July 2nd, 2012
By Craig Fear
If you had told me back in college that I’d one day be doing traditional food cooking demos, I’d probably have said you were crazy. I didn’t even know what traditional foods were back then!
On the other hand, I did know a lot about late night 7-11 nachos, late night Denny’s breakfast specials and late night Taco Bell runs.
That, of course, is one of the many reasons I’ve learned about traditional foods.
When my health started crumbling in my late 20s, I went searching for answers.
Thankfully, I found some in traditional foods. Keep Reading…
June 20th, 2012
By Craig Fear
In my last post I discussed my secret method of cooking when I’m in a rush. I call it the “whatever, good enough” method.
I use this method in many other aspects of my life. For example, interior decorating (one of the many reasons I’m not married).
Another area it suits me well is shooting videos for my blogs and You Tube page.
A few weeks ago I did a demonstration for my Get At The Roots class for how to make whey and beet kvass. I asked my friend to take a video with my iPhone. The sound is bad, the lighting is not good and the camera angle even worse.
But it’s good enough for you to learn a valuable tool for improving your health, in particular, your digestive health.
Beets help thin our bile so they are particularly hepful for liver and gallbladder issues. Keep Reading…
April 17th, 2012
By Craig Fear
Not too long ago the New York Times asked its readers to write essays in no more than 600 words explaining why it’s ethical to eat meat. They wanted to hear how meat-eaters defend themselves against the overwhelming perception that a plant-based diet is best for ourselves and the planet.
This was probably one of the hardest blogs I’ve ever had to write as brevity is not my strong suit. There were a thousand other things I wanted to say. For example, I didn’t even discuss the health benefits of eating meat!
But 600 words is 600 words, so I did the best I could within those guidelines.
Let me know what you think! Keep Reading…
February 19th, 2012
By Craig Fear
In case you haven’t noticed my last name is Fear (yes, it was certainly an interesting name to grow up with).
And in case you haven’t noticed, I also have a new blog, Fearless Eating, a more apropos name than the previously named blog which was, well, just…Blog. I think the new one is better, don’t cha think?
And to celebrate the birth of Fearless Eating, I’m announcing my first-ever giveaway! Keep reading to learn how to sign up for three prizes valued at over $170. Keep Reading…
January 17th, 2012
By Craig Fear
When people come to see me for weight loss I always ask them if they’ve tried anything in the past. The typical answer is, “Oh I’ve tried everything!”
They then proceed to rattle off a long list of popular diets. The most frequently mentioned is Weight Watchers. Keep Reading…
April 29th, 2011
By Craig Fear
In my last blog I gave you 7 tips for getting sugar out of your diet. On paper (or your computer screen) this may seem easy. But in reality it can be very difficult. You may recall that Tip #7 was to “Go Easy on Yourself”. Sugar is everywhere, in almost everything and it can be difficult to resist. It’s also addictive. So weaning off it can take some time, patience and guidance.
This is where Nutritional Therapy can really help. And that is Tip #8 for getting sugar out of your diet.
Try Nutritional Therapy!
Let me explain a little more how Nutritional Therapy works. It is much more than just telling someone what to eat. Yes, weaning off sugar, processed foods and replacing them with whole, nutrient dense foods is the foundation. But there’s a lot more to it than that.
For example, you may eat the healthiest diet the world has to offer but chronic digestive issues can impact your ability to break down and absorb the nutrients in your food. Chronic heartburn, bloating, constipation, IBS and dozens more digestive issues are very common in America. Other deficiencies and imbalances may make dietary changes more difficult than they appear in blogs, articles or books.
As a Nutritional Therapist, I help people navigate these obstacles. Let me just explain a little of what I do and how I work with people.
First, everyone must fill out a 3 Day Food Journal before the actual date of our consultation. I want to see what the current diet is like. This can help me help you understand how your diet is connected to your health concerns. Because again, if you live in America, you’re probably eating a lot of carbs and this causes problems, especially the refined ones, as they are broken down in the digestive process to simple sugars. 90% of the Food Journals I see are loaded with carbs. And if you’ve been following my blog lately you know this means weight gain, fatigue and a whole host of connected health problems.
Next I’ll have you fill out a few questionnaires which can help me see a bigger picture of what’s going on. These help me to zero in on the underlying issues that can disrupt good health. You can take a look at these questionnaires on the “Consultation” link on my website. The last one, the Nutritional Assessment Questionnaire, contains lots of possible symptoms that you may experience. These questions are divided into various systems in the body such as stomach function, small intestine, liver and gallbladder, adrenal function, etc.
For example, do you have chronic bloating, heartburn or bad breath? Are you not hungry in the morning? Is your stomach upset by taking vitamins? All of these are signs of upper GI dysfunction, in particular, a compromised ability of your stomach to breakdown food. Diet alone may not be enough to correct this.
These questionnaires plus the Food Journal give me an initial picture. You fill these forms out ahead of time and I review all of this before I even meet you.
On the day of the consult, we’ll go over all these forms together and go into more detail. I’ll see where you’re at with your ability to make dietary changes and clearly communicate the dietary changes that need to be made. Some need to go slow, others are ready to really dive in. I never know until I meet someone how things are going to proceed. Regardless, you won’t leave without a very clear and specific protocol
Last, I’ll perform what’s known as a Functional Evaluation. This is a simple, hands on assessment of various reflex and pressure points on your body that are associated with various systems. For example, you’ll lie down on a massage table, (unfortunately, I do not do massage), and I’ll push gently around your belly button. This is where you small intestines lie. Our small intestines should be very soft and squishy. For many people, with just a slight amount of pressure, they feel discomfort. For me it feels hard and resistant to my pressure. This is a sign of small intestine dysfunction. I perform dozens of these little tests that can help me zero in even further on specific bodily weaknesses.
I also give lots of handouts and suggestions for further education via books, websites and various articles. I have the most success with those people who follow up on these suggestions. I understand that the nutritional advice I give is often counter to what most doctors and dietitians say, so I offer these resources so that you can feel confident in your dietary changes.
So maybe you’ve been thinking about getting a little extra help lately. If you’re like me though, when it comes to making big decisions with your hard earned money, you probably delay it, contemplate it, delay more, make an excuse that this is just not the right time and eventually forget entirely about it. It’s human nature. I know.
So here’s what I’m gonna do. For one week, from today until next Friday, May 6th, 2011, I’m gonna offer half off my initial consults. Any consults scheduled within the next week, even if they’re scheduled beyond next week, are half off. As I get busier and busier in my practice, I doubt I’ll be offering that again anytime soon. Truth be told, I don’t even know why I’m doing this. Just feeling generous today I guess. So if you’ve been thinking about it, don’t wait! This offer won’t last long (I’m really not trying to sound like a car salesman).
So what’s the price of your health? What’s the cost of living with chronic fatigue, excess weight or type II diabetes? In one simple consult I can show you how simple it can be to reduce your risk of chronic disease by making a few simple dietary changes.
I think that’s a pretty good deal, don’t you?
