The FAT lie!

For most of my life, I believed that 'fat free' was the way to go. This was the lie that was 'the order of the day' and even the "Heart Foundation" endorsed products that contained synthetic fats or seed oils instead of natural animal fat.

I have now come to realize that it is and was always about the profit margins rather than the health of the people! HOW SAD, yet unfortunately true.

I know that I am going to get 'push back' on this topic, but I can say this from personal experience: I broke my body by depriving it of the essential fatty acids, nutrients and minerals by omitting all animal derived fat from my diet. I introduced over-processed food where the fat is synthetically removed and used plant based oils and fats which I now know is unrecognizable to our bodies.

For years, I was the one who ate the least, constantly tortured by the hunger-pains, and yet, I was also the one who gained the most pounds... The stares, silent whispers and giggles said it all. No one had to say it, it was loud enough. Oh, and don't forget the unsolicited advices: 'just go for a run daily', or 'just cut down your portions', or 'why don't you try a diet' or 'you need to have more discipline', or 'you need to do more cardio workouts', and the list goes on.

I remember sitting on the floor, crying profusely, after receiving a call from my GP to say that all my blood tests came back normal. Most people would have been relieved, but in my case it was the worst news I could ever receive! After spending about 2 weeks worth of wages on blood tests, my GP was all too happy to report to me that I was ok, normal, yet I felt like death warmed up! Being 'ok' and 'normal' just did not explain why I felt stiff, sore, irritable, bloated (often associated with sever abdominal pain), anxious, tired-to-my-bones and utterly at my whit's end! So no, that was not good news; it felt like a death sentence! That was 2006, 20 years ago.

Well, you would think that all of the above was resolved shortly after, but sadly, my health deteriorated gravely after 2008 onward, and in 2014 I finally started implementing a few lifestyle changes when my mum said that she had seen a program on Shine TV where the lady described her own health similarly to mine and she discovered that she was gluten intolerant. Well, that was another rabbit-hole, but it was the turning point in my own health and wellness journey. As I pondered on the idea of changing my lifestyle and diet, I kept hearing this phrase in my head: 'Your healing will come through obedience.' I felt that this was the Lord's way of gently nudging me.

Well, this was a short-lived phase: Gluten Free. This just opened the door for more criticism, as at that time, it sort of became the next 'fad' to be gluten free. Every 2nd person suddenly had a gluten intolerance or was celiac (mostly self-diagnosed), so it quickly got a bad reputation. This was the beginning of the gluten-free era, so the products on the supermarket shelves were very limited, overpriced and absolutely horrible. Most of it tasted like carboard or gritted sand. I stomached it, as I was determined to resolve my health issues, but unfortunately my symptoms dis not subside; in actual fact, some symptoms became even more pronounced. This was disheartening to say the least.

Once I realized that the gluten free products, that was even more processed than the normal baked goods, just did not work for me, I tried a combination of the Keto and Banting lifestyle plans. Although I did not have great success in losing much weight, I felt so much better. The bloating and stiffness in my whole body subsided, and that was the most relief I had experienced in years. I did lose a dress size, despite not losing weight.

Well, the years passed, and I slowly moved to a wholefood and all natural and organic lifestyle. We were blessed to move to a homestead a few months before the Covid epidemic hit, so we were spared the indoor-isolation that others around us had to endure during the lockdowns. As stressful as it was, this season brought on yet another level of freedom for us as a family, both physically and spiritually. During this time we searched out how to make our own natural herbal remedies and started replacing premade or premixed pantry items for raw and real single ingredient items. This brought us so much joy, confidence and a know-how to treat and prevent ordinary and the not so ordinary virus infections, scrapes and bruises, and other health challenges.

There is much more detail to my story, but the short of it is that my overall health and wellbeing and that of my whole family improved and is still improving daily, weekly, monthly and yearly, and this made me feel like I wanted to share these secrets with anyone who would be willing to hear it. This was also when I decided to make it official and study to become a Senior Traditional Hebalist. I qualified in Jan 2025, and then started Janelley health and wellness.

The name of the business, 'Janelley', is derived from the names of my children: 'Ja' from Jessica-Jayne, 'nel' from Chaznel, and "ley' from Dudley. Janelley is a gift, one that I can share with the confidence of knowing that God created the creation to serve Him first and then to serve us, who are made in His image, just as He intended in the garden of Eden. Through God's creation He provides food, nourishment, shelter and restoration to each of us who will receive. Furthermore, He offers redemption through Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, For all who repents and accepts Him as Lord and Saviour. What a Gift!

So now, if you, in any way, can identify with my story of battling to find the answers to your own health and wellness, please join me in the next phase of discovering ways in which we can support our bodies on this journey to health and wellness again.

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The FAT Lie

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