Local Nutrition Coach Combines Proper Foods

To Achieve Desired Results

By John Voket

With a background in psychology, Newtowner Andrea Anderson already had a good understanding of what makes people tick. But when she began noticing autistic behavior in her two young sons, she switched gears, educating herself about the important connection between behavior and food.

That educational process, including completing her certificate in health counseling from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York City, has blossomed into a unique nutritional consulting practice rooted in integrative eating.

One of Ms Anderson’s local clients, Dawn Horne, said she came to the practice because she was suffering some of the unpleasant side effects of Crohn’s disease.

“I wanted to learn how to feel good, eat healthy and deal with the stress in my life in a more productive way,” Ms Horne writes in a testimonial letter. “I also wanted to do that by limiting my medication — which I have.”

Since working with Ms Anderson’s practice, appropriately dubbed IntegrativeEating, Ms Horne said her Crohn’s disease is under control, along with the bloating, digestion problems, and energy drops she was experiencing.

“I eat so many new foods and have learned to enjoy foods I never would have even thought about before or had ever heard of,” Ms Horne stated.

Whether a client’s goal is to have more energy, succeed at a new job, or to feel present and focused in their daily activities, Ms Anderson says she works one-on-one to achieve that positive and permanent change.

The IntegrativeEating approach revolves around a core set of “integrative eating” principles:

Step 1. Get Personalized Support: Ms Anderson believes the first step to creating a significant and permanent improvement in one’s health and wellness is to be open for support and guidance by a trusted advisor. Doing it alone can be difficult and can take a long time.

Step 2. Create a Nourishing Foundation: A person’s body needs the foundations of nutrition to provide long-lasting energy and focus to achieve one’s goals.

Step 3. Release and Replace Toxins: Once the integrative eating foundation has taken hold, Ms Anderson works with clients, eliminating food sensitivities and greening their household to release toxins and common allergic food products that affect mental acuity, children’s behavior, digestive health, and long-term family wellness.

Step 4. Tap into Powerful Insights: Ms Anderson helps clients experience a new level of confidence, energy, and mental sharpness as a result of upgrading their food choices and self-care, including rediscovering intuitive skills and strengths, increasing self-awareness, and reconnecting to their inner direction.

Step 5. Uncover the Blessing in Disguise: Ms Anderson believes there is a blessing in every health challenge, and her sessions provide a warm, safe haven for clients to pause and reflect on what matters most — and to realign their everyday food and lifestyle choices when necessary.

Step 6. Nourish What Matters: Improving food choices is much more than what a person eats. Things like downtime, discovering creative outlets, time with loved ones, reconnecting to a long-forgotten passion, and reigniting a stale marriage are also key to the process. No amount of nutrients, supplements, or healthy meals can substitute for this kind of nourishment.

Step 7. Live Life Fully: Once clients begin achieving their health goals, Ms Anderson continues to coach, helping clients to stay aware, on track, and supporting their goal to live healthy and in harmony through mindful strategies and practices.

Her website offers plenty of related information clients may be seeking, including a blog, a “wellness coaching tip” of the day, or to those offering their email, “tips, soulful insights and classes on how to make wise food and lifestyle choices.”

Anyone who wants to sample a taste of what Ms Anderson can offer in invited to contact her for a personal consultation, or attend one of her local outreach events. The next one is a women’s “Refresh Your Health & Life” gathering, Thursday, January 7, at the Santosha Center for Yoga and Health, 27 Hawleyville Road, at 7 pm.

Women in creative fields are specifically invited to attend the free session, she said. Ms Anderson can also be reached by phone at 203-364-9608 or email Andrea@IntegrativeEating.com — or visit her website, www.integrativeeating.com.