I did it! Took me two years, but I did it – I graduated from The Nutrition Academy’s Functional Nutrition Course. The course is meant to take 12 months to complete, but due to life, and the fact that I was really rusty on my research paper writing skills, and the fact that I kept getting distracted by their recommended readings, it took me 23 months and 1 week to complete. PHEW!
(Side note, the Nutrition Academy is based in Australia – hence the formatting of the date on the above certificate.)
If you read my “About Me – Dusting the blog off with purpose” post, you know what triggered me to begin this educational journey. The fact that I absolutely LOVE to learn (if I could have made a career out of being a student, I would have) definitely helped. My educational journey is far from over. I completed this program, and next month I will be starting the IIN Health Coach program.
When I tell people that I’m currently studying nutrition, the reactions range from, “That is so awesome”, to “good for you”, to “WHY?”. I have completed the program I initially wanted to complete, but I am not done yet. I will never be done. Why? It’s a combination of wanting to protect my family, wanting to live a long, HEALTHY life, wanting to prevent my kids from ever having to see me the way I saw my mom the last few months of her life, and having the knowledge I need to source the healthiest products for our customers and be a viable resource for them. I know not everyone understands the dangers that lurk in our food. But if I can help even a few people become aware of some ingredients to avoid, that’s worth every minute I spend learning and reading and researching. I know my kids are learning from me – my 15 year old actually gave up “GMO Food” for lent! My youngest absolutely refuses to eat school lunch (wish my other three never ate that slop either). My daughter understands the importance of protein. As well as the importance of avoiding synthetic hormones. And my oldest son, who is at college, heads to the Farmer’s Market every Saturday! He is actually my biggest challenge, and I have a LONG way to go with him, but shopping the Farmer’s Market is a step in the right direction.
My intent is never, nor will it ever be, to preach. We all have the right to make our own choices when it comes to the food we buy and eat. My only purpose is to share. It’s so important that we make informed choices. Too often we take the easy route and rely on the marketing tactics of companies to help us decide what is healthy and good for us. They don’t have our best interests at heart – their main purpose is to maximize value for their shareholders. Always keep that in mind.
Once upon a time I believed that if food was sold in the stores it had to be safe. There are agencies out there whose job it is to evaluate the safety of food (FDA, I’m talking about you here), and they would never allow anything harmful to be sold to the unsuspecting public. Oh, how naive I was. The more I learn, the more disgusted I become and the less trusting I am of these government agencies. It’s my hope that as more and more people begin to see the dysfunction and corruption that exists within the “system”, change can begin. Until then, it’s up to us to take control of the situation for ourselves and our families.