Emma: [00:00:00] Hello, Susan Hunter.
Susie: Hello. I'm.
Emma: Welcome to Tea with the Queen. It's unusual these days for me to have someone on Tea with the Queen. It's very nice to have you as my special guest. I have been working with Susan. Full disclosure, I've been working with Susan for a few years. I was on my knees, on my knees with what I thought was long covid.
It actually wasn't. It was glandular fever, which Susan picked up in our first session. And, uh, Susan is a very experienced naturopath and does some amazing work, especially with women. Perimenopausal, menopausal, all the things. you've got something called a health edit. What is a health edit and why do we all need one?
Susie: after almost 20 years of clinical experience, I've developed a health edit method. And a health edit is. In its simplest form a reset, it's a structured way for you to focus on one area of your health at a time in order to stop you feeling overwhelmed and help you [00:01:00] get results.
Emma: Yeah. Which we all need, right?
Susie: Absolutely, and I think health can feel really complicated and it can feel overwhelming, and we've got a few different approaches. Some people will bury their head in the sand and pretend it's not happening. Others will want to do all of the things all at once, and I find that can lead to. Very quickly feeling like you're not getting any results.
You're really paddling hard, but you're not getting anywhere. And so when we take a targeted and practical approach to this, you'll start to see transformative results.
Emma: I love that. And I have seen those results myself. I mean, I am one of those people that dived. I'm all in. I mean, they're all in or I'm all out, aren't I?
Susie: Star, you're like the perfect patient.
Emma: Like the perfect patient. Thank you. That's something you can all strive to be the perfect patient for your naturopath. Look, I think the, the thing for me was that, I had been to a GP three times [00:02:00] and they just said, you know what? We don't really know. You've got long covid, you've got kids and you run a business, and I'm like, no.
And I wonder how many women they're saying that to, that women are just putting up with that. Without digging a little bit deeper to find out the answers, what are you finding?
Susie: Yeah, I've, it really saddens me to talk to patients who have had a similar experience where they feel like. They're not, they're not a hundred percent. They know they've got signs, they know they've got symptoms. They, they don't have any answers, and some of them are made to feel like it's all in their head.
So really validating their experience is important and digging quite deep and using better testing, more thorough testing helps us get to the root cause of why they're feeling the way they're feeling.
Emma: because you know, as a society, we've really, the medical profession is designed to treat the illness, right, whereas with you, you do a deep dive into what's [00:03:00] the root of the issue. Rather than just focusing on, here's a bandaid, you know, or here's some medication or whatever. And I love that because it's preventative and it, you can look after your health at the very base level.
And Lord knows we had to strip all my stuff back to a very base level. and I love that this support for society and an alternative for people is there. But can you just talk about. Going in deeper with some of your patients and what type of work you do with them, like a typical, you can talk about me, I don't care, but you know, a typical patient.
Susie: Yeah, so my approach very much is treat the root cause, not just the symptom relief that a lot of treatments do offer. And so when I work one-on-one with someone, I cast my net very wide. So they may present with one symptom, and the most common complaint I see is fatigue. People are just tired and they don't know why.
They'll get their iron checked at the [00:04:00] doctor, and that's kind of the extent of it. And sometimes their iron might be an issue, might not be. But quite often with the way that we do 21st. Century living. There are multiple contributing factors to why people are unwell, and so when I cast my net wide with my testing, I am looking to rule out everything that it isn't in order to get to what it is, and then I can treat that root cause, which can sometimes be a super quick fix, and at other times can be.
3, 6, 12 months of corrective treatment. And that could be that they're in adrenal burnout. That could be that they've had glandular fever like yourself, and there's a Postviral syndrome kind of picture there. , but when we address the root cause, we, we are correcting it, never having to really go back to it, which means that we can move forward and know that our body's in balance.
Emma: And what I especially loved, uh, Susan, when you and I first met you were like, how much [00:05:00] information do you wanna know? And I was like, just gimme a high level. Just gimme a high level. So you've delved into the detail, which is beautiful. And then you've given me the high level, so you basically meet people where they're at.
And I love that about you. I don't know if I've ever told you that. Anyway. you wrote an interesting article about depositing and withdrawing from our Health Bank account. Can you explain for me in a bit more detail and our listeners what that actually means?
Susie: Yeah, I really like framing it like that for clients in order for them to get their head around how they can be. You know, choosing to put in a, a deposit or a withdrawal to their health bank account. So I know in my twenties I probably made lots of withdrawals by not going to bed early and probably going out with the girls and having a few too many drinks and not eating the best diet.
You know, all of those things are exposing ourself to ongoing stress and not looking after our stress response. All of those things are pretty much withdrawals, so [00:06:00] a lot of people will have, very commonly, myself included, had a period of time in the past or even now where they're taking a lot of money out of their health bank.
They're probably in a deficit. There's. Gonna be a pretty high interest rate to pay back on that if they don't get onto putting in some deposits, which is good Sleep hygiene, you know, making sure you're moving your body every day, eating whole foods, just all those things that your body loves you for, but is kind of compound interest that you build up over time and then ends up being an incredible nest egg when you're, when you're getting older and you get to have.
Increased health span, increased lifespan, um, yeah. All the goodness where you're not, you know, old and sick. You're old and well.
Emma: Yeah. Well, what's the point of aging if you don't do it well, right.
Susie: Absolutely. And I think by, yeah, just making sure your health bank balance is in the black and not in the red. You are definitely building resilience and, and capability for [00:07:00] later in life. So being older doesn't have to be a negative thing. It can be a really great thing 'cause you can do all the things you want to do.
Emma: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, you know, I've overhauled my health over the last couple of years and it's been one of the best things that I have done, and thanks to you and your supplements and keeping me on track and just the basic stuff that we. Forget, especially when we're running businesses and have kids, like we are at the bottom of the priority list.
And so bringing yourself up to the top of the priority list. And when I, I remember when I first started working with you, I was a mess and we had to shave a lot of things out. And I remember I had just had to go through my diary and gom. Wow. But well, can't do that. Can't do that. Actually have to insert nap times.
And actually that's the biggest thing that you gave me permission to nap and it was. It's awesome and I still do it today, which is incredible. And I also, I do get up at five o'clock in the morning to go and do my steps too. But you know, being able to rest in the middle of the day makes me so much more [00:08:00] productive.
and you know, I'm just feeling so much better.
Susie: Oh, you, you've, you've actually really nailed it by starting your mornings with movement that is. Just such a good way to work with your body clocks and help raise dopamine. So you've got the motivation, you've got the energy to do the first part of your day, and then that reset by having, you know, whether it's a micro nap or a, an um, a nons sleep, deep rest, 10 minute activity where you're closing your eyes and just letting that dopamine recharge, helping give you energy to.
Do the second part of the day. you are really striking the balance and you've done it consistently, and that's what pays off is the consistency and the embedding of that habit long term. So everyone should be more like Emma.
Emma: Be more like Emma. Emma does have a slight obsession with discipline. So there's that. Maybe not be that obsessive. But I do like how I feel and I think once you like how you feel, you just. Wanna do more of it [00:09:00] because, I have one late night now, and now I'm like, oh my goodness, I've gotta do three early nights just to make up the deficit, which you really never can, but, you know, like I give it a crack.
I'm such a nana now. Anyway, um, you touched on stress before, and as small business owners, there's always gonna be some stress, right? How do we deal with this stress in, in a positive way? What are your, what's your thought processes around that?
Susie: look, I think we've demonized stress, like not all stress is bad. You know it. We can definitely build capacity for handling stress. Our body has. Physiological and hormonal systems to handle stress, but it's not built to be in a constant fight, flight, or freeze response at all times. There is not constant danger around the corner, so that ability to recover from stress to rest, to have boundaries, to have the stress management tools that you know work for you.
[00:10:00] Embed those. And like you said earlier, that discipline of doing them consistently is what's gonna help you be able to have better resilience, not tip into burnout. So I think when you can identify what helps you feel calmer. Clearer, um, less overwhelmed. , rather than just kind of surviving on caffeine and staying up late and just, you know, grinding your way through the work, then you are gonna be regulating your nervous system.
You're gonna be balancing your cortisol and adrenaline output. So I guess the goal is not zero stress, it's how do we handle the stress that is on our plates? 'cause that's inevitable.
Emma: Yeah. I love that you say let's not demonize it because I think there is a healthy degree of stress, which motivates us to do different types of things, but I think if we can have some really good, Tools in our toolkit around how we manage stress. And I, I need to talk to you about this [00:11:00] non-LEP deep breast, is that what it's called?
non-LEP Deep breast, because I just can't get it, Susie. I'm like, I need to have a nap. And then I'm like, no, I'm gonna try this thing. And then I try that thing and I'm like, oh, it just, I don't know how to nail it. So, you know, that's one of the learnings for me. Tell me, I mean, a little birdie told me that you are in the middle of writing a book quite close to being finished.
What's the book about?
Susie: the Health Edit Handbook, it's all about focusing on one thing. It covers the nine main health domains. They're sort of those foundations of health, like stress and stamina and sleep, mood, digestion, you name it. We are kind of covering it, and at its center is really being able to work on one of those things at a time.
Optimize that area of health and all of it is really contributing to longevity and healthy aging over time. And so it'll give you the one thing to focus on in terms of strategies, but you'll get a full checklist of [00:12:00] all the things you can be doing. If you can take on more, it'll go into the testing that is really important to do for that.
For that area of health. And then it'll also discuss the ripple effects it has on the other systems in the body. So that's, yeah, hopefully due later in 2025, which I'm excited about.
Emma: Do you know what I love about that? That you can just like pick one thing to like really nail nail, and then you pick the next thing and you nail that. When I was working with you. I was like, all right, I have to nail my energy. I have to let my body rest. So what is the one thing that I needed to do?
It was clear the calendar and add naps in. So maybe two things, but once you've cleared the calendar, you just add your naps in and you know, like nailing that one thing and then going, okay, what's the next thing? Like, okay, it's, you know, getting the supplements right, getting the healthy eating right and stuff.
And something you said reminded me, I went to see Elizabeth Gilbert, uh, in Melbourne a little while ago, and one of the things that she said on stage, which really like I've gotta see it in my brain, is. [00:13:00] She said, why are we not talking to our daughters or our, um, female friends or our young women?
We, we keep talking to them about being fierce and being bold and being courageous and all the things, and she said, why are we not talking to them about being calm? And you know, the calmest person in the room is the most powerful person in the room. And it wasn't that statement, it was just this whole idea that actually we can calm.
And it was hilarious 'cause there's 2000 people in this thing and she's like, put your hand up if. You are feeling calm. How many people do you reckon put their hand up? Not one person. And I'm like, okay, calm is gonna be my new call, right? I'm going to like, let's get calm. What does that mean to regulate your nervous system?
To make sure that you're doing all the right things, to look after yourself, to make sure that you walk in with, you know, just feeling calm within yourself. And so. I love that we look at stress in a positive way and we don't demonize it. [00:14:00] Susie, it's been amazing. I reckon a lot of people will be like, how do I find her?
Who is she? What's the go? So where will they find you? Tell me how they can stalk you.
Susie: Yeah. Yeah, it's really simple. If I'm on Instagram, so it's just Susan Hunter Health. One word on there, I'm on LinkedIn and my website's pretty simple. Susan hunter.com do au. really happy to connect if people. People wanna ask any more questions.
Emma: Amazing. And is there any, you listen to this podcast, you know what this podcast is, you know, our audience, you know, mainly women. Is there anything that you would like to, as a parting gift to leave us with in terms of thoughts or, um, something that is a tidbit that you have found has worked really well with your patients?
Susie: Yeah, I think if you're feeling tired or if you're feeling stuck, don't try to fix everything at once. I've done it and I just end up overwhelming myself, think I've got all these great intentions, but you know, get the investigations done. Get a strategy, get a [00:15:00] game plan. Set yourself up for success by working with someone that can help facilitate transformative results.
Emma: Yeah. Beautiful. And I would encourage you, if you're listening to this and you've got some value out of this to follow Susan, uh, and watch out for her book that's gonna come out later and book in a clarity call. Just the clarity call. You'll like be thanking yourself afterwards. Thank you, Susan, for sharing with our audience.
You're amazing. Story on how you actually help people and also how they can help themselves and also some resources. So we'll pop those in the show notes as well. Thank you so much. It was lovely to have you on tea with the Queen.
Susie: Thanks, Emma
