Moonhawk Healing Natural Therapies

Herbs

TeleHealth and Face to Face Appointments Available – Clinic Open for Business

Posted on Leave a Comment

Naturopathy is considered to be part of the allied health system within Australia. There has been no Government decision to close naturopathy from practice, and Government has encouraged naturopaths to continue to practice and to support the health of patients, and to reduce the demand on the medical system.

The current Covid19 crisis has had no regulatory impact on my naturopathy practice. Having said that, I understand that some patients may be reluctant to come onto the clinic for face to face appointments. To support these patients I am offering TeleHealth appointments. 

This means that instead of seeing me in person, your consultation will be via the internet. I can assure you that the TeleHealth system I use is safe and secure.

Booking a TeleHealth Appointment

You can book your TeleHealth appointment at https://entirephysio.com.au/entire-physio-booking-page/

Scroll down and choose a Telehealth option for a consultation.

If you prefer, you can telephone Entire Physio on 6299 5183. 
.
What Patients Need for TeleHealth

To participate in a TeleHealth appointment you will need to have a stable internet connection and a device that supports video and audio. Most computers, laptops, tablets and mobile phones will support audio and visual function. Make sure this function is turned on for your device.

Prior to your appointment you will be sent a link to your TeleHealth appointment in either your appointment confirmation email or reminder, and that will open up your video session with me.

Dispensing Herbs and Supplements

I will be dispensing herbs and supplements via the online dispensary vital.ly. Once I have added your prescription to vital.ly, you wil receive an email giving you access to the site. You wil then be ale to order your herbs and supplements, and choose the delivery method. Your herbs and supplements will be delivered to your door. 

I know we are living in challenging and difficult times. I hope you and your family are safe and well. My goal is to continue to help patients with their ongoing health and wellbeing. Queanbeyan

Face to face consultations will be available at my Queanbeyan clinic only due to travel retrictions between NSW and the ACT. 

Taking Medicinal Herbs and Pharmaceutical Drugs

Posted on Leave a Comment

Taking Medicinal Herbs and Pharmaceutical Drugs – Safety Considerations

When people are concerned about the way medicinal herbs may interact with their pharmaceutical medications, they often turn to the internet to find an answer.

Facts vs. Myths
Sadly, there is a lot of misinformation on potential adverse interactions between medicinal herbs and pharmaceutical drugs. Concerns of taking medicinal herbs with pharmaceutical drugs centre around the herbs changing the way the drugs work.

Advice of herb-drug interactions is often found on ‘reliable’ and ‘authoritative’ websites. However, it’s rare for this information to be referenced. It is often based on incorrect assumptions of the likelihood of an interaction, and contain mistakes that are not based in fact, and have been perpetuated for so long the original source is lost in time.

Professional and Considered Advice
Like many naturopaths, I take a risk based approach to herb-drug interactions. This risk based approach is based on the known pharmacology of the herb and the drug. There is a lot of clinical evidence on how herbs and drugs interact for me to draw on. 

If you are taking a pharmaceutical drug and want to also take a medicinal herb, seek advice from a qualified and accredited naturopath or herbalist. Your naturopath/herbalist will be able to assess the risks of taking pharmaceutical drugs and herbs at the same time. They will monitor you for adverse/unwanted side effects, and provide important advice like when to take your pharmaceutical drugs and when to take your medicinal herbs. Your naturopath/herbalist can advise on whether it is safe to take medicinal herbs with the particular pharmaceutical drug you are currently taking. 
This informed, professional advice is invaluable.

Fibre and Gut Health

Posted on Leave a Comment

Fibre and Gut Health

Over the past 5-10 years research into the human gut microbiome has increased exponentially. While we continue to learn more about our gut bugs, one thing experts agree on is that a diet high in a variety of plant fibre is essential to having a health gut microbiome, a healthy gut, and a healthy you.

What is Fibre?

Fibre is derived from structural parts of plants – fruit, vegetable, wholegrains, legumes. Fibre cannot be broken down by digestion and therefore contributes little to energy needs. 
Soluble fibre dissolves in water and forms gels and are digested (fermented) by gut bugs in our gut, adding to energy.  Soluble fibre is found in oats, barley, legumes and citrus; it helps to lower blood glucose and cholesterol. 
Insoluble fibre is found in whole grains and vegetables, and adds bulk to faeces.

Sources of Fibre

You need to eat 6-9 cups of vegetables and fruits every day to get the amount of fibre your gut needs. Choose a range of different vegetables and fruits each day – preferablyseasonal vegetables and fruits. Variety is the key. For example: artichoke, asparagus, bok choy, bean sprouts, broccoli, brussel sprouts, beetroot, cabbage, cauliflower, carrot, chives, celery, cucumber, endive, fresh herbs, garlic, ginger, green beans, Jerusalem artichoke, lettuce, leeks, leafy greens, mushrooms, okra, onions, parsley, radish, rocket, shallots, spinach, snowpeas, sprouts, turnip, watercress, zucchini, apples, apricots, berries, cherries, grapefruit, kiwi fruit, lemon/lime, mandarin, melon, papaya, peaches, pears, pineapple, plums, rhubarb, rockmelon, strawberries.

Resistant Starch – gold for your gut bugs

Resistant starch is a type of insoluble fibre that behaves more like a soluble fibre – it feeds your gut bugs.
By feeding your beneficial gut bugs, resistance starch supresses potential pathogens and is important for metabolic and heart health.

Sources of Resistant Starch

Foods high in resistant starch included legumes (e.g. red kidney beans, butter beans, adzuki beans, lentils, black eyed beans, chickpeas); whole grain cereals e.g. brown rice; cooked and chilled white rice, potatoes, sweet potato and pasta (cooking and chilling causes modest rises in resistant starch); cashews, green peas, green banana flour, unripe bananas. Regularly include foods high in resistant starch in your daily diet – your gut bugs will thank you. 

If you need help increasing fibre in your diet two of my favourite healthy eating books are The CSIRO Healthy Gut Diet and the Women’s Weekly The Good Gut Diet. Both books include recipes for breakfast, small meals and large meals (main meals), with some snacks and sweet treats. There are vegetarian options, gluten free options, soups, salads, food you can prepare and keep in the fridge for taking to work, or a quick reheat. I like the science in the CSIRO book – it helps you understand why you need to eat certain foods. Once you understand what foods are best for you, you can make better food choices on a regular basis.

Endometriosis

Posted on Leave a Comment

Endometriosis

Endometriosis is an insidious female reproductive disease. Statistics indicate that around 10% of women in Australia will suffer from endometriosis at some time in their life. It can take 7-12 years to diagnose; the delay in diagnosis leading to years of pain and discomfort.

Why some women develop endometriosis is not fully understood. One theory is that it may relate back to embryonic development. Another theory is that it is related to retrograde menstrual flow.

While endometriosis is characterised by endometrial tissue outside the uterus, mostly within the pelvic region, endometrial tissue can often be found in distant organs and tissue. Symptoms can occur across a range of body systems. The reproductive, genitourinary and digestive systems are common areas for inflammation and pain; along with nausea, vomiting and headaches. The chronic pain associated with this disease often leads to anxiety and depression.

Microbiome

Back in 2018 there was emerging evidence  that many women who suffer from endometriosis have sub-clinical pelvic infections .Now research has shown that there is a difference between the microbiome of the ‘normal’ uterus and the uterus of women who have endometriosis Bacterial lipopolysaccharides produced by microbes in the uterus promote an inflammatory response worsening pelvic inflammation and pain.

Targeted herbs and supplements may be used to correct dysbiosis in the reproductive tract (and gut).

Diagnosis

Currently diagnosis is through laparoscopy. While an ultrasound can detect endometriomas on the ovaries, it is not a definitive diagnostic tool.

Good news is there is currently a diagnostic blood test in development, which may be ready for release and general use within 2-5 years.

Pain and endometriosis – it’s complicated

There are 4 major components of pain associated with endometriosis:

  1. Pain from pelvic organs
  2. Musculoskeletal response to pain
  3. Sensitisation of pain pathways
  4. The psychological sequelae of chronic pain conditions

To further complicate matters, the pain is often variable and unpredictable. Keeping a pain diary may help your naturopath and health practitioner to understand your pain better, and will help in the development of a suitable pain management plan. Talk to your naturopath, physiotherapist, or health care professional about developing a pain management plan. There are herbal and nutritional supplements which can provide an alternative to pharmaceutical pain medicines.

Role of the Naturopath

Endometriosis is a complex condition that needs a complex solution. There is no one-size-fits all answer. I work with patients to develop an individual treatment plan that suits each patient’s needs. I will work with you to manage the many symptoms associated with endometriosis.

Diet and Lifestyle

Diet and lifestyle have a significant role in managing endometriosis.

A low inflammatory diet forms an essential part of any treatment plan to manage endometriosis. Avoiding the following foods is a step in the right direction:

  • processed foods, saturated fats, trans fats, gluten, dairy, aspartame and other artificial sweeteners, alcohol, and foods in the nightshade family (tomatoes, capsicum, potatoes, capsicum, chilli, cayenne, paprika, goji berries).

Eat Your Way to Happy

Posted on Leave a Comment

Eat Your Way to Happy

Depression is a global epidemic affecting an estimated 300 million people worldwide. This has generated a lot of research in ways to treat depression, particularly non-pharmaceutical interventions such as yoga, meditation, and exercise. It’s no surprise that research is now turning to diet as a way of managing depression.

The gut-brain connection means that what we eat influences our brain, and our brain determines our actions and moods. Recent research has shown which foods to eat to reduce the symptoms of depression.

Plant foods to eat to ease depression include:

Watercress, spinach mustard/turnip/beet greens (that’s the leaves on top), lettuce, Swiss chard/silver beet, coriander, basil, parsley, chicory greens, pomelo, capsicum, serrano/jalapeno chilli, kale, collard greens, pumpkin, dandelion greens, cauliflower, kohlrabi, red cabbage, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, acerola, butternut pumpkin, papaya, lemon, and strawberries.

Animal proteins to ease depression include:

Oysters, liver and other organ meats, poultry giblets, mussels, octopus, crag, goat, tuna, smelt, fish roe, blue fish, wolfish, pollock, lobster, rainbow trout, snails, whelks, spot fish, salmon, herring, emu, snapper.

This research highlighted that many of the foods on the list were high in anti-depressant nutrients like Vitamin B12 and omega 3 fatty acids – found in animal based foods. Although supplements may provide the nutrients missing in a purely plant based diet. .

Clearly there are concerns that some seafoods on the list may be high in heavy metals. So, start by increasing foods from the plant list before adding more seafood.

Keep Your Gut Bugs Happy and You Will be Happy Too

Remember what you eat will influence your gut microbiome, as well as modulating your immune system, and changing systemic inflammation. For this reason, choose to eat a mostly plant based diet with small amounts of animal protein. Include foods high in resistant starch e.glegumes; whole grain; cashews, green peas, green banana flour, unripe bananas.

Your but bugs and brain will thank you for including these foods in your diet.

Key Message

Take a close look at what you eat to see how your food choices may be influencing your diet. Seek professional advice if needed.

Beyond Blue: 1300224636

LifeLine: 131114

Cardiovascular Health in Women

Posted on Leave a Comment

Cardiovascular Health in Women

Cardiovascular (CVD), including heart disease, is under-diagnosed in women. This is because symptoms in women are often non-specific, and they develop these symptoms later than men. Sadly this has led to around 50 women in Australia suffering a heart attack every day, with around 24 women dying of heart disease daily. Sad statistics to say the least. 

One of the key Principles of Naturopathy is to educate patients so disease can be prevented, or, at least, risks minimised. 
Risk factors for CVD in women include gestational diabetes and hypertension in pregnancy, early menopause, depression, smoking, obesity, low physical activity, hypertension and high cholesterol. 

Food as Medicine

Including foods in your daily diet like leafy greens, beetroot, high quality chocolate or cacao, berries, raw garlic, green tea, and herbs and spices like ginger and turmeric will help to reduce your risk of developing CVD. 
The Mediterranean Diet is the most researched diet and probably the most recommended for managing risk factors associate with CVD. The Mediterranean Diet is mostly plant based with high amounts of vegetables and fruits and good oil eg olive oil (there is emerging research showing that as little as 20ml of good quality olive oil every day can reduce the risk of developing serious CVD).

Essential Nutrients

While there is a range of nutrients essential to cardiovascular health, perhaps the most important to women who are peri or post-menopausal is Vitamin K2. 
Vitamin K2 is synthesised in the gut, by gut microbes from Vitamin K1, which is found in foods like broccoli, kale, cabbage, eggs and asparagus to name a few. 
Simply put, Vitamin K2 keeps calcium in bones and out of blood vessels. Calcification of blood vessels is linked with vascular diseases like aortic stenosis.

Medicinal Herbs

There is a range of medicinal herbs that can assist with lowering cholesterol, reducing hypertension, stabilising arterial plaque, and reducing other risks associated with CVD. Which herbs are best for you will depend on factors like your overall health, which CVD you have, and your risk factors. For example, someone with elevated cholesterol would be prescribed different herbs to someone with high blood pressure.

Key Message

Eat a mostly plant based diet, manage any CVD risk factors you have, and seek professional advice when needed.