Why I Decided to Become a Certified Nutritional Therapist
After working as an award-winning health care reporter for 20 years, my own health took a nose-dive in 2012. I passed out in my apartment and landed in the emergency room. They told me I had atrial fibrillation and a potassium deficiency, both of which can cause fainting.
Fortunately, my heart rate returned to normal within a week, and I bought lots of potassium rich foods including tomatoes, and avocados. However, my health continued to deteriorate. Nothing medically was wrong but I felt weak, shaky and had to drag myself out of bed every morning to get to work. I worried constantly that I would pass out.
Intuitively, I knew that conventional medicine wasn’t going to solve my problem.
After a miserable summer, I found a nutritional therapist who explained that my diet was high in processed starchy carbs and refined sugar, which deplete the body of its natural vitamins, minerals and enzymes. She said this was contributing to my blood sugar roller-coaster, and that my adrenals were stressed from releasing cortisol in response to my low blood sugar and daily doses of caffeine (2 cups of coffee and 2 diet Cokes).
She recommended a low-carb diet without refined starchy and sugary carbs to detox my system and stabilize my blood sugar. I also started eating healthier carbs (fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds) and food with healthy fat and protein. I also drank more water than I ever had before. I was amazed that within a few weeks of starting the diet, I felt so much stronger, had more energy and lost 10 pounds.
I was motivated to complete the second phase. I gave up grains, dairy, caffeine, and alcohol for one month and lost another 20 pounds. Fitting into size 6 clothes did wonders for my self-esteem and dating life!
I was inspired by my positive experience to learn more about nutrition. I enrolled in an intensive training program offered by the Nutritional Therapy Association and became a certified nutritional therapy practitioner in 2013.
I learned how nutrients in the form of food and supplements influences and heals the body’s systems. I have since helped numerous clients lower and stabilize their blood sugar, gain energy, and lose weight through a healthy diet, supplements, exercise and stress management.