October officially celebrates “Eat Better, Eat Together” and “Family Health”; as a nutritionist and mother, I am passionate about the powerful role that simple good food plays in supporting a strong immunity and ‘healthy’ social relationships – which holistically go hand in hand, supported by areas of wellness, for a healthy lifestyle.

As founder of Health & Vitality Pte Ltd, I work as a Holistic Nutritionist providing private consultations for those needing to improve their nutrition and lifestyle to address symptoms and medical concerns. I also host workshops – group and online courses.

My total passion and belief in the power of nutrition stems from various personal experiences, and those of my clients. Auto-immune, hypothyroidism, and high cholesterol are very high in immediate family (my sister has MS and two siblings take high dose Thyroid meds).  A year ago I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s, and was advised to start taking medication – the same doctors shared that if not for my nutrition and lifestyle choices, this would probably have been the case decades prior, due to a strong genetic influence.

Like I teach my clients, I decided to adopt a more holistic approach first. I worked further to improve my diet (I went gluten-free, added some supplements, and enjoyed more gut-friendly fermented foods), and I made a conscious effort to take time to de-stress. With this, I managed to get the diagnosis under control within six months, and now continue working to do so.

Likewise with cholesterol, in the past doctors advised that I take medication, but I continued to keep my HDL (good cholesterol) high through diet and good lifestyle practices. Hand on my healthy heart, I know that even if the genetic odds are against you, you can control much of your health by building a strong immunity through nutrition and other lifestyle choices. I appreciate that this isn’t always 100% possible, but it’s certainly worth giving it a try.

I recently turned 50 years young, and thankfully feel as healthy and energetic as ever – I look forward (I think) to embracing the changes that menopause will bring as I focus more on hormonal health. My two kids thankfully are very healthy and I know I’m lucky that they’ve never had to take antibiotics or medication – at least until recently. My 13 year old all of a sudden started to develop hives and swelling – so we’ve been down the route of antihistamines, and various low-histamine and allergen-free diets; nothing made a difference. It turns out he tested quite allergic to dust mites, which is ironic as my husband works for Dyson. The house is already like a Dyson showroom! It may be hormonal-related, and I know many of you experienced hives over a period of months, searched high and low for answers, and then they disappeared after six months or so. Will keep you posted as I know this is an area in which many of you have an interest.

I’ve written about my own weight-loss journey, and how I tried every diet in the book. It wasn’t until I started to really focus on being healthy, by getting in tune with the why and what truly motivated me, that my woes became a thing of the past. I believe that permanent weight loss is yet another nice by-product of clean healthy living – and clean living is the single best option if a healthy weight is to be sustained.

The approach I take with all my clients is a three-pronged one. Attitude, Skills and Knowledge – e.g. having the most in-depth knowledge on nutrition is useless, until you are motivated to be your healthiest best, and have the tools to help you do so with ease. Unfortunately, many people look at their nutrition and lifestyle only when they’ve been diagnosed with an illness – but prevention is absolutely the best way. You’ve heard that food can be our best medicine or slowest form of poison. We all must really take this to heart – and the sooner we can start, the better.

Watch my video below.