IT IS difficult to imagine that 33-year-old Tracy Sadler from Worcester used to suffer from chronic fatigue and difficulties with her digestion.

She is a picture of good health and fitness as well as bubbling with enthusiasm for life.

But over the past three years she has made some changes to her diet she believes make her healthier and happier and which have taken her career in a new direction.

Tracy, a former dance teacher who did a degree in classical ballet, started doing yoga and through that became more aware of whole foods. “I have always been interested in food, eating and whole foods. I went to a festival in Bristol call Vegfest and that’s when things started changing.”

She and her son decided to become vegetarian. “I had chronic fatigue and difficulties with my digestion. Cutting out meat made a massive improvement. I still had some problems with my skin so then I cut out dairy.”

She had also met a woman at another festival who was doing raw food and while in London for a weekend she ate nothing but raw food. “I felt so much better and then I ate raw food for a year and a half.”

Tracy also started training as a yoga teacher and now she runs a business which combines her love of food and yoga. Tracy does vegan raw food catering for individuals, dinner parties and events; she provides vegan raw food cookery classes and vegan raw food for retreats in Britain, Europe and further afield. She will be doing one in Bali later this year.

Tracy says cooking food reduces the effectiveness of the enzymes in the food while enzymes are unaffected in raw food. Enzymes are needed for the body’s metabolic processes to sustain life.

She does not want to dictate to people about how much raw food they should eat – she believes each individual can find out how much raw food in their diet will be good for them by experimenting.

They could start by having 50 per cent raw food with every meal, or by substituting one usual meal for a raw meal every day, or having a raw day to see how they feel after eating raw food, or by eating raw food up to 4pm each day and having a cooked meal in the evening, she adds.

“It all started from me seeking to improve my own health. It is about finding what works for you. If you do a little bit and feel better for it then that’s great.

“Sprouting seeds are the cheapest and most nutritious source of food. They are like powerhouses of nutrition.”

She says eating vegan raw food does require a certain amount of planning but people can make enough dishes in one day and store them in their fridge to last a whole week so it can work well with a busy lifestyle.

More information about Tracy’s raw food adventure and her catering and yoga business, together with some of her recipes, is available by visiting her website http://www.happilyraw.co.uk/, by e-mailing tracy@happilyraw.co.uk or ringing 07523 215054.

Tracy offers raw food cookery classes at Café Bliss in Sansome Street, Worcester, and the next one is coming up at the end of September.