Nourishing Apothecary

Nourishing Apothecary Stop guessing with your fertility, hormones & gut health. Practitioner-led care + targeted supplements based on your body, not trends.
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05/09/2026

Preconception care isn’t just about taking a prenatal once you get a positive pregnancy test. Ideally, I want couples thinking about their health around three months before conception.

Why three months? Egg development occurs over several months, while s***m production takes roughly 74 days, followed by further maturation. This gives us a meaningful window to work on some of the factors that can influence reproductive health.

Think about the foundations.

Prioritise good quality sleep and a consistent sleep routine. Sleep influences metabolic health, hormones, inflammation and overall reproductive health.

Look at stress and your nervous system. This doesn’t mean you need to be completely stress free to fall pregnant, but chronic stress can affect sleep, eating patterns, movement and many of the physiological systems involved in fertility.

Move your body regularly. You don’t need to suddenly start doing intense workouts. Walking, strength training and movement you genuinely enjoy can all form part of a healthy preconception routine.

Then look at what you’re eating. I want to see plenty of whole foods, adequate protein, healthy fats, fibre and lots of different coloured plants. That variety provides a broad range of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytonutrients.

And supplementation matters too.

A good quality prenatal can help ensure key nutrient requirements are being considered before pregnancy, rather than waiting until after conception. I also want the male partner thinking about his nutrition and nutrient status because fertility is not solely a female issue.

The important part is that preconception care shouldn’t be about becoming “perfect” for three months.

It’s about using that time to build healthier foundations for egg health, s***m health, conception and pregnancy.

If you’re planning to start trying in the next few months and don’t know where to begin, our fertility naturopaths can help you build an individualised preconception plan.

You can also book a FREE discovery call with our team to find the right practitioner for you.

Visit nourishingapothecary.com

05/09/2026

Creatine making you feel sick, bloated or nauseous? The dose might be the problem.

Creatine is one of the most researched supplements we have, but that doesn’t mean everyone feels amazing when they suddenly start taking 5 g a day.

For some people, particularly if you have a sensitive gut, starting with a larger dose can cause bloating, nausea, cramping or loose stools.

My approach is much more gradual.

I generally prefer creatine monohydrate, because this is the form with the largest body of research behind it.

If 5 g makes you feel terrible, you do not necessarily need to give up on creatine altogether.

Try dropping the dose right back.

I personally restarted at around 1 g per day, stayed there until I was comfortable, then gradually increased to 2 g, then 3 g.

There’s also no requirement for most people to do a high-dose “loading phase” to get the benefits of creatine. Taking a smaller daily amount consistently will still gradually increase muscle creatine stores it simply takes longer.

A few other things I consider:

• Choose a reputable creatine monohydrate product
• Introduce it gradually if you are sensitive
• Make sure the powder is properly dissolved if using a powder
• Consider taking it with food if it upsets your stomach
• Keep your overall fluid intake appropriate for your individual needs
• Don’t assume that feeling awful means creatine simply “doesn’t agree with you”

And remember: more isn’t automatically better.

Creatine has increasingly interesting research not only around muscle strength and exercise performance, but also healthy ageing, cognition and maintaining lean mass — which is one of the reasons I’m particularly interested in it for women as we get older.

The creatine products I recommend are available at nourishingapothecary.com.

05/09/2026

Your environment could be making weight loss harder.

There’s actually a term for this: an obesogenic environment.

It describes an environment that makes weight gain easier and maintaining a healthy weight more difficult. And when you look at the world we live in, you can start to see why.

We have constant access to highly palatable, energy-dense foods. Portion sizes have increased. Food can be delivered almost instantly. Many of us sit for most of the day, drive rather than walk and have very little incidental movement.

Then there’s another layer: sleep and circadian disruption.

Irregular sleep and inadequate sleep can influence hormones involved in appetite, hunger, satiety and metabolic regulation.

And there’s an emerging area of research looking at obesogens: environmental chemicals being investigated for their potential to interfere with endocrine and metabolic signalling, including pathways involved in adipocyte development and lipid metabolism.

But this is where I want to be very clear.

Obesity is incredibly complex. One chemical exposure does not suddenly cause weight gain, and an obesogenic environment does not mean weight loss is impossible.

It means the conversation needs to move beyond simply telling someone to “eat less and move more.”

Genetics, food environment, socioeconomic factors, sleep, stress, medications, mental health, physical activity, hormonal conditions and metabolic health can all influence body weight.

The better question is: what are the factors making weight management harder for this individual?

If weight loss has been difficult and you want help understanding what may be contributing, Toni works extensively with weight management, metabolic health, hormones, thyroid health and women through perimenopause and menopause at Nourishing Apothecary.

You can book a free discovery call with Toni or book directly at nourishingapothecary.com. Consultations are available online via Zoom Australia-wide.

04/09/2026

One of the biggest misconceptions I hear is that once you stop a GLP-1 medication, everything simply goes back to normal.

Unfortunately, that’s often not what happens.

These medications don’t just reduce appetite. They influence hunger signals, food behaviours, gastric emptying and make it easier to maintain a calorie deficit. If you stop suddenly without building the right foundations first, increased hunger, cravings and weight regain can happen.

That doesn’t mean the medication failed.

It means the medication was one part of the treatment.

In our clinic, we focus on helping clients build sustainable habits while they’re taking GLP-1 medications, including:

• Preserving muscle mass with adequate protein and strength training.
• Supporting healthy eating habits and food behaviours.
• Building routines that last beyond the medication.
• Gradually planning the transition off medication where appropriate.
• Supporting long-term metabolic health and weight maintenance.

This is especially important for women, where preserving muscle and bone health becomes increasingly important as we age.

GLP-1 medications can be an incredible tool, but for many people they’re most effective when combined with a personalised plan rather than used in isolation.

If you’re thinking about coming off Ozempic, Wegovy or Mounjaro, don’t guess. Have a plan.

Book a free discovery call with Toni, our weight loss naturopath, to see whether we’re the right fit for you.

Australia-wide consultations via Zoom.

www.nourishingapothecary.com



Medical disclaimer: This video is for general educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Never stop, start or change your prescribed medication without discussing it with your prescribing doctor or healthcare professional. Individual circumstances vary, and treatment decisions should always be personalised.

04/09/2026

Creatine for women is about far more than building muscle.

Creatine is one of the most researched supplements in sports nutrition, but I think the way we talk about it often misses what creatine actually does.

At its core, creatine is involved in cellular energy metabolism.

Your cells use ATP as an immediate source of energy. When ATP releases energy, it loses a phosphate group and becomes ADP. Creatine stored as phosphocreatine can donate a phosphate group to help rapidly regenerate ATP.

That is why creatine can support repeated high-intensity muscular effort. It doesn’t simply “build muscle” on its own — it helps increase the availability of rapidly accessible energy during exercise, which can support training performance and, over time alongside resistance training, improvements in strength and lean mass.

And this becomes particularly interesting for women as we age.

Maintaining skeletal muscle isn’t just about appearance. Muscle is important for strength, physical function, glucose metabolism, metabolic health and healthy ageing.

Creatine is also present in the brain, where energy demand is enormous. Research into creatine and cognition, brain energetics and areas such as sleep deprivation is developing, although I think we need to be careful not to overstate what we currently know — particularly around claims such as creatine directly treating perimenopausal brain fog.

So when you think about creatine, don’t just think “gym supplement.”

Think cellular energy availability, exercise performance, muscle preservation and healthy ageing.

And if you’re worried about feeling puffy when starting creatine, remember that creatine increases water within muscle cells. You don’t necessarily need to use a loading phase. I personally prefer starting low and increasing gradually.

The creatine I’m holding here is ATP Science Creatine, and you can find it along with our other practitioner-selected supplements at nourishingapothecary.com.

“Is my gut actually causing my recurrent thrush?” 💭It’s one of the most common questions we hear in clinic—and the inter...
04/09/2026

“Is my gut actually causing my recurrent thrush?” 💭

It’s one of the most common questions we hear in clinic—and the internet is quick to recommend extreme, no-carb “Candida diets.”

The reality? Candida naturally lives in a healthy body. Thrush only happens when the balance shifts due to factors like blood sugar, antibiotics, hormones, and stress.

Lasting relief comes from identifying your root triggers and supporting your overall ecosystem—not severe restriction.

If you’re ready to break the cycle, book with the incredible Jess! Link in bio 🤍✨

03/09/2026

Acne, constipation AND missing periods? Look at the whole picture.

This is exactly why we don’t like treating symptoms in isolation.

Jess recently worked with a client experiencing three seemingly separate problems: deep cystic hormonal acne, chronic constipation and very irregular periods, sometimes skipping months altogether.

But when multiple body systems are struggling at the same time, we need to ask whether they’re actually separate problems at all.

The gut, skin and reproductive hormones are deeply interconnected.

Bowel function can influence how efficiently hormone metabolites are eliminated. Hormonal changes can affect sebaceous gland activity, keratinisation and inflammation in the skin. And significantly irregular or absent periods can point towards underlying disruption of ovulation and the hypothalamic pituitary ovarian axis.

So rather than treating the acne as just a skin problem, the constipation as just a gut problem and the irregular cycle as just a period problem, Jess worked with her client across the whole clinical picture.

After several months, her skin is beginning to settle, her gut health has improved and, importantly, she has now had two consecutive periods.

Of course, one case doesn’t mean the same treatment will work for everyone. Acne, constipation and amenorrhoea can have multiple underlying causes, which is exactly why proper investigation matters.

Jess is a naturopath at Nourishing Apothecary with a particular interest in complex gut, skin and hormonal presentations.

If you’re experiencing hormonal acne, irregular or absent periods, gut symptoms or a combination of all three, you can book a free discovery call with Jess to discuss your case and see whether she’s the right practitioner for you.

Our naturopathic clinic is available online via Zoom Australia-wide.

nourishingapothecary.com

03/09/2026

TTC? Don’t wait until ovulation.

Some of your highest probability days for conception are actually before ovulation occurs.

Once released, the egg generally has around 12 to 24 hours in which fertilisation can occur. S***m, however, can survive within the female reproductive tract for several days under favourable conditions.

As oestrogen rises approaching ovulation, cervical mucus also becomes wetter, stretchy and more s***m friendly.

This fertile cervical mucus isn’t just an ovulation sign. It helps s***m survive and move through the cervix into the reproductive tract.

S***m also undergo capacitation, a series of physiological changes that ultimately enables them to fertilise an egg.

So ideally, you want s***m already present before the egg is released, rather than waiting until you think ovulation has occurred.

This is why I prefer looking at the whole fertile window using cycle history, cervical mucus, LH testing and temperature patterns rather than relying on an app prediction alone.

And remember, basal body temperature is much better at helping confirm ovulation has occurred than predicting it beforehand.

If you’re trying to conceive and aren’t sure whether you’re ovulating or when your fertile window actually is, our fertility naturopaths at Nourishing Apothecary can help.

Book directly or book a free discovery call to find the right practitioner for you.

Consultations are available Australia wide via Zoom.

nourishingapothecary.com

Does stress really affect fertility?Yes, it can. But probably not in the way you’ve been told.One of the most frustratin...
03/09/2026

Does stress really affect fertility?

Yes, it can. But probably not in the way you’ve been told.

One of the most frustrating things someone struggling to conceive can hear is:

“You just need to relax.”

Stress is not a contraceptive, and being stressed does not mean you cannot get pregnant.

However, chronic or significant stress can influence the hormonal communication involved in reproductive function. In some women, this may contribute to changes in ovulation or menstrual cycle regularity, while also affecting sleep, libido and behaviours that indirectly influence fertility.

But this is the important distinction:

Stress is rarely the whole fertility story.

If someone is struggling to conceive, we don’t want to simply blame stress. We want to investigate what else might be contributing.

That can mean looking at ovulation, reproductive hormones, thyroid function, PCOS, endometriosis, nutritional status, medical history and, importantly, s***m health.

Fertility is complex, and reducing someone’s experience to “you’re too stressed” risks overlooking factors that deserve proper investigation.

Stress may be one piece of the puzzle. It shouldn’t automatically be assumed to be the cause.

Our fertility naturopaths Mel and Danielle support women and couples trying naturally, preparing for IVF and navigating more complex fertility concerns.

Book a FREE discovery call to find the right practitioner for you:

www.nourishingapothecary.com.au

Or comment CLINIC below and we’ll send you the link directly.

02/09/2026

Do you actually know how to count your menstrual cycle?

This is one of those things we assume everyone knows, but I get asked about it all the time.

Day 1 of your menstrual cycle is the first day of proper menstrual bleeding. You then continue counting every day until the day before your next period begins.

So if you have a 28 day cycle, Day 1 is the first day you bleed, and Day 28 is the final day before your next period starts. When your next period begins, you’re back to Day 1.

And an important distinction: the length of your period is NOT the length of your menstrual cycle.

If you bleed for 5 days, that doesn’t mean you have a 5 day cycle. Your cycle includes your menstrual phase, follicular phase, ovulation and luteal phase.

What about spotting?

If you have a small amount of spotting before your period begins, we generally don’t count that as Day 1. Day 1 is when proper menstrual flow begins.

Tracking your cycle accurately can give us incredibly useful information about ovulation, cycle regularity, your luteal phase and overall reproductive health.

If your cycles are irregular, you’re experiencing unusual bleeding or you’d like help understanding what your cycle is telling you, our team of naturopaths at Nourishing Apothecary can help.

We consult Australia wide via Zoom.

www.nourishingapothecary.com

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