Revive Your Health Naturopathic

04/02/2026

There are a couple of studies showing the beneficial effects of cabbage leaves for arthritis. Isnt this great! All those women who shoved a cabbage leaf in their bra for mastitis, feel vindicated! The trick with using it for painful joints is to crush the leaf first (roll it with a rolling pin), apply two or three leaves to the joint, then cover with glad-wrap and leave on for a couple of hours. Home remedies are great! I would usually follow up with arnica cream, which I make with herbal tincture. Let me know if you need some.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most common joint degeneration ailments adversely affecting the elderly population by impairing their physical movements and quality of life. This study aimed to establish the efficacy of cabbage leaf application in ...

01/02/2026

Back pain is a common issue in my clinic. People with back pain then decide to “take it easy” so that it doesn’t get worse. The problem is that “taking it easy” is likely part of the problem. You need to move. Keeping active is essential to keep the back strong and flexible. Doing exercises such as Pilates or yoga can help with movement and develop supportive core muscles. If you are in pain, come in to see me for a remedial massage, then start doing gentle movement, going for a walk, and save your back.

“But what triggers it in the first place? “We know there are genetic factors that predispose the back pain, we know that there are lifestyle factors, there are mental health factors,” says musculoskeletal therapist Prof Peter O’Sullivan from Curtin University in Perth.”

“Often, the most likely explanation for that first muscle spasm is we’re simply run down. “The current view is the majority – and this is like 95% of back pain – will often emerge at a time when you’re under stress, not sleeping, not as active, fatigued, and then you do something like just be bending over, picking something up, and then your back spasms,” O’Sullivan says. That acute pain then causes us to seize up, to move less, to protect the area, which in turn causes changes in the surrounding tissue and nerves so they become sensitised to even the slightest and most benign stimuli.”

An estimated 80% of the population will suffer from lower back pain at some point. The good news is that preventing it is a lot easier than treating it

31/01/2026

Examine do collate good research, and this review on magnesium for sleep is interesting. Taking Mg glycinate had a positive effect on sleep but they acknowledge that it may both be enough. I usually prescribe Mg along with herbs for sleep, and have a number of variations of this, to support achieving better sleep. Please see me in clinic to discuss your sleep needs.

29/01/2026

Creatine is an important and accessible supplement, which helps with improving how the body responds to exercise, but also supports cognitive function and memory. I stock an affordable and good quality version, and recommend taking it daily, alongside some magnesium and vitamin C.

Creatine is one of the most popular sports supplements out there.

28/01/2026

For anyone who is picking up weights (and if you are over 50, this should be you) it can be confusing to know whether to lift heavy, or high rep/low weight. A lot of advice is different for men (who offer most of the advice) and women. My thoughts on this are lift light to get your technique and joint strength good. Then start adding heavier weights. This may take six months but if you are consistent, it may help to avoid injury from poor form, or over burdening. This article is interesting on the common advice for training.

“The most effective growth seems to happen when you combine the two types of hypertrophy: using a weight heavy enough to create high tension, but performed for enough repetitions to generate significant metabolic stress.”

Traditional bodybuilding advice has been to push workouts to the point of failure, and that soreness is an indicator of effectiveness. But recent studies show there’s another way

23/01/2026

A good article on ageing and health, and what we can do about it. Try to read the whole thing if you can, but here are some of the salient points:

In number terms, according to figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the rate of annual ­all-cause mortality in the Australian population in 2024 was about 73 people per 100,000 between the ages of 25 and 44. Between 45-64, however, it’s 350 per 100,000. That’s almost a five-fold increase.

Which in turn means we can meaningfully lower our risk of death: we can potentially avoid the sweeping scythe of midlife mortality. In their most basic, layman’s form, the five biggest modifiable risk factors are: to***co use, physical inactivity, poor diet, overweight and obesity, and alcohol use.

Part of the problem is experience. Until our 40s (or even 50s), most of us have never had to worry about making any of these (let’s face it, unbelievably unappealing) lifestyle changes ever before. We’ve eaten badly and drunk too much and lain on the damn couch for 30 years, with no observable ill-effects. Why should things suddenly be different now?

“The ageing process involves a decline in all of the physiological activities of the body. Basically, everything gets worse. You’re in a – hopefully slow – decline, but you are in a decline. There’s no getting around it. Everything from lung function to glucose tolerance – every process that your body performs – slowly but surely gets less efficient, more prone to error, less robust. That’s just what ageing is.”

“Damage has been occurring all along. But it’s often around midlife that it can actually begin to show in diagnosable chronic disease. It’s a question of accumulation. If someone eats really sh*tty food in their 20s and you go and look into their hearts, you can see the beginnings of the formation of plaques: it’s starting to happen. And over time, it just builds and builds, until it gets to a critical point and you either have a heart attack, or you get diagnosed with cardiovascular disease.” Ergo, potential illness and death in midlife.

And so the truth is clear. We cannot live forever; we cannot know when the hammer is going to fall. There is luck and the genetic lottery – neither of which we can control. But there is also a whole variety of things we can do to try to press our finger to the scales of life. The catch is, we must do these things not knowing know how, or if, or when any will be successful.

Welcome to your midlife (health) crisis.

11/01/2026

I find it interesting that this article equates having toned arms with having money. In my opinion, doing body weight exercise (think pushups, every day, several times a day) alongside weights, can achieve results. It takes time and effort, but it’s possible. Anyone who says to me they dont have time to do daily exercise hasn’t recognised the small opportunities - while your kettle is boiling, do pushups. While you are brushing your teeth, do hover squats. There are small micro moments in every day to get stronger, and look and feel better.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1280028307503877&set=a.630280789145302&type=3

Toned arms aren’t exactly a new cultural phenomenon. Now, however, a defined, muscular form is back as a goal for those keen to project an interest in health and wellness rather than just skinniness.

But it also implies the ability to spend time and money training at the gym, on Pilates classes, and on a diet involving $20 protein shakes. It shows that you have stamina, disposable income and — perhaps most importantly — agency over your schedule. https://ft.trib.al/NePV9RF

10/01/2026

Get to the gym, ladies.. Research shows that we age better with stronger muscles, but that our muscles degenerate more rapidly from our 40’s. Essentially we need to work harder to stay strong but finding the right work out routine is key. Lift weights. Go hiking. Get a good PT who understands women after menopause. Get your friends involved. But get stronger..

“Whereas men’s decline is slow and steady, “our findings show a clear acceleration of muscle ageing when women are in their 40s, 50s and 60s and undergoing the menopausal transition”.

“The study suggests there is a window of opportunity between the early 40s and the end of the menopausal transition to take steps to reduce muscle loss.”

“If there was a time in life where you should start lifting, it would be in your early 40s...[but] my public health message is any exercise is better than no exercise, and if a person feels all they can do is go walking at the moment, then that’s fine.”

Women’s muscle mass across the lifespan has been mapped for the first time by Australian researchers who found resistance training counters the effects of declining s*x hormones.

08/01/2026

So the US has released a new and vastly different food guide: an invested pyramid, with grains being last smallest group, and quality meat and vegetables being the largest. Hopefully when Australia updates their nutritional guidelines (last update was in 2013..) they will take on the latest research and come up with similar suggestions. One big change is the recommendation for protein intake of around 1.6g per kg of body weight. I interpret this as “desired body weight”. If you need help with achieving a healthy high protein low carb diet, please see me in clinic. Book online at www.reviveyourhealth.com.au

29/12/2025

Astaxanthin is found in algae and seafood, and offers benefits for skin (anti-aging, UV protection, moisture), eyes (reducing dryness), brain (cognitive support), heart (cholesterol, blood pressure), and joints (inflammation), as well as acting as a potent anti-inflammatory by protecting cells from free radical damage across cell membranes. Given we don’t eat algae or sufficient crustaceans, I prescribe this in a powder alongside collagen. And it tastes amazing! For help with supporting ageing, good health and better energy, please see me in clinic.

Astaxanthin is one of the only known dietary antioxidants that spans the entire cell membrane (and thus, provides end-to-end protection) like this - i.e., protecting both surfaces and the vulnerable fatty-acid core.

21/12/2025

Nigella sativa is commonly used for hayfever and asthma, but also has potential to help stabilise blood sugar. This latest research demonstrates its positive effects on cholesterol. More research is needed but this has great potential to help with many major health issues. For help in finding quality supplemental Black Seed (Nigella Sativa) please see me in clinic.

Black cumin (Nigella sativa) is a flowering plant native to western Asia and eastern Europe. The seeds are commonly used as a spice in curries and on bread and vegetables. There is an impressive body of accumulated clinical evidence for this herb, mostly from the Middle East, for a variety of uses.

Now research combining laboratory experiments and a human trial reveals that black cumin seed not only downregulates in vitro the genes that drive fat cell formation but also improves cholesterol levels, highlighting further its potential as a natural approach to supporting healthier metabolic outcomes.

This clinical trial was led by scientists at Osaka Metropolitan University in Japan: 22 participants who consumed 5 g of black cumin seed powder each day showed a decrease in LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) and an increase in HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C) after just 8 weeks. The 20 people in the control group showed no such changes.
This was a reasonably designed, short, single blind RCT showing 7 to 10% reductions in total cholesterol and LDL-C, with a 5% improvement in HDL-C. No appetite suppression was observed and there was no overt toxicity. With its limitations (no placebo, small number, short duration, per-protocol analysis, no body-weight data), this is good supportive clinical evidence, but is not definitive.
Of particular interest are the combined effects of lowering LDL-C while boosting HDL-C.

For more information see: https://www.sciencealert.com/a-daily-sprinkle-of-cumin-seeds-can-help-lower-cholestrol-study-finds
and
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40905014/

18/12/2025

I have been fully booked for week, so have just opened up bookings next Wed 24 Dec, and Mon 29 Dec, in the morning. Book online: www.reviveyourhealth.com.au Hope your pre-Christmas week is not too crazy!