We believe in the natural healing power of food and our goal is to remove any knowledge barriers that could prevent you from living your healthiest life. Let’s work together to make this world a healthier place where we nurture our bodies and minds by feeding them the right nutrients. We’re excited to help you on your journey.
About Us
Our Experts
Thea Pretorius Ph.D. RHN
Registered Holistic Nutritionist
Dr. Marissa Janse Van Rensburg
Naturopath
teamwork makes
the dream work
Hi there, I’m Thea, a Registered Holistic Nutritionist.
I have spent most of my life studying human physiology. It started with a degree in Kinesiology at the University of Pretoria, which eventually lead to Graduate studies at the University of Manitoba. As a graduate student, I have studied, among other things, the effect of lifestyle on the health of pregnant women. I saw first hand how diet and exercise could change your health. I also had some defining moments in my life that pointed me to studying nutrition and lifestyle.
A big turning point for me was watching my father more than three decades ago dealing with severe chronic pain. While western medicine offered him drugs, which relieved some of the pain , it had severe side effects. Nutritional advice from a naturopath helped him with effective pain relief by restricting his diet to three foods. Although this was very effective, it was not sustainable in the long run. My father needed, but never received guidance to maintain a more balanced natural diet and lasting lifestyle changes. At 54, he died much too young from the side effects of the medication.
I have raised my children on food from boxes with claims of nutritional value which we now know were unfounded and basically lies. I am horrified just by the thought of it now. I do not want the new generation of mothers to make the same mistake. As I got older, like my father, I developed a tendency towards inflammation in my body and had to give up participating in sports several times because of it. I often felt sick and did not know where I would get the energy to get through my days. As all my blood results were normal, the allopathic medicine did not have much to offer me, except for over-the-counter pain killers.
As I grew older and became menopausal, I also gained weight. Diets did not work and each year, to my horror, I gained more weight. I was in uncharted waters and it felt all too familiar to what my father went through. By studying and applying healthy eating and sustainable lifestyle changes, I have learnt a lot. I am still becoming healthier and is back playing sports. I also know now how to keep my weight down.
Are you looking for support with your nutrition and health goals? As a Registered Holistic Nutritionist, my mission is to help you learn about the healing properties of food and how it could serve you to be the healthiest version of yourself. The science of nutrition is well established but still very young. To put all of these newly discovered facts into perspective, I write newsletters for everyone to understand. I also offer counseling to help you figure out the best eating plan for your health challenges.
Hi! I am Marissa and I am a Naturopath.
Growing up, we have always sought natural ways to improve both our physical and mental health. This lead to my interest in health and natural healing which sent me on a current journey as a Naturopath. After I completed a Bachelors degree in Human Kinetics at the University of British Columbia in Canada, I completed my Naturopathic studies at the University of the Western Cape in Cape Town, South Africa. There I have seen firsthand how a healthy lifestyle with a well-balanced diet, and physical activities could improve the quality of life of people.
Currently, working in clinics, I see patients who are awakened by the positive effect of food on the human body. Through simple diet changes, and tuning into the body’s innate ability to heal, our patients experience improvement in both physical and mental well-being.
In my personal life, I have used various diets as tools to enhance my sport and academic performance on multiple levels. While you do need a certain level of commitment to achieve this, I also learned the importance of balance”. We do not always make a fuss about everything being “quinoa infused, and gluten depleted.” We need to find the tools to heal our bodies so that we could occasionally celebrate without resentment.
What We Offer
Simply Ukudla is a source of holistic ways to improve your health, which includes delicious recipes, nutrition tips and self-care practices, interactive workshops and more.
Inspiration
After signing up for our Fast to Feast workshop you’ll have access to our fasting community of like minded people
To own the knowledge of healing and recognise the power of our body to heal,
is perhaps the most extraordinary gift we have lost.
– Tieraona Low Dog