My health journey: chronic digestive symptoms, hormone imbalance and what helped me feel better again.

hi, welcome!

I wanted to share my health journey with you, the struggles I had, along with some things that helped me along the way.

I want you to know that no matter where you are with your health, it’s okay. What matters is that you start. And that you don’t have to do it alone.

So as a young girl and teenager, I have to admit I never gave food much of a thought. I was heavily into fitness and sport, playing competitive tennis and athletics, so I didn’t have to think about what I ate. I had a typical teenage diet, eating chips, chocolate bars, lollies on a daily basis. I studied to become a Physiotherapist and dedicated myself to physical health.

Unfortunately, an injury in my early 20s made it impossible for me to exercise. I was in constant pain and on anti-inflammatory medications for years. At the time I wasn’t aware of the damage these medications were doing to my gut health, or how much what I was eating contributed to pain and inflammation I was still struggling with.

I had countless scans, specialist appointments, tried different medications and was still struggling, physically and mentally. I eventually found relief in gentle exercise (reformer pilates) and natural medicine.

Around this time, I’d also started to experience debilitating abdominal cramps and chronic bloating. It was uncomfortable and disrupted my life.

Since I had a family history of chronic digestive issues, I decided to see a specialist. I had various testing, some of it invasive, and at the end of all this I was told I had irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). I had no idea what was actually causing my IBS or how to get rid of my digestive symptoms.

A friend suggested I see a natural health practitioner. She took the time to listen to my story and got really in depth about all areas of my health, not just about my digestion and back, but also about my sleep, stress levels, but much more. She guided me in making small, gradual changes to my diet and lifestyle. She helped me see that some of my food choices were actually worsening inflammation in my body and making my back pain worse. The long-term medications I was on were causing an imbalance of good vs bad bacteria in my gut (called dysbiosis), which was adding to my abdominal symptoms. There were lots of other factors involved too, like stress.

“It wasn’t a quick fix - health never is.”

But, bit by bit, I started to feel better.

My bloating and pain improved, and surprisingly, so did other areas of my life. I didn’t crave sugar all the time, had less mood swings, less anxiety and I was sleeping better.

“I realised just how powerful food could be in improving health.”

My passion for natural medicine grew and I dedicated myself to learning as much as I could about the power of food as medicine and natural therapies.

I realised that I wanted to share my knowledge and help others and so my passion led me to study my degree in Health Science (Nutritional and Dietetic Medicine) at Endeavour College in Adelaide.

I absolutely love everything health related, but my passion is in gut health, hormone balance, women’s and children’s health. I love supporting busy women and high achievers so they can get their energy back and feel in control of their health.

I’m also really passionate about helping mums and mums-to-be through their journey, because it’s an area so often overlooked (and mums matter too!). I share my motherhood journey on the blog here, if you are interested in having a read. I also share some nutrition tips for new mums.

I believe that a supportive, holistic and science-based approach is KEY to getting to the bottom of your health issues. Looking at the WHOLE body, including what you eat, how you live and think means that treatment suggestions are more personalised and much more likely to achieve results for the long term.

If you are interested in finding out more about how I could help you, head over to my services page here.