As most of you know already, Stu and I are engaged! WOO!!! That is definitely the biggest thing to happen in my life since my last post. He proposed the day of the blood moon on September 27th at the same spot where our first picture was taken- Great Falls Park in VA 🙂 We then went to a 16-course dinner at Rogue 24 in the city  and topped off the night by watching the blood moon eclipse from the Lincoln Memorial overlooking the Washington Monument. I honestly can’t believe the day I just described was a day in MY life!! Possibly the best so far.

I also started my Nutritional Therapy Practitioner Certification program in September and couldn’t be more excited about everything I’m learning at the moment! Words can’t even begin to express how anxious I am to be the best Nutritional Therapist I can be, and cannot wait to start my own business next year with all of the knowledge and guidance I’ll have to offer everyone. If you’re going to be in the Denver area next year, lets be best friends! Deal? Okay cool!

I’m still working at Founding Farmers full time and am also working on some nutritional projects with the Executive Chef and Owner- very exciting! More updates to come.

Though everything I just mentioned is extremely awesome, there are so many days I am very overwhelmed and just want to run away from it all. But, that would be the easy- and wrong- route to take.  There are many times I have remind myself to stop what I’m doing and remember all of the AMAZING things God has laid before me in my life so far. When I take the time to do so, Im flooded with gratitude and motivated beyond words to continue pursuing my dreams. Your passion is no accident, so keep going!

Alright guys enough about me, and onto some food.

Veganism. Going vegan (consuming absolutely no animal products AT ALL) is a diet trend that is flooding media and health platforms all over the place these days it seems, and I couldn’t be more mixed on my emotions about the topic. If you are familiar with Weston A. Price and his INCREDIBLE research, you already know that he traveled around the world to 14 countries on 5 different continents and discovered that cultures who ate a properly prepared, whole foods, native diet were the healthiest cultures in regards to mental, physical, and structural health. You also already know that his greatest disappointment was that he could not find a vegan culture that was truly healthy.

Bummer. Seriously!!  All the claims of a vegan diet- more sustainable, better for the planet, more humane, etc.-are all awesome and quite true. I really do love the reasons why people go vegan.. Except that their own bodies are not going to be nourished and at optimal health & function if they are consuming an exclusively vegan diet. Our bodies need animal fat, protein, vitamins, etc. The outside layer of every single individual cell in our human bodies are composed of a phospholipid bilayer- fat! The essential fatty acids, minerals, vitamins, etc. are all found in perfect ratios in animal products, and are essential to optimal health. Notice I said optimal.. meaning you can be “healthy” eating purely vegan all day every day for the rest of your life- but you’ll most likely run into energy slumps, adrenal dysfunction, breakouts, brittle nails and hair, mood swings, hormonal complications, etc. Why? Because you’re lacking vital nutrients that only ANIMAL products in your diet can provide you with.

I do, though, fully believe there is an extreme benefit to eating raw plant based foods! Did you know that for optimal health and function, 30-50% of your daily food intake should come from RAW foods!? There is huge benefit to raw plant based foods, and plant based foods in general.

My suggestion would be that if you’re super interested in vegan food, play around and add some popular vegan foods into your diet. Heck! Maybe even try out being totally vegan for a day or three. Theres always a time and place for following a certain diet regimen for therapeutic reasons, but I would definitely not suggest eating 100% vegan for an extended period of time  aside from that. You may feel good for a year or so because of the therapeutic effects, but long term veganism can cause imbalances within major body systems, especially if you are not absolutely intentional with supplementation.  But then again.. supplements are just that- a supplement to your diet if you are not getting enough nutrients from your diet.

All in all, it’s best for our human bodies if we consume animal products as well as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, seafood, the list goes on, to get as many nutrients as possible from properly prepared whole foods without supplementation.

Balance is the spice of life, am I right? One thing’s for sure, our bodies freakin’ love balance. If anyone’s experienced hormone, blood glucose, fatty acid, or any other type of the many imbalances there are, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. It’s not impossible to balance your body systems while on a vegan diet, but for all the reasons listed above plus some,  I would not suggest it.

*If you are vegan and have questions about essential vitamins, minerals, or nutrients you may be lacking and are curious about a great place to find quality supplements or food sources with certain vitamins, minerals or nutrients, I would love to be of help to you!