THE CURIOUS MINDS CLUB 
It's 2004 & I'm practicing from South Melbourne when one of my patients comes in with a few pages of test results she wonders if I want to take a look at. I'd love to of course but the 'language of labs' was not taught in naturopathy back then, so it all just...
Take a moment to reflect honestly on your (ouch!), or alternatively 'our' collective (if that's more comfortable) opinions over time regarding each of these: Butter. Coffee. Spinach. Red meat. I could go on and on...and tragically, on some more. The total number of...
But just like so many well-meaning researchers who purport to employ 'THE' Mediterranean diet while their dietary intervention is actually just a rough approximation, I can't claim that what I ate over my month in Greece was an identical replica of what the...
Somehow it didn’t dawn on me immediately, that I was in fact living this nutrition nerd’s dream…I WAS ACTUALLY EATING THE MEDITERRANEAN DIET! 🤯 😍 Like, the real-deal, legit, bona fide, honest-to-goodness, original, dinkum 1960s Greek diet. That...
Gone are the days, thankfully, when we could all easily identify any individual taking an antipsychotic 1) because they were the marginalised 'mad' and 2) stigma and shame were rife. With the seismic shift that has occurred both in psychiatry & society we now know...
How much? How often? When is the best time & timing? do you know about friends, foes and frenemies? Which form, when? e.g. building blocks or bioactives? And for how long? aka are we there yet...? These are the kind of questions that one would imagine nutritional...
Have you been told somewhere by someone that the ‘perfect’ TSH is 1.5 mIU/L? This is a wonderful, terrible & wonderfully terrible example of ‘magical numbers medicine’. As a push-back against the published reference ranges we’re given, that are so wide you could...
One of my dear friends told her husband several years ago that she had noticed he was now making, 'old man noises' upon standing up from couches & chairs. She told him that must simply stop. She pointed out that he was only 50 and that she neither could nor would...
13 years ago I was first asked to contribute to ACNEM's thyroid training 8 years ago I put together a little Masterclass on Diagnostics & 6 years ago co-created another one on Thyroid 2 years ago I dived deep into new literature to update my ideas & my...
I've spent the best part of about 4 months recording my *NEW* Advanced Thyroid Assessment training. I told my team this would be easy and quick, given it was to be based on a great little 2-part, 2hr updated presentation I delivered just last year for ACNEM!! Sixteen...
Any pathology test is only of value if the result produced is 'real', or, representative of that individual, right? So the timing of the test is a major pivot point then: do I tell my patient to present for the test, or collect the sample themselves, on their 'best',...
No, I can't leave it alone. I've been gabbing on about Gilbert's Syndrome for about 15 years now and it's not going to stop anytime soon! This is not because I think it's the most common condition we encounter but, rather because it is not uncommon. It is also not...
We all (inaudibly🤞) sigh when patients utter this & adopt the brace position for whatever mis- or dis-information may follow. So how would you feel, if instead, these were the words of the health professional you're seeing? We could debate forever the pros...
Have you ever noticed that our products don't work if our patients don't take them?!🙄 The reasons for non-compliance, dis- or non-engagement, poor patient buy-in & follow through are many: *My dog ate the instructions * My inbox swallowed the instructions *As...
A recent foreboding article featured in NewsGP Pathology requests under the microscope warned, 'More than 5000 GPs are about to receive a letter from the Department of Health about their pathology requests.' This is a ritual cleanse performed by Department of Health...
Over years of delivering independent education in integrative health I have spoken to some diverse audiences. This has included health professionals from very different backgrounds: from hospital-based psychiatrists & mental health nurses, to whom I presented on...
How much has THE world🌏 changed in the last 2 years?! Have the changes within the field of Integrative Health been equally seismic? I'm sure there are many different aspects to speak to & we all have our own thoughts to share on this. I shared my thoughts on this...
Last week, yet another patient with refractory diarrhoea, up to 10 stools a day, Bristol type 5-7, for 3 decades following a diagnosis of Crohn's at 16 years old. A range of specialists have thrown everything at 'it' - single & combination immunosuppressants, TNF...
Ever been guilty of having a 'man's look' for something? I have. Particularly when it comes to the online omniverse! I can be a bit flaky at finding things right there on the page...allegedly! So for those of you who have a similar experience with my website &...
Did I say, ‘Our Brain’? 🙄 Maybe it really should be, ‘Their Brain...on Drugs: what recreational substances reveal'. While infinite self-analysis is an occupational hazard for health professionals, when we use our detective powers for good not evil, our patient work-up...
And health, no matter which side you sit on, seems to be particularly plagued by them. I (incorrectly) recall my 4 year degree as being a series of deep personal losses, some favourite food, then caffeine, then alcohol etc etc.😂 Likewise, I'm aware that naturopathy...
"My 7yo daughter was frequently distressed, telling me she had that 'throat feeling'." As you can imagine, mum offered up a smorgasbord of suggestions to help her try and describe it: Can you swallow ok? Does it burn or taste funny? Where is it? Is it hard, soft,...
I'm sure you've heard by now that we've been in deep water. My team and I are safe but shaken, both from our own experience of...