My last few blog posts have had some contention and I wanted to bare a little of my soul with my readers.

So why am I writing nutritional posts that can sometimes challenge the status quo?

I’ve always been someone that questioned status quo. I always pushed boundaries. I want to share truths I learn and help people heal so that they can have one extra year, one extra memory with their loved ones. I want others to live their best lives. Because suffering in silence and living with sub-optimal health should never be an option.

I have no hidden agenda. I am not putting things out there just to fear monger…life is hard and being a parent is hard as it is. What I do want to share is a counterargument to common beliefs. Maybe we aren’t meant to use sunblock that is laced with harmful chemicals. Maybe it is good to eat a lot of fatty, red meat. I know it’s against status quo and what the doctors and dermatologists have told us…

But what if they’re wrong?

Doctors get maybe a few hours worth of nutrition education in medical school.

So when they tell us to switch our kids to low-fat milk (which is higher in sugar and less in nutrients)-just because of the governmental regulations of attempting to prevent childhood obesity-should we just mindlessly listen? The assumption is that fat is what makes us fat and sugar is not the cause. This is absolutely false yet we continue to listen and switch to low-fat milk.

I write here and bring up topics of concern not to fear monger but to start a dialogue. Question your doctors, pediatricians and your dermatologists. Ask for the studies. Ask the whys. Do your own research. Question them. Question me. Question everyone. Until you feel comfortable with a topic, don’t make a decision on where you stand. I am fully cheering that on because the sad reality is that the only person truly that cares for your health and your family’s health is you.

Be your own advocate.

I hope the remaining part of this post gives you a glimpse of who I am and especially that I’m not here for some sensational entertainment pieces-in fact, the contention makes it sometimes that much harder and that much lonelier to do what I’m doing.

If my thought process and ideology don’t resonate with you, frankly speaking, it probably is best to move on and read the next AMB blog post. We have so many talented contributing writers and you can skip my articles and read ones that better align with you and your family. I fully respect your choice.

So who am I and what is my ideology?

I think the story of Alfred Nobel says it best. The founder of the Nobel PEACE prize was the founder of dynamite. When Alfred Nobel’s brother died, a mistaken obituary wrote how Alfred killed so many byways of dynamite-he “woke up” and wanted to change his legacy.

I was pescatarian for 12 years. I primarily lived off salad and I was very vocal about why eating meat is bad. I supported PETA. I’d advocate for why we should all go one day without meat-all while I was struggling with depression and disordered eating.

I never understood why I studied psychology and communication at UC Berkeley, then went into consulting and why God made me struggle with food-the one thing we just can’t give up 100% like all other vices. You cannot abstain from food.

But now I see it.

My skills learned in consulting (and writing business white papers) can be used to break down nutritional information into bite-sized pieces. My psychology background allows me to not only motivate others but to understand how to read clinical studies, in fact, I had to participate in many of the grad school studies to graduate. My disordered eating allows me to understand those struggling with BED and others with negative food relationships — even if I appear to be thin.

I get it. I want to right the wrong I did for 12 years. I want to create my own Nobel Peace Prize.

I believe in nutrient-dense food as medicine, healing with (extended) fasting, prioritizing sleep and de-stressing (and other lifestyle factors). I also wholly believe in community. Without love, touch and community, we have nothing. There are many studies of sick infants that died because of the one differentiating factor of touch.

I also am a woman of faith. I never liked the in-your-face converting but I hope that my character and how I try to live my life will allow me to walk my faith.

I believe that God blessed us with kids to be responsible parents. I do not force my kids to be independent and never really practiced sleep training. I believe we are provided this opportunity to raise good citizens for our future generations and I take this responsibility very seriously and embrace it whole-heartedly.

I believe in nursing and following what God intended as natural. We are meant to feed wholesome real foods, not GMO, and man-made processed foods. I still nurse my almost 3-year-old and as much as I may complain about it, I am grateful I can help this little boy thrive with natural antibodies made just for him and every day. There are studies to support this too.

I try to feed my kids organic, grass-fed, wild and real whole foods. But I accept we are imperfect so I also try to have grace and balance real life with perfect eating.

I care a lot about my kids’ mental health and the potential risks of disordered eating and will never let them feel deprived or isolated from foods. I also believe in hormesis. I will do my best to feed my kids nutrient-dense whole foods but I also prioritize attachment parenting and supporting them to use their words and expressing their thoughts and feelings and being an advocate for them, when they can’t find their own words.

Mental health and EQ is something I am very focused on. I care that they have grit and have instilled resilience-especially when life gets hard. Because it will get hard.

I hope that I can instill in them to eat wholesome foods 95% of the time, movement and if they were ever tested, that they’d always wait for the next marshmallow (look up marshmallow study) and portray good sportsmanship when losing and practice vulnerability with their friends and peers.

I hope to raise good men that will be good to their women. I have some beliefs that don’t always follow status quo and you’ll probably pick some of that up as you follow my journey. If I leave you with anything, be your own advocate. A lot of things we do and what we eat now were never around, even 100 years ago-yes not even sunblock and all the processed foods (and also in terms of diseases we deal with). Question what we are recommended and told to do.

Question and then do what you believe is best for you and your family.

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