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Welcome to The Holistic Appetite
My name's Ashleigh Horvat, and I'm a Naturopath (BHSc) and Registered Nurse (General Practice) from Melbourne, Australia.
Bookings are available for In-Person and Telehealth (Online) appointments. If you would alternatively like me to contact you regarding making a booking, please fill in the form below and I will get back to you as soon as possible. After hours appointments can also be organised.
What is Naturopathy?
Naturopathic Medicine is a holistic medical modality that recognises the body is very intricate and thus focuses on treating the whole person and the root cause of health issues. This is done via supporting an individual to live a healthy lifestyle, especially via promoting the consumption of a nourishing diet, drinking clean and filtered water, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, practicing stress management, and getting adequate sunlight. Where appropriate, the prescription of dietary and lifestyle modifications, herbal medicine, and vitamin/mineral/nutraceutical supplementation is made that is best catered for the individual.
Scroll to discover what areas Naturopathy can help with
Why Naturopathy?
Naturopathy can provide assistance in the following key areas:
General Health & Wellbeing
Supporting and optimising health to help you be the best version of yourself. Goals are tailored to the individual, which may include enhancing energy, improving sleep quality, balancing weight, supporting detoxification, and strengthening your tolerance to stress.
Gut Health
Hippocrates (the father of modern medicine) stated "all disease begins in the gut" and he wasn't wrong. Gut health plays a major role in initiating or driving disease, thus is often considered in holistic treatment. Naturopathy can be helpful in treating gut-related conditions including IBS, bloating, indigestion, SIBO, SIFO, dysbiosis, GI infections, parasites, constipation, diarrhoea, IBD, coeliac disease, and so much more! Many other conditions such as allergies, mental health conditions, autoimmune disease, and skin conditions can stem from the gut.
Immune Support, Chronic Infections, & Autoimmunity
The immune system's role is to protect us from infection, and when weakened, can leave us at risk of recurrent infections, stronger illnesses, and a longer healing time. When the immune system is dysregulated, we may be more susceptible to allergies (hayfever, eczema, rashes, and asthma) or autoimmune conditions. The health of the gut plays a major role in this area, especially as 70% of the immune system is located in the gut.
Skin Health
Whilst the skin plays a role in our appearance, it can also tell us a lot about what is going on internally. Acne and rashes can be driven by an altered gut/skin microbiome, hormonal dysregulation, nutritional deficiencies, poor diet/lifestyle, sluggish detoxification, and inappropriate skin care.
Stress Support & Fatigue
Amongst our modern lifestyles, stress is practically unavoidable for many individuals. Whilst small amounts of stress can be healthy and keep us motivated, repetitive stress and chronic stress can be detrimental, leaving the adrenal glands depleted. Long-term, this can result in fatigue and contribute to sleep alterations and an array of health conditions. Naturopathy can be a very helpful modality in this area of dysregulation, assisting you in feeling energised again.
Mental Health
Over the last few years, there has been a rise in mental health conditions with increases in stress as a result of our lifestyles, a pandemic, life changes, and the cost of living. Whilst conditions can be situational, some can be driven my causes such as epigenetics, altered gut health, nutritional deficiencies, and alcohol/drug use.
Women's Health & Fertility
Women's health issues and altered fertility are at an all-time high right now, and Naturopathy can help. Epigenetics, environmental toxins, intestinal dysbiosis, blood sugar dysregulation, stress, inflammation, and nutritional deficiencies can contribute to/drive hormonal dysregulation and conditions such as PCOS, amenorrhoea, PMS, PMDD, endometriosis, adenomyosis, and uterine fibroids. Naturopathy can also provide fantastic support through the transition to menopause.
Men's Health & Fertility
Naturopathy can be helpful for men too, throughout any stage of life. From optimising sexual function, libido, and fertility to providing adjuvant treatment in infertility and men's health conditions, herbal medicine, nutritional support, and lifestyle education can be of great help.
Chronic Disease Support
Naturopathy can be of great support alone or as an integrative modality for conditions such as Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, metabolic syndrome, thyroid conditions, hypertension, hypotension, arthritic conditions, and chronic wounds.