Have we ever been in such poor shape with our food supply and eating habits as we are today? To get some disturbing and eye-opening information about one of the world’s favorite “foods,” you can watch the Bionic Burger video. It is, unfortunately, representative of what we put in our bodies on a daily basis as fuel for living.

Now let’s consider a few facts . . .

Death rate due to obesity is 300,000 people each year, which means 822 people per day.

60 percent of the population is considered to be overweight, 30 percent obese.

The list of obesity-related illnesses is staggering: Obesity is responsible for 80 percent of all Type 2 diabetes, for 70 percent of all cardiovascular diseases, for 42 percent of breast and colon cancer, 30 percent of high blood pressure-related gallbladder surgeries.

Bad eating habits can create high cholesterol, congestive heart failure, high blood pressure, stroke, gall & kidney stones, gout, osteoarthritis, poor reproductive health, endocrine & metabolic disorders, psychological disorders such as depression, distorted body image, low self-esteem, anorexia, bulimia  and the list goes on.

In 2009, we spent $147 billion on food-related health issues, 9 percent of the total health spending.

Time to take food more seriously!

So, where do we start? How are we going to make sense of all the conflicting information out there and how do we determine what is right for us?

You don’t want to be on a diet for the rest of your life either, do you?   Or make your food a mathematical calculation of calories with every bite you take?

As a nutritionist, I feel it is important to get the “big picture” of your body and personality type.  We’ll be looking at your metabolic type, blood type, activity level, eating habits, cravings and messages from your body. There is a high emphasis on personalized nutritional counseling.

Knowledge is critical!

You will learn to interpret the signals from your body and translate this to daily food intake.  You will learn that food is a very powerful medicine.  The goal is to move into a healthy relationship with food and to find joy and healing in what you eat.  Your sessions will also include handouts, notes, progress reports, books and other helpful materials.

Unique at Chi Time is the combination of nutritional counseling with other healing modalities. Eating disorders connected with emotional disturbances will be addressed through energy work and/or herbal therapies.  It’s not only about changing your eating habits, but also about creating the ability to make it long lasting, a real integration of change.  Meal times should be an enjoyable time, an opportunity to connect with yourself and others.

You are worth this gift to yourself.  One of the more important ones!