Do you suffer from 'seasonal allergies' that get worse after eating cheese, wine, sauerkraut, beer, vinegar, shellfish or dairy? And do you have other gut related issues on top of your hay-fever symptoms? Many people think that seasonal allergies and non-anaphylactic allergic responses are a normal part of life. As Spring hits Melbourne, many have been complaining of their ‘hay-fever’ symptoms and reaching for anti-histamine solutions. The itchy eyes, throat and skin, post n

If you have unexplained or multiple symptoms, like acne, reflux, gut distress, anxiety, fatigue, bad breath, neurological problems or chronic pain, SIBO could be to blame. SIBO is the acronym for Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, and it refers to pathogenic growth of bacteria in the small intestine. Although SIBO occurs in the gut, it can produce widespread symptoms throughout the body. The small intestine is where most food is digested, and there shouldn’t be much bacte

Many people ask us what supplements they should add for optimal health, and prebiotics and probiotics are definitely among the most important supplements (or foods) that most of us need more of. Many people incorrectly assume that they don't need supplements, and that it's possible to meet nutrition needs solely from their diet, and that a few vegetables and some yogurt has gut health covered. The problem with this assumption is that the modern diet is severely deficient in p

Melatonin is known as the sleep hormone, but it’s so much more than that. Melatonin is a powerful antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, it supports adrenal function, controls output for growth hormone and sex hormones, and more recently has been shown to support cellular mitochondria (the battery pack of the cell.) Melatonin regulates our sleep / wake cycle to tell our body when it’s time to sleep, and help keep us asleep through the night. Our pineal gland in the brain responds to

Stomach acid plays a vital role in maintaining optimal health. The strength of our stomachs Hydrochloric Acid (HCL) is very important in killing germs and protecting against infection, preventing bacterial overgrowth, and dissolving our food into smaller particles. HCL levels decrease after age 30, and with many lifestyle factors or chronic health conditions, and lack of stomach acid is one of the first places things can go wrong in our gut. HCL sterilizes the stomach content

Anyone with digestive problems has no doubt jumped on google, and stumbled across leaky gut syndrome as a diagnosis. Leaky gut is becoming more common with the plethora of toxins, drugs, stress, pathogens, and poor quality foods etc, that we are all exposed to in modern society. Leaky gut can have devastating effects that can manifest throughout the body, and is a underlying factor in chronic illness, especially food allergy, cognitive decline, and autoimmune conditions. The

Calorie counting has been around a long time, and unfortunately it’s going to take a long time to disappear. Counting calories is a waste of time, and it's simply inaccurate, and irrelevant to the status of our health. Weight loss and health isn’t a math’s problem; numbers don’t matter, hormones and metabolic affects do! Here's why: The calorie model fails to take into account quality and only addresses quantity. 100 calories of organic grass fed beef, will have different res

If you want to see a RAPID change in your waistline, and health - consider giving up grains! It's estimated that 50% of all human calories worldwide come from grains. Many people report adverse reactions to eating wheat and grains, but think giving them up entirely is too hard. If you have a higher risk for cardiovascular disease, or an autoimmune condition of any kind, then you need to be very cautious with grains. The main issues with grain products are that they raise bloo

The fear many have around eating Saturated Fats is still high! Fat became a 4 letter word back in the 1960's when a researcher Ancel Keys (pictured above on the cover of Time magazine) told the world that saturated fat caused heart disease and made us fat. Good old Ancel's recommendations and 'research' was used to make Government dietary guidelines and the food pyramid of the 1980's. It's been revealed since that Ancel's research was flawed. In fact he selected data that sup

Have you been noticing the explosion of info about Gut health and the human microbiome? Heard of Probiotics, Prebiotics and Fermented foods? Do you know how important your gut health is for EVERY SINGLE SYSTEM in your body? If you haven't heard of these terms, it's time you did. For the sake of your health! Our microbiome is located throughout our body, but lives mostly through our digestive tract. The microbiome is a collection of bacteria, yeasts and parasitic organisms tha

Most people are aware of the negative effects of taking antibiotics, and thankfully these days many doctors are avoiding prescribing antibiotics, unless it's absolutely necessary. Antibiotics are one of the biggest contributors to poor gut health, and are known to have a wide range of adverse side effects. For example studies of newborns have shown that antibiotic exposure in the first 6 months of life, resulted in subjects being 2.5 x more likely to develop allergies and ast