GUEST BLOGGER: Corey is a wife and mum of 2. Seeing so many sick people around (including herself) inspired her to research what foods we should be eating for optimal health. She began implementing changes with amazing results. She now has a new love for delicious, wholesome and nutritious food. She believes healthy nutritious eating is a key to a happier life.

I am Corey, I am not an expert health professional, but like most of you I DO want to be an expert at looking after my health, and doing everything I can to feel great, be healthy and have loads of energy.

I have spent many years in administration roles in hospitals, but one particular job changed everything for me. I would leave work at the end of the day feeling immensely frustrated.   Every day there were piles of medical reports detailing patient’s health issues; diabetes, heart disease, obesity, the list goes on. However, the most frightening part was that the children’s pile of medical reports was always higher than the adult’s. It got me thinking:  Why are there so many sick kids? Why the sudden rise of autism, diabetes, heart disease and cancer? What is going on here?

It made me look at my own health, and I realised it had slipped considerably. You see, I came from a fairly “healthy” childhood, eating within the Australian dietary guidelines, lots of home cooked meals and very rarely any junk food.  However as I child, I was always sick with stomach issues.  I also suffered from sinus and hay fever. I would sneeze A LOT! My family stopped saying, “bless you” after the 3rd sneeze, they thought it was hilarious.  For me it was no fun at all.  My mum had me treated by a naturopath who put me on a wheat and dairy free diet. I started feeling a lot better.  I would take my brown rye bread to school and tell everyone it was “chocolate bread”.   I decided not to mention the Easters eggs were made from Carob.

Things changed when I moved out of home.  My diet went from wheat, dairy and sugar free, to loads of processed food, sugary breakfast cereals, plenty of take-away, and very little exercise.  Sorry Mum!

I also LOVED baking. I would make cakes and biscuits for parties and for my family all the time.   My husband is German and afternoon “Kaffee and Kuchen”  (Coffee and cake) is a big tradition.

I never thought about the sugar or the wheat that I was eating – I figured I was baking from scratch and that was good..….right?

Around this time my husband suggested we do a “cleanse” as he had not been feeling that great.  At first I was a bit defensive, but then though, ”Well I haven’t been feeling the best either, and I was starting to worry about the high levels of sugar and processed food in our diet.  Hey it was just for 2 weeks – I could do that”. So it was settled– two weeks with no wheat and no sugar (whole fruit was okay). The first few days were crazy with migraines. It was horrible!  I felt sick!  Why was I doing this again?!?   It wasn’t until day three that I started really feeling better, it was like a cloud had lifted.  No headaches, no sinus issues, and plenty more energy.

During this time I started doing my own research about sugar and it’s effects. I read almost every health book in the library, including David Gillespie’s “Sweet Poison”, Mark Sisson’s “The Primal Blueprint”, and Dr William Davis’ “Wheat Belly”. All the books claimed new research showing no links between saturated fat and heart disease.  What?!?  If you want to read more about it here is a link to the latest study published by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The information I was reading was conflicting almost everything I had been taught about healthy eating and healthy lifestyles.  I watched documentaries and discovered the links between sugar, heart disease and diabetes. I was astounded!  I didn’t want to eat so much sugar anymore.  I did a big cull of the cupboards and starting experimenting with wheat free and sugar free recipes. Let’s just say some were a disaster, but over time they have improved remarkably.

The two week cleanse, turned into a month, and then 3 months, and now over 1 year on, and our family are so much healthier. I can honestly say I am feeling the healthiest I ever have felt. Although losing weight was not the main issue for me, I was always conscious of my “baby belly” after having 2 children. I would wear those horrible spandex underwear to hide my belly. I don’t have worry about that anymore. Yah! I have gained lots of muscle, even with doing very little exercise. I have more energy; kids are doing better at school, and very rarely get sick. My children (8 & 10) are now aware of what they are eating. They still have occasional treats, however, they now look at food, and food labels and make healthier choices. It has been amazing to watch.

It was well and good to read all the books, but to try this whole new lifestyle and know that it has worked says more than any book or film can.  My friends and family have seen my transformation, and now many have also chosen to take steps to eating more wholesome real food.

We eat better than we ever have, and are still looking at ways to improve. We now eat loads of grass-fed meat, vegetables, eggs, fermented vegetables, nuts/seeds and a small amount of diary. I even went and bought cauliflower for the first time ever……crazy stuff….right?  Still might take me awhile to buy Brussel sprouts. Yuck!

I now find myself loving meals and food, and my taste buds have improved remarkably, and I have learnt to make super delicious food that is nourishing, wholesome and delicious. The best part is that I am no longer craving sweets like I used to. I had such a “sweet tooth”. I now can happily decline a piece of cake. I honestly never would have thought that was even possible. I can’t believe the foods I used to eat, and what I thought was healthy was really doing me no good at all.

Over this time I realised that Industry processed foods are not nourishing us, and the massive rise in diseases like heart disease, cancer and diabetes most likely have a lot to do with that. I truly believe that eating wholesome food will make a huge difference in the health of this country.