Ananda Mahony Naturopath & Nutritionist

21/10/2025

In clinic I see similar patterns regularly: conditions that look separate on paper often travel together; chronic pain, migraine, IBS, endometriosis, pelvic floor issues, MCAS, fatigue, hypermobility, ADHD and / or autism, dysautonomia.

The overlap isn’t just a hard from a diagnostic and treatment perspective; it’s a quality-of-life drain for the women living with numerous overlapping conditions.

Women juggle flare unpredictability, sleep disruption, brain fog, and energy crashes while trying to work, care for family, and maintain relationships.

Social plans get cancelled, exercise becomes stop–start, and the calendar fills with appointments and retelling of the same story to different healthcare providers.

The emotional load grows with worry about being believed, guilt about letting people down, and the quiet grief of a life that keeps shrinking to fit symptoms.

This is why I focus on coordination and clarity: looking beyond a single condition, a shared understanding, an agreed path forward, clear health care practitioner roles, and practical goals that restore daily function.

16/10/2025

Endometriosis care in Australia still defaults to a narrow biomedical lens which is reductionist, mind–body split, and too often dismissive of the quality of pain.
It’s a mismatch with how many women live this condition.

The pivot I advocate: treat through a pain lens and a quality of life lens, not from a disease focused, spread of lesion lens.

How? Validate a woman's lived experience of pain, map function (sleep, work, participation), and co-manage across disciplines. Avoid siloed care.

Endometriosis is more than the “issues in their tissues.” When we centre on the pain experience and function, care focuses on the woman not the condition, it becomes measurable, and effective rather than only determined by surgery or the spread of lesions.

15/10/2025

Had a fabulous time at the ANTA symposium and then afterwards at the beach. Great location for an event. ☺️

08/10/2025

The ANTA symposium is fast approaching this Friday. I am doing some prep work today. As you can see, I am a picture of calm and not distracted at all!

05/10/2025

In preparing for my upcoming presentation, I have been delving into the literature about women's experiences of pain.

Interestingly more research is emerging of late about the links between neurodivergence and chronic pain, particularly seen in women.

These findings strongly reflect what I see in clinical practice.

The research suggests that neruodivergence may help shape how pain is felt.

* Neurodivergent individuals (including autism and ADHD) experience higher rates of chronic pain and chronic fatigue than the general population.
* 39–80% of adults with ADHD experience chronic pain.
* High incidence of migraine, chronic abdominal pain, fibromyalgia in autism population.

Factors such as hypermobility, emotional regulation and autonomic dysregulation likely mediate the relationship between neurodivergence and chronic pain.

This overlap suggests a need for integrated assessment and treatment, addressing both neurodivergence and pain (+ other mediators).

02/10/2025

Essential Fatty Acids & Your Skin’s Acid Mantle

Your skin’s acid mantle is like its natural shield — a delicate, slightly acidic layer that protects against dryness, microbes, and irritation. Disruption of the acid mantle is linked to many skin conditions - rosacea, acne, eczema, psoriasis etc.

A good way to support this shield is through Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs).

Omega-3s (EPA & DHA) from fish oil, chia, or flax help calm inflammation and keep your skin cells supple.
Omega-6s (GLA from evening primrose or borage oil) enrich the skin’s lipid layer, supporting hydration.

Together, these fatty acids:
Improve skin hydration
Reduce transepidermal water loss (TEWL)
Balance sebum quality & skin pH

When your acid mantle is strong, your skin is more resilient.

How can you add Omega's into your diet regularly?

30/09/2025

Whole body pain management is dealing with more than just the 'issues in the tissues'

Chronic pain isn’t just about sore joints, aching muscles, or inflamed nerves.
It’s a whole-body, whole-person experience.

✨ The physical – inflammation, injury, nervous system sensitivity
✨ The emotional – stress, grief, trauma, anxiety
✨ The lifestyle – sleep, nutrition, movement, environment
✨ The social – relationships, support, connection

Holistic care means bringing all these pieces together.
Instead of chasing symptoms, we look at the bigger picture — body, mind, and social.

27/09/2025

A client last week ruminated about the factors that had led to her experiencing oily, breakout prone skin in her mid 20's.

She detailed a history through her teens of using harsh scrubs based on apricot kernels (Remember those? I think back and shudder!), harsh cleansers that stripped her skin, and benzyl peroxide based products that destroyed the microbial balance.

Now, years later, her skin is still recovering its natural protective layer - the acid mantle.

The acid mantle is the skin's natural defence system. It is a thin, slightly acidic film on the surface of your skin.

What it does:

* Keeps moisture locked in
* Defends against harmful bacteria, fungi & pollutants
* Supports a healthy skin microbiome
* Protects against irritation & sensitivity

When the acid mantle is disrupted (from harsh cleansers, stress, diet, or over-exfoliation), skin can feel dry, red, itchy, or more prone to breakouts.

If you're unsure about what to use to support your skin's protective layer, for a start, stop the harsh scrubs and please, no benzyl peroxide products! Speak to your skin therapist or a corneotherapist about how to support your skin.

Ensuring the skin has the nutritional components needed to support it by working from the inside out to strengthen skin structure, hydration, and pH balance is also important. Nutritional supplements strengthen the acid mantle by improving skin lipids (EFAs), protecting from oxidative damage (antioxidants), supplying building blocks for hydration and pH (amino acids, minerals, B vitamins), and balancing the microbiome (probiotics).

27/09/2025

In preparing my talk for the upcoming ANTA symposium I have been reviewing how trauma intersects with pain. Essentially, past trauma can shape how the body experiences pain.

💧 When someone experiences trauma, their body often enters a heightened state of alertness or stress, which can lead to the development of chronic pain conditions…often without the presence of any physical injury.
💧 This response emerges from the body's attempt to protect itself, resulting in muscle tension, inflammation, and a heightened sensitivity to pain.
💧 Trauma can also disrupt the functioning of the nervous system, making it more likely for threat signals to be amplified or perceived differently.
💧 The psychological impacts, including anxiety and depression, can also exacerbate the perception and severity of pain, creating a vicious cycle that can be difficult to break.
💧 Often, even though the trauma is over, we continue to react as though we are in danger.

So the big challenge of treating trauma is how do we help people to live in bodies that feel fundamentally safe?

Having relationships where people, such as trauma informed practitioners, hear you and you can talk about how you feel, your guilt or shame, maybe even things that happened can help.

Practicing self compassion and understanding that some reactions are keeping a tether to the past can also support recovery from trauma.

26/09/2025

On the back of my last post about the lack of research in women's health conditions!

This week is Migraine and Headache Awareness Week, led by our friends at Migraine & Headache Australia.

Our 2025 National Women's Health Survey recently found that 30% of women in Australia are living with migraine, and a further 13% are likely to have recently experienced undiagnosed migraine.

Despite its prevalence and impact as a leading cause of disability for women, support and research in this area are still lacking.

Together with Migraine & Headache Australia, we’ve created new resources to help women living with migraine (link in comments).

It’s a step forward, but greater investment and national awareness are urgently needed. Women living with migraine deserve better support.

26/09/2025

Is there finally a bit more traction in women's health research? It is still taking too long and women's voices aren't being heard enough but these are steps in the right direction.

22/09/2025

A new study on neurogenic rosacea links gut health with inflammatory and oxidative markers as likely contributing & sustaining factors in this condition.

The study, “Correlations between gut microbiota and serum metabolomics in patients with neurogenic rosacea” (Li et al., 2025), found:
✨ Shifts in gut bacteria (less Bifidobacteria & Prevotella, more Firmicutes & Proteobacteria)
✨ Changes in blood metabolites linked to inflammation & nerve sensitivity
✨ Clear “conversations” between gut bugs and blood chemistry

Takeaway: the gut–skin axis could help explain why some people with rosacea experience intense burning, stinging, and flushing.

Supporting gut diversity, calming inflammation, supporting antioxidant effects and thinking from a whole-body perspective are essential for effective rosacea management.