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General

A bit from Rochelle…

So I’ll put it out there, I love a good medical mystery… no, not the type on TV, but real life cases.

Here’s why I think Naturopaths are good at solving medical mysteries…

Naturopaths, unlike medical doctors, are not constrained by time limits set by Medicare… it is really hard for Dr’s these days to do everything they need to…they are accountable to the Government. We can take the time to take a really thorough history and make some associations that may not have been thought of.

Often in difficult cases, you are referred to numerous specialists who each look at their own area, but do the specialists get to discuss you as a whole? Naturopathic Medicine looks are disease holistically and treats the cause of your disease rather than just as a series of symptoms.

Let me be clear, I am in favour of liaison with Dr’s and specialists, they are integral in the pathway to determining the diagnosis of your medical mystery, however, taking a holistic approach to the investigation and treatment works really well

Now to toot my own trumpet….

As well as Herbal Medicine and Naturopathic knowledge, I have training in Clinical Immunology and Pathology as well as Neurophysiology from Melbourne’s top universities. I have also completed a Masters in Reproductive Medicine and a Masters in Women’s Health Medicine from UNSW. Throughout this journey, I have formed relationships with some of Australia’s top Naturopaths, Medical GP’s and Specialists all on my team to help assist you with your medical mystery!!

If you have a case for me to solve, please feel free to call on 0481 751 610 to book an appointment.


CLICK HERE for Rochelle’s LinkedIn Profile

Uncategorized

It’s Women’s Health Week

“When you have your health, you have everything. When you do not have your health, nothing else matters at all.” -Augusten Burroughs


It’s Women’s Health Week, and a reminder for women and girls to check in with their health and daily habits you make to support the body that you live in.

We are a sum of our habits, all the moving pieces that only we can commit to, and no one else. Supporting our health includes moving our body, eating healthy nutritious foods, sleeping enough, and our emotional and mental wellbeing.

Having tools and practices is key.

Support in seeing a regular health practitioner for checkups and testing is too.

Your young daughters, watch you, and you set the tone! Set a good example of self care and health for them to follow into adulthood.


For information about our services and what we offer, please visit
www.rochellewaitenaturopath.com

www.facebook.com/rochellewaitenaturopath

Rochelle has post-graduate degrees in Immunology, Women’s Health Medicine and Reproductive Medicine and is ideally suited to tackle the most difficult of hormonal or autoimmune issues.

Fertility, General, Women's Health

September is PCOS Awareness Month

PCOS is a condition that 5 -10% of women of childbearing age in the Australia have, experiencing chronic symptoms including:- weight gain- hair loss- hair growing in unwanted places (chin, breasts, lower belly, etc.)- depression- irregular or absent periods- acne

PCOS is also responsible for 70% of infertility issues in women who have difficulty ovulating, as well as increased risks for prenatal problems including miscarriage and gestational diabetes in women who do become pregnant with this condition. For a subset of women, there is also an increased risk of diabetes and heart disease.

After years of working with women with PCOS, I can say there’s really no end to how this condition can impact quality of life, self-esteem, and mental health. But, in my years of working with women with PCOS, I can also say that there’s actually a lot we can do for PCOS; there is healing, there is relief, and, in my experience, there is actual reversal of the root cause.

Some top tips for the control of PCOS

Balancing blood sugar reduces inflammation and reverses the insulin resistance often driving PCOS, leading to reductions in androgens and related symptoms.

Moderate restriction of fast carbohydrates while increasing protein + healthy fats, decreases testosterone, improves insulin sensitivity, and reduces symptoms.🍴

Omega-3-rich fish at least three times a week can reduce insulin resistance + inflammation🍴

2 tbsp. of flaxseed per day to lengthen luteal phase, improve ovulation, and reduce testosterone levels.🍴

Other useful foods
Buckwheat – may be helpful in improving blood sugar balance and reducing insulin resistance.🍴

Sesame seeds – can reduce elevated androgen levels by improving DHEA-S and SHBG (sex-hormone- binding globulin) levels.🍴

Legumes (chick peas, kidney beans, and non-GMO organic soy) are a rich source of inositol

Remember!! this doesn’t have to be an all or nothing approach, you can combine these strategies with conventional therapies to create a protocol that feels right to you.

If you would like personalised support for controlling PCOS and gaining control of your life, I can design a program for you filled with diet and lifestyle changes that can help treat your underlying causes.

Fertility, Women's Health

Period Pain is NOT Normal!!

PARENTS!!

Do you have girls suffering from period pain?

If there is one statement that I would like to educate the masses to, it would be that PERIOD PAIN IS NOT NORMAL!!

Girls and women are taught from early on, that symptoms related to their menstrual cycles are to be accepted and suffered through.

NO! NO! NO!

Mistakenly, there is the perception that girls should just tough it out, it may pass as you get older, I’ve even heard this advice being given by some GP’s.

NEVER let anyone, including a Health Professional, tell you that period pain is NORMAL.

Here’s the real deal…Your daughter should not have to miss school due to period pain or associated symptoms.

Your daughter should not have to be curled up in a ball in pain once a month

Your daughter SHOULD NEVER be fainting due to excessive blood loss.

Never just take a wait and see attitude,

Excruciating pain, excessive blood loss, wild fluctuations in mood and all the other terrible associated symptoms could affect your daughter’s future fertility and early intervention is the key to the management of the condition.

Teenagers are NOT too young to suffer from gynaecological conditions including endometriosis and adenomyosis.

I can not underestimate the importance of EARLY INTERVENTION to prevent the irreversible internal damage caused by months and months, years and years of inflammation due to gynaecological conditions.

As a naturopath with specialist training in Reproductive Medicine, and Women’s Health Medicine, I would like to say, if you consult a health professional who dismisses your concerns, please get a second, third or tenth opinion. I work with top gynaecologists, laparoscopic surgeons and reproductive medicine specialists.

STAY TUNED for an upcoming workshop on methods to TAME your PERIOD PAIN!

Fertility, Women's Health

March is Endometriosis Awareness Month

March is Endometriosis Awareness Month and I would like to highlight this condition that affects millions of women worldwide.

One in ten women are diagnosed with endometriosis however a significant portion of women with endometriosis are asymptomatic and do not realise they have it or it has been dismissed by general practitioners or other health care practitioners. This means the statistics regarding women with this condition are massively understated.

Did you know that on average, it takes 7-10 years for a woman to receive a definitive endometriosis diagnosis?

Simple key-hole surgery is required to diagnose this condition (laparoscopy and histology), and despite some of the information out there, scans and blood tests will not provide the answer.

If you’ve been following me for a while, you know one of my “things” is the message is that

PERIOD PAIN IS NOT NORMAL!!

Here’s why….. While slight discomfort with a period may be normal, pain (especially bad period pain) is not normal and period pain can be a sign of endometriosis. Whilst the most common symptom of endometriosis is pain, it is also important to be aware that not all women with endometriosis have pain.

Here are some of the common signs of endometriosis :

Period Pain

Pain with intercourse

Ovulation pain

IBS like symptoms

Pain on bowel movement

Bleeding from the bowel

UTI like symptoms (without infection present)

Fatigue

Anxiety and mood disorders

Bloating (can be severe)- also known as endo belly

Musculoskeletal pain

Pelvic and rectal pressure feeling

Abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB)

And many others……

So what is Endometriosis?

Essentially, endometriosis is normal tissue growing in abnormal areas. It behaves very much like cancer, but it is not cancerous. Endometriosis has been found in every part of the body and it can cause damage to multiple organs if it is not managed properly. Recent research points to a genetic component of endometriosis such that if your mother or grandmother had it, you may be more likely to as well. A few misconceptions to clear up. It is driven by oestrogen, even in tiny amounts. You don’t have to be oestrogen dominant. It is also not an autoimmune condition.

Over this month I will focus on the facts of Endometriosis, the serious complications of unmanaged endometriosis and why it is imperative that you consult an expert in this condition. Having a specialist qualifications in Reproductive & Women’s Medicine, I work in conjunction with Australia’s top advanced trained excision surgeons and gynaecologist with advanced training in endometriosis. We work in collaboration to treat endometriosis in a holistic and very effective way.

Whilst all this information sounds overwhelming and depressing… there is hope and help! If you have unmanaged endometriosis or have bad period pain, contact me for a chat, so that we can discuss a pathway forward. You can not manage endometriosis by yourself and it is vitally important for your future health that you consult an expert.

Stay tuned for the next instalment,

Rochelle

Autoimmunity, Uncategorized

March is Autoimmunity Awareness Month

Autoimmunity is the result of widespread inflammation which creates an abnormal immune response in which the body starts to attack itself. It often begins when the body is working hard to defend itself against an allergen, infection, toxin or food and it fails to differentiate between this substance and your own body. There are many underlying factors that can predispose someone to develop an autoimmune disease but a diagnosis of an autoimmune condition does not mean you have to resign yourself to debilitating symptoms that get worse and worse over time, or settling for a lifetime of harsh medications.

Here are five strategies I use personally with all of my clients, to address the root causes of their autoimmune disease, restore balance to the immune system, help them off medications (in conjunction with their medical practitioners), become symptom-free, and reverse the progression of their disease.

1. Heal Your Gut

Your gut is your gateway to health. Eighty percent of your immune system resides in your gut and without a healthy gut, it is nearly impossible to have a healthy immune system.

In fact, we now know that having a leaky gut is one of the primary causes, and probably even a prerequisite, for developing an autoimmune disease. If your gut has become leaky it means the tight junctions that usually hold the walls of your intestines together have become loose, allowing undigested food particles, microbes, toxins, and more to escape your gut and enter your bloodstream, causing a huge rise in inflammation that triggers or worsens any autoimmune condition.

The good news is, the cells in your gut turn over very quickly so you can heal your gut within weeks.

Remove the Bad — Remove inflammatory foods, toxins, and stress that damage your gut, as well as gut infections from yeast, parasites, or bacteria

Restore the Good — Replenish enzymes and acids necessary for proper digestion

Reinoculate with Healthy Bacteria — Make sure you have plenty of friendly bacteria to support your immune system

Repair the Gut — Provide the nutrients and amino acids needed to build a healthy gut lining

2. Optimize Your Diet

The foods you eat play a major role in two key components of autoimmune disease — gut health and inflammation. Unfortunately, our modern diets are full of foods that have a negative impact on both.

This includes the usual suspects of processed food and junk food, as well as pseudo health foods such as low-fat and gluten-free packaged foods, which are often loaded with sugar, additives, and preservatives.

But even foods that we typically think of as cornerstones in a healthy diet, such as grains, dairy, legumes, eggs, corn, and soy, can contribute to leaky gut and inflammation. Gluten, in particular, is a primary culprit because it triggers the release of a chemical called zonulin, which signals the walls of your intestines to open up and is highly inflammatory.

Removing these inflammatory foods can dramatically reduce your inflammatory markers and ease, or even eliminate, symptoms of autoimmune disease.

If you’re ready to see the change for yourself, try an elimination diet. Just remove all toxic and inflammatory foods for 30 days. Then, after your body has had a rest from the constant inflammation and your gut has healed, add foods back in one at a time to see which ones contribute to your symptoms and should be left out, and which ones you do fine with.

3. Reduce Your Toxic Burden

It’s no secret that we’re exposed to a huge number of toxic chemicals on a daily basis. Between the pollution in our air, the contaminants in our water, the pesticides in our food, and the cocktail of chemicals in our products, our bodies are barraged by toxins day in and day out.

These toxins aren’t just being washed off or rinsed away, they are absorbed by your body.

We do know that having a higher toxic burden puts you at greater risk of developing an autoimmune disease, and that reducing your toxic burden helps to reverse autoimmune disease.

When it comes to reducing your toxic burden, you have two main goals, prevention and detoxification. You can prevent or minimize toxin exposure by eating organic foods, minimizing your use of plastic, filtering your air and water, and using toxin-free body products. Understandably, we can’t all live in a bubble, so my personal strategy is to keep my home and office as toxin-free as possible so that I have more leeway when I’m out in the world.

The second goal, detoxification, involves supporting your detox pathways by getting plenty of the vitamins and nutrients needed by your liver (where most of your detoxification occurs), staying hydrated, and doing activities to make you sweat, such as exercising or using an infrared sauna.

4. Heal Your Infections

Another key factor that can play a role in autoimmune disease is infections. Research has linked a number of viral and bacterial infections to autoimmune disease, including Epstein-Barr (the virus that causes mono), Herpes Simplex 1 and 2, E. coli, and more.

Blood tests can determine if you have any latent infections that might be contributing to your autoimmune disease. If you have a bacterial infection, you can take antibiotics to get rid of your infection. If you have a viral infection you can lighten your viral load by strengthening your immune system to prevent infectious flare-ups that can worsen autoimmune conditions. This includes avoiding immunosuppressant drugs (which are often prescribed to autoimmune patients), maintaining a healthy gut, and getting plenty of vitamin D and vitamin C.

5. Relieve Your Stress

The last underlying cause you can tackle to reverse your autoimmune disease is one that is very important but can be one of the most challenging. It’s relieving your stress, specifically the chronic stress that most of us have accepted as an everyday occurrence.

Stress has a twofold effect on your immune system.

First, it activates your immune system and produces a wave of inflammation, which makes sense since our immune systems originally evolved to face stressors like attacks, injury, and famine. Then, it suppresses your immune system because your body knows that sustaining a high level of inflammation is dangerous.

The problem with modern-day living is that we generally aren’t experiencing acute stress, flight or fight, like our ancestors. Most of us are on a rollercoaster of constant or chronic stress which is exhausting for you, but also for your immune system!

In fact, your immune system often responds to chronic or escalating stress by triggering or worsening an autoimmune condition.

Whether it’s through meditation, exercise, prayer, art, or any other activity you enjoy, relieving your stress is incredibly helpful in reducing your inflammation and giving your immune system a well-deserved break, so that it can get back on track.

My mission is to honour and support those of you who have been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease by providing you with the tools to find a solution to health and a better life.

I hope these tips get you on your way!

Rochelle Waite (BApp Sci (Nuc.Med.), Grad.Dip Immunol. MSc, Adv.DipNat, M.RepMed) is Australia’s only Naturopath with Masters Degrees in Immunology (Autoimmunity, Women’s Health Medicine and Reproductive Medicine.

Rochelle’s special interest lies in difficult fertility cases, where chronic Autoimmune or Women’s Health conditions such as PCOS, Endometriosis or Adenomyosis have prevented a successful pregnancy in the past.

Metabolic Balance

Your Key to Permanent Weight Loss

You are what you eat” – it’s an old saying but one that is so true!

The reasons for why we eat may, on the surface, be many e.g. we might think we’re eating just because we’re hungry, to have fun with friends, when we’re bored, because of our routine etc, etc but fundamentally it’s all about fueling our bodies so that they can work right and we can live our best lives. Basically, food feeds our body’s cells and also provides fuel for the many microorganisms that live in our bodies.

It’s therefore just so important to choose our food so that our cells and the good bacteria in our body really get what’s needed. In this way, we are more protected from ill health, disease, or bacteria causing diseases. The best way to achieve this is with a healthy, varied, and natural diet according to Metabolic Balance.

I love that Metabolic Balance® is a food only, fully supported nutritional plan that optimises your health based on your specific biochemistry and takes into consideration any health conditions you may have. This allows sustainable, long-term positive health outcomes to take place.

Metabolic Balance® is designed to normalise hormone and insulin levels and has been beneficial for conditions such as autoimmune conditions, thyroid imbalances, asthma, skin conditions, PCOS, Endometriosis, diabetes, and menopause management and many other chronic, debilitating conditions.