My journey into nutrition started when my daughter, Nina, who is now twenty-two years old and an influence on her own child, was a year old.  That day stands out so clearly for me, because I wanted nothing more than to eat Ding Dongs for breakfast while I conscientiously fed Nina whole grain cereal in her high chair.

I already knew that if she saw me eating cream-filled chocolate cakes, that she wouldn’t eat her cereal.  Deciding to be sneaky, I stealthed my way into the kitchen, went behind the pantry door, and quietly ate one of the Ding Dongs.

Guess who caught me licking chocolate frosting off of my fingers?  Maybe I wasn’t so good at sneaking after all.

Obviously, changes needed to be made.  I needed to eat the food I was encouraging my daughter to eat.  My mission to find out what was good for me, and tasted good, began.  I read voraciously and experimented enthusiastically.  There were a lot of great tasting foods that were also healthy!  The more I studied, the more I wanted to learn.  That’s how the idea to work with nutrition professionally was born. I could help other people do the same thing I was doing for myself and my family.

Finding the time and money to go back to school as a single mother was daunting, but I did it.  Every week something else would disappear from our grocery list as I learned more about what healthy food is and how important it is.

We turned a corner in our lives when my son was in first grade.  The proof was undeniable.  There were two boys in the class who could sit still, didn’t get sick when everyone else did, had perfect vision and no cavities.

They were the only two boys in that class whose mothers were dedicated to healthy eating and living.

I had my own control group; two children from the same family.  The one who went through the ups and downs of learning to eat healthy with me had most of my own health challenges.  My second born did not.  He grew up without soda in the house, without refined sugar, without food colorings and additives, and with minimal meat, refined starch, and dairy.  He wasn’t interested in the fruits and vegetables, but he still came out way ahead.

We had also switched all of our cleaning products to natural cleaners by then.

When my son was eight, and my daughter was twelve, I received my Bachelors degree in holistic nutrition.

One of my first nutrition clients was a woman in her fifties who had irritable bowel syndrome.  She looked fantastic after a lifetime of exercise, supplementation, and healthy eating.  Once again I had confirmation that all the steps I was taking would continue to help me and my children to lead healthy, happy lives.  As a bonus, I also helped that client to balance her nutrition, which made her IBS symptoms disappear.

My journey into nutrition has been rewarding, to say the least.  Helping hundreds of clients to improve their health and happiness over the years is just about as rewarding as they way I feel and look.

Supplements

After years of study and practice, which supplements do I believe in?  Lots of them.  My supplement regimen includes digestive enzymes, probiotics, multi vitamin and mineral, iron, vitamin C, and a thyroid booster.

In fact, if you’d like to improve your nutrition, I recommend starting with digestive enzymes and probiotics.

Healthy Eating

Supplements make a big difference, but eating healthy food is an important part of the story.  Every day I make sure to eat fruit, raw and cooked vegetables, nuts, little or no meat, little or no dairy, and little or no refined flour or sugar.

Who is the woman sitting in the lunchroom with a big salad every day?  Yep.  They are delicious.  The more I eat vegetables, the more I love them.

Organic is good, if your wondering whether or not I believe in organic food.  I eat as much organic food as I can.

My journey with nutrition is going strong.  I found a new supplement I want to research and possibly add to my regimen.

I’d love to hear your story about nutrition, too.  What’s working for you?

As always, thank you for reading,

Gina

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