Eating plants for health was a discovery that Sarah Radford of Adelaide, Australia, made after a long, painful personal journey that was full of traditional professional advice but without solutions. At 41 and with a young family, she knew she had to find answers quickly.
Before she got there, though, there was a time of desperation, and then she realised her health issues had probably developed from much earlier days.
“I grew up with a love of food. My mum was a good cook. We had a vegetable garden and an orchard. I grew up in an outer suburb of Melbourne. We had chickens, and so I grew up eating all home-cooked food with good quality butcher shop meat and home-grown veggies and fruit.
“I think that was the very beginning, but when I developed Crohn’s disease, it was the beginning of my journey towards using food as medicine rather than just for pleasure, I suppose.”
But, even after her diagnosis, Sarah didn’t come to plant-based eating immediately.
“I tried just about every diet you could possibly imagine. Back then, I had a young family. My daughters were just 5 and 3, and when you have a young family, you become more health conscious because you’re feeding little ones.”
From there, her interest in nutrition steadily grew, but despite all her efforts, she wasn’t as healthy as she assumed and was following all the wrong books.
When she knew she really needed help she thought a gastroenterologist must have the answers on what to eat. She admits it was a “preconception”, and something that was sorely tested on her first visit.
Changing your diet is one thing for yourself, but it can be quite a different matter when there is a husband and children involved. Of course, there was a period of experimentation with food beforehand, and in Sarah’s case, it probably paved the way for permanent change. But was it easy?
A serious imflammatory bowel issue makes you quickly notice what is happening inside you, and its symptoms are not only physical but emotional, too.
There can be frustration and embarrassment over the unpredictability of symptoms, especially in social and professional settings. Anxiety about eating different foods or travelling due to fear of triggering symptoms is a regular occurrence for many sufferers.
Physically sufferers experience discomfort from pain, cramping and bloating, which can make it especially hard to focus on daily activities. Frequent trips to the bathroom or fear of sudden urgency can cause inconvenience throughout the day.
Symptoms may worsen after eating certain foods, such as dairy, gluten, or fatty meals. Overall, life becomes a constant balancing act. For Sarah, the situation was so bad that she took instant action.
Sarah now runs her own nutrition consultancy business, Eat Plants for Health, and is available to see people in person or discuss online with anyone who has an internet connection. In her professional work, she is a firm believer in meeting people where they’re at, but she does have an important prerequisite with whoever she takes on.
