The unexamined life is not worth living.
-Socrates
Alma-Jade Chanter, MSc Communication, Health and Life Sciences
Wild wellness warrior. Half meat head, half hippie. Lover of modern science + lover of ancient wisdom. Fully in love with integrating, connecting and applying knowledge to better quality of life. Whole human being :)
Hi! I'm Alma-Jade - a nutrient-density seeker and full-time, lifelong learner. My own experience with a long-term strict whole food (raw) vegan diet (7 years) and a consequent diagnosis with autoimmune disease entailed a long, meandering and often frustrating path to healing. As I slowly came to terms with the fact that a plant-based diet was deteriorating and depleting my physical and mental health towards degenerative disease, I began to question the premises and assumptions upon which it is based. I was clinically diagnosed with Grave's disease (autoimmune thyroid disorder) and PCOS, and like a growing number of people dealing with chronic health issues, have gone through years of struggle and periods of severe dysfunction regarding my health even when I was sure I was doing everything "right". Taking a different approach, I was able to enter remission naturally and without medication, against the belief of my allopathic doctors that it was possible. It is still a process and a never-ending journey, but illness has been one of my biggest teachers and also one of my biggest motivators to help others help themselves by reclaiming vibrant health and living fully - at whatever stage they are at currently. As I shifted towards a holistic metabolic approach to health and healing based in understanding the role of Ancestral Health principles and evolutionary medicine as they relate to our biology, gene expression, membrane permeability, mitochondrial health, as well as biochemical and psychological state (we are a complex system afterall!), I ended at a zero-carb, carnivore diet. Despite getting into remission on an AIP (autoimmune paleo) diet, I would experience symptom relapses, flare-ups, anxiety, and persistent digestive distress... Until I cut out the vegetables and plant foods. I loved my veggies and avocados, but as I realized, they really didn't love me back - and not only do I not need them to survive, I can thrive without them when fueled on a nutrient-dense, nose to tail carnivore (meat-based) approach. From this experience, research and whole-picture perspective, regenerative solutions focusing on a nutrient-dense, high quality meat-based diet sourced as responsibly and ethically as possible as well as an integrated approach to the human body in relation to the environment and lifestyle practices, created the conditions for healing and health to unfold. This has made me committed to sharing regenerative and whole-system health practices that form the basis of self-care and Earth-care principles. Restoring health has been a true gift, and is still an evolving, exciting process, and I would like to provide tools to help others be their own health CEO. For me, healthy living goes far beyond what we eat, but is also how we think, move, breath, sleep, love and connect with others, ourselves and Mother Earth. I use the Ancestral Health Model as a lens for lifestyle choices, understanding that there is a mismatch between our genes and the modern environment. From here we can reverse engineer disease by taking an evolutionary biology perspective that works with our own ancestry and bio-individuality to create sustainable health in our modern world. Check out my article here for the 6 pillars I focus on. I have a love for weight lifting, spending time in nature, and any crazy outdoor adventure... and hiking and biking up mountains, though I seem to have a natural talent of getting lost! Counterbalance is just as important to me, and Yin yoga and mobility is an important part of my training. I also have a passion for farm-to-folk food sourcing and nose-to-tail nutrition, as well as connecting people to the whole process of sustainable food production, from the farmer down to the soil. For a more detailed version of my health journey and insights I've gathered along the way, you can check out my interview article with KetoEndurance here.
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BSc, MSc & ACCREDITED COURSES
EXPERIENCES & WORKSHOPS
My core operating principles:
1. Operate from a place of love, not fear. This is a state of autonomic nervous system balance and whole brain integration which facilitates an open-mind and a state of compassionate loving kindness and acceptance. Choose to seek understanding and to uplift instead of going through life in an avoidance and reactive state. 2.Take full response-ability for my life and health. Recognize what I can change, accept what I cannot and cultivate the stoic wisdom to know the difference à la serenity prayer. And know it is a process that I have to re-commit to every single day. 3. Less is often more. Selectively minimise inputs to maximise my energy and output. Creativity and creation over linear consumption, and building in a rhythm of cycles and waves of oscillation in a way that allow for optimal engagement instead of a way of living & consumption that leads to burn out & depletion. 4. Cultivate capacity, not dependency. Enable, do not disable. Empowering you! |
I must be a mermaid... I have no fear of great depth and a great fear of shallow living.
-Anais Nin