Erin Evis - Apothecare Natural Health

17/06/2026

There's a lot I could say about this.... but I'm going to keep it shortish:

(Link in comments, the one below takes you to a chat with me for some reason!)

1 - Most importantly, heads-up: if your child has been taking these products, and is having hives and strange allergy-type reactions, please beware it may be this product (The Good Vitamin Co kids gummies, several batches).

2 - There are many, many OTC products that make all sorts of claims about how they're going to improve your health, and many parents use them as a 'just in case' type product. My advice is always to ditch the kids multis, as most of them are unnecessary and full of j***y additives, and especially ditch the gummies. There have been far too many recalls on gummy supplements in recent years due to dosing issues inherent in that form of product, and the majority just aren't worth it. Not just this product, but many others.

3 - If you feel your child needs a supplement, please reach out to a naturopath or other health professional and go over it first. Clinical picture is super important, and not every child needs supplements - certainly not synthetic ones with cheap fillers and cheap forms of 'nutrients'. We might not have the prettiest marketing or biggest budget, but we are here to help.

4 - Take that money, spend it on good, organic, fresh, local whole foods. And focus on diet, because nutrition is absolutely key to everything. Lots of vegetables (the more variety the better), fruit, nuts and seeds, eggs, legumes, dairy if tolerated, meat, olive oil... you cannot out-supplement a poor diet, so make that your focus if you feel your kids are needing support. What goes into their mouths daily is by far the most important thing. Most kids shouldn't need supplementing, and if they do, again... see a professional for guidance.

5 - If you are going to supplement, look for GMP certification (ideally but not always pharmaceutical), which means the manufacturer goes through proper and regular auditing, batch testing, uses a proper manufacturing facility, and other proper manufacturing standards are upheld, which is a lot safer than a company who are only certified to basic low-risk food safety standards.

Stories like this make me so upset - so many families going through so much trouble and heartache, and so many kids with lives put at risk, and it's just so needless. I really hope everyone affected is ok... and that they don't take this as blame, because it is not their fault.

The bottom line is that we should be able to ingest things made for kids without fear of them reacting like this, no matter how 'good' or 'bad' for us they may be... but especially when they're meant to be 'good'!

Sending love to all affected. As a Mum of young ones myself, I can't begin to imagine how scary it must be and how angry you must feel.

A Christchurch mother says her family spent weeks trying to work out why her young son was breaking out in...

03/06/2026

This is a great share (thanks Gina Wilson, Indaco Ltd!) - tongue ties and other oral ties can have a huge impact on breastfeeding, and many people don't understand the mechanics of latching. Excellent overview here for those interested. 🤱

Important info

https://www.facebook.com/reel/2458464474617834

01/06/2026

Whilst a store-bought pie will never be a health food (ultra-processed food never can be!), I Love Food Co used to do a more whole-food, less-processed pie with much cleaner ingredients than average, which meant there was a more passable option for health-conscious consumers wanting something in a hurry.

Imagine my surprise when I noticed the "new and improved" packaging and flipped to read the ingredients at the supermarket today...

Apparently 'new and improved' means going...
From proud claims of 'no added MSG' to adding MSG (E621).
From 'No palm oil' to including palm oil.
From 'No preservatives' to preservatives.
No colours to adding colours
Mozarella to 'cheese sauce'
And a laundry-list of cheap, nasty, low-quality ingredients that are hugely deleterious to health - but they still have the nerve to charge the same premium price.

To say this is disappointing is a massive understatement. What were they thinking?

Taking your entire point of difference, and ditching it in favour of becoming like every other junk-laden brand in the country, alienating 90% of your customer base in the process (because presumably the vast majority of their customers bought their pies for the better ingredients - why else would you pay that much?).

Epic branding fail.

(New packaging vs old packaging and ingredients lists for comparison).

15/05/2026

Today is vascular Ehlers-danlos Syndrome (vEDS) awareness day - - one of the more rare types but the most serious of all the EDS subtypes. Often the first sign someone has it is a major medical event, but awareness of the red flags, and family history, can make a difference.

Why it matters:

Over 80% of affected individuals will have had a major, life-threatening medical event by age 40.

Tissues affected include skin, blood vessels, arteries, and major organs.

Dangers include aneurysm, organ rupture, arterial dissection, and bleeds.

Uterine rupture in pregnancy is a major risk.

Early diagnosis can be key to mitigating the risks.

🚩 Red flags are personal or family history of major events such as the above; thin, translucent skin; sometimes individuals may have a thin nose and lips and large eyes; hypermobility, particularly of the small joints of the hands and feet.

14/05/2026

Taking a break from the current EDS programming to alert you all to these new results on glyphosate (Round Up) residue in Weet-Bix and similar products, courtesy of No More Glyphosate NZ. If you're a gluten-free Weet Bix fan, you should probably pay even more attention... 🧐😬

Independent testing of six Weet-Bix-style breakfast cereals found major differences in glyphosate residue levels, including one result of 3.9 mg/kg.

13/05/2026

😱 Did you know that Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome can come as part of a group of illnesses, known colloquially as the trifecta?

EDS is complex. Like, crazy complex. Which isn't unexpected really, when you consider that connective tissue is found in every organ in the body and holds it all together. So, EDS will often come with a host of 'friends'. Two of the most prevalent of those are POTS and MCAS - statistics vary, but the general trend across the literature shows that over a third of people diagnosed with hEDS also have MCAS, and over fifty percent have POTS as a comorbid (25% are unlucky enough to have both).

👉POTS: Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome - a form of dysautonomia (autonomic nervous system dysfunction) where the heart rate increases dramatically on standing (30bpm within 10mins of standing, or raising to 120bpm+ within 10mins of standing), and often accompanied by symptoms such as dizziness, fainting, nausea, adrenaline surges, palpitations, GI dysfunction, and fatigue.

👉 MCAS: Mast Cell Activation Syndrome - a condition where mast cells [part of the immune system, one of the white blood cells] release abnormal numbers of chemical mediators such as histamine and tryptase, leading to intense episodes of allergy-type reactions that may include wheezing, hives, rashes, itching, flushing, nausea, diarrhoea, dizziness, swelling, fainting, tachycardia, vomiting, cramping, fatigue, headaches, migraine, and even anaphylaxis.

💥Triggers can change from day to day (so things that caused issues before can suddenly be ok, and things that used to be ok are now triggers), and can range from anything from cold or hot temperatures, to foods, environmental exposures, infections, chemicals, and anything else you could think of.

So what's the connection between the three?

Well... that's still up for debate, but there are some theories that make more sense than others.

When connective tissue that makes up a significant part of the blood vessel walls is abnormally lax, it's difficult for the body to maintain good circulation and blood pressure - especially when standing, and those overly stretchy vessels get hit by gravity and can't work effectively enough to return blood to the upper body. The heart rate increases to try and compensate, et voila... POTS.

On top of this, the nervous system is affected by weaker connective tissue too, with nerve stability affected as well as circulation. Plus, most conditions are exacerbated by stress - and it's really stressful having a body that doesn't do what it should be doing normally!

When connective tissue stretches, mast cells can degranulate, because their 'house' is effectively not strong enough to hold them in place properly (think of a trampoline with a toy stuck down on it... mat stretches, and POP, the toy dislodges).

Add to this the fact that histamine is a vasodilator, so when mast cells release histamine, you can get increased blood pooling and orthostatic intolerance, and a worsening of POTS symptoms... and low vagus nerve tone from EDS can lead to mast cell degranulation... you get a big ol' roundabout nobody wants to be stuck on. A causes B causes A...

There's also emerging research showing some significant immune involvement in EDS, which is also obviously a key part of MCAS (being an immune disorder), and some shared genetic links as well.

Basically... there are lots of theories as to the 'why', many of which hold credence, and my suspicion is that it's probably a case of multiple things happening all at the same time, in this very complex web of a condition where everything is interconnected and nothing is as expected.

What is certain, however, is that these conditions are comorbid far more than could be explained away as mere coincidence, that there is absolutely a relationship at play here (even if we don't fully understand what it is yet), and that the likelihood of POTS and MCAS needs to be taken into account when considering anyone with EDS/HSD.

12/05/2026

I was planning another more informative EDS post tonight, but it's the first of this year's EDS ECHO Nutrition programme, run by the Ehlers-Danlos Society - another upskill that will hopefully mean I can bring more handy little clinical gems back to work to help support you all better. Great to see so many other kiwis on here!

So instead, while I'm off doing some learning, I leave all my fellow 'zebras' with a question:

What does EDS mean to you? What's your most ridiculous 'war story'? What do you wish other people knew about EDS?

10/05/2026

To all the amazing Mums of the world... mothers, mothers-in-law, grandmothers, and mothers-at-heart. Whatever kind of mother you are, I hope you've had a lovely day.

09/05/2026

In my last post, I mentioned 13 different subtypes of Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes, and how they can present differently from one another, though there are usually some commonalities. Let's go through them - because it's awareness month, after all.

07/05/2026

🦓May is Ehlers-Danlos Awareness Month, which is a big deal, because EDS is something that, while supposedly rare, is actually really common - but it's just also commonly missed, misdiagnosed, brushed off, ignored, or put down to anxiety (have you tried doing yoga?).

It's something that affects a fair few people who come to my clinic, and having lived with it myself for my whole life I can attest to how annoying it is to have connective tissue that doesn't want to connect properly. 🧐

So what is it? Awareness starts with understanding, obviously, so here's the low-down:

💪Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome is a group of 13 different subtypes of connective tissue disorder, each unique in its presentation, all affecting the 'glue' that holds the body together. Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS) is the most common by far, the rest being very rare. hEDS is also the only one that we can't currently do genetic testing for.

The subtypes are all different in their presentation, and no two people will be affected in the same way, so remember that when you know one person with EDS, you know... one person. Everyone's experience is different, and each of the subtypes - particularly the rare ones - are unique, so whilst they often get lumped in with the more common hEDS, it's important we understand that they are not the same thing and each has its own unique needs.

There is also Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder (HSD), which is where a person has hypermobile joints, but not the syndromic, systemic aspects that lead to the diagnosis of EDS... essentially, they can do the 'cool party tricks' but it's considered benign, as they thankfully escape the wider health problems that are associated with EDS.

So... when the glue ain't gluin', we see a range of different issues, many of which can seem unrelated - which means the average time to diagnosis of hEDS, for example, is over 22 years. Let that one sink in for a moment. 🥲Most people will experience gaslighting, medical trauma, disbelief, dismissal, and be told they're anxious or depressed, during that time.

Presentation varies from subtype to subtype, but there are some commonalities that can often pop up (not everyone will tick every box):

👉 Unstable joints, which can present as frequent dislocations and subluxations, injuries, joints that 'pop' and move and hyperextend, and generally don't work normally. If you had a 'party trick' as a kid, or are 'double jointed', pay attention here! Poor spacial awareness can go in here too.
👉 For many, particularly those with the classical and classical-like subtypes (but it does occur in others, including hEDS), abnormally stretchy skin, which can scar abnormally as well.
👉Pain, which is very often chronic
👉Fatigue
👉Gut dysfunction, including slow motility, "IBS", permeability issues, constipation, reflux, hernia
👉Headaches, migraines, and headaches referred from the neck (on that note, necks are often unstable, ie CCI)
👉Nerve pain and nerve issues
👉Dysautonomia, eg autonomic dysfunction... POTS, difficulty regulating temperature, tachycardia, Raynaud's, light headedness, anxiety, dizziness, etc
👉Easy bruising, and slow wound healing
👉Dental problems (teeth have collagen!)
👉 Soft, 'doughy' skin
👉 Stretchmarks without significant weight gain
👉 MCAS
👉 Neurodiverse conditions eg ADHD, ASD, etc
👉 Not responding normally to local anaesthesia

There can also be vascular issues in some types, such as varicose veins, venous insufficiency, cardiac problems, blood vessel fragility, arterial dissection, aneurysm, and organ rupture.

Many of these things can change over the years, and there are many stereotypes that can mean things are overlooked - for example, not everybody with EDS is 'flexible', because the muscles are working so hard to compensate for the poor connective tissue that they end up stiff and tight instead.

It's also easy to miss the fact that your body doesn't quite work normally, particularly when it runs in families, as people don't tend to sit and compare their skin elasticity or range of motion over their morning latte. And if they do, it's often with parents or siblings who may well be affected as well. If something is normal to you, you often don't know it's not actually normal.

🦓 If you're thinking "Hmm, some of this sounds quite familiar...", it may be worth having a chat with your health provider about it, or doing a bit more digging. Diagnosis can be very difficult to obtain in New Zealand, but awareness is slowly increasing.

👉I work with EDS often in clinic, as there is a lot we can do to support the bendy bodies - if you're looking for natural ways to support things, feel free to send me a message. ❤️ 🌿

Note: Photo is not my thumb. My magic trick is dislocating my fibula by rolling over in bed. 🫠