Alison Mitchell Naturopath

17/03/2026

Our cycles are so fascinating: do you know the stages of your menstrual cycle can influence your body and mind?
Mental health, self esteem, vaginal health, strength and exercise recovery are JUST SOME of the things that change throughout your cycle.
I love working with women’s health. I love teaching women how their hormones can affect them, I love using herbs to treat all sort of issues related to the menstrual cycle. I love helping women on their journey with contraceptives whether it’s supporting their health whilst they’re on them or helping them on their journey off of them. Your choice. 🙌🏻

I love using diet to support hormones too. There’s so many powerful tools at our disposal💃🏻

If you need some support with your hormones or menstrual health there are a few ways we can work together :
👉🏻learn at your own pace in my ecourse The Cyclical Woman
👉🏻1:1 consults with myself or Carissa

Want to know more? Comment CYCLICAL for the link to the ecourse or CONSULT for the link to the booking page

11/03/2026

Not all endometriosis is the same, and understanding the different types can really change how we approach treatment and support.

Endometriosis generally falls into three categories:
1. Superficial Peritoneal Endometriosis
The most common type - thin, freckle-like spots on the pelvic lining. Despite looking minor, this type can cause significant pain. Here's the thing though - the pain with superficial endo is often less about the lesions themselves and more about visceral hypersensitivity, where the nervous system becomes highly sensitised and amplifies pain signals. This means surgery often isn't the answer here.

What tends to help more is:
- Reducing systemic inflammation
- Supporting nervous system health and regulation
- Addressing gut health and the gut-brain connection
- Stress and nervous system support

2. Endometriomas (Ovarian Cysts)
These are cysts that form directly on the ovaries. They can impact ovarian reserve and fertility, and often cause a deep, aching pelvic pain, particularly around ovulation. These are typically visible on ultrasound, which makes them one of the more straightforward types to identify without surgery.

3. Deep Infiltrating Endometriosis
The most complex type, affecting around 20% of people with endometriosis. Lesions grow beyond the surface and can pe*****te into structures like the bowel, bladder, or uterosacral ligaments.

Symptoms can include:
-Painful or difficult bowel movements, especially during your period
-Pain with urination
-Deep, stabbing pelvic pain
-Pain with s*x (particularly deep pe*******on)
-Back and leg pain

This type is more likely to respond well to surgical excision when performed by a skilled endo specialist - and getting the right surgeon really matters here.
The takeaway? Endo is not one size fits all, and neither is treatment.

Have questions about your type of endo and what natural support might look like for you? Feel free to reach out or book a consult.

06/03/2026

It's Endometriosis Awareness Month, and this year there's genuinely exciting news for the endo community!

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has just released its very first comprehensive guidelines specifically on *diagnosing* endometriosis, and honestly, it's a big deal.

For so long, getting a diagnosis has meant years of being dismissed, told your pain is "normal," or waiting for surgery just to have someone believe you. On average, people wait between 4 and 11 years from the onset of symptoms to finally receiving a diagnosis, and that wait comes at a real cost to quality of life, fertility, and emotional wellbeing.

These new guidelines are pushing for real change:

- Clinicians can now make a *presumptive clinical diagnosis* based on history, symptoms, and physical examination alone, meaning treatment can begin sooner without waiting for surgery to "prove" what you've been feeling all along
- The guidelines formally acknowledge that dismissal of symptoms causes harm, prolonging physical suffering and significantly impacting psychological and emotional wellbeing (finally in writing! 🙌)
- The goal is to shorten that agonising diagnostic gap and improve access to care

Your pain is real. Your symptoms matter. You deserve to be heard. 💛

If you've been living with painful periods, pelvic pain, pain with intimacy, bloating, or unexplained fatigue, please don't wait to seek support. You don't have to just push through.

As always, my door is open and I would love to be part of your care team if you are seeking natural support for endo. 🌿

You can find the updated guideline here
https://www.acog.org/clinical/clinical-guidance/clinical-practice-guideline/articles/2026/03/diagnosis-of-endometriosis

📷sourced Pinterest, photographer unknown

06/03/2026

Endometriosis + IBS: Why They Often Show Up Together

Because having endometriosis isn’t fun enough… did you know you’re 3x more likely to have IBS if you have endo?

It’s super common for endometriosis to be misdiagnosed as IBS because they share a LOT of the same symptoms:
- Abdominal pain
- Bloating
- Constipation or diarrhoea

Sometimes it’s not IBS at all, just digestive symptoms from endo—but many people have both, because they share similar root causes.

Let’s break it down 👇
Possible links between endometriosis + IBS:
- Chronic low-grade inflammation
- Histamine intolerance + mast cell activation
- Gut microbiome imbalance (dysbiosis)
- Leaky gut
- Gut-brain axis dysfunction (aka nerves in the gut being too reactive)

If you have deep infiltrating endo, there may also be scar tissue or adhesions affecting your intestines, slowing digestion and worsening symptoms like constipation and SIBO.

But get this: research shows IBS symptoms can occur with or without endo lesions on the gut. This tells us it’s not just a mechanical issue—it’s about inflammation + gut health.

Even before your first period, endo can show up as IBS-like symptoms. Teens with endo often experience nausea and generalised pain—not always tied to their cycle. This gets labelled as IBS, delaying proper diagnosis, which can lead to:
- More scarring + adhesions
- Increased pain sensitivity
- Stress on the ovaries (impacting fertility)

Good news? Naturopathic support helps both conditions by addressing the root causes.

From reducing histamine + inflammation to healing gut imbalances and calming the gut-brain axis—there’s SO much that can be done 💛 I have written an article with more information, if you'd like to read it comment ENDOIBS and I'll DM you the link.

PS - Want to know what your hormones are doing?
Take my free quiz to get insight into your hormonal health 👉Comment QUIZ and I'll message you the link to the quiz

18/02/2026

Have you noticed your hair thinning or shedding more than usual?

Hair loss in women 30–50 is unfortunately very common, and a major source of stress. Even though it's common, it shouldn't be something you feel you have to put up with.

When working with hair loss issues, we need to look first for the why. Your skin and hair is often one of the first places your body shows imbalance.

There's of reasons for hair loss. Low iron. Hormone shifts. Thyroid changes. Chronic stress. Gut inflammation.

I wrote an article about this, and in it I break down:
• The different types of hair loss
• What blood tests to ask for, and other functional tests we can look into
• The stress/HPA axis connection
• When hair will grow back
• And what to do next

If you’re tired of guessing and want real answers — this one’s for you.

If you want to read the full article comment HAIR to get the link sent to you

P.S Soon I'll be uploading another podcast episode on this topic, so if you haven't already subscribed to my podcast Guts and Girl Bits, do it, so that you get notified as soon as it's published. Comment PODCAST and I'll send you the links.

16/01/2026

When it comes to your health, who you listen to matters.

There is an overwhelming amount of information online, and it can be so tempting to try the magic supplement recommended by the hot girl in the bikini with the perfect life, to ask a forum or FB or reddit, or to ask AI what your diagnosis and what you should do about it.

I'm not against people taking more charge of their own health, in fact I regularly advocate for health sovereignity but there are so many risks with these tactics.

Influencers are often incentivised to sell a specific product, or are trying to build likes and views. You can't go viral with common sense recommendations, you have to be radical and make extreme claims. Health care professionals aren't allowed to give individualised health advise on social media (for good reason) but influencers aren't regulated, so they can make whatever claim they want in order to make their affiliate sale or collect views.

AI can be a helpful tool in so many regards, but there's so many risks in putting your health in it's hands. It pulls it's information from what is readily available online, which is often very generalised, or perhaps incorrect. In many cases I have seen AI hallucinate journal articles to justify it's recommendations, provide wildly inaccurate reference ranges for pathology tests and dosages of nutritionals, and don't even get me started about the lack of good information on herbal medicine online.

Health isn’t about finding the loudest answer or the fastest fix.
It’s about understanding context, patterns and root causes.

By all means, learn. Get curious. Educate yourself.
But when it comes to making decisions that affect your long-term wellbeing, choose guidance that is ethical, individualised and grounded in care.

14/01/2026

Photo dump from the last few weeks -
Good time and good food with friends and family.
Camping, bush walking, looots of reading and getting into fishing.
So many photos not shared because I’m not going to post more photos of kiddos outside of stories anymore and I don’t take that many photos generally lol

Taking some time off even sporadically recently has made me realise how essential it is, and how much of an impact taking time away from demands and screens can make on our nervous system.
Definitely recommend A+

17/12/2025

Home made Christmas gift idea

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

25/11/2025

Apart from selling lots of goodies at the Twilight Market this Friday, Carissa and I will be there to answer your questions about Naturopathy.
Carissa is also trained in iridology, the practice of observing the colours within the iris to help identify where specific nutrients may be beneficial, and will be providing mini iridology sessions — $10 for five minutes.
You can be provided with information about which nutrients may best support what your iris colours are showing.

19/11/2025

Mark your calendars! I’ll be at the Twilight Christmas Market at Windsor Public School on 28th November, 5-9pm.
Expect herbal teas, creams, flower essences, and even my handmade pottery.
Carissa will be there too offering mini iridology sessions.

Join me for a magical evening - can’t wait to see you there! 🎄

31/10/2025

Swipe through these stories if you’re feeling brave… this Halloween I’m sharing some scary facts and stories - not of ghosts or monsters, but of pain dismissed, voices unheard, and chemicals secretly messing with our health.

Read if you dare ….

18/10/2025

GLP-1 medications such as Ozempic, Mounjaro and Wegovy are becoming very popular, but what are the implications (positive and negative) for women’s health and fertility, an area that there is not a huge amount of understanding.
I’m attending a seminar today to dig deeper into this topic. If you have any questions comment below!

This is the first seminar I’ve been to where a glass of morning champagne was served and I’m not complaining. Extra fun, I got to catch up with the lovely