Health Articles & Clinical Insights
Heavy Metals & Thyroid Dysfunction: The HTMA Connection
Mercury, arsenic and cadmium may disrupt thyroid hormone production and conversion by depleting selenium and blocking TPO, even with a normal-looking TSH.
ADHD in Children: Diagnosis, Exercise & the Evidence
ADHD in children: what a DSM-5 diagnosis actually requires, what the overdiagnosis debate gets right and wrong, and what exercise can and cannot deliver.
Sulforaphane & Nrf2: Phase II Detoxification Explained
Sulforaphane from cruciferous vegetables is a potent Nrf2 activator. How it switches on Phase II enzymes and glutathione production inside your cells.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Sleep Disturbance
Up to 95% of people with ME/CFS have disrupted sleep. Why sleep stays unrefreshing even after long nights, and how the pattern is assessed in Adelaide.
Personalised Biomarker Tracking vs Symptom Googling
Author: Rohan Smith | Functional Medicine Practitioner | Adelaide, SA Quick Answer Personalised biomarker tracking involves measuring objective health markers, such as serum ferritin, thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and heart rate variability (HRV), over time and interpreting trends against an individual’s own baseline rather than relying on population reference ranges or symptom-based...
The ‘Normal’ Lab Result Trap: Why Generic Advice Fails
Two people can eat the same meal and get opposite blood sugar responses. Why population averages fail individuals, and what personalised prevention looks like.
Functional vs. Normal Blood Test Ranges
A normal result only means you sit inside the middle 95% of a population. How functional ranges differ, and why symptoms persist inside normal limits.
Metabolic Health & Biomarkers: Why Standard Diets Fail
Metabolic health comes down to five markers: waist, blood pressure, triglycerides, HDL and fasting glucose. Why standard diets fail when these are ignored.
Is Your Anti-Ageing Stack Actually Working? 2026 Check
Most anti-ageing supplement stacks lack outcome evidence. What trials actually support for healthspan, and why training, sleep and metabolic health still win.
If Google Were Right, You’d Be Dead by Now
Online symptom checkers put the right diagnosis first only about a third of the time. Why matching symptoms fails, and what physiological testing adds.
Why Your Smartwatch Knows You’re Tired… but Not Why
Your smartwatch can tell you HRV is low but not why. What wearable recovery scores actually measure, where they mislead, and which testing answers the cause.
Melatonin & Light: Why Darkness Is Biologically Essential
Evening light can cut melatonin by half and delay it by around 90 minutes. Why darkness is biologically necessary, and what actually protects your sleep.
MTHFR – Do You Even Need Activated B’s?
Author: Rohan Smith | Functional Medicine Practitioner | Adelaide, SA Quick Answer MTHFR (methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase) is a key enzyme in one-carbon metabolism that converts dietary folate into its active form, 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF). While “activated” B vitamins such as methylfolate and methylcobalamin may benefit some individuals with MTHFR C677T or A1298C variants, they are not universally...
Can AI Fix Your Hormones? Why Human Expertise Still Wins
AI can summarise hormone information but cannot diagnose or treat hormonal problems. Why feedback loops across thyroid, adrenals and gut still need a clinician.
Why You Can’t Lose Weight Despite Doing Everything Right
Can't lose weight despite diet and exercise? Thyroid conversion, insulin and leptin resistance, cortisol and gut bacteria can each block fat loss.
Fasting vs Starvation: Therapeutic Fasting Safety & Science
Author: Rohan Smith | Functional Medicine Practitioner | Adelaide, SA Quick Answer Fasting and starvation are physiologically distinct states. Therapeutic fasting is a controlled, voluntary period of food abstinence during which the body shifts from glucose metabolism to fatty acid oxidation and ketone production, activating adaptive processes such as autophagy. Starvation, by contrast, occurs when...
Hypochlorhydria: The Hidden Barrier to Nutrient Absorption
Hypochlorhydria means too little stomach acid, not too much. How it may block protein, iron and B12 absorption, the symptoms it causes, and how it is tested.
Beyond TSH: Why Your Thyroid Might Still Be the Problem
Signs you may not be converting T4 to T3, why TSH alone will not show it, and which thyroid markers reveal conversion problems and autoimmune activity.
Functional Medicine: Finding the Root Cause of Illness
Functional medicine in Adelaide: root-cause care for chronic illness. How genetics, gut, nutrition, stress and environment are assessed together, not apart.
Your Doctor Says You’re Fine — But You Feel Terrible
All your blood tests are normal but you still feel unwell. Why standard reference ranges screen for disease rather than function, and what to look at next.
The Gut-Brain Connection: Digestion & Anxiety Relief
The gut and brain talk both ways via the vagus nerve, immune signals and microbial metabolites. How dysbiosis and SIBO may feed anxiety, and what settles it.
Sleep Optimisation: Nutrients for Better Sleep & Energy
Author: Rohan Smith | Functional Medicine Practitioner | Adelaide, SA Quick Answer Magnesium, vitamin D, and B vitamins are among the key nutrients associated with improved sleep quality. Poor sleep may stem from nutrient insufficiencies, dysregulated cortisol rhythms, or circadian misalignment rather than behavioural factors alone. Targeted nutritional assessment and circadian-aligned lifestyle strategies can help...
Weight Loss Drugs: What They Don’t Tell You
GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy curb appetite but leave gut, hormone and metabolic drivers untouched. What to monitor, and what happens when you stop.
The Healing Power of Rest: Why Convalescence Matters
Convalescence is the recovery period after illness or stress. Why deliberate rest matters, what happens when you skip it, and how to know you've had enough.
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