Sanatio Naturopathy

12/04/2026

Things I use and love. The girls also use most of these as well.

I’d love to know if you’ve tried any?

Of if you’ve got any I can add to my list?

Lindsay

12/04/2026

Iron is one of the most overlooked drivers of hair growth — and one of the most common reasons for ongoing hair shedding 🧬

Hair is not essential for survival, so when your body is low in nutrients, it prioritises vital organs over hair follicles. This means your hair is often the first place you’ll notice deficiencies — especially iron ⚠️

Iron plays a critical role in carrying oxygen to your cells 🩸 Your hair follicles are some of the most metabolically active cells in the body, meaning they need a constant supply of oxygen and nutrients to grow strong, thick, healthy strands 💇‍♀️ When iron is low, oxygen delivery drops — and the hair growth cycle is disrupted

This can lead to:

increased hair shedding 😩
thinning through the lengths
slow or stalled hair growth 🐢
brittle, weak strands

One of the biggest mistakes we see is relying on “normal” blood test ranges 📉 For optimal hair growth, your ferritin (iron stores) should typically sit well above the lower end — often above 35–50 µg/L, and in many cases closer to 70+ for strong regrowth 📊

If your iron has been “low-normal” for a while, or not improving despite supplementation, it’s a sign to dig deeper 🔍

We often look at:

- absorption issues (like low stomach acid)

- gut infections such as Helicobacter pylori 🦠

- heavy menstrual blood loss 🩸

- low dietary intake or poor protein intake 🍽️

The key is not just taking iron — but understanding why it’s low and correcting it properly 🧠

If you’re experiencing hair loss or slow regrowth, iron is one of the first things you need to test and optimise ✨

Comment “HAIRY” and I’ll send you my full hair loss testing guide 🔬

09/04/2026

YOUR SKIN ISN’T BROKEN — YOU’RE JUST MISSING SELENIUM

Selenium is one of the most underrated minerals for skin health, and deficiency is incredibly common — especially in people with autoimmune conditions, thyroid issues, or gut problems.

Here’s what selenium actually does for your skin 👇

🛡️ It’s a cofactor for glutathione peroxidase — your body’s master antioxidant enzyme
🔥 It reduces inflammation and oxidative stress (the root of acne, eczema, rosacea)
🧬 It supports thyroid hormone conversion (T4 to T3) — and thyroid affects skin
🦠 It has antimicrobial properties against acne-causing bacteria
⚙️ It supports skin barrier function and wound healing

Signs your selenium might be low:
• Acne, eczema, or rosacea that won’t respond to topical treatments
• Dry, flaky, or dull skin
• Slow wound healing or frequent infections
• Hair loss or brittle nails
• Fatigue alongside skin issues
• Autoimmune skin conditions (vitiligo, psoriasis)

Why selenium deficiency is so common:
The soil in many regions is depleted of selenium. If you’re eating food from depleted soil, you’re not getting enough. Add in gut issues (which impair mineral absorption), and deficiency becomes likely.

What I look for on blood work:
🧪 Serum selenium: ideally 100–150 ng/mL
Anything below 90 and I’m supplementing.

What I use in clinic:
✨ Selenium (selenomethionine) — 200mcg daily with food
✨ Paired with vitamin E — they work synergistically
✨ Always from food sources first — Brazil nuts (1–2 per day), wild-caught fish, eggs
✨ If supplementing, cycle it — 5 days on, 2 days off to prevent toxicity

Important: selenium has a narrow therapeutic window. Too little is bad, but too much is toxic. This is why testing matters.

Your skin isn’t broken. It’s just asking for the right nutrients. 🌱

08/04/2026

This client saw me determined to get her cycles back and clear her skin.

At our first consult I loved how collected and confident she was she could fix this.

What ever I suggested, she did.

She’d ditched the pill, her period was MIA and her skin was mad.

What we did;

🤍 this was a classic case of high insulin + elevated DHEAS driving androgens → and in turn, breakouts

Here’s what we focused on 👇🏼

• Balancing blood sugar to reduce insulin + androgen drive 📉

• correcting nutrient deficiencies from the pill 💊

• Supporting liver detox pathways for healthy oestrogen metabolism 🌿

• Repairing the gut (glutamine, chamomile, licorice, bitters) to improve absorption + reduce inflammation 🦠

• Calming the nervous system with magnesium + herbal support 🧠✨

The result ✨
• Significant clearing of facial + back acne
• Regular, healthy cycles 🩸
• DHEAS reduced from 10.7 → 7.7 📊
• Feeling good and calm

This is what happens when you treat the root cause — not just the skin 💫

We had 7 consults. Lindsay 🌿

08/04/2026

08/04/2026

Low iron and low B12? 🚩
This is a big red flag I see often in clinic—and one of the first things I think about is H. pylori.

H. pylori is a bacteria that lives in the stomach and can quietly disrupt digestion and absorption. It lowers stomach acid (which you need to absorb iron + B12), meaning you can supplement all you like… and still feel depleted.

Common signs:
• Bloating + reflux
• Burping, nausea, or feeling heavy after meals
• Low appetite or early fullness
• Fatigue, brain fog
• Persistent low iron + B12

But here’s where it gets interesting 👇
H. pylori is also linked to skin conditions like acne, rosacea, eczema, and hives. When the gut is inflamed and not absorbing properly, it shows up on your skin.

In naturopathy, we don’t just suppress it—we eradicate and repair:
• Targeted antimicrobials
• Gut lining support
• Rebuilding stomach acid + digestion
• Restoring the microbiome

If your labs keep coming back low and your skin isn’t improving, this could be the missing piece.

👉 Book a consult and let’s test + treat the root cause properly.

07/04/2026

Stress → breakouts isn’t just “hormones”… it’s cortisol.

High cortisol:
• ↑ oil (sebum) production
• ↑ androgens (more congestion)
• ↑ blood sugar → ↑ insulin → more breakouts

→ Your skin stays stuck in an inflammatory, oily cycle

Support your stress response + your skin 👇

🌿 Ashwagandha (300–600mg)
→ helps lower elevated cortisol + calm skin

🌿 Rhodiola (200–400mg, morning)
→ regulates stress response + supports energy

🌿 Magnesium glycinate (200–400mg night)
→ nervous system support + better sleep = better skin

🌿 Holy basil (Tulsi) (300–600mg)
→ balances cortisol + blood sugar

🌿 Licorice root (low cortisol only)
→ supports adrenal output + energy

If your skin flares when you’re stressed… this is your sign to look deeper than skincare.

Gut, hormones + stress all play a role.

CTA: DM me “SKIN” or book a consult to get to the root cause.

07/04/2026

If your iron hasn’t improved after 8–10 weeks—despite taking the right supplement, at the right dose, at the right time (away from caffeine + calcium)… it’s time to look deeper 👇

Iron is absorbed in the small intestine. If your gut isn’t functioning properly, you can take all the iron in the world and still see no change.

Common blocks I see:
• SIBO or gut dysbiosis → interferes with absorption
• H. pylori → reduces stomach acid needed to absorb iron (clues: reflux, bloating)
• Coeliac disease → damages the gut lining, impacting nutrient uptake across the board

Then there’s medications + history:
• PPIs (acid blockers)
• Chronic NSAID use
• Bariatric surgery

All of these reduce your ability to absorb iron effectively.

And finally—losses matter just as much as intake:
Heavy periods, pregnancy, frequent blood donation, endurance training… you may be losing iron faster than you can replenish it.

If this is you, guessing won’t fix it.

👉 Book a consult and let’s investigate properly so your iron actually goes up—and stays up.

We can help arrange a stool test and unpack your bloods to help work out what’s going on. Lindsay 🌿

07/04/2026

Things I love! I could also add

- Natural sunscreen
- Stainless steel pans
- pottery for the plant reusable cup
- local honey

06/04/2026

Think of gut dysfunction as a chain reaction:

• A weakened gut lining (leaky gut)→ triggering immune responses and systemic inflammation 🔓

• Imbalanced gut bacteria (dysbiosis) can drive inflammation and disrupt immune regulation ⚖️

• Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) can impair digestion and nutrient absorption, often contributing to bloating, sensitivities, and skin flare-ups 🌱

• Parasites can create ongoing irritation in the gut, compete for nutrients, and trigger immune activation and inflammation 🦠

• H. pylori infection can damage the stomach lining, reduce stomach acid, and impair digestion and mineral absorption — all of which can indirectly impact skin health 🧪

• Low stomach acid (often worsened by H. pylori) can further reduce protein breakdown and absorption of key nutrients like zinc and iron 🧬

• Poor liver and gallbladder function can reduce your ability to properly process hormones and eliminate toxins 🧹

• Reduced gut immunity can increase reactivity and inflammation throughout the body 🛡️

What happens in your gut doesn’t stay in your gut.

It influences:
→ systemic inflammation 🔥
→ hormone balance, oestrogen ⚖️
→ nutrient absorption 🍽️
→ immune responses 🛡️
→ detoxification pathways 🧼

All of which directly impact your skin.

So if you’re only treating the skin topically but not addressing what’s happening in the gut… You may only be treating the surface, not the cause 🧴❌

If you need some support here, comment, consult and we will be in touch

Lindsay

03/04/2026

Comment consult if you’d like to chat.

You can feel awful… and still be told your blood work is “normal.” 🤯

Here’s why 👇

“Normal” doesn’t mean optimal — it just means your results fall somewhere within a wide statistical average 📊
Reference ranges are created by testing large populations (many of whom already have underlying health issues), so they reflect what’s common, not what’s ideal for feeling your best.

So you might be:

Low in iron… but not low enough to be flagged as anaemic 🩸
Struggling with thyroid symptoms… but still “within range” 🦋
Depleted in nutrients like B12 or zinc… yet technically “normal” 🧬

And this is where people get missed 🚩

Because your body doesn’t care about averages — it cares about function ⚙️

You can sit at the very bottom (or top) of a range and still experience:

Fatigue 😴
Hair loss 💇‍♀️
Hormonal imbalances ⚖️
Gut issues 🦠
Brain fog 🌫️

From a naturopathic perspective, we look at optimal ranges — where the body is actually supported to thrive, not just survive 🌿✨

It’s also about context. Your symptoms, your history, your stress levels, your gut health — they all matter just as much as the numbers on a page 🧩

If you’ve ever been told “everything looks fine” but you don’t feel fine… trust that 💬

Your body is giving you information that a standard blood test might not fully capture 💡

✨ how and when you also test matters - and how things can also be missed

01/04/2026

Your body isn’t working against you… it’s responding to you 🤍

The mind–body connection is real. Chronic stress and unresolved emotions don’t just stay in your head — they show up in your gut, skin, hormones, and immune system.

When your body feels unsafe:
✨ Digestion slows
✨ Inflammation rises
✨ Hormones shift
✨ Healing is deprioritised

This is why you can be doing “everything right” and still feel stuck.

A great resource is The Body Keeps the Score 📖 — it explores how stress and trauma live in the body. Support services like Mind Australia 🧠 can also help guide mental wellbeing.

Other supportive tools you can explore:
🌿 Breathwork (e.g. box breathing, 4-7-8)
🧘‍♀️ Yoga or gentle movement to regulate the nervous system
📝 Journaling to process thoughts and emotions
🌞 Morning sunlight + consistent sleep routine
🚶‍♀️ Nature walks to downregulate stress
🎧 Guided meditation or mindfulness practices

Healing isn’t just what you take… it’s how safe your body feels ✨