With Mother’s Day this weekend I wanted this post to be about my Mum and the impact and inspiration she has been, not only on my life, but my career path and now my parenting choices.

As a new Mum I want the best for my little one - every Mum does!! Everyday we strive to make the right choices on their behalf. It is a huge responsibility!!!… bigger than I ever imagined. The choice of bottle or breast, cloth or disposable nappies, cleansing products, to co-sleep or not, day care programs, vaccinations, treatments if unwell, teething products, organic or conventional etc. etc… and these are only choices that we have faced this first year!!

Food culture

My Mum, probably without even knowing it, has had the biggest influence on our food culture and I will be forever grateful.

We had a strong culture of real, wholesome food when we were growing up, Mum loved to cook, there were always plenty of herbs and spices, coloured veggies and a healthy protein - her ways feel natural for me to continue for our little family. Our family sat at the table together, we enjoyed chatting over our meals. Our meals nourished our bodies and souls.

Mum knew that we should eat well, she knew the benefit of eating well, she provided us with healthy options - real whole food, with little refined/packaged options.

Unfortunately, times are shifting, our lives are so busy, and many don't understand, or possibly underestimate, the importance of fuelling our bodies with real food. We need to get back to basics, we need to learn where our food comes from, eat seasonally, fresh and wholesome and pass this information onto our loved little people - this is setting them up for life. For healthy ways of living!!

Food as Medicine

One of Mum’s idols was Dr Sandra Cabot. She had a juice for any complaint - immune, detox, vitality, skin. Mum’s go to books were “Raw juices can save your life” and “Juicing for Health”. Before we left for the day, Mum would have a fresh juice made, from seasonal produce, organic when possible. It is these practices that I appreciate.

If we ever whinged about a sore throat, the raw garlic would come out. She would cut up a clove or 2, put it on a tablespoon with some honey and tell us; “just swallow it, don't chew it, it'll kill any bug.” It was terrible, and we would need chewy to mask our breathe - but more times than not, it would prevent us from getting sick.

Naturopath in the making

Dad was sick when I was in year 11. He had radiation treatment. I now understand and appreciate how knowledgeable Mum was at this time. She knew the importance of a healthy diet, rich in whole foods, with little or no pesticides/sprays. She knew the importance of vitamin C infusions and requested Dad have them, along with a vitamin B shot, at least weekly alongside his treatment. She knew of the power of herbs to help heal his skin heal externally and ease the burning sensation and treated him with a product formulated by a Naturopath from South Australia.

When I think of times we were sick, had terrible acne, period trouble, no energy or generally lacked vitality, Mum sought help from Natural healthcare practitioners and this is most definitely what sparked my interest in the field.

I count myself lucky. I LOVE what I do. I love educating people about their dietary choices, encouraging the use of herbs and supplements over medications when possible. I love treating the cause of the disease and not simply masking the symptoms. I love that this information can now be passed onto my own family. I will be eternally grateful for my Mum’s influence, knowledge and want for us to lead healthy and happy lives, and the role she has played thus far.

Thank you Mum. x

For you to take home

Good food is REALLY important - it is vital to our health. We are the most important people in our little one’s life. They are influenced early on by our choices for them. Learn about food, start reading the packages and really find out what is in the things you are eating. Teach yourself about the seasons, and aim to eat the freshest produce possible, with little or no sprays - head to the markets, chat with the people growing the produce. Your attitude towards food will play a huge role (probably bigger than you think) in the way your family relate and think about food. You’re setting them up with the building blocks for life!! Let them be healthy, strong blocks.

Happy Mother’s Day Mums... May you all be very spoilt!! x

Have you seen the latest BIZ magazine floating around town? You can find it in your local cafes and small businesses in Warrnambool and surrounding towns. It is a great mag and this month the town is buzzing with the local Racing Carnival taking place the first week in May.

The subject I chose to write about in this month's "Chat with a Naturopath" is about pre-conception health and the role it plays in improving conception.

Check out the article below. Be sure to send through any questions you may have, or if you would like, give the clinic a call and book an appointment to see me.

Yours in health,

Sarah Porter

Published in BIZ Magazine:

One of my absolute passions when working as a Naturopath, is working with couples who are looking to conceive. It is the most rewarding experience, both for the couple achieving their goal of starting/extending their family and for me working with them as their healthcare practitioner.

When I was in Melbourne, I worked at a clinic which specialised in women's health particularly with couples struggling to conceive. The clinic taught me so much in terms of individual treatment protocols and options for these couples. It also taught me about the real struggle that many couples have with infertility and the battle to conceive.

When it comes to conception, there are so many links that need to fall in place; egg maturation, hormonal changes, sperm survival, fertilization, embryo development. Any weak links in the chain will cause failure to conceive - from that perspective, every baby really is a little miracle!!

With all of this in mind, pre-conception care is imperative for achieving optimal health and improving the chance of conception. Generally, a Naturopath would like to work with the couple for 3-4 months prior to conception, as it takes this long for egg and sperm maturation. The idea is that during this time, you are working on getting the egg and sperm to be as healthy as possible, as well as supplying the body with the nutrients that are required for fertilization and successful implantation - resulting in a pregnancy.

Many studies have shown the importance of nutrition in increasing your chance of pregnancy. With this in mind, one of your Naturopath’s focus will be on your diet and lifestyle ensuring essential vitamins and minerals are being consumed and in the right amounts. Your pre-conception consultation will consist of both partner’s health being assessed and an individual treatment plan being established.

My priority in terms of treatment, is to determine the cause of pregnancy delay and then the possibility of overcoming this through specific Naturopathic treatments. In many cases, this is possible, however a realistic approach needs to be taken, and I will happily refer to an appropriate area of care if required.

Pre-conception care offers better outcomes for a healthy baby, as well as providing the cornerstone of preventative care to ensure healthy adults!

Sarah Porter

Hello Autumn!!

Knox and I have been a little unwell this week - poor little man has more teeth coming through, and I have had a head cold - needless to say, we haven't left the house, leaving our fridge a little bare and lacking exciting options for lunch today...

We did however, have some beautiful home-grown zucchinis and a cob of corn - and so we made FRITTERS!!

It was a bit of "throw this & that" and give it a try, which actually worked for us today!! It was the perfect reminder of how easy it really can be, to eat well.

Our fritters literally took 10 mins to whip up, and less than 5 mins to cook. They warmed our bellies and suited this cooler Autumn day and so they became, our Autumn Zucchini fritters.

2 x medium sized zucchini, grated

4 x spring onions, thinly sliced

1 x cob of corn, remove kernels

1/2 cup of freshly grated parmesan

1/2 cup buckwheat flour

1/2 cup quinoa flakes

2 x eggs

1 teaspoon of tumeric powder

1/2 teaspoon of ground coriander

1 pinch of chilli flakes

Recipes I have followed before have suggested to squeeze out the water from the grated zucchini but we didn't worry about this today.

Place grated zucchini, spring onion, corn kernels, parmesan, flour and quinoa flakes into a mixing bowl, and give a good stir. Next add the 2 eggs, this will bind everything together and start forming your mixture. Season with fresh herbs and spices as you desire - I used tumeric (great for its warming and antiox qualities) chilli and coriander. If we had fresh parsley, that would've been in there too!

Place fry pan over medium-high heat. Using a tablespoon, place a heaped spoonful of mixture per fritter. Allow to brown on one side and then flip them once.

We enjoyed ours with our homegrown tomatoes. An avocado salsa would be lovely too! Yummo.

Knox loved them as well :)

As a Naturopath, a common complaint I see in practice is related to digestive health. The digestive system plays a very important role in our overall wellbeing. It is responsible for breaking down food, absorbing nutrients, detoxification, and removing waste.

A condition called "leaky gut" relates to the lining of the small intestine becoming more permeable (leaky). The small intestine is responsible for absorbing nutrients from foods and passing them into the bloodstream to be utilised throughout the body. When the lining is more permeable, particles that don't normally enter the bloodstrea, are potentially abel to get through, causing increased stress on liver function and an immune response, resulting in a range of symptoms often seen in practice.

Signs and symptoms can include:

- Bloating/abdominal distension, abdominal pain, cramping, diarrhoea/constipation, excessive flatulence;

- Food allergies and intolerances;

- Fatigue;

- Poor concentration/memory;

- Headache;

- Mood disorders, irritability, anxiety;

- Skin conditions, acne, dermatitis, eczema;

- Lowered immune function;

- Nutrient deficiencies;

- Poor detoxification process...

Stress, our diet, medications, immune function, infections and ageing are factors that are thought to increase the permeability of the small intestine.

The aim of naturopathic treatment is to heal damage to the intestinal wall, decreasing inflammation of the digestive system, and supplying the body with adequate nutrients for repair. This may be done through herbal medicine, nutritional supplements and diet and lifestyle changes.

*Remember it is always a good idea to see a healthcare professional for an individual treatment tailored specifically to you.