← Services Nutritional Medicine

You can't supplement
your way out of
the wrong foundation.

Nutritional medicine is not about taking vitamins. It's about understanding precisely which nutrients your unique biochemistry requires — based on your genetics, your test results, your diet, and your health history — and prescribing accordingly.

DNA nutrition
Genetic variants in nutrient absorption, metabolism and utilisation determine your individual requirements — often dramatically different from population averages.
Methylation
MTHFR and related gene variants affect folate, B12, homocysteine, detoxification, neurotransmitters and oestrogen metabolism. Identification and correction is transformative for many clients.
Practitioner-grade
I prescribe pharmaceutical-grade supplements at therapeutic doses — not the retail doses designed for maintenance in already-healthy people.
What nutritional medicine investigates

Beyond "eat more vegetables."
Specific. Measured. Targeted.

01
DNA nutrition testing

Genetic variants in nutrient pathways determine how efficiently you absorb, convert and utilise specific nutrients. MTHFR variants impair folate conversion. VDR variants affect vitamin D metabolism. FUT2 affects B12 absorption. FADS variants affect omega-3 and omega-6 conversion. Understanding your genetic architecture allows precision nutrition that standard dietary advice cannot achieve.

02
Methylation & MTHFR

Methylation is the body's master biochemical switch — involved in DNA repair, detoxification, neurotransmitter production, oestrogen metabolism, and immune regulation. MTHFR mutations (present in up to 40% of the population) impair methylation, elevate homocysteine, and are linked to cardiovascular risk, mood disorders, fertility challenges, autoimmunity and certain cancers. Treatment with specific methylated B vitamins is highly effective and often life-changing.

03
Nutrient deficiency testing

Beyond standard iron and B12 checks, I assess intracellular magnesium, zinc, copper, selenium, iodine, vitamin D, CoQ10, essential fatty acid profile, and functional B vitamin status. Deficiencies in these nutrients underlie a vast range of symptoms — fatigue, skin conditions, hair loss, poor immunity, mood disorders, hormonal imbalance — that are routinely missed in standard panels.

04
Metabolic health

Insulin resistance, poor blood sugar regulation and dyslipidaemia are common, often subclinical, and profoundly affect energy, weight, cognition, skin (glycation), hormonal balance and long-term disease risk. I assess fasting insulin, HOMA-IR, HbA1c, comprehensive lipid panel and inflammatory markers, then treat through precision nutrition, herbal medicine and lifestyle medicine.

Start with your biology

Nutrition that's built
for your genes, not averages.

In-clinic in Canberra and online across Australia and New Zealand. No referral needed.

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Common questions

Nutritional medicine
frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a naturopath and a nutritionist?
A naturopath completes a four-year Bachelor of Health Science degree covering nutritional medicine, herbal medicine, functional pathology, clinical diagnosis and evidence-based medicine — and can prescribe practitioner-grade supplements, order functional testing and work across multiple body systems simultaneously. A nutritionist typically holds a shorter qualification focused on diet and dietary advice, without the clinical training to investigate root causes through pathology, genetics or herbal medicine. Cassandra holds both a Bachelor of Health Science (Naturopathy) and an Advanced Diploma of Western Herbal Medicine, completed three years of dedicated nutritional medicine studies, and has pursued postgraduate training in nutrition and environmental medicine through ACNEM. When you see Cassandra, you receive the depth of a clinician trained across naturopathy, herbal medicine and nutritional medicine — not a generalist dietary adviser.
What is nutritional medicine?
Nutritional medicine is a clinical discipline that uses targeted nutrition, dietary intervention and practitioner-grade supplements to support optimal health and treat the root causes of disease. It goes beyond general dietary advice to assess individual nutritional status, genetic variants affecting nutrient metabolism, methylation pathways and metabolic health through evidence-based testing.
What is MTHFR and how does it affect health?
MTHFR gene variants — present in up to 40% of the population — impair the conversion of folate to its active form, disrupting methylation. This affects DNA repair, detoxification, neurotransmitter production, oestrogen metabolism and cardiovascular health. Treatment involves methylated B vitamins at therapeutic doses.
What is DNA nutrition testing?
DNA nutrition testing analyses genetic variants that affect how your body absorbs, converts and utilises specific nutrients — including MTHFR (folate metabolism), VDR (vitamin D), FUT2 (B12 absorption) and FADS (omega-3 conversion). Understanding your genetic nutrition profile allows personalised supplementation and dietary recommendations that population-based guidelines cannot provide.
What nutrients are most important for skin health?
The most clinically significant nutrients for skin health include zinc (sebum regulation, immune response), vitamin A (cell turnover), vitamin C (collagen synthesis), essential fatty acids (skin barrier), silica (structural support), selenium (antioxidant protection) and vitamin D (immune regulation). Deficiencies in these nutrients frequently underlie persistent skin conditions.