Hey everyone!

I am so glad to be here on DA! I signed on just a week ago or two during the pseudo finals week, but now I have some free time. Now, the reason I'm opening this account is to do a little outreach about nutrition. I would hope this to be a continuous account where I can help inform everyone who visits about nutrition facts, practical applications, and the occassional technical jargon that comes with the territory. I am currently attending college and working my way through a Nutritional Science Degree. With the things I learn from class along with internship experience, I hope I can become a reliable source for people to come to with any questions.

In addition, I am also posting some words of encouragement that correlate with the weekly sermons I attend in church. Now before anyone turns away, I hope to clarify one thing. I am not seeking to do any converting or things of that nature. If anything, I hope anyone can just read upon the words of encouragement and disregard the spiritual connotations if the religious aspects aren't appealing. I, myself am an average, non-denominational Christian who only seeks to help those around him. So I hope that clarifies my intentions. If not, then I'll let you decide by your observations using the old adage, "Actions speak louder than words." ^_^

Okay. Now continuing...
I have chosen this method of outreach not only because this site is popular in the digital age, but that I am a fellow artist. I may be an amatuer due to the priorities in my life right now, but I still love to draw and hope that I can contribute something to artists (or people in general) everywhere. With that being said, the nature of my artwork will be focused around nutrition, spiritual life, and other miscellaneous themes along those similar lines. The only catch is how those themes are presented (mainly fan service from some of my favorite cartoons/anime... XD)

I will be updating the journal section weekly (usually around the weekends) and checking e-mails for any possible questions or inquiries. But keep in mind that since I am a nutritionist in training, I am imparting what I learned from my classes and experience. I can't hope to cover what clinical research and vast scientific data there is on nutrition. So, the information I present is limited, but based from factual data obtained through a qualified college.

The updates will usually be:
1. Facts, explanations, or misconceptions about nutrition
2. Words of encouragement/the weekly message
3. Other random things that are going through my head

Alright! Now that I've thoroughly introduced myself, here are the beginning updates.

---------------------------------

NUTRITION: What in the world is a nutritionist and why should I care?!

Well, even though this question seems blatantly obvious, not many people other than health care professionals (and even some of them don't know) understand the meaning behind this seemingly benign statement. I'm sure most people can agree that a nutritionist is someone who should know something about nutrition.

This in fact is reasonable.

However, the problem depends upon what people mean by a nutritionist. Most people who consider themselves or others nutritionists really aren't qualified to advise anyone on the subject. They need to be certified by an accreditted college and by a national exam to become a Registered Dietitian (RD). Nutritionist is sort of a catch all term that basically anyone can claim as a title. Yes, yes this is nit-picking of the worst kind, but people can be seriously harmed by misinformation; even more so than no information at all.

Case in point, practical application can be seen among the medical field with allopathic (conventional) versus naturopathic (complementary) medicine. I'm not bashing herbal remedies or therapies of that sort, but this is where the split can be seen. Many naturopathic doctors are qualified in their field and profficient in conventional medicine. However, there are others (just as in allopathic care) that take the guise of such experts and deceive people of the possible dangers inherent in taking medicines/therapies claiming to heal you "naturally."

Always be sure that the information you are receiving is accurate, reliable, and appeals to some part of common sense. Just like the internet, there is a ton of information for you to find, but it's up to you to discriminate the ones that are false.

WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT: The Christmas Season

Another year, another time to celebrate with friends and family the season of giving. Peace on earth and goodwill toward men. Hopefully you are feeling the same thing for this is the time of year to see the good in everyone.

But... sometimes we can become too caught up in this joyous season. Now don't get me wrong. I love a great time as much as the next person. However, we take Christmas for granted and the meaning behind why we celebrate. The message I heard this week is a great eye opener for anyone and tells of why we should not be thankful for all we have or don't have for only one month, but for the entire year.

What the pastor spoke of relates to what he calls an "It really happened!?" experience. Ever had an experience where it seems just impossible that such events could happen to you. Something like winning the lottery or finding your perfect dream job. Such a shocking and life changing experience usually gets all of our attention right?

In the same way, the Christmas story is an "It really happened!?" experience. Sadly, many people have gotten into a regular Christmas routine that desensitizes the impact of such a profound event in history. Jesus Christ came in the form of a human, the Creator becoming part of the created, to cleanse everyone of their sins for all eternity! Jesus sacrificed Himself in order to spare us from eternal torment and damnation in the lake of fire in Hell.

If that doesn't require our utmost attention day after day, I don't know what does. Now you can say this is all well and good for people who believe in grim fairy tales, and you would have every right to voice your opinion. But please keep an open mind in that these statements came from a historical document. There may be the religious segments, but the Bible is bound with events recorded in history with accurate precision.

If anything, no one can deny that the Bible holds a lot of historical information that helped with the preservation of the history of mankind. More than 5,000 Greek copies of the New Testament were found written within a couple hundred years of each other. No one can doubt that historical figures such as Julius Caesar actually existed, and it takes little faith to do so. But you would need a lot more faith to believe a man named Aristotle lived thousands of years ago with only 10 accounts written about him 1000 years after his death. That being said I hope, whether you believe there is a God or not, at least acknowledge that there is a need for further invesitigation.

Moreover, because Jesus sacrificed Himself on our behalf, we need to identify this concept of sin. There have probably been an inumerable number of debates on the concept of good and evil. Has humankind always been good and somehow turned evil or vice versa, each with mixtures of the problems we see today. In practice, this question doesn't really matter. What matters is the mistakes we continually make on a day to day basis. No one is perfect, and no human can come even close. But that's why Jesus saved us, to save those who can't save themselves.

Please take comfort in knowing that there is a God who loves and cares about you. And even though life doesn't seem fair or doesn't seem worth living, God is constantly watching over you, wanting to help you. I know this is very hard to swallow. If such a being existed, why aren't I better off? Why does it seem like the world is against me or things never go my way?

Well, it took me a majority of my life to learn this lesson, but it was a lesson worth learning. The simple answer is that we chose not to accept God's help. We chose not to believe in Him or the promises He has given us in the Bible. One major reason why we choose not to accept His help is because we want to live our life the way we want to. I think we can all agree that doing the right thing isn't always easy. Sometimes it can be painful or just plain annoying. Likewise, God is willing to help and give us peace; but if we choose to continue to do immoral things knowing it's wrong, we are opting out for help. But once you accept Him as being the only one to supply your needs, there can be no words to describe the inner peace you feel.

So, please take what I've written with a grain of salt and keeping an open mind. Thank you all for reading my first posting (well, for those of you who can survive reading this long. I know I certainly can't. ^_^)

OTHER THINGS:

I'm not exactly sire what to put in this section. My mind is pretty blank at the moment. Probably because since finals are over I can finally turn off my brain. I promise I won't be so long winded in the future. First time thing ya know. See you all next week!