Author: Hayley Stockbridge, naturopath

s we are in the second half of the year, it’s likely that many of you are feeling worn out and tired. This is a common trend I see in my patients this time of year as people begin to get worn out from a busy home and work life. Fatigue, tiredness, recurrent infections, brain fog, poor concentration and headaches are common as it starts to become difficult making it through each working week. While this level of burn out is common in people with busy lives, it’s not normal and it sign that your body needs some rest and recuperation! Pushing through the fatigue with multiple coffees won’t help your energy levels in the long run. It’s time to listen to your body and rest up. 

​A typical man in his 40s has only 33% to 50% of the level of testosterone that he had during his 20s. This gradual decline in testosterone as men age is called Andropause, usually occurring between the ages of 48-70 years.
To first understand the effect of declining testosterone, we must first take a closer look at its role within the body. Testosterone is essential for:-

• Healthy libido and erections
• Fertility - development and maturation of sperm
• Red blood cell production
• Protein metabolism
• Maintaining muscle mass and bone density
• Cardiovascular and metabolic health – influences fat distribution

​Leaky gut is the very unflattering name given to a digestive disorder that can cause a lot of health issues for its sufferers. I prefer to refer to it as ‘digestive hyper-permeability’ and explain that it is an inflammation of the digestive tract. It is a condition I find often in many of my patients, and can lead to many other health issues if left undetected. Most often, by the time a patient makes their way to my office they have a long list of symptoms and complaints that they want help addressing. To most these symptoms can seem unrelated. It’s not until we look deeper at your health and WHY these symptoms have appeared that I can often find a common link- leaky gut. This is because it affects how your whole body is balanced.
So what is leaky gut?

Alison Maunder, naturopath & herbalist

The preconception period continues to gain recognition as an ideal opportunity to optimise the health of the prospective parents. It is well understood that a healthy lifestyle and good nutrition influences the quality of egg and sperm and thereby increases the chances of a successful pregnancy. Likewise, nutritional support is essential during IVF cycles to ensure healthy embryonic development.
Recent data from national health surveys indicate that the general population’s nutritional intake is suboptimal and virtually everyone suffers to some extent from deficiencies of essential vitamins, minerals and trace elements.

 

​Changing our lifestyle habits can be a challenging endeavour. The “5 stages of Change” is a model that describes the series of stages we go through to change our habits.
Having an understanding behind the psychology of change, can be integral in helping you succeed with developing new lifestyle habits. The critical assumption that underpins this model is that behavioural changes do not happen in one step, but through a series of distinct, predictable stages. Simply realising the stage of change you are in may be helpful for you to succeed.
The 5 stages of change are outlined below:

Author: Hayley Stockbridge naturopath

​Acne vulgaris is a condition that affects the skin's oil glands. The small holes in your skin
(pores) connect to oil glands under the skin. These glands make an oily substance called sebum. The pores connect to the glands by a canal called a follicle. Inside the follicles, oil carries dead skin cells to the surface of the skin.  A thin hair also grows through the follicle and out to the skin. When the follicle of a skin gland clogs up, a pimple grows.

Living in this fast paced world and being constantly ‘on-call’ with little or no downtime can certainly have a negative impact on our health and mood.  As Hayley mentioned in last week’s blog a cascade of physiological events takes place in the body that triggers changes in mood and our general wellbeing.
So much of our lives seem beyond our control – genetics, the environment, externally imposed stressors - so let’s look at things we CAN control if we really put our stressed out minds to it – diet, exercise, scheduling time out for self nurture.
​For this week’s blog, let’s focus on diet. 

On a daily basis, adrenaline and cortisol are pumping around our body, changing our biochemistry and having huge effects on our health. Our body cannot keep this high level of activity for very long without causing harm.
….Headaches, fatigue, brain fog, irritable bowel syndrome, high blood pressure, sugar cravings, fatigue, weight gain, thyroid issues, poor immunity, low libido, hot flushes, anxiety, depression, insomnia, inflammation…
These are all symptoms of chronic stress!

What you can do about it....