Karen Latter, Naturopath, Nutritionist & Herbalist, Fairlight

17/11/2021

Introducing my new clinic website - it had a nine month gestation and finally its here - up and out - wooo hooo! 😁🤩🥳
Its been a funny old 9 months - my clinic partner Alison up to our eye balls in her PhD, me wrangling a toddler 🤪, both of us busy in clinic adapting to the new normal of practising in COVID times, but we found the time to go back to the drawing board, create something new with our site, and we have some new offerings - our 3 keystone programs:
1. The ultimate in Preventative Healthcare - Preconception care 2. Pregnancy support
3. Baby and Beyond
We are excited...and would love to here your thoughts on our new web baby.
https://nbhealthandfertility.com.au

29/06/2021

I thought during this lockdown I would share some of my favourite health tips from over the years - things I recommend all the time, tips I know work well, aren’t a passing fad and won’t break the bank. So let me start with slippery elm, a fibre rich mucilaginous tree bark, think of it like a big soothing plaster for your GIT tract, which is why I like the powder rather than other forms, as it starts working as you swallow it and it works it’s soothing magic all the way down through the bowel. I once heard an enthusiastic presenter saying the goal is to ‘poo snakes’ (Type 4 Bristol Stool Chart 💩 ) By this, smooth easy stools with no effort! And slippery elm helps this 🙌 😁 So how to take it - for kids you could mash into banana, for gastritis you could mix into chamomile with Manuka or if you are me - today I mixed 1 tsp of slippery elm, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp of cocoa, add boiling water - stir and add your favourite milk - really it’s delicious. Ok any other questions for me...?

28/06/2021

‘Baby muffins’ I love this recipe - any recipe where I can put all the ingredients into a blender and then pour into muffin tray has my vote. Plus it’s backed full of protein (170g of almond meal and 4 eggs) has dates to sweeten (70g), coconut cream (100g) and then 1/2 tsp of vanilla powder and 1/2 tsp bicarb. Gluten and dairy free. They taste yum - Gwenevere likes them - they are moist and freeze well 🙌. Once ingredients are in the blender, process until smooth, 10-15 minutes at 180c will do it for mini muffins. Makes 24. Credit to my friend Libby AKA ❤️

01/06/2021

'15 per cent of young, healthy mothers in NSW have had an induction of labour with no medical reason' important new research finding from 3 year study by Professor of midwifery Hannah Dahlen who looked at 474,652 births and discounted nearly a million births to make sure only low-risk mothers under 35 were counted.

"We found in induced births there was more neonatal birth trauma, more need for resuscitation, more need to care for neonatal intensive care and ongoing respiratory infections all up till age 16," she said.'

This important research shows a massive need to question the need for induction especially in low-risk mothers under 35 - and to ask health care providers whether an induction really is medically necessary.

Read more here....
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-01/induced-labours-on-the-rise-in-nsw-study-finds/100180072

New research reveals about 15 per cent of young, healthy mothers in NSW are being put into induced labours without any medical reason and there are long-term impacts for mothers and babies.

03/08/2020

World Breastfeeding Week - 'support breastfeeding for a healthier planet' - here is a couple photos of me where i am 15 days in - that expression on my face - is still unsure, 'have i got this right?' I am wondering. So much thanks to the women who supported me in my breastfeeding journey 1) my doula - Kathyrn Bell - for prepping me in my pregnancy, being there to help Gwenevere find my b**b and find her first latch and being there for me when i got home 2) Dawn Whitten - awesome naturopath and lactation consultant - quite simply the best BFing information out there - her presentations have been invaluable for my learning 3) Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA) - the Northern Sydney groups were integral to my breastfeeding journey - here i found out about Cluster Feeding - they made me feel okay about 'feeding my baby to sleep' - I felt confident and like 'i can do this' every time i went, the ABA book 'Breastfeeding Naturally' which you get when you join, a read and re-read this so many times 4) my partner - Hans - seriously grateful and heart full of love for Hans supporting me whole heartedly to BF 5) my naturopath - ha ha - which is actually me - :-) - the herbs, the nutrients, the food that helped me keep myself and my b**bs healthy...it takes a village to grow a baby yes, and it takes a village to support a Mumma to breastfeed....:-)x

10/05/2020

The last blog i wrote was in 2018! So by way of an explanation of why so long and to share a little of the story of where i have been...

http://karenlatter.com.au/i-am-back/

So where the heck have I been? And why the so-long blog silence? Well something quite exceptional happened to me in late 2018, I discovered I was pregnant. The exceptional bit is I had recently turned 44 years and didn’t think my ovaries had it in them to muster up a viable egg. My partner …

07/02/2020

I am excited to be back in clinic after 5.5 months of maternity leave with this little smiling wonder. Such a heart filling time being her Mumma - so much gratitude 🙏🏻❤️. I’m back Practising Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday - and still have some appointments free for next week - book online at karenlatter.com.au See you soon 😁

08/08/2019

Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day - I wake up and look forward to it - although after 12+ years of talking to people in clinic about their breakfast i know that some people struggle to find time to have a nutritious breakfasts. Often starting the day on empty, with just a coffee or only having time for a grab-and-go breakie. The result your blood sugar drops and with it so does your energy and brain power. If that sounds like you - have a read of this blog, packed full of ideas for quick nutrient dense breakfasts - you only need a little weekend planning and prep - and you will be set for the week... http://nbhealthandfertility.com.au/blog/healthy-breakfasts

By Karen Latter , naturopath

22/06/2019

On cold and chilly days we need warming food in our bellies...it just makes sense, here is some ideas on what to include in your diet and some recipe suggestions http://nbhealthandfertility.com.au/blog/winter-warmers

11/05/2019

Interested in living long and importantly living well...? Here are some lessons on longevity and life from the people in the world who do it the best...? http://nbhealthandfertility.com.au/blog/lessons-on-life-and-longevity-from-the-worlds-blue-zones

18/04/2019

I have an interesting relationship with the practice of mindfulness - it comes and goes - at my peak i studied mindfulness and meditation for a year and committed to regular practice - i was challenged with a million and one distractions, but there is one thing i know when I practice mindfulness it makes me better, stronger and happier. I am pretty sure it can do the same for you too. Science tells us it can improve your mood, boost your immune system, help your gut, reduce inflammation and improve your sleep. Do you want some of that? Here I attempt to distill what it is and give tips on how to start your practice as well as share some of my favourite resources. 🤩http://nbhealthandfertility.com.au/blog/the-what-why-and-how-of-mindfulness

By Karen Latter, naturopath, nutritionist and herbalis t

17/04/2019

Yep its true naturopaths like chocolate - me included - the photo is one of my favourite sugar-free recipes that i found in Sarah Wilson's first 'I Quit Sugar' book...frozen raspberries, blueberries, coconut, 100% cocoa, maple syrup - it is so good 🥰- hop along here to find out about this and some other yummy refined sugar-free chocolate recipes.
http://nbhealthandfertility.com.au/blog.html

08/04/2019

Good news the government has said that they will set up a natural therapy review as they have acknowledged that there is key evidence of efficacy (from 2014 onwards) for a number of natural therapies including naturopathy. This is great news, but the bummer is that we will have to wait a whole year for the review and any reversal of changes to private health funds. MP Dr Kerryn Phelps has noted this is the government making an about turn after growing public protest and rather than wait 12+ months for the review - should actually be reversed now. If you agree, keep on communicating that you support a reversal of this to your health fund and local MP. Here is the press releasehttps://www.atms.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Review-of-natural-therapies-for-private-health-insurance.pdf

11/03/2019

Let’s take two men: John and Matt. Both are looking to conceive with their partners in the next three months. They are chatting about whether they need to do anything to prepare. Their partners have started taking a preconception multivitamin and eating healthier, but would eating better and living a healthier lifestyle make a difference to their s***m health? Read more at the link
http://nbhealthandfertility.com.au/blog/s***m-health-whats-diet-got-to-do-with-it

08/03/2019

On the 1st April health funds will no longer include natural therapies (including naturopathy, herbal medicine and nutrition) due to government changes based on outdated and flawed government review of natural therapies. As this video shows i think it is just the start. Watch it now, get informed and stand up if you want to send a strong message to Canberra.

Also, in my email box today i recieved an email from the Australian College of Nutritiona Medicine (ACNEM) informing that the Medical Board of Australia has initiated a public consultation on 'clearer regulation of medical practitioners who provide complementary and unconventional medicine and emerging treatments'. So this is aimed at Drs who use complementary medicine. And the worrying thing is how they lump everything together - can you put evidence based nutritional and biochemical medicine (or herbal and naturopathic medicine) in the same basket as an emerging treatment / or energetic based medicine such as reiki. No of course you can not!

04/02/2019

Anxiety is the most common mental health condition in Australia. On average, 1 in 4 people will experience anxiety. So it is likely that perhaps you, a number of your friends and some of your family members experience anxiety. This article focuses on some practical tips to help lessen anxiety.
http://nbhealthandfertility.com.au/blog/our-top-tips-to-help-relieve-anxiety

21/11/2018

Really excited about the latest Cochrane review on fish oils in pregnancy, have a read....:-)

Fish oils have been in the news a lot lately and we have been particularly excited about this Cochrane Review published on Friday, that showed that omega-3 fish oils reduced preterm birth (>37 weeks) by 11% and early preterm birth (>34 weeks) by 42%. Fantastic :-) The advice for pregnant ladies is to take a good quality fish oil supplement that gives 500 mg of the omega-3 fatty acid, DHA daily. A supplement makes sense when you consider that 80% of Australians do not get their recommended 2-3 serves of fish each week. Talk to us to find out which fish oil we recommend in pregnancy and why. And here is the link to the Cochrane Review if you would like to read more for yourself - enjoy https://www.cochrane.org/CD003402/PREG_omega-3-fatty-acid-addition-during-pregnancy