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Naturopath for Women & Children

@wholesomenaturopath

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Steph | Naturopath BHSc 🌸
Women • Gut • Hormones • Children
✨ Wholesome Naturopath | Online
✨ Fridays | @jayne_sharpham_naturopathics
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Consider this your naturopath-approved reminder going into the festive season 🎄😂

Keep eating your veggies, get your fibre in, drink your water, move your body… and for the love of Christmas, eat the pavlova too.

Your health is built on what you do MOST of the time, not the Christmas party, the extra dessert or the handful of chocolates you somehow ate while standing in the kitchen 😂

The 80/20 rule is alive and well around here.

Nourish your body. Enjoy your life. No guilt, no “I’ll start again Monday” and definitely no January punishment required 🩷🎄

Wholesome health includes the fun stuff too ✨ by @wholesomenaturopath

When I became a Naturopath I didn’t realise I was also signing up to become a part-time private detective🕵🏼‍♀️ Turns out, that’s actually become one of my favourite parts of the job!

A little snippet of what’s been happening in clinic over the last couple of weeks…

We’ve had picky eating starting to improve 🙌🏼, found an important piece of the puzzle in a chronic fatigue case, and had microbiome testing reveal some really helpful information to guide where we go next with ongoing gut symptoms.

Alongside lots of hormones, thyroid, insulin resistance, nutrient deficiencies, ADHD, kids’ health + more.

I love taking someone’s symptoms, health history, pathology and testing and piecing it all together to work out what needs our attention first. And it’s even better when we start seeing those little wins along the way 🩷

You’ll find me online every Friday with @jayne_sharpham_naturopathics by @wholesomenaturopath

Your bloods are “normal”…

Case closed, nothing to see here. 👀😂

Excepttttt… hormones didn’t get that memo.

This is why I LOVE looking at pathology!!

I’m not just hunting for the little H or L next to a result. I want to know what your hormones are doing together, when in your cycle they were tested, what your symptoms are doing AND whether there’s a pattern hiding in there.

Because hormones are nosy. They’re all up in each other’s business 😂

Oestrogen, progesterone, testosterone, prolactin, LH, FSH, SHBG… change one thing and it can have a flow-on effect elsewhere.

And sometimes when we start working on one area, another piece of the puzzle becomes clearer. That’s not a reason to panic, it’s a reason to reassess, investigate and keep asking WHY.

Safe to say, I love a good pathology puzzle.

“In range” is important.

But so is the bigger picture. 🩷🌸

#WomensHealth #HormoneHealth #Naturopath #Pathology #hormonesupport by @wholesomenaturopath

A little personal milestone I wanted to share here too 🥹🩷🎓

I actually finished my 5 years of uni at the end of last year and have been practising as a qualified Naturopath for the past 10 months… but I had to wait a very long 10 months for my official graduation ceremony! 😂

Getting to finally put on the gown and hat, walk across that stage and celebrate everything those 5 years took was such a special moment 🥹

Even more special getting to do it in front of my daughters, husband and parents, who supported me through it all 🩷

And finding out on the day that I graduated with a Distinction was the most unexpected little cherry on top 🥹✨

The last 10 months of practising as a Naturopath have honestly been a dream come true. I’m so grateful for every single person who has trusted me with their health and supported me 🩷🌸

And then getting the opportunity to work alongside @jayne_sharpham_naturopathics team has been another dream come true. Being able to learn from Jayne and her 20 years of experience in the industry while continuing to grow as a practitioner is something I’m incredibly grateful for 🥹🩷

Officially graduated… just 10 months late 😂🎓✨ by @wholesomenaturopath

MTHFR… you’ve probably heard of it. But what does it actually mean? 🧬

There’s a lot of noise online around MTHFR, from “methylation problems” to lists of symptoms supposedly caused by having an MTHFR variant.

But the reality is much more nuanced.

We all have the MTHFR gene. Some of us simply carry common variants, such as C677T or A1298C, which can influence how efficiently the MTHFR enzyme functions.

Why does that matter?

MTHFR plays an important role in folate metabolism + methylation, including the pathway that helps recycle homocysteine back into methionine.

But having an MTHFR variant doesn’t automatically mean something is wrong.

If someone tells me they have MTHFR, I want to know more:

→ Which variant?
→ One copy or two?
→ What is their homocysteine actually doing?
→ What are their folate + B12 levels?
→ Are they preparing for pregnancy?
→ What symptoms are they experiencing?
→ What does the rest of their health picture look like?

Because this is the part I think gets missed:

Your genetics show us potential.
Your biochemistry shows us what’s actually happening.

And that’s what we want to support… the person and their biochemistry, not simply try to “fix” a gene. 🌸

Swipe through for a deeper look at MTHFR, including its relationship with folate, homocysteine, methylation, pregnancy + even nitrous oxide.

For general education only and not individual health advice.

#MTHFR #Methylation #Folate #WomensHealth #naturopathy by @wholesomenaturopath

Your gut does a lot more than digest your food!

When we talk about estrogen, we often focus on whether levels are “high” or “low”.

But there’s another part of the picture that I find fascinating… how estrogen is metabolised, eliminated + sometimes recycled.

Estrogen isn’t just one hormone. We have different forms, including estrone (E1), estradiol (E2) + estriol (E3), and once they’ve done their job, the body needs to process them.

The liver helps prepare estrogen for elimination, with some being sent through bile into the intestine.

And this is where the gut microbiome comes in.

Certain gut bacteria produce enzymes such as β-glucuronidase, which can essentially “unpack” estrogen that was ready to leave the body.

Instead of being eliminated in the stool, some of that estrogen may then be reabsorbed + returned to circulation.

This process is called enterohepatic recycling, and the collection of gut microbial genes involved in estrogen metabolism is often referred to as the estrobolome.

Pretty amazing, right?!

But this doesn’t mean:

Gut imbalance = high estrogen.

Our estrogen levels are influenced by so much more, ovarian production, age, liver metabolism, body composition, medications, the microbiome + overall health.

And research into the estrobolome is still developing.

The takeaway?

Your hormones, liver + gut don’t work in isolation.

Understanding how these systems communicate gives us a much bigger picture than simply looking at whether estrogen is “high” or “low”. 🌸

For general education only and not individual health advice.

#Estrogen #HormoneHealth #GutHealth #tamworthnaturopath #womenshealthnaturopath by @wholesomenaturopath

If I could go back to the beginning of my fertility journey, I would do things differently before IVF 🩷.

If I was preparing for fertility again, I would have started looking into my health at least 6 months beforehand, using comprehensive blood testing and, where appropriate, functional testing to get a better picture of what was going on.

At the time, I was taking a standard prenatal and thought I was doing everything I was supposed to be doing.

It wasn’t until later that I discovered I had:

→ Low iron - eventually requiring an iron infusion
→ Low vitamin D
→ Low folate
→ Low B12
→ One copy of the MTHFR C677T variant
→ Stage 4 endometriosis, discovered during my fertility journey

Some of these were things I could have been working on before we even started trying to conceive.

If I had my time again, I would have looked more closely at my nutrient status, thyroid + metabolic health, menstrual history and symptom, and asked more questions about why we were struggling to conceive.

Would doing all of this have meant I didn’t need IVF? I’ll never know.

But I would have loved those 6 months to understand my body, correct what we could and go into our fertility journey feeling like we’d looked at the whole picture.

And it’s a big part of why I’m so passionate about preconception care now as a naturopath. 🌸

Not about promising pregnancy, but about helping women go into their fertility journey supported, informed + as prepared as possible.

My personal experience only. Fertility care and testing should always be individualised.

#PreconceptionCare #FertilityHealth #IVFJourney #Endometriosis #fertilitynaturopath by @wholesomenaturopath

When it comes to children’s health, I love looking at the little clues 🥰🌿

Maybe they’re constantly complaining of a sore tummy.
Their skin keeps flaring.
They’re tired despite sleeping.
They seem to catch everything going around.
Or mealtimes have become a battle because their food variety is getting smaller and smaller.

Rather than looking at each symptom in isolation, naturopathic care allows us to zoom out and look at the whole child, their diet, digestion, sleep, nutrient intake, immune health, stress, development and daily routines.

Sometimes there are some really simple foundations we can work on first, and other times further investigation may be helpful.

Children don’t always have the words to tell us how they’re feeling, but their bodies can give us clues 🩷

If you’ve been wondering whether I work with children too, I do! 🙋🏼‍♀️Children’s health is an area I absolutely love supporting 🌸 by @wholesomenaturopath

Your thyroid might be small, but when it’s working overtime… you can definitely feel it 🦋

Last week we chatted about hypothyroidism, so this week we’re looking at the other side…hyperthyroidism!

When there’s too much thyroid hormone circulating, things can start to feel a little sped up, think racing heart, feeling hot, shaky hands, changes in your bowels, sleep, weight, mood or menstrual cycle.

And just like with hypothyroidism, I always come back to looking at the whole thyroid story. Your symptoms, your bloods, what’s driving it + what else might be going on in the body all matter.

Swipe through and I’ll break down what’s actually happening with TSH, T4 + T3, Graves’ disease, nutrients and the testing we may consider. 🩸

If you’ve been experiencing thyroid symptoms and want to investigate things further, this is something I can support you with in clinic 🩷

Telehealth Australia-wide | Booking link in bio

Save this one for later 🦋

#Hyperthyroidism #ThyroidHealth #GravesDisease #WomensHealth #naturopath by @wholesomenaturopath

Low libido? Let’s talk about it!

One of the biggest misconceptions is that low libido automatically means there’s something wrong with your sex hormones.

Hormones can absolutely play a role, but so can stress, poor sleep, nutrient deficiencies, thyroid function, medications, pain, mental load, metabolic health and the stage of life you’re in.

Because if your nervous system feels like there’s a bear chasing you all day… 🐻 the last thing your body is thinking about is getting in the mood. 😂

There isn’t one magic “libido supplement.” I want to understand what changed and why.

If your libido has changed and you’d like to explore what could be contributing, you can book a consultation via @jayne_sharpham_naturopathics 🌸

Individualised naturopathic care. This information is educational and does not replace medical advice.

#LowLibido #WomensHealth #HormoneHealth #Naturopath #tamworthnaturopath by @wholesomenaturopath

Your thyroid might be small… but it has a BIG job 🦋

From your energy and metabolism to your digestion, mood, menstrual cycle, hair, skin + nails. Thyroid hormones influence so many processes throughout the body.

And supporting thyroid health isn’t just about one nutrient or looking at one blood marker.

Nutrients such as iodine, selenium, iron + zinc all play important roles in thyroid hormone production and metabolism, but more isn’t always better (especially when it comes to iodine!).

When it comes to testing, I like to look at the whole thyroid story alongside your symptoms, health history and overall clinical picture. 🩸

Swipe through for a little Hypothyroidism 101 👉🏼

If you’re experiencing thyroid symptoms or want to take a deeper look at your thyroid health, this is something I can support you with in clinic. 🦋

Telehealth consultations available Australia-wide.

Save this one for later!

Next up: Hyperthyroidism!

#Hypothyroidism #ThyroidHealth #WomensHealth #Naturopath #naturopathy by @wholesomenaturopath