Genes To Plate

– nutrition made personal

- Ann Gadd

ANN GADD 

www.anngadd.co.za

Ann is the author of a number of books, including The A-Z guide to common habits, The girl who bites her nails, The man who is always late, and Finding your feet. Ann spent six years working as a holistic practitioner, teaching art workshops and has spent over 20 years studying the mind/body connection. Currently, in addition to writing and painting, she teaches Enneagram workshops. Ann is also known for her quirky ‘sheep/ewe’ series of paintings.

If you haven’t ever thought about genetics and nutrition together, there’s a fascinating interaction that can affect health and disease.

Growing up, entertaining was easy. Meat (usually a roast) and three veg comprised most meals. Everyone ate the same thing. That was until the day a VEGETARIAN accepted my mother’s invitation, throwing my mother into a complete state of panic. What to make? How to prepare something that would attempt to replace meat? A mashed mixture of beans dipped in egg and crumbs with a piece of uncooked macaroni as a ‘bone’ substitute (meant to resemble a lamb chop), provided the solution.

Ask friends around today, and you’ll spend a fair amount of time gleaning personal food preferences beforehand and then searching for recipes to match. Ben’s the Banter, Hazel is Paleo, Mike is a lacto-ovo-vegetarian, Lydia is the vegan, Terese eats everything but broccoli, beetroot and shellfish … it’s exhausting! Meaning the planning for what’s intended to be a simple dinner is equivalent to organising a small wedding.

NUTRITIONAL GENOMICS