For best fertility and a healthy pregnancy we know we need to be getting enough folate, and for at least 3 months before conception. But how many women are doing this? Only 20% are taking a preconception supplement containing folic acid at the time of falling pregnant. Coeliac disease? You’re even more at risk. [...]
“Squeeze that pelvic floor every time you’re at a red light”: have you ever heard that one? I am not a big fan of this, and here’s why. It’s not functional (meaning, it’s not practical and a true-to-life way of using these muscles). It’s too easy to do it wrong this way, due to both [...]
A (Greatly Truncated) Response to the Question of Whether Probiotics are Overrated Probiotics: myth or miracle? It’s the kind of grab-your-attention, oversimplified headline we are used to in the media. But, I was grateful to be asked for my opinion on an article of this name: Probiotics: myth or miracle? So here is the quick [...]
Or, Pelvic Floor Rehab Doesn't Need to Be Boring! So your pelvic floor seems to be failing you. Maybe you are leaking urine when you run (stress incontinence), maybe you are now having to run to make it to the toilet (urge incontinence), or maybe things feel heavy and bulgy down there (could be [...]
As a naturopath, you can’t help but see some patterns that come up over and over again. When it comes to cow’s milk protein (CMP) intolerance, we see links to kids’ health problems like recurrent ear infections, tonsillitis, eczema and late bedwetting. Another clear link is between cow's milk protein (CMP) intolerance and constipation. [...]
Period pain is a destructive force in many women’s lives. Time off work, pressure on relationships, stopping participation in sport and hobbies are just some of the effects…not to mention the untold suffering from the pain itself. What can you do? Many of my female clients report pain during their periods (also called dysmenorrhea) [...]
Is the alkaline diet really ideal for your health? There is a lot of talk about the balance between acidity and alkalinity for good health. Websites abound on this topic, and many natural health practitioners are emphatic about it. “Alkalinity” is often equated with good health, and “acidity” something to avoid. The world of chronic [...]
The state of the body's acidity vs alkalinity both reflects and affects health. The alkaline diet is a topic I summarised in my last post. But what about the specific scenarios of chronic pelvic pain, vulvodynia and interstitial cystitis? Does acidity or alkalinity have anything to do with chronic pain? The short answer here [...]
You step on a thumbtack, and yow! – your body pulls your foot back faster than you know what hit you. You accidentally touch that hot plate, and eeek! – you’ve pulled your hand back off it in the blink of an eye. ‘’Pain is the message your body part sends your brain when your [...]
Rather than the tongue-twister proctalgia fugax, you might know it as: "A knife-like pain in the rectum"... "A red-hot poker up the bum"… "A feeling of being stabbed in the anus, which takes my breath away"… These are just some of the descriptions that my patients suffering from proctalgia fugax give. Somewhat surprisingly for [...]
