Rachel's Blogs
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...
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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PCOS families – are your male patients affected?
We now suspect that many of the drivers behind PCOS are heritable components – a genetic vulnerability passed from parents, possibly one but often both. This growing understanding has identified a phenomenon referred to as ‘PCOS families’ i.e. a family in which at...
Extra info on 2014 CD Deal
We've had a lot of inquiries regarding our end of year CD special. So just to clarify - here's the deal and below that how to make it happen! 🙂 Purchase any 2 CDs before Jan 31st and receive one complimentary Premium Audio Recording of your choice OR purchase 4 CDs...
End of Year CD Clearance
As we head rapidly towards the change over of our calendars we would like to offer you a special on the very best educational recordings from 2014 - buy 2 CDs before Jan 31st and receive one complimentary Premium Audio Recording of your choice OR purchase 4 CDs and...
Recognising A Tendency to Iron Overload Earlier
We've just had another mentoring case in which a 40 something female with deficiencies of almost all other minerals but 'pretty normal ferritin levels' presented with a range of endocrine problems and arthralgia. Sounds as if iron's not the problem right? Except...
Mental Health – The Real Story
“Two great speakers – inspirational in the first half and bang on in the second – I now know how much I don’t know” Just out now in time for Christmas…no seriously though… this year I had the good fortune to team up with Biomedica and in particular Rachel McDonald and...
Low T3 Syndrome & The Hibernation Effect
Apologies for having a one-track mind currently but yes I’m still banging on about the thyroid this week. You see, this year in my own clinic I connected up some dots I hadn’t connected before via a series of young female patients. Each of these women presented with...
T3 resistance?
Just been speaking on the thyroid at ACNEM last week and am finding that practitioners across the board are getting more and more curly thyroid cases. One scenario that we increasingly see is something that might be described as 'T3 resistance', when your patient's...
Where’s the Fire??
I learned to drive more than 20 years ago in a mustard yellow VW beetle with my ageing father beside me playing the dual role of instructor and slightly hysterical passenger. The one catch-cry that he screamed over and over again was, “Where’s the fire? Where’s the...
What have you learned in 2014?
I’ve learned a lot (!) and as always that learning has principally driven by my clients – their pathology, the diagnostic investigations we’ve employed to better understand the drivers behind their conditions, their response to various treatment approaches & of...
Knowing your (Se) Numbers in Thyroid Patients
I’ve been re-reading lots of studies for a talk I’m delivering at ACNEM in Melbourne, investigating the relationship between selenium and a myriad of thyroid pathologies: from hypo- to hyperthyroidism and from subclinical thyroiditis to cancer. The sheer number of...
The Emerging Impact of Artificial Sweeteners..via your Microbiome?
When was the last time you drank or ate something that contained an artificial sweetener (AS)? I remember it well and my most striking recollection was the way it ‘hit the spot’ just like I would have expected sugar to, making me immediately suspicious of the effects...
Roaccutane, depression & nutrition – the links
We’re all aware of the reported link between Isotretinoin (aka Roaccutane, Accure, Oratane), originally listed by the FDA in 1982 for the treatment of severe treatment refractory cystic acne, and depression & suicidality in some individuals. Any suggestion of...
When I grow up
When I grow up I’d like to be a few different things, forget any ballerina or astronaut aspirations, my list includes a clinical psychologist, an integrative psychiatrist and last but by no means least, an endocrinologist. I’m fascinated by hormones, their regulation...
Less is….well, less
When I started studying naturopathy I quickly became full to over-flowing with inspiration that everyone could achieve wellness simply by making better choices with their diet, their lifestyle, activity levels and perhaps some slippery elm thrown in. As a senior...
But doctor, what about nutrition?
Just this week Medscape featured an article arguing there's a need for all doctors (GPs & specialists) to undergo nutritional training. It follows on from a commentary in the September issue of the American Journal of Medicine which criticised the deficiency of...
Concentrating on concentration – getting urinary iodine right!
Recently in our group & individual mentoring sessions we’ve been looking at lots of patients’ urinary iodine results. Many of you will know that I’m a bit of a fan of doing spot urinary iodine testing to gain some understanding about patients’ iodine, in spite...
You’ve got mail!
I’ve received so much lovely feedback (fan mail!) recently I just had to share some with you (note I look much more excited than Meg does when I get mine!). It’s so exciting to be a part of our burgeoning naturopathic & integrative network. From Alyssa Tait a...
I’m coming to Sydney!
So far this year I’ve been doing most of my presenting online which has been fantastic because we can all be in our PJs and no one’s the wiser (except now!!) but I do miss the face to face seminars where sometimes the real magic happens thanks to the two-way dynamic...
Let’s talk about sex…
In spite of several advantages of salivary hormone assessment, one important piece of information you miss out on when you do this rather than blood assays, is the SHBG result. Sex hormone binding globulin is a protein produced in the liver that, as the name suggests,...
Get the Knack of NAC!
There are few complementary medicines that come onto the market with such a bang, opening up genuinely new therapeutic options for the effective management of such a broad range of health complaints. N-acetyl cysteine stands out for this reason and has changed the...
A Guide to Globulins
Globulins…ever thought much about them? Me neither really unless they were clearly below range which made me consider immune impairment but recently Dr. Michael Hayter, who I am co-presenting the Diagnostics Master Class (Health Masters Live) with, inspired me to...