Microbiome stool analysis and nutrigenomics offer a greater viewpoint, as part of personalised healthcare. In clinic I have been able to tailor a treatment focus to the individual, not the diagnosis. This results in more effective, efficient, and long-lasting health outcomes. By understanding both the genetic blueprint and the microbiome environment, it is possible to create an intentional functional medicine plan that supports the body’s innate capacity for healing.

Do you still experience burn, itch, pain, tenderness, even though you have been prescribed antibiotics and or antifungals, but still end up those annoying sensations? Those sensations that lead you to feel a little insane!

Other symptoms that may or may not be present include brain fog, fatigue, general aches and pains, low mood, or persistent abdominal bloating and gas.

I often get asked what the difference is between a health coach, nutritionist, and clinical nutritionist. The tricky thing here in NZ is that the title of nutritionist is not protected, meaning, yes, many people can simply call themselves a nutritionist. Which is why it is important to know what qualifications a nutritionist has, who they are registered with and what level of experience they have.

Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin and is essential for our health. It is sometimes referred to as a hormone vitamin because it plays such a vital role within communication. (The main role of hormones is communication – and it is this communication that regulates different organs/systems within the body).

Vitamin D is a such a vital nutrient, but we actually only get about 10% of it from our food. It is found in mushrooms, oily fish like salmon and sardines and liver, foods that we don’t tend to consume a lot of.

My common-sense approach, which has always been evidenced based, is to focus on digestive integrity and microbiome diversity. It may be necessary to consider food intolerance testing, but not always. Certainly understanding nutritional deficiencies is vital – but this can often be difficult to obtain depending on the child’s age and nature.

Have you ever felt like your body is whispering to you that something is just not right? It might be that on and off over the years, you have moments of being fatigued, but then bounced back. Or maybe you have had moments of feeling achey all over, and then just like that it has resolved. Or perhaps something has been bit off with your periods or cycles, but you’ve been told its “normal”. Maybe you feel cold a lot of the time, even in summer, or maybe you feel the heat more, even in winter?

Sometimes you just need to know that you can get a meal together within 25 minutes. And this meal is it!

Whether you choose to chop your own vegetables or use a frozen stir fry mix, the key is to max it out with as many different vegetables as possible. Or do what I do and use both! In this picture I have used both - vegetables from my own garden as well as a frozen stir fry mix.