How leaky gut can cause havoc on your health…

Leaky gut is the very unflattering name given to a digestive disorder that can cause a lot of health issues for its sufferers. I prefer to refer to it as ‘digestive hyper-permeability’ and explain that it is an inflammation of the digestive tract. It is a condition I find often in many of my patients, […]

Love your liver!

The liver is one of our most important organs and is often overlooked as part of digestive health.

Food intolerance, what you need to know.

Food intolerances are prevalent in today’s society. Everyone knows someone with a gluten, wheat, nut, soy or dairy intolerance. As some of you may already know, I frequently test for food intolerances in my patients. This is because, time and time again, food intolerances play such a huge role in people’s health and symptoms- I […]

What really causes IBS?

‘IBS’ (irritable bowel syndrome) is one of the most common complaints that I see in my clinic. I would estimate that around 80% of my patients suffer from some type of digestive complaint or discomfort. In fact, it is so common, that many people seem to believe that suffering bloating and frequent trips to the […]

Hayley’s top foods for improving digestive health

As the quote say ‘let thy food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be thy food’ and this is very applicable for the digestive system. We are so lucky to have so many foods and herbs available to us that have a beneficial impact on your digestive health. Whether you are suffering from digestive issues […]

What does your poo say about you?

So let’s jump straight into our second article for ‘Better Bellies’ month with a topic that is sure to spike your interest (and freak you out at the same time!). As Naturopaths, we find ourselves talking about ‘poo’, ‘bowel movements’, ‘number two’s’ or ‘stools’ very frequently. While causing some awkwardness for our poor patients, we […]

Bone Broth

With the winter months just around the corner, and cold and flu season setting in early, we could all do with as much nutritional insurance as possible. If I told you that there was one thing you could eat that would boost your immune system, warm your belly AND support bone, joint and muscle health, […]

The many health benefits of coconut oil

Drink. Coconut on the tableCoconut oil can be used for almost anything these days and there are recipes to prove it. Some of its top uses are as an ingredient in cleaning products, beauty products, health foods, for cooking and as part of a stable diet.

Coconut oil is the most nutrient dense part of the coconut. Coconut oil is a fatty oil extracted from the flesh of the coconut. This particular oil contains saturated fats which are medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs), also known as medium-chain triglycerides or MCTs. It is these types of fatty acids that have been linked to a whole host of health benefits. So why is the public scared of coconut oil?

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Love your liver after the holiday season… By Hayley Stockbridge (Naturopath)

heartThe silly season is over and as most of us overindulge over the holidays, it’s time to priorities your liver health. The extra alcohol, rich foods, fatty foods and sugar leaves less room for our healthy meals and our poor livers are left with a lot of work to do

Luckily the liver is a very resilient organ. The liver is the only organ in the body that is capable of regenerating itself. It plays a major role in digestion and detoxification. It produces bile to help us break down fats and alcohol. It stores some of our vitamins and minerals, such as iron, vitamin A, B12 and copper. The liver is responsible for cholesterol regulation. Most importantly, everything that is absorbed in the small intestine (including food, drinks, vitamins, minerals, macronutrients, food additives, chemicals etc.) is then transferred via the blood to the liver for further processing. Nutrients are made into products that can be more easily used by the body. Toxins are generally broken down into less toxic substances and flushed out of the body. This is known as ‘detoxification’. It is this detoxification process that reduces the toxic effects of a poor diet.

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Nourishing your Adrenals for the New Year

impiegata annoiataThe silly season has ended and the New Year has begun. There was plenty of festivities as the weather heated up. Our calendars were filled with social engagements and our quiet days were filled with Christmas shopping and cheeky lunch time gatherings.

Why not… it was Christmas! But have you ever wondered how our body felt about this? Have you seen the new Disney movie called ‘Inside Out’? Well Disney has cleverly created a movie about the emotions we feel and made them into adorable characters as if they lived in our head. Let me add to this theme, the character ‘stress’. Now even though stress is not a definitive emotion, it is definitely something that plays a role not only on our emotions but on our wellbeing.  So let’s picture the adult version of ‘Inside Out’, add the character stress and we have an emotional nightmare.  Anger is easily triggered, sadness doesn’t get a break, fear is everywhere and well disgust is hanging around like a bad smell. But where is joy? (now if you haven’t seen the movie this might not make any sense to you so let’s get to the facts).

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