Food for thought

If you've read my profile you may be wondering why a singer/songwriter is blogging about health and nutrition. Well firstly, travelling a lot, and having to be energetic on a stage, as well as NOT getting laryngitis, means keeping myself fit and healthy! But honestly, the story starts much earlier than that.

I grew up with a condition called IBS. I just didn't know it was IBS until my early 20's. Before that my life consisted of constant, agonising stomach aches, feeling tired all the time, many sick days and visits to doctors and a very intimate relationship with toilets! I don't think I need to go into more detail there;)

When it was eventually diagnosed, by a homeopath, as IBS, I immediately set about figuring out how to make it go away. It turned out that one of the main aggravants was food, or rather, CERTAIN foods. This was pretty devastating for me to discover because I LOVE my food. The other main aggravant was stress. The fact that I always developed a terrible stomach ache right before a show, and invariably parted with my dinner right before said show, was not just a coincidence!

How could I manage the problem? Well, stress is harder to cut out of your life than food is, so I decided to start with food and work from there. By process of elimination I discovered that red meats, wheat, gluten and dairy seemed to be the main culprits. There were also odd things like potatoes, onion, peppers and garlic which I couldn't eat. I started cutting all these things out of my life as much as possible. But it's easier said than done! Wheat is in pretty much everything that is processed and packaged. That meant things like bread, pasta, all baked goods, a lot of sauces and anything in batter, were out. No dairy meant no more milk with my cereal, tea or coffee and it also cut out all baked goods and desserts, a lot of soups, stews and curries and most sauces as well. No onions cut out a lot of stews and curries. It's also added to pretty much all salads and garnish, as are peppers, so I had to get pretty specific when ordering a salad. Garlic is in pretty much everything that is cooked in a restaurant, and most people cook with it at home too. Annoyingly, garlic seems to hit me harder than just about everything else on this list! As if I wasn't a complicated enough guest already!

I should also just add that this was about 15 years ago. Food allergies and intolerances were very uncommon and it was frowned upon to be fussy about your food. I often ended up having to just eat what was in front of me and that ALWAYS meant all my symptoms came back with a vengeance. I soon realised that there wasn't a cure, as such, for IBS. I also couldn't do things in half measures. The only way to manage it, was to make permanent lifestyle changes.

Being on the road made it very difficult to control my food. I had to pack as much non-perishable foods as possible for every trip or make sure that the hotel I was staying at, stocked food I could eat. The small towns I was performing in had very limited products in the shops. There was no such thing as wheat-free anything! It also took me many years to really figure out what I could, and couldn't have. I made many mistakes on my journey of discovery and I have paid for them in stomach aches and many hours spent in public toilets.

Fortunately, things have progressed in leaps and bounds since those early days and now it's pretty easy to find wheat and gluten-free food. Restaurants are accustomed to modifying recipes to suit customers with allergies and intolerances. In fact, most restaurants will have a few options which mean not much modifying is required. It's becoming standard for people to ask if there's anything their guests don't eat, when planning a dinner party and it's common to see a few different options being made to allow for everyone's dietary needs. Life has certainly gotten easier for me and others like me.

But have you ever stopped to wonder why, 15 years ago, food intolerances were fairly uncommon and yet, today, it seems every second person can't eat SOMETHING. Some might say it's a fad and people have just jumped on the health bandwagon and are full of nonsense. Maybe that IS the case with SOME people but I don't think its coincidental that food intolerances and allergies have escalated in the last several years. I think the only reason I noticed it earlier than most is that I have IBS and it was pretty chronic growing up. I was forced to notice it.

I think there a lot of people who have food intolerances and aren't even aware that that's what is causing  their discomfort and I think it's becoming more common because the quality of our food has changed so drastically over the years. In fact, I'd go even further and say that, what we are eating these days, is so far removed from actual food, that our bodies simply don't know how to assimilate any of it. I think a lot of people are sick and they don't even know it until it manifests in the form of cancer, diabetes, heart disease or some other dread disease.

This blog is the start of what is going to be a lot of "food for thought" if you can excuse the pun;) I believe in prevention rather than cure. I believe in the power of food. I have seen, and experienced that power in my own life and I don't see why I should keep it to myself any longer. I get asked for advice from those close to me, A LOT. And I LOVE to help people start a journey towards a healthy life. In the past I have just sent an email with advice, helped make dietary suggestions or even gone shopping for some people to show them where to find stuff. I think it's time I consolidate all of that into one place that everyone can reference. And if I can reach a few more people in the process, and help spread the truth about food, and healthy living, it will be an added bonus.

I am not a doctor or a dietician. I am a person who is obsessed with health and nutrition and I love to research things that interest me. I have done a lot of research into this over the years and I have learnt a lot along the way. I have also spent the last year or so studying to be an exercise specialist which has given me the added advantage of knowledge of the body and how it works. I like to lead by example. If you want to sell something, you need to walk the talk. So, if you step into my world, you'll see a 37 year old woman, with a biological age of 32 ( according to my medical aid!) who is completely natural, organic and chemical free. A lot of people hear the words "natural" and "organic" and assume that means no more makeup or beauty products and hairy underarms and legs! I am a stage performer. You do the math there;) The days where being natural meant you had to let yourself go, are long gone. The main thing is to look after yourself, inside and out, and also look after your environment at the same time. It's actually really easy to do and this blog is going to show you how!

Watch this space...