Hello! Thanks for stopping by! I’m Chae, qualified Naturopath & founder of The Wellness Emporium – a space (both online and in clinic) that I have created to educate, inspire and empower others on their own health & wellness journey. As a qualified naturopath I am a proud member of the Australian Natural Therapists Association (ANTA) and have done extensive research in the areas of gut health and the microbiome.

Prior to my naturopathic studies, I worked as a teacher, which allowed me to travel the world. I worked extensively overseas and also in the education sector on the Gold Coast. However, I haven’t always been the bright & bubbly health advocate I am today. In my early childhood I was in and out of hospital with gut issues and at the age of 10 I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. At the time of diagnosis my whole bowel was inflamed and ulcerated and was put on extremely heavy medication, with talks of removing part of my bowel.

In the years that followed, I faced several other health and emotional challenges adding to the list of diagnosis including post-traumatic stress disorder accompanied by anxiety and OCD, polycystic ovarian syndrome, endometriosis, cystic acne, hypothyroidism and the list goes on.

Spending much of my life in and out of hospitals, doctor surgeries and other allied health practices I understand what it feels like to have ill-health rule your life. I allowed it to rule my relationships, my social life, my work, my food choices and even the clothes I wore.

In my late teens and early twenties, I struggled with the concept of not being able to do what other twenty-year olds were doing without suffering serious consequences. I rebelled against my health, I binged drunk, I ate unhealthy and I didn’t listen to my body. In my mid-twenties I was literally struck down by illness, which forced me to quit teaching and find a healthy way to begin to heal my body…. this ultimately led me to becoming a naturopath and what an amazing experience it has been and continues to be.

I often get asked what helped my own recovery. As much as I would like to say it was one simple thing, unfortunately there is no magic diet, nutritional supplement or herbal formula that solely helped. It has been a long journey, and definitely challenging at times (and will always be) but also very rewarding to get my health to where it is today.

I have a passion for women’s wellness and gut health and emphasise the importance of healthy food and lifestyle choices. For each of my patients, I create an individualised program to help assist their health journey and break down the healing process into achievable and clear steps. I am also an avid herbalist and enjoy being able to make customised herbal tinctures to suit the needs of each of my patients in our in-house herbal dispensary.

I enjoy working with people of all ages, especially with the conditions list below

GUT HEALTH

• Food intolerances & allergies
• Dysbiosis
• Increased Intestinal Permeability (“Leaky Gut”)
• Parasitic infections
• Bacterial Infections
• Yeast Infections & Candida
• Gastroenteritis
• Reflux
• Constipation / Diarrhoea
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Irritable Bowel Disease
• Small Intestinal Bacteria Overgrowth (SIBO)

WOMENS HEALTH

• Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)
• Endometriosis
• Fibroids
• Fertility
• Preconception care
• Perimenopause / Menopause
• Amenorrhea (absent periods)
• Dysmenorrhea (period pain)
• Menorrhagia (heavy periods)
• Oligomenorrhea (irregular periods)
• PMS
• Post-pill acne
• Other Hormonal imbalances and irregularities

• I am a lover of the ocean and have been since I was very young as my dad lived on a boat when I was growing up – its definitely my calming place
• I love keeping fit by doing yoga and HIIT 3-4 times a week. I am currently loving GRIT group classes at my gym, which last for 30 minutes
• I am an avid researcher and tend to get lost in web pages for several hours – my most researched topics would be gut health
• I have two brothers – one older and one younger
• I have 2 tattoos one on the back of my neck that I got with my older brother, which means love. And the other one is on the inside of my finger and is a saying from one of my old time favourite movies the Lion King – “hakuna matata”

• I took electives in Buddhist Studies during my Education degree
• My favourite season is SUMMER – and I love spending my days off down the beach or going for rides / skates along the beach front
• I’ve just started to take up surfing lessons and I am absolutely loving it
• My favourite thing to do on the weekend is to grab an almond milk chai latte from one of my favourite cafes and head to the farmers markets
• My favourite homemade breakfast is my gluten free pancakes or waffles, which you will find in my ebook.
• My favourite alcoholic beverage is coconut margaritas
• Im a big kid at heart and love theme (amusement) parks – a photo below is of me trying to get into Shrek’s house at Universal Studios in Singapore

• My favourite treat is chocolate
• I am currently reading “The Road Less Travelled” by M. Scott Peck
• My favourite place in the world is my home – Gold Coast, Australia.
• I lived in Hanoi, Vietnam for 1 year where I taught grade 2 in an international school. While there I did extensive travel within Asia including Laos, Thailand, Indonesia, China and of course within Vietnam itself.
• I have a love for travel and have backpacked solo around Europe a few times – my favourite places were Rome and Athens for their amazing ancient history (I am a little bit of an ancient history nut thanks to my passionate grade 11/12 Ancient History Teacher) along with seaside destination including Portugal, Spain, Greece & Croatia.