Meet My Mentor "Now, every time I witness a strong person, I want to know: what darkness did you conquer in your story? Mountains do not rise without earthquakes" Katherine MacKenett I am a Registered Naturopath, Holistic Nutritionist and Medical Herbalist. I graduated with a Bachelor of Naturopathic & Herbal Medicine, a Diploma in Nutrition and a Certificate in Sports Nutrition. I am a proud Kiwi. Born in Rotorua and raised in Auckland. Here is my story. My first experience with a Naturopath was when I was 8 years old. He looked into my eyes (sounds woo-woo but it is called Iridology) and he told me when I get older I am going to be "lazy and tired". That may not have bothered any other 8 year old but it really bothered me. I was prescribed protein powder, plus magnesium and potassium capsules. The chocolate flavoured protein powder sounds delicious but because I couldn't swallow the large capsules I had to dissolve the magnesium and potassium into it. The final concoction was no longer delicious, far from it. I can't remember a day when I actually finished it all. I would struggle through some of it, and the rest of it would be thrown away. However, a recommendation I did succeed with, was eating two carrots a day. I think the basis behind this was fibre, but I have impeccable eyesight now. Every day at school for morning tea I would have a carrot, then sometimes one in my dinner, and another one before bed. The Naturopath's comments stuck with me. Although only 8 years old, I became very aware of what I was eating and my diet changed dramatically. I went from a typical diet of highly processed cereals, fruit juice and roll-ups (a dentist's worst nightmare!) to a more healthy diet. In hindsight it was far from perfect (at the time I thought it was) but I was no longer destined to be lazy and tired. From 9 years old, I began to notice the effects of healthy eating. I developed intuition about Nutrition. I announced I wanted to be a Nutritionist at the age of 11. This was a time when I was heavily into sports and fitness. My diet was giving me a clear speed, strength, power and fitness advantage over my rivals (or should I say classmates - there's the competitiveness!). By this time, I was doing up to three sports a day, plus fitness and P.E. at school. In the morning it could be triathlon or hockey training. Lunchtime could be netball or basketball training. After school could be athletics, swimming, gymnastics, trampolining, netball, basketball, hockey, volleyball, beach volleyball, touch, etc, and it wasn't unusual to have two on the same evening. I definitely wasn't lazy or tired. I never lacked motivation or energy. While my peers complained about the intensity and duration of training sessions, I wished for more. I have never been one to sit around and do nothing. Active relaxation is the only form of relaxation I know. Fast forward to junior high school, I came first in class at P.E. and food tech, and close to the top in science and business studies. But when it came to selecting my year 11 subjects, I decided to prioritise economics and accounting over P.E. and food tech. Fellow students asked why aren't you doing P.E? My answer was that it's not going to get me a good job. I chose the scenic route on my journey to becoming a Nutritionist. Now I believe "love what you do: do what you love" Wayne W. Dyer. From the day I turned 16, a series of unfortunate events caused my health to spiral downhill. This was something that couldn't be cured by chocolate flavoured protein powder, magnesium and potassium capsules, or even carrots. In short, I had leaky gut syndrome. Hence why I am so passionate about leaky gut and gut health today. I didn't purposely market myself as a Naturopath specialising in gut health, but those are the clients I attract. Rewinding back to the traumatised 8 year old, I believe what the Naturopath was actually reading in my eyes were underlying signs of leaky gut. The leaky gut storm can brew for a long time before the thunder and lightning strike. In year 12 biology class I had the honorary experience of explaining to the class what a Naturopath is. My teacher noticed that I was totally disinterested in anything unrelated to the human body. She asked, "are you going to be a dietician when you grow up?" I replied "no, I am going to be a Naturopath". Confused faces and expressions. Not one student in the biology class had heard of a Naturopath. I am disappointed that a Naturopath is not even a career option for high school students, because it is not the 'norm' or even known by many teachers. This may be different depending on the school or career advisors. The health-related career options are generally a doctor, nurse or even a mainstream Nutritionist or dietician, but not a Naturopath. What I noticed when I studied Naturopathy is that it is usually a second or third career for more mature students! It is rare to go straight from school to study to be a Naturopath. Gravity pulled me through year 12 down a steep downhill slide. Once I have my sights set on my goal, nothing else matters to me. This is not always a good thing. While other students actually studied, I decided I would get more value out of expanding my general knowledge. I recorded shows on History, National Geographic and Discovery channels. Every day I wrote down random facts I learnt about the world in a notebook, to avoid anything related to schoolwork. I hated studying but I loved learning. Yes, there is a difference. Every Wednesday night I attended my Certificate in Sports Nutrition course at AUT. This was my favourite day of the week. I felt empowered, I had a Nutrition qualification to my name at 16 years of age. Every month when a new issue of Healthy Food Guide, Good Health or Women's Health magazines were released, I read them from cover to cover. Absorbing the entirety of their pages right down to the ink. I was so obsessed that I ordered the back issues for the last couple of years and read all of those too. I read so much, I felt I knew all there was to know about general knowledge of Nutrition. It was time to dive deeper. I scraped through year 12 like a teacher scraping a chalkboard. Screaming to get out! Post completion of year 12, I was accepted into a Diploma in Sport and Recreation at AUT. I was overjoyed at the acceptance, but guilt brought me back to begin year 13. Alternatively, I chose to do a personal training course at AUT over several weekends to avoid dropping out of school entirely. I did the theory of the course but I never completed the final exams, because I came to realise that I didn't want to be a personal trainer as a career. I just wanted to learn. It sounds crazy and I spent hundreds of dollars to be there, but I thought why put myself through the stress of the exams if I can't see myself being a personal trainer in the real world. I did not regret the chance to learn about the body (Anatomy and Physiology). Heading reluctantly into year 13, I persisted in my search to find every way possible to not attend school whilst still being enrolled at school. I searched for Nutrition courses and I was successful at finding two at Wellpark College run during weekdays. Perfect! I wagged school 1.5 days a week. I just didn't bother showing up on Thursday afternoons and Fridays. I was studying 'Foundations in Naturopathy' and 'Foundations in Nutrition'. By that age you don't legally have to be at school, so the teachers didn't ask questions and I kept quiet. From February to April I was effectively studying part time while still at school. The only paper I was missing to be a full time student was 'Anatomy and Physiology'. I asked on the very slim chance if I could enrol in the Diploma in Nutrition at Wellpark College. A Diploma only required NCEA Level 2 which I had from year 12. The only other hindrance was an age restriction of 18 years. I was 17 but my wisdom was 27. An appointment was quickly made with the principal. I didn't know him greatly then, but he interviewed me and said I seemed mature for my age. Upon being granted an exception from the principal, I was the youngest person to be accepted into Wellpark College of Natural Therapies. I signed my life away in a heartbeat. I'm in. I must also add, another reason why I was accepted was on the basis that I had previously studied some anatomy and physiology (in the personal training course)! "If you don't ask, you don't get it" Mahatma Gandhi. Everything happens for a reason. Signing out of school was the most liberating experience of my life. I will never forget the feeling of walking up to all of my teachers with a piece of paper and asking them to 'sign here' to free me (from my figurative prison). All of the teachers were obliging and wished me luck, bar one. My social studies teacher, "You just got excellence in your last assignment" (the class hadn't been informed of their results yet). My stomach knotted. My first excellence since year 10 or 11, probably year 10. He warned "If your institution (emphasis that institution is inferior to a uni) is telling you there are jobs out there, they are lying." Too late. I needed to study Nutrition or Naturopathy. First and foremost for myself and my own health. I completed the first year (of two) of the Diploma in Nutrition. I loved it and learnt more than ever, in a field I live and breathe. I applied the knowledge I learnt every day on my journey towards optimal health. I became increasingly more intuitive about Nutrition. My only concern was job prospects upon completion of a Diploma rather than a Degree. Especially because I was still so young. Being a Nutritionist at the age of 19, how would that be perceived? On my first day back in my second year, I found out one of my classmates cross-credited to the Degree programme to be a Naturopath. I immediately went to the office and a few minutes later I was enrolled in the Bachelor of Naturopathic & Herbal Medicine. Not only did I switch from the Diploma to the Degree, I could now complete both. A two year Diploma and a three year Degree in four years. Some students completed both qualifications (stressfully) in three years, but one extra year is nothing in the scheme of my life. No regrets. I thought the day I signed out of school, I had turned my back on my only chance of getting a Degree. "Where there's a will there's a way" Albert Einstein. Shout out to my classmate who said 8 years ago "I will buy your books". Thank you for planting the seed. The sunflower has now blossomed. ~ ~ ~ I currently teach at a Naturopathic College. I have also been teaching Nutrition Community Courses at Wellpark College for the last four years. While studying there I was the only student asked to write blogs/articles for the College's website and social media. I continued this on my own website upon graduation. Previously I was a Territory Manager/BDM for a supplement company. I got a buzz from training Pharmacists, Pharmacy Technicians and retail assistants about the technical side of product ingredients. Before that I was the NZ Naturopath Consultant for a multi-level marketing company. It was the day of my graduation, I received the phone call confirming I had the job. It was perfect timing. The stars were aligning. If it wasn't for this opportunity, I wouldn't be where I am today. I didn't sell the products myself, I educated the independent business owners and employees about the products' features and benefits. The job involved many training sessions, and taste testing of protein powders I made into delicious protein smoothies and protein balls. During this time, I consulted one-on-one with over 200 clients. I completed an Iridology course and incorporated it into my practice. This role took me on speaking engagements to Christchurch, Wellington and Hamilton, and of course, Auckland, where I conducted seminars. I discovered my love for public speaking. Fresh out of college I opened the doors to Liv's Apothecary & Health Clinic. I offer consultations and formulate Herbal Medicine Tonics. 'Apothecary' is an old-fashioned name for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses Herbal Medicine and drugs (which commonly originated from herbs) to their patients. 'Apothecary' resonates with me due to my love of herbs and my Herbal Dispensary which covers a wide range of ailments and health conditions. I was approached to design sleep liquid drops, of which 10,000 bottles were manufactured in NZ in the first shipment and sent to China. It is not uncommon for Chinese workers to sleep for a few hours under their desk because they do not have time to commute home and back again for the next day. They need something quick to kick in and knock them out at all hours of the day. This is a sad situation, but the formulation is better than sleeping pills. I am a guest speaker at healthy living expos, and I present Nutrition workplace workshops for corporates. During my study years, I worked at an organic and health food store. The practical experience I gained there gave me invaluable knowledge about organic food that can't be taught in a classroom. It became my second home during the six years I spent there. Shout out to the owners of IE Produce in Takapuna, Auckland, who I consider family. I am motivated and energised (the opposite end of the spectrum of lazy and tired). I now love chocolate flavoured protein powder. But I don't mix my magnesium capsules into it! I still take magnesium every night in the form of powder. It is a sweet raspberry flavoured powder, I wish this was available back then! I don't see the need for a potassium supplement, when I eat plentiful fresh fruit and vegetables (including two carrots a day!). "My mission is to educate, empower, inspire, motivate and mentor clients, from all walks of life, to achieve optimal health and wellbeing" Liv Kennedy Olivia Mercedes Kennedy www.livsapothecary.co.nz FB: Liv's Apothecary & Health Clinic IG: @livsapothecary_healthclinic #MyNutritionMentor #healthytakeaways