I have a Master’s Degree in law, but I’m not practicing the law. My real passions are food, cooking, and nutrition. When I realized this was the case, I set my law degree aside and started furthering my nutrition education.
Since you can’t visit me at home and view the certificates hanging on my office wall, I decided to present them here, because I am very proud of them! Just as proud as I was when I completed my fancy legal education.
NASM-CNC
In December 2019, I became a Certified Nutrition Coach. This certificate was awarded to me by the National Academy of Sports Medicine. The course gives coaches the knowledge and tools they need to give their clients science-backed and fact-based individualized nutrition support and to know when they should refer them to other professionals such as MDs and RDs.
The knowledge I gained from this course has furthered my understanding of evidence-based nutrition, how to read food labels and determine portion sizes, understand different diets and nutrition controversies, and gain insight into the psychological aspect of making the right food choices and dealing with relapses and setbacks.
Cornell University: Nutrition and Healthy Living Certificate
This six-month program, taught by Professor David Levitsky, presented in-depth contemporary scientific information on nutrition and diet. Its goal was to teach us how to identify valid peer-reviewed academic research and differentiate it from sensational headlines in the popular media.
We also learned the basics of digestion, how different foods are processed in our bodies, and how they affect our health and well-being.
Harvard School of Public Health: Evidence-based Optimal Nutrition
This course was taught by Eric Rimm ScD, Frank Hu MD, Ph.D., and Walter Willett, MD, DrPH.
Similarly to the others, it focused on learning to ignore the fluff (looking past the headlines) and finding evidence-based proof for what is the optimal human nutrition. One of the interesting things I learned in this course is that the Harvard School of Public Health is a strong proponent of the Mediterranean Diet.
