NTA

Hello All.

You may wonder why I chose not to run my half marathon in the spring and why I have not participated in another triathlon.  It's not that I am a wimp it's just that I have made a life choice in the direction of furthering my knowledge with respect to nutrition.  I have long wanted to accomplish this as my passion for learning more about what we eat and how we process food is at times overwhelming and I am relentlessly in pursuit of information.  I just want to know more and more all the time.

I have finally satisfied my thirst for this knowledge by enrolling in a wonderful school called the Nutritional Therapy Association.  The NTA is based out of Olympia, Washington.  The course is an intensive 10 month program which I am taking as a distance program.  That works well for me since I am so busy and it is a challenge indeed to physically get myself to a classroom.  The course is broken down into 14 Modules  and is taught through a variety of methods as follows:  a comprehensive binder contains the written information broken down into separate modules;  in each week of the course there is a set of "homework" expectations which must be accomplished in a timely manner; during that week the subject matter, for example Digestion, is taught in a variety of ways including a live telephone lecture; several hours of pre-recorded lectures; online access to teachers and other students in the program to discuss ideas and questions and live workshops held three times throughout the duration of the course.

It's difficult to say how monumentally this course has impacted my life and knowledge base.  There is something very special about what NTA provides that even most medical doctors don't have.  I know!  I know!  I can hear the docs screaming at me now but I can handle it because the skills I am learning empower me in a profound way to change people's lives in a healthy, non-invasive, nutrient based way.  How can I do that?  In the class we learn all about the body and how it functions.  We study nutrition, a science focused on the interactions between living organisms and the food they eat and the biological processes utilized in consuming those nutrients and the body's ability to utilize them.  That is a mouthful!  And yes these are words and I have to know them but even more remarkable is the tool called the Functional Evaluation.    The functional evaluation consists of a series of tests (taste tests, iodine patch, neurological balance tests) and palpations. We are taught to palpate specific reflex points on the body that correspond to different organs, and reflect their health or lack of (according to the client's subjective tenderness scale). The points were identified by different chiropractors (we use mainly dr Chapman's and dr Goodheart's reflex points).

Take digestion for example.  You could be eating the cleanest food in the world but without sufficient stomach acid you won't be digesting any of it so it goes through your system from north to south causing you nothing but grief a.k.a. stomach upset, gas, bloating, indigestion and so on.  Yikes!  I have learned how to palpate a spot on the right inside rib cage, one anatomical inch down from the sternum, called the HCL point, and determine whether or not you have a stomach acid deficiency.  If you do a tablet of HCL is placed under the tongue for a brief 30 seconds and voila!  The hot spot is now quiet.  That is the innate intelligence of the body at work knowing exactly what is needed to return to homeostasis or balance.  These palpation points exist all over the body and through my studies I can now palpate a client (I have no patients) and help him or her return to health and balance.  It is profound to see the changes that can be brought about in a person's life through Nutritional Therapy.

Stay tuned as I share more about my NTA journey.

At this point I am studying like mad for my mid-term which is in mid July.  There is so much to know!  Wish me luck.

In good health,
Tosca Reno

PS.  Just guess what the platform is for the entire course?  Nutritionally dense, properly prepared whole foods or Clean Foods!!  You knew I was going to say that right?