When my client Heather Myers, who moved to Byron Bay from Sydney a couple of years ago to launch The Beet Vegan Restaurant with her husband Aaron, invited me to run an event at her restaurant, I jumped at the chance. Byron holds a special place in my heart – my husband and I got married on Byron’s Belongil Beach in 2010, and I’ve always loved the casual and cosmopolitan atmosphere of this unique slice of paradise… not to mention the amazing landscape and to-die-for beaches.
While Byron has a reputation as a hippie stronghold, it’s been surprisingly vegan-unfriendly until relatively recently. Last time we visited, there was only 1 vegetarian eatery – the Hare Krishna-run Cardamom Pod, which had a handful of vegan choices – and vegan offerings were thin on the ground at other restaurants and cafés.
But the plant-based revolution is well and truly underway in Byron! Aside from The Beet, Byron now boasts Manna Haven, a casual eatery with a warm and friendly ambience, run by the Seventh Day Adventist church; and Elixiba, an up-scale plant-based restaurant and bar. Many other restaurants and cafés offer fully plant-based options.
With the growing awareness of the many benefits of a plant-based diet, we ended up fully booking the event at The Beet. I had the great privilege and pleasure of sharing ‘The 5 Surprising Benefits of a Plant-Based Diet’ with a diverse audience – from teens to 60-somethings.
I outlined the fascinating research on the benefits of a wholefood plant-based diet for weight management, skin health, hormonal balance and fertility, exercise performance and autoimmune disease, and shared some of my most inspiring case histories of recovery from crippling autoimmune diseases such as juvenile idiopathic arthritis and multiple sclerosis. Even the committed vegans in the audience expressed surprise at the range and depth of positive effect that a diet of fruit, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and nuts and seeds in limited quantities, exerts on human health at every stage of life.
There were many questions from the audience which gave me the opportunity to delve into other fascinating topics including the impact of a wholefood plant-based diet on aging and longevity; gut health; and what’s wrong with oil. And yes, the perennial chestnut – what about protein? – did come up, providing me with the opportunity to dispense with some common myths about our protein requirements, and discuss the hazards of consuming too much protein, particularly essential amino acid-rich animal protein which turns on the mTOR pathway, hastening aging.
If you’re ever passing through Byron Bay, be sure to check out The Beet. I highly recommend Beet’s Big Bowl which combines wholesome ingredients into a symphony of rich and complex flavours.
And if you would like to book me for your plant-based event, drop me a line.
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