Rachel

When Women Lean In

When Women Lean In

I've been talking lately about my own perimenopause experience & I've been listening to others do the same when suddenly it occurred to me that when these conversations happen - women all around lean in. Physically, mentally, emotionally, biologically. While for...

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February Ate My Ferrous Homework

February Ate My Ferrous Homework

It always does! Turns out I rely heavily on those last few days of every month to get my homework done in time 😦 as many of my 11th hour Update and Under 30 timestamps will attest to! And this month (as is the case every other month tbh) I felt the topic was so...

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B12…12kms?

B12…12kms?

Is it just me or do you view everything with a trained eye?   My son always laughed when I wrote him a shopping list: I would list items under each shop and I always wrote down our local supermarket the Independent Grocers Association, like this: IgA...you all see...

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Every Woman & Her Dog

Every Woman & Her Dog

The average woman & her dog (& likely every other member of her household, be they furred or otherwise), can tell you that sudden changes in sex hormones can undermine, derange, psychopathise, impact her mind and mood.  Hey, for me most days reverse parking is...

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Present But Not The Problem

Present But Not The Problem

Something's just come up today again and I think we need to talk about it.  A positive result on a stool PCR microbiome test for H. pylori, understandably, might be heard as a clear call to action to go in guns blazing with an eradication approach.  But is it?  Trust...

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Well…Does He Need Iron?!

Well…Does He Need Iron?!

If I could be granted 1 wish regarding all health professionals, it would be that we were all competent in reading Iron Studies.  Think that's overstating the issue? Or not a bodacious enough way to 'spend' my wish? I don't. Especially when you consider the impact of...

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We Need To Talk About Kevin…aka B3

We Need To Talk About Kevin…aka B3

Just like Kevin, 'Niacin' is profoundly misunderstood and consequently runs the risk of doing us harm. Unlike 'Kevin', we can't watch the movie to see how this (our arguably excessive use of the wrong forms of B3 in supplements and fortified foods) is all going to...

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Ask Alexa?

Ask Alexa?

'Hey Alexa, What's that formula for correcting urinary iodine for hydration status?' Oh yes, if only she could answer these kind of questions! There's no one here by that name but we get these kind of emails all the time [Oh and also for Freya who hasn't worked here...

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Do You See What I See?

Do You See What I See?

When I was 12 tartan was in.  Like, really in.  And I rode that tartan wave as far as it could go, arguably beyond where it should go...I had a tartan bowtie I wore. 🙄 I knew it was on trend because I saw it flashed across magazine covers (we never bought them...

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I’ve Been Right Into ‘Glassing’ Lately, Apparently

I’ve Been Right Into ‘Glassing’ Lately, Apparently

Don't know why on earth I would be discussing 'Glassing'? I have a hunch.  I was supposed to be doing a deep dive into Taurine & Glycine & their CNS effects for the latest Update in Under 30 and due to a technical glitch we produced a software generated...

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A Sprinkle Of Precursor & A Dash Of Co-Factor?

A Sprinkle Of Precursor & A Dash Of Co-Factor?

There's enormous potency in nutritional medicine for mental health but it ain't in the form of a 'dash of precursor here and a sprinkle of co-factor there', like some may have you believe.  Many nutritional prescriptions can look good on paper but that's the extent of...

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Do You Remember?

Do You Remember?

I've seen two 20-year-old young men in my practice this last month who've already made a lasting impression on me. The first, is buff, full of cheek and humour while deeply engaged with his health, earnest in his desire to understand his 7 years of daily upper gastric...

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Someone Say Sulphur?

Someone Say Sulphur?

That's not a word you hear often spoken by people practising nutritional medicine. Which is odd. I mean outside of the whole, 'I'm not good with sulphites so I just have to add these magic drops into my glass of red so I can knock back my share," often overheard at...

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I Spy…

I Spy…

I say: Biotin, Broccoli Sprouts & Bone Broth You say....? If you said: 'Sulphur', go directly to the top of the class, passing 'Go' & collecting $200 on your way!🤓  If you nervously said..."I don't know, they all start with 'B' ?", you are not alone.  In fact,...

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Are You Ready To Be Lab Literate?

Are You Ready To Be Lab Literate?

The first time I saw a set of lab results was when a patient brought them in to her appointment.  True.  In spite of the comprehensive training I'd received in nutrition and biochemistry and pathophysiology my undergraduate did not include one single lesson on lab...

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The Temporal Tap On Thyrogastric Autoimmunity

The Temporal Tap On Thyrogastric Autoimmunity

I love a little temporal lobe tap. Especially the kind patients provide.  This week mine came from a mentee's patient who, while presenting with concerns about possible perimenopause, was found to have radical shifts in her thyroid hormones, largely thanks to a...

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The Year For Iron & Gin

The Year For Iron & Gin

A few things really took up a disproportionate amount of our time & attention in 2020: Zoom, Mask Fashion & Gin based hand sanitiser. On a personal note I need to confess another: Iron. So while my one true (mineral) love remains zinc, iron answer hunting has...

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The Pathology Path

The Pathology Path

Well, obviously(!)...this has been a year heavy on pathology interpretation for me and the huge number of practitioners who've just spent the last 6 months taking that learning journey with me.  I celebrate and congratulate them all for their commitment to their own...

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What’s A Little Flesh Between Friends?

What’s A Little Flesh Between Friends?

I talk so much about iron, I feel like I'm cheating on my life partner (Zinc)...but these two are arguably the main mineral deficiencies we encounter most consistently in our patients and, don't tell Zn, but quite frankly, in terms of who's more well recognised out...

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IV Iron To The Rescue?

IV Iron To The Rescue?

When I deliver foundational nutrition training to GPs I talk tough.  It's a tough field, right?  Compared with the relative certainty of pharmaceuticals, their established pharmacokinetics, their sophisticated delivery systems to ensure high bioavailability...trying...

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Over-Delivering Donkey

Over-Delivering Donkey

Shhhhhhhh(eesh)! I am confessing my sins.  As part of our mentoring discussions we try to keep one another honest & in-check with, what seems to be, integrative health professionals' innate flair for over-delivering.  Name someone right now from another health...

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