Clinton Chambers Managing Director Taste Nature Ltd
At Taste Nature we prefer to describe holistic health as integrative health, where we take holistic health to the next level. We offer a complete vertical and horizontal health service, from top level medical through to our baseline which is wholefoods and herbal medicines - all under one roof.
We have in-store naturopaths, working in our herbal dispensary, on hand to deliver support around diet, meal planning, and herbal medicines. As the dispensary and clinic are part of the supermarket, our naturopaths and practitioners are in a unique position to walk our clients through the store showing them our complete range of wholefoods and products that support health and wellbeing. Thus, we are the only health store and clinic in New Zealand where we can implement change at the supermarket trolley level. Our motto is “integrative health is a preventative health system”. We promote wellbeing through how we live and what we eat.
We support health and wellbeing through the lens that our biology, mind and emotions are interconnected; if one is out of balance then everything is. Integrative health is an individualised, client-centered model of promoting optimal health and wellness, combining a whole-person approach with evidence-based strategies to reduce disease risk by turning around lifestyle behaviours. According to the Academy of Integrative Health & Medicine, “…the field of integrative health and medicine reaffirms the importance of the relationship between practitioner and patient, focuses on the whole person, is informed by evidence, and makes use of all appropriate therapeutic approaches, healthcare professionals and professions, to achieve optimal health and healing.”
Our clinic is one of New Zealand’s leading specialists in Organics and Functional Medicine Care. We hold the health and wellness of people and planet as a fundamental priority and strive to deliver to our clients a complete wellness ecosystem from the soil up. We offer professional health support and services, including education through workshops and hold one of the largest organic wholefoods and ethical plant-based health product ranges in New Zealand.
Our philosophy is founded on the principle that the food we eat provides the building blocks for our wellbeing and through education we can empower behavioural change.
Our ethos is prevention; we assist in preventing illness and disease intervention, and support change at any level - health and wellbeing is a journey. We are there all the way.
How do you manage your own wellness with a demanding job? Do you think you maintain a good work/life balance?
I would never be able to maintain running multiple businesses with over 30 staff, and effectively manage a high level of workload and stress if I didn’t follow a strict health plan based on an organic diet, natural health products and practitioner support.
While I am immersed in health all day at work, I am able to balance calmness and relaxation at home. I have a lifestyle property in Waitati with extensive landscaped gardens, an organic vegetable garden, native bush and views over Orokonui Ecosanctuary. We are surrounded by nature and wildlife. This provides the ultimate mix of work-life balance; nature seems to strip away the stress and demands of a work day.
What I love about Dunedin is we can have a city life and within a short drive find ourselves in open countryside, fresh air and nature.
How would you describe your diet?
Organic food is an essential staple in my diet. I don’t follow any particular diet programme and I am fortunate enough to not have any major allergies or intolerants, therefore I love all foods. I am a real foodie! I start my day with fasting which will last me through until the afternoon. At that point I will eat either a range of fruit or a fresh salad, something light and nutritious. I like to ensure I’m covering a good range of food groups. When it comes to dinner, as we have a large vegetable garden, organic hens and our own lambs at home, we are always eating from our garden and paddock and always what is in season.
