Alysia Chick Naturopath

Alysia Chick Naturopath Hi I'm Ally, a Naturopath specialising in children’s gut, skin and behavioural health.

I support families dealing with eczema, digestive issues, food reactions, sleep challenges, and emotional or behavioural concerns.

One of the easiest ways to support your family's microbiome is simply to feed it.When we talk about gut health, probioti...
14/08/2026

One of the easiest ways to support your family's microbiome is simply to feed it.

When we talk about gut health, probiotics tend to get most of the attention.

But the bacteria already living in our gut need feeding too.

One of the simplest ways we can do that is by eating a variety of plant foods.

And that absolutely still counts in winter.

Think:

🥕 carrots and pumpkin roasted with dinner
🥝 kiwi fruit with breakfast
🫐 frozen berries stirred through yoghurt or porridge
🥦 broccoli or peas added to pasta. Or raw veg alongside a warm meal
🫘 lentils stirred through soup or bolognese
🍎 stewed apple with cinnamon
🥣 oats for breakfast
🥔 cooled leftover potato added to lunch the next day

Different plant foods provide different fibres and compounds for our gut microbes.

You do NOT need to suddenly convince your child to eat a giant plate of kale.

Start with what your family already eats and gently build variety from there.

If spaghetti bolognese is a favourite, could you add grated carrot or lentils?

If porridge is already accepted, could you add berries?

If your child loves crackers, could hummus occasionally sit alongside them?

Gut health doesn't have to mean unusual foods, expensive powders or making separate meals for everyone.

Often it looks like ordinary family food with some added veggies on the side.

Save this one for your next grocery shop. What winter plant food does your child genuinely love?

You've got your microbiome test back and you are wondering what all the markers actually mean?!There is certainly a load...
14/08/2026

You've got your microbiome test back and you are wondering what all the markers actually mean?!

There is certainly a load of them on there, and today we are going to talk about just one of them, Zonulin.

Zonulin is one of the markers I can see when I run a Complete Microbiome Map, and it gives me information about the integrity of the gut barrier.

You might have heard this described online as leaky gut — but I think it deserves a little more explanation than that.

Our intestinal lining is designed to be selective. It allows nutrients through while helping to keep things that belong inside the gut where they should be.

When zonulin is elevated, it may suggest that the regulation of this barrier has been disrupted and intestinal permeability is increased.

But here is the important part:

I don’t treat a zonulin result. I treat the person in front of me.

I look at it alongside the rest of the microbiome results, their symptoms, diet, medications, health history and other inflammatory or digestive markers.

For one child, an elevated result might sit alongside eczema and digestive symptoms.

Another might have quite a different picture.

And that changes what we do next.

Rather than simply handing everyone the same “gut healing” supplement, the results help me decide where our priorities actually need to be.

Sometimes that means supporting the gut barrier.

Sometimes there are other findings we need to address first.

And sometimes the most important work is surprisingly simple: food variety, fibre, regular meals and supporting healthy bowel function.

This is why I love testing when it is clinically appropriate.

It gives us another piece of the puzzle — and helps me create a plan for your child rather than a generic gut protocol.

If you’ve been wondering what microbiome testing could tell us about your child’s gut health, you’re always welcome to send me a message.

10/08/2026

1 test result does not explain everything that’s going on for you. You are a complex being, and putting together the pieces of your health puzzle takes time and detective work.

If you’ve tried many things already and are confused about where to go next for your health, my DMs are open.
Let’s chat 💌

10/08/2026

When I receive a child’s microbiome test, I’m looking at the whole pattern.

I might look at their microbial diversity and which beneficial bacteria are present.

I’ll look at digestive and inflammatory markers.

I can look at things such as zonulin, which can give us information about gut barrier integrity.

I’m also looking for particular organisms that are higher or lower than we’d expect.

But then comes the really important part.

I put those results back together with the child sitting in front of me.

What are their bowel motions like?

Do they have eczema?

Are they bloated?

How are they sleeping?

What foods do they actually eat?

Because a test result by itself isn’t a treatment plan.

All of that information helps me decide what we prioritise first — and whether we need to think about food, fibre, probiotics, prebiotics, gut barrier support or something else entirely.

That’s the part of microbiome testing I love.

It gives me more information to create a plan for the particular child sitting in front of me in clinic.

Dear mum, you matter too!I meet so many mums who spend their mornings making everyone else's breakfast before grabbing a...
06/08/2026

Dear mum, you matter too!

I meet so many mums who spend their mornings making everyone else's breakfast before grabbing a coffee and hoping for the best.

By 11 o'clock they're exhausted.

By 3 pm they're craving sugar.

By dinner they're running purely on determination and feeling awful.

If this sounds familiar, please know you're not failing.

You're simply trying to meet everyone else's needs before your own.
Tomorrow morning, could you make one small change?
Add some protein to your breakfast.

Maybe it's:
🍳 Eggs on toast
🥣 Greek yoghurt with berries
🥜 Peanut butter on wholegrain toast
🥤 A protein smoothie

It doesn't have to be fancy.
It just needs to nourish you.
You deserve to feel steady, energised and looked after too.
Sometimes the smallest habits become the biggest turning points.

Tell me...
Are you a breakfast person?
Or do mornings feel like complete chaos?

If you need help with this, send me the word 'BREAKFAST' and I'll send you my free breakfast guide for busy mums.

Ever notice your child comes home absolutely starving?Sometimes it's because they simply haven't eaten enough during the...
04/08/2026

Ever notice your child comes home absolutely starving?

Sometimes it's because they simply haven't eaten enough during the school day.

A lunchbox doesn't need to be Pinterest-perfect.
It just needs to be practical.

I often encourage families to think about including:
✔️ A source of protein
✔️ A colourful fruit or vegetable
✔️ Something that provides lasting energy
✔️A treat, like a homemade brownie or muffin
✔️ Plenty of water

Simple combinations work beautifully.

Think:
• boiled eggs
• cheese
• chicken wraps
• yoghurt
• homemade muffins
• fruit
• veggie sticks
• popcorn

Children don't need perfection.
They need food they'll actually eat.

Remember—it's okay if they don't love every healthy food immediately.
Repeated exposure without pressure often works far better than forcing it.
Healthy eating is built over years, not one lunchbox.

What's one lunchbox item your child always eats first?

04/08/2026

These are the 3 things I most often notice in children with underlying gut issues:

1. Sometimes I notice ongoing eczema.
2. Sometimes they’re constantly getting sick.
3. Sometimes they’re tired, emotional or struggling to concentrate.

Now, none of these automatically mean there’s a gut problem.
But together they can help us ask better questions.

I always like to step back and look at the whole child.
How are they eating?
How are they sleeping?
What’s happening with their bowels?
How are their energy levels?

Children are wonderfully connected systems.
Rather than chasing one symptom, I like to understand the whole picture.

That’s where lasting change often begins.

Follow me Alysia Chick / Naturopath & wholefoods for families for practical family health a tips.

05/05/2026

If you are a breastfeeding mama whose baby isn’t sleeping well, this is for you.

The milk you produce at night is different to the milk you produce during the day! Night time milk has more melatonin, which helps your baby sleep during the night. Wild isnt it, and amazing!

If you are using your phone at night during midnight breast feeding sessions, this emits blue light and blocks that precious melatonin production. The flow on effect is that your milk is missing melatonin, and your baby doesn’t sleep as well.

Did you know this about blue light and breastmilk? Let’s have a chat in the comments below.

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Bendigo, VIC
3551

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