Maxine brings years of education, experience and practical knowledge to her practice at Step Into Health. Her passion is to inspire, encourage and educate all of her clients to invest in their health with the view of creating better quality of life and wellness.

Maxine specializes in Health Coaching - Detoxification programs, fatigue syndromes, irritable bowel syndrome, constipation and other digestive disorders, chronic degenerative diseases, handling menopause naturally, weight loss, conception and healthy pregnancy programs, anti-ageing and wellness programs.

Maxine truly believes in the importance of 'the mind-body-spirit' connection and encourages each new client to look at ways to develop a more positive approach to life. A sick mind will not live long in a healthy body. When you meet Maxine you will see that she is a promoter of 'looking good - feeling good' and recommends a number of excellent health promoting treatments that also work on the outer image.

Before Maxine went into private practice she owned and operated a small chain of health food stores where she pioneered the introduction of health care practitioners working through these outlets.

Maxine was then approached to join an international marketing company where she was responsible for the formulation and marketing of a nutritional range of supplements. This allowed her to indulge her passion of teaching health and nutrition as she travelled nationally and internationally for many years. As a result of the experience she gained as a speaker, Maxine is invited by many groups, clubs and business's to share on her health and wellness knowledge.

Eventually tiring of the constant travelling Maxine with her husband Laurie built and operated a highly successful health retreat in northern New South Wales.

Some ten years ago Maxine and Laurie moved back to Queensland and converted a private home in Carindale to facilitate all aspects of their naturopathic wellness centre and day spa.

Why see a naturopath?

Conventional medicine’s focus is often on treating the symptoms of a particular illness and in contrast, naturopaths seek to discover why you are susceptible to the condition in the first place. The aim is to rectify this imbalance, remove the disease created and restore harmony within the body.

Naturopaths view disease and illness as a response to living in an unhealthy lifestyle with contributing factors such as poor dietary choices, lack of exercise, high levels of stress, unhappy work & home environment and a negative mental outlook. By addressing the factors causing the disease, it is possible to reverse the symptoms of the disease while at the same time eliminating the cause of the problem.  This is where you will experience positive and long lasting changes in your health with you in control.

It is for these reasons that more and more people are turning to naturopaths for their health requirements and choosing a natural approach to their well-being. This holistic approach will lead to a society of healthy and vibrant people enjoying true quality of life and wellness.

It is estimated that approximately 70% of Australian adults currently take some kind of complementary medicine and approximately 1.9 million consultations with naturopaths and other complementary medicine practitioners take place annually.

How does a naturopath consult?

A Naturopath works a lot like a coach, educating, training and motivating you to achieve your personal health and fitness goals. Firstly we need to ascertain what it is you would like to improve/change about your health and fitness. During a consultation your practitioner (health coach) will conduct extensive testing, note your full medical history and factor in your lifestyle and emotional state for consideration.

Then you will be presented with ‘a report of findings’ and a step-by-step plan that includes the programs, support, tools and encouragement you need to move toward long lasting health and vitality.

What is a Naturopathic consultation?

• An initial consultation will take about one and half hours.
• A comprehensive patient history is taken.
• At Step Into Health a naturopathic consultations is constructed around ‘Hemaview” live blood analysis.
• A urine analysis will disclose a full biochemical profile
• An iridology overview will be done.
• Zinc status will be checked.
• ABO Blood typing is offered if required.
• Blood glucose will be monitored if required.
• Blood pressure will be taken.
• Oxygen saturation will be checked
• Saliva and urine will be PH tested (acid/alkaline balance)
• Digestive, liver & bowel toxicity measured if required.
• Dietary assessment and program
• Personal supplement & herbal program
• Report of findings and step-by-step plan of action 

Follow up consultations 

Follow up consultations are specifically formatted to re-assess your health and monitor your progress. Most follow up consultations take approximately 30-45 minutes and frequency will depend on your presenting condition. From time to time depending on your health goals additional testing may be recommended such as VLA Cellular health analysis or treatments such as Lymphatic drainage massage. 

Phone or email consultations 

For the convenience of many of our country clients we offer phone or email consultations.  Initial consultations take approximately 30 minutes and are prearranged.  Our clients are asked to complete and return a ‘comprehensive health appraisal questionnaire’ prior to the phone link.

‘A report of findings and step-by-step plan of action’ is prepared and on going guidance is offered to achieve total wellness.

A huge range of ‘practitioner only’ supplement and herbal formulas is available and for convenience to our clients we offer a daily post out service. 

Seeing is believing!

‘Hemaview' or Live Blood Cell Analysis (LBA) is based on one of the oldest, most highly developed medical sciences, Haematology. It can help screen for a number of risk factors that could be affecting your health:   

'Hemaview' (LBA) is an observation of live blood, which involves the viewing of a freshly taken blood sample under a microscope. A tiny prick is made on the patient’s finger and a droplet of blood is added to a sterile slide. Blood is not drawn from the veins as with other blood tests doctors perform. So for those of you that dislike having your blood taken the traditional medical way, you will find this quite a painless experience. 

Unlike most medical testing LBA allows you to be present and an observer during the entire procedure. You will view your own blood and watch the red and white blood cells moving. Your practitioner will discuss with you what the ‘Hemaview' is revealing, whilst observing variations in the size, shape, ratios and fine structure of both red and white cells, platelets and other structures in your blood giving you a broader understanding. This information allows the practitioner to provide a more accurate professional recommendation on the present state of your health. LBA enables early detection of problem areas and therefore can be used as a preventative measure for the patient.  

The test must be done efficiently and quickly or many of the live blood’s features will degrade with time.

‘Hemaview' LBA can identify the instances of:

• Nutritional deficiencies
• Organ system dysfunctions
• Gut Permeability & Digestive Health
• Blood cell integrity
• Chronic infections such as Candida
• Allergic reactions
• Antioxidant levels and Free Radical damage
• Some biochemical imbalances
• Inflammatory processes
• Your immune system activity

‘Hemaview' LBA can show changes in your blood much faster than many standard medical tests.

LBA can highlight functional imbalances otherwise known as “precursors” to disease (inflammation, sluggish immunity, poor red cell structure etc).  By displaying your highly magnified live blood sample on a monitor you can see how your blood is affected by poor diet and other poor lifestyle choices. Your practitioner will develop an effective treatment protocol tailor-made to address any health conditions you may be experiencing, giving you the opportunity to be proactive and embark on a preventative program rather than allowing the development of more serious health issues that would take longer to resolve.

'Hemaview' LBA is known as a functional test and indicates how efficiently your Liver is functioning. Standard Liver Function Tests do not necessarily indicate any abnormal function of the Liver but report on actual liver damage. Why wait until that level of damage is indicated? For a preventative strategy it is prudent to know how the Liver is functioning right now. LBA can give you that information.

Although there are many reasons why patients decide on a ‘Hemaview' LBA consultation we have found this test to be particularly beneficial for patients experiencing poor digestive function, allergies, fatty livers, and a variety of other gastrointestinal problems.

Some additional information on your Blood:

• A red blood cell can circumnavigate your body in less than 20 seconds!
• There are approx. 2.5 trillion red blood cells in your body at any given moment, so to enable you to maintain this number, about two and half million new ones need to be produced every second by your bone marrow!
• The average blood cell in your body lives for only 120 days
• Red blood cells are about seven micrometers in diameter
• Human blood is colourless! The haemoglobin, which is a pigment present in the blood cell, is what makes your blood the red colour!

Have you ever wondered how old your body really is? Or how well you are ageing on the inside?

With a VLA - body composition profile we can compare your biological age with your chronological age and keep a close eye on your ageing process.

Would you be a 40-year-old in a 60-year-old body or

Would you be a 40-year-old in a 20-year-old body???

So many people are blissfully unaware that important physiological markers may be sounding dire warnings with regard to their wellness.

We are bombarded by the media with advertising designed to encourage us to spend thousands of dollars to recapture our youth. But will teeth remodelling and whitening; botox and facial fillers; cosmetic surgery; tummy tucks; designer clothing just to name a few of these questionable services really produce what most of us really want? Isn't it really about health, vitality and youthfulness that starts on the inside and shows on the outside.

So what is a VLA - Cellular Health Analysis?

It is an accurate method of measuring your body composition. The comprehensive printed report allows us to assess your weight, body fat, lean muscle, the quality of your muscle, cellular health, hydration, biological age plus lots more relevant information.

It takes about 10 minutes and is totally pain free and non invasive.

You report will then be interpreted by a qualified practitioner who will prepare a detailed dietary program along with any supplement recommendations that may be needed to have you achieving your health goals.

VLA technology was originally developed to monitor recovery from surgery but is now a popular performance tool with athletes and sports people to manage their dietary requirements, training plans and to help them meet their performance goals.

Who benefits from VLA? Clients looking to:

• lose weight
• increase muscle tone and fitness
• monitor an anti-ageing program
• monitor a detoxification program
• to improve energy and vitality 

This report will provide the blue print for self management of health and fitness goals. Regular follow up consultations provide for reassessment and monitoring of ongoing results.