About Better Way To Wellness
Bridging the gap between what "THEY" know and what you know
We all have our biases - our way of "looking at the world".
As you read through the content on this site, you should be aware of our biases and who we are.
Naturally, that influences what we write about.
What we believe:
- First and foremost, you are the steward of YOU. That doesn't mean you have to
know it all. But it does mean you're best served by taking an active AND proactive role
in your health and well being.
Giving control of your health to any Doctor, pharmaceutical company, food conglomerate,
government organization, guru or "luck" is not in your best interest... it's in their best
interest.
Whether their principal motives are benevolent, misguided or nefarious, ultimately
it's your health, your life. You live with the consequences... they move on with your money. You possess within
yourself the ability to make the best choices for you given adequate information.
- We are all individuals. There is no one "diet" that is optimal for everyone. The more you understand nutrition and how your body uses food, the easier it will be to guide your eating in a way that best serves you.
- Traditional foods - dense with nutrients, unprocessed, free of pesticides, hormones and antibiotics
- have been tested in the laboratory of life for centuries. Make real foods - rather than
food products - your primary source of eating.
Food is the "medicine" every cell in our body is programmed to welcome. Food is a pharmacy of
such complexity and power, drugs look crude in comparison.
- Food products and pharmaceutical companies are big business - they are not your advocates. They actively use deception and misrepresentation to exploit the gap between your understanding of food and health and theirs. That lack of knowledge is a vulnerability that has been and continues to be exploited... for profit. Herein is the very essence of why we've become a disease ridden and unhealthy society. For every bit you narrow the gap, you take back control.
- It's better to be proactive and holistic with our health. We should actively support and enjoy good health, rather than practicing the sin of neglect for years and hoping some quickie repentance will erase the consequences. It's so common these days to passively wait for disease to manifest and then react with drugs, surgery or incapacitation.
- As best as possible, eat foods that are fresh, in season and grown closer to home.
- Forget the advertising and front of the label. Read the back of the label. You'll no doubt be shocked how frequently the ingredient list proves the product "spin" false. They're selling you products, you're making health decisions for yourself and your family.
- Health is not a binary state. It's a continuum.
Perfect eating is not necessary.
Continual improvement makes a huge difference over time. It really is a matter of health
or disease; quality of life... or tragedy of life. You'll get much more benefit
from consistently succeeding at doing better, than failing at being perfect.
- Cook with love. Good food comforts, satiates and nourishes life.
- Eat with joy and gratitude. Food is a precious gift.
Please take careful note: any nutritional program suggested is not intended as a treatment for any disease. The intent of any nutritional recommendation is to support the physiological and biochemical processes of the human body, and not to diagnose, treat, cure, prevent any disease or condition. Always work with a qualified medical professional before making changes to your diet, prescription medication, lifestyle or exercise activities.
About Sandy Der
My interest in food and cooking began at an early age. Growing up Chinese meant you were never asked how you were, but... "Have you eaten yet?"When it came time to go off to college, I landed at the University of California at Davis where I earned a Bachelor's of Science degree in Food Science and Technology. Then, off to the corporate food world - Carnation - where I helped develop new food products.
After spending some time in the industrial food world, I traded my lab coat for a chef's jacket. Being closer to real food was much more personally satisfying.
I was having my own dolce vita. Some how all the talk about the average American diet and the increasing health maladies was mostly background noise. But it was percolating.
Then one day I was walking through the neighborhood. Walking toward me was an overweight couple pushing a kid in a stroller. The kid's hands were locked on a Big Gulp, straw in mouth.
Now to say that soda has no nutritional value would be an understatement. Hey, did you know that soda is the number one source of calories in the American diet? Yep, used to be white bread. Now it's soda. And no wonder when you have a three year old drinking the stuff.
A couple days later I was walking around one of those membership discount food warehouse store and suddenly realized... where's the real food? So much of it was processed. Test tube food in pretty packaging.
After some research and investigation I enrolled in the Nutrition Consultant program at Bauman College. The basis of the program is that we need to eat whole, nutritionally dense foods and a balanced diet to thrive. The kind of diet that was the norm 100 years ago. No magic potions. No miracle Hollywood diet.
The premise is basic. It's simple... but not always easy in the world of fast food and heavily processed meals.
I've completed the two year program - 700 hours. I now work as a Certified Nutrition Consultant and offer such services as individual diet and lifestyle plans, family food makeovers and cooking instruction.
About Patti Clark
A couple decades ago, one late night I was "channel surfing".
I happened upon a documentary on chickens... chicken "farming", chicken food products. It was,
ummm, enlightening... And not in a good way.
I stopped eating meat, poultry and fish and went deep into researching the food industry and
how what you eat effects how you feel - immediately and in the future.
(Heck, I was a city girl. The zoo was as close as I got to "wild" animals).
While I choose the vegetarian path for myself, I don't believe it's the best path for everyone. But I do believe people are not well served by the typical "corporate farm" meats and poultry loaded with hormones and anti-biotics.
Over the years I've also learned that it's not enough to eliminate bad things from your daily diet. You must also add good things. Local, fresh, diverse, balanced. I can truly say I've never in my life enjoyed eating as much as I do now.
I continue to research and write about nutrition and alternative/holistic health. And life keeps getting better.