About Me

First steps in health

At 29, I started to take an interest in my health and began reading books about diet & nutrition. I was in good health, or at least considered myself to be.

Back then, I was just curious about what a good diet looked like. I LOVE food and I eat a lot! So I needed to figure out how to do what I loved most, without becoming too fat!

I did really well for a while however, despite my conscious food efforts, I experienced tiredness and fatigue as I moved into my mid-30s. I had chronic candida, a yeast infection & no matter what I did, I could not “fix” the problem. I became very tired and I experienced persistent constipation and bloating.

It didn’t help when I met and fell in love with my husband Claude who owned an Indian restaurant and made oh so delicious meals! I put on weight very fast with all the naan bread & onion pakoras! 🙂

I turned to nutritional supplements when a Naturopath educated me that food was significantly nutrient-deficient due to commercial farming methods, long-distance travel and cold storage. She also pointed out that skin discolouration and blotching (which I had) indicated problems at a deeper, organ level.

Then I learned about the importance of drinking quality water and removing toxins from my skincare and cleaning products.

With these changes my digestive problems improved as did my sleeping and my mood.

Partnering with USANA

My partnership with USANA Health Sciences began when I switched to their skin care products in 2003 and later their nutritional range in 2004. Why the delay on taking the vitamin supplements? I was skeptical and untrusting and needed to do my own research before I trusted my heath and my money to this company.

Why the switch? I read the Comparative Guide To Nutritional Supplements and saw that USANA products were way out in front in the quality comparisons.

Since partnering with USANA , I have learned that my health problems had been connected to my oral health. I had 11 mercury tooth fillings, which I recall had been placed in my head from my early teens till my early 20’s. And when the fillings eroded they were replaced with a new mercury amalgam, until I changed dentists in 2006.

My holistic dentist removed the mercury amalgams in 2009 and my health really took a leap forward. I immediately got taste back in my mouth and my immune health significantly improved. No longer did I succumb to viral infections that used to lay me down for weeks with a chest infection.

My health was tracking along well until I turned 50. Well hello! Who would have thought that an infected root canal tooth could result in hypothyroidism, Hashimoto’s autoimmune disease and osteoporosis! At first I was shocked when I received this diagnosis in September 2016, however now it makes a lot of sense. That root canal work had been done in around 1992 & I had it removed in October 2017. That is close to 25 years with the likelihood that it was infected for most of those years.

I now require to be on lifetime medication to do for me what my thyroid gland once did.

Do not under estimate what persistent, chronic inflammation can do to your cells. It burns holes in them and destroys them.

What can cause chronic inflammation?

- A poor diet (high-sugar, refined carbs, processed foods, low-fibre etc)
- Sedentary lifestyle - yes sitting for long periods actually stimulates inflammatory cells.
- Stress
- Food allergies (like gluten, diary)
- Hidden infections (such as gum disease)
- Toxins (such as mercury and pesticides)

There you go. I had 4 out of 6 of these triggers. A sedentary job, gluten intolerance, infected tooth and mercury.

And what can help reduce inflammation?  A plant-based diet, rich in healthy fats, like omega-3's, high quality nutritional supplements, regular exercise and adequate rest and relaxation.

Now I feel totally in control. I understand what has contributed to my health problems. After spending seven days at Sanoviv Medical Institute in Mexico, in April 2017, I have implemented further changes. I have removed gluten from my diet, tweaked up my nutritional supplement regime, increased my exercise and am applying stress management strategies like deep breathing and meditation.

I have learned a lot along this journey and I am keen to share it with you.

My belief is that we need to take responsibility for our health. No health practitioner can be truly responsible for another's health. I feel it is incumbent upon me to seek answers and advice. They can only be guides.  I seek advice and information from a wide variety of sources including subscriptions with medical practitioners who have expertise in nutritional medicine.

I feel strongly that we need to be part of a health community. Being connected to like minded people can help us stay on track, eat well and play well and live life to the fullest!

Vitality is catching……come join me. Its fun!

Vicki Parker
Wellness Consultant
Brisbane, Australia
July 2018