VETERAN actress Euodia Samson has stepped away from the screen to pen her first cookbook.
Entitled Good Gut Health, Samson shared her go-to detox plans, cleanses, meal plans and explains food triggers with nutritional information.
The book takes a look at her discovery of how fixing your gut health is imperative for longevity in life.
Her personal experience in health and wellness started nine years ago when she joined Tim Noakes's foundation.
Samson formed part of the Eat Better South Africa campaign, a six-week community outreach course that promotes health and wellness.
“‘Having battled weight gain, health issues like pre-diabetes, hypertension and anxiety, I discovered the banting/keto lifestyle nine years ago,” she said.
She added: “I believe that saved my life.” Samson had already had a cancer scare when at the age of 19 she had a lump removed from her breast.
Samson’s interest in sharing recipes started when her sons, Cameron, Matthew and Alexander, left home in 2020 and she experienced the empty-nest syndrome.
“I remember standing in front of a big pot of food and it was just my husband, Philip (Beardwood) and I,” she said.
“I thought to myself, who is going to eat all this food? I decided to do a Facebook live and was surprised at how many people interacted with my content.”
This later turned into a weekly Facebook live in which she discussed various topics while cooking.
On Mondays, she speaks about health and wellness; Tuesdays are for self-help; Wednesdays are for family, children and relationships; Thursdays are for Q&A sessions; and, Fridays she does cocktails and often hosts a guest on her live videos.
Samson said the Facebook lives have become a big hit.
“Followers told me that they were learning so much from me and they (felt like they) were attending a class ,” she said.
She added: “In June, people kept asking me to share my recipes. I kept saying ’Google the recipes’.”
A month later, her followers made inquiries about a cookbook that, at the time, had not yet existed. Samson said she realised there was a demand for a book.
“I knew that if I was to pen a cookbook, I wanted to include information on why we are sick and dying of curable diseases. That had to be the focus,” she said.
“I wanted to explain to South Africans why they end up with diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure,” she added.
“I knew there was a need for this because of the questions that my followers asked.”
The actress said it was important that the healthy meals shared in her cookbook were tasty and appetising. “My sons are soccer players and when I embarked on my journey of health, I made sure that I was cooking nutritious meals for the whole family,” she said.
Apart from acting, Samson also works as a tension and trauma release therapist and an integrated wellness consultant, offering counselling sessions.
“There are many patients who come to me with depression and anxiety. Often, I have to recommend that they fix their gut health first, because that is where the healing is rooted,” she said.
She added: “Your diet plays into your overall health – mind, body and soul.”
She became a therapist and a consultant because she was suffering from social anxiety when she became famous. She was encouraged to become a facilitator when she was receiving treatment from trauma release expert, Dr David Berceli.
Samson’s debut was in the TV series Tussen Duiwels, in 1993. Many soon came to love her for her role as Christina in Fishy Fêshuns in 2003.
Her most recent work includes playing the lead in the Netflix special Angeliena and the beloved Hazel Bastiaan in Arendsvlei.
“Fame became a big part of my life in my early years but I didn’t want that to define me. I learned to be a person of worth aside from that,” she said.
Over the years, she’s used her platform to do motivational talks and workshops with young people and women, empowering them to explore and live their lives.
“I want to show them that if, I, a girl from Lavender Hill who attended Heathfield High can do this, they can too.”
She added: “Acting became a vehicle for me to do the work I was meant to do, which is to share what I’ve been through.”
Fans of Samson can look forward to her role in upcoming movie, Old Righteous Blue, where she plays the mother of the lead character.