We only get one body and one life, and there are a thousand reasons to protect and preserve both. Yet when life gets busy, our health is one of the first things to take the hit. Fast food replaces healthy options and relief medications replace the search for the root cause.
In the end, we can find ourselves on a downward spiral, feeling lousy and eventually battling chronic or life-threatening conditions.
A Little Nutrition
Susan Watson of A Little Nutrition says it doesn’t have to be this way. As a registered dietician, her goal for the past 17 years has been to help people return to a more balanced relationship with the food they eat by training them on the differences between whole foods and processed foods and getting them back in the kitchen cooking again.
“We provide counselling for all areas of nutrition, from improving a health condition like diabetes or high cholesterol to lifestyle nutrition,” says Watson. “We help people learn about what to eat and how much, but we also address the relationship with food [and] why we eat the way we do.”
Watson and her team of eight certified nutrition coaches offer group and one-on-one consultation services. They also go the extra distance, accompanying clients on a trip to the grocery store and providing in-home cooking classes to teach the skills of healthy food preparation.
“We don’t believe in diets or diet plans that are strict and hard to follow,” Watson says. “We are passionate about teaching people how to meal plan for their own unique lifestyle and situation. We don’t want to just educate people on what to do, we want to… help them actually achieve this goal.”
Another unique service she offers is called Nutrigenomix—genetic testing with a simple saliva test.
“It’s a revolutionary new advancement in nutrition which involves eating based on your genetics,” Watson explains. “Individual genetic variations can affect how people respond to the foods, beverages, and supplements they consume. Nutrigenomics is the study of how individual genetic variation affects a person’s response to nutrients and impacts the risk of nutrition-related chronic diseases.”
Mama Recharged
Teri Watt of Mama Recharged knows all too well the negative effects that poor food choices have on a person’s physical and mental well-being. As a registered holistic nutritionist, she’s overcome her own health challenges by altering her eating habits and managing her stress levels. Today she runs her business online. Her primary focus is to help young mothers like herself.
“I help moms get their energy back and feel good again using whole foods as fuel,” Watt says. “So many moms are tired and not feeling well and I am passionate about changing that. Usually they don’t think there is anything that they can do about it or don’t know what to do about it. That was me about six years ago and changing my diet truly changed my energy and the quality of my life.”
Watt offers a four-week program called the Mama Recharged Method where participants learn ways to enjoy clean eating by cutting out energy-draining foods and powering up with energizing ones. Keeping it simple, she says, is important in a mother’s busy life and is the best way to achieve long-term results for the whole family.
A membership to her program also provides participants with weekly meal plans, shopping lists, meal preparation guides, and personalized coaching. Every spring and fall, Watt offers a seven-day cleanse course which can help moms experience significant improvements in just one week.
“Most people don’t stick with diets for longer than a couple of weeks because either they are hungry and their cravings take over, or it’s just too much work,” Watt says. “In the Mama Recharged Method, the focus is on keeping it clean, simple, and delicious so that it turns into a lifestyle change that sticks. You don’t have to spend hours in the kitchen. And contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to go hungry.”
Good ‘n’ Natural
Good ‘n’ Natural is a family-owned business that’s been delivering health products and services to the residents of southeastern Manitoba for 18 years. While they’re most commonly associated with health supplements, their products have moved into natural beauty lines, essential oils, natural household cleaning products, and a vast range of locally sourced and organic grocery items including meats and garden produce.
“We continually work hard to mould and shape ourselves for what is in demand,” says Janelle Pachal, a certified natural product advisor at Good ‘n’ Natural. “With more natural health products on the shelves of mass market stores, we need to rise to the occasion with knowledgeable and friendly staff available to answer questions and help the customer.”
The company partners their product lines with services to help customers navigate the sometimes daunting path to natural healing.
“I believe that more people are noticing that they have options,” Pachal says. “Along with visiting your family doctor and getting an opinion, you can also visit a naturopathic doctor to make a more well-rounded decision when it comes to your health. Supplements are great, but there are still interactions with prescribed medications that you want to be conscious of. That’s when we strongly recommend visiting a naturopath. They are educated to help the body heal itself, and sometimes that means a combination of prescription medication and natural supplements.”
A fully certified naturopathic doctor provides services through Good ‘n’ Natural as well as a personal trainer who offers one-on-one lifestyle support in the Healthy Living Program.
As shoppers move toward the ease of online shopping, the retail store has joined forces with GNN Healthy Living, a website created by the owner of Good ‘n’ Natural and run by a team of product professionals within the store.
“It’s known that our biggest competition is online,” Pachal says. “So if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. We are very fortunate to have such loyal customers, so we’ve provided another platform for them to support us. In between processing orders, we have two full-time GNN team members who are regularly adding new items and simplifying the process of online product selection.”
