What inspired you to become a naturopath, and how did your journey lead you to Santos Organics?
I grew up in a health food store in the Blue Mountains. My parents were hippies and very much into whole food, natural remedies and gardening. They had a multitude of books on herbal medicine, nutrition snd growing food. We had a naturopath that worked in the basement of the shop. I remember her room and her iridology charts on the wall. I was fascinated. I started studying Naturopathy as soon I finished school.
In Sydney I was practicing as a naturopath, herbalist, nutritionist and remedial massage therapist. Then my partner and I decided to leave the city to live in the country. We moved to the Byron Shire and started a family - and a food business! After a few years I was missing naturopathy and so I started working at Santos Organics. I love working with people and being involved in the community.
What are your credentials, and how long have you been practicing naturopathy?
My first Diploma was in Remedial Massage. I started practicing in 1996. I then graduated as a Herbalist and Nutritionist in 2000 from Nature Care College. I then completed an Advance Diploma of Naturopathy in 2011. Except for the those few years where I moved locations and had a business with my partner and a child, I have always been working as a massage therapist, herbalist, or naturopath - whether in a clinic, health food store or dispensary.
Which modalities do you use in your practice?
My main modalities are:
- Herbal medicine, and
- Nutrition
What areas of naturopathy do you specialise in, and how do you apply your expertise to support well-being?
What interests me most at the moment and what I am investing my time in is environmental medicine. We are surrounded by environmental toxins - they are in our food, the soil, in the water and air, our homes and our our medicines. How are these toxic exposures affecting us, how do we limit toxin exposure, build resilience and how do we help our body detoxify them?
What holistic approach do you use to promote overall wellness?
Food, lifestyle and having a strong supportive community are the most important foundations to health. Hippocrates, in 400 BC, famously stated: "Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food". What we feed our bodies, emotionally and physically, is paramount to good health.
At Santos Organics I specialise in helping acute conditions - illnesses that have recently developed. With dietary recommendations, and prescription of herbs and supplements my customers are able to get better more swiftly and completely.
Chronic, long term conditions usually require a more complete naturopathic approach but over-the-counter we can still often provide symptom relief.
I feel privileged that our community often come to us before going to the chemist or even their doctor.
