EATING THE ODDS

WITH THE RIGHT KIND OF EDUCATION AND SUPPORT, ANYONE CAN BEGIN THEIR JOURNEY TO OPTIMAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING.

BY MICHELE DARR PHOTOGRAPHY

Nutritionist Karen Nickerson believes that with the right kind of education and support, anyone can begin their journey to optimal health and wellbeing. She walks her talk too, putting her Masters of Science in nutrition from the National University of Natural Medicine and Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies from the University of Redlands to good use by offering free nutritional health coaching at Natural Grocers on MLK. Her passion has roots that have grown into almost a decade of experience in teaching, coaching and encouraging others in inner North and Northeast Portland to make positive life changes. “I am a born and bred Oregonian and grew up right here in the neighborhood,” Nickerson shared. “I have always had a focus on health and wellness.”

While lots of people have different definitions of what it means to eat healthy or not eat healthy, the reality is that more than 90% of Americans aren’t getting the optimal amount of fruits and vegetables in their diets. “We have really shifted away from whole foods,” she explained. “Fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, these are all things we used to forage for back in the day. Now, 60% of the American diet is processed food. Things that you are going to find in a bag or in a box or in a can have been manipulated and contain all of these ingredients that we can’t pronounce, making it easy for manufacturers to sneak in more sodium, more sugar.”

Shockingly, these same manufacturers are responsible for the sharp increase in society’s intake of 2 all time, unhealthy heavy-hitters….salt and sugar. “Back in the year 1900, we used to eat about 10 pounds of sugar per person, per year. Now, it is up to 150 pounds of sugar per person, per year,” she revealed. “They sneak it into your breads, your pastas, your ketchup, condiments, everything and everywhere. That is really wreaking havoc on our health and wellness as a society and if you are in the projects, a lot of those places are ‘food deserts’ and they don’t even have access to healthy food. Add to that the fact that if you also have two parents that aren’t home, kids grab the quickest microwave foods, cereal, whatever is fastest, because everyone is so busy.”

When asked about the impact of habitual behaviors, Nickerson advises her clients of the benefit vs. the cost of lifestyle changes. “Habit change is the most difficult part of my job,” admits Nickerson. “Helping people to determine why it is important to them to develop a new habit and what the benefits will be is key because not only do you want a longer life span, you want a longer health span. You don’t want to live to 80 if you feel like garbage from the age of 60. Once people realize they can feel better, they are more willing to make those changes.”

She also points out that improving the overall quality of one’s health far exceeds just the changing of diet. “I think that people need more self care, like getting more sleep, drinking more water, getting out in nature and engaging with the community,” she observes. “Even what you consume from media and online, all of those really affect your health and wellness too, so taking more time out during the day to take care of yourself really matters.”

That carries over to mental health as well. “There is a really great book called, ‘This is Your Brain on Food’ written by a psychiatrist who is also a nutritionist,” Nickerson shared. “She takes her clients/ patients and puts them on a new diet protocol of foods that are higher in certain nutrients affecting brain health. So whether it’s depression, bipolar, etc…., her focus is on using specific nutrients to address mental health, which we all know has become a huge issue nationwide. When you also consider that 60% of what we are consuming is processed food, it makes you wonder what would happen if we went back to eating more whole foods, like what would the impact be on kids who have ADHD?” she mused.

Karen Nickerson is doing her utmost to help people mitigate these impacts by offering free one-on-one coaching, classes, and nutritional advice in our area. However, one need go no further than an email, a phone call or a visit to one of the numerous Natural Grocers stores located around the Portland-Metropolitan area to access a local, neighborhood program. As far as time commitment for the consultation, it takes about an hour and the benefits are potentially enormous. “We go over the whole health history and then offer advice on diet, healthcare and supplements that can be used to round out and meet the clients health goals,” she shared. “We have locations in SW Portland, Vancouver, Tigard, Gresham, Beaverton and so on but if you want to find me specifically, scroll down to the MLK location. There you will find a way to sign up for health coaching sessions or you can email me directly at nhc.mk@naturalgrocers.com. You can also call the store at (503) 528-9884.