Clinical Nutrition and Topical Therapy in Cowaramup with Marilyn Smith, Naturopath
GDHSc, DN, DBT, BFRP. ATMS Fellow. Serving Cowaramup, Margaret River and the South West.
Clinical nutrition and topical therapy are prescribed by Marilyn Smith at Iris Naturopathic Clinic in Cowaramup, as part of a naturopathic consultation. Marilyn reviews what you are eating, how well you are absorbing it, and what your skin is doing, then recommends a small number of practitioner-only supplements and, where it helps, a topical preparation to use alongside them. Supplements and topicals are charged separately from the consultation fee.
Book a ConsultationFOOD FIRST, THEN WHAT IS MISSING
What is clinical nutrition, and how is it different from general diet advice?
Clinical nutrition is dietary and nutrient advice given by a practitioner who has taken your full health history first. It is not a meal plan pulled off a shelf and it is not a list of foods you are banned from eating. Marilyn looks at what you are actually eating, how your digestion is handling it, what your energy, sleep and skin are telling her, and where the gaps are likely to be.
From there she makes two kinds of recommendation. The first is food, changed in small steps you can sustain rather than a wholesale overhaul you will abandon by week three. The second is targeted supplementation, where diet alone is not going to restore something quickly enough, using practitioner-only products chosen for how well they are absorbed.
Alongside that, Marilyn prepares topical applications, including balms, salves and creams, for skin that is dry, irritated or reactive, and for localised stiffness. Topicals work on the surface while the food and nutrient work deals with what is driving it from the inside.
"Most people do not need a cupboard full of supplements. They need the right two or three, taken long enough to actually make a difference, and a way of eating they can keep up when life gets busy."
Prescribed, Not Guessed
Practitioner-only supplements and topical preparations, chosen after a consultation and reviewed as you go.
INSIDE AND OUTSIDE
What is the difference between nutritional therapy and topical treatment?
One works from the inside, one works on the surface, and most plans use both. Here is how Marilyn uses each.
What does clinical nutritional therapy involve?
Cellular Fuel & Systemic Balance
Nutritional therapy looks at two things: what you are eating, and how well your body is getting hold of it. Those are different problems. Marilyn works through your intake, your digestion and your symptom picture to work out which of the two is the issue for you, and where minerals, vitamins or essential fatty acids may be worth supporting.
Where Your Nutrient Gaps Are Likely To Be
Marilyn considers nutrients commonly under-supplied in the Australian diet, including zinc, magnesium, essential fatty acids and the B group, and assesses whether your symptom picture and your intake point that way. Where a blood test would settle the question, she will say so and ask you to see your GP.
Practical, Sustainable Food Foundations
No restrictive fads. Marilyn provides sensible, food-as-medicine guidance that fits your daily routine, family life, and individual tolerances.
Practitioner-Only Supplements
Where food alone will take too long, Marilyn prescribes practitioner-only supplements, which are not sold in supermarkets or health food shops and are chosen for the form and dose the body can best use. She prescribes as few as will do the job.
What are topical applications, and what does Marilyn prepare?
Surface Soothing & Barrier Repair
A topical is something you put on the skin rather than take by mouth. Marilyn prepares balms, salves and creams for dry or reactive skin, for stubborn irritation and for localised stiffness. They are used alongside the food and nutrient work, not instead of it, because the surface and what is driving it are two different jobs.
Natural Topical Applications for Skin
Tailored botanical balms, herbal salves, and soothing creams formulated to ease stubborn skin irritation, support tissue hydration, and promote barrier resilience.
Good Skin From the Inside Out
True skin health reflects what is occurring internally. Marilyn addresses gut absorption, liver function, and hormonal rhythms alongside direct surface care.
PART OF YOUR CONSULTATION
Do I book this separately, or is it part of a consultation?
You do not book nutritional or topical therapy on its own. It is part of your naturopathic consultation, at no extra consultation charge, and Marilyn will include whichever of it is relevant to you in the plan you leave with. What you do pay separately is the supplements and preparations themselves, if you decide to take them. Marilyn will tell you what they cost before you commit to anything.
Skin Vitality
Working on digestion, nutrient status and surface care together, rather than one at a time.
Sustained Energy
Replenishing key cofactors needed for healthy mitochondria and steady daily vitality.
Digestive Ease
Supporting gut mucosal integrity and balanced absorption of vital dietary nutrients.
WHO THIS SUITS
Is nutritional or topical support right for you?
Marilyn will tell you at your appointment, because it depends on what she finds. These are the situations people most often bring to her.
If what you need is medical investigation rather than nutritional support, Marilyn will say so and send you to your GP. Read more about how Marilyn works.
FROM CONSULTATION TO PLAN
How does Marilyn work out what you actually need?
Nothing is prescribed before a consultation. Here is what happens between your appointment and the plan you take home.
Your intake and your digestion
Marilyn goes through what you actually eat on a normal week, not an ideal one, along with your digestion, your appetite, your energy through the day and what your skin is doing.
Where the gaps are, and whether a test is needed
Marilyn works out which nutrients are most likely to be short, and whether that is a supply problem or an absorption problem. [CONFIRM 2: her line on pathology testing, for example whether she recommends you ask your GP for specific bloods, or arranges functional testing herself.]
Your food changes and your prescription
Marilyn gives you a small number of food changes in an order you can actually follow, plus any practitioner-only supplements and topical preparations, with clear instructions on dose and timing.
Review and adjustment
At your follow-up Marilyn checks what worked, what you managed and what you did not, and adjusts. Supplements are meant to be reviewed and reduced, not taken forever by default.
WHAT TO EXPECT
How long does it take, and what do the supplements cost?
Nutrient repletion is not quick. As a general pattern Marilyn will ask you to stay with a plan for six to twelve weeks before judging it, because most nutrients need that long to make a difference you can feel. Skin in particular tends to be slower than energy or digestion. Most people have an initial consultation and then two to four follow-ups across the first three months. Nothing is sold as a package and there is no lock-in.
Consultations are charged at the fees below. Supplements and topical preparations are charged separately, on top of the consultation, and only if you decide to take them. [CONFIRM 4: typical monthly supplement spend, for example $XX to $XX a month depending on what is prescribed.] Marilyn will tell you the cost before she prescribes, and will work to a budget if you tell her what it is. If cost is a problem, say so at the appointment, because there is almost always a way to prioritise.
Initial / Long Consultation
60 to 75 minutes
Subsequent Consultation
30 to 45 minutes
Short Discovery Call
5 to 10 minutes
Full fees, including the $60 short consultation for existing clients, are on the Fees and Booking page.
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Common questions about nutrition and supplements
Can I just get my nutrients from food instead of supplements?
Often yes, and that is where Marilyn starts. Food comes first in every plan. Supplements are used where food alone will take too long to shift something, or where absorption is the problem rather than intake. If you would rather work with food only, say so, and Marilyn will build the plan that way.
What is the difference between practitioner-only supplements and what I buy at the chemist?
Practitioner-only products are supplied through practitioners rather than retail shelves, and they generally use forms and doses chosen for absorption rather than shelf price. The bigger difference is that they are prescribed for you after a consultation, rather than picked off a shelf based on the label. Marilyn will tell you if something you can buy yourself will do the same job.
I am already taking supplements. Should I bring them?
Yes. Bring the actual bottles or photograph the labels, including anything prescribed by your doctor. Marilyn reviews the lot. A common outcome of a first consultation is that you stop taking several things, not that you start taking more.
Can I take supplements with my prescribed medication?
Often yes, but only after it has been checked. Marilyn reviews every medication you take and cross-references it against anything she is considering prescribing. Some nutrients interact with common medications, so this matters. Never stop or change a prescribed medication without speaking to your doctor.
Do you do food intolerance or nutrient testing?
[CONFIRM 2: Marilyn's answer. If she refers to a GP for standard pathology, say so plainly here and name the common tests she asks for. If she arranges functional testing, name what and note that testing fees are additional and discussed at the consultation.]
How long before I see a difference in my skin?
Skin is usually slower than energy or digestion, because the skin you can see now was made weeks ago. Marilyn will usually ask you to stay with a plan for at least [CONFIRM 3: typical initial period, for example six to twelve weeks] before judging it. Topical preparations can ease the surface in the meantime while the internal work catches up.
Have a question that is not here? Ask Marilyn on your free discovery call, or read about the naturopathic consultation itself.
Not ready to book?
Download Marilyn's short guide, Working With Nature, and she will send you a few practical notes over the following weeks. No pressure, and you can stop any time.
Ready to work out what your body is actually short of?
Book a consultation with Marilyn Smith at Iris Naturopathic Clinic, 682 Holben Road, Cowaramup WA, or start with a free discovery call. Bring the supplements you are already taking, and anything your GP has tested recently.
Reviewed by Marilyn Smith, GDHSc, DN, DBT, BFRP, ATMS Fellow. Last reviewed 19 September 2026.