Episodios

  • Bloated, sluggish, uncomfortable: It might be poor digestion

    Bloated, sluggish, uncomfortable: It might be poor digestion
    Dec 12 2025
    "Healing doesn't begin with restriction. It begins with awareness" Ever wondered why you feel bloated after meals or drag yourself through the afternoon with low energy? The problem might not be what you're eating, but how you're eating it. We explore: The forgotten connection between our eating habits, stress levels, and digestive health The 15-30-15 rule Why that 3pm slump and post-meal bloating aren't just "normal parts of modern life". What's Really Happening When Digestion Goes Wrong We've become obsessed with what we eat. Is it organic, keto, paleo, vegan? But we've forgotten something crucial: how we eat shapes the way our bodies process food. When digestion is compromised, it's not just your gut that suffers. Every system in your body feels the impact, from your energy and mood to your hormones and skin. Think of digestion as the first step in nourishment. If that step is incomplete, if food isn't broken down properly, it creates a ripple effect that can eventually lead to fatigue, hormone imbalances, skin issues, and even chronic disease. The good news? Most of our digestive saboteurs are simple habits we can change. The Five Root Causes I see in Clinic Low stomach acid Low stomach acid is perhaps the most misunderstood cause of digestive issues. Many people are prescribed acid-blocking medications for reflux when the real problem is often too little acid, not too much. Without enough stomach acid, food lingers and ferments, creating the very symptoms we're trying to treat. Enzyme and bile deficiency Enzyme and bile deficiency means your body struggles to break down proteins, fats, and carbohydrates properly. Whether due to age, stress, medications, or gallbladder removal, it's like trying to conduct an orchestra without a conductor. Everything feels out of sync. Chronic stress Chronic stress keeps your body stuck in fight-or-flight mode, shutting down the rest-and-digest response your gut needs to function. You can eat the cleanest meal, but if you're eating it while stressed, your body won't receive it properly. Inflammation Inflammation from processed foods, medications, or food intolerances damages the gut lining and can lead to leaky gut, where toxins and undigested particles leak into your bloodstream, triggering symptoms that can appear far from the gut itself. Microbial imbalance Microbial balance happens when beneficial gut bacteria are depleted through antibiotics, stress, or poor diet, allowing opportunistic microbes to take over. The gut is like a garden…neglect the flowers and the weeds will thrive. The Simple Solution: The 15-30-15 Minute Rule Instead of jumping straight to supplements or restrictive diets, start with something beautifully simple; what I call "the digestive pause". Digestion isn't just chemical, it's a sensory experience that begins with the sizzle of food in the pan, the aroma of herbs, and the colors on your plate. These cues trigger your body to release saliva, acid, and enzymes, preparing to receive food. Fifteen minutes before eating, shift your gear from stress into calm. This is where herbal digestive bitters come in. Just a few drops awaken bitter receptors throughout your gut, priming acid and enzymes. Sit down properly, lay out your meal, and offer some gratitude. This simple ritual helps you move into rest-and-digest mode. During your thirty minutes of eating, slow down and savour the sensory experience. Smell your food, taste it, chew thoroughly until it becomes liquid before taking the next bite. Put your fork down between bites and protect your mealtime from screens and stress. Fifteen minutes after eating, take a gentle walk. This supports digestion, balances blood sugar, and reduces bloating naturally. Rediscovering the Lost Taste of Bitterness Our modern diets are dominated by sweet, salty, and savoury flavors, while bitterness has been stripped away. Yet for centuries, bitter foods like rocket, dandelion, chicory, and grapefruit peel were dietary staples that toned digestion and regulated appetite. European cultures preserved this wisdom with aperitifs before meals and digestifs afterward. When I reintroduce bitters to patients - whether through herbal tinctures or simple foods like rocket and dandelion - they often notice relief within days. Bitterness isn't harsh medicine; it's the body's way of saying "prepare, food is coming". The Heart of Healing Healing doesn't begin with restriction, it begins with awareness. When we slow down,and engage all our senses, we transform not just digestion but our entire relationship with food. Because digestion isn't isolated. It's the foundation of the body's rhythm of nourishment, repair, and renewal. Practical Action Steps Choose one meal per day to eat mindfully Implement the 15-30-15 minute rule Incorporate bitter foods or herbal bitters Notice your current eating patterns without judgment Create simple rituals around mealtime Connect with Me: Visit her naturopathic ...
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    16 m
  • When stress makes a home in the body

    When stress makes a home in the body
    Nov 21 2025
    "Your body is wise. It is simply protecting you the best way it knows how." If you've ever felt stuck, disconnected, or so tired that even rest doesn't help, this episode speaks directly to you. In this episode of This is How We Heal, we explore the freeze response, a state where your body goes still and you numb out to cope, even though life feels far away, despite still showing up for work and family. How unprocessed stress doesn't just disappear but takes up residence in the body Why it eventually manifests as chronic illness and persistent symptoms How to move from surviving to thriving What is the Freeze Response? The freeze response isn't weakness or failure. It's completely biological and designed for survival. Based on polyvagal theory by Dr Stephen Porges, freeze is your nervous system's emergency state, where you move from the persistent stress of fight-or-flight into dissociation and numbness as the ultimate coping strategy. We also learn to put ourselves into this state through alcohol, sugar, binge eating, binge watching, and endless scrolling. Each of these are socially acceptable forms of dissociation that help us avoid feeling what we're experiencing in the moment. It's not a choice but an automatic nervous system response when we've been in fight-or-flight for too long. Freeze vs. Shutdown: Understanding the Difference While related, these states aren't identical. In freeze, you're still holding energy. The system is tense, sensors alert, but breath is shallow. In shutdown, the system has given up mobilising altogether. Energy collapses, posture slumps, voice flattens, facial expressions fade. Freeze is holding your breath; shutdown is sinking to the ocean floor. What Triggers the Freeze Response? It doesn't always require dramatic trauma. Yes, violent incidents or accidents can trigger it instantly, but so can growing up in an unsafe home, working in an environment where you're constantly bracing for criticism, being in a relationship where you're walking on eggshells, or living with an illness you can't get answers for. When your nervous system feels trapped with no way out, freeze becomes the default. How Freeze Shows Up in Your Body Physical symptoms include feeling heavy, slow, and sluggish, trouble making decisions, forgetting simple things, cold hands and feet, muscles that tense but never release, sluggish bowels, and loss of appetite. Mental and emotional symptoms manifest as flatness, depression, watching life happen from a distance, disconnection from your body and senses, and losing motivation for activities you once enjoyed. Over time, chronic freeze can contribute to conditions like chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, autoimmune flares, hormonal imbalances, irregular cycles, PMS, low libido, migraines, frequent infections, and chronic inflammation. The Hidden Cost of Living Frozen Unprocessed stress doesn't vanish. It sits hidden under this "frozen wet blanket" in your muscles, fascia, immune system, and hormones. That trapped survival energy eventually becomes the chronic conditions we wonder about: inflammation, blood sugar dysregulation, sluggish digestion, adrenal burnout. Your body isn't broken; it's doing what it was designed to do, just for far longer than nature intended. We're meant to move through freeze into regulation, not make it a permanent home. How to Thaw Out: Reconnecting Gently Start with Simple Sensory Awareness Notice the fabric on your skin, your temperature, the feeling of your feet on the ground. Scan your muscles from head to toe. Are they tense or soft? This sensory awareness helps move from dissociated freeze into present awareness. Use Rhythm to Soothe Gentle rocking side to side or back and forth, breathing in for four counts and out for four counts, placing your hand on your heart while repeating "I am safe, I'm safe to reconnect, I'm safe to reengage." Orient to Here and Now Use the 5-4-3-2-1 technique: name five things you can see, four things you can hear, three things you can feel, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste. This brings you back into your body through the senses. Gentle Movement Wiggle your fingers and toes, stand and stretch, take a slow walk. Movement helps you become embodied again. Creating Safety Through Vagus Nerve Stimulation The vagus nerve connects your gut and brain, and stimulating it creates feelings of safety. Simple practices include gargling water (the vagus nerve sits behind your throat), chanting, humming, singing, and breathing exercises. Co-regulation with calm people or pets helps tremendously. When no one is around, use reassuring self-talk that validates your feelings while offering support: "I feel scared and I'm supported" "I feel lost and I have a plan" "I feel lonely and I'm in good hands" Holistic Support for Nervous System Healing Nourishment: Warm soups and broths, gentle movement like restorative yoga or nature walks Herbs: Lemon balm, chamomile, lavender...
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    18 m
  • Is it my gut, my hormones or my nervous system?

    Is it my gut, my hormones or my nervous system?
    Nov 7 2025
    "Is it your gut, your hormones, or your nervous system? It's likely all of them. And that's good news because it means you have more than one doorway into healing." When you're experiencing symptoms such as fatigue that won't shift, brain fog, mysterious bloating, skin breakouts, or anxiety, we naturally want to find the one culprit to fix it all. Is it hormones? Is it the gut? Could it be stress? In this eye-opening episode, Anthia reveals why these systems aren't separate silos but part of an intricate web constantly communicating with each other. We look at: The science behind these connections How to start assessing yourself And offers a practical roadmap for taking a whole-body approach to healing. The Web of Connection: Three Key Communication Highways The Gut-Brain Axis This communication superhighway between your gut and brain uses the vagus nerve, immune signaling molecules called cytokines, and metabolites produced by your gut microbes. When your microbiome is imbalanced, it directly affects mood, stress reactivity, and even how your hormones function. The HPA Axis (Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal) This is your central stress response system. When chronically activated, it suppresses digestion, increases gut permeability (leaky gut), and disrupts sex hormone production. This is why stress doesn't just affect your mood, it cascades through every system in your body. The Estrobolome This collection of gut bacteria is specifically involved in metabolising estrogens. When imbalanced, certain bacterial enzymes cause estrogens to recirculate instead of being properly cleared, leading to estrogen dominance that can worsen PMS, create heavy bleeding, and trigger acne breakouts. Why We Get So Fragmented Our healthcare system is set up in silos. Digestive symptoms send you to a gastroenterologist, hormonal issues to an endocrinologist, anxiety to a psychologist. In the process there's the potential to overlook the bigger picture of how your systems interconnect. Even in wellness spaces, there's a trap of oversimplifying everything as "just stress". While chronic stress is significant, telling someone "it's all in your head" can be dismissive and harmful. The reality is that chronic stress changes gut bacteria composition, which disrupts hormone metabolism, which feeds back into the stress response - creating a self-perpetuating loop. Mapping Your Own Web: Simple Assessment Questions For Gut Health: Do you regularly experience bloating, constipation, diarrhea, or reflux? Do symptoms flare with stress or travel? For Hormones: Do you notice cycle-linked patterns like PMS, migraines, acne, or mood swings? Any unexplained changes in weight, hair, or temperature tolerance? For Nervous System: Do you feel tired but wired? Have trouble winding down? Wake frequently through the night? If you answered yes to at least one question in each category, multiple systems are likely involved in your symptoms. The Science Behind the Connections Gut-Hormone Interactions A healthy gut microbiome produces short-chain fatty acids from dietary fiber, which reduce inflammation and make hormone receptors more responsive. When dysbiosis occurs, the enzyme beta-glucuronidase can rise, reactivating estrogens meant for elimination and creating estrogen dominance with relative progesterone deficiency. Hormones also affect gut function. Estrogen helps maintain healthy gut motility, which is why post-menopausal women often experience slower bowel movements and decreased microbial diversity. Thyroid hormones regulate metabolic rate including bowel transit time - hypothyroidism can slow peristalsis, allowing harmful bacteria to overgrow. Nervous System Impact During chronic fight-or-flight states, blood flow diverts from digestion toward muscles and heart for survival. This reduces digestive secretions (stomach acid, pancreatic enzymes, and bile) leading to poor nutrient breakdown and eventual deficiencies that affect both gut health and hormone production. Persistent stress and elevated cortisol prioritise survival over reproduction, suppressing the glands that produce sex hormones and disrupting ovulation and fertility. The counterbalance is "rest, digest, and nest" - the state needed for optimal digestion and reproductive health. Moving from Fragmentation to Integration Instead of asking "What's wrong with this part?" ask "How are my systems communicating with each other?" This shift in perspective opens up multiple pathways for healing rather than searching for a single culprit. Practical Integration Steps: Start by mapping patterns through symptom journaling, tracking mood, cycle, digestion, and stress levels. Work in layers, beginning with the most stressed system while supporting the others. Microbiome mapping, hormone patterns, and cortisol tests can help connect the dots between systems. The Ecosystem Approach Treating your body as a connected ecosystem rather than a collection of disconnected ...
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    15 m
  • Same Plate, Different Day

    Same Plate, Different Day
    Oct 24 2025
    "Food is more than fuel, it's connection to seasons, it's rhythm, it's a return to self." Toast with avocado for breakfast, chicken and rice for lunch, salmon and green beans for dinner - sound familiar? In this episode, we will explore why eating the same "healthy" foods every day might actually be working against your health. How our quest for dietary safety and control can lead to poor gut health Why mono diets are linked to nutritional deficiencies and metabolic stagnation How to find the path back to food variety through seasonal eating and ancient wisdom The Mono Diet Trap When Anthia reviews food diaries in her clinic, she sees the same pattern repeatedly…people eating identical meals day after day. The reasons make perfect sense: it's gentle on sensitive stomachs, reduces decision fatigue, keeps symptoms in check, and feels safe and convenient. But while this sameness may reduce flare-ups short-term, it creates a cascade of new problems over time. We've been sold the idea that food is simply fuel - that calories and macros are all that matter. But food is so much more than an equation. It's a ritual, a rhythm, a relationship with our bodies, the seasons, and the earth itself. The Hidden Costs of Food Monotony Poor Gut Health and Lost Diversity - Your gut microbiome is like a diverse ecosystem where different beneficial microbes feed on different fibres, polyphenols, and plant compounds. When your diet lacks variety, entire microbial populations begin to wither. Anthia sees this daily in her clinic - severe undergrowth of beneficial bacteria that leads to weakened immunity, food reactions, mood instability, and increased risk of chronic conditions from IBS to autoimmune disease. Nutritional Gaps Hidden in Plain Sight - Even nutrient-dense foods have their limits when eaten in isolation. Anthia consistently sees patients with low magnesium (crucial for energy, stress, and sleep), zinc deficiencies (important for immunity and hormones), B12 and iron shortfalls (essential for mood and focus), and inadequate fibre to feed beneficial gut bacteria. You simply can't meet your body's full nutritional spectrum with salmon, rice, and broccoli on repeat. When Safe Foods Turn Against You - Here's something many don't realise…eating the same foods daily can actually trigger intolerances. When your immune system is repeatedly exposed to the same proteins without variation, it can start misidentifying them as threats. Suddenly your "safe" breakfast leaves you bloated, or your go-to lunch causes discomfort. It's often not the food itself, but the overuse and underlying inflammation that tips the balance. The Boredom Factor: Low Energy and Flat Mood - Food is information, and when your body receives the same message every day, it begins to tune out. This biochemical boredom affects blood sugar stability, neurotransmitter production, thyroid function, and even circadian rhythms. The result? That flat, uninspired feeling where you're tired no matter what you eat and your mood feels persistently dull. Metabolic Stagnation - Your metabolism loves novelty. It's built to adapt and stay flexible. But repetitive eating dulls those signals, leading to weight plateaus, poor satiety, slower thyroid response, and reduced muscle recovery. It's like hearing the same song on loop until it just stops moving you. Beyond Macros: Quality, Balance, and Response Macronutrients matter, but it's not just about hitting protein, fat, and carb targets. It's about the quality of those macros, the balance between them, and how your unique body responds. Not all proteins, carbs, and fats are created equal. The Fat Truth High-quality fats from sources like cold-pressed olive oil, pastured eggs, and wild fish are essential for hormone balance, satiety, and vitamin absorption. Without enough quality fats, you'll find yourself constantly grazing, experiencing blood sugar crashes, dealing with anxiety or poor sleep, and noticing dry skin and brittle hair. Carb Complexity Carbohydrates aren't the enemy. Fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes all offer different benefits. But when dominated by refined carbs, you end up on a blood sugar roller coaster with afternoon crashes, brain fog, sugar cravings, and weight gain around the middle. The key is choosing the right carbs in proper proportions, paired with fat and fiber. Protein Perspective While protein is crucial, too much lean protein without adequate fat or vegetables can create digestive heaviness and even stress the kidneys. The goal is variety; combining both plant and animal proteins, prepared thoughtfully and paired with other nutrients. Reclaiming Food Rhythm Through Seasonal Eating Traditional cultures never ate strawberries year-round or shelf-stable processed foods. They ate with the seasons, consuming what was ripe, caught, preserved, or foraged. This isn't just about nutrition; it's about remembering our natural human rhythms. Spring calls for bitter...
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    32 m
  • What Is Illness, What Is Healing?

    What Is Illness, What Is Healing?
    Oct 10 2025
    This is how we heal: What is illness, what is healing? "Healing is not a war on the body, but a conversation with it." Illness isn't simply something wrong with you, and healing isn't just about the quick fix. In this foundational episode of This is How We Heal, we look at the concepts of illness and healing and what holistic health really means. This isn't just another wellness podcast; it's born from three decades of clinical conversations that never had quite enough time, from the deeper questions that go beyond "what supplement should I take?" It's for anyone who's sick and tired of feeling sick and tired, overwhelmed by wellness noise, or simply yearning to feel like themselves again. In this episode, we explore: The language of healing and how it should be redefined Disease vs dis-ease Why symptoms aren't problems, but instead act as messengers Redefining the Language of Healing Words carry power, and in health and healing, they carry stories - some inherited, some imposed, some deeply internalised. How we name what we're experiencing shapes how we relate to it, and how we relate to it shapes how we heal. Illness isn't simply something wrong with you or a malfunction to overcome. It's an experience. It's the body or spirit whispering that something needs care, something is out of rhythm. When we stop blaming the body for breaking down and start seeing illness as a message, healing becomes possible. Disease versus Dis-ease - while "disease" is a clinical diagnostic term, "dis-ease" opens up space for meaning. It literally means a lack of ease - a disruption in your natural rhythm, whether in digestion, breath, energy, relationships, or joy. Dis-ease can be physical, emotional, relational, spiritual, even ancestral. Sometimes it arises from unsafe environments, unmetabolised fear, chronic overgiving, or living out of alignment with who we really are. Symptoms aren't problems. They're messengers. They're how dis-ease reveals itself, how the body says "I'm trying to get your attention". A skin rash might be a detox pathway asking for support, a headache could be your nervous system requesting rest, anxiety might echo something unresolved. When we ask "what are you trying to tell me?" instead of trying to eliminate symptoms at all costs, we step into wiser healing. Stress isn't just being busy or overworked. It's what happens when demands exceed your capacity to respond with ease and when you've been stretched too far for too long without the chance to repair. Stress is cellular, affecting your gut, hormones, immune system, sleep, and mood. When unacknowledged, it becomes the backdrop of your entire life until the body speaks more loudly through symptoms and illness. What Holistic Healing Really Means Holistic healing isn't about fixing, curing, or ticking wellness boxes. It's about returning to wholeness, remembering who you are beneath the pain. It's gathering up the parts of yourself left behind in survival mode, building capacity in your nervous system so your body no longer lives in threat, creating safety physically and emotionally, and reclaiming rhythm and rest. Healing often happens quietly. It's in the pause before you react, in the breath that softens your chest, in the walk you take to feel ground beneath you. It's slow, sacred, cyclical, deeply personal. Even when invisible, it changes everything. Why This Podcast, Why Now? We're living in a time of unprecedented disconnection and overstimulation. Environmental toxins, sedentary lives, constant noise, medical systems treating symptoms in silos, wellness industries selling overwhelm in the name of health. People are checking all the wellness boxes - yoga, green juice, supplements - and still feeling exhausted. Why? Because we're not going deep enough, not addressing root causes, not looking at the whole person. What's Coming in Future Episodes Future episodes will take a deep dive into specific illnesses and symptoms through a holistic lens, unpacking the latest health trends, and exploring what gets missed. Topics will include nervous system regulation, trauma (personal and inherited), environmental toxins, ancestral imprints, and the quiet ache of living out of sync with your values. Sometimes I will be sharing clinical insights or reading from my book, other times special guests will join me, including practitioners, thinkers, and storytellers carrying wisdom from other realms of healing. The Heart of the Matter At its core, this podcast offers a steady reminder: you are not broken, and you are not alone. Every episode circles back to the same invitation: to come home to yourself, listen more deeply, tend to what's being ignored, and rediscover that healing isn't just possible, it's your birthright. We don't ask "how do I get rid of this?" We ask "what is it trying to show me?" This is holistic healing, not a war on the body, but a conversation with it. A gentle inquiry, a remembering, a restoration of ease. Practical ...
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    19 m