Veg2Paleo ~ The Recovering Vegetarian
Hi! Thanks for visiting my website, which I’m still in the process of building. My name is Kinsey Jackson and I’m a clinical nutritionist specializing in integrative, functional, and evolutionary nutrition. I hold a M.S. in Human Nutrition from the University of Bridgeport, and a B.S. in Biopsychology with a minor in Chemistry from Western Washington University. I’m a consulting nutritionist and writer for PaleoPlan.com – check out some of the posts I’ve written for Paleo Plan here. I’ve also been a licensed massage therapist for nearly 15 years, and have enjoyed teaching classes in anatomy/physiology and nutrition for nearly a decade.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by the mind-body connection, which is why I self-designed my bachelors degree to focus my studies and research on the field of psychoneuroimmunology. I wrote my masters thesis entitled “The Implications of Intestinal Hyperpermeability” reviewing our current understandings about how intestinal hyperpermeability (leaky gut) underlies several ‘diseases of modern civilization’, particularly autoimmune diseases. I was inspired to write my thesis on this topic, and to attain my Masters in Nutrition after falling ill from multiple autoimmune diseases myself, which I’ve been able to put and keep in remission by following various versions of a Paleo/primal diet.
After almost 25 years of vegetarianism, I became very ill following the sudden loss of my beloved father, Dr. Lowell Jackson. In the months following his passing, I became physically crippled from rheumatoid arthritis (some doctors diagnosed me with lupus). I was covered in painful rashes called eczema, extremely depressed, my thyroid was barely functioning so I was extremely fatigued all of the time, and to top it all off (literally) I had a HUGE bald spot on the top of my head from alopecia areata. I was not ok. By the grace of God, my Naturopathic doctor convinced me that I needed to abandon my long-term vegetarianism and adopt a Paleo diet. Eating meat completely went against everything I had been telling myself for the previous 25 years of vegetarianism, and it is an understatement to say that it was difficult for me to go from vegetarian to Paleo. Kicking and screaming and several failed attempts later…I finally made the shift from Veg2Paleo. Within a few days of changing my diet, I started to experience first-hand the magic and potency that lies within our ancestral way of eating, and within a few months, I was well on my way to complete remission of all of my autoimmune disorders.
By following a Paleo/primal diet, I have been able to keep my autoimmunity in remission for over 5 years now, and I’m so thankful to have been given a second chance at living the life God intended for me to live. When you have had your health taken away, and then given back, you can’t help but be completely inspired to do all you can to help others also reclaim their health and vitality. This has become my life’s purpose, and is the reason why I have started this blog…to share what I have learned through my intensive studies of human biochemistry, functional medicine, anatomy, physiology, nutrition, and psychology. My experience of overcoming multiple autoimmune disorders by abandoning my long-term vegetarian diet and adopting a Paleo lifestyle vastly contributes to my passion for helping others to also reclaim their health and vitality by making informed dietary decisions.
In good health,
Kinsey Jackson, MS, CN, LMP