Sophie Steevens

Sophie Steevens: eating her way to good health

and encouraging others along the way

by Peter Barclay

Understanding the full value of plant-based eating was a process, not an overnight realisation, for Kiwi whole food devotee Sophie Steevens. It was a learning curve, and as her knowledge grew, so did her confidence and a dramatic improvement in her health.

It all began in a state of shock when, at the age of 27, she was diagnosed with Graves’ disease. Graves’ is a nasty immune system disorder that results in the overproduction of thyroid hormones.

It can be fatal if not adequately monitored and medicated. Well, that’s the traditional approach, and it works. Calling it a cure though might be a stretch. It depends on your viewpoint or your food addiction.

Sophie wanted something better, and through that process, she inspired thousands as she took a deep dive into whole food plantbased eating and began cataloguing her experience on social media.

Coming to grips with Graves’ is no mean feat. It’s a condition that not only has dire consequences if untreated, but the medicines created to deal with it, although effective, can also have serious side effects.

Graves' disease

As Mayo clinic’s online information explains: “Graves’ is caused by a malfunction in the body's disease-fighting immune system. It's unknown why this happens.

“The immune system normally produces antibodies designed to target a specific virus, bacterium or other foreign substance. In Graves' disease — for reasons that aren't well understood — the immune system produces an antibody to one part of the cells in the hormone-producing gland in the neck (thyroid gland).

“Normally, thyroid function is regulated by a hormone released by a tiny gland at the base of the brain (pituitary gland). The antibody associated with Graves' disease — thyrotropin receptor antibody (TRAb) — acts like the regulatory pituitary hormone. That means that TRAb overrides the normal regulation of the thyroid, causing an overproduction of thyroid hormones (hyperthyroidism).”

Today, at 35, Sophie sees her autoimmune disease as a blessing.

“It was a massive wake-up call and has taught me how to truly nourish and look after my body, and I will be forever grateful for that,” she says in her book Raw and Free. “We get one life and one precious vehicle to drive us through it, and one of the biggest lessons I have learnt through this experience is to never take my health for granted again."

She also points out that she’s not a qualified nutritionist or a professional chef. Still, she is a dedicated mother who learnt some big life lessons and was “thankfully forced” to teach herself “the importance of true nourishment and, in turn, how to begin mastering the art of plant-based food."

Sophie profoundly believes in the power of food to heal the human body, but our overall health has a broader picture.

“What we eat, drink, breathe, put on our skin, think and feel all affects our health,” she says. And really, after a lot of research, “it Above left, Sophie's latest book, Simple Whole Foods and her previous work, Raw + Free. Images and text extracted from Simple Wholefoods by Sophie Steevens published by Allen & Unwin NZ, RRP: $49.99. Photography by Lottie Hedley. Meet Sophie on Instagram at: instagram.com/rawandfree/?hl=en

was just common sense at the end of the day.

“I went down the medical path for the first year and a half after my initial diagnosis. That’s the standard protocol you would take with Graves’ disease and it definitely helped me at the time to get my body into a safe place,” but when she discovered that food could make a difference to her condition, “it was a game-changer,” she said.

But how and why is it that people have seemingly lost the connection between food and health?

“I think it’s happened over the last 50 years, especially because of a lack of education and heavy marketing everywhere in sight. If you really think about where our food is coming from, people seem to think that a man-made item is superior to something you can gather from the earth. When you really stop and think about that, how does that make sense?”

She believes that over several generations and combined with all the advertising and marketing and the creation of the big corporations that now deal in food, “we’ve just lost perspective and a big part of our natural intuition as the generations have gone by.”

Normal, but not okay

“I think what is accepted as 'normal' now isn’t actually okay. Even what is accepted in celebrations and traditions, just because it’s been a certain way for generations, it doesn’t mean it’s going to benefit our health, especially long-term. Everything in moderation is ok but as a society, I feel we have become extremely out of balance with what we choose to put into our mouth. A lack of education about the appropriate foods to truly nourish our bodies is one of the biggest hurdles but that’s not entirely supported and so it’s a really tricky area to get around.”

As the mother of three children, Sophie doesn’t only hold her

own memories of the education system she went through but can combine that knowledge with what she sees and hears now.

“I think something we can all agree on is that no matter what the diet, we should all be including more plants into it. So, just providing more education to children about the importance of including a high percentage of plants into your diet would be amazing, and I think it’s slowly beginning to happen.

“I think relatable documentaries are great place to start. When my children transitioned from standard meat and dairy we watched lots of documentaries and that really helped them to understand why we were making this enormous change in our home. If there was a powerful educational documentary that went through the school system I think that would be awesome, even if it’s not pinpointing a particular diet. Craving fruit and veggies

Speaking of her transition to whole food eating, Sophie observes in Raw and Free (while on a detox to reverse her auto immune), “I began to crave fruit and veggies, and nothing else. I could finally taste their true flavours and had found a deep respect for the food I was eating and where it came from."

After a period of time, people that become fully whole food plant-based often experience a difference in the taste of their food. Sophie believes our sense of taste becomes conditioned.

“I think the vast majority of our food is so heavily processed – full of added salt, refined sugars and nasty additives, and offers very little, if any, nutritional value.”

“When I stripped back to basics and removed all the unnatural flavourings from my food, I could finally taste the true flavours of the different vegetables like I have never experienced before. Your taste buds adapt overtime, and yes, you truly understand what fruit and veggies can taste like without the overload of unhealthy additives. It’s the ultra-processed food we need to move away from so we can truly appreciate the natural taste of real food.”

For Sophie, the transition happened around the same time, she began a blog on Instagram (@rawandfree).

“I did it to help encourage myself and anyone else who wanted to follow along. I was learning so much about a wholesome, plantbased lifestyle, and I wanted to share my journey and hopefully help and inspire others along the way. In turn, this helped keep me motivated to discover new food and create new recipes."

Food addictions are another area of concern, and it’s something we should all learn more about, Sophie says, especially where processed foods are involved. Food addiction

“The addiction to the food is so severe, and I feel like it’s not talked about enough. It can be a really tough habit to break. There’s a lot of psychology around food addiction; I think many people use food to get through difficult or stressful times. I personally know people who admit that they are completely addicted to eating a certain way just to get through the day - just as you might use alcohol or another substance.

“So many people are overwhelmed and confused about what to eat. Some completely disagree with plant-based eating in general. They will often turn to the internet and begin searching for answers, but just don’t know what to believe with the diversity of conflicting information. That’s a question I get asked a lot; they say, ‘I’m just so confused; what do I eat? For me, the biggest thing is just going back to nature. It’s pre-made and ready to eat.

You can make gradual changes to your diet, Sophie says.

“Often, it’s not unless you are diagnosed with something and feel incredibly unwell; you have no choice but to go down this really gnarly detox route. Generally, it's about gradual change and creating new, achievable habits that are healthier and sustainable. I believe if we all aimed to enjoy a balanced diet of at least 80% whole foods, it would make an enormous impact on our overall health and wellness. It’s about prevention.”