Lorraine Mercedes Picot Speaks From Her Truth: An Interview

As promised last week, here is the anticipated interview with Holistic Nutritionist and Certified Life Coach, Lorraine Mercedes Picot. She is the creator of Mercedes Picot Wellness, formerly Nutriworks, a nutritional consulting business dealing with various health-related issues. She has been a passionate promoter of Holistic nutrition and lifestyle through her professional practice in Ottawa, Ontario area since 1990, and now has a client base that spans across the globe.

She is a member of the International Organization of Nutritional Consultants (IONC) and the Academy of Naturopaths and Naturotherapists(ANN). She was a Faculty member for the British Institute of Homoeopathy tutoring Nutrition and Herbology from 1996 to 2007.

She also enjoys making jewelery from semi-precious gemstones and beads and is a member of the acclaimed Gettin’ Higher Choir in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Ms. Picot is currently residing in Victoria, although she is available to anyone around the world for long-distance phone consultations.

Her friendly, personalized coaching makes it easy for you and your family to make the dietary changes needed to improve your health, vitality, and to prevent illness. Sessions can be conducted in either French or English.To book an appointment or for any other inquiries, you can reach her by email at andnowtoyou@gmail.com, or through:

MercedesPicotWellness.com

…Oh yes, and I must mention that she’s also my very own Mum!

WELCOME LORRAINE MERCEDES!!!

When you were little, what did you dream of being? Did you ever expect you would go into nutrition?

As a child, I dreamed I would be an artist and travel the world. I was passionate (and still am) about fashion design and was making some of my own clothes at a young age. Concurrent with this was an acute interest in the human body and what went into making foods. I remember refusing to eat margarine, among other things, when my family willingly consumed it daily. I was labeled a very “picky” child. Sensitivities to foods were unheard of. I think, from my father, I inherited a curious mind and a healthy suspicion of “the system”, which led me to seek alternative studies.

What are some experiences that make you go, “Ah, yes, this is why I am doing this.”?

At various times over the past eighteen years, I’ve run into old clients at Health lectures or workshops and have been delighted to learn that I was the one who first opened the door for their ongoing interest or that it was I who fostered their own career in Nutrition or Holistic Health.

Up to the time of my move to Victoria, B.C. just over a year ago, my client list consisted mostly of word-of-mouth clients, that is to say, I needed no advertising to keep replenishing my clientele. What is most gratifying besides offering hope to people who’ve often been disappointed by the medical system, is the generations of referrals from satisfied customers to the people they care for the most.

What is the most frustrating part of your job?

I am regularly confronted with people for whom I sigh and say to myself “I wish I’d met you two years ago” – before disease has truly set in or before an avoidable surgical procedure was undertaken. It is baffling that we are not front line consultants along with physicians in dealing with many medical conditions. I personally prefer the term “Complementary Medicine” instead of “Alternative Medicine” because of my belief that physicians and holistic practitioners should work together.

I sincerely wish that there will be a day in my lifetime when a patient who presents with, let’s say digestive problems, is referred to a competent holistic nutritionist immediately. I also wish that this precedes the inevitable prescription for Prevacid [a medication used to treat acid reflux] or OTC [over the counter] drugs. The patient should be involved in the interrogation of why they are ill and fully coached in the lifestyle and dietary adjustments to begin to reverse their symptoms.

Do you feel pressure to be a perfect example to your clients?

There is always a certain pressure, yes. When a practitioner comes down with the sniffles (or any other ailment), he or she cannot fully explain to a client the reasons for the sickness. Cause and effect are not always predictably linear, and many events may have contributed to the illness that are not necessarily communicated to the client.

However, fanaticism, which I don’t consider befitting a healthy lifestyle, has no place in my recommendations for health and longevity. If you live from your truth and speak from your truth when you are advising others, there is a sense of integrity which is felt. Some of my biggest heroes and mentors in the Holistic field have personally battled weight issues, as well as occasional emotional and health problems themselves. We are all a work in progress.

Perfection is unachievable in our culture. Being human and fully participant in our lives within the realistic parameters is in itself a perfect example. The decisions we make moment by moment; what we eat for lunch or what goes into the grocery cart, are seldom perfect. They are often complex negotiations that involve one’s budget, choices offered, time constraints, etc. Education can inform those decisions. Bringing consciousness to our minutest decisions aligns us with our truth. You make the best possible choice and good choices become easy to make.

Let’s say someone isn’t too into cooking or nutrition, but they want to make some valuable changes without getting too complicated. What are the foods you’d recommend eating (or avoiding) to get the most health benefits?

This question is the crux of most consultations, and there is no one minute answer to this question, really. My approach is to look at the facts as you would the many layers of an onion. Based on a case history (one’s current health stats and lifestyle factors), I determine with my client which foods are directly causing them unwanted symptoms. Also, which foods do they routinely consume for which there is a consensus that they should be avoided. Examples of this might be foods high in trans fats or containing artificial ingredients or perhaps Aspartame. We then begin to identify these from a food journal and work our way into the core of the “onion”. Small changes often yield surprising results and encourage people to move ahead with the improvements.

But if you’re looking for a short answer, I have that too. Veggies. Five to seven servings. Antioxidant-rich, nutrient-dense, high fibre, alkalizing, low calorie, affordable, colourful, varied, flavourful. Stop me. Veggies. Short answer.

What is your favourite meal?

I love Thai foods and curries the most. Meatless and with lots of veggies, please!

You also happen to be a part-time jewelry designer…Do you think that complements your nutrition practice?

If we go back to the first question you asked about my childhood aspirations, you’ll see that I always had artistic leanings. I started doing jewelry as physiotherapy for my arm/wrist fracture. I really wanted to get into painting again but this hobby seemed more accessible and lucrative. The jury is still out on that one! Basically, I’ve always had a drive to keep creating something and I love using my hands and using tools. Sitting in an office all day didn’t fulfill that aspect of myself. It balances me. I use semi-precious stones that are believed to have therapeutic properties. I’m open to this benefit, too.

What do you have to say to people who think holistic medicine and healing through nutrition is hogwash, or at least inneffective?

Sad, sad, sad. Just look at the correlations between most of the afflictions that plague our population with the rise in the use of food additives, for instance. See http://www.cspinet.org/reports/chemcuisine.htm for a comprehensive and conservative list. Fast foods and obesity rates. Diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, asthma, allergies, arthritis. All have direct links to our diet.

In a recent study, up to 287 different chemicals were detected in umbilical cord blood! Though many of these chemicals come from environmental pollutants, and from food packaging, much of them are introduced from our food choices and have no place in a newborn. Do they disrupt our health? You bet. Can they be drastically reduced by following a more natural diet? You bet!

What do you think about the current state of traditional healthcare?

There is nothing “traditional” about the current healthcare system. What is commonly referred to as the Allopathic (conventional) Health Care System is in serious need of repair and modifications. Big Pharma appears to be ruling the roost while most people look away. We need to be offered choices in our health care and we need to be far more involved in the direction these choices take. I will back down from further comments but some countries are beginning to take the lead in this department. However, in what I think is a very sad and frightening move, it was just released that President Obama has selected Michael Taylor, former chief lobbyist for Monsanto [the world's leading producer of genetically engineered seed], as the new “food safety czar” at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Taylor is a former lawyer and lobbyist for the company that manufactured Agent Orange [used by the US military in their Herbicidal Warfare program during the Vietnam war] (and Aspartame..and GMO‘s…and Bovine Growth Hormone) and will now make critical decisions about the US food supply!

How do you think the relationship between medical doctors and alternative practitioners should look like?

They should be working side by side in both research and front line practice. The objective should be proactively improving patient health. Period. Egos checked at the door. On a positive note, there is an emergence of what are called Integrative Health Clinics springing up mostly in the US but also here in Canada where this is going on. [Dr.Elson Haas, Dr. Mark Hyman, and Dr.Christiane Northrup are all wonderful representatives of the field of Integrative Health]. As these services are currently mostly at the disposal of the financially privileged, my wish is that our governments and insurance companies will recognize the value-added benefits of working with less invasive and preventive interventions and foremost, patient education, for all.

Thank you so much, Ms. Picot, for sharing your experience and your insight with us! I’ll call you later, Mum!

Thanks so much for affording me an occasion to vent!! Keep up the inspired blogs, Alex. Yours in good health and in good food, Lorraine Mercedes Picot, RNCP, ROHP, nd, CFF.

Hope you all enjoyed the interview! Have a great week

Take care,

Alex