The patient should be made to understand that he or she must take charge of his own life. Don't take your body to the doctor as if he were a repair shop.
- Quentin Regestein

Tosia

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ABOUT ME

I became a mother in 2002 and now have three children. My second child was born in 2004. Between the ages of five months and one year she had been prescribed the same antibiotic for the same symptoms of bronchial congestion about five times. As a parent I was questioning the repetition. My doctor assured me this was normal for some kids. Normal? We need antibiotics to survive?

I started investigating and came across the world of alternative medicine. Through my own research and the help of a great naturopathic doctor we determined that a milk allergy was likely. This made sense since my daughter had decided to wean herself at about 5 months of age, precisely when symptoms started. So I eliminated all dairy products from her diet.

Over the years we have monitored her dairy intake and know, without a doubt, that when she does ingest too many dairy products she gets the same symptoms she did when she was an infant. Today she is living without dairy and is healthy ... without antibiotics or dairy. (Let me state here that making the choice to remove dairy, at that time, brought on a lot of criticism from many people, including close family members who were certain that I was causing my child harm by keeping dairy away from her. I quietly smiled and took it all, knowing that I was making the right choices. Today, most of those who had negative words in the beginning have accepted that I may have been right.)

At about the same time I had started running – to lose the post-baby belly as well as for overall health. My weight has always been very stable, so I was shocked when I effortlessly lost weight from running…too much weight. I then had to gain that weight back without the use of pizza, hamburgers, cookies or ice cream. I had a lot to learn!

All of this sparked my passion in holistic nutrition. If you are healthy you certainly do not need medication to survive. I have thrown myself into the plethora of information available surrounding living a more natural lifestyle - eating fresh foods as often as possible; eating foods grown without the use of chemicals of any kind; minimizing the amount of mass market beauty products I use; avoiding meats raised with the use of antibiotics; getting more exercise into my day without hitting the gym. There is much to learn. This learning has become my addiction of choice and I want to share my knowledge with you.


Credentials

My learning experiences began at Carleton University achieving an Honours Degree in Psychology. I've always had a yearning to help others. Since then I have changed courses a little to the realm of nutrition. I am a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and have studied with the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition (www.csnn.ca). As a graduate I offer you not only my knowledge, but also the knowledge of my fellow graduates, as I am able to speak to them daily and ask any question that I may not already know the answer to. This widens my ability to help you.

My interests don't stop there however. I have also become a Master Herbalist through the Global College of Natural Medicine (www.gcnm.com). Herbs have been used for thousands of years to heal most ailments. This is where medicine as we know it began. Today, these herbs are widely available and are used throughout the world to treat many ailments. In fact, in many parts of the world these are the only "medicine" available.

To keep myself in line, I have also become Board Registered through the Canadian Association of Holistic Nutrition Professionals (www.cahnpro.org). It is so important to keep ourselves up-to-date and to continue to strive to learn more. Information changes on a daily basis, and this is one way to be sure I stay current!

Our bodies are designed to constantly strive for optimal health. In order to achieve this we must provide it with the right foods. However, I am not referring only to the foods we eat. The body must be treated as a whole and the mind and soul are equally important and need their own nourishment. I love my work and am committed to helping you learn long-lasting lifestyle changes.