Nutrition and Wellbeing
Ditch Those Ultra-Processed Foods!
Have you ever been told that you’re feeling the way you are because of your age? Because you have young kids? Because you’re eating too much? Because you don’t exercise enough? Because it runs in the family? Because you’re female? Because “that’s just life”?
In my late 30s, I was diagnosed with autoimmune inflammatory arthritis when my eldest child was just a toddler. It was an extremely painful condition with severe joint pain that left me either bedridden or stuck at home most days. And all of those things were said to me by many people, doctors or otherwise, lots of times. I’m not going to say that there isn’t an element of truth in those explanations, or that people weren’t well meaning. What got to me was the hopelessness of it all, that I simultaneously had no control over my life, but perversely had also brought it on myself for not doing enough.
My diagnosis marked the start of a long health journey that involved many doctors, many tests and many hospital visits. Medication brought my symptoms under control, but I had to cope with severe side effects and the answer to some of those problems was more medication. Poor health dominated my life.
I began to feel that I needed to do something to at least feel like I had more control of my life. I got to the point where my digestion was getting more and more sensitive to a growing list of foods. With an active 3 year old at home, I despaired to my doctor that my stomach was so sensitive, it hurt when I drank coffee (aka ‘my emotional support beverage’). When the doctor replied matter-of-factly that I should just stop drinking it, my reaction was:
“WHAT? NOT DRINK COFFEE?”
I soon could no longer tolerate not only coffee, but also tea, dairy and spicy food (and I am South Indian, I put chillies on everything). I was so frustrated and I asked myself, how can it be that the only option is to indefinitely avoid these foods?
I had always been drawn to the idea of food as a restorative medicine so I started to do my own research on how different foods affected the way I felt. I had suffered through much of my 20s with growing IBS symptoms which worsened dramatically during my illness. I also had skin issues and hayfever. Guided by a nutritionist recommended by a friend, we took a thorough root causes, holistic approach to my symptoms and I slowly started to better understand my body’s digestion and immune responses. Whilst my health recovery was most definitely not linear (I suffered further setbacks with anxiety, liver and gallbladder problems and bone-weary tiredness), by redirecting my diet towards foods that provided my body with the nutrients it was missing – and with the supervision of my doctors – I gradually reduced most of my symptoms (including the IBS, skin issues and hayfever), came off all my medication and ill health stopped dominating my life.
And yes, I got my coffee back!
But more importantly, I acquired knowledge about what foods nourish my body and what foods drag me down. I am free from the sugar cravings that used to control me so I can now choose when to indulge and choose when to stop. And whilst I will never be that person who leaps out of bed first thing in the mornings, I know what affects my sleep and I have much more energy during the day! I feel more in charge of my health and more hopeful. Especially as my experience has brought me here, hoping that I can help you.
If you work with me, you’ll gain the knowledge, tools, and accountability needed to change how you feel so you too can stop letting your symptoms get in the way of the life you want to live. Is everything perfect with me? Not at all! I am not guaranteeing perfection, but I will guarantee no judgement from me, only empathy.
Rashmi Hayes NTP
[ruSH-mee heyz]
I am a Nutritional Health Practitioner (NTP) having earned my qualification from the Nutritional Health Association https://nutritionaltherapy.com/ntps-fntps/ and I am a licensed RESTART® Instructor https://therestartprogram.com.
I specialise in healthy digestion – blood sugar regulation – stress – hormonal balance – autoimmunity – food sensitivities – longevity
My approach to nutritional therapy is based on the functional medicine approach (for more information visit https://www.ifm.org/functional-medicine/) and the idea that traditional cuisines hold many of the secrets to lifelong good health.