Tossing and turning, staring at the ceiling, and counting endless sheep? We've all been there, and the consequences of poor sleep can wreak havoc on your well-being and nervous system, as well as the body's ability repair. Optimum health and vitality is difficult to...
HEALTH AND WELLNESS
Whole Lemon Flu Elixir
When the flu comes knocking, it’s like a surprise guest who doesn’t give you any heads up. This abrupt arrival probably means that you’re not exactly in the mood or shape to whip up a fancy remedy to speed up your recovery. Having a stash of this Whole Lemon Flu Elixir on hand in your freezer means that support for your immune system is immediate.
Inflammation Buster
Reflecting our 'food as medicine' philosophy, we've created a 'Home Remedies' collection on our app, featuring an immune booster, flu elixir, liver tonic, fatigue fighter, inflammation buster, gut soother, stress regulator and sleep tonic. All of these remedies /...
Is drinking oat milk really the same as drinking Coca Cola?
Following on from our article “Never eat this food”, we have recently come across posts which have taken aim at the popular dairy alternative, oat milk. Recent years have seen an unprecedented escalation of popularity of plant based drinks, driven firstly by the...
Never Eat This Food
With the arrival of another new year it’s common that people think about ways they can improve their health, but with all the conflicting and confusing advice it can be hard to know where to start. Do you regularly receive emails, or see pop up ads, telling you why...
Why am I always tired?
Fatigue can result from multiple causes, and that a combination of stresses, both physical and emotional, have a cumulative and inter-relational effect. Here are just a few reasons why you may be feeling tired… Dehydration Many of us are chronically dehydrated,...
Tips for a strong immune system
As we approach autumn, it is the perfect time to start thinking about ways to bolster our immune system. Now, more so than ever, we need to nurture our immune system – our greatest defence. Let's dive into some of our top tips. Supporting our immune system, in...
The philosophy and paradox of Naturopathy
New Year Reflections almost two years into the ‘Global Pandemic’. Is it time to look at a holistic approach? As we begin another new year, and almost two years into the global pandemic which has devastated lives and communities in a variety of ways, there has...
What is the Oral Microbiome and why is it important?
Attention to our oral care is often overlooked, and its critical importance underestimated. For the past several years, I have attended the Anokhi Holistic Dental Clinic in the CBD of Sydney, where I have received exceptional care for my teeth and gums. On our site we...
Why am I bloated?
Amongst the most common questions we are asked are those which relate to Gut Health, with a frequent question being: Why am I bloated after I eat? Although we have written on this topic before, there are many layers and variables. Despite a plethora of books...
Sleep as Medicine
Sleep is something we spend much of our lives doing, it is when we rest, repair, restore and detoxify. It is not surprising therefore, for an extended period of time without adequate sleep can have serious implications on our health and wellbeing, both...
Staying healthy and calm in the midst of Covid-19
In these uncertain times, unprecedented in our lifetime, alongside a plethora of conflicting information in relation to the Covid-19 virus, confusion reigns and emotions run high. It seems inevitable that Australia will follow many other countries in the world and...
Anti viral activity of Quercetin
Few people are talking about anything else at the moment other than the COVID-19 pandemic, the devastation it has caused and extreme measures unfolding daily to try and contain this virus. With no current treatment available, an important preventative...
Why you need to know your Iron status
Iron may be the best known mineral, known to be essential to life, most notably for its role in oxygen carrying haemoglobin (Hb), within red blood cells (RBCs). When RBCs and Hb drop below a certain level, anaemia (meaning literally ‘lack of blood’) is diagnosed....
Alzheimers and Blood Sugar Regulation
Whilst Alzheimers (AD) and Dementia are associated with ageing population, it is not a normal part of the ageing process. However, with the prevalence increasing at such a rate, and the way in which it impacts not only the sufferer but also their loved ones,...
Why our lives depend on Vitamin C
Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, may well be the most widely known micro-nutrient. As, human physiology cannot manufacture its own supply of this important nutrient (unlike other mammals), dietary sources are essential. Being a water soluble vitamin also...
Zinc for healthy skin
Zinc is most commonly associated with immune function and healthy skin. As a result, this essential mineral is often found in cold and flu formulations, as well as in supplements supporting healthy skin. These are indeed amongst the many important functions in which...
Reduce inflammation with diet & lifestyle
Inflammatory processes are are normal and adaptive aspect of our physiology. Acute inflammation is a healthy immune response to injury or infection of some kind in order to promote healing. It is characterised by five hallmark symptoms, being redness, heat,...
Soy: Good or Bad for you?
Traditionally, the legumes known as soya beans (Glycine max) have been a staple in Asian diets for centuries, and their consumption has increased in popularity in western cultures over recent decades. Since being in naturopathic school over 20 years ago, when I first...
The critical role of Vitamin A
When many people think of Vitamin A (Retinol), they think carrots and eyesight. Indeed vision is reliant on adequate quantities of this fat soluble vitamin, and carrots are an excellent source of beta carotene, the precursor to Vitamin A. Sufficient dietary sources...
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)
Many people have heard of riboflavin thanks to marketing campaigns highlighting that foods have been fortified with synthetic versions of this nutrient, particularly breakfast cereals. However fewer people know why we need it. Like many of the B group vitamins,...
Why we need Calcium
The essential role of calcium (Ca2+) for our bones and teeth is unlikely to be news to anyone, with the discovery of calcium’s role in the development of rickets in infants and children in the 17th century. This is an example of severe dietary calcium deficiency...
The Food Cycle: Hope for the future
As we all become more conscious of the way we have taken our planet and its resources for granted, as well as the havoc this has wreaked, it is easy to become despairing about our future. We are now challenged to repair the damage and look for solutions,...
Vitamin B1 (Thiamine)
Vitamin B1, also known as Thiamine, is a water soluble vitamin like other B group vitamins. This nutrient is then converted to it’s active metabolic form, TPP (Thiamine Pyrophosphate) which is essential for energy metabolism, and particularly carbohydrate...
Hemp & Hemp derived CBD oil
Hemp & hemp derived CBD oil is a topic we are frequently asked about and is a source of much confusion. In the space of around 2 years, we have gone from hemp being a banned substance to a universal panacea which has exploded on to the market. Laws...
3 ways with Jackfruit
Jackfruit has become popular over recent years, especially amongst vegans. The appearance and texture is not dissimilar to meat dishes such as “pulled pork” and can be adapted to a range a dishes from curries to tacos. Its versatility is largely due to they way in...
Vitamin B3 (Niacin)
Most of us have heard of B vitamins as a collective and know that they are important for energy production. The different B vitamins, however, do have distinct roles and all are critical for our health. All nutrients also need to be taken in context, that is their...
Are you deficient in Magnesium?
Magnesium (Mg) is one of the most abundant minerals in the body, and the second most abundant intracellular cation (after potassium). Because the activity of this mineral is primarily within the cells, deficiency can often go undetected by normal serology testing...
Plant based sources of iron
Why do we need Iron? Iron is essential for healthy blood formation as well as many biochemical processes. Despite its vital role, it is one of the world’s most common deficiencies. In this nutrition snapshot we look at how you can maximise absorption of this mineral...
Health benefits of Nigella Seeds
Nigella Sativa, also known as Black Cumin, Kalonji and Black Seed, has had a long history as both a medicinal and culinary spice. Used extensively in Middle Eastern cuisine, it has historically been referred to as a “universal healer” by the Prophet Mohammed and...
Calorie quality not quantity
As we have said many times, we do not focus on calories and certainly do not advocate counting calories. We encourage intuitive eating, that is, eating when hungry and eating foods that nourish our bodies, rather than obsessing over calories. This has the propensity...
Good fats vs bad fats
If you are confused about whether fats are good or bad, or which types of fats are ok or not, it is hardly surprising… Ultimately, fats are essential macronutrients and need to be consumed in balance with other macronutrients, fibre and a wide range of foods...
Tips to achieve clear, glowing skin
The skin is often an under estimated organ. We do care about how it looks though as it so overtly transmits information about us. People can make instant assumptions about where we come from, how old we are and how healthy we might be, just to begin. People who...
Healthy Habits
Wanting to step up your health routine? Here a few simple and effective healthy habits that you can start NOW that will help set you on the right track. Start the day with a glass of hot water and lemon. This helps to kick-start your metabolism and rehydrate after...
Why we need B12
If you follow a plant based diet, it is likely that you are already aware of the importance of B12. The question of why we need B12 is one we often receive so we have put together a brief snapshot including deficiency signs/symptoms as well as factors that increase...
Boost immunity and stay well
Now that winter has arrived in the Southern hemisphere and temperatures taking a dive seemingly overnight, it is time to think of ways to bolster our immune system. Here are a few tips for how we can keep our immunity up in readiness for the cold and flu season, as...
Hydration for Life
We all know that water is essential to life, yet we are so often chronically dehydrated. Often people are prescribed medications when they just need to drink more water. In fact water is one of the few substances, if not only substance, which can induce rapid...
Why we love P’URE Papaya Care
As well as the abundance of nutrients and enzymes Papaya offers, topical application of this product have long been used in treatment of a number of skin conditions. This includes chaffing, cracked heels, minor cuts and grazes, nappy rash, insect bites and eczema. The...
My Organic School
A few weeks ago we had the pleasure of seeing My Organic School in action at Bronte Public School. This initiative is led by David Walsman, a highly motivated and passionate individual, dedicated to making organic produce more affordable, more accessible and...
Protecting our Precious Sight: Nutrition and Eye Health
If we are fortunate enough to enjoy good eyesight, we can take it for granted and perhaps be unaware of how much our overall health and nutrition can impact this gift. For example, a well known complication of diabetes is diabetic retinopathy, a condition which can...
How snacks fit into a healthy diet: adding variety and nutrients throughout the day
Why snacking throughout the day can be beneficial for blood sugar regulation and prevention for over eating at meal time. Where nutrition is concerned, one size does not fit all. This point is key to our philosophy and we believe that the better we understand our...
Superfood pantry staples
Anyone who has followed us on Instagram or has made our recipes, you'll know we are big fans of superfoods. ‘Superfoods’ to us means foods that have a superior nutritional profile. They are often in powder form containing a number of nutrient dense whole foods...
What does a healthy snack look like?
Debunking the packaged snacks deemed as healthy when all you need is good real food. With so many snack foods out there marketed as ‘healthy’ that in reality are loaded with sugar, artificial additives and preservatives, it can be difficult to know how to make the...
Blue Zones
More and more we are hearing about so called “blue zones”. That is, specific areas spread across the globe where there is a significantly higher than average proportion of their populations enjoying long and healthy lives. These regions, which extend from Nicoya in...
Detoxification, cleansing and weight loss
For those of you who follow us on Instagram, I'm sure you know that one half of Healthy Luxe (Hannah) has been away on exchange for the past few months. I am studying at King's College London which has been amazing, but I have also tried to get involved in the...
Avoid the Type 2 Diabetes epidemic
Diabetes is fast becoming a common illness. Alarmingly though, whilst there is support as well as effective treatment options for those who have it, there still appears to be a general lack of awareness in the community who are not (yet) affected by it. Many people,...
The link between nutrition and depression
Every year, on 7 April, World Health Day commemorates the establishment of the World Health Organisation and focuses on a particular health issue. This year, 2017, the issue is depression. We all know depression is a condition that has debilitating and sometimes...
The hidden cost of cheap food
This article was contributed by Ella Cottee from The Conscious Consumer I recently graduated from university, so like other students and recent graduates, one of the greatest challenges I face is that of a lack of money…or more specifically, learning the skills to...
What can we do to reduce impact of Electro Magnetic Fields and Radiation?
Electro Magnetic Fields (EMF) and Electro Magnetic Radiation (EMR): How to be aware and protect ourselves When we know we are constantly bombarded with unprecedented levels of electro magnetic frequencies we can be forgiven for thinking we can’t do anything about...
Ways with turmeric
From an ancient culinary and medicinal spice to the most googled word in 2016, not many people are unfamiliar with turmeric. This versatile vibrant yellow spice, also known as the golden spice and Indian saffron, can be easily added regularly to our...
Is rice syrup a good alternative to sugar?
In an attempt to reduce the amount of sugar we consume, it seems that many have turned to brown rice syrup as their sweetener of choice, sometimes in surprisingly high quantities. The increasing popularity of rice malt syrup has also occured as a result of the growing...
What’s the deal with superfoods?
It will be no surprise to our audience that we have long been fans of “superfoods” (also called functional foods) and include them in our diet as much as possible. However, there has also been criticism around the use of the term ‘superfood’, as it is unregulated and...
Cooked or raw?
A question we are often asked is whether it is better to eat cooked or raw food. It’s a good question and there are different perspectives on this which we will explore and summarise. As always, context is important. In most cases, we believe a combination of both is...
A bit on vitamins
We are often asked questions about vitamins, most recently in our Instagram poll asking you what health topics you would like us to write about. Here is a why we need vitamins, where we can get them (food and supplements) and factors that impact absorption. Food as...
There’s a good reason we’re always told to eat our broccoli…
Why this family of vegetables (cruciferous, also known as brassica) and their powerhouse of nutrients provide outstanding health benefits…. Want to know why we should eat our broccoli? And all members of the brassica family for that matter… This extra-ordinary family...
Another reason to buy organic
Genetically Modified Foods, Herbicides and Pesticides - yet another reason to buy organic (or at least close to organic). We are often asked the reason as to why buying organic is so important, and while we always cite the avoidance of pesticides and herbicides, as...
Top tips for gut health
With modern day western lifestyles, our gut flora (known collectively as the microbiome) is frequently out of balance, creating a condition known as dysbiosis. What this means is that the protective (good) bacteria have been largely destroyed, allowing harmful,...
Why soak nuts?
One of the most common questions we are asked when doing a food preparation demonstration is “why soak nuts/seeds?". People also often ask about activated nuts/seeds, what they are and why are they better. Some experts will say soaking nuts/seeds is a must whereas...
What you need to know about popular diets
It is no wonder people are confused about what to eat or not eat. Following on from our ‘one size doesn’t fit all’ article, we explore some of the current popular diets and provide a snapshot into each. Some advocate quite different strategies, for example GAPS diet...
The brain and the microbiome
Very early in my naturopathic studies, now over 20 years ago, I was introduced to the notion that “all disease begins in the gut”, attributed to the writings of well known Greek physician, Hippocrates. Although this was widely thought of as a very strange concept...
Time to pretox?
As we head into December, a time notorious for over-indulgence, the idea of ‘pretox’ is worth considering. Some people think they will ‘make the most’ of the festive season, ahead of a punishing detox they intend to embark upon in January. The more toxic we are, the...
Stress and our nervous system
We hear about stress every day. It comes in many forms…. physical, emotional, mental, environmental, workplace, financial, and relationship stress… with many more sub categories within and overlapping this broad overview. There are also varying degrees and timeframes...
Starting a detox routine – what you need to know
January is the time many of us make resolutions and consider ways to improve our health and our lives. A ‘Detox’ regime is a common way in which people choose to begin the year. Even with mostly healthy lifestyles, our bodies can gradually accumulate toxins, before we...
How did so much sugar end up in our food?
Just how did so much sugar end up in our food? A growing collection of documentaries depict the epidemic of obesity and chronic disease as a result of our food choices. For example, there is Supersize Me; Super Juice Me; The Men Who Made Us...
Sugars and natural sweeteners
Sugar in its many forms is now widely considered to be detrimental to health, especially in the quantities in which it is being consumed today. Researching sugars, however, is a minefield. Information can be confusing, conflicting and often inaccurate. There are all...
Understanding the limitations of nutrition panels
Nutritional panels are compulsory on all packaged foods, although legislation varies between countries. Generally, required information includes calories and a break down of macro nutrients, being protein, fats (saturated and unsaturated) and carbohydrates. More...
Gluten free: it’s not just for Coeliacs
Following on from our previous article, relating to the popularity of the gluten free trend and ensuing criticism, we now explore other reasons gluten may not be an ideal food choice, particularly in quantities consumed, for a number of people, not just those with...
The gluten-free backlash
Given the popularity of the gluten free diet and paleo diets, we thought it was time we dedicated a post to this controversial protein. Gluten is the collective name for proteins found in grains such as wheat, barley and rye. The name is latin in origin and means...
The rise of veganism
We wrote recently about the shift towards increased demand for gluten free products. Another dietary regime gaining popularity at an exponential rate is the vegan trend. The increased demand for vegan produce is driven largely by an ethical decision to not harm or...
One size does not fit all
We often talk about balance and refer to the fact that ‘one size doesn’t fit all’. This point is key to our philosophy and we believe that the better we understand our individual selves, the better our physical and emotional health will be. Whilst the internet is a...
Food and nutrients as medicine
With many people being time poor and perhaps energy poor at the end of the day, we are enticed by take away food and/or a freezer full of pre-prepared meals. The irony is that these ‘time saving’ measures actually deplete our energy, our enjoyment of food and our...
Becoming resilient
Resilience building is a critical objective of coaching and a valued trait in the workplace. Paradoxically though, we live in a society which largely promotes the antithesis of resilience. That is, we are subtly programmed that we do not need to endure any kind of...
How inevitable is Alzheimers, really?
Sometimes I get asked whether I can, you know, remember what it was like for me, how I used to be. But I really can’t. It’s like that person is so long ago, so far away. It feels like an exile from that former self. Whoever I was, I am exiled from that former life.-...
Quick Tips on Boosting Immunity
Our immune system, when working as it should, is our defence system, working hard to protect us against disease causing viruses and bacteria. During the cooler months of the year, we need to give our immune systems a bit more love to help keep us in good health. The...