Aug. 25--Kim Rodriguez believes whole foods are the foundation of health.
But, she said, many people do not eat enough whole foods because of misinformation and lack of understanding about good food choices. That's why she opened Aiken Nutrition this month with the goal to restore and maintain a person's health.
"I don't want to tell people what's right or what's wrong. I'd rather them make their own decision," she said. "I do want to give them the other side of the story. First off, we don't know what to eat. If you do know, it's really hard to find the right food. When you do, it's costly."
Rodriguez worked as a registered dietitian for more than 20 years in "mainstream medicine" and learned society is getting a lot of mixed messages about health and wellness. She continued her studies to acquire a doctorate in holistic nutrition and wants to share her knowledge with the Aiken community.
She believes those who will benefit from what Aiken Nutrition has to offer are those who want to stop accelerated aging, want to eliminate or prevent disease, want to lose weight or increase energy and those who want to understand good nutrition principles.
Nutrition consultations are available at her office or in a client's home, nursing home or hospital.
Clients should be able to tell Rodriguez what their ailments are, their disease history, their eating habits and what supplements and medications they are taking. Rodriguez will then be able to provide the client a food plan, a whole-food supplement plan, suggestions for food and water sources and suggestions for reading materials.
Her passion for proper nutrition came from her own experience, she said.
"I was practicing low fat, low cholesterol," she said. "I got really sick. I was addicted to food. I had diabetes. Then a friend gave me 'Nutrition and Physical Degeneration' by Weston A. Price and I started getting better. I think I would have died if I hadn't picked up that book."
On top of individual consultations, Aiken Nutrition holds free weekly nutrition lectures and makes available a nutrition library. The first lecture, "Factual History: The Cholesterol Theory," will be held Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
Aiken Nutrition is also home to the Aiken Chapter of the Weston A. Price Foundation, which can offer nutrition insights and networking.
For more information, call 644-4463. Aiken Nutrition is located at 215 Park Ave. and is open by appointment only. To see more of the Aiken Standard or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.aikenstandard.com/. Copyright (c) 2008, Aiken Standard, S.C. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
Copyright (C) 2008 Aiken Standard, S.C.