My wonderful husband, Eddy and I have been married for 30 years this year and together we have 3 adult children, Jacques, Arno and Larné of whom we are very proud. In 1999 we emigrated from South Africa to New Zealand. Zuid Afrika is Dutch for South Africa, so we call ourselves ZAKIWIS
As far back as I can remember I have always been interested in food, testing out recipes and serving
home-bake. When it was time to decide on a career, the obvious choice was a 3 year diploma in Home
Economics. This not only satisfied my food and entertaining interest, but also my creative talent.
Although these studies gave me a good foundation in food and nutrition, I have long since moved on from the
5 food group plan which taught that protein came from meat and meat products; calcium from dairy, and
vitamins and minerals from fruit and vegetables. I now know that all fruit and vegetables contain
sufficient protein, calcium, fat and of course vitamins and minerals for a healthy, balanced diet.
It was actually after I started a family in 1983, that I became more and more health conscious. As best I knew how, I brought up my children on healthy food. This included some fruit, cooked vegetables, animal products and of course plenty of dairy. But despite this, they had all the childhood illnesses and operations - croup, colds & 'flus, asthma, bronchitis, chicken pox, measles, grommets in the ears, tonsils out, appendix removed and plenty of antibiotics.
I remember when my 10 month old baby had croup very badly and was admitted to hospital. There he was promptly put on antibiotics and placed in an ice cold oxygen tent. His little bottom was raw from the antibiotics and I had to keep smearing on zinc ointment. When the doctor did his rounds with the interns, I asked him to please prescribe some vitamins to build up my little son's immune system as the antibiotics were breaking it down. He laughed in my face and I was too timid to stand up for what I believed. Today I know better, and would be feeding my baby plenty of raw food especially fruit, and feel sure that he would not have landed up in the hospital in the first place.
My parents were planning to move to New Zealand towards the end of 2005. However, during that year, my mother of 78 died very suddenly of cancer. She had also been a diabetic for 10 years, and I was convinced that when they relocated to live near us, I would be able to help her on the road to wellness. I was never given the chance, but a seed was planted - to help others recover from debilitating diseases. Doing a little research, I came across the certificate offered by the Natural Health & Wellness Institute, and so began my journey to learn more about the body and how food affects it. What an exciting journey!
Since changing my lifestyle, I have improved my health in the following ways:
- Asthma and hay fever disappeared
- Joint pain has diminished so much that it is hardly an issue
- Dry and itchy eyelids are now lovely and smooth, and devoid of any itch
- Dry hands have improved, so there is now no need for all the pots of cream
- 13 unwanted kilos have been lost
- Energy levels have increased
- Strength has been regained in my hands
- My hair has stopped falling out
- Energy levels soared
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