Rachel's Blogs

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The Guts of the Problem

The Guts of the Problem

Felice Jacka is onto something.  You might know her as the daughter of Judy Jacka (naturopathic trailblazer who established the SSNT), you might know her as the Australian researcher who really started the bigger international scientific conversation about diet and...

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NONZ/NZSN 2017 Conference

NONZ/NZSN 2017 Conference

Kia ora tātou! Yes, that's right! I’m heading off again to the land of the long white cloud. I’m very excited to be part of the Inaugural Conference that the New Zealand Society of Naturopaths and the Naturopaths of New Zealand are hosting 9-10th September in...

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This is Why I Love My Job!

This is Why I Love My Job!

On Sunday there were deafening bells going off in my brain. By Monday they were going off in 11 others. Alessandra: "Holy s#*t this has just ticked so many boxes for a couple of Rx resistant patients. Thank you!" Tess: "Me too – finally the gut and pain connection...

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Let’s Stop Normalising Abnormal Breasts

Let’s Stop Normalising Abnormal Breasts

Let's play a little word association game: I say 'Fibroids' - you say, 'Oestrogen'.   I say 'Cyclic Breast Pain' and you say, 'Ouch!' [because it just slipped out] but then you say, 'Prolactin', right?  Me too.  Prolactin driven breast pain's most characteristic form...

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Who Me….Ageing???

Who Me….Ageing???

My partner and I have a well rehearsed script whenever he is suffering from man flu, he says, "Am I going to die?" and I say "Yes, just not today." First world peoples tend to specialise in the denial of several absolutes: like time & death.  As Professor David...

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Seriously..this $%*# is still  happening

Seriously..this $%*# is still happening

Setting: Local cafe Scenario: Run into friends of friends who join us in the sunshine for a cuppa & we're discussing the finer details of chai (western version V the real streets of Delhi stuff), tumeric lattes etc etc. as you do.  I comment on how unpleasantly...

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Can You Diagnose This Deficiency?

Can You Diagnose This Deficiency?

While I did diagnose this one correctly, I didn't get 100% in this quiz - Can you? Speaking of the devil, Medscape, has this great little visual quiz to test your knowledge about physical signs & other hidden clues of nutritional deficiencies. While we all know...

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‘Take Me To Your Master!’

‘Take Me To Your Master!’

I am frequently asked what scientific journals I subscribe to and often by the same practitioners over and over, because they can't reconcile my answer: "None".  Yet I constantly have my head in the scientific literature, right?  The two are not mutually exclusive,...

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‘Sup with Zonulin?

‘Sup with Zonulin?

Watch the gap!  You know I love a good diagnostic test probably (way!) more than the next person but I am slow to come around when there's suddenly a 'new-kid-on-the-block' that every functional testing company wants to offer you. This is how I felt about serum...

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When it Quacks like a Duck…it Could be a QIR!

When it Quacks like a Duck…it Could be a QIR!

Yet another sensational week of group mentoring last week.  Holy guacamole...these cases just get more and more tasty! So much to talk about on every case presented, we all learnt buckets from a smorgasbord of conditions including: sudden onset thyroiditis (with a T4...

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Money V Meaning

Money V Meaning

At the end of last week I spent 3 days engrossed in intensive ANS planning for 2018. As you can probably imagine these planning days are incredibly exciting, creative, stimulating processes.  If everyone involved had brain PET scans performed during these discussions,...

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Taking a Stand!

Taking a Stand!

This year I've given up sitting & I couldn't be happier or more annoying.  I've become one of those evangelical people that wants to now spread the word as far as possible.  I bought a standing desk and it's radically improved my energy at the end of every work...

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Working on the Edge

Working on the Edge

May was the month of teenage girls presenting with severe digestive problems, especially 'food intolerances',  leading to avoidance of specific foods and at times significantly reduced food intake overall.  As integrative health practitioners,  validating and creating...

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Pyrroles…I Recant!!!

Pyrroles…I Recant!!!

This year has been a steep learning curve but this is exactly as I had hoped and planned for.  I strapped myself in for my roller-coaster ride,  a series of intensive upskilling initiatives undertaken with mentors and experts in specialist areas, and I haven't hurled...

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No Patch on Iodine Testing

No Patch on Iodine Testing

    Whenever I talk to practitioners about thyroid health, like I recently did at MINDD, I can guarantee I'm going to get 2 questions: Shouldn't we aim for the high iodine intake of Japanese? Can we use the patch test for testing iodine levels in our patients? I...

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Skip the Spin & Just Kiss

Skip the Spin & Just Kiss

I've been given a lot to think about.  With ACNEM Science of Nutrition Conference and then MINDD both this last week, I've heard a lot.  Not all of it good, useful or accurate of course.  'Beware the Spin!' I would say to anyone wondering how to sift through the...

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Fearlessly…or fearfully (?!) entering Twitterland

Fearlessly…or fearfully (?!) entering Twitterland

I was typing notes furiously throughout the ACNEM Science of Nutrition conference last weekend. So many gems, so many gems, from researchers & clinicians - I just got so much out of it. I love the slightly awkward mismatch between the research world, aka 'don't...

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1/4 of a packet of Activated Almonds a Month…

1/4 of a packet of Activated Almonds a Month…

'How much does the Update in Under 30 podcast subscription cost?' I hear you ask...about 1/4 of a packet of Activated Almonds per month, that's about 1 activated almond per day I reckon. This is a Byron Shire joke, the idea being that Activated Almonds are the...

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Joining the Campfire Conversation

Joining the Campfire Conversation

So you've heard part of that BIMA story...now here's the rest. To be honest, I was pretty surprised to win anything given I've spent the last 20 years 'agitating', challenging the misinformation and strongholds of the big companies etc. Funnily enough, in my post...

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Beaming About My BIMA

Psssssssssssst....just thought I would share a special moment from a couple of weeks ago when I received the BIMA for Lecturer of the Year. Thanks to all those practitioners who nominated me for Lecturer, Nutritionist & Researcher of the year! It was really...

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