Ambassador of wellness....

Well-----all this digging into nutrition and how food affects our health has ignited a new passion.  After pouring over 100's of books, blogs, videos, audios and talking to 100's of people in the last 2 years, I have decided to take it a step further.  

There are a few things I would like to do;

1. make a difference in the school lunches our children eat
2. make a difference in children's understanding of healthy foods vs. foods that are marketed at them
3. help people who are suffering from health challenges that can be reversed or prevented through diet
4. help people who are suffering from early aging because of lifestyle choices

I am going to make an effort every opportunity I can to make a difference in the way children eat and their understanding of food in health.  I believe that the difference makers are already in our school system.  The people who have to make changes are the teachers who push frosting out of the can, the principals who hire the cafeteria cooks and workers and of course, the parents who pack the lunches if the hot lunch is not healthy.

I am going to focus my attention and efforts on #3 and 4.  In 2008 my husband went through 30 days of radiation therapy for a cancer that was preventable.  Luckily, his cancer was caught early.  Our doctors are taught to diagnose and treat.  I love doctors, I want a doctor there when I need one and would definitely have a surgery done if necessary.  Our western medicine is advanced and I am grateful for that.  I just believe that there has to be more than doctors, pharmaceuticals and surgery.

We need someone whose job is to prevent.  I want that someone to be me.  I want to work with people to prevent cancer, heart disease and strokes.  I especially want to work with people who have these diseases to create health.  No one told my husband not to eat sugar...sugar feeds cancer, they also didn't tell him to cut out carcinogenic foods.  Most people just don't know what to do to be really healthy.  They think the foods they buy at the store are healthy because the FDA allows it to be sold there.

There is a series of events in my life that have lead me to this point.  One was the decision to lose weight and my involvement in a group called Transformation, that works to clear out all the old dust and bad habits; physically and spiritually.  I made amazing gains over 2 years of doing this.  I became physically active, began eating more healthy foods, gave up all my prescription drugs, quit having my nightly glass of wine and cheese and became more giving.  Second is my 50 wonderful hours of education in becoming a Stephen Minister to help people in crisis.  Third was my final surrender to the fact that I had to give up the foods I was allergic to and start eating to nourish my body instead of doing what many Americans do, eating for entertainment.  In doing this, I was forced to learn a lot.  I had to learn it all because if I didn't do it right, I knew I would be trading one set of problems for another.

My emphasis will not be on one lifestyle or diet choice.  Bio individual nutrition and lifestyle concepts are appropriate.  Because of health problems, lifestyles, environments, physical activity, tastes, cultures, preferences and goals, there has to be individual solutions and plans.

I will be attending IIN and will be taught by world famous experts!  Nutrition science (what I have been devouring) will be at my fingertips with the most up to date information on inflammation, blood sugar and glucose, digestive system, toxins, thyroid, genetic influence and metabolism.  

One of the things I am most excited about is that food and activity is not the only thing that is taught.  We will learn about primary and secondary foods.  Primary foods being relationships, spirituality, creativity, finances, career, education, health, physical activity, cooking, environment, social life and joy.  It is the epitome of holistic wellness.

Some of the things I will learn about include cravings, addictions, focusing on adding foods, energetics, mood and superfoods.  I can't believe that my teachers will be Dr. Weil, Deepak Chopra, Dr. Barnard, David Wolfe, Dr. Willett, Dr. Fuhrman, Dr. Hyman....and a lot more!  I am going to learn over 100 dietary theories.

At the same time, I am going to learn from Dr. T. Colin Campbell, the author of The China Study and featured in the movie "Forks Over Knives".  (A movie that every human being should see.)  In these classes I am going to learn from Dr. Campbell as well as Dr. Caldwell Esselystyn and my hero, Brendan Brazier as well as others I know I will appreciate more after the course!

I will also be learning from David Wolfe, from The Body Mind Institute!  I listened to him speak and was so impressed with the information that just came rolling off his tongue.  I hope to know a little of what he knows by the time I finish!

When I finish I will have the credentials and the knowledge to make a difference.  I plan to be the missing link between man and doctor and surgery.  I hope to be the "prevent" step.  I will be a certified health coach, as well as certification and membership in the American Association of Drugless Practitioners, certified by the State University of New York (SUNY), certified Body Mind Nutrition, David Wolfe Nutrition and certified in Plant Based Nutrition.

I am so excited for this that I am just swallowing it up.  I intend to integrate all of the things that I know from my interior design business over the last 30 years.  I will also integrate this into my design business.  I can't wait to design my next kitchen around healthy principles.  It will be as different from the standard American kitchen as health eating is from the standard American diet!
~Cathy