Our Story

Summary Biography of Taryn Hall-Smith (BA Hons)

My son: asthma/persistant cough

My story actually began with the health complications experienced by my son. As an 8 month old baby, he contracted bronchitis and 4 months on he still had a horrendous barking cough (people thought I was mad to take him out of the house) and lots of wheezing. The doctors were baffled because he was really too young to have asthma. But they treated him for asthma anyway. You can’t imagine how awful it was holding a face mask (which administered his medication) over a young baby’s face whilst he screamed, thrashed and looked at you in fear. He was too young to take the traditional puffer medication so we had to use a nebuliser. Eventually I ended up holding the mask lightly over his face whilst he slept for an hour each day. He was also on frequent steroid medication (which could affect the growth of his bones).  What was worse is none of this actually made a difference.

So I turned to specialists. They tested him for cystic fibrosis, they put him under a general anaesethic to remove his adenoids, they did explorative surgery to ensure his lungs had developed correctly, and there were more tests for other nasty diseases. Allergy tests came up with some mild allergies but he was too young to test for food allergies/intolerances. All came up negative and despite missing his adenoids, he still had that barking cough (it sounded like he was going to cough up a lung and he did it all day and night) and a wheeze. As he grew older it was sad to watch him follow his passion of soccer and yet not be able to play for long before the cough and wheeze grew worse.

It took 2 years of searching for information, trying alternative medical practitioners, adding supplements to his diet and changing the foods he consumed to improve his condition. We also changed his environment in the form of reducing toxins.

Now at the age of 4, he is no longer on any medications (at one point he was on 3 medicines, twice daily) and his cough and wheezing have gone. He now plays soccer all day, every day and would sleep with his soccer ball if I let him! His condition does worsen when he gets a cold but I now know how to manage it and due to the steps I have taken to boost his immune system (naturally) he doesn’t get ill very often.

If you or your child suffer from asthma or persistent coughing and wheezing, look at the health conditions page and learn how to manage your symptoms or even find a cure, naturally.

My daughter: Depression

When my eldest child started having what looked like ‘daydreams’ which I couldn’t interrupt, I was afraid and amazed. She was soon diagnosed with a minor form of epilepsy known as petit mal which meant she had absences rather than seizures. This could affect her learning at school, could endanger her life if she was crossing a road or swimming for instance, and if left untreated, could mean she would never drive a car or could develop full epilepsy (grand mal) in which she would have ‘fits’.

I was devastated but obediently put her on the medication recommended. I was told that given she was only 6 years old, if she took the medication for 2 years without symptoms of ‘daydreaming’ she would ‘grow out’ of the condition. This was a very positive prognosis.

However, it soon became obvious that the problem wasn’t the disease but the medication. Some of the side effects were unpleasant and she developed two of them – depression and stomach cramps.

I can’t tell you what it does to a mother’s heart when your 6 year old child tells you she doesn’t want to go to school today because “I feel blue but I don’t know why.”

When this was followed by consistent stomach cramps I ramped up the search for a solution.

Again the ‘cure’ presented itself in changing what she was consuming – supplements were a great help in her case which was a surprise to me because at the time I thought they were a bit of a fad. How wrong I was!

Me! Joint pain

Then came my own health struggle. Almost overnight I woke up with pain in the joints of all my fingers to the extent I could not turn on the bathroom tap, hold anything heavy, button up my children’s shirts, open jars or play catch with my kids. I had just turned 37.

The doctor put me on anti inflamatories which had no impact so I was sent to a rheumatologist. After too many blood tests to list here but they included things like rheumatoid and osteoarthritis, Lupus, Ross River Fever and more, I was told that all the results were negative, my blood was normal and therefore I have early stages of an inflammatory joint disease – probably viral or osteoarthritis. The problem was that none of the pain killers worked so I was put on some real strong ones which caused stomach ulcers. I was then put onto a really nasty medication which had some horrible side effects. For 2 months I’d have to go for blood tests every fortnight to ensure my bone density wasn’t being affected and to ensure I wasn’t becoming anaemic. This was a last resort and one I wasn’t willing to take.

My rheumatologist told me to try to manage my symptoms with osteoarthritis pain relievers over the counter (which wouldn’t cause ulcers) and to ‘live with it’ until such time that the pain was so bad I couldn’t live with it any longer. Then I would have to return to him to have injections directly into the joints.

I asked him about possible supplements – I’d heard about glucosamine, condroitin, MSM, leaky gut syndrome and more, but the information was contradictory and confusing and I needed his advice. He dismissed it all as being ‘unproven’.

I asked about acupuncture, homeopathy and other possibilities but he dismissed it with the same disdain. And I was sent on my way to ‘live with it’.

Confused, isolated and frustrated (and still in pain) this is when my big search began for information on how to manage my symptoms naturally or even to cure my condition. 18 months on, after many visits to doctors, alternative medicine practitioners, nutritionists and more and after much time spent reading books, scientific studies and internet sites, I found a solution. If you, or anyone else you know suffers from joint pain or arthritis, look at the list of Health Conditions to find a Health Program suited to this condition. By the way, I had no idea I had so many food sensitivities and the conventional medical practitioners certainly didn’t suggest that could be the cause.

Whilst I haven’t found a cure, I have found a way to reduce the pain by 75% and on some days, by more than that. And I don’t take any medication.  It all came down to food intolerances (and no it wasn’t a case of avoiding the nightshade family as so many arthritis websites state), the right supplements, reducing toxins, the right exercise, some lifestyle changes. I put together my own Health Program which worked so well for me that when I put that together with the solutions I’d found for my children’s ailments, I knew there was definite evidence that many illnesses can be managed and cured using food and other natural healing methods.

That’s when the idea for The Contented Body website and its Health Program/s was born.

I want to share the knowledge I have learnt over the last 3 years. I want to give people hope, choices, understanding and a more contented body. Our health affects our lives so deeply, I feel I’m on an important mission.

This is why the cost of our Health Programs are so economical (compared to $300 blood tests and $130/session specialists).  For $59 you get the complete program delivered to your computer over a period of 3 months. That’s just over $19 per month for 3 months. I want this program to be as affordable as possible so that it can help as many people as possible.

My husband is the only member of my family I haven't had to do a research document on. He's terrified that I'm now willing him to get ill because I talk with such excitement to him about how food can make you ill and food can make you well. He thinks I'm priming him up to be my next guinea pig!

Now I'd like to introduce you to The Contented Body's qualified nutritionist, Chris Clark. We joined forces when I spoke to her about my Health Program and she was just as passionate and enthusiastic about how food can heal as I was - but she had the added benefit of having top nutritional training. We are both now working to bring as many Health Programs to you as we can, with passion, accuracy, affordability and support being our major drivers.  Chris has her own story to tell.....

 Summary Biography of Chris Clark, nutritionist (Dip BCNH MBANT, BEd HONS)

Chris has worked in health, fitness and education in varying roles for the last 21 years.   After training as a teacher of Physical Education at Carnegie College in Leeds, UK, she embarked upon a career that has involved teaching and lecturing in PE, Sports Therapy, and Sports Nutrition.  As far back as she can remember she has been interested in nutrition, and she quickly realised that her real passion was in the health and healing aspects of food and nutrition rather than the sports nutrition that she was teaching.  This was confirmed further when she and one of her children experienced ill-health that was food related.  She juggled raising her three children with studying to retrain as a Nutritional Therapist at the British College of Nutrition and Health. She was thrilled to be invited to join The Contented Body and is excited and delighted to be able to share her knowledge to help others achieve the health that so far may have eluded them.  She feels her journey was meant to lead her to this point - a wonderful opportunity to help people all over the world improve the quality of their lives - naturally.

Me!  Recurrent infections and eczema

My own personal health issues were nothing startling but are probably typical of many people.  In fact when your health problems are minor, they are easier to ignore - but that doesn't mean they don't affect your quality of life - they do!!

I was 34, with 2 very young children, when I experienced a very difficult year.  It started with a severe dose of flu, during which time I gave birth to my second child - not an easy time at all!  I had soon developed a chest infection and bacterial tracheitis which was terrifying - similar to asthma attacks!  After three doses of antibiotics I recovered but I didn't feel well for months, something I put down to the pressures and tiredness of being a new Mum.  I expected things to improve but they didn't and the next year saw me develop two throat infections, recurrent sinusitis, eczema patches all over my face (which I had never suffered from before) and I was completely exhausted.

Although my interest in nutrition had already started at this point, my knowledge was mainly in the area of Sports Nutrition.  I certainly did not have the knowledge to work out what was going on in my body and how I could help myself.

Fortunately for me, I decided to seek the help of a professional nutritionist, perhaps sooner than some other people may have done.  She was superb and helped me turn things around very quickly.  She identified that I had developed Leaky Gut Syndrome (antibiotics, stress and poor diet are all factors that increase a person's chance of developing this condition), and as a consequence I had become intolerant to dairy products.  So simple - but only if you have the knowledge! 

I eliminated all dairy products from my diet, reduced the amount of refined and processed foods, and took some supplements to help replenish my gut flora and heal my leaky gut.  Within 2 weeks I noticed improvements in my eczema and within a month it had gone completely - along with my sinusitis and recurrent infections!  I felt fantastic!

This was further confirmation - although I really didn't need it - of the way that food can impact our health, both in a positive and a negative way i.e. it can make us ill and it can also heal us.  This, of course, is very simplistic.  Every person is biochemically unique, and what is right for one person will not be the same for another person.  My fascination with nutrition intensified and would lead me to train as a nutritionist. If you or anyone you know has had similar symptoms and eczema, look at the list of health conditions to find a specific Health Program for that condition.

My son: Chronic ear infections

My son's health problems, unfortunately, were not as straightforward.  He was a very complex case and has suffered a lot of problems.  Only now, after 10 years of ill health, can we say he is truly healthy.  It is so wonderful, after watching him struggle for so long, to know he can live his life fully, and with the same energy and joy, as other children. 

He was just 5 months old when he got his first ear infection - he screamed constantly for 2 days and 2 nights until his ear-drum perforated and the pain eased for him.  It's probably a good job that we didn't know at that point what lay ahead as it would have been a very difficult reality to confront! 

His ear infections were literally constant, with the only relief he got being the times when he had a perforation!  The perforation would heal and then it would start all over again.  Both ear drums perforated 30+ times.  His first of seven surgeries was as a 1 year old (grommets, T-tubes, and 2 tympanoplasties).  His doctors told us he was the worst case of glue ear/ear infections they had ever encountered but that he would grow out of it by the age of 4, then 5, then 6 and so on - he never did!  His hearing was badly affected, and so was his confidence as at times he became socially isolated as he has to rely on his lip-reading abilities.

Obviously, as parents, we were doing everything we possibly could to help him.  We sought the best doctors in England and Australia.  We explored many complementary therapies such as homeopathy, chiropractic care, cranial osteopathy, and of course nutritional therapy.  He was on a completely dairy-free diet, but still his problems continued. 

He was 8 years old when we moved to Australia.  We dared to hope the worst was behind us.  Surgeons had grafted him a new eardrum (amazing!!) and although he was a non-swimmer he was now allowed to put his head under water for the first time ever.  We thought he'd had it rough until then, but things got much worse!

In the next year he developed a sleep disorder, severe acid reflux and doctors also suspected he had Celiac Disease.  I had already worked out that wheat was causing him problems (he went grey, had zero energy, had terrible stomach pains and was very unhappy) and so his diet had been wheat-free for quite some time.  He had also tested negative for Celiac Disease. We were getting very worried indeed.  There was clearly something underlying all his problems - but what was it?

In the end it was so simple it was almost unbelievable!  A doctor diagnosed him with having a sluggish bowel i.e. delayed transit through the gut or, in laymen's terms, he was constipated!  More than that, he was impacted, which I learnt can happen even if you go to the bathroom every day!  I was very sceptical that this could be the cause of all of his problems.  And if it was, why had no-one worked it out before now and saved him years of suffering?

That was a year ago and it turns out that that marvellous doctor was right.  It would seem that, because of his sluggish bowel, when he started on solids as a 16 week old baby he immediately became blocked up.  The acid in his stomach had nowhere to go and so came up into his oesophagus causing inflammation of that area and triggering ear infections.  He developed esophagitis and a sleep disorder because of the acid reflux.  As for the food intolerances, we are still not sure whether undigested foods leaked through the damaged oesophagus or though his gut wall (years of antibiotics) but one way or another they found their way into his blood stream, causing food intolerances.  

And now?  We have a healthy, happy, vibrant 10 year old, who is thriving and excelling in every area of his life.  His sluggish bowel will be with him for life but at least now we know how to handle it.  He is off all his medication.  He is still intolerant to wheat, but is so happy about feeling healthy that he doesn't care if he never eats it again.  In time, I am sure he will be able to reintroduce it but last time we tested him he still reacted.  It took 10 years, but he finally has a contented body!

 And so there we have it - two people in my family, both with food intolerances, but with very different causes and very different symptoms. 

Food intolerances were just one aspect of my son's complex health problems and developed as a result of another condition.  Although identifying and eliminating his intolerances was not the only thing needed for him to regain good health, it was a crucial step.

Identifying our intolerances was a key part of the recovery for both of us - and if you do suffer from food intolerances this will also be the case for you.  Undetected food intolerances undermine good health and you can follow an online 12 week step by step Health Program for just A$59 so it needn't cost a lot either.

Should you have any questions about the information or products on this site or need further help choosing which Health Program is right for you, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

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