5 Tips to reduce your bloating

Start your IBS-relief today Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a functional disorder that affects your digestive system. IBS symptoms can include diarrhea, constipation or both, as well as abdominal pain or cramping. The cause of Irritable Bowel Syndrome is not fully understood, but we know that over 70% of people with Irritable Bowel actually have Small Read more →

Ditch the IBS symptoms and start living your life!Have you been living with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)? Apart from it being super common in women, it is super frustrating and really impacts the daily lives of those who suffer with it but also those around them. Characterized by symptoms like abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea, and Read more →

Have you heard of “leaky gut syndrome” or intestinal permeability? I’ll forgive you if you haven’t because many mainstream doctors don’t know about it or believe it’s a thing.
But trust me, it’s a thing!

Do you feel bloated after every meal? This can be super frustrating for many busy women, because with so much to do these days with work and family commitments who has time to feel uncomfortable?

I know you’re busy and it feels too hard to go gluten-free. You’ve either been told to go gluten-free or you thought you’d give it ago to see if you feel better off gluten but you don’t know where to start and it all seems too hard. It doesn’t have to be that way!

I know it’s not a sexy topic, but as a naturopath we talk poo all the time because it’s such a good marker of your health. If you suffer from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) or Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO) then measuring your bowel transit time can be helpful for you and your practitioner to improve your treatment outcomes.

Being a busy mamma, the school lunchbox’s are often one of those daily stressors that can tip you over the edge! So having the lunchboxes sorted can be a huge relief.

I’m going to share with you today my favourite formula for lunchbox success and hopefully it will leave you feeling less stressed.

Whatever plans you have for Christmas this year, sometimes it can be tricky to keep to a “healthy diet”, so here are my top tips to avoid the food fails AND food guilt!

Well the beauty is that times have changed; from traveling for miles to see a particular practitioner to seeing your favoured naturopath online from the comfort of your own home. You know when you’ve been unwell for a while or something is not quite right…you’re not sleeping well, you’re bloated and uncomfortable and you’re at that point of “I just want to see someone now” because quite frankly you’re over it! You can book an online consult easy as.

This has got to be such an easy and tasty boost to your day…and the best part is you can make double and have enough for lunches the next day!

When we are busy we don’t often notice some of the foundational things that may have slipped out of our daily routine, things that help to keep our energy going. So here is a friendly reminder!

This is one of my favourite winter recipes so I just had to share it with you. Growing up in New Zealand I think lamb is one of our most popular meats, it’s definitely my favourite.
One of my most favourite things about winter are slow cooker meals like hearty stews.

Heading into winter means for many heading into comfort food and lots of indoor time, but when you think of the cost of days off sick let alone feeling rubbish or if the kids are sick and having days off school, being proactive with your health make a world of difference.

Let’s take a look at a few of my favourite immune-modulating tricks.

As a busy mum I know you can easily put your tiredness down to daily busyness of work and kids but one of the first things to check is what have you been fueling your body with.

Whenever I ask someone how they are doing, I usually get this response…

“I’m good, but SO busy!”

It seems to have become a go-to or default response, especially for women.

More than a default response, it also seems to be an expectation.

Many busy women say they are “active relaxers”, I am one…but I’m still un-learning my busy-ness. My relax time, my “me-time” would be cooking, or researching something on my laptop which would sometimes end up being work or playing snakes and ladders or lego with my son (#mumguilt). So in essence my “me-time” wasn’t really me switching off, and sometimes I’d end up feeling more exhausted.
Can you relate?

Being a busy woman can sometime mask issues to do with the thyroid. Feeling exhausted we put it down to running around after kids or chasing work deadlines. Feeling down or anxious or brain fog we put it down to our hormones or too much wine on the weekend. Bowel issues we blame eating on the run. However, thyroid issues are on the rise and it’s important to pay attention to the signals our body’s are telling us…

Today let’s talk tongue scraping, dry skin brushing, vagus nerve tone, herbal medicine and supplements…you might be thinking what on earth is she talking about? These are fantastic detox tools to add into your daily or weekly practice.

As a busy woman myself I’ve slowly added in some habits lately that are helping to serve my detox system and this in turn can help with feeling more energized! And we all want more of that don’t we!

When you are feeling fatigued and grumpy that last thing that will be on your mind would be toxins, right? Now it may not be the first place we start to look to resolve your fatigue but it is part of the big picture of your health; always! Let me ask you this:

I know you’ve all done it…I’m guilty of this too…buying supplements and not taking them! Too busy, too tired and just plain forgetting. But just think of that hard earned money sitting on the kitchen bench not doing anything for your health.

When we are busy we often just grab the most convenient food, even though we know it may not be the best option…we succumb to marketing and urges too. But what about supplements?
We are told we need them, our soils are deplete of certain minerals and vitamins so our food isn’t enough these days…but if we are just grabbing the most convenient supermarket / over the counter supplement, is that the best option, or are we just “peeing” away our hard earned money?

Many of us busy mums may have had a short reprieve of Pre-Menstrual Syndrome (PMS) after having our babies but then slowly the pain, irritability, headaches, cravings, acne and breast pain came back to haunt us.

Because PMS is so common it’s considered “normal”, however our bodies are super awesome at sending us signals that something is out of balance or needs attention…PMS is just that.

Self-care is important for creative flow and busting through creative blocks!
I had the pleasure of being interviewed by an amazing New Zealand artist Anna Mollekin from Anna Mollekin Art because she has experienced the value of naturopathic care and wanted to share this amongst her creative community.

Some days you just feel flat, like you have no personality. You are a busy busy mum making sure everyone else around you is taken care of first, right?

Often if our mood is a little low it can be hard to motivate yourself to do anything about it, it can be easy to wallow in it, blame the world and just hide under the covers. But I have 5 sure-fire ways to shift your mood with minimal effort.

Rushing from school pick-up to basketball practice needs fuel for mum and kids, right? But are you sick of grabbing packet stuff that not only tastes like cardboard but is high in sugar and fats.

Don’t worry I’ve got your back…with 10 super easy “convenience” snacks that will keep you (and your kids) going until dinner time and without the crash and burn of a sugar high.

Why should we be giving any attention to our liver?

As a busy mum may be thinking…”Geez I don’t have time for this!” or “Sorry, but I love my evening wine too much, it helps me unwind from the day”.
But that’s just the thing…if you are feeling tired, sluggish with no energy yet you need a wine to unwind at the end of your busy day…it maybe time to give your liver some lovin!

Sometimes you just start feeling a bit rough, like you’re coming down with something and want something soothing that fights the bugs as well.

This home remedy has been around for centuries

Being a busy mum may not be the only reason you’re feeling depressed, fatigued and overweight…it may be your thyroid.
The thyroid is put under huge amounts of stress when we are pregnant and when having kids close together sometimes the thyroid doesn’t bounce back as it should therefore postpartum thyroiditis is quite common. Unfortunately it is not often recognized as we think our symptoms are just part of being a new mum or a busy mum. You don’t need to suffer any more!

Being a mum is tiring right? But maybe, just maybe you need a little extra support and I don’t mean someone to drop the kids off at school although that would be nice, right? But some nutritional support that will help you get through your day with steady energy which means supporting your adrenals.

So I’ve compiled my top adrenal supporting foods for you to add into your daily routine.

You are feeling over it…sick of feeling sick, tired, bloated and depressed… and now you are really ready to commit to make some changes for your health and you’ve heard that a naturopath might be the way to go. But you are nervous…am I going to have to give up chocolate, live on kale and meditate every morning at 5am? Well, no…not really.

Put your hand up if you…
You are always rushing out the door in the morning, coffee in hand
You seem to be in a never-ending cycle of kids getting sick = you get sick = kids get sick again
Taking time off work for sickness (yours or the kids) stresses you out
You feel unproductive at work because you never feel 100%
You are fed up with spending money on cold and flu tablets and not feeling any better

Our worlds changed in the blink of an eye with the announcement of COVID-19 lockdown here in New Zealand. For most of us change can be hard but when it’s this extreme it can be a real challenge.
Stress resilience refers to how we respond to stress or challenging situations…

Yes you are a busy mum but that doesn’t mean you should be feeling like you’ve been hit by a bus every morning or that you “need” that glass of wine each night to relax!

Adrenal Fatigue or Adrenal Insufficiency has been around for a while…

Coffee…is it your friend or your foe or can it be both? I’ve just completed 31 days coffee-free, why oh why you may ask!

But there is method to my madness…this is why:

1. Coffee had become an addiction for me (mostly only one coffee a day but I had to have it!)

2. Coffee was making me anxious, yep…totally jittery once past that lovely energy buzz.

Feeling overwhelmed? Life is busy isn’t it?
We all need some kind of support and a Bach Flower remedy could be just the thing for you. I’m sure you’ve heard of Rescue Remedy? If you haven’t it’s a little bottle with a yellow label which contains Edward Bach’s top 5 Bach flower remedies for stress and trauma…ideal for an acute situation to calm frayed nerves.