Meet the Practitioners
MEET JODY
My path to natural health and wellness began when I was pregnant with my first baby. I was a 'healthy' twenty-something, who suddenly wasn’t supposed to eat MSG or drink Diet Coke. By the time I was pregnant with my second child I was diagnosed with bowel disease and osteoarthritis.
The answers my mainstream doctors were giving me just weren’t enough. So, I started to look for alternate solutions and found an awesome naturopathic doctor. That day changed my life. Rather than being stuck in a cycle of trying to manage my symptoms with pharmaceuticals, I changed my diet and lifestyle. It quickly made sense to me that if it wasn’t good for the baby, it probably wasn’t good for me either.
The results were profound. Not only did my existing pain and suffering begin to diminish, I had more energy than ever before, my skin began to clear up and glow, my anxiety eased up and I experienced how amazing being alive feels.
I wanted to share this new vitality with the world! So, when baby number four was born I quit my executive marketing job and became a holistic nutritionist. I am passionate about eating real food that the body was built for. Of course I’m human, and I do indulge in the ooey gooey’s from time to time (but my body is quick to point me back in the right direction by reminding me of the consequences of less than stellar choices).
Vitasential Nutrition came to be by that awesome naturopathic doctor that I mentioned earlier. In October 2009, I was fortunate enough to acquire the company and call it my own. So, this is baby number five for me!
It’s been my experience that most people genuinely want to feel better but they find it confusing, frustrating and challenging to make the best choices, or to know what the best choices are.
I believe better results come in servicing the whole person instead of bits and pieces. With Vitasential Nutrition, I am able to work with people in a more dynamic and practical way to provide access to the world where it is cool, fun and exciting to be healthy and experience the limitless benefits of doing so.
Jody MacDonald is a board certified registered holistic nutrition practitioner. She has four busy young children. She spent nearly 20 years in the corporate world before graduating from the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition. She has a certificate in vegetarian nutrition, and very special interests in raw nutrition. Jody is a member of the Canadian Association of Natural Nutritional Practitioners (CANNP). In her spare time, Jody can be found in her test kitchen playing with food or studying and developing new programs that will help people understand the importance of food on health. She is most passionate about working with people who want to roll up their sleeves and make the most of their time here on Planet Earth.
MEET NEALA
I have been a trained chef for more than10 years, I graduated from the Culinary Institute of Canada and then went on to cook and travel my way around the world. I’ve worked and lived in New Zealand, Australia, Bermuda and parts of Canada. Along the way I experienced many different cooking styles, flavors and tastes. I was also exposed to a more open view of holistic health, one that I was not familiar with. That’s when I decided to move back home to Halifax and go to school for holistic nutrition, it truly opened my eyes. I’ve taken my passion and love for food and integrated it with nutrition. My learning continues every day.
Now you may not find me behind the kitchen of a restaurant, instead I spend my time consulting, conducting wellness classes and sharing my knowledge on preparing whole foods with anyone who is interested in finding their inner core of goodness. The possibility for a better life is there for the taking; my mission is to help you find it.
Neala Zoccole is a board certified Registered Holistic Nutritional Consultant. She graduated from the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition and is a member of the Canadian Association of Natural Nutritional Practitioners (CANNP)
In Neala’s free time you can find her playing with her busy 2 year old, cooking and experimenting in her kitchen and learning new ideas about the ever changing world of holistic health. She has special interests in raw nutrition and loves practicing yoga. She is most passionate about making healthy eating easy, fun, and delicious, and is passionate to share her love and knowledge of food with clients.
MEET LISA
Lisa is the founder of Vitasential. She is a naturopathic doctor. After completing her pre-med undergraduate work at Dalhousie University, she graduated from the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine in 2003. She spent 4 years running her busy practice in Halifax Nova Scotia before moving to Ottawa. Previously, she worked with patients in an environmental medicine and allergy clinic and has additional training in homeopathy and raw food nutrition. She has condensed her 20+ years of personal and professional experience into a one-of-a-kind model of health. She has developed unique programs that are both easy to follow and pack ultimate results.
Though no longer a part of Vitasential Nutrition, she is the founder and developer of some of the Vitasential Nutrition programmes. Lisa now lives in California, enjoying life with her husband. She has her own graphic design business, called Soapbox Creations. Link to her new website is soon to follow.