Janella Purcell...Naturopath Herbalist Apothecary + Healing Arts

I grew up in Brisbane with a Lebanese mother and an Irish father, and moved to Sydney in 1991 at the age of 22. (Pictured right is me at 23yo, starting my community radio years on 2RES.)

Life in the kitchen and garden — growing or preparing wholesome and medical ingredients — has been a constant thread in my life for as long as I can remember.

But despite this love of food and nature, I struggled deeply with my digestion, weight, endometriosis, and emotions. Western medicine recommended removing my gallbladder (before my teens) to “fix” my gut issues — thankfully, I refused. At 13, I was prescribed the pill to stop my periods, which led to years of hormonal disruption and chronic candida that took decades to heal. After seven laparoscopies for endometriosis and countless conventional treatments, I realised my health was only worsening.

That’s when I decided to take responsibility for my own wellbeing — to learn everything I could about traditional medicine, the body’s wisdom, and the healing power of nature.

Due to these health issues as a girl, I was drawn into the exciting world of organics and natural health in my teens; and professionally since 1994. I became a wholefood chef almost by accident, (or destiny), which led me to studying and qualifying in Naturopathy, Nutritional Medicine and Herbal Medicine (1996), Kinesiology (2009), and Traditional Chinese Medicine (2007), as well as having a continued interest in Nutrigenomics (the study of the interaction between nutrition and genes), and Epi-Genetics – how our genes ‘express’ themselves according to our environment, not due the genetic code itself. Yes your life experiences and beliefs have the ability to modify your DNA, affecting not only you, but your children and grandchildren.