Melissa McDonald Naturopath

28/09/2026

If you’re wondering what I’m doing up late at night, you’ll find me in my clinic making up herbs, compounds, creams and other prescriptions once my daughter goes to bed.

28/09/2026

Went to the doctor about your PMDD and left with an SSRI script and nothing else?

Hi, I’m Mel, a clinical naturopath working with hundreds of women with PMDD, and this is one of the most common stories I hear. You explain the rage, the crying, the anxiety before your period, you get a prescription, and nobody looks at why your brain might be struggling in the first place.

An SSRI can genuinely help, but it only targets one part of the picture. The root drivers I look at include methylation, which is your body’s process for making and recycling the chemicals your brain needs to feel steady. It runs on B12, folate and a helper molecule called SAMe. When methylation slows down, a marker called homocysteine builds up, and you can see that on a blood test. SAMe also helps your body make mood chemicals and clear histamine, which can leave you feeling wired when it lingers. Then there’s GABA, your brain’s calming chemical, and PMDD is already about that calming system being extra sensitive to hormone shifts.
That’s why I support methylation and the nutrients behind it, to help the systems your brain relies on to stay calm, alongside whatever you’re already taking.

You deserve to have the full picture looked at, not just a script. Start tracking which days your symptoms hit across your cycle, then take that to a practitioner who will dig into your bloodwork, including B12, folate and homocysteine. Please don’t stop any medication on your own, this is about adding to the picture, not replacing it.

Follow if your PMDD has never been fully explained by hormones alone.

PMDD methylation, PMDD SSRI, homocysteine PMDD, SAMe mood, GABA PMDD, naturopath PMDD

30/07/2026

Love a good hummus minus the seed oils? Comment “hummus” for my recipe x

29/07/2026

Hills I will die on as a clinical naturopath

26/07/2026

Are you currently stuck in a PD flare? Well you’re not alone. I’ve had 3 clients this week all with a flare up. Find some of my favourite foods and products I recommend to my clients to help calm things down and improve your skin health:

~ Sardines - part of the SMASH fish I rave on all the time for skin health. Full of healthy fats, zinc, b12 and calcium which is needed for healthy skin. I usually mash them up with avocado, garlic, red onion, Dijon and some seed oil free mayo ontop of rice crackers for an easy lunch meal. Aim for 3 meals per week for glowing skin.

~ Collagen - I love this product because you can buy this from most supermarkets now. I will either recommend this one or practitioner only, but they are unflavoured so you can add to almost anything. I also love the added skin ingredients in this product like zinc and vitamin C. I add 1 tablespoon to matcha or coffee 🤤

~ Nettle tea - one of the gods for skin problems. It’s high in iron snd blood building, so great for a little boost when low. Also have vitamin a which is important for skin hydration. Drink every night before bed for glowing skin.

Have any other products you’ve been loving lately for perioral dermatitis that you want to share? Pop in the comments and I’ll review them on my story!

23/07/2026

Do you have acne, and are still using cancer council or banana boat SPF?

I know... you might’ve tried mineral sunscreens before and they left white cast, but these one’s iv’e tried and i’m happy to say that these do not.

Iv’e also got news for you... chemical sunscreens are known to make acne worse. In some cases, just changing your SPF will make your acne improve overnight (this literally happened to my client).

Here are my favourite products, tried and tested. Have you tried something different that is like a magic pill for your skin? Pop it down in the comments! Always down to try something different.

01/07/2026

Here are my current faves for low tox products for skin, body and mouth. If you have any more recommendations for me please pop them below I’m always on the hunt for more!!

23/06/2026

Stress doesn’t always look dramatic, it can also look like rushing through meals, never sitting still, feeling guilty when resting, always catching up, too much exercise, undereating.

Healing often starts here: less output, more pause, more safety.

What’s one thing your body is asking you to slow down on?

18/06/2026

PMDD is more than just "bad PMS."

For many women, it can mean debilitating mood changes, anxiety, depression, rage, insomnia, headaches, bloating, and feeling like a completely different person for half of every month.

In my latest blog, I explore some of the underlying factors that may contribute to PMDD, including histamine, methylation, nutrient deficiencies, hormones, gut health, and the role of functional testing in uncovering root causes.

If you've ever felt like you've been told "everything is normal" but know something isn't right, this one's for you.

Read the blog below 👇

PMDD PMDD and histamine Histamine intolerance PMDD symptoms Methylation MTHFR Histamine and hormones PMDD root causes Functional testing for PMDD Organic Acids Test OMX testing Women's hormone health Integrative PMDD treatment Histamine intolerance symptoms Histamine and anxiety

17/06/2026

PMDD symptoms such as mood changes, anxiety, irritability, sleep disturbance and brain fog are often explored through a hormonal lens, however histamine metabolism and methylation pathways may also play a contributing role in symptom presentation.

Some women report temporary symptom relief with antihistamines, which work by blocking histamine receptors rather than reducing histamine levels in the body, suggesting histamine involvement without necessarily identifying the underlying cause.

Histamine clearance is influenced by multiple factors including methylation capacity, gut health, nutrient status, DAO enzyme activity and hormonal fluctuations across the menstrual cycle.

High histamine foods such as tomato, avocado, spinach, banana, strawberries and fermented foods are commonly included in modern diets and may contribute to symptom burden in individuals with reduced histamine tolerance. Understanding PMDD as a multifactorial condition involving hormones, histamine and biochemical pathways such as methylation may support a more individualised and integrative approach to investigation and management.

Want to find out more? Comment PMDD and I’ll send you a link to my latest blog