ABOUT
Established in 2014 as a health blog, The Unrefined was created by Nicola Inger Scruby out of a desire to inform, nourish and empower people to put their health first.
My interest in food started from a young age, and for the wrong reasons. From the age of 13 I suffered with various eating disorders. I had moved around a bit as a child and would often turn to restricting food as a way to make myself feel as if I had better control over my life. It became a habit, which eventually got out of hand. Although I did receive treatment through a hospital outpatient program, I found a lot of the help I received to be triggering.
It wasn’t until I enrolled myself in a Bachelor of Health Science (Nutrition) that I realised the connection between my mind and body and was able to significantly improve my thoughts surrounding food. A combination of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and study saw me make a full recovery which I still consider to be one of my greatest achievements.
Becoming a Mother opened up a whole new world of nutrition - from understanding nutrition requirements prenatally and during pregnancy, to dealing with a traumatic labour resulting in postpartum depletion. Knowledge is power so in the weeks postpartum, I enrolled myself in a master certification of Pregnancy, Postpartum and Infant nutrition. I was able to nurture myself back to my old self (plus one) and find my calling nutritionally supporting other women (and infants) in this season of life.
After experiencing Motherhood for myself I have quickly realised the lack of conventional support and education available to Mothers throughout pregnancy and postpartum. I think there needs to be more awareness surrounding the impact of depletion on the mental and physical load of a mother. I remember a defining moment in my postpartum journey when I felt unable to stand up (from physical exhaustion) let alone hold and feed my newborn baby. I happened to come across a profound analogy about Motherhood and oxygen masks on a plane which significantly shifted my thinking. The concept was simple - just like on an aeroplane when you’re told to put on your oxygen mask before helping others with theirs, you can’t help others if you don’t take care of yourself first. I want to help mothers to realise that self-care and nutritional adequacy is vital if you are to be the best mother to your baby.