Bloom Magazine | Issue 5 | 2018

Funking up the Ferments inspiring wellness issue 5 | oct 2018

The Golden Healing Spice Cultivating Your Inner Garden Chemfree Empowering Me

Your home of holistic health North Queensland’s home of holistic health solutions. We offer the pharmacy products and services you rely on plus a huge range of natural and organic products across nutrition, healthfoods, skincare, cosmetics, baby and more.

PRESCRIPTIONS • PHARMACY SERVICES & ADVICE • MEDICINES

WHOLEHEALTH PHARMACY & HEALTHFOODS PEASE ST: Shop 27, 159-161 Pease St, Manoora • Phone: 4053 2883 • Open: Mon-Fri 8am-7.30pm, Sat 8.30am-5.30pm & Sun 8.30am-5.30pm BARR ST MARKETS: 532 Mulgrave Rd, Earlville • Phone: 4242 4610 • Open: Mon-Fri 8.30am-6pm, Sat 8am-6pm & Sun 9am-4pm

BARR ST MARKETS IS THE PROUD HOST OF THIS YEAR’S BLOOM FESTIVAL Find us at: 532 Mulgrave Road, Earlville

@barrstmarkets

@barrstmarkets

the road to wholehealth.

Wholehealth Pharmacy and Healthfoods is a retail pharmacy brand like no other. The brand offers a true holistic approach to health and wellness with the pharmacy products and services people rely on plus one of the country’s largest ranges of natural and organic products across nutrition, healthfoods, skincare, cosmetics, baby and more.

Jodie: Tell us a bit about Wholehealth Pharmacy and Healthfoods. Where does the story begin?

The brand originated in Cairns and is locally owned and operated by pharmacists and brothers Frank and Vince Pappalardo. They realised years ago there was a bigger role pharmacists could play in supporting healthy lifestyles and this involved taking a holistic approach to customer care.

The Pappalardo’s began experimenting with ranging organic products on the advice of their instore naturopath and found that customers loved the new offering and were hungry for more. It wasn’t long before the healthfood and organic offering made up half of their Pease St Cairns pharmacy. And it was here that the Wholehealth Pharmacy and Healthfoods brands was really born. This vision is shared by the group’s Managing Pharmacists and retail staff who all personally take an active interest in leading healthy lifestyles and want to help their customers achieve positive health outcomes.

Jodie: How do your stores differ from other brands and outlets?

Integral to the Wholehealth Pharmacy and Healthfoods philosophy is the belief that organic and natural products should be made readily available and affordable for all Australians.

Traditionally, one of the factors that prevented consumers purchasing these products was the premium price they had to pay. We aim to make natural and organic products affordable so that it is in reach of all their customers. It is also important to us that we offer a large variety of products. There are some incredible local, national and international brands available that offer everything from

traditional Australian bush remedies to the latest in international innovation and we want our customers to have access to all of that. Our buying team scour the market for the best of the best in every category to give our customers choice.

With that comes a responsibility that we take very seriously and that is to educate our staff so they can pass on relevant information and advice and help our customers make informed decisions.

We regularly host product workshops to introduce customers to new products or help them gain new skills. For example we recently ran cheese making workshops which our customers loved as it helps them eat healthily, save money and live a sustainable lifestyle.

Jodie: Where can I visit a Wholehealth Pharmacy and Healthfoods store in Cairns.

There are two Wholehealth Pharmacy and Healthfoods stores in Cairns. Pease St, Manoora is the original home of the brand and in addition to the pharmacy this store features the Compound Café and North Queensland Compounding. Here, customers can enjoy browsing the store while they wait for prescriptions or relax over a healthy meal or snack at the café. Our naturopath Sarah, can be consulted about health concerns or wellness programs.

The Wholehealth Pharmacy and Healthfoods store at Barr St Markets offers many health and well-being options. You can consult with our pharmacists, staff and naturopath about health related topics and browse thousands of pharmacy and health food lines. This store also contains a Naked Foods store, the perfect place to stock up on natural and organic bulk foods and an ASN (Australian Sport Nutrition) for all your sport related nutrition products.

Jodie: Tell us a bit more about Barr St Markets.

We’d love to! We’re so proud to be working with the other health, wellness and dining businesses within Barr St Markets. Cairns Doctors will look after all your healthcare needs.Cairns Total Physio help you alleviate pain so you can enjoy life to the fullest Savvy and Co are the resident haircare specialists.Ageless Cosmetic Bar are the go to people for beauty and cosmetic needs. 360 Health are experts in colonics. Dancescapes - a long standing dance school that helps instil a love of dance. Barr St Markets is also home to some of North Queensland’s best restaurants, cafes and healthy food including Gourmet Meat Market, Esca Seafood, Mammoth Cold Pressed Juice Co and Perrotta’s Italian Kitchen.

what’s inside...

8

KRISTY PLUM funking up the ferments

12

DR GREG EMERSON ancient wisdom meets mitochondrial science

17

JILLIAN EXTON chemfree empowering me

20

DOUG ENGLISH the golden healing spice

24 CHRISTIANE WAGNER health & beauty begins on your plate

Bloom Magazine is a North Queensland publication empowering health, wellness and conscious living.

Published annually, Bloom Magazine supports the Bloom Inspiring Wellness festival taking place October each year in Cairns.

GENERAL ENQUIRIES info@bloominspiringwellness.com

26

LESLEY PARKER stress: a major health factor

28

SHILO MASON cultivating your inner garden

32

NICOLE GIBSON chocolate that nourishes

34

BLOOM MARKETPLACE connect with community

38

BLOOM DIRECTORY products/services/education

FOUNDER / DESIGNER / EDITOR / PUBLISHER Emma Lodge emma@bloominspiringwellness.com EDITOR / PUBLISHER Jodie Ferrero jodie@bloominspiringwellness.com

POSTAL ADDRESS PO Box 50, Stratford, QLD 4870 Australia

Information contained in this publication is intended for educational and infomational purposes only. Opinions represented in Bloom are not necessairly those of the publisher. Please consult your own doctor or healthcare provider to determine the best course of treatment for you. All content is subject to copyright and may not be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.

@bloominspiringwellness | #bloomcairns | www.bloominspiringwellness.com

Knowledge Empowers The pursuit of knowledge is never ending and through the sharing of knowledge we expand our perspectives, become wiser and stronger, and are able to contribute more to those we love and the world around us.

Welcome to our 2018 edition of Bloom Magazine, a wonderful resource of knowledge shared through the authentic conversations you will read on these pages, each with a unique message and full of valuable insights and tools for you to try in your own lives as you learn and open your mind to new possibilities.

As we respond to the challenges of our time, our priorities are shifting and we have renewed motivation to take care of ourselves and one another. We are inspired by cutting edge technologies and have a deepening awareness of our footprint, with protection of our planet now integral in our wellness routines.

We are mindful of the foods we eat and the products we use, and increasingly more conscious as consumers. We are intentional with our choices and purposeful in our actions as we create the lives we want and find balance and simplicity in the complex world we live in.

You will be inspired by stories of success and survival as our guest conversationalists talk about their journeys from adversity to hope and the innovative ways they have created their businesses after finding gaps that existed in the market.

We hope you are able to take a moment, enjoy a juice with a friend and carry on the conversations that matter. xoxo

Emma

Jodie

funking up the ferments.

A passion for health and wellness and a determination to make a difference in the lives of those suffering from mental health issues was the reason local Cairns start up, The Fermented Kitchen was founded. Jacob and Kristy are on a mission to educate people on the importance of eating good food, balancing gut health and improving overall well-being.

Jodie: Let’s start with your mantra or mission statement!

Two young, fitness loving hippies trying to help fix the gut health of thousands....one kombucha at a time! That’s fun and purposeful. Take us back to where your fermenting journey began.

Kristy: The love for fermenting started with a very meaningful purpose. Jacob and I both have people in our life with mental health issues, in particular depression and anxiety. The closest person being my brother. For so many years I had often wondered why this was and wanted to work out if there was ever a way to rid him of the medication he was taking.

About a year and a half ago, I was doing some research regarding mental health and came across some very compelling research surrounding the connection between gut health and mental health. It was fascinating, and I delved deeper and deeper and it all made perfect sense.

It was then that Jake and I decided to try some of these gut health products, including kombucha and sauerkraut to see what all the fuss was about. We trusted so many of these products but being so health focused, we weren’t entirely happy that artificial sweeteners were being used and that they tasted more un-natural than what they should have. Not only that, but the expense to consume these products made us realise we needed to make these products ourselves to ensure we had the cleanest, healthiest kombucha and sauerkraut entering our mouth.

Jodie: Can you tell us a little about the process of fermenting food, in particular sauerkraut and also a little about the amazingly beneficial bacteria we receive to our gut when we eat fermented food.

Kristy: Fermented foods are foods that have been through a process of lacto-fermentation in which natural bacteria feed on the sugar and starch in the food creating lactic acid. This process preserves the food, and creates beneficial enzymes, b-vitamins, Omega-3 fatty acids, and various strains of probiotics. Natural fermentation of foods has also been shown to preserve nutrients in food and break the food down to a more digestible form. This, along with an array of probiotics created during the fermentation process, could explain the link between consumption of fermented foods and improved digestion. The probiotics you can get from eating fermented foods and

AS SPOKEN TO JODIE FERRERO | PHOTOGRAPHY THE FERMENTED KITCHEN | LOCATION CAIRNS

|9

KRISTY PLUM

drinking fermented drinks like kefir and kombucha will introduce beneficial bacteria into your digestive system and help the balance of bacteria in your gut. Probiotics have also been shown to help slow or reverse some diseases, improve bowel health, aid digestion, and improve immunity!

Jodie: And it’s not all about the food!

Fermented beverages are great too!

I just love your Ginger & Lemon Kombucha and you have so many tasty flavours that you brew. How do you make Kombucha?

Kristy: Oh that’s so nice to hear! That is definitely a popular flavour that’s for sure. Yes you are right, there are fermented beverages available and the one we started with is kombucha, however we have some more beverages in their trial phase at the moment.

In regards to Kombucha, it is a drink that has been around for thousands of years and was said to have originated in China. It is made from either green, black or white tea, or a combination of these, sugar and the famous SCOBY – the acronym for symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast.

The sugar and caffeine are used up in the fermentation process so don’t worry, it has very little (if any) caffeine or sugar in the final product.

Every Kombucha brewer will ferment for a course of 7-30 days depending on the final result they wish to achieve. The temperature will influence how quickly the tea ferments. This is where we are very lucky to be working out of a temperature controlled kitchen that the guys at Fangs Chilli Sauce have designed. The final product is a naturally carbonated beverage with many benefits and incredible flavours. At The Fermented Kitchen, we pride ourselves in only using Australian fruits and roots to flavour our products and buy local produce when in season. We use the finest ingredients and ensure that no artificial sweeteners are used to create our beautiful flavours and this is why our product will taste a lot more natural than some others.

Jodie: You both have an acute awareness of the connection between gut health and mental health and are very passionate about sharing your story and knowledge to help others improve their health through nutrition. Was there a defining moment and is this what motivated and inspired you to create The Fermented Kitchen?

Kristy: Yes there was! We are very in-tune with our own bodies and health and are firm believers of looking after our insides, but when having conversations with other people we came to realise that not everyone was convinced that what you put in your body will greatly impact on your mood, and how you are feeling. We found this to be quite eye opening. Being a very science minded person, I could not stop reading articles, documents and studies surrounding the importance of gut health and mental health and knew that the prevalence of mental disorders was becoming more and more apparent in society. With that being said, we knew it was only right to do something about it and try and educate as well as provide foods and drinks that could possibly be life changing for some. Our brand was designed not to simply be a product on a shelf or in a fridge. We were here to inform and educate where we could and create palatable fermented foods that all people would enjoy and to create a product that became a staple in people’s food choices rather than something that people would scrunch their nose up at.

There is too much evidence as well surrounding gut health and over all wellbeing to stop here, we are on a big mission to change the minds of many and to do that in a fun, and funky way.

We also have the support of Health Management Dietitians Cairns, who are there to answer questions for our customers and help us with monthly blogs and fun facts that are on our website and social media. We are very grateful to have this support.

Jodie: We have a fantastic start up eco system in Far North Queensland, incredible local produce and wonderful local manufacturers.

Tell us about some of your milestones as a start up business so far, the highs, the lows and the connections and relationships you’ve made along the way.

10 |

Kristy: Starting this business was a whole new experience for Jake and myself. We were unaware of avenues to go down to turn a product we loved and were proud of into a product that others could enjoy. This process did not come easy however, we made some invaluable friendships and connections along the way. In particular, Clinton Fang Yuen, who runs FNQ Food Incubator and our incredible designers at Penlan Street Co. Clinton was able to guide us down different avenues for labelling requirements, food

FUNKING UP THE FERMENTS

testing facilities and the use of his facility to create our products. Our biggest milestone came simply from seeing our product on a shelf, being served from taps and the amazing feedback that came with it.

Being acknowledge by Steve Baxter from Shark Tank, recognised in the wellness section of The Cairns Post and more so by those consumers who had some very big health changes after consuming our products kept us striving to do more.

Along with the many highs of owning this business and helping people, also came the many challenges and moments of uncertainty. There has been so much work put into our business, long hours, sleepless nights and the fear of the unknown about whether people would like our product. However, at the end of the day, passion overruled all our uncertainty. We have this drive within both of us to keep thriving and to continue to provide the best range of fermented products that Cairns (and Australia) has ever tasted and to help educate everyone on the importance of gut health.

thefermentedkitchen.com.au

ancient wisdom meets mitochondrial science.

Dr Greg Emerson is a medical specialist, wilderness survival enthusiast and bio hacker. He is dedicated to finding the root cause of illnesses and believes in the intrinsic ability of the body to heal itself if the underlying cause of the illness is addressed. His unique perspective on health combines knowledge of traditional, ancestral health practices and the latest scientific discoveries concerning light, circadian rhythms, nutrition, and mitochondria.

As we discuss these issues and more whilst sitting in a waterfall in the rainforest, it becomes apparent that as a society we need to adapt and survive in this ever changing world. No longer can we take the back seat, as Dr Greg would say ‘it’s time to ride in the saddle, not the armchair’ Emma: You’ve got an incredible background of medical knowledge.

Where did it all begin?

Greg: I started off as a junior doctor in Nelson hospital, New Zealand before specialising in emergency medicine and in particular helicopter retrieval work. I was enamoured with the excitement of emergency medicine, retrievals and managing the variety of acute illness. I did that for a long time including working as an assistant clinical professor in emergency medicine at the University of Alberta hospital in Edmonton, Canada. I then came back to Australia as a senior specialist at the Royal Brisbane Hospital where I was also involved in Royal Flying Doctor Service retrievals.

Emma: So what prompted you to leave the excitement of helicopters and explore new avenues of medicine?

Greg: Well years of shift work and stress finally took its toll on me physically.

So my own personal battle with illness led me on a profound journey of exploration. When I identified what was wrong with my health and how to fix it, that’s when I reappraised my medical focus and my approach to health care delivery.

Emma: What did you discover in that journey that made you change your approach to health care?

Emma: So what kind of doctor are you now, what do you specialise in?

Greg: The modern medical system is very good at managing acute illness but not so good at managing chronic illness. It is a very good system for the paradigm it was originally set up for which was managing the illnesses of the time, mainly acute trauma and infections. However the management of those illnesses has actually started an epidemic of more chronic illnesses which the system is not so well set up to manage. I realised that I had more to offer through having developed an understanding of what was now causing our epidemic of chronic illness, so I decided that I would start standing at the top of the cliff to stop people falling off rather than what I had been doing for the past 15 years which was standing at the bottom of the cliff and catching them after they had fallen.

Greg: Well I transitioned from emergency medicine to what you would call functional medicine or integrative medicine which is recognising that the body is not just comprised of single organs but a collection of interrelated organs. Modern medicine has become a very sub speciality focused enterprise whereby we have a knee expert, a stomach expert, a skin expert etc. but everybody has forgotten how the gut might affect the skin or how the gut might affect mood or that artificial light on our eyes might cause depression.

AS SPOKEN TO EMMA LODGE | PHOTOGRAPHY BEL JONES PHOTOGRAPHY | LOCATION ROB ROY GLACIER, NEW ZEALAND

| 13

DR GREG EMERSON

Emma: So true. It’s so interesting how everything is interrelated; we seem to only focus on the symptoms and not the underlying cause which could be something totally different to what’s presented.

We’ve become so obsessed with the symptoms and drug management of disease, that we’ve forgotten the role of our environment on illness.

Emma: So your focus is now treating the cause?

Greg: Yes after moving into functional and integrative medicine I realised that not only is the body a collection of interrelated organs, but it is actually a giant milieu of interrelated cells and election flow. By returning to how our cells function and mitochondria function and respond to our environment, I acquired an even deeper understanding of how to assist people becoming well again. Ultimately the treatment of disease is by understanding how our environment interacts with the mitochondria of our cells and how most diseases, other than purely genetic diseases, are related to dysfunction in the mitochondria themselves. We don’t really have a name for this medicine; some people call it quantum biological medicine which I think is probably the best term for what I do now.

Emma: You talk a lot about mitochondria and I see that becoming a popular subject. What exactly are the mitochondria?

Greg: Mitochondria produce energy that fuel our bodies; they basically convert electrons from food, the sun and earth into ATP (adenosine triphosphate) which is the energy that our body runs on. It’s like extracting oil from the ground and taking it to a refinery to get petrol for our cars. Food is really just a source of electrons to flow into our mitochondria and turn into energy. The function of mitochondria is determined by the environment in which we live in, particularly sunlight,

Greg:

A skin rash, for example, might be caused by a disruption to the microbiome. One option would be to put a steroid cream on your skin to reduce the symptoms but you’ll have to use a steroid cream for the rest of your life. Another option might be to improve the environment, optimise the microbiome, eradicate any parasites and correct the zinc deficiency. In the latter case, the rash often resolves completely.

and therein lies one of the great unrecognised causes of modern disease which is the fact that we have separated ourselves from the very thing which charges the batteries in our body and controls our metabolism which is the interaction of sunlight with the mitochondria inside our cells.

The fact that we have changed over the last 100 years from natural light to artificial light and a been subject to a massive increase in shift work has contributed significantly to the epidemic of mitochondrial dysfunction and chronic degenerative disease.

Emma: Wow and we’re told to stay out of the sun or slap on sunscreen and cover up whenever outdoors.

So what can we do to protect our mitochondria?

Greg: We need to understand that moderate sunlight is critical for our health and every time we put on a hat, sunglasses, clothes and shoes we divorce ourselves from what for several billion years has provided us with health.

It’s like putting a tarp over a plant once you put it in the soil. It’s not going to grow properly without sunlight, and we have separated ourselves from nature thinking that we can survive without it. Science now shows that sunlight, sleep, cold and traditional foods are our primary source of energy and health which we cannot separate ourselves from. Some of the most significant modifications we can make to maintain our health are to minimise our exposure to artificial light and non-native electromagnetic frequencies (EMF’s).

Emma: What types of artificial light do we need to be aware of?

14 |

Greg: Blue light from our LED lights, computer and phone screens, these all damage our mitochondria. We need to minimise our exposure to our electromagnetic devices, or if we can’t then we should protect ourselves from

ANCIENT WISDOM MEETS MITOCHONDIAL SCIENCE

the blue light by using special apps on those devices and by using blue light blocking glasses. We need to get out in nature more where we can escape the massive increase in non-native electromagnetic frequencies, which are only going to get dramatically worse once we ramp up from 4G to 5G. It’s interesting to note the earth has an electromagnetic pulse of about 10 Hz per second and our brain has the exact same frequency. When we go to 5G we are going to be surrounded by electromagnetic frequencies of up to 80 billion hertz per second, so

we must find places in nature where we can escape those electromagnetic frequencies because we are basically sitting in a giant microwave oven.

That’s where bio-hacking comes in, and looking at how can we can change our environment and ourselves to optimise function despite the environment we now live in.

Emma: Talking about changing our environment we’re sitting here freezing in a waterfall which is a bit crazy, most people in Cairns would shudder at the thought of anything cold and yet you’re passionate about hopping into cold waterfalls and glacier waters!

Greg: Why are we crazy enough to get into cold water? Well there’s a huge amount of benefits. 1. We are escaping those electromagnetic frequencies. 2.

We’re exposed to essential oils from the trees that surround us. The Japanese have a term for that which is called ‘shinrin-yoku’ which their doctors actually prescribe. It translates as forest bathing. 3. We’re getting sun which is setting our circadian clocks in our body telling our mitochondria what time it is so we stay in rhythm of natural cycles. And 4, we’ve been exposed to the cold and the cold has numerous benefits.

The main one is that it improves the efficiency of mitochondrial function, so the mitochondria function improves and we produce more ATP and get a lot more energy.

Every cell in the body contains mitochondria except for red blood cells, so everything improves, and the other enormous benefits are slowing down the aging process and promoting fat loss.

Anytime our body gets colder than the surrounding environment we start to burn white fat to keep us warm and also transform white fat into brown fat. Brown fat is brown because it contains more mitochondria, and mitochondria not only produce energy they also produce heat, so when we’re exposed to the cold we make more mitochondria and burn more white fat.

More energy, better abs and less wrinkles! What’s not to love about that?

Emma: I should to get in cold water everyday then! So I see you writing a lot about parasites, which is a big area of your expertise, but little seems to be acknowledged about the link between parasites and chronic disease..

Emma: How come this is not so well known?

Greg: Yes I first developed an interest in parasites when I worked in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. Anybody who has practised medicine in a third world country or has worked as a farmer will realise how devastating parasites can be to the health of animals and wildlife. Any farmer recognising an animal is ill from parasites will take immediate action because those animals will die very quickly if that parasitic burden is not reduced to manageable levels. We as homo sapiens are no different to any other animal and those parasites can cause just as many problems through malabsorption, bowel inflammation or leaky gut. Leaky gut is where toxins, bacteria and yeasts ‘leak’ from the inflamed gut into the blood stream. We don’t realise how much of an impact this process can have on our health.

Greg: Our current ignorance of parasites is the fact we have become so divorced from our evolutionary history that we now consider ourselves separate from nature and separate from wildlife when we are not.

People don’t realise that a skin problem, high blood pressure or headaches can be contributed to by a parasitic burden.

| 15

If you’ve got diarrhoea twenty times a day then you would probably want to take some action, but if you’ve got bad eczema it may not be apparent to you or your health professional that parasites in your gut are causing a zinc deficiency through malabsorption and causing bacteria and toxins to leak into your blood stream which can affect the health of your skin. Instead you’ll get a steroid cream for your skin, Panadol for your headache and a blood pressure tablet for high blood pressure.

Emma: I guess we like to think we can outsmart nature but we can’t.

Emma: Wow so it really pays to take responsibility for our health, get proactive and question deeper the symptoms. You also talk about the importance of nutrition, in particular eating local and seasonal, can you explain the importance of this.

Greg: It’s the same with dental infections; the first chapter of any cardiology textbook now is about the role of dental infections causing cardiovascular disease. If you’ve got an infected root canal spilling bacteria and fungi from your root canal into your blood stream it causes inflammation in your blood vessels. This then contributes to the build-up of plaque in arteries and eventually a heart attack. The presence of chronic inflammation and chronic infections in your body can cause catastrophic effects well away from the original source of the infection. Your infected root canal can cause a heart attack. Your parasitic burden in the gut can cause extreme high blood pressure or depression.

Greg: There’s a massive industry developed around dietary advice because we have over-complicated nutrition.

It doesn’t matter if you look at the research of Weston A. Price in the 1920’s into indigenous peoples or current research of the blue zone longevity populations, both did not have any chronic degenerative disease.

The food they ate was local, seasonal, organic and shared around a table with family, which is very different to our modern society which has moved towards eating alone in front of a television screen or phone with very processed foods. Of course there is no one diet for the human race because both of those studies of the blue zones and Weston A Price found that everybody had a different diet; the Inuit people ate very different to the Aboriginal people who ate very different to the Maori who ate very different to the native Americans, Masai and the Swiss. But the one thing they all had in common was health and longevity because their food was local, seasonal and minimally processed. Once a person moved away from their environment and traditional diet to a more processed diet, they very quickly started developing modern day illnesses.

So all we really have to remember is eat locally, seasonally and minimally processed, with people we love.

There we go I’ve just written the world’s greatest book on nutrition.

Emma: So we probably over complicate what really doesn’t have to be complicated at all. Ok finally what 3 top health tips can our readers implement right now?

Greg: 1. Positive Mindset: take responsibility for your health; ride in the saddle not in the armchair.

2. Sun and Sleep: we should make sure we get out in the sun without getting burnt and get sleep particularly between the hours of 10am – 2am when most of the repair is done. The most important sun is the infra-red light in sunrise because it sets our circadian rhythm for the day. Maximise sun, minimise blue light and non-native EMF’s.

3. Nutrition: eat local, seasonal, minimally processed food with people you love.

drgregemerson.com 16 |

Dr Greg Emersons Mitichondrial Medicine and Biohacking Page

chemfree empowering me.

Leading the way in chemical free living, Jillion Exton is the brain child and inspiration behind Chemical Free Community – on online resource that makes it easy for families to find ways to reduce their toxic exposures and supports the growth of chemical free businesses.

After surviving her own “cancer adventure”, Jillian became aware of the risk factors associated with her situation, in particular the chemicals that surround our everyday environment.

Jillian knew she had to make some changes, but frustrated at how difficult it was to start the transition, she decided to turn her frustration into motivation and create Chemical Free Community. With a focus on health prevention rather than cure, Jillian shares her journey to empowerment.

Emma: Tell me when did your ‘cancer adventure’ as you call it begin?

Emma: How did you choose to navigate the journey?

Jillian: 4pm Christmas Eve 2009, and very much unexpected. With a background in physical education, I was fit and healthy with a good diet, so family and friends were completely shocked when they heard my diagnosis.

Jillian: I committed to two of the three conventional treatment protocols offered by my medical team – chemotherapy and radiation which I didn’t take lightly as I had concerns about what the treatments were doing to my body – not just the cancer cells. I took a complimentary approach to the treatment with the support of my brother who’s a western medicine practitioner. I did challenge the boundaries throughout my treatment to ensure I was minimising side effects of treatments. I also did a lot of research and turned my home office into my own personal cancer research centre.

As I identified the risk factors that contributed to the cancer, I just kept ticking the boxes - stress, gynaecological issues, hormone issues, no children.

AS SPOKEN TO EMMA LODGE | PHOTOGRAPHY JENNY MEDLEY | LOCATION CAIRNS

| 17

JILLIAN EXTON

So it became apparent that it wasn’t a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when’ it would happen, that was a real eye opener for me.

Jillian: Yes it was. To realise my body was capable of fostering the growth of cancer meant I needed to revaluate my entire lifestyle and make changes to minimise the risk of its reoccurrence. This involved taking a good look at the whole spectrum, not just at the cellular level but everything from diet to emotions, hormones, stress, immune and my environment. That’s when I made the connection between toxic chemicals and cancer.

Emma: It must have been really confronting for you identifying those factors.

Emma: So that’s how Chemical Free Community began?

Jillian: Yes, that’s the last piece of that puzzle.

I made the connection between toxic chemicals and cancer, particular EDC’s (Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals) which act like estrogen in the body and would have been a large contributor to my ‘estrogen dominance’ state.

That’s when I decided to remove chemicals from my life and look for safer alternatives. I was searching for non-toxic cleaning services initially, and the more I researched and discussed with others it became apparent there was a gap, people were looking for safer alternatives to a whole range of services not just food and cleaning products, and that’s how the Chemical Free Community began. The directory started with cleaning products and services, then the list got longer; beauty, hairdressers, pet care, pest control, holistic dentistry, dry cleaning, paints and carpets, mattresses, clothing, accommodation. It’s amazing when you delve in, there are so many everyday items that are impacting our health and adding a chemical burden to our bodys. For example, conventional dental practices are toxic and fraught with health dangers from amalgam fillings and root canals. Then there is ‘Perc’ that’s used in our dry cleaning that is now classified as a toxin and a “likely” human carcinogen”. You will find these toxic free dentists, dry cleaners and other services on the Chemical Free Community directory. We are still growing - it’s a big task!

Emma: There’s so much we take at face value and just don’t realise what lurks within, and we’re led to believe what’s on the shelves is safe when really there’s a lot of toxic stuff out there.

Jillian: Oh gosh yes there’s so much you’ll find on supermarket shelves and in everyday ordinary households.

Today the average person douses themselves with over 500 chemicals between having a shower and getting ready for work. There’s something like 200,000 new chemicals produced every week with the majority of them being untested and potentially toxic,

it’s increasing at a phenomenal rate with most not being approved for human safety before being released. They also keep changing the names of them, so it’s very difficult for consumers to know which ingredients are safe and which should be avoided. Take BPA for example, most people know that BPA is an endocrine disrupting chemical, it interferes with hormones which has the potential to impact the reproductive system, this is why it was banned from babies bottles. We now have ‘BPA FREE’ marketing on bottles so people automatically assume the product must be safe, but what most people are not aware of is what it’s been replaced with. BPS is a popular substitute, so those who have done their research will know that this chemical is as bad if not worse than BPA because it is still within the same chemical family. Marketing has got a lot to answer for.

Emma: I’ve been an avid label reader for years and it still gets confusing! My philosophy is if it reads like a chemical then it probably is. Great thing is I’ve actually minimalised my shopping list going chemical free and saved money.

18 |

Jillian: It really is about going through your home, checking ingredients in products and minimising exposure. Chemfree Community has been such a great resource. I love that there are now more non-toxic products and services becoming readily available and if you’re really set on finding alternatives you can find them, but you do need time to hunt them down.

CHEMFREE EMPOWERING ME

Emma: So establishing Chemfree Community has been quite profound for you. Your diagnosis in 2009 inspired you to create Chemfree Community, and then this year Chemfree helped you to overcome a potential reoccurrence.

Jillian: Since finishing my treatment 8 years ago I’ve been focused on prevention. In addition to my regular appointments with my surgeon and oncologist, I’ve also been tracking myself with thermography, which is a digital image that identifies heat in the body - red indicates areas of inflammation and green indicates no inflammation. I’ve actually been having thermography since before I was diagnosed in 2009, at that time it highlighted an area of concern, however I attributed that inflammation to previous surgery and didn’t take any action to investigate further. A year later I was diagnosed.

Lesson learned! Post cancer I have chosen to opt out of mammograms for a number of reasons and maintain thermography. I had a very stressful year in 2017, being a confessed workaholic, I got myself into a stressful situation again. My body was telling me there were some things that were not right but I kept pushing on. Eventually when I got round to having my thermography appointment I saw the results showing red patterns on my breast and I knew instantly that was a huge warning sign. I could see I was in a state of inflammation, it was a very similar picture to the imaging I had a year before my diagnosis in 2009.

Although I was not formally diagnosed with breast cancer this time around, it was very clear that if I didn’t implement some changes immediately, then I would potentially be looking at a future diagnosis.

I had four months before my regular yearly check up with my surgeon, this gave me time to make some changes and an opportunity to reverse the inflammation with natural non-evasive options. Through the Chemical Free Community I had access to resources, people, product and services that could help.

Emma: So what protocols did you implement to reverse the inflammation?

Jillian: Referring to Dr V’s (Dr Veronique Desaulniers) book ‘Heal Breast Cancer Naturally as a basis, I developed a four stage plan of action that introduced different treatments along the way. I immediately switched to the Kaufmann Diet which is an anti-fungal diet no grains, no sugar. I then started Gumbi Gumbi – an Aboriginal bush medicine, research reports that it prevents cancer cells from splitting and dividing. Other things I included a bowel cleanse, immunity boosters such as herbs, essential oils & probiotics and daily sessions on a Biomat that uses far infrared light to heat up cells. I followed the BioMat protocol for thermal therapy.

Overall what I found most invaluable during these

stages of the program was having access to thermography, every three weeks I would have thermography imaging taken to monitor and track my progress to see if my patterns were changing.

I knew my body was fighting whatever it needed to fight and gradually the red started turning green, the changes were positive. By 9 weeks I had reduced my inflammation, by 14 weeks I was predominately green and then 2 weeks later (at 16 weeks) I got the all clear from my surgeon.

Emma: Wow that must have been so encouraging to be able to see the progress you were making.

What have you learnt from this experience?

Emma: Oh so true. I think we need to start a new trend of unbusying ourselves and seeing how life changing that can be!

Jillian: This experiment has made me realise that my body has the ability to heal itself. The ability to identify the situation at an early stage, make some changes and then to be able to track it was both empowering and reassuring.

It’s also made me realise I’m not indestructible and that I need to treat myself with care and not become a workaholic, which so many of us are guilty of these days. I think it’s so important that we recognise what a healthy level of busy is compared to unhealthy busyness so we can maintain a level of balance.

Jillian: [Laughs] I’m in!

chemfreecom.com | 19

the golden healing spice.

Australian Veterinarian, Farmer and Marathon runner Doug English is a world leader in the use of turmeric. Treating ailments in animals and humans, his original golden paste recipe is leading the way with over 275k followers on his Tumeric User Group on Facebook all keen to learn and share the benefits of turmeric.

Emma: You’re a North Queenslander!

Doug: Yes my family is well entrenched there. I was born in Atherton hospital and grew up in Malanda. English Street in Cairns was actually named after my grandfather’s brother who was a doctor in Cairns and a member of the council before and after the First World War. Doug: I’ve been practicing since 1974. I went to Gatton College and studied Agriculture in 1967, combining it with a degree in Veterinary science.

Emma: And you’ve been a practicing vet for over 40 years?

20 |

Emma: So have you always been into experimenting and making formulas?

Doug: Yes I’ve always enjoyed experimenting left field with things. I’ve always been a foodie; I love food, healthy living, exercise and good sleep.

Emma: What prompted you to begin experimenting with turmeric?

Doug: In veterinary practice itchy horse and itchy dog is a pretty frustrating condition. I would spend hours upon hours researching why it’s happening, and ways and means to treat it. Turmeric kept popping up, so I started trialling it about 10 years ago.

Emma: Is that when you ormulated the Golden Paste?

Doug: Well golden paste has always been around; it’s actually an ancient recipe that has been used in Indian cooking practices for thousands of years. What I’ve done is pushed it and modified the way it’s made, because in a lot of cases people make it but not quite correct. Our recipe has been tried and tested by tens of thousands of members and their pets in the Turmeric User Group. Collecting this data from users has helped us to perfect the recipe. It works and it’s scientifically relevant.

AS SPOKEN TO EMMA LODGE | PHOTOGRAPHY DOUG ENGLISH | LOCATION TUMERIC PLANTATION

DOUG ENGLISH

Emma: I had a look at the Turmeric User Group on Facebook. It’s amass of information and incredible stories. How did you get started with that?

Doug: Well people would say there’s no data around on the use of turmeric on animals, including humans, so I decided to start my own database.

I founded the turmeric user group in 2012 to gather anecdotal evidence on how people are using it, what they are using it for, and the results they were getting.

I hoped to get at least several hundred anecdotes to give credibility, but the page ended up growing far beyond my expectations. We currently have 275k members from all over the world, and it is now the world’s largest chatroom on turmeric receiving numerous daily positive anecdotes. The page is now administrated by several medical professionals and volunteers to ensure accurate information is being shared.

Emma: So what kind of results are you seeing from users of the Golden Paste?

Doug: Oh there are hundreds of amazing stories. From diverticulitis to fertility, there are people on IVF programs who’ve conceived after going on turmeric. I’ve also got old chickens starting to lay eggs again and baron dog bitches having healthy litters. I’ve got cancer patients doing very well and equine sarcoids of horses with massive tumours which have come good.

Hair growth, energy levels, diabetes, irritable bowel, arthritis really made an improvement, and aging processes such as Alzheimer’s, dementia, it’s all very positive. I even found my own metabolism changed, because I run a lot I found I could run better, further, faster, longer and I didn’t get sore.

Emma: Wow incredible. So why is black pepper so important when taking turmeric? Is that to do with absorption?

Doug: No it’s not really to do with absorption; it might affect the absorption a little bit, but pepper actually slows down excretion. Peppercorns contain an enzyme called piperine which slows down the metabolism of curcumin (one of the active constituents of turmeric) allowing it to remain effective in the body for much longer than it would without the pepper.

So turmeric needs pepper and oil, and it needs to be cooked to solubilise it, that makes a huge difference.

Emma: How about turmeric and curcumin supplements versus golden paste, is there a difference?

Doug: Well to begin with turmeric is a plant; it is real food not a pharmaceutical. It’s meant to be eaten as food, with food. Would you take an apple pill? Or just eat the bromelain extracted from pineapples instead of the whole fruit?

We need to recognize that whole fruits and vegetables possess other valuable compounds that work best together as they evolved together, in “synergy” with each other, you can’t separate it. The difference with the paste is that it is more readily metabolised. Then there is the confusion with straight turmeric and the curcumin concentrate supplements. If you’re after the curcumin effect, which is in the turmeric, then you can add some concentrate to the golden paste, then you’ve got the synergistic chemical compounds along with it and your body can absorb it pretty well at the same time.

Emma: How do you personally take the golden paste Doug?

Doug: Well it needs to be consumed in or with food in order to get maximum absorption and maximum health benefits. I add a spoonful to anything really… vegetables, mashed potato, mashed pumpkin, vegetable curries, soups or scrambled eggs. I put it in milk and make golden milk or put it in coffee. The issue with turmeric is a lot of people don’t like the taste so mixed in with food or in a turmeric bar it actually has quite a good taste.

Emma: Oh yes your Turmeric Life bars. How did you come up with the idea to create those?

Doug: Well I noticed a lot of people on our Tumeric Users group questioning how they could transport the golden paste on holidays with them or away for work, it was a bit of a problem. I had just been experimenting with an assimilable form of the paste which gave me an idea to create a bar that’s transportable and easily taken. I experimented for a long time with recipes, our first batch of bars was created in 2016 and I’ve got it down pat now. There’s 10 serves in every bar and a lot of turmeric. You could eat the whole bar in one sitting, but it’s a bit of a waste as you can’t efficiently metabolise a big dose of turmeric, so eating little and often is the key. | 21

THE GOLDEN HEALING SPICE

Emma: So what’s next for Dougie and Turmeric Life?

Emma: Good on you Dougie! All that food and turmeric talk has got me hungry… I’m off to order some bars!

Doug: I’ve got a dog bar coming out next that will include liver extract and collagen. I’ve also been experimenting with an itchy dog gel and have just completed some trials on humans for psoriasis and rashes with symptoms disappearing in about 3-4 days. I’ve got an experimental turmeric plot down here on the Gold Coast where I’m now based; it’s very productive and grows very well. So what I’d like to head towards is a farm where I can grow and process turmeric, plus have a laboratory where I can get the extracts made and use them in my own products so I know from go to whoa it has the purest ingredients possible.

DIRECTIONS: 1. Bring the turmeric and water to a boil in a saucepan, then lower heat and simmer until you have a thick paste. This should take about 7-10 minutes and you may need to add the extra water along the way for good consistency.

2. Add the freshly cracked pepper and oil AFTER cooking, when it has been removed from heat and cooled down (still warm to touch but not burning), about 10 minutes later.

tumericlife.com.au 22 |

3. Stir in well to mix the oil in everywhere and allow to cool again (if coconut oil is hard, it should melt in the mixture).

The Golden Paste will only keep for 2 weeks in the fridge, do not leave out, best kept in glass containers.

tumeric user group

gut loving innovators.

Rob and Dan Watson, owners of award winning Mungalli Creek Dairy have always had a passion for producing healthy food and can often be found tinkering in the kitchen.

It all started over 30 years ago when they rejected chemical farming and pioneered the use of Biodynamic farming methods to produce one of the best organic milks in the country! Their focus of late has been on less sugar and products that support gut health.

The launch of Biodynamic BLISS™, last year, saw Mungalli create an Australian first, and one of the healthiest Iced Coffee and Chocolates on the market - being lactose free and probiotic, with no added sugar or sweetener.

Continuing with their passion for gut health. Kefir is Mungalli’s newest addition – created using a long 24 hour ferment, it is refreshing, low in lactose and packed full of trillions and trillions of beneficial probiotics and is an excellent source of beneficial gut bacteria, protein, calcium, potassium and B vitamins.

Dan, said that ‘before they started selling Kefir commercially, he and his brother Rob were making Kefir for their own families. I wanted people to have the same healthy options that our family have which is why we developed it for the consumer market.’

The Kefir is also ‘Gaps Friendly’ - the choice to go this extra mile was brought about from personal experience. Dan’s young son Ben was born prematurely and the GAPs protocol helped heal his gut health issues and allowed the re-introduction of foods that had previously been problematic.’

To make their products more widely accessible the Watson Brothers have recently started converting a new farm at Windy Hill, Ravenshoe – due for Biodynamic Certification in June 2019.

A true NQ Innovator, Mungalli Creek is committed to regenerating the Earth one farm at a time and creating healthy food alternatives in this pristine part of North Queensland we all call home.

LOVE YOUR GUTS

At Mungalli Creek Dairy we really care for your gut health.

That’s why our range of Biodynamic dairy products are probiotic superfoods, full of cultures that promote the health of happy tummy’s.

Visit us at mungallicreekdairy.com.au

BIODYNAMIC & ORGANIC | 23

health & beauty begins on your plate.

Emigrating from Germany in 2011, Christiane Wagner is an Orthomolecular Med. Therapist, Nurse, Massage Therapist, Balneo Therapist, Manual Lymphatic Drainage Therapist, Rehabilitation Trainer and Dr Hauschka Skin Therapist, to name a few of her many skills! As a nurse and Orthomolecular Med. Therapist, she believes it’s more important than ever to take an integrated approach to health care addressing the “whole” person, including physical, mental, and emotional health to find a balanced healthy lifestyle.

Emma: I’ve been reading up about orthomolecular medicine, it’s so interesting and really drives home the importance of food as medicine.

Christiane - Yes it’s really fascinating but what is sad is that it is still quite unknown, and perhaps a bit controversial, but this is a proven therapy since 1968. The father of Orthomolecular Medicine was Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling; he won the Noble Prize twice and had a lot of amazing knowledge.

He inspired amongst others, the work of James Watson, Francis Crick and Rosalind Franklin on the structure of DNA, which in turn made it possible for genetics to crack the DNA code of all organisms. Without him it wouldn’t have been found until much later.

Emma: Interesting that it’s controversial, as really it’s just getting back to the basics of the essential nutrients that we need for every organ to function.

Christiane: Orthomolecular medicine focuses on the individual nutritional needs of a person and uses both diet and nutrient supplements such as vitamins, minerals, amino acids and fatty acids to restore and maintain the correct nutritional balance. What makes orthomolecular medicine so controversial is that in some cases vitamins are used in megadoses as treatment for certain conditions in mainstream medicine. In my opinion orthomolecular medicine should be the absolute basic health platform, and from there we build on all the other things which are necessary for good health.

Emma: How did you discover orthomolecular medicine?

24 |

Christiane: Well I got into orthomolecular medicine more by coincidence without knowing it. My

daughter was born in 1991 without a bladder. At the time I was an intensive care nurse and knew

AS SPOKEN TO EMMA LODGE | PHOTOGRAPHY BROOKE LARK | LOCATION TRINITY BEACH, CAIRNS

CHRISTIANE WAGNER

she was in a really serious condition. She had lost a kidney, was living on antibiotics and her health was deteriorating rapidly. I knew I had to change something if I wanted to keep her alive. So I started researching with my own nursing textbooks and reading as much as I could. That’s when I realised she must have a strong immune system to turn her health around. I became aware of the importance of body pH, vitamins, minerals, hormones, enzymes and overall gut health and started her on Vitamin C, B and other supplements. Gradually her health started to improve and she grew up totally strong and healthy, much more than my son, so that was really surprising!

Emma: Wow just shows how a powerful a good foundation of vitamins, minerals and essential nutrients can be.

Christiane: Yes and looking back I realise that in my first pregnancy I was vomiting a lot and I never filled my areas of deficiency so I was really struggling. I was then vomiting again with my second pregnancy but I hadn’t fully replenished myself from my first pregnancy. I was deficient in folate (folic acid) so this had a huge impact on my daughter’s health. I also had my own accident and broke my seventh vertebrae with two discs moving and was paralysed for one and a half days. Everyone said I should have surgery, but when my feelings came back I decided to try a different recovery program because I had seen many of my patients come out sometimes worse than beforehand. I was just turning thirty with so much of my life ahead of me, I didn’t want to become like them. In the beginning people laughed, commenting on the expense of vitamins, they didn’t believe it would work. It took me three years to recover fully. I then went back into free climbing, riding, sports and working full time and that was the point when they became really interested and started asking “what did you do? You look healthier than ever before and your daughter looks great”.

Emma: Few people are aware of the connection between nutrition and depression. Do you think our food choices and in particular a deficiency of vitamins, minerals and omega 3’s are contributing to depression?

Christiane: Well I would say every client or every second client I have is ticking the box of anxiety or depression and this is proven to come from deficiencies in very simple things. For example, without vitamin B6, essential amino acids, and a balanced gut, you’re not able to build the happy hormone Serotonin.

Getting out in the sun is really important too. Most people wear sunglasses, which yes is very good, but you should also be aware that sunlight is needed in your eyes because that triggers the production of serotonin. Shift work is a nightmare and even worse if you work during the night as your whole body clock is then upside down and you don’t get sunlight for your vitamin D or for your serotonin so you’re unable to produce melatonin. Vitamin D is actually an over regulating hormone with a lot of important duties in our body and a big protector of skin cancer too, so when we lack vitamin D we’re already in much more danger. Yes we should avoid getting sunburn, but we need to use the sun in a healthy way. Also eating pre-packaged food is another factor. We’ve lost our connection with real food because we buy so much processed food instead of making from scratch. On top of that conventional farming has totally depleted minerals in our soil and delivers a lot of toxins through pesticides and fertilisers.

Emma: So we’re not getting the nutritional value that we used to and processed packaged food doesn’t contain vital life force energy from the sun.

Emma: It really does come back to basics and what’s on our plate then.

Christiane: And that’s when you have to look at what do I need to change and it definitely starts with nutrition. It’s proven that when we had the war so many people should have been depressed because there was reason to be anxious and depressed, but they could go the distance without the need for medication because there was no processed food. They

were nourished with simple unprocessed foods that contained essential vitamins, minerals, fatty acids and amino acids, and they were allowed to cry and support each other. That’s what the body and mind needs and that’s why the body could cope better.

Christiane: And if you need to heal then your body needs even more quality.

Depending on the circumstances. There’s no quick fix, it really is a journey and that means looking at the whole picture, it’s never just one deficiency. bodyandskincarecairnsbeaches.com.au

stress: a major health factor.

No stress, no life. Too much stress, no life. Stress down the middle, the good life!

“The Good Life” is a 1970 TV sitcom. It is currently being re-run at 7pm on Gem. It sure beats the stress of the ABC News; murder, car crashes, politics!! The show is about the midlife crisis of Tom, who can’t stand the stress of desk work in big business. To escape this stress, he turns his suburban back yard into a self-sufficiency farm. Making electricity from methane gas is part of the shenanigans! The neigbours live a regular working suburban life, the contrast being quite remarkable and of course, amusing. Each couple thinks their neighbor’s way of living is stressful.

Watch the show and decide which stress is yours. Or maybe you will see that both ways of living can be stressful with times of destressing and just “letting it all go”.

What is the point of this preamble? We all experience stress differently. Some thrive on lots, some get terribly sick! Identify your stress and the triggers that take you there. Ensure you are doing something in your life that brings you “warm fuzzies”! Take a pen and paper and write down the answers to these questions. + If money wasn’t a concern and I had unlimited funds. What would I spend my days doing? + I lose all track of time and feel totally in the flow when I am doing...? + “If I had no fear and no worry of failure, I would finally put myself out there and…?

What are the common themes, what are the answers that excited you most? Maybe you cannot do any of this now! Maybe you could! Maybe you could start planning to do some of it! Hope, and a goal, determining your purpose is an essential part of working to alleviate stress feelings; depression, anxiety, hopelessness, anger, pain and more. All bring problematic health issues with them.

Why is it important to address the stress aspect of our lives? When the body goes through consistent stress many significant changes occur. Some people experience stress 365 days per year, over many years. Is that you?

1.Heart beats faster. Excess strain on it.

2.Blood pressure increases to pump more blood to every cell, whether you need it or not.

3.Stress triggers the flight or fight response, whether it is real or not.

4.Your blood starts clotting to prevent free flow, so you won’t bleed to death if you are injured, even if you aren’t.

5.Stress reaction shuts or slows down any system that is not needed to deal with the immediate threat. The body does not care about digesting food, it only cares about staying alive. This can lead to weight gain or loss. Food may not be digested even if foods are healthy.

6.The immune system, gets suppressed as your whole being is more concerned about fighting, fleeing the life-threatening issue (when we don’t have anything to physically flee from) than fighting disease. When we are stressed about something we may say “that makes me sick” and it may do so!

7.Relaxed slow deep breathing becomes fast and shallow chest breathing. This is then a strain on the lungs and can lead to panic attacks, even though there is no real threat to life to panic about!

8.Perspiration: there is a saying “don’t sweat the small stuff”. We perspire excessively when stressed. Anxiousness will increase sweating to keep the body cool, so it doesn’t overheat and cause internal damage.

9.Muscles: we get a burst of temporary strength from the extra blood flowing to the muscles. But the pressure and strain on muscles from excess constant” “work” may lead to shear exhaustion.

10.Blood sugar levels rise to provide more energy to your body. Some people are not able to handle it and can lead to serious health issues, such as diabetes.

11.We all have naturally occurring anti-aging growth hormones. The body reduces these when continually challenged through a stressed life style. You may age more quickly: insomnia, skin conditions, arthritis, etc.

12.Your reproductive system sex hormones are suppressed with drop in libido and drop in ability to conceive. When stress hormone cortisol is high in the body, progesterone is often low because the body uses progesterone to manufacture cortisol. Progesterone is necessary for conception and hormonal balance.

26 |

These are some of the reasons for doing the “what on earth am I here for – what gives me warm fuzzies” exercise.

Bring some balance into our lives and see if we have a FOMO (fear of missing out) attitude or an LIG (Life is Good - I can let it go) attitude.

Just watched The Good Life again. The one liners are laughable, the script is “old”, it’s a great way to LIG, LIG!!! (Let it Go and Live the Good Life). Far better than living a FOMO life. What’s on the news, what did SCOMO say that the media will attack him for …. No SCOMO, NO FOMO, NO WI-FI, just LIG, LIG, resist the urge and need. Spend mind time staying still, enjoying conversations with your family at the dinner table. Turn the devices off, turn on the family games and listening to your family’s day, and stress and the results of it, will begin to fly away. Guaranteed.

Words by Lesley Parker ND ANPA. Natural medicine practitioner and counsellor. Accredited GAPS training. Specializing in food as medicine and long-term chronic illness cases, those who have “been everywhere” and have a deep need to be well.

silvertimewellness.com.au | 27

cultivating your inner garden.

Shilo Mason is a respected biochemist who specialises in nutrition. Over the last ten years she has presented to integrative practitioners and scientists on a variety of topics including mental health, inflammation and nutrition.

Emma: Tell me about your background and role as a biochemist.

Shilo: Biochemistry is an understanding of the inner workings of the cellular structure, what any organism is, how a cell works from replication to rejuvenation or detoxification, genetic structures and DNA. It’s basically your entire working system, if you can imagine a circuit board and all the little networks; this is what biochemistry looks like. It’s a subject that pulls everything together, from chemistry and physics through to anatomy and physiology. For me biochemistry has always been incredibly remarkable.

Emma: Sounds intriguing!

Shilo: And it is very research orientated which I also love. My family have been in clinical practice for 40 years, so correlating naturopathy with the inner workings of the body makes it a lot more interesting.

Emma: I think an integrative approach is so important.

28 |

Shilo: Unfortunately both elements of those modalities don’t mesh particularly well. There’s a lot of anecdotal therapies in naturopathy where you don’t necessarily have evidence to back up the results. We know it works, but the strict biochemistry and pharmaceutical approach requires particular trials to be conducted.

AS SPOKEN TO EMMA LODGE | PHOTOGRAPHY JANELLE HEWINES | LOCATION CAIRNS

Emma: And sometimes things in life just can’t be explained by science, nature is pretty clever, we may not know to the depths of how it works, it just does.

Emma: Why is there a lack of research?

Shilo: Yes exactly, but there’s also a critical lack of research and a critical lack of money.

Shilo: At the end of the day its economics. Why would you put a million dollars into researching curcumin that you can’t patent and can’t get your money back? We research in different ways, for example, we’re working on a small clinical trial for autism using a very high grade of broccoli sprout to see how much modification we can make to the genetic structure of kids with autism.

That’s amazing but I can’t patent broccoli sprouts. I can draw conclusions and correlations, and do we see differences? Absolutely! Some kids who weren’t verbal are now verbal, so there’s major things happening, but if you went to a drug company that might have a billion dollars are they going to put it into broccoli sprouts? No they’re not. It’s just business sense.

A lack of evidence doesn’t mean it doesn’t work; we just don’t have enough evidence to build an argument.

Everyone wants effective, accurate, reproducible results, but in nature there are so many variables.

Emma: Yes I guess looking at where and how it’s grown, the varieties and soil health; it must be hard to get accurate results when nature is so unique and varied.

Emma: So gut health seems to be a hot topic today. There’s now growing awareness between gut health and overall wellbeing, the gut-brain connection for example is one.

Shilo: That’s what I love about the combination of science and true complimentary therapies where you’re looking at a whole person approach, biochemistry does that. The biochemical pathways are so complex that we can’t possibly know, but we can have an idea of what flows into other things what bits affect what, so it’s a great combination.

Shilo: It’s huge.

Gut health is incredibly important to our immune system. I really think there’s now enough evidence to show the gut as almost being the matriarch platform of the whole body.

There’s quite a few interesting research articles that look at the microbiome of the gut being a nanny type system, and they are bacteria, yeast, fungi that interact with our immune system guiding us to make better decisions, now that’s just incredible.

Emma: But we’re also seeing a spike in food intolerances today, more than ever before, and signs of poor gut health. Why is that?

Shilo: It’s such a complex subject with perhaps three sides to this whole argument. The fact that there’s more toxins, heavy metals, PCB’s, pesticides and general toxins in our environment that impact on our detoxification process is one. Dietary emulsifiers are my pet hate which people aren’t even aware of. If I said to you “what would upset your bowel?” you’d say antibiotics, eating deep fried rubbish, drinking too much coffee and not eating enough greens, but nobody mentions simple things like oils put on salads that have emulsifiers in them. Emulsifiers actually deteriorate the mucus lining of the bowel. Not only does that mucus lining act as food for some really great bugs, but it also protects and modulates the internal environment.

We’ve also got less diversity of bacteria in our bowel. Research is now showing that bugs colonise very early on, effectively given to you by your parents, and you don’t get to change what bugs are there so if they’re gone, they’re gone.

The only way to bring them back is constant inoculation, so there’s a really big argument if you have completely lost a particular species of bug. You never get them back full stop.

Emma: So are you saying that gut bacteria is passed down from generation to generation, but with our current lifestyles we’re now seeing less diversity and more intolerance?

Shilo: Absolutely. Species diversity is something we’re killing before we even know what they do.

There’s a great little line from Dr Jason Hawrelak who says – “we are the custodians of our gut microbiota.

Let’s steward them well.”

| 29

SHILO MASON

So he talks about us having a genuine responsibility for all the generations that go beyond us. You can’t change what’s already been passed down, but you can change your contribution because it’s a choice. You can choose to continue the deterioration, or keep the population as dynamic and diverse as possible.

Emma: So what can we do to improve our gut microbiota?

Shilo: For me it’s reaching back and saying food is medicine. You could take a probiotic for 6 weeks, but you’re going to be eating food for the rest of your life.

You influence so much about your body and who you think you are by what you eat.

Emma:What foods should we be reaching for to improve gut health?

Shilo: There are no fixed rules when it comes to our gut health, we have such limited information. What is very clear though is that the amount of sugar we have and type of sugar is very influential, the type of fibre we have is critical and also the balance of protein and fats. For example, you can modify within 48hrs the bugs in your bowel if you have huge fat loads.

Emma: But everyone seems to be scared of fat.

Emma: So gut health doesn’t have to be complicated?

Shilo: Yes but you’ll want it judging by how fast those bugs are growing.

Shilo: Simply eat nice healthy foods and a wide variety of them.

Things like easy grated beetroots, lentils, cold steamed sweet potatoes, wild rices, quinoa, oven roasted apples; that is the most remarkable old school naturopathic trick to sooth the gut.

Emma:I’ve also been reading about the latest weapon in gut health - faecal microbiota transplants or ‘poo implants’ and you recently had a call out for “poo donors”.

Emma: So explain to me what exactly is a ‘poo implant’?

Shilo: [Laughs] Yes this is an exciting new area of research.

Gastroenterologist Dr Stephen Fairley and Professors Robyn McDermott and Louis Schofield from James Cook University Townsville recently conducted a world-first scientific study which has shown remarkable results.

Shilo: Faecal microbiota transplants involve the transfer of faecal matter from naturally fit, healthy and happy people into the colon of those who are obese, diabetic or have irritable bowel syndrome.

The idea is that if I take your healthy bugs and transplant them to someone else in the lower bowel, then those bugs will interact with the ecosystem improving the health and diversity of the microbiome.

So it’s basically putting a healthy poo into a syringe with a bit of saline and glucose (obviously it’s a lot more scientific than that) and then straight up the bum. It’s a gift because these recipients had been unwell for a very long time, they had been living with a terrible diet, gastrointestinal issues, and a lot of them were on multiple medications.

Emma: What results are people seeing from their “gift”?!

Shilo: I spoke to a few people who received the donor, and whilst they didn’t get the weight loss, their mood changes were astronomically different, so happier, healthier and able to do a lot more. They didn’t get as much dark time they were less anxious. That seems to be the theme we are hearing more than anything else. Gastro is very clear in studies in ulcerative colitis, major inflammatory bowel disorders and coeliac disease which are quite interesting.

So being able to regenerate, stabilise and recuperate in that area is great. Are the studies promising? Oh my goodness!

There’s no doubt that many faecal trials are working astronomically! It may sound a bit weird, but it’s actually a really exciting thing, I love talking about this!

| 30

CULTIVATING YOUR INNER GARDEN

Emma: As I was researching this subject I could see links tracing back to soil health. Not only are we destroying our gut micro flora through antibiotics, processed foods, antibacterial soaps, hand gels and other chemicals that strip both the good and bad bacteria, but we’re also stripping soil health through chemical fertilisers, fungicides and pesticides which is where our inoculation begins.

Emma: What an interesting concept, especially as just one gram of fertile soil can contain billions of good bacteria.

Shilo: And if you’re not getting the soil on your hands, you’re not getting inoculated daily. Everyday I’m out digging in my garden or at my aquaponics system. I’m turning the compost and also making ferments.

Emma: Yes and I think what puts it into perspective, as you said earlier, is having a duty of care and stewardship for the next generation.

Emma: Isn’t it interesting.. as humans we need community connection to really thrive, not only in our external environment but also internally too.

Shilo: Yes absolutely. I think our understanding of bacteria and disregarding the source is really going to change; it’s like a ‘watch this space’ moment. I read some articles a long time ago about how much we wash our fruits and vegetables, as a lot of soil bacteria in healthy soil is actually really good for our bowel. Microbial communities take years and years to develop, so why aren’t we using soil borne bacterial species and implementing them into our food?

Like actually getting teaspoons of nice healthy organic soil and putting it in with ferments for example.

Shilo: Yes and allowing children to get involved, to be exposed to bugs and build up a natural immunity and resilience.

Shilo: Absolutely right. That’s an interesting correlation. Networks are so important and like that circuit board in biochemistry, it’s all so interconnected.

aryiahealth.com.au

| 31

chocolate that nourishes.

Heavenly Cacao was born after owner Nicole Gibson had cancer in 2009 and could no longer eat highly processed, chemical laden foods. Unable to quit commercial chocolate, she set about learning how to make her own chocolates that were free from chemical additives and made with nourishing ingredients.

Jodie: I don’t know anybody who doesn’t love chocolate! How did it come to be such a big part of your life?

Nicole: I became obsessed with it when I couldn’t eat supermarket brands of chocolate anymore as they made me feel really unwell. I started doing my research and connecting the dots to find that there are all these chemicals in our foods that are carcinogens and then made the commitment to clean up my diet and begin eating and living more consciously.

There are a lot of amazing raw, vegan foods like ice-cream, kefir, raw nut cheeses. I would love one day to create a raw vegan empire! But for now, my passion is with chocolate. I was longing for some of the traditional flavours like Fry’s Turkish Delight so I looked for vegetarian or vegan alternatives to gelatin and the sugars and just started playing around. My Turkish Delight recipe actually took me 4 years to perfect!

We’ve become so accustomed to preservatives and artificial tastes in foods and it’s quite insidious how all these chemicals have crept into our diet over many years. We blindly consume these foods until we undergo a full detox and reeducate our palette with real, pure, natural ingredients.

32 |

AS SPOKEN TO JODIE FERRERO | PHOTOGRAPHY JS | LOCATION YORKEYS KNOB

NICOLE GIBSON

Many commercial companies employ food scientists to determine the sugar-salt-fat ratio, commonly referred to as the “bliss point”, the point where your taste buds override your mind and you develop cravings.

Jodie: Let’s talk about the process of making chocolate, from bean to bar.

You’re in one of the only regions in Australia to grow the cacao bean.

That’s exciting!

Jodie: Can you explain to me about the nutritional value of chocolate and the cacao bean?

Nicole: This is beyond exciting for me. I’m living in the Chocolate Capital of Australia! The climate lends itself beautifully to growing cacao and I will soon be sourcing local beans from a farmer right here in FNQ once his crop has matured. The cacao tree originates in South America and I currently source my cacao from a South American family who operate their business between Australia and South America. The cacao is all Certified Organic and Certified Fair Trade. Chocolate is really expensive to produce. It’s labour intensive and takes time to harvest and extract the beans from the cacao pods. Most commercial cacao comes from Africa where child labour and human trafficking are part of the story. Part of my ethos is to bring awareness and education, not only around the nutritional benefits of cacao and natural chocolate but also the ethical standards of farming and production of the cacao bean. I ensure a karmic chain of production with all my cacao supplies and I sleep well knowing that everybody involved has been treated and remunerated fairly.

Cacao is one of the highest nutritionally dense foods on the planet, especially in its raw form. It is one of the best sources of magnesium you can have. It’s also high in iron, zinc, copper and vitamin C.

Nicole:

I like to use maple sugar which is crystallised maple syrup with the water extracted and what’s so fabulous is that it’s twice as sweet as cane sugar and therefore you only need use half the amount meaning that most of my chocolates only contain around 30% sugar. Some commercial blocks are 6070% sugar. Technically, my chocolates are all dark, based on the sugar content, but because I use maple sugar with twice the sweetness they don’t taste so dark.

My milk and hazelnut chocolates are made from organic Peruvian cacao and my dark chocolates are made from an Ecuadorian bean. My white chocolate is made from the cacao butter and I use cashews, coconut, maple sugar and vanilla bean.

Jodie: You have mastered the art of chocolate making, created your own brand in the market and now you educate people in nutrition and chocolate making. How do you feel when you reflect on your journey so far?

Nicole: I connected with many health gurus along the way like David Wolfe, Phillip Day, Dr Mercola and Don Tolman and I enjoyed visiting the wonderful health markets like Northy Street Markets in Brisbane which is really underground and some of the most cutting edge health technologies are sold at that market.

I was very fortunate to be mentored by the world’s leading raw chocolatier who is based in the UK. It really accelerated my knowledge of chocolate and my technique.

It was great to bounce ideas around together and who knows, one day we may have the chance to work together and create chocolate tours in Australia.

Jodie: You live and breathe chocolate! Can you resist the daily temptation to eat it all?!

Nicole: I guess I do get sensitised to it because I do taste test every batch! I’ve just perfected my peppermint and orange chocolates. They are spot on now but it sure does require a lot of tweaking and taste testing to get the recipe just right!

Jodie: Well, I would like to volunteer my taste buds for any future taste testing you may require. Your chocolates are divine Nicole and a real labour of love.

heavenlycacao.com.au | 33

Marketplace BU

Unleash your Passion in the Kitchen!

LK

0411 246 133

Join our classes for hands on fun!

Mention ‘Bloom’ to receive 20% OFF classes www.cairnscookingschool.com

Visit us at Bloom to receive your exclusive discounts:

20% off our new program ‘Going Gluten Free’ &

10% off your first online nutritionist consultation Don’t miss our gluten free cooking demos and nutrition workshops at Bloom!

www.therealfoodies.com.au

The largest selection of strictly local produce in Australia realfoodnetwork.com.au

At Purelyou, I only use leading, organically derived, professional products.

Ensuring your health and ours is not exposed to harmful chemicals.

My dream job became too toxic for my body, which took me on my “Journey” to a more health conscious lifestyle.

Thus where Purelyou was envisaged and created.

Offering all your hair needs for the family. Cuts, colours, body waves, Keratin smooth treatments, upstyles and make up all with one on one service. xo

Shannon

www.Purelyou.com.au | 0402 948 582

DEVELOPED BY MEAH ROBERTSON Meah Robertson is a naturopath based on the Gold Coast specialising in women’s health. She has been in clinical practice since 2006. email: meah@fem21.com.au f fem21naturally4women

UNITING INNER HEALTH & BEAUTIFUL HAIR

fem21.com.au

ck ? tu

G Ge ent Pr ne ling W egn ral Wa M om anc We y s en en y ll- es Be s i ’s ’s in on He He g s a l t al h th

gS Fe el in

lf!

rse

ou eY

as

le Re

GET STARTED TODAY with

LOOK GOOD FEEL GOOD SMELL GOOD

Promise of Guaranteed Purity & Potency You too, can use and share all our oils & products just like us.

Creating abundance in Health, Wealth & Happiness!

PREMIUM KIT 1/2 PRICE $259 Includes: 11 Oils & Diffuser, and receive 24% discount on all future purchases

ALL NATURAL PRODUCTS THAT WORK! Multivitamin Juice, Supplements, Savvy Mineral Makeup, Toiletries...

Plus 1 Cleaner for TOTAL CHEMICAL FREE LIVING Definitely the way to go.

We have it all. Just Change your buying habits for a Happier, Healthier You!

Hazel 07 40 617 624 • Bindi 0437 630 081 • www.youngliving.com • For wholesale membership use ID 134 2877

Essential Oils Happy Team

www.earthingoz.com.au | 1300 832 326

Discover the health benefits of EARTHING and EMR PROTECTION View our range of indoor earthing products, anti-radiation phone cases, Blushield Active EMF protection and much more

10% OFF

your first order*

Enter BLOOM18 at

the checkout EARTHING MATS

EARTHING SHEETS

BLUSHIELD SERIES

SAFESLEEVE CASES

BLUE LIGHT GLASSES

*Excludes already discounted packs. Offer ends 31/12/18

Have

You Had Your Turmeric Today?

We’ve made it easy and tasty!

Organic Vegan

Healthy Whole Foods

SP-3188-191115_SM

100%

Your new obsession.

Feel inspired. Energised. Empowered. Unstoppable.

This might be the most fun you’ll ever have working out.

Give the gift of Pilates this Christmas.

www.turmericlife.com.au

studiopilates.com

Bloom Directory

38 |

360 HEALTH COLONICS CAIRNS www.360-health.com.au

FNQ FOOD INCUBATOR facebook.com/groups/fnqfoodincubator

RAW DIVINITY rawdivinitypatisserie.com

AH GEE FAMILY FARM facebook.com/organicFNQ

FNQ SUICIDE PREVENTION TASKFORCE suicidepreventionfnq.org.au

RAW NATUREL rawnaturel.com.au

AMANDA LEE facebook.com/lifemattersconsultancyservices

FUSION HEALTH fusionhealth.com.au

REALFOOD NETWORK realfoodnetwork.com.au

ANNIE CLARK anneclark.com.au

GO CHURCH facebook.com/gochurchcairns

ROHR REMEDY rohrremedy.com

ARIYA HEALTH ariyahealth.com.au

HEAVENLY CACAO heavenlycacao.com.au

SEEDS OF HEALTH seedsofhealth.com.au

ASEA aseaglobal.com

HONEYBEE WRAPS honeybeewrap.com.au

SIMPLE NOURISHMENT simplenourishment.com.au

AUSTRALIAN SUPERFOODS NQ australiansuperfood.com.au

INTEGRATED HOLISTIC LIVING vivsayurvedayoga.com.au

SOUL RESONANCE facebook.com/soulresonanceselfhealing

BALANCING BODIES AND MINDS facebook.com/balancingbodiesandminds

ISIAH MCKIMMIE isiah-mckimmie.com

SPA IN A JAR spajar.com.au

BIO CIRCUITRY biocircuitry.com.au

JANETTE MURRAY-WAKELIN rawveganpath.com

STUDIO PILATES studiopilates.com/studios/cairns

BLACKMORES blackmores.com.au

JEAN THOMAS jeanthomas.com.au

THE DIVINE COMPANY thedivinecompany.com

BOUDOIR STUDIO boudoirstudio.com.au

JIMALIE jimalie.com.au

THE HEALTHY HUB thehealthyhub.com.au

BUCHI KOMBUCHA buchi.com.au

JO ETTLES joettles.com.au

THE FERMENTED KITCHEN thefermentedkitchen.com.au

CAIRNS COOKING SCHOOL cairnscookingschool.com

KAIZI TRADITIONAL COCONUT OIL kaiziscoconutoil.com

THE FLOAT STUDIO thefloatstudio.com.au

CHEMICAL FREE COMMUNITY chemfreecom.com

LESLEY PARKER silvertimewellness.com.au

THE REAL FOODIES therealfoodies.com.au

CHRISTIANE WAGNER bodyandskincarecairnsbeaches.com

LOVE-LEE COOKING WHOLEFOOD CAFE loveleecooking.com.au

THERMOMIX healthyeveryday.com.au

COLORES MINERAL MAKEUP colores.com.au

MAJA BETTS WOMEN’S WELLBEING majabetts.com.au

TOP LIVING INTERNATIONAL facebook.com/toplivinginternational

COMMUNITY FOODS comfoods.com.au

MIESSENCE miessence.com

TUMERIC LIFE tumericlife.com.au

CRACKENBACK CLINIC crackenbackclinic.com.au

MUNGALLI CREEK DAIRY mungallicreekdairy.com.au

UNIQUE HEALTH PRODUCTS uhp.com.au

DOTERRA mydoterra.com/urtured

MY HABITAT PRODUCTS myhabitat.com.au

WELLNESS EMBODIED wellnessembodiedcairns.com.au

DR GREG EMERSON drgregemerson.com

NATURAL EVOLUTION naturalevolutionfoods.com.au

EARTHING OZ earthingoz.com.au

NATURAL GROW naturalgrow.com.au

WHOLEHEALTH PHARMACY & HEALTHFOODS wholehealth.com.au

ENJO Nicole: Ph: 0448840627

NUTRITIONAL THERAPY ASSOCIATION (NTA) nutritionaltherapy.com

FARMER MEETS FOODIE farmermeetsfoodie.com.au

PROBIOTIC FOODS probioticfoods.com.au

FEM21 fem21.com.au

PURELYOU HAIR purelyou.com.au

WHOLESOME LOVING GOODNESS wholesomelovinggoodness.com XTEND BARRE xtendbarre.com.au YOUNG LIVING ESSENTIAL OILS facebook.com/essentialoilshappyteam

It’s about the lifestyle, relaxing and taking time out for you.

Stay up to date with your News delivered to your device anywhere, anytime.

Subscribe today for new bundle offers at

cairnspost.com.au

Terms & conditions apply. Go to www.cairnspost.com.au/subscribe to see full terms & conditions

FNQ’s premier destination for holistic healthcare, fitness, dining and fresh food

532 Mulgrave Rd Cairns, Queensland, Australia 4870 | (07) 4242 4610 | info@barrstmarkets.com.au @barrstmarkets | barrstmarkets.com.au