Food Story

I was raised on the Standard American Diet, (SAD) as were most people in the 50’s and 60’s. The SAD basic food groups were meat, potatoes and over- cooked vegetables. Salads made with mayonnaise dressings and fried foods were served weekly. To make matters worse, there were always cookies and candies available. To add insult to nutritional injury, it was a tradition in in my grandmother's house to have at least 12 slices of white bread on the table, along with sardines and butter! (Strangely for a child, the Sardines, a good source for Omega 3 oil, were my favorite food. Thank goodness for small accidents!)

At my grandmother’s house, my food consumption was not much better. My grandmother cooked for a convalescent hospital and was quite the cook! For Sunday dinners we gathered at her house for tasty meals of “comfort food” . . . roast beef with gravy and mashed potatoes. Luckily, cauliflower (with cheese,) broccoli and green beans always made it to the table!

As I grew older I became a meal skipper, always running out the door “too busy” to eat breakfast. Being too embarrassed to take a bag lunch to school, I opted to skip lunch as well. Dinner was my only meal for years!

My meal-skipping pattern became a long-term habit, so I became used to losing a few pounds regularly as a young adult. However, what I ate was more from the SAD food groups, accompanied by lots of sugar!

Fad dieting was the next stop on my nutrition path, along with over-the- counter diet supplements. I must have tried every diet program known to womankind!

Finally, I got my nutritional “wake-up call” in the form of a serious contraction of Hepatitis A! With that, came the gift of nutritional enlightenment. With the guidance of nutritionally-trained professionals, I slowly began to improve my eating habits and became educated about the dangers of dieting, proper supplementation and the wellness principles that support a healthy lifestyle.

Now, transitioning people into a healthier, more balanced lifestyle is what I find the most rewarding in my practice.