As I redefine what health means to me, my career direction takes a U- turn! In my practise I’ve been heavily focused on nutrition, physical health and scientific, evidence-based approaches while my heart has been losing interest! I no longer believe that focusing solely on physical health is the route or the key to achieving a balanced healthy life. In fact, I believe that it is only one leg of a table with many legs.

Our physical health is strongly influenced, or even directed by our emotional well being and our connection to purpose in our lives. New studies are also showing that our disconnection from the rhythms of Nature, and from the earth, are making us both mentally and physically unwell.

When we look at all the things that can affect our emotional and spiritual well being; from fulfilment in career and relationships to connection with friends and family, we can start to see how our emotions influence our physical health. Do you know anybody who is highly stressed, anxious, or depressed that you would define as really healthy? I doubt it, because the two states cannot co-exist. This is why my past focus, purely on physical health, now seems futile and no longer motivates me. It doesn’t have the long term results that I want!

A big thanks to Pathway Teaching for publishing this post... Check them out!

About Eleanor
Eleanor Winters (BA (hons) Genetics, PgDip NT, mNTOI) is the founder of Nutritional Therapy Clinic, Embody Health, where she provides individually-tailored consultations to clients in Dublin, Galway, and online. They come highly recommended too - we have both been to see Eleanor and have found her a wealth of knowledge with a beautiful and charming manner, so do not hesitate to book an appointment with her!  Eleanor attributes her success to keeping up to date with the latest scientific research, while adopting a holistic approach with clients. She incorporates nutrition and lifestyle advice along with goal-setting into her consultations. "No two people are the same so no two consultations are the same".

Food choices affect Mind, Body and Soul
In my work, I have found that the most important thing is to educate people to understand how mind, body and soul respond to our food choices. Once you listen to and understand this connection to your physical body, you will never fall back to the unconscious habits of your former life for long! You will learn to accept that sometimes 60% effort is okay, while other times you'll strive for 100% and be really proud and motivated because you feel so good! Once you realise how alive, energetic and youthful you can feel by nourishing and cleansing your physical body, you can never stray far. If you have suffered from chronic pain, sleep disorders or low mood, all of these obstacles can be overcome, and rather than feeling like a hindrance, your physical body can truly be the vessel that carries you forward on your life's purpose.

Eleanor's Unique Approach
Everyone is unique, and needs to be treated as such. I take a detailed history of every new client I meet, learn their goals of health and well-being and what motivates them. Then, based on this, we design your "perfect plan". I recognise that as life's demands, challenges and gifts change weekly or monthly, we need to revisit and tweak your plan, so that you are empowered and supported in your journey to optimal health.

Anybody can find a scientifically perfect diet and stick to it for a short period of time, but that's hard work and never lasts! A better approach is to find your balance, to find what works best within your lifestyle, work and family demands to achieve your personal goals. This might only require making 2 or 3 simple changes for you to start seeing results, or in some situations, just learning the healthiest shortcuts!

Who is it for?
A tailor-made nutrition package can help to enhance the areas of your life that you most want to improve. I have tai chi and meditation practitioners who come to me with the primary purpose of enhancing their mental resilience and ability to focus and concentrate. I work with people who want to feel less stressed, more emotionally balanced and energetic, as well as sports athletes and those who are dealing with chronic pain or more serious diagnoses. Many people want to move away from reliance on medication, and reconnect with their body's inner strength and natural rhythm. In many cases I use natural herbs and supplements to support individual goals.

What Eleanor doesn't do
Many health and fitness regimes use guilt as their main motivator. I have a major problem with this. If our goal is overall optimal health, then emotional and spiritual health must always take precedence over our striving for physical health. Better to eat a cake with joy and gratitude than to eat the same cake with guilt or shame. Guilt is destructive and the root of many illnesses, and nurturing these negative emotions can lead us to quit more readily. However, if we enjoy a treat and receive it with gratitude, we are much more likely to keep a positive mindset and focus on making more positive life changes. My key message here is

"We must love ourselves, be gentle with ourselves, and always undertake a new health regime as a positive gift to ourselves, not a punishment!"

If you would like to organise a consultation or find out how nutritional therapy could help you, call Eleanor on 0876898731 or info@embodyhealth.ie

There are countless benefits to increasing organic fruit and vegetables in our diets, but often we don’t take their powerful effects seriously until they are very relevant to our health or fitness goals. So let’s get specific!

Tip #1 Weight Loss Replacing carbs such as bread, pasta, cereals and potatoes in your diet with more vegetables will support weight loss and boost your energy levels.

Why Organic? A burden of toxins (from pesticides) in your liver could be the reason why you can't lose weight.

Tip #2 Avoid Cancer and Heart Disease
A general increase in all fruits and vegetables will reduce your risk of developing cancer and heart disease, with more than 9 portions per day offering the greatest protection. Broccoli, in particular, contains 2 powerful substances, sulforaphane, and indole-3-carbinol making it one of the most powerful cancer-fighting foods known! Eating more of this food can reduce your risk of developing breast, lung, ovarian and prostate cancer.
Sulforaphane from broccoli also protects against stomach cancer and helps to heal stomach ulcers by killing the bacteria H. pylori associated with these conditions. Indole-3-carbinol has also been found to protect against coldsores.

Why Organic? Many pesticides in conventional sprayed foods have been linked to cancer

Tip #3 Healthy Digestion
Many of the benefits offered by vegetables lie in their fibre content. Many people rely on bran and whole grains, but vegetables are a much more gentle and healthy way to boost your fibre intake and aid digestion. Fibre is essential to maintain a healthy digestive system, and detox our bodies. In fact, a diet low in fibre has been associated with the development of haemorrhoids, constipation, high cholesterol, cancer and more.

Why Organic? Eating organic veg, which have not been sprayed, allows us to detox without ‘re’toxing at the same time!

Tip #4 Recovery from injury and 'flu' 
Fruit and vegetables are jam-packed full of nutrients needed for every cell in your body to function efficiently. Vitamin C help us to recover from surgery and injury, and helps us to fight bacterial and viral infections. Peppers contain more vitamin C than citrus fruits! In fact, just one serving of green peppers provides 100% of your recommended daily allowance (RDA) of vitamin C… and the more the better!

Why Organic? Peppers are on the Top 10 List of pesticide-laden vegetables according to the US environmental protection agency. The only way to protect yourself and your family is to buy organic.

Tip #5 Skin, Hair and Nails
The dark skin of a cucumber contains silica which strengthens skin, hair, muscles and bones. Vitamin A, found in high amounts in chard, plays a similar role but also supports healthy eyesight. So eating plenty of these foods should be an important strategy in building bone health and protecting against osteoporosis!

Why Organic? To benefit from silica in cucumbers and to avoid eating wax that is sprayed on commercially grown varieties, buying organic is essential!

So just eat more Organic Vegetables and Fruit?!
It’s easy to say this, but in practise many people find it difficult to do this in an enjoyable and sustainable way!

"Much of what I do in clinic is help my clients to learn easy and practical ways to include more of the specific vegetables that are relevant to their health. This often includes giving recipes and practical tips that will disguise certain vegetables that may be really beneficial to you but may not be to your taste (or other fussy tastebuds in your household!) I offer healthy alternatives that allow you to reduce the foods in your diet that you know are not supporting your health. And, I help you to make all these changes in a way that will both show you results (improved health and wellbeing) and not interfere dramatically with your current lifestyle!"