A reflection on intergenerational hunger, healing, and the body as home.

I was born in 1985 and grew up in a small North Queensland town. When I started primary school I was the only visibly non-white kid: half Australian, half Chinese Malaysian, learning early what “different” looked like. Later, when my parents moved me to a bigger primary school (largely due to being bullied), my brother and I were two of the very few kids who were visibly Asian or mixed-Asian. 

​By the time boys entered the picture in late primary school and high school, I’d already learned what “pretty” meant - white, blonde, familiar - and I knew I wasn’t it.

​My mum migrated from Malaysia, bringing with her the smell of soy and sesame, the stories of migration, and the insistence on thrift and nourishment.

Within me I carried her accent, her cooking, her lineage... and also the subtle and not-so-subtle lessons that difference was something to control. In the 1990s, any lunchboxes that stood out were teased: honey soy chicken wings, Chinese New Year leftovers, anything that earned me the "ching chong chinaman" taunt. I learned to avoid them. Sandwiches and pies were safer. “Normal.”

It took decades to understand how that small-town survival strategy was rooted in something much older and larger: colonialism’s long shadow over food, body, and belonging.
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Tolle causam. Identify and treat the causes.

Naturopaths, herbalists and holistic nutritionists - we all pride ourselves on treating holistically, not symptomatically. We know symptoms are not random defects but attempts by the body to adapt, recover, and heal.

But what if our profession’s understanding of “root cause” has itself been uprooted from its origins?

What if the systems that taught us to “fix” and “purify” the body were shaped by the same colonial worldviews that divided nature from culture, and reason from intuition?

As Sabrina Strings shows in Fearing the Black Body, Western medicine and wellness alike inherited a moral code that tied discipline, restraint, and whiteness to health. Modern diet culture - and much of what passes as “clean” or “natural” living - still carries this legacy.

If our goal is Tolle Causam, then we can’t stop at physiology. We have to trace the roots right down, deep down into the soil of culture, power, and history. Because disordered eating, weight stigma, and body shame are not individual failures.

They’re predictable outcomes of a system that worships control and pathologises difference.

When we start to see diet culture and disordered eating through that lens, it’s clear they aren’t personal failings - they’re colonial inheritances.

Our profession didn’t create these hierarchies, but we HAVE absorbed them. They show up every time “balance” is framed as self-discipline, every time “toxins” are blamed instead of trauma, every time we mistake restriction for healing.

Decolonising wellness means recognising that many of our “root cause” approaches were built within a white, Western worldview that equated thinness, discipline, and control with virtue. As Sabrina Strings (2019) shows in Fearing the Black Body, modern fatphobia emerged from the same racial hierarchies that defined who was seen as civilised or worthy. These hierarchies still echo in the way we talk about “clean eating,” “toxins,” and “fixing” the body.

This is where naturopathy, for all its holistic intentions, can lose its roots.

When our clinical gaze is shaped by colonial ideals of control and purity, we risk reproducing the very harm we claim to heal.

And yet, there are two glaring blind spots where we often forget this principle in practice:

• Prescribing weight loss as a treatment for chronic conditions like type 2 diabetes, PCOS, cardiovascular disease, and infertility.
• Failing to recognise and address eating disorders and disordered eating, which themselves are often the deeper causes of digestive, endocrine, reproductive, and mental health presentations.

When we reduce health to body weight, we mistake correlation for causation... and we ignore the true roots.

Primum non nocere. First, do no harm.

This is the first tenet of the naturopathic oath we all take on graduation day from college, and the most critical.

As naturopaths we strive not to add to the burden of problems of our patients. To refrain from damaging their physical, mental, or emotional wellbeing. To not intervene in ways that harm.

In many ways, we are good at abiding by this foundational tenet...

• We know not to prescribe a herb that will interact dangerously with a client’s medication.
• We avoid recommending restrictive elimination diets when a gentler, more balanced approach will suffice.
• We double-check safety in pregnancy before recommending a herb or an essential oil
• We withhold a liver detox protocol when a client’s constitution is already depleted.
• We understand that sometimes less is more - that doing nothing is better than doing something that could cause harm.

And yet… there's something insidious going on within the naturopathic profession that has not been called out. Despite our best intentions, it's doing serious harm to our clients, our profession, and ourselves.

That thing is a weight-focused approach to health, also known as the weight-centric health paradigm (WCHP) (O’Hara & Taylor, 2018). Whether directly or indirectly, promoting weight loss does irrefutable harm.
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Even if it’s weight loss “for health.” Or “for fertility.” Or just because “who doesn’t want to be a bit leaner?”
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Here’s where Intuitive Eating comes in. Its very first principle - Reject Diet Culture - mirrors Primum non nocere.

Diets don’t just fail in the long run. They cause measurable harm.

• Metabolic harm: In the famous “Biggest Loser” follow-up study, participants showed a sustained metabolic slowdown of around 700 calories/day, persisting six years after the intervention (Fothergill et al., 2016). This adaptive thermogenesis increases the risk of weight regain and long-term metabolic disturbance.
• Weight cycling: Repeated weight loss and regain (very common after diets) increases risk of hypertension, insulin resistance, and cardiovascular disease - independent of BMI (Montani, Schutz, & Dulloo, 2015).
• Disordered eating: Dieting is one of the strongest predictors for the onset of eating disorders. Even “moderate” restriction can lead to binge-restrict cycles and clinical eating disorders (Stice, Marti, & Durant, 2011).
• Psychological harm: Dieting is associated with increased body dissatisfaction, food preoccupation, depression, and lowered self-esteem (Polivy & Herman, 1985).
• Nutrient deficiencies: Restrictive diets often reduce intake of essential micronutrients such as iron, calcium, and B vitamins (depending on which diet), particularly when multiple food groups are excluded (O’Hara & Taylor, 2018).

Given this evidence, how can we possibly collude with diet culture and still claim to practice do no harm? To prescribe or promote weight loss is not neutral; it is a harmful intervention that undermines health.

The “wellness” world loooooves a trend.

Ice baths. Fasting windows. Keto meal plans.
They promise all energy, focus, and “balance” - the holy trinity of modern womanhood.

But most of these hacks were built on male physiology!

They rarely consider what happens when oestrogen and progesterone begin their unpredictable midlife waltz... when sleep gets lighter, moods swing harder, and recovery takes longer.

Perimenopause isn’t a malfunction. It’s the changing of the tide, a body moving from flower to fruit to seed.

A recalibration. Beneath the surface, hormones surge and ebb like weather fronts. Bones remodel. Nerves rewire. This isn’t decline. It’s meant to happen.

But the wellness industry can’t stand what it can’t control! So it sells us “resets,” ice baths, fasts, and cleanses - all in the name of balance (or discipline / purity / whatever-the-fuck).

The underlying message, of course, is this: Be smaller. Be quieter. Be easier to manage.

Meanwhile, your body is doing something revolutionary: reclaiming itself. Wild. Wise. Inconveniently alive for the systems that prefer your power domesticated.

Perimenopause is a remembering of nature’s pace, and nature doesn’t rush her tides. So maybe it’s time to put down the bro hacks, return the tools to the earth, and listen for what’s stirring beneath the surface.

Let’s unpack five of the biggest “wellness” culprits - five wellness trends your perimenopausal body f*cking hates - and what actually supports your body through this transition.
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Welcome to part three of the Disordered Eating for Naturopaths series. In the last two instalments, we explored the spectrum of disordered eating and the red flags practitioners should never miss.

Now, we’re looking at the uncomfortable middle ground: The place where disordered eating and naturopathic practice intersect.

It happens in two key ways:

1. When clients seek affirmation of their disordered eating through naturopathic care.
2. When naturopaths unintentionally - or sometimes directly - reinforce those patterns.

Let’s be honest: this one’s going to sting a little. But it’s also where real growth starts. So let's go!
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I had a heated discussion with my dad today. He only reads the Courier-Mail - one of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp rags - and he was adamant that “immigrants are taking all our jobs and houses!” In particular he singled out Palestinian refugees, echoing the tabloid line that they’re flooding in unchecked and "could be terrorists.”​

He didn’t know the actual stats. He didn’t know that Palestinians fleeing war go through multiple rounds of health, identity, security, and character checks before they can even get here. Between October 2023 and August 2024, Australia granted 2922 visas to people from Gaza and the West Bank. Of those, only about 1300 have actually arrived (ABC News, 2024; Wikipedia, 2024).

Most of those arrivals are on visitor visas - which mean no right to work, no Medicare, and no social support (ABC News, 2024). In the same period, thousands more Palestinians applied for protection or humanitarian visas and were denied (SBS News, 2024). The government even admitted it’s rejecting more applications than it approves.

In early 2025, officials reported that almost 1000 humanitarian visas had been granted to Palestinians and Israelis fleeing the conflict (CathNews, 2025). Yet when you compare that to the scale of displacement - more than 1.9 million Gazans uprooted - these numbers are tiny.

My dad's response to these numbers? "Oh. Is that it?"

This is not some wide-open floodgate. It’s extreme gatekeeping disguised as generosity.

It reminds me of a landlord who turns off the water for the whole apartment block, then sits back while the tenants fight each other for the last drips from the tap. The real question isn’t who stole your glass of water - it’s why the fuck the landlord cut it off in the first place.

That’s what scapegoating does. It directs our anger sideways or punches down - at immigrants, or at any of a number marginalised groups (take your pick: trans and LGBTQ+ people, people on welfare or unemployed folks, First Nations people, women and feminists, unions and striking workers, climate activists and scientists, Muslims and other religious minorities, young people and students, disabled people and NDIS users)... instead of upwards, where the real damage is being done.

So let me be crystal clear about who's actually to blame for the housing crisis.
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Transformation | Remembrance | Rejection & insecurity | Bringing subconscious fears to light | Tending to the wounded healer


This highly recognisable mushroom may bring to mind whimsical images from childhood fairytales, yet today it’s often feared as deadly by those unfamiliar with her deeper healing potential. To dispel this myth: Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria), unlike some in her genus, is not deadly when prepared properly. Still, this storybook toadstool commands deep respect and understanding.


Amanita arrives in a cloak of childlike wonder - bright, enchanting, curious, and mischievous - yet her roots run deep, touching the hidden places within the earth and soul. She is the little one who knows the way to the underworld. In her presence, we remember that even innocence can open ancient doors. 


She reflects both the Six of Cups and The Magician cards of tarot - a bridge between tender remembrance and inner transformation. Amanita invites us to playfully reconnect with forgotten and ignored parts of ourselves, while guiding us through a sacred alchemical transmutation in which we become awake to that which no longer serves. 


Amanita muscaria, though toxic if misused, has been revered for inducing altered states, catalysing inner alchemy - a reshaping of consciousness, much like the Magician’s role in the tarot. Transformation in this sense is not an end, but a clearing - one that the ego often resists, yet is essential for new growth. The descent is rarely soft, but in yielding to it, we awaken a raw, childlike curiosity that matures into deep inner strength. From that softened place trapped energy begins to flow, offering quiet liberation. 


Called “the archetypal magic mushroom” by Australian mycologist Caine Barlow, Amanita muscaria has long held a place in traditional cultures as a spiritual ally and entheogen. Amanita was often used in ritualistic or initiatory contexts, testing the limits of the mind and spirit. This mushroom represents the cost and consequence of seeking true power. But magic without grounding is delusion. Though powerful and potentially overwhelming when taken beyond microdose levels, if approached with reverence and preparation it can bring profound initiation - mirroring rites of passage and ego death. 


In my experience, the essence of Amanita offers a gentler, safer, and more sustainable way to work with her. Through dreams, visions, and gentle unraveling, she brings subconscious fears - especially around rejection, insecurity, and change - into the light of awareness. Her medicine deepens when paired with dreamwork, meditation, or spirit communion. 


Amanita is especially resonant for those who walk at the edges -the bog witches, wood dwellers, wild seers and wounded healers - those who guide others through chaos yet often avoid their own depths. Her essence helps dissolve long-held patterns shaped by pain, fear, or isolation. In the breaking open, something softer, more authentic, and more whole is born.


Tarot correspondence: The Magician, 6 of Cups


Element: Fire, Earth


Planets: Sun, Moon, Mercury


Dosage: Take 2-4 drops up to 4 times per day, directly on the tongue or in a glass of water.


Ingredients: Amanita muscaria vibrational essence. Made with gluten free brandy and filtered rainwater. 


Amanita is the first in a sacred triad of allies for walking the shadowed path - joining Datura and Angel's Trumpet as gatekeepers to the underworld and midwives for the soul’s return. Together, these three master plants guide the spiral descent into the depths and the luminous reemergence that follows.


If your spirit feels the call to walk this path with intention, mystery, and deep remembrance, you’re invited to join myself, my beloved sister and herbalist Dominika, and these potent green teachers for a 6-week guided descent:

🌑 The Poisoned Path – Journey Into the Underworld 🌿

Come prepared to meet your shadows, your power, and the wisdom that waits in the dark.


​Handcrafted with love by Casey Conroy, qualified naturopath and herbalist using organically grown or sustainably wildcrafted plants and fungi. This is a vibrational remedy.


15mL stock bottle



** Payment for Amanita Mushroom Essence **


Due to Square’s payment policy, we’re unable to process payments for Amanita muscaria products through their system.

(It’s a bit of a silly rule - this is an essence containing no actual mushroom material - but Square still blocks it under their “restricted items” list.)

✨ If you’d like to order Amanita muscaria essence, please use direct bank transfer instead:


Account Name: Casey Conroy
BSB: 923 000
Account Number: 307015668
Reference: Please use your full name as the payment reference so we can match your order.


If your order includes any Amanita essence - whether this is your entire order or you wish to also buy other products, please email me with what you'd like and I will send you a quote and put your entire order together. 

​Please note there is an addition to your order total of $15.95 for regular postage or $22.95 for express postage in Australia. 

Please email [email protected] to let me know you've placed an order. Once payment is received, we’ll confirm your order by text or email. Thank you for your understanding!

This article is part 2 of a mini-series on disordered eating in naturopathic practice. Over three parts, we’ll explore the eating spectrum, the red flags you need to know, and how to avoid accidentally fuelling diet culture in clinic.

Whether you’re a naturopath, herbalist, or other holistic practitioner, this series will start giving you the frameworks to support clients safely and effectively - without causing harm.

Through a naturopathic lens, this is Primum non nocere (First, do no harm) and Tolle totum (Treat the whole person). We’re not here to police plates; we’re here to restore healthy relationships with appetite, body, food... and essentially, oneself.
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I’ve spent years trying to capture what disordered eating looks like in real life. The problem was, my lists kept getting longer and longer: the client who avoids carbs after 6pm, won’t eat until 11am, keeps boxes of weight loss supplements stashed away, cooks high-calorie meals for everyone else but won’t touch them, body-checks every time they pass a mirror, or spends 75% of their waking hours thinking about food and weight.

The truth is, disordered eating shows up in endless ways. And when I focused on every possible detail, it was easy to miss the bigger picture.

So instead of a looooong checklist, I now group these patterns into five broad families. I won’t list every symptom under each, but if you know the gist of these five, you’ll be much better equipped to spot disordered eating in practice... without losing sight of the person in front of you.

So here are my five red flags, in no particular order of importance:

Being a holistic health practitioner after the tidal waves of COVID-19 that have hit us often feels like walking a frayed tightrope. On one side, mainstream medicine pretty much dismisses anything outside the biomedical model as pseudoscience, “woo,” or magical thinking. On the other, parts of the wellness industry veered into contrarianism, conspiracism, rugged individualism, and healthism - using the pandemic as fuel for branding and sales.

And those of us in between - who care deeply about evidence, community, and tradition - were left trying to hold nuance in a world that desperately wanted extremes.
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