Five Things: Nutrition + Health

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With Tracey Wheeler of T.A Inc –

The Real Deal
I have been interested in health, wellbeing and food from a very young age. I grew up in a rural environment and was able to see first hand the relationship between how we feel and the food that we eat. I had a whole foods diet and appreciated the way it made me feel. I knew from a very young age that I would always want to be involved in making our bodies feel the best that they can and for me that is through solid nutrition.
I was lucky enough to live on the same property as my grandparents and I remember as a young girl watching my grandfather soak his breakfast, which consisted of different seeds and grains, the night before. He used cold pressed oils and grew most of his own veg, eating silver beet and raw garlic every day. My grandfather was in brilliant health and this fascinated me. He lived into his 102nd year without suffering from any cancers or strokes. My grandfather and I share the same initials of T and A so my business name also honors my upbringing and the influences I had.

Natural Nutrition
I hold a Bachelor of Health Science in Complementary Medicine and also Diplomas in Herbal Medicine and Naturopathy, which gives me the great pleasure of being a Nutritionist and a Naturopath.
My work as a nutritionist takes on several different forms. I work with people individually as well as offer packages. I also teach and present on health and run an eight-week programme on quitting sugar – I particularly love helping people reduce the sugar content in their diet and seeing how the body responds. And for people wanting a little bit more I offer health coaching as an extension of the nutrition, which helps to encompass daily habits and solve dietary concerns.

The Domino Effect
For me nutrition is all about how you feel. It’s not about numbers, counting calories and weighing food. People are smart, they know when they are uncomfortable in their clothes, and they don’t need a scale to remind them every day.
I don’t see things as a one-dimensional unit. What we eat effects how we feel and how we feel affects everything. So it’s all just a domino effect and I love to make people feel better through making positive change in their lives.
I have had the awesome delight and pleasure in helping many people change and clean up their diet; people with dietary concerns to athletes who want to race sugar-free and achieve a whole foods way of life.

Serious About Sugar
My big passion in life is educating people about refined sugar. While it is getting a lot of airtime at the moment there is a reason for that. Refined sugar is the ONLY non-essential nutrient for our bodies. That means that our body does not need it at all! That’s huge! And every day we are consuming more and more of it as it’s loaded into many products we’re not aware contain it.
It has a lot of other health concerns such as causing inflammation in the body, one of the biggest risk factors of chronic illness. Sugar suppresses the immune system, upsets the mineral relationship in our body, and is acidic and toxic in the body. It’s also hugely addictive which leads to ongoing cravings and a never-ending cycle of highs and lows. It makes us crave more, becoming reliant on it and it becomes a vicious cycle. This can affect people’s moods, concentration and overall energy.
If there was one thing I could help people with it would be to reduce the refined sugar intake in their diet. The health ramifications over time from ingesting sugar are huge but they are reversible. It is my job to help people find alternatives and rid the junk from their systems.

Alternative Deliciousness
For me it’s all about substitution and not deprivation, which means finding alternatives for the things that we like to enjoy. I love making my raw energy balls (no refined sugar!). They are so versatile and delicious, and they make a great snack or a sweet treat to have at the end of the meal.

APRICOT + COCONUT BALLS
1 cup dates
2 cups apricots
2 cup2 boiling water
2 cups rolled oats (ground or whole)
2 cups coconut

Place dates and apricots in a bowl. Cover with boiling water and let soak for at least 30min. Blend together dates, apricots and water till it becomes a thick paste. Add dry ingredients. Mix until well combined. Roll into balls and cover with coconut.

 

 

 

 

 

CHOC + COCONUT BALLS
2 cups dates
2 cups boiling water
2 cups rolled oats
2 cups coconut
½ cup cocoa
1 ½ cups sultanas or cranberries
1 cup walnuts
1 TBspn vanilla essence

Take dates and cover with water and leave for 30min till plump. Place in blender and blend till it becomes a paste. Add dry ingredients and stir to combine. Take tablespoon size amounts and roll into balls. Sprinkle to cover with coconut. Store in fridge or freezer.
You can play around with this recipe and change the types of fruits or nuts to what you have available or what you feel like.

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Thank you so much for your time, Tracey. And welcome!

Tracey has graciously offered her time and expertise on nutrition over on YogaTalk (take a look under Wellbeing) so if you’d like to have a chat or have any questions head on over and ask away!

She’s pretty passionate about sharing her knowledge and happy to talk about all things food related. And who doesn’t like to eat?

We’re thrilled to have Tracey on board so let’s make use of her and go confidently out into the world insisting on better availability and affordability of good, whole foods for all!

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You can also connect with Tracey here.

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© The Yoga Connection 2015