Getting to the root of all her problems, Ballito local combats renal failure with veggies

Veganism has been a topic often discussed in disdain, but taking the dive into vegan and vegetarian dishes helped Jennifer Swanepoel get to the root cause of her troubles in more than one way.

The Ballito resident had specialised in early childhood development for most of her career but then, in 2015, she was diagnosed with renal failure.

“The cause, you ask? An autoimmune disease called IGA Nephropathy. I had to make some drastic lifestyle changes to reduce the toxic build-up in my body,” she said.

This toxic build up is filtered through the kidneys and nine months later Jennifer had started hemodialysis – but this did not solve her problems.

Instead, it was the start of 18 months of hell which saw Jennifer going for a kidney transplant.

“Life went pretty much back to normal,” an excited Jennifer thought at the time.

Her short-lived excitement over having defeated renal failure was shot down when the side effect of the life-long anti-rejection medication she had been taking saw her diagnosed with ulcerative colitis – seeing doctor after doctor in the hope of finding a less harsh treatment, Jennifer took matters into her own hands after being handed more and more medication.

“I cut all animal products from my diet. Within two weeks, the inflammatory markers had dropped and I could feel a difference. Two years later, I have not had a single relapse and, my renal function is always spot-on and I feel great,” she said.

Getting to the root of her problem saw Jennifer celebrate the first birthday of her restaurant on November 1.

Roots Vegan Café at Burnedale Farm in Umhlali was opened by Jennifer with the hope of teaching others that veganism, a plant-based diet often dismissed as an ‘off the wall food fad’ has not only become trendy, but has multiple health benefits which she believes saved her life.