellness Couch.

Rebecca Edwards is so awesome that she will be joining us for 3 whole episodes. When we were teeing up an interview, there were literally SO MANY amazing topics being thrown around that we couldn't choose just one.

Rebecca is a speaker, writer, educator, and qualified naturopath. She has more than fifteen years of experience educating on all aspects of complementary and integrative health. She has lectured to undergraduate students in Australia, the UK, and the US, and delivered naturopathic education to healthcare practitioners all round the world. She is also the Director of Education at Activated Probiotics, so she's across all the latest studies and research.

She is also a complete microbiome nerd, and passionate about educating people about all the far-reaching effects a healthy, or an unhealthy microbiome can have on the human body.

So over 3 episodes we will be exploring 3 health issues that can be affected by a poor microbiome, and we'll talk about the latest research in how to manage them.

This week's topic is iron deficiency, especially in women.

Low iron is something that both doctors and naturopaths/nutritionists see a LOT of in clinic. And often, despite giving high doses of iron supplements, levels simply do not budge. It's so frustrating!

So… is it just about finding the "right" type of iron to give to the patient? Or is there something else going on?

Enter Rebecca and her incredible knowledge of the biochemistry of iron absorption, and the role of the microbiome (and targeted probiotic therapy) in helping turn the deficiency state around.

WARNING: This episode is pretty heavy on the tech side of things, (including a built-in biochemistry lesson, which plays out like a Disney movie!). So keep a pen and paper handy and switch off your other devices, so that you can pay this one your full attention.

(And practitioners – I KNOW you're going to love this one – so many clinical pearls in there!).

A huge thanks to Activated Probiotics for sponsoring this episode.

You can find out more about them (and see the results of Rebecca's great work) by visiting activatedprobiotics.com.au. Their Instagram is here and their Facebook page is here.

Want more of Jules?

Follow her on Facebook at http://facebook.com/julesgallowayhealth and Instagram at http://instagram.com/julesgallowayhealth

Visit her website at http://julesgalloway.com

Are you at risk of burnout? Take this quiz to find out: http://julesgalloway.com/health-check.

The post STNH 34: Rebecca Edwards – Why we aren't absorbing iron… and what to do about it appeared first on The Wellness Couch.

Rebecca Edwards is so awesome that she will be joining us for 3 whole episodes. When we were teeing up an interview, there were literally SO MANY amazing topics being thrown around that we couldn't choose just one.

Rebecca is a speaker, writer, educator, and qualified naturopath. She has more than fifteen years of experience educating on all aspects of complementary and integrative health. She has lectured to undergraduate students in Australia, the UK, and the US, and delivered naturopathic education to healthcare practitioners all round the world. She is also the Director of Education at Activated Probiotics, so she's across all the latest studies and research.

She is also a complete microbiome nerd, and passionate about educating people about all the far-reaching effects a healthy, or an unhealthy microbiome can have on the human body.

So over next 3 episodes we will be exploring 3 health issues that can be affected by a poor microbiome, and we'll talk about the latest research in how to manage them.

And our first topic is bone density – yep – prevention of that pesky little sucker known as osteoporosis. Something ALL women… and men (especially those over 40) should be tuning in to learn about.

Did you know that Western women have a 50% lifetime risk of osteoporotic fractures? This is super common… and serious, because one the fracture has occurred, there's also an increased risk of mortality.

Yet… Rebecca says "Calcium supplements are overused in relation to the benefit they give." Say whattt?

Yep – there's new research coming out on the gut-bone axis – the direct line of communication between our digestion and our bones. And the role that inflammation plays in the increased breakdown of bones.

Cue – targeted probiotic therapy to improve gut health, reduce inflammation and slow down bone loss.

So tune in and nerd out with us and discover a new way of looking at not just osteoporosis, but also probiotics (it's not just about pumping in the 'good guys" into your gut – it's so much more than that!).

A huge thanks to Activated Probiotics for sponsoring this episode.

You can find out more about them (and see the results of Rebecca's great work) by visiting www.activatedprobiotics.com.au. Their Instagram is here and their Facebook page is here.

Want more of Jules?

Follow her on Facebook at http://facebook.com/julesgallowayhealth and Instagram at http://instagram.com/julesgallowayhealth.

Visit her website at http://julesgalloway.com.

Are you at risk of burnout? Take this quiz to find out: http://julesgalloway.com/health-check.

The post STNH 33: Rebecca Edwards – Saving Our Bones – The role of the microbiome in osteoporosis appeared first on The Wellness Couch.

Meet Kira Sutherland – a highly experienced naturopath, sports nutritionist, and much-loved lecturer and speaker.

She is known as one of THE go-to practitioners in our industry when it comes to understanding the needs of active people and athletes. But you don't need to be at an elite level in order to benefit from her wisdom and knowledge. So even if you are training to run 5km or wanting to get into gym training, listen up, because there will be SO many gold nuggets in here for you.

(Oh – and if you ARE an elite athlete, pay extra attention, because this woman has information to share that could literally be game-changing for you.)

Most studies done on sports nutrition are done on… you guessed it… MEN. And as Kira says, "Women are not small men."

So it's time to look into what is best for us females (yay!), whether we're elite athletes, weekend warriors, or anything in between.

In this episode we delve into nutrition for active women, and cover ALL the juicy stuff, including:

• What to eat before and after training in order to feel good and have more energy.
• Whether we should train in a fasted state, or whether to eat beforehand.
• Protein powders – should you? And if so, which one?
• Pre workouts, and why they're on the shit list for a lot of women.
• What to do to protect your adrenals and prevent burnout.
• … and why Kira reeeally dislikes the word "biohack." 😉

Want to see more of Kira?

Head to her website here.

Check out her Facebook page here.

And her Instagram here.

Want more of Jules?

Follow her on Facebook at http://facebook.com/julesgallowayhealth and Instagram at http://instagram.com/julesgallowayhealth.

Visit her website at http://julesgalloway.com.

Are you at risk of burnout? Take this quiz to find out: http://julesgalloway.com/health-check.

The post STNH 32: Kira Sutherland – Nutrition for active women appeared first on The Wellness Couch.

Many people think that permaculture is JUST about gardening or growing food in a sustainable or organic way… but you are about to learn that it is sooo much more than that.

Meet the gentle powerhouse that is Jade Miles.

She is passionate about localised food, regenerative farming practices, intentional growing, and operates a farm rich in its diversity of produce.

She grows apples, pears and berries, nuts, stone fruit, quince, olives, pomegranates, currants, figs, herbs, flowers and vegetables. Her background in tourism shines through in her business model, as you can visit her property and pick your own fruit.

She also operates a fruit tree and perennial plant nursery, and runs regular feasts, gatherings, workshops, schools programs and farm tours educate us about the food that we eat and the skills needed to grow it.

If that's not enough (hmmm… type A, much?), she is also a keynote speaker, a podcaster, a writer, and she has just finished her first book, Futuresteading – Live Like Tomorrow Matters.

Jade takes us through the core principles of permaculture, which are:

• Earth Care
• People Care
• Fair Share

…and she makes it accessible and do-able for EVERYONE… even if you like in a city, and your "garden" is your balcony!

Just like yoga is so much more than just the poses, permaculture is so much more than just growing food. It's about tuning into the seasons, getting outdoors, slowing down, appreciating (and sharing!) what you have, building a strong local community, living harmoniously with the world around you, and creating a simple life that still feels rich and abundant.

Listen as Jade takes us through the simple but powerful shifts we can make as we embrace the bigger picture… and how to do it all in a joyous, no-pressure, non-dogmatic way.

Want to see more of Jade… and check out her book?

Check out the Black Barn Farm website here.

Jade can be found on social media here:

Facebook.

Instagram.

Her podcast is on Apple Podcasts here.

And her amazing book Futuresteading – Live Like Tomorrow Matters, can be found here.

Want more of Jules?

Follow her on Facebook at http://facebook.com/julesgallowayhealth and Instagram at http://instagram.com/julesgallowayhealth.

Visit her website at http://julesgalloway.com.

Are you at risk of burnout? Take this quiz to find out: http://julesgalloway.com/health-check.

The post STNH 31: Jade Miles – Futuresteading – Live like tomorrow matters appeared first on The Wellness Couch.

Today's guest came into my life as a breath of fresh air on the Sunshine Coast. She was one of the first people to welcome me when I moved to the area, with a coffee and a chat. Turns out we got along famously. She's an amazing nutritionist who works in a niche that is soooooo needed. You see, she's all about helping women navigate their perimenopausal and menopausal years with more ease and grace.

We were talking last week about the changes that both our bodies are currently going through, and also those of our clients, and we were joking about the fact that no one tells you what you're in for. Like, not even our mums. We often get told about the hot flushes and the night sweats (often because we'll see a family member or friend struggling in the hot weather), but menopause is sooooo much more than that. And that a lot of symptoms come as a surprise and/or shock to women.

Which is why I've got her on the show.

We decided that we want to be ALL about the education, so we will be going through the top 5 things your mum didn't tell you about menopause. And we won't be pulling any punches. Yep, we will be going into glorious detail… yep, even the vag symptoms!

And of course, we will be giving you loads of tips on how to manage your symptoms naturally.

Want more of Kylie?

Head to http://kyliepinwill.com.

or follow her on social media here:

Facebook.

Instagram.

… and her amazing Facebook group "Hormone Hub – Perimenopause and Menopause Support Group" is here.

Want more of Jules?

Follow her on Facebook at http://facebook.com/julesgallowayhealth and Instagram at http://instagram.com/julesgallowayhealth.

Visit her website at http://julesgalloway.com.

Are you at risk of burnout? Take this quiz to find out: http://julesgalloway.com/health-check.

The post STNH 30: Kylie Pinwill – 5 things your mum didn't tell you about menopause appeared first on The Wellness Couch.

Meet Emma Park – she's a good friend of mine, a bloody amazing practitioner, and a super intelligent human. She's out-nerds me on all things gut bugs and microbiome, and just quietly, is one of my go-to phone-a-friends when I have a tricky question. So to my zoom clients, when I say to you "I'm just going to check that with a colleague," it could well be this woman I'm calling.

Her wholefood cooking on Instagram stories is to die for, and it's lucky we don't live in the same town, otherwise I'd be on her doorstep every single night. She brings her knowledge as a nutritionist and her love of food together in epic meals with loads of veggies and gut loving ingredients.

Her love of feeding people healthy meals has even extended to her leading teams in remote parts of Australia on indigenous health and nutrition projects, where their efforts saw health markers dramatically change in their sample populations after just one month's work.

But the reason I've got her on the show is because she also wears another hat – you see, her absolute zone of genius is working with pregnant women and new mums to ensure a healthy gut microbiome, through the combination of diet, gut healing strategies and the right probiotics at the right times. So, this episode is all about picking her brain on how to achieve better outcomes for both mums and bubs.

In this interview, we will cover:

• Why is a healthy microbiome so important for BOTH mum and bub?
• Signs that mum's microbiome might be out of balance.
• Why antibiotics given to mum can affect the baby's microbiome, even after the birth.
• Which strains of bacteria are needed for the best outcomes.
• The WORST foods to eat whilst pregnant for the microbiome.
• What to eat during breastfeeding to improve baby's microbiome.
• What if the baby is on formula? Are there still things you can do?
• The drugs that mess up the infant microbiome.
• What are the signs that mum's and bub's microbiome isn't right?
• The good outcomes that can happen when the microbiome is in balance.

Want to see more of Emma?

Website: http://emmaparknutritionist.com.au

Facebook: http://facebook.com/emmaparknutritionist

Instagram: http://instagram.com/emmaparknutritionist

Extra info (as mentioned in the interview):

Rachel Reid – Midwife: https://midwifethinking.com/

Melanie the Midwife: https://www.melaniethemidwife.com/

Want more of Jules?

Follow her on Facebook at http://facebook.com/julesgallowayhealth and Instagram at http://instagram.com/julesgallowayhealth.

Visit her website at http://julesgalloway.com.

Are you at risk of burnout? Take this quiz to find out: http://julesgalloway.com/health-check.

The post STNH 29: Emma Park – The First 1000 Days – microbiome in mums and bubs appeared first on The Wellness Couch.