Discovering good health himself led Ben Warren to change his lifestyle and career. He tells Rebecca Fox about how people can feel the best they can.
Ben Warren is on a mission - to make New Zealand the healthiest country in the world.
The ''clinical nutritionist'', who trained with the C. H. E. K Institute in the United States, believes it is easy to be healthy and has a goal of making one million people ''healthy''.
''That would be one person in every household and would make us the healthiest country in the world.''
His passion for the healthy nutrition message came from his discovery that some of his own health problems, including a bad back, were due to a food intolerance.
Tests confirmed he was intolerant to whey protein so cutting out dairy foods improved his health, he said.
''I had a flattened tummy wall for the first time and my back got better over time. It was incredible.''
The former professional golf player and coach (42) retrained as a nutritionist and has not looked back.
For the past 10 years he has run a private health and performance practice in Havelock North and lives on a 6ha organic farm in Hawkes Bay.
He hoped to convince people who found takeaways and the wrong food the easiest option that it was not so hard to take the whole fresh food route.
''I want to show people how easy it can be to get more energy, lose weight and feel the best they've felt.''
He admitted it was difficult for people to wade through the multitude of information out there on what was ''healthy'' and what was not.
''People are very confused with all the 'noise' around nutrition.''
Part of his message was for people to look at what they were eating, as they were often making mistakes thinking they were healthy, he said.
''A lot of the time people think they are doing the right thing.''
People needed to pay more attention to how their bodies were reacting to different foods.
''I try and find what is right for them. Everyone is different and reacts differently to different foods.''
While there has been some criticism about people going gluten-free without a proper diagnosis, Mr Warren believes some people definitely need to do so.
About 70% of people with light skin had some immune response to gluten, he said.
''You might call it a craze, but there is good scientific reasons for doing so.''
There was a spectrum of gluten intolerance which could be diagnosed by a clinical nutritionist, he said.
He follows the talk, eating a protein-based ancestral eating programme, not paleo - ''that word has connotations'' - as he still eats dairy, he said.
''I go really well with protein at every meal. I also have a high plant-based diet with leafy green vegetables three times a day - yes, vegetables for breakfast - but it's not for everyone.''
He found that it stabilised his blood sugars and kept him going throughout the day.
''It's a clean diet, it's free of processed, refined sugars and grains.''
Grains were not part of his daily diet.
''If I fell over and a croissant landed in my mouth ...''
However, he did not recommend ''treat'' foods, as they damaged the body, he said.
''It's an emotional food, a feel-good food.''
