When Edwina Bartholomew was first introduced to clinical nutritionist Sarah Di Lorenzo, she was a little sceptical.
While the rest of her Seven team were, as she says, joining the “Sarah Di Lorenzo Weekend Sunrise cult”, she was relying on a diet of chicken nuggets, coffee and sugary treats to get her through the day.
“For a long time, I saw health as more physical, more external,” Edwina, 41, tells Woman’s Day.
“You know, what size you were and what you looked like as opposed to how you felt. And even though I could see the fantastic work Sarah was doing at work, everyone loved her, I just wasn’t on the same page [with health] yet.”
Then, Edwina was diagnosed with cancer.
In September last year, the veteran presenter broke down in tears as she revealed live on-air that she had been diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia – a type of blood and bone marrow cancer.
And while her prognosis was great and she’s since been given the all-clear without having to go through the rigours of chemotherapy – she didn’t even have to tell her two children Molly, five, and Tom, three – the scare was enough to make her finally take control of her health.
RECOVERY & RESET
During treatment, Edwina marched straight back to Sarah, who, upon doing an “extraordinary amount of research” on her condition, was able to give her an eating plan that complemented her medication and get her back on track to living her best life again.
“For me, it was about, OK, how do I use this catalyst to really focus on my health and change what I eat and take the best possible care of myself and probably change some bad health habits I’ve had for a long time,” says Edwina.
“I didn’t have to put myself through a really traumatic experience like chemo or radiation. So it was just really about making sure I gave my body the very best chance to let the medication do what it was going to do.”
IT ALL STARTS WITH THE LIVER
Sarah admits she “fell in love” with Edwina back in 2022, when she first met the slightly apprehensive and time-strapped star after she’d just given birth to her son Tom.
“I know myself being a mother-of-three just how all-consuming motherhood can be, it can be quite hard to focus,” the Sunrise nutritionist says.
“But what I’ve loved seeing in Eddy is her approach to getting healthy. I remember she came in and sat down and said, ‘I want to be healthy. I want to have a healthy relationship with food and exercise.’ It wasn’t about losing weight, it was about thinking long-term and that’s exactly what I’m all about.”
Taking on Edwina’s request for a plan that wouldn’t be “restrictive”, Sarah gave her a “simple” eating plan, not too dissimilar to the one outlined in her new book, The Liver Repair Plan, which focuses on repairing the liver with a diet full of leafy greens, whole grains, proteins, fruit and veg and fatty fish.
“It all starts with the liver,” notes Sarah.
“It’s an organ that’s often forgotten about, despite the fact that a third of adults have fatty liver disease of some kind. So this book is all about making the liver the main character again,” she adds.
“It’s about making small changes, because once you reach a certain point with the liver, there’s no going back.”
Edwina credits Sarah for helping her through her recovery, adding that she’s not only “lucky to call Sarah a friend”, but is “grateful to have an expert in my corner” at a time when she needed it the most.
The Liver Repair Plan by Sarah Di Lorenzo (Simon & Schuster, $39.99)
