If you are my age you will remember enjoying your ‘cream on top’ milk in the playground each day at school. Milk being promoted as an important food for growing children. So why are you now hearing from many health professionals that you should omit it from your diet all together?

When you search online you find heaps on conflicting info, some loving on milk others hating on it. What are you supposed to do?

My conclusion is that it depends on the source and processing of the milk (and on the state of your gut), and I feel the confusion comes because we are essentially talking about at least three different kinds of milk:

1. Pasteurised
2. Pasteurised and homogenised
3. Raw

Here, let me break it down…

Milk contains a protein called casein, and a sugar called lactose, which are said to be a predominant cause of inflammation in the population today.

Back in the day cows were fed on lush pastures and the milk we drank was raw and fresh, pretty much straight from the udder. Cultures learnt to ferment the milk and create cheeses, curds and whey that reduced the lactose content making them easier to digest.

Somewhere along the way a mutation occurred, and people produced the lactose enzyme allowing them to consume milk on a regular basis.

But remember, the cows were fed on green pastures and this milk was raw and fresh.

Nowadays cows are often fed high PUFA containing grain, hormones, and medications, they are kept in, let’s just say ‘less than desirable’ conditions, and milk is pasteurised and homogenised.

PASTEURISATION

This high heat treatment of milk kills any viruses and bacteria present. However it also:

• Alters the delicate proteins, enzymes and immunoglobulins, vitamins and minerals present.
• Converts lactose into another form, called beta lactose, which is more rapidly absorbed and can adversely raise blood glucose levels.
• Destroys a lot of the vitamin C and iodine present.
• Alters the calcium into a form that is harder to absorb.
• Denatures many enzymes, which can make it harder to digest.

Any mother will know that breast milk is ‘alive’ and should not be overheated to preserve the nourishing properties, yet we do this with other milk all the time. It is not the complex nourishing medium it once was. Yes it can be a useful source of protein, but it can also harm your body at the same time.

HOMOGENISATION

This is when the fat globules are passed through a fine sieve, so they are broken down into tiny particles – why you don’t see the cream on top of milk anymore! There is research to suggest that the body can’t properly distinguish these fat particles and thereby has difficulty processing them, as well as research that shows the milk proteins and fats get modified and re-sorted into a kind of protein-fat matrix that causes increased risk of allergies and digestive issues. Milk has also been linked to skin disorders like hives and eczema.

It was thought that milk increased mucus production, which has been found to be false, however it does cause mucus to thicken. This can be particularly bad if you are an asthmatic or suffer from sinus problems,

Milk is considered second only to gluten as one of the most inflammatory foods, hence why many people say you should omit it from your diet…and why many people find symptoms vanish when they do omit it!

RAW MILK

Let’s look at raw dairy that hasn’t undergone any form of heat processing or homogenisation.

Raw milk is directly from cows, goats, sheep, and camels and retains all nutrients and enzymes (including enzymes that can break down lactose).

Raw milk is rich in vitamins, iron, calcium, amino acids, antimicrobials, fatty acids, and other nutrients. It is proven to boost your immune system and reduce the risk of disease or skin conditions. It also helps with allergies, asthma, and lactose intolerance.

I believe this makes it a good food source for nutrient depleted mummas and growing children.

It’s important that you don’t just consume dairy from just any farm. Conventional dairy farms where the milk is sent to be pasturised often have lessor standards of hygiene. Ensure you are getting your dairy from a reputable organic farm, with pasture-raised grass-fed animals, where the calves aren’t abducted from their mothers in the first few hours of life. Ensure you know other people consume that raw dairy with no ill effects.

LEGALITIES OF RAW MILK CONSUMPTION

Here in Queensland, I’m personally happy to consume Heavenly Bath Milk and Cleopatra’s Bath Milk and offer this to my boys. You will note it’s called ‘Bath Milk’ and you’ll also see ‘NOT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION’ on the label. This is because it is illegal to sell raw milk for human consumption in Australia.

THIS is a good summary of raw milk benefits with links to peer reviewed papers.

For those with concerns about raw dairy, or that have difficulty sourcing it, there is now cold-pressed raw dairy available from a farm here in Australia, in NSW. Essentially the milk is put under high pressure that ruptures bacteria killing them, whilst keeping the enzymes etc all intact. You can read all about it on their website HERE. The black label Jersey Milk is the one I would buy. You can see stockists on their website (it appears to be at most Supa IGAs Australia wide). This form is approved for human consumption here in Australia.

INTOLERANCE TO DAIRY/LACTASE

If you know you have issues digesting dairy and/or you’ve removed it from your diet for some time, you will need to develop your lactase enzyme. For this you need to start slow, with one tablespoon of raw milk a day and work up from there. Hard aged cheese like Parmesan is generally better tolerated as is the A2 protein found in goat milk and Jersey or Guernsey cow milk.

You may also need to do some gut healing as the lactase enzyme is made by the cells in the brush border of your gut mucosal barrier. If you have a damaged gut lining, you likely won’t be able to make lactase enzyme, which could be the cause of your dairy problems.

Calcium Shell occurs when calcium salts are draw out of the bones and teeth, and float around the body in precipitates, building up in areas where they form a kind of shell around the cells in places like your muscles, brain, joints, and arteries.

This ‘protective shell’ if you will, can cause a person to experience emotional numbness and spaciness among many other symptoms, which I will go through below!

And of course it’s not great seen as we want 99% of our calcium in our teeth and bones, not in our soft tissues, if we want them to be strong!

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF CALCIUM SHELL?

Often symptoms of Calcium Shell can overlap with other conditions including the symptoms of:

Slow Oxidation (fatigue, sugar cravings, low blood sugar, constipation, weight in hips and thighs insomnia, postural hypotension, poor ability to sweat, low blood pressure)

Copper Toxicity/Dysfunction (mood swings, PMS, racing thoughts, panic attacks, depression, feelings of despair, eating disorders, brain fog, frontal headaches/migraines, heart palpitations, social withdrawal, problems concentrating, problems with memory, infertility, miscarriages, endometriosis, fibroids, ovarian cysts, oestrogen imbalances, low libido, and candida) , and

Hypothyroid (weight gain, cold hands and feet, lack of sweating, fatigue, dry skin and hair, constipation).

Other symptoms include:

• Joint and muscle pain, cramps, spasms, and or twitches
• Arthritis, osteoporosis, bone spurs
• Premature greying of your hair
• Arteriosclerosis
• Kidney stones
• Low vitamin D
• Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
• Impaired circulation or reduced spine movement
• Poor dental health and tooth decay (Ca pulled out of teeth into tissues)
• Tinnitus
• Sensitivity to EMFs (calcium is very conductive)
• Apathy, brain fog
• Feeling of being disconnected, apathetic
• Emotional numbness, psychological withdrawal
• Feeling out of touch with reality, depression, brain fog
• Anxiety, irritability, emotional outbursts
• Anger, and a racing mind if copper toxicity is driving the pattern

WHAT CAUSES CALCIUM SHELL?

Calcium needs the proper cofactors to direct it and keep it in the bones and teeth, one big one being vitamin K especially the MK-7 form, as well as magnesium, sodium and boron.

Imbalances of minerals can mean calcium builds up which is very common with people that have a very slow metabolic/oxidation rate. Over 80% of people are slow oxidisers nowadays, so this is a prevalent issue! These people generally have lower sodium and potassium levels, which are the body’s primary solvents that dissolve the hard calcium allowing it to get metabolised into the bones and teeth. Without sufficient levels of such minerals, calcium precipitates and builds up in the soft tissues.

Copper toxicity is therefore another driver of Calcium Shell due to copper lowering potassium and raising sodium initially then dropping sodium as it burns out the adrenals, again resulting in calcium building up in the soft tissues.

Calcium shell can also occur due to an emotional trauma or chronic stress as the body uses calcium to protect the cell from a stress response. This is why we can often feel emotionally dead inside when we have Calcium Shell.

Iodine deficiency is another cause of Calcium Shell as this makes it hard to hold on to potassium causing calcium to build up in tissues. Iodine also decalcifies, hence if low, we generally have high calcium. This means Calcium Shell is also often associated with hypothyroid or Hashimotos’s.

Excessive calcium supplementation is another cause (especially when there isn’t adequate magnesium, sodium and boron to use it properly).

Hard drinking water (limestone, calcium containing stone area where water supply comes from) is another.

HOW DO I KNOW IF I HAVE CALCIUM SHELL?

Unfortunately this is not likely a condition your GP may recognise and so it is important to work with a Functional Health Practitioner trained in preventative, holistic, alternative (or what I like to call ‘original’) health care, that focuses on finding the root cause of dysfunctions using patient symptoms and functional lab testing as a guide.

A full health inventory should be taken to assess symptoms and, when considering Calcium Shell, because calcium can build up in different areas of the body, one often being the hair, a Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis, HTMA, can help us determine if you have this condition.

Because of the link with thyroid health it’s often a good idea to also run a full thyroid panel including total T3 and rT3.

In fact, when we see discrepancies with testing, for example the results of the HTMA show hypothyroid whereas the blood test results show hyperthyroid, this shows there is decreased cellular permeability, which can be due to calcium shell, low sodium and low potassium.

HOW DO I BREAK UP MY CALCIUM SHELL?

Doing just a little work to break down your calcium can get you feeling dramatically better.

It is important to work with a practitioner that will help you go slow and steady when your body is ready. It is important that you are able to manage stress and past trauma as Calcium Shell detox can leave you feeling emotional and you may re-experience past trauma as the shell broken down.

You can even sometimes feel the calcium moving from the joints and soft tissues as it moves back into bone, so you may experience more joint, and muscle pain (calcium is a sharp mineral and it’s moving so you may feel it!) as it does this.

Other Calcium Shell detox symptoms include migraines, increased awareness, and improved mood.

You will likely need vitamin K2 in the MK-7 form, which helps to direct calcium back into the bone, Vitamin A (my favourite source is Rosita Cod Liver Oil) and iodine (care must be taken and you must seek practitioner help when using iodine but you can start with something like Nature’s Way Kelp) as these help to break down calcium…

…and you may need extra thyroid support.

Of course if Copper Toxicity is associated then this also need to be addressed.

Because Calcium Shell is often associated with emotional trauma release, therapies like EMDR, talk therapy, acupuncture, and EFT may be required as part of your healing.

I am here should you want to investigate whether Calcium Shell is what’s causing your health struggles, or if you have any further questions.

Click HERE to find out more about working with me to break down your shell.

Click HERE if you just want to run a HTMA without working with me in a program.

If you are reading this blog after discovering you are, or may be suffering with copper toxicity, I want to start by letting you know you are not alone!

If you’ve come across this blog trying to find answers to your personality changes, increased anger, and mood swings…then you may be copper toxic. Take the Am I Copper Toxic QUIZ HERE.

Copper toxicity, or more appropriately copper dysregulation, causes a heap of physical and mental dysfunctions and is very common although often missed. It’s something that can affect women, men, teenagers, and children and is a very problematic mineral today.

After having several clients reach out after finding they are copper toxic with no idea of how to manage it, I thought I would write this blog highlighting the symptoms, and causes of copper toxicity, and how to go about detoxing excess copper.

I hope it helps to explain your current health struggles as well as give you some direction in what to do about your copper toxicity.

If you want to learn more, you can also grab my Overcoming Copper & Iron Imbalance Masterclass, which is taken from my self-paced online program, Radiant Mumma, where I teach you all the foundations to balancing your minerals, healing your hormones and gut, and cleansing your body of toxins.

COPPER’S FUNCTIONS IN THE BODY

If you have ever taken a multivitamin you will no doubt see copper listed as an ingredient because the body needs copper.

Copper is an essential mineral involved in:

• the electron transport chain creating energy,
• haemoglobin synthesis,
• neurotransmitter activity,
• immune system health,
• cardiovascular health,
• fertility and maintaining pregnancy,
• the synthesis of collagen and elastin, and
• iron availability.

It also has strong anti-fungal, anti-mould, and anti-bacterial properties (it’s often used in swimming pools for these properties) and a copper deficiency can be linked to yeast/fungal infections like candida, sinus, ear, and digestive problems.

What’s interesting is that the primary cause of copper deficiency is a copper toxicity.

Yep you read that right. Excess copper is stored in the body and becomes what we call biounavailable, meaning it can’t be used by the body. This unbound, unusable copper, at excessive levels can therefore, cause both symptoms of copper deficiency as well as toxicity.

SYMPTOMS OF COPPER TOXICITY

Problems occur when copper begins to accumulate in the body’s tissues, then liver, and then brain.

It can cause severe mental health issues and is linked to:

• mood swings,
• PMS,
• racing thoughts,
• panic attacks,
• depression,
• feelings of despair,
• eating disorders,
• brain fog,
• frontal headaches/migraines,
• heart palpitations,
• social withdrawal,
• problems concentrating, and
• problems with memory.

So, if you’re emotions are all over the place, maybe some times feeling totally numb and others really on edge, you are super irritable, foggy headed and anxious…chances are it’s got something to do with copper. This can have a massive impact on our relationships. Rick Fischer even believes copper toxicity is linked to the high divorce rates.

But it doesn’t stop there!

Copper is very much interrelated with oestrogen. It stimulates the production of oestrogen, and oestrogen enhances the retention of copper, double whammy! As a result, copper can cause oestrogen dominant symptoms including:

• PMS,
• acne,
• raise in histamine issues,
• joint pain,
• headaches,
• weight gain especially on the hips, belly and thighs,
• low energy,
• fatigue,
• angry/short fuse,
• irritability,
• reproductive issues including infertility,
• miscarriages,
• endometriosis,
• fibroids,
• ovarian cysts, and
• a sex drive that is non-existent.

Take the Am I Copper Toxic QUIZ HERE.

ISSUES OF COPPER TOXICITY

• Hinders detox and liver health – the excess oestrogen caused by copper retention has a thickening effect on bile, which in turn affects our detox abilities and liver health.
• Reduces immune health – copper can interfere with the metabolism of zinc, and can cause chronic fungal/yeast infections, candida, UTIs, skin problems like chronic or cystic acne, and digestive problems.
• Decreased energy and adrenal burnout – copper is involved with the electron transport chain and our energy production, and is an excitotoxin that stimulates the adrenal glands, it’s also linked to chronic fatigue, adrenal burnout, insomnia, and a feeling of being ‘tired and wired’, anxious, and panicky. Do you often get dizzy when you stand up from lying or sitting down? This can be linked to poor adrenal function, which may be a result of copper toxicity.
• Eczema, rashes, sinus problems, and hives – copper can inhibit the breakdown of histamine
• Low iron – bioavailable copper is needed for iron regulation
• Hypothyroid – copper impact the metabolism of many minerals, particularly calcium and potassium, which are needed for good thyroid function.

Copper issues have also been linked to arthritis, Coeliac disease, scoliosis, Hodgkin’s disease, elevated cholesterol, schizophrenia, strokes, paranoia, phobias, senility, experiencing a spacey feeling, and tooth decay.

WHAT CAUSES COPPER TOXICITY?

The most common source is copper pipes delivering water to your home, or the addition of copper to the water supply as a fungicide. Another big reason I always recommend my clients get a good water filter!

Secondary to that is probably any birth control involving oestrogen like IUD’s (intra-uterine devices) and the birth control pill, as well as hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Even those progesterone only formulas can cause problems as the synthetic progesterone doesn’t interact with oestrogen the same.

Other sources include:

• passed from mother to baby in utero,
• xenoestrogens,
• dioxin,
• PCBs,
• DDT,
• plastics like BPA,
• some pesticides, fertilisers, or fungicides,
• dental alloys and amalgams,
• copper cookware,
• chronic stress,
• slow oxidation/metabolism,
• vegetarian/vegan diet (most veggies are high copper and low zinc – meat high zinc),
• multivitamins (especially prenatals),
• occupational exposure (electrician handling lots of copper wire),
• regular swimming pool use,
• hair dye,
• industrial emissions, and
• jewellery.

Initially the copper may not cause an issue if your zinc status is optimal and your liver and adrenal health are good. It may take around 4-6+ months for symptoms of copper accumulation to occur.

There is also research that shows mother’s with postpartum depression have elevated serum copper levels to those non-depressed mother’s. I believe this to largely in part be due to liver dysfunction and compromised drainage pathways resulting in decreased ability to properly clear excess oestrogen and copper, both of which increase significantly in pregnancy.

HOW CAN I TEST IF I AM COPPER TOXIC?

Unfortunately, this is probably not something your GP may know much about. Given the symptoms they are more likely to recommend an anti-depressant, birth control pill, anti-anxiety drug, ADD/ADHD medication etc that isn’t going to fix the cause and may well worsen your issue.

Instead, a Functional Health Practitioner trained in preventative, holistic, alternative (‘original’) health care, that focuses on finding the root cause of dysfunctions using patient symptoms and functional lab testing as a guide, can help.

A full health inventory should be taken to assess symptoms and when considering copper toxicity, the test of choice is a Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA). But if you’re wanting to get an idea if this may be you take the Am I Copper Toxic QUIZ HERE.

Assessment of copper toxicity on a HTMA includes:

• high or low copper,
• high calcium,
• low sodium,
• low potassium,
• high or low zinc,
• low phosphorus,
• a high Ca/K ratio,
• low Na/K ratio,
• high or low Zn/Cu ratio,
• high mercury,
• high Cu/Mo ratio, and
• history of copper exposure (see causes above).

I should confirm that I said high AND low copper. Low copper on a HTMA can be due to a hidden copper toxicity (where it’s being stored in other body tissues i.e. liver and brain) so you can’t just take this reading individually to determine your status.

If you’ve been feeling not yourself or even ‘crazy’, maybe you are having relationship problems, low energy, and brain fog or memory issues…any of the things listed above…then consider HTMA testing with a Functional Health Practitioner. You can read more about HTMA HERE.

Click HERE to find out more about working with me to clear your copper.

Click HERE if you just want to run a HTMA without working with me in a program.

HOW TO DETOX EXCESS COPPER

1. Stop your exposure to copper

In a sinking boat, we want to plug the hole to prevent water coming in, before we start bailing the water out. Same here, stop the copper exposure before you start trying to detox the copper i.e. remove copper IUD, stop hormonal birth control (contraceptive alternatives post coming soon), properly filter your tap water, omit food high in copper, seek other potential sources see HERE.

High copper foods include:

• liver
• oysters
• calamari
• shiitake mushrooms
• tempeh
• white button mushrooms
• sesame seeds
• soybeans/edamame
• adzuki beans
• cashews
• dark chocolate
• tahini
• sunflower seeds
• beet greens
• Swiss chard
• walnuts
• pumpkin seeds
• spinach
• avocado
• lentils
• chickpeas

Don’t worry this isn’t forever!

You’ll be able to include these foods again once we can get you metabolising that copper better!

2. Ensure your body is ready to detox copper

When our metabolism is too slow, we hold on to toxins. Our body is not strong enough to dispose of them effectively and so it stores them away to prevent them circulating round the body causing more damage.

To properly address copper toxicity, the systems that transport and remove copper need to be strong, hence we need a relatively balanced metabolism, with strong adrenal, thyroid and liver health, and good bile function, and we need to make sure our detox pathways are open and we are pooping regularly.

Detoxing copper isn’t something you’ll want to do alone,

YOU NEED TO WORK WITH A TRAINED PRACTITIONER TO DO IT SAFELY.

I recommend using Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA) to assess, monitor and address any issues with metabolism, thyroid, adrenal and liver health.

When we balance minerals, we support the body to function optimally, because minerals are what’s needed for most of your body’s biochemical reactions to work.

There’s two ways you can get a HTMA with me:

1. Working with me 1:1 – this gives you an initial test and a retest and I can make sure your body is ready before I take you through addressing any excess copper
2. Stand alone HTMA – if you want to just run one outside of a program to see where you’re at and if copper is a likely driver of your struggles.

But if you’d like to start on your own, I have an Energy & Drainage Boost Challenge to help you open your drainage pathways so you can at least ensure your body is able to move toxins out of the body.

Now we’ve decreased incoming copper and we know our body is ready to detox copper we want to…

3. Monitor symptoms and go slow to avoid dumping copper

Once the body is ready it will naturally start to release copper on it’s own. This will be seen as an increased copper level on the HTMA. The HTMA is a great way to keep check on the body’s systems allowing us to best support your body during your detox.

When copper starts to release, if it’s not managed properly, and if it happens too quickly, we may gets what’s known as Copper Dump Syndrome.

Click HERE to find out more about working with me to balance your minerals.

Click HERE if you just want to run a HTMA without working with me in a program.

COPPER DUMP SYNDROME

Supplements and activities like the following can trigger a copper dump:

• zinc,
• chromium,
• molybdenum,
• vitamin C,
• manganese,
• MSM,
• adrenal glandulars, and
• activities like intense cardio, or
• restricting calories.

This dump can make life pretty damn miserable. You may experience:

• intense anxiety,
• panic,
• exhaustion,
• constipation,
• insomnia,
• suicidal thoughts,
• emotional outbursts,
• irritability,
• anger, or
• psychological episodes.

That is why it is important to work with a practitioner that knows what they are doing.

The right practitioner will:

• help dose you correctly,
• find the right binders for your body,
• ensure you go at a pace your body can manage,
• supports your digestion, liver, gallbladder, potassium, and bile as part of your protocol to help minimise any dump symptoms.

Removing copper from the body is a slow process, and you will likely feel the best and the worst you have ever felt during the process.

But that shouldn’t put you off! There are many benefits to detoxing your copper.

BENEFITS OF HEALING FROM YOUR COPPER TOXICITY

When you have detoxed your copper, you will:

• have a much stronger immune system
• experience less infections
• better mental and emotional state (goodbye anxiety, depression, mood swings, panic attacks, and emotional outbursts!)
• more energy,
• better hair, skin and nails,
• less risk of heart, artery, and liver diseases,
• improved reproductive health
• decreased PMS, endometriosis, ovarian and uterine tumours, and
• more regular ‘better’ periods.

If you have a baby you will be less likely to develop post-partum depression, morning sickness, and problems with your baby including ADD, ADHD, autism, ear infections, and delayed development or other birth defects.

The symptoms of copper dumping are temporary, but the benefits make for a much better quality of life. You might even say a life where you feel radiant from within!

I would love to be the practitioner to help you through this process.

Click here to learn about detoxing copper with my help.

Want to know more before working with me?

Grab my Copper & Iron Masterclass which is taken from my self-paced online program, Radiant Mumma.

Radiant Mumma is where I teach you all the foundations to balancing your minerals, healing your hormones and gut, and cleansing your body of toxins.

Mum guilt. If you are a mum I am certain you know what I am talking about, am I right?

Even now in this COVID-19 ‘lock-down’ and everyone is home…I feel pangs of guilt for working and asking my husband to look after the boys, or asking him to feed the boys even though I planned, prepared and cooked everything. He’s their dad for goodness sake! Why do I feel that way!? I am sure he actually wants to do it…but I still feel like I am being judged or doing something that I shouldn’t be, prioritising incorrectly and shirking my responsibilities.

I have been trying to manage mum guilt with various amounts of success since the birth of my twin boys.

There are many aspects to mum guilt but the one I have struggled with most is feeling that I lost myself, or at least the things that made me ‘me’.

For me I have struggled greatly not having time to myself and not being able to work in my business as I once could. I felt like I lost what made me feel of worth through helping my clients, and I no longer had the same time to learn and develop my knowledge and skill set, something I literally feed off.

I am a ‘mum’. My days revolve around the needs of my babies totally. Everyone else in the family (we have a dual living home in which my parents live downstairs) can get on with ‘all the things’ they ‘want to do’, but I ‘have to’ care for the boys. I must ask permission to go out or to have time to do my work, and I need to have everything in order for the time I am away.

For the first 10-11 months, my twins didn’t really sleep for longer than 40 minutes in the day, so I had very little time to do anything other than prepare food and do the housework.⁠ Their night sleeps were generally in 3-4 hour blocks and I was breastfeeding for the first 8-9 months, so again I wasn’t getting the continuous sleep I needed, waking to their every need.

I started to feel resentful and I disliked myself immensely for it. Why was I feeling this way, I should be grateful for my life, I am so lucky, what an ungrateful cow I was being!

Without going into all the details, I had a couple of completely crazy-ass-wild-psycho-bitch moments within a few days of each other, where I literally lay on the floor kicking and screaming that it wasn’t fair, I needed help…I needed some time to myself!

I look back now, and I’m totally embarrassed at how I was. I remember even being ‘inside looking out’ at the time thinking, “far out lady, chill the F down!”, and the look on my mum’s face like ‘gee she’s lost it!’. But it was my breaking point and clearly something needed to change.

Fortunately, I followed my crazy with rational discussion with my family and got some much-needed extra support where I could have a few hours a week to myself.

I hate not being in control and I have perfectionist and self-critical qualities that mean I really punish myself and feel like absolute crap when I am not being ‘as I should be’. I should be able to do all the washing, cleaning, cooking, shopping, and mothering for fur and human babies, whilst running everything for my business, and being the best practitioner, I can be for my clients, no!? There’re so many other mums out there that do!

Maybe there are…but I am pretty sure their babies probably sleep for hours in the day and maybe they out-source some of the daily tasks at home and in their business…but even if they don’t, I am me, and I clearly couldn’t, I was putting too much pressure on myself and I needed help…plus…we should never compare ourselves to others because we never know what’s really going on in other people’s lives.

Since working with clients again I noticed how my energy and mood does a whole 180 after a session. It’s like I am on a high, I am buzzing, super chatty, smiley. I am a way more fun mum. I get sillier, more creative, I have more patience, I am a nicer person to be around, and I even like myself.

Throughout my personal health journey and work as a health practitioner, I have learned the importance of self-care, self-love, ‘me-time’, sleep, rest, mindset, and doing what you enjoy. …I think every one of those goes, to some extent, when you become a mum.

Yes, we gain so much, and we wouldn’t want it any other way, we love our babies immensely and are forever grateful they have chosen us to be their mum (all the typical mummy justification and reassurance that we all do)…but that doesn’t mean it’s not freaking hard!

I am sure you will know yourself when and why you feel mum guilt, and it’s likely because your personal needs, those things that make you ‘you’, aren’t being met.

I want to acknowledge ‘mum guilt’ as a thing, remind you that you are not alone feeling this, and let you know that it’s OK…it doesn’t mean you are a bad person or a bad mum.

One thing I do with my clients when they are struggling with happiness, is to go through their human needs with them. As I was going through this with a client recently, I began to reflect on myself and realised that sometimes all that’s needed is a mindset shift. Let me show you what I mean…

The 6 human needs are: Adventure, Significance, Connection, Growth, Impact, and Certainty

Adventure – a need for the unknown, change and new stimulation – before being a mum, this may have been going on holidays, hikes, doing adrenaline junkie sports etc…but as a mum the unknowns, changes and new stimulations happen every day, so effectively this need can still be met! For example…what will be broken next, what new sound will your little one make, what new face will they pull, what amazing delights will be produced in their nappy today, and where will your treasure hunt take you in the search of your kitchen utensils!?

Significance – feeling unique, important, special, or needed – this is one I have had to remind myself often…the lack of significance I feel from not being able to work as much and help people, doesn’t mean that I am not significant. Remember, you are a unique mum of incredible importance to your little one, so special and completely needed by them. This is the most significant you could ever be!

Connection – a strong feeling of closeness or union with someone or something – you may not have the same connection with your husband or the same libido you had before the kids, but you can bond with your husband over the achievements of your children, and be warmed and hug each other looking over the little devils knowing you made them. Of course, you may also get a few seconds of hug time and closeness with your little one between their own adventures, or you may hit jackpot and get nap time hugs together!

Growth – an expansion of capacity, capability, or understanding – before motherhood this may have been growth of your skill set, new courses and experience et cetera. As a mum your personal development goes through the roof! You learn a whole new meaning to patience, anger management, and troubleshooting. Your capacity increases with ‘all the things’ you need to do to just get through a day, your capability is limitless because you did it all and survived the day, and your understanding goes up tenfold as you now fully comprehend the meaning of ‘mummy brain’!

Impact – a sense of service and focus on helping, giving to and supporting others – this was likely through your work or volunteering offerings before kids, but now you are making a huge impact to the lives of those “Mini-Me’s” you are raising and supporting, helping them through life and giving them everything you can. You are having the most significant impact on their lives.

Certainty – to feel that everything is under control, a desire for systems, processes, and other preservation mechanisms – well you could be certain that there is no control, and none of these things will be in place…or you can switch gear and see that the routine you have from wake-up time, meal times, bath time, and bedtime and your systems of getting to each of those processes, your tactics for some self-preservation time at the end of the day, actually means there is great certainty each day!

Bingo! Everyone’s needs are met!

In all seriousness though, it is freaking hard being a mum, and it’s not always easy to put a positive twist on things. So, remember to show yourself some compassion, offer yourself some caring advice (what would you say to a friend in your situation?), and show yourself some gratitude and appreciation for the work you are doing as a carer, cook, cleaner, laundry maid, window washer, meal planner, kitchen hand, chief financial officer, entertainer, psychic, rule enforcer, teacher, investigator, translator, friend, nurse, referee, personal assistant, chauffeur, life coach, and role model!

The development of our children in these first few years are the fastest they will ever be. If we blink or stay down feeling sorry for ourselves, we will miss it.

I am sure in years to come we will look back on this time with great admiration and respect for ourselves, or maybe we will just forget the pain like we did that of child birth!…either way, I know I am trying to appreciate as much as I can, remind myself that it’s OK to ask for help, it’s ok to sit and do nothing when I have the chance, and it’s vitally important to shut down that mean voice inside trying to bring me down.

We are doing our best and that’s all anyone can ask for.

How do you protect yourself daily from toxins? Do you include a binder? You should!

Just to be clear here…I don’t mean something that makes you constipated! Lol!

A binder is something that will bind with things like toxins in your body and help them be excreted from the body. They can be used to bind to toxins as they enter your body, excreting them before they become stored in your body’s tissues. Or they can be used as part of a detox program where you do things to draw out toxins from where they have been stored in the body and then bind and excrete them. A must for intermittent fasters!! (toxins are often stored in the fat and when we reduce caloric intake and break down fat, toxins are released)

Even the most diligent and ‘cleanest’ of us all; if you only eat organic foods, only use natural beauty and cleaning products, live in the bush etc you still come into contact with toxins to some degree.  

Our body has natural binders and detox mechanisms, but we have such and increased toxic load nowadays (all the pesticides, chemicals in food and health care products, vaccines, medications etc) that our liver and cells are often overburdened leading to a myriad of health issues, hormone imbalances, and inflammation.

Ever done a detox and got headaches, nausea, fatigue? That’s the toxins being pulled out of your body tissues too quickly for your body to handle and dumped into the blood where they are circulated round the body.

This is where a binder can really help, we bind them and remove them, before they deposit elsewhere, cause further damage, and make us feel more unwell. If you take a binder daily you can bind up toxins before they even get into your tissues. Bonus!

I recommend daily binders for my clients but it’s important to know which are safe for regular use and which should not be used daily. This is because many binders also bind to your body’s minerals (think things like calcium, magnesium, zinc etc), and so if taken too regularly can leave the body depleted. Things like bentonite clay and activated charcoal for example are excellent binders of heavy metals, pesticides and other toxins, but they also bind to minerals so should be taken rarely and well away from foods and medications.

I therefore wanted to share my two favourite daily binders to help you bind up the nasties safely.

These are:

Modified Citrus Pectin (in particular Econugenics Pectasol-C) – this is my binder of choice for daily use. There have been many studies done showing how useful Pectasol-C is to detoxification and cellular health AND it doesn’t bind to your minerals so won’t deplete you.

Digestive bitters (I like Urban Moonshine Original) – this stimulates bile flow, which is one of the body’s natural detox binders. It also has the added bonus of helping digestion, particularly of those oh so important healthy fats!

The body may use heavy metals in place of minerals that you may be deficient in e.g. lead in the place of calcium in your bones, as their structures are similar. It is incredibly important, therefore, that you know you have sufficient mineral levels and those minerals are bioavailable in the body (not just being circulated in the blood) before embarking on a detox program, or you can imagine the issues you can cause.

We also want to make sure our body is strong enough, able, and ready to detox. Our body doesn’t detox well when our metabolism is too slow as it doesn’t have the resources to do so. With hair and tissue mineral testing (HTMA) we can assess all these things as well as your heavy metal toxicity status to determine when the body is ready for detox support. Blood is a transport medium not a cellular tissue so blood tests don’t give us the answers we need here.

To find out more about how you can get help please see here or contact me, I would love to ensure you detoxify safely so you can radiate from within!

We all know it’s bad…but it’s also lots of fun! If you can’t indulge a little at this time of year then when can you!?

It’s always good to support the body in general, but even more so when we are hitting it a little harder with toxins than normal. Your body can process about one alcoholic beverage per hour, so sip and mix in a water between drinks and that will benefit you plenty, but what more can you do?

If you have watched my detox video you will know that it’s important to consume antioxidants, protein and cruciferous veggies (don’t forget the Brussel sprouts this Christmas dinner!!!) to help our body to detox efficiently. There are lists of important foods to support detoxification at the end of my video, so be sure to take note and include plenty of these during the festive season!

However, I have been asked for my main supplement recommendations so here you go!

1. Sea salt – alcohol is a diuretic and so depletes us of many vitamins and minerals. We often even crave salty foods the morning after a drinking session so it may not come as a surprise that sea salt makes my list. If you follow me or have worked with me to balance your minerals, you will know of my love of sea salt and recommendations to include it, particularly in your morning water when your potassium and sodium levels need balancing. Sea salt is a balanced mineral supplement. I am not talking about table salt here, which is pure sodium. Table salt is what causes issues with kidneys and blood pressure…we don’t want that! Sea salt on the other hand has a balanced mineral profile that greatly benefits our body. Minerals are the spark plugs of the body and without them our body will struggle to get well from any disorder. A good litre of water with a ¼ teaspoon of good quality sea salt in the first hour of waking will help on the way to balancing you out (this is actually what I recommend anyone do every morning, never mind after a drinking session). It shouldn’t taste salty, just really nice and hydrating! If you have a pure good quality Himalayan salt this is also good, however, unfortunately most are sourced from Pakistan and other places high in toxic metals, which are bound in the salt molecules.
2. Bone broth – alcohol is a diuretic so we need hydration and minerals. What better supplement than a good quality grass-fed organic bone broth!? Not only this, but bone broth contains gelatin, a wonderful supplement for the gut, which is also damaged from the alcohol. If you can’t stomach the litre of water, why not try a few cups of salty broth instead to kick off the morning after!?
3. Vitamin C – many people love a Berocca after a night drinking. Me not so much as it contains aspartame. Vitamin C however, helps to block the conversion of alcohol to aldehyde, which is the hangover inducing stuff. Plus, vitamin C is a great antioxidant, which, if you have followed my detox video, you will know is needed in the detox process to neutralize free radicals formed in phase 1 of detoxification. Consuming vitamin C whilst drinking helps, or I generally just ensure to up my daily vitamin C dose to twice a day during the silly season for continuous support for my cells and immune system.
4. Pectasol-C – this is a great supplement all year round but especially during the silly season! Why? Well, over 50 studies have been published about how this particular modified citrus pectin provides support for total-body health and aging, promoting healthy tissues and cells and supports healthy immune function. With all the free radicals and increased carbohydrate load on our bodies during the silly season, this is just what’s in order! However, Pectasol-C is not only good for our cell’s health in general, it also helps our body to eliminate heavy metals due to it’s binding properties. Heavy metals are everywhere in this modern age and removing them from the body is beneficial for anyone! What’s special about Pectasol-C is that it is a selective binder, only binding to those bad toxins, rather than to our minerals. This is incredibly important as it helps to ensure we aren’t depleting our body of those essential nutrients. I take 1 scoop of the powder in warm water before bed and again in the morning.
5. Activated Charcoal – as with Pectasol-C, charcoal is a binder of toxins, however, it also binds to our minerals so needs to be taken away from food and not taken too regularly to avoid becoming mineral deficient. It’s also important to keep hydrated to ensure things keep moving through your gut. Charcoal is wonderful if you happen to overindulge in the beverage department! They even often use it in the Emergency department when something poisonous has been consumed. I have tried different charcoals with mixed success, but now take two of the Nature’s Way Activated Charcoal before I start drinking and again before I go to bed after a night of one too many. Many of my friends are now on the charcoal bandwagon and will attest to its success.

So! All that is left it to wish you all a wonderful festive period and a happy new year, hangover free! Please drink responsibly!