For many people living with diabetes, mealtime can become an exercise in reading labels, counting carbohydrates and giving up favorite foods. Di Bowman believes it doesn’t have to be that way.
Instead, she wants people to discover that healthy eating can still be satisfying, flavorful and even a little adventurous.
Bowman, a Humanity House board member and grant writer at Thrive Allen County, will share that philosophy during an Australian-inspired diabetic cooking class from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, July 18, at Humanity House, 110 East St. in Iola.
Along with demonstrating recipes, she’ll explain how thoughtful ingredient choices can help people better manage their health without sacrificing taste.
“I believe in food as medicine,” Bowman said.
While many in Allen County know Bowman through her work with Thrive, she also brings decades of experience in nutrition and natural medicine. Bowman earned a master’s degree in health science and later became a naturopathic doctor, master herbalist and nutritionist. She spent years in private practice before teaching at a university in Australia, where she remained on the faculty for more than 20 years.
Her path into natural medicine began long before her professional career.
She developed an interest in herbs and natural remedies when she was young, experimenting with herbal teas and learning more about nutrition as she raised her family. After her husband accepted a job in Queensland, Bowman decided it was the perfect opportunity to pursue her dream.
“I said, ‘If I can become a naturopath, I never want to teach again,’” she said. She earned her qualifications, opened a private practice and eventually found herself back in the classroom after initially turning down a university teaching position.
“But eventually they wore me down,” she laughed. “And I fell in love with teaching again.”
TODAY, even after moving halfway around the world, she still occasionally provides teleconsultations and serves as a mentor to former students.
Her passion for nutrition also comes from personal experience.
Years ago, Bowman found herself classified as pre-diabetic. Rather than relying on fad diets, she adopted a healthier way of eating centered on whole foods and lost more than 40 pounds.
“I lost all that weight and I am no longer pre-diabetic,” she said.
She later used many of those same nutritional principles with patients in her own practice.
“There were a lot of my patients who were diabetic,” Bowman said. “I used that as a basis for their diets to help them control their blood sugar levels.” Those experiences shaped the class she will teach at Humanity House.
