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Casey's blog

Purity vs. hybridisation

19/12/2018

1 Comment

 
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When it comes to the work I do, I've never been 100% sure about what to call it, or if it even has (needs?) a name. Try as I might (and I have, numerous times), the stuff I "do" can't be put into a single box.

And it's not for lack of direction; I know what I am good at and what I love to do. It's just that there are so many directions I feel I am being pulled in.

Perhaps a nicer, less divisive way to say that, is that I have many colourful threads that form my web of being! :)

​I often feel this pressing need to categorise "it", to pack it down nice and neatly into a label, to be able to explain to people what I do in a concise sentence without feeling like I've left large chunks of who I am stranded by the side of the road, all for the sake of simplicity.

And so here I am, eating disorders dietitian by day; (newly) Zenthai shiatsu practitioner by candlelight.
​
In one studio a yoga teacher emphasising the importance of play; in the next a nutritionist distilling hours of reading textbooks and research papers into digestible information that my clients can understand.

​Studying naturopathy and Chinese Medicine on one hand; investigating the clinical applications of CBT and DBT for eating disorder clients on the other.


Sometimes I feel like a bit of a jill of all trades. Master of none. A case of shiny object syndrome. A fraud. Not really good at any one of those things.

Hello, voice of my inner critic, I hear you loud and clear.


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Dietitian or nutritionist?

25/6/2016

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​Just what IS the difference between a dietitian and a nutritionist? This is a very common question that I and other nutrition professionals get asked on a near-daily basis.
 
Every square is a rectangle, but not all rectangles are squares. Similarly, every dietitian is also a nutritionist, but not all nutritionists are dietitians.

​But what is the difference between the two, and is one really better than the other?

Let's explore 5 big areas where I think there is a difference between the two, and where it actually matters.

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4 Reasons why BMI stands for Bulls*%t Mass Index

14/4/2014

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BMI or BODY MASS INDEX.... an objective, well-definied measure of weight and health. Right?

Actually, BMI is a pretty unreliable way to assess an individual's health, and for health professionals using it on an individual basis, it can do more harm than good.

The BMI is a measure of height and weight - specifically weight divided by height squared. It is the main measure used by dietitians, health professionals and governments to determine what is and is not a “healthy weight” for an individual.

As a student dietitian I was taught to use BMI to inform patients if they are “at risk” for morbidity and premature mortality. In reality, however, BMI is not only not a good measure of health, it is actually not a measure of health at all.

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Your Nutritional First Aid Kit

7/9/2013

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Ever wondered what a nutritionist would recommend just for YOU? I enjoy working with clients one-on-one, taking them on supermarket and health store tours, and getting into the kitchen with them to put it all into practice . . .

But recently I've been doing more Skype and phone consultations. With some of my clients living in regional Australia, or overseas, making individualised super smoothies in person becomes a little trickier! So the Nutritional First Aid Kit was born.

This new way of working allows me to sink deeper, take my time, and figure out what goodies would best nourish your body. I
go out on a little shopping spree dedicated solely to your health, getting my hands on the highest quality products personalised to your needs.

I fill your personal Nutritional First Aid Kit with goodies based on our session together. Then I finish with a personal hand-written note, care-package it up, and send it to your doorstep.


It's a lot of fun for me, and for the person receiving it!

Here’s a sneak peek inside a recent kit I sent out.

1) Tri-Coloured Quinoa: My client was new to ancient grains and keen to experiment with wheat alternatives, so I included quinoa for its high plant protein content, and to give her an energy boost. She’s a hard working primary school teacher who lives in a remote (i.e. quinoa-less) part of Australia, who needs it to spare.

2) Raw Chocolate: Not all chocolate is created equal, so in addition to giving her recipes, I included the ingredients in her Nutritional First Aid Kit
to make her own scrumptious raw chocolate. Being a chocolate lover, I understand the importance of getting good stuff! Loving Earth raw cacao butter is the highest quality I've encountered, and I love the earthiness of Power Foods raw cacao powder.

3) Biobubble Probiotic drink: are my favourite brand, so I gave her a bottle of their original brew, featuring food-based antioxidants, amino acids, vitamins, enzymes and billions of beneficial microorganisms per serve, because she’s suffering some digestive issues. Taken as a 30 mL shot first thing on an empty stomach. Knowing the power of probiotics, I’m betting this will help.

4) Kosmea Clarifying Facial Wash: This smells divine and it’s my way of reinforcing to my client that our skin is our largest organ. I want her to use organic and healthy skin care products and the native bush ingredients remind me of the remote part of Australia she lives in!

5) Unhulled Tahini: for delicious raw banana ice creams and to use in salad dressings. This is an excellent protein source, readily digestible and perfect for her unique nutritional needs.

6) Young Living Essential Oils: Therapeutic grade essential oils are wonderful in raw desserts (jaffa goodie balls, anyone?) and cooking too. The Orange essential oil is one of the most used items in my dessert pantry, and smells absolutely divine.

7) Adriondack Pure Maple Syrup: I want her to try alternative sweeteners, and this is as high quality as they get. Hello, Tamari Maple Activated Almonds!

There’s plenty more I include in my kits, (books, body care, tea, spices) but you get the picture.

What do you think I’d put into YOUR Nutritional First Aid Kit?
Tempted to find out?

Fill out the form below!

    Please contact me about getting a personalised
    Nutritional First Aid Kit!

Submit
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Intuitive eating

25/11/2011

3 Comments

 
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Intuitive eating... includes intuitive drinking! Yes this tea had sugar in it! And it was delicious!
The "perfect" diet...
In an ideal world, there would be no need for someone to tell us what and how to eat. Like animals in the wild, prehistoric humans, and some traditional peoples who are very in touch with their bodies, we would naturally be drawn to eating a vibrant, constantly changing, delicious, satisfying diet, free of deprivation; a diet perfect for our individual needs.

We would also know when we are comfortably full, and when not to eat. Without fad diets and "what she eats" pieces on actresses and models in terrible women's magazines influencing us.

We would eat intuitively, based on the naturally fluctuating needs of our bodies through our changing external and internal environments – weather, season, our physical and mental state, demands put on our bodies, and so on. Our bodies would be highly sensitive to even the smallest changes in our environment.

As a result of our being in touch with the Earth’s natural cycles, our digestion would work pretty harmoniously. As a result of eating intuitively and in harmony with the cycles of nature, our energy levels would be optimal, our libidos healthy, our minds sharp.


Get your nose out of Anastacia, we’re in the 21st century!
Does this sound like a fantasy? If you’ve read the book Anastacia by Vladimir Megre describing a reportedly true encounter with a woman brought up in the Russian woods, you’ll know the lifestyle I’m describing! In our modern world, living this way seems like a far-off fairy tale.

From the day we are born and even before then, we are over-fed a steady stream of chronic stress, environmental pollutants, questionable diets and diet trends leading to binges on easily sourced fast food, and chemical stimulants. We have been taught not to trust our innate cravings and tastes, instead turning to coworkers, scientists, celebrities, the media and fad diets to tell us what and what not to eat, never mind how, when and why we are eating.

If there is a perfect diet for humans, an "intuitive diet" would be it. Deep down, we know what’s best for us, just as a bird, a wolf or a child does. But it’s hard to eat intuitively when we’re mentally fatigued by our stressful lifestyles, and we’re confused by the enormous amount of often conflicting information about food that lies out there.


Over-stuffed on dietary information
Be careful about reading health books – you may die of a misprint! – Mark Twain

For anyone who has decided to improve their diet, it soon becomes apparent that healthy eating is not as straightforward as first imagined.

There are diets based on religion, ethics, medical systems, anthropology, the seasons, blood types. You can choose to be vegetarian, vegan, even a fruitarian; you can adopt a macrobiotic diet, a raw foods diet, a Paleo diet, a ketogenic diet; you can minimise fats, or carbohydrates, or proteins; you can base your diet on Chinese medicine or Ayurvedic medicine.

The problem is most of these systems contradict each other. One book might tout the wonders of soy, another will warn us of its dangers. One book might advocate a diet consisting primarily of raw foods, rich in enzyme vitality; another advises to limit intake of raw foods, so as not to dampen the digestive fire. One book will champion honey as a super-food; another says honey is just as harmful as any other sugar.

Most mainstream books on nutrition advise us to limit intake of fat, especially saturated fat; an increasingly prominent minority contends that actually, traditional animal fats are good for you, or that coconut oil, a saturated plant fat, is a cleansing weight-loss food. Some authorities say that supplements are essential; others say they just give you “expensive urine.”

The examples are endless. We ask ourselves, how do we find the diet that’s right for us, if there is one? Maybe they all have elements of truth, despite their blatant contradictions. Or maybe none of them are right.

To our detriment, we have confused ourselves with mountains of conflicting dietary information. Despite our persistent focus on diet and all the research that goes into it, we have ended up more sick, depressed and confused than ever. We have lost our natural way of eating and knowing.

Return to intuitive eating
Eat when you are hungry, drink when you are thirsty, sleep when you are tired. - Taoist adage.

The only reliable authority, in the end, is your own body. We need to learn how to trust our bodies again, and how to listen to the messages it is sending us about diet. The simple tools of tuning into our bodies and fully experiencing each bite of food have the power to resolve any questions about food choices and diet.

This doesn’t mean we should go out and fully experience every bite of a large bucket of KFC if you don;t actually you feel like it! After a life time of ignoring your body, getting back in touch with it can take a little bit of work and a lot of patience.

It’s hard to listen to the body when a symphony of opposing authorities on diet are shouting their new findings and guaranteed weight loss methods from the rooftops. 

Somehow, we need to restore our sense of body trust if we are to start feeding ourselves properly. This is where it can be helpful to have a nutritional therapist with an understanding of non-diet approaches such as Health at Every Size or Mindful Eating. Someone who can balance healthy eating with sane eating!

What I do
As a non-diet dietitian, I empower people to start eating in the way that’s most beneficial and intuitive to them. I show them how to get back to basics and re-learn how - not necessarily what - they really need to eat for optimal health.

To qualify me to help you, I’ve spent the last decade developing my philosophy within every area of the food and nutrition field – from working as a veterinarian in our modern food systems, and researching the eating habits of animals, to working as a nutritionist consulting with chronically ill and hospitalised patients, to working as a non-diet dietitian with people suffering from eating disorders and in the throes of "clean eating" and fitness junkie recovery.

I’ve done the work for you in sifting through and integrating into my practice evidence-based dietetic and naturopathic science, and wisdom from more traditional schools of thought such as Chinese Nutritional Medicine, Ayurveda and Yoga. My goal is to provide a truly holistic, deeply personal and highly effective service for people with health, eating and body image problems, people who just want to maintain their health, and people who struggle with dietary fads and conventional dieting.

In a one-on-one consultation, we explore simple new ways of eating that will markedly increase your enjoyment of food without disease, BUT ALSO without guilt. We investigate your behaviours and conditioning around food and how we ignore vital messages from our bodies.

We address habits like food "addiction", under- and over-eating. We discuss the role of yoga, meditation and other mind-body practices that have been scientifically proven to help us get in touch with our intuitive way of eating and being.

Want to find out more? Check out what a private consultation with me looks like.
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