Hi, I’m Paula Sharp

Nutrition & Mindset

I work with people at many different stages of life, from teenagers beginning to navigate food, body image, skin, gut health and changing hormones, through to adults experiencing hormonal change, digestive issues, low energy, changing health needs or simply the feeling that their body no longer responds the way it once did.

Mindset is an important part of my work too.

Sometimes the challenge isn't knowing what to eat. Life itself has changed.

Grief, relationship changes, loss of confidence, overwhelm or a major transition can affect how we eat, sleep, think and care for ourselves. My mindset coaching creates a confidential space to unpack those patterns, gain perspective and start moving forward.

This combination of nutrition and mindset sits at the heart of The Paula Sharp Method™.

Scar Restore

My work has also expanded into Scar Restore, providing gentle, hands-on support for people living with scars following surgery, injury or childbirth.

A scar may have healed on the surface, but that doesn't always mean it feels completely comfortable within the body.

Scar Restore allows me to bring another dimension to the work I already do — looking beyond one symptom or one part of the body and considering the person as a whole.

I offer Scar Restore treatments from Whakatāne and continue to develop my specialist training in this area.

Workshops, Talks & Education

Education has always been a big part of what I do.

I've delivered nutrition and wellbeing workshops for corporate teams, Diabetes New Zealand, community and playgroups, retreats and women's health events, both in person and online.

My workshops have covered everything from gut health, whole foods and women's hormones to mindset, menopause, fermentation and practical everyday nutrition.

While living in London, I also co-hosted regular food, nature and wellbeing workshops with Botanical Pharmacist Fawz Farhan, bringing together nutritional therapy and traditional plant knowledge.

Today I offer workshops, educational sessions, wellbeing events and tailored team experiences for businesses, community organisations and groups throughout New Zealand, as well as online sessions for organisations further afield.

Writing about food, health & the seasons

I'm also a regular health and food writer.

I write monthly for OrganicNZ, sharing practical nutrition, seasonal food knowledge and recipes, and contribute articles to The Beacon and Ōpōtiki News here in the Eastern Bay of Plenty.

Writing gives me another way to do something I love: make nutrition interesting, useful and accessible.

Good health shouldn't require a science degree or a cupboard full of expensive ingredients. Sometimes it starts with understanding what is growing locally, what to put on your plate and why it matters.

Why I became a Nutritional Therapist

My professional journey into nutrition grew from a very personal one.

In my mid-thirties, my husband and I were trying to start a family. We faced fertility challenges, unsuccessful IVF procedures and the grief and emotional lows that came with them.

At the time, I was studying naturopathic nutrition at the College of Natural Nutrition in London, under the tutelage of Barbara Wren.

Instead of nutrition remaining something I was simply studying, I began applying what I was learning to our own lives — alongside professional nutritional support and acupuncture.

Eventually, after our IVF journey, I held our son in my arms.

Two years later, our daughter was conceived naturally.

That experience fundamentally changed the way I thought about health.

It taught me that caring for ourselves isn't something to save for when something goes wrong. Nutrition, lifestyle, emotional wellbeing and the way we respond to life's challenges are things we can work with throughout our lives.

Since then, I've experienced my own changing hormones, watched my children move through their different stages of development, and experienced the profound loss of my beautiful mum to hormone-related cancer.

All of those experiences have shaped the practitioner I am today.

A little more about me

Before becoming a practitioner, food and community were already important parts of my life.

While living in London, I was the fruit and vegetable buyer for Lee Greens, a community-led organic vegetable bag scheme in Lewisham. It deepened my appreciation for seasonal produce, local food systems and the simple pleasure of helping people eat more real food.

My academic background is a little different too. I hold a Bachelor of Arts in English and Anthropology and an Honours Degree in Anthropology from Victoria University of Wellington.

That interest in people, culture, behaviour and the stories we tell about ourselves has never left me. In many ways, it sits naturally alongside the nutrition and mindset work I do today.

I trained in Nutritional Therapy at the College of Natural Nutrition in London and have continued to expand my professional training across nutrition, mindset and Scar Restore. I am also a Reiki Master.

The thread through everything I do

Whether I'm sitting one-to-one with a nutrition client, supporting someone through a mindset change, working gently with a scar, teaching a room full of people or writing about seasonal vegetables, the purpose is much the same:

To help people understand their bodies, feel more confident in the choices they make and give them practical tools they can carry into everyday life.

I'm not interested in perfection.

I'm interested in helping you understand what is happening, discover what you can influence and make changes that genuinely fit your life.

Because good health isn't simply about following instructions.

It's about learning how to work with your body — and trusting yourself enough to do it.