Lauren Burns created sporting history by winning the first Olympic gold medal for Taekwondo when the sport made its debut at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. She completed her PhD in lifestyle and mindset of elite athletes at RMIT, where her work won the Vice Chancellor’s Award for Research Impact.
Lauren has always been passionate about complementary medicine and wholefoods. She became a vegetarian at the age of three and studied naturopathy alongside training for the Olympic Games. She incorporated many principles and naturopathic teachings into her training and diet regimine which she attributes to her success at the Games.
Since the 2000 Olympics, Lauren has become one of Australia’s most sought after speakers and has spoken to over 200,000 people since these Games. Lauren continues to present at both in-person and virtual events to a wide variety of audiences.
Continuing her passion for food as medicine, she lectured at Endeavour College of Natural Medicine, teaching Medicinal Food Science and is currently a supporting lecturer for Food as Medicine at RMIT University.
Lauren is a member of the Jacka Foundation of Natural Therapies, and the selection committee of Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarships Committee. She is involved in the Gold Medal Ready program with the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), assisting current athletes in their Olympic campaigns, and is conducting research with the AIS on interpersonal relationships and high-performance support teams. Lauren conducts 1:1 Performance and Lifestyle consultations for a small number of private clients.
Lauren has written two books; her autobiography Fighting Spirit, and cookbook Food from a Loving Home. She has published two peer-reviewed journal articles in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
Kimchi Hot Pot
Kimchi Hot Pot is a great way to use kimchi that has been fermenting for many weeks or even a couple of months.
