A vegan chat with Kiah Paetz of Plant Nutrition and Wellness
Kiah Paetz is a registered dietitian and business owner, based in Brisbane Australia. She is a regular speaker, contributor and authority on plant-based eating and advising clients on optimal nutrition. In this feature, we chat about her practice and her philosophy on living a healthy, happy, plant-based life.
So Kiah, who are you and what do you do?
Hi there! My name is Kiah Paetz and I am a plant-based Accredited Practising Dietitian, Accredited Nutritionist and founder of Plant Nutrition and Wellness. Plant Nutrition and Wellness is a dietetic private practice and located in three clinics in Brisbane, Australia. PNW offers a range of services including online and in-person consultations, recipe development, nutritional analysis, seminars, and workshops. As the world moves into the technology space, Plant Nutrition and Wellness is moving into an online platform, where it will be offering online webinars, coaching, courses, podcasts, ebooks, and phone apps. Our mission is to be known as the leaders in evidenced-based nutrition advice for those following or wanting to follow a plant-based lifestyle.
Kiah, that’s amazing, it sounds like you are right on the pulse of the movement with PNW!
Why do you advocate for a plant-based lifestyle?
I advocate a plant-based lifestyle because of the overwhelming amount of evidence that shows plant-based eating reducing and reversing chronic disease. My philosophy is not to encourage everyone to go vegan, but to encourage everyone to eat more plant-based foods by showing them how easy, simple and tasty it can be to eat this way! If they want to go the whole way and adopt a whole food plant based diet, that is fantastic! But I am completely aware that eating this way is not for everyone. The main principle will always stand, that to have good health and reduce our risk of disease, we need to be eating a majority of plant-based foods, with minimal animal products.
Here, here. Tell us, what has been your greatest success story so far?
I, unfortunately, can’t answer this! It breaks one of the Dietitians Associations of Australia’s code of ethics as it is classified as a testimonial! Pass!
That makes sense, thank you for informing us. In terms of your job, what is the best part?
I love the variety I have in my work. Running your own business is definitely tough, but very rewarding! My days are spent between seeing clients, writing blog posts, creating content for social media, catching up on admin work and developing my online programs.
Sounds busy! What is the most common problem or issue you come across in your work?
That nutrition is the most under-utilised aspect of medicine! Unfortunately, a lot of GP’s do not realise the power that nutrition has in reducing and reversing chronic disease! I often have GP’s being amazed that their patients are able to reduce their blood pressure or drop their cholesterol simply by changing their diet. I do not at all blame the GP’s themselves though, as they only have about 1–2 lectures about nutrition in their entire 8 years (or more) of training.
I believe our entire health system at the moment is reactive instead of proactive. Meaning that not enough funding is put into preventative healthcare, to prevent people from getting many of the chronic diseases we are dying from in today’s society. Yes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes are all preventable!
That’s fantastic.
Now for some the fun stuff, what is your favourite plant-based eatery in Brisbane & the world?
My favourite plant-based eatery in the world would definitely have to be Cardamom Pod at Brickworks on the Gold Coast. They’re an entirely vegetarian restaurant and they have the most beautifully presented, best-tasting food! I honestly sometimes make the 1.5hr drive up to the coast just to get their tasty food! There are so many tasty restaurants here in Brisbane that it is definitely hard to choose. I would have to say that my favourite would be another vegetarian restaurant called Botanica Real Food. I have been obsessed with them since 2013. They serve a range of absolutely delicious salads, and through their inventive use of herbs and spices, they really show you that salad is definitely not boring!
Who inspires you to do what you do?
My client’s! I love helping them achieve their goals in all areas of health! When they have wins, I have wins!
Your go-to homemade snack?
You cannot beat rice paper rolls. If you follow me on Instagram, you would definitely know that I have an addiction to them. They’re such a quick, tasty and easy way to get a whole heap of vegetables into your diet. I fill mine with cabbage, alfalfa, carrot, cucumber, capsicum, baked or fried tofu and dip them in my tasty peanut-satay sauce!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pugf5LhDG5k&t=166s
https://www.plantnutritionwellness.com/post/2018-04-26-vegan-crunchy-tofu-rice-paper-rolls
Thank you so much for sharing Kiah, now who should we interview next?
Drew Trott from the Plant Sourced Podcast
Thank you so much for sharing this with us Kiah! If you would like to find out more about Kiah’s work, practice or just say hi, you can visit here at her website HERE.
To read more of our articles visit us today at www.letsgovegan.com.au
