Best Health Funds for Natural Therapies

Do you want to get better value from your health fund? At this time of the year, many of our clients have used up their limit for natural therapies, and are not sure which is the best health fund for them.

In June this year, Choice did a Health Insurance Comparisons Review for singles, couples and families. We have created simplified tables of the results, based purely on natural therapies (acupuncture, massage, naturopathy) cover for each of these groups.

Please note

• There are 3 levels of cover in each table- basic, medium and top.
• The policies are for extras cover only, and do not include hospital cover.
• It is important that you consider the full level of cover that you want.

Because of this, these tables should be used as a guide only.

What is clear from the tables is that smaller health funds often provide better value than larger ones. We suggest that you

• Look up what are the best natural therapies options for you from the tables.
• Ring these funds and a few others to get a quote.
• We have had good reports regarding Frank Health Insurance, so you may like to include a quote from them.
• You could also ring iSelect, however keep in mind that they only compare 12 out of 36 providers.
• If you want to process your claims at the Clinic, don’t choose HCF or Latrobe Health Services, as they haven’t added natural therapies onto the Hicaps system.

When you ring the funds, let them know that you are shopping around, and ask them if they can waive the extras waiting period for you.

A few phone calls could save you a lot of money in the long term!

Health Insurance Comparisons Tables

Health Funds Extras Cover Comparison for Singles

Health Funds Extras Cover Comparison  for Couples

Health Funds Extras Cover Comparison for Families

Getting Fat from Juicing Kale

We recently had a client who was trying hard to improve her health, so she was making and drinking plenty of fresh vegetable and fruit juices. However, after a while, she found that she was putting on weight instead of losing it, and was getting digestive issues such as stomach discomfort, bloating and gas. What was going wrong?

Kale is very popular at the moment, and with good reason. It is an excellent source of many vitamins and antioxidants- one cup contains 180 percent of the recommended daily dose of Vitamin A, 200 percent of Vitamin C, and 1,020 percent of Vitamin K. All three of these vitamins are antioxidants that help protect the body from certain types of cancer. Kale’s unusual amount of vitamin K in particular helps the body with blood clotting and bone health. Kale is rich in calcium and iron, and it contains a massive 45 different flavonoids, with a huge variety of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.

However, it is often the case that anything that can have a powerful good effect on the body, if used incorrectly, can have a negative effect. Excessive use of kale, such as juicing it every day, could cause problems such as

• High levels of Vitamin K, which can increase the risk of blood clots forming in the body and causing strokes.
• Kale belongs to cruciferous family, which includes broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and bok choy. These vegetables are well-known for their cancer-prevention properties. However, they can also suppress the thyroid, causing low energy, weight gain and hair loss.
• Raw kale in particular can be hard on the digestive system, causing bloating, gas and other abdominal issues.

So Should We Avoid Kale?

In a word, no! It has many wonderful nutritional benefits. But just because something is excellent in moderate amounts, doesn’t always mean it is even better for everyone in higher doses.

There are two ways to avoid nutrition imbalances. One way is to have everything in moderation. Done correctly, juices can be fantastic, however keep in mind that they are highly concentrated, so don’t have them all the time, and have a variety of ingredients. An even better approach is to have a proper assessment by a good Brisbane naturopath, who can determine which foods are best for you and which ones you should avoid.

Please see our updated article on

Detox for a Healthier 2014,

which includes details of our free Detox information night in October.