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Ananda Mahony Naturopath & Nutritionist

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Australia
Grange, QLD
Ananda Mahony Naturopath & Nutritionist

I help resolve chronic pain & skin issues and get people back into life and feeling more confident.

As a naturopath and clinical nutritionist Ananda’s practice focus is twofold: chronic skin conditions and integrated pain management for both acute and chronic pain. Ananda will work with you to effectively manage:

Acute and Chronic Pain – migraines, trauma and injury associated pain, reproductive pain conditions, neuropathic pain, low back pain, fibromyalgia and pain matrix conditions

Skin Conditions – eczema, psoriasis, acne, rosacea

Digestive Disorders

Stress Management

Autoimmune Conditions – pain and disease management

Other areas of clinical focus include digestive disorders such as IBS, stress management, thyroid and adrenal health and environmental or food allergies.

03/12/2025

New Blog: Chronic Pain Needs Top-down & Bottom-up Approaches

A common assumption is that pain comes directly from injury or damage in the body.

The bottom-up view (body to brain) explains persistent pain as the result of ongoing noxious signals that heighten pain perception and progressively sensitise the nervous system, even after tissues have healed.

But pain isn’t simply about what’s happening in the tissues. The brain is always involved.

A top-down perspective highlights changes within the brain’s own pain-modulating systems, along with a sensitised nervous system, which can drive pain independently of what the body is sending upward.

Read more: https://anandamahony.com.au/blog/chronic-pain-needs-both-brain-and-body-approaches

#ᴄʜʀᴏɴɪᴄᴘᴀɪɴ

01/12/2025

Chronic Pain & Maladaptive Stress

Chronic pain isn’t always driven by damaged tissues. Often it begins when the stress system stops switching off. A chronically activated fight-or-flight response disrupts cortisol rhythms, ramps up inflammation and sensitises both the spinal cord and brain. This makes the nervous system hyper-reactive, so even small inputs, think movement, pressure, emotional stress, can feel disproportionately painful.

This becomes a maladaptive biological loop. The stress system learns to stay on high alert, and pain circuits strengthen through repetition.

Fortunately, learned patterns can be unlearned. By calming the stress response, improving sleep, reducing inflammation and retraining the nervous system, the pain threshold becomes more flexible again. Chronic pain is changeable when we work with the driving factors.

28/11/2025

New Blog!
Chronic Pain: Stuck in Survival Mode

Once our nervous system is dysregulated, a triggering event, a small injury, surgery, infection, hormonal shift, or emotionally stressful period, can set off a prolonged pain condition in someone whose physiology is already primed. The nervous system isn’t just reacting to tissue damage; it’s reacting to the internal state of threat.

26/11/2025

A recent Mendelian randomisation study shows a causal link between genetically predicted intake of artificially sweetened foods and a higher risk of chronic pain, mediated in part by specific gut microbes.

The researchers analysed nine types of artificial sweeteners, 211 microbial taxa and seven chronic pain conditions, finding that changes in gut microbiota helped drive pain outcomes, especially head and neck pain, joint pain and sciatica.

This aligns with earlier data. A large 2001 cohort study reported that people consuming more than one serving of artificial sweeteners daily had more than double the risk of chronic headaches. Clinically I have observed that artificial sweeteners are a common aggravator for migraine and headache presentations.

Artificial sweeteners also sit firmly within the broader category of ultra-processed foods, which have known associations with inflammation and chronic pain.

While mechanisms are still being mapped, a consistent pattern is emerging: artificial sweeteners can shift microbial composition and metabolic activity, which may then influence immune signalling, inflammation and pain pathways.

This doesn’t mean everyone using sweeteners will develop pain. It does highlight that gut–brain–pain interactions are more significant than previously recognised and reducing artificially sweetened foods may improve pain outcomes.

Zhao, H., Guan, D., D**g, X., Yao, Y., & Ma, Z. (2025). Causal Effects of Artificially Sweetened Foods on Chronic Pain Mediated by Gut Microbiota: A Mendelian Randomization Study. Food Science & Nutrition, 13(6), e70503.

13/11/2025

Love a good review paper. This was my latest read: Gut microbiota-mediated pain sensitization: mechanisms and therapeutic implications.

The overall finding is that the makeup of one’s gut microbiome might tilt the balance toward pain or relief, depending on which bacteria (and metabolites) are abundant.

A healthy, balanced microbiome tends to support normal pain thresholds, whereas an imbalanced one might feed into chronic pain by continuously provoking the immune system or nervous system.

Next time I will discuss the microbiome targeted therapies that show promise for pain reduction.

10/11/2025

What do rosacea sufferers have in common?

Rosacea is a reflection of deeper issues. Many of my clients share similar underlying patterns:

🌿 Gut issues: Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), dysbiosis, or sluggish digestion can drive inflammation that shows up on the face.

🌿 Dental or gum issues: Oral bacteria and inflammation are linked to skin flare-ups.

🌿 Disrupted skin microbiome: When the skin’s protective flora is disturbed, redness, skin water loss and sensitivity often follow.

🌿 Higher risk of anxiety & depression: The gut–brain–skin connection means emotional wellbeing and skin health are deeply intertwined.

🌿 Sensitivities & allergies: Histamine reactivity and immune dysregulation are common companions in rosacea.

Rosacea is a whole-body story. Resolving rosacea begins by understanding your unique constellation of causes.

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?

Address

210 Days Road
Grange, QLD
4051

Opening Hours

Monday	1pm - 7pm
Wednesday	1pm - 7pm
Friday	8:30am - 1pm

Website

http://www.anandamahony.com.au/

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