Big Week for Natural Health Seekers

It was an exciting week for us in integrative health and nutrition! U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) led a roundtable discussion titled “American Health and Nutrition: A Second Opinion.” Sen. Johnson and a panel of experts provided a foundational and historical understanding of the changes over the last century within public sanitation, agriculture, food processing, and healthcare industries, which impact the current state of national health. This was a nonpartisan panel discussion about the sectors that impact national health.

Leading the charge is one trailblazer I’ve looked up to and followed along with for a while now, Robert F. Kennedy. Not only do I love his loving pursuit of health, but also his passion for reforming it for America. If we’re being honest, I think we can all agree that we prefer to have personal freedom when it comes to medical choices. But we also don’t realize the huge risk that has been imposed on us with degradation of food as well as government subsidized pest control that is spraying our foods! 

It was chilling for me to witness some of what has been said. If I’m being frank, 18 years ago, I shied away from the conventional RD program when pursuing a higher-level degree in the Science of Nutrition. I don’t publicly talk about some of my foundational beliefs because I mostly hold them to my heart to serve my family with. But I will share that even at 22 years old, I knew the system was really outdated and behind. I was blessed to interview several people who took different routes in nutrition, master's degrees, certifications, etc. vs. dietetics.

I was able to see the portal in which RDs were using to create meal plans for different diseases and will never unsee the yoplait yogurt that was so frequently used. Even in my youth, I knew this was not the direction I wanted to head as I understood how poorly processed, sugary foods made me feel. I remember in college, as an athlete, that even Gatorade made my mouth hurt. But nobody was there to share that information. I interviewed six different women in the field… I guess I have a journalistic background to thank for my need to ask so many questions. I took all of their advice and created a path for myself that held true to my core values of real food and balancing blood sugar combined with performance nutrition. 

I will also say, I came into a world view at 16 years old to question EVERYTHING! My life wasn’t as simple as most teens. My brother died because of medical error and while I always trust God’s plan and have always had great peace with it, I knew there were interventions that should have taken place. My young heart was so influenced by the outcome of my brother's life to never trust the system without understanding and advocating for yourself. This is a much bigger story than I’m willing to get into today, but it helps paint the picture of why I’ve always been such a researcher and always seek different interventions first. 

In my own right, I’ve been teaching this information for more than a decade, and people have called me a “food nazi,” “dieter,” “radical,” “uneducated,” “fear monger,” “delusional,” and so forth. See the thing is, I never trusted the F-D-A to tell me what was safe or not for my family. I understand how testing works because I’ve spent a lot of time studying science and one thing I know is that testing is rarely done on women and children and no offense to my husband, but this is my passion.

So, I set out to discover things for myself, to understand why our bodies struggle so much. My kids could teach this because they have become their own little researchers. I’ve taught them about ingredients, how they vary from country to country. I’ve taught them about standards in our country and even how poorly our soil has been managed. To the point where we have to remineralize our water?! For the love of God, why don’t we get the minerals we need??? It’s also not the government’s job to manage our own personal health. It’s our job. 

A few key points that I thought were so powerful: Vani called out the difference in Fruit Loops in America vs. Canada, and when Courtney called out the government subsidizing glyphosate to basically poison us. Max called out forever chemicals that caused us major metabolic dysfunction, increasing our risks for heart attack and stroke because of toxic burdens. Why is there a small section of food in the grocery store called “health food?” And if that’s true, what is all the other food? Most importantly, why is real food so expensive?

What’s more, if you didn’t see it, The Atlantic called this panel of incredible health seekers “woo-woo.” There’s nothing woo-woo about demanding reform in how the government views our health needs. I applaud and pray for those who stood up to these major issues! It should be the most bipartisan movement in the history of time, but we’ll see how things end up. 

Either way, I encourage you to take your health into your own hands. Become a researcher, become an advocate, ask questions, and don’t let your curiosity be gaslit. 

You can watch the whole hearing HERE to listen for yourself.