reflux - a sour in your mouth

So eating in a calm environment when you’re not in a hurry is a great starting point. Your body will also produce more acid when you think about food or smell food.

This happens when you walk past a restaurant, smell the food and your stomach starts gurgling – it’s increasing the stomach acid ready for digestion. Another thing you can do this by stopping work or other distractions 15 minutes or so before eating and think about and smell the food you are about to eat.

What else can I do?

Sometimes it can be helpful to add acid by drinking lemon juice or apple cider vinegar in a little water just before you eat. Be careful not to drink too much water with meals though, as this can dilute the acid in your stomach and make digestion harder, you’re best to drink water away from food by 1 hour. Bitter herbs can stimulate your body to produce more stomach acid and are best taken 15-20 minutes before eating. If you get really stuck, or are already taking medications to reduce your stomach acid, it can be helpful to take digestive enzymes with food so that your body has lots of acid with meals to digest them, then low acid in between. This can also help with other digestive issues such as fullness or pain. There are also some great herbs to heal the lining of the oesophagus if it has been damaged by the acid.

If you can follow your way to the cause of your health issues, you can go much further with your treatment.

Whole Naturopathy can help provide you with natural products such a bitter herbs and digestive enzymes, along with dietary advice for reflux and fullness.

This advice is general in nature and not intended to be prescriptive. For individualised prescriptive advice, please see a naturopath or other health care practitioner.

Kathryn Messenger

BHSc (Naturopathy) kathryn@wholenaturopathy.com.au

Suite 1, 24/1880 Ferntree Gully Rd

Mountain Gate Shopping Centre

Ferntree Gully, Victoria

Accountant

By Warren Strybosch

Transfer Balance Cap (TBC) were introduced in July 2017 and set in place a limit on how much an individual could transfer from their accumulated superannuation account into their retirement pension account.

The fist general transfer balance cap (GTBC) limit was set at $1.6 million and then this increased by $100,000 on 1st July 2021. The mechanism for the increase is covered in the income tax assessment act 1997 (ITAA) with inflation being the key factor as to when and how much it will increase each financial year. Based on recent inflation levels it is expected the increase on the 1st of July 2023 will be $200,000 and take the GTBC to $1.9 million.

For those who are yet to set up a pension and are likely to have assets in super exceeding $1.7 million at 1st July 2023, would want to consider setting up their pension after the 1st of July, 2023 to take advantage of the increase in the GTBC. Remember, if you exceed the GTBC, you are liable to pay tax on the excess transfer balance earnings (excess transfer balance tax). You also need to transfer any excess to a super accumulation account or withdraw it as a lump sum.

For most Australian’s they will not exceed their personal transfer balance cap (PTBC) of $1.9 million. If they are close to exceeding their PTBC, there are strategies that can be put in place to reduce an individual’s funds in their accumulation account and so avoid going over their PTBC. It is important for individuals who believe they might exceed their PTBC to seek financial planning advice ahead of time and not leave it until they are just about to retire.

For those who are already in pension phase, their PTBC could be anywhere from $1.6 million to $1.9 million depending on when they set up their pensions and how much they had in their accumulation account at the time. Everyone will be different and it is not a matter of simply adding $200,000 to your existing PTBC.

For those who are already in the retirement phase of their lives, a Transfer Balance Account (TBC) is required to track an individual's use of their PTBC.