I am thrilled, proud and honored to present the very first Health Leadership Award to an outstanding graduate who has been a leader in the school food movement, a health educator, and role model for her children and her community:  Allison Carmen.

When I first met Allison, she was a young woman in her twenties, highly educated and a successful lawyer for a large New York City firm. As one of the thirty students in Integrative Nutrition’s very first class, she demonstrated an exceptional desire to understand the transformational effects that nutrition can have on our lives.

With curiosity and intelligence, Allison has continued to analyze and put into practice the ideas and energy she gained from that program. Her most recent project, The Book of Maybe is inspired by her time at IIN, as well as her experience as a business consultant and coach.

Early Adapter

Overworked, stressed and exhausted from her successful career in corporate America, Allison was seeking a way to heal herself and others. She recognized the possibility of holistic principles long before they had entered the mainstream.

Integrative Nutrition is proud to announce we are partnering with the Jamie Oliver Foundation to inspire a day of action to mark a commitment to food education worldwide. 

The first-ever Food Revolution Day is a global day of action to inspire, educate, and empower people everywhere to stand up for real food. Thousands of people worldwide will participate in events to raise awareness on preventing diet-related diseases, and to arm people with the knowledge and tools to make healthier food choices.

Integrative Nutrition students and graduates are organizing grass roots efforts around health and wellness to celebrate Food Revolution Day, in communities, at schools and businesses.

Every year as Earth Day approaches, conscientious Mother Earth lovers all over the world begin to look at their total impact on the environment. Pledges are made to stop using plastic bags and water bottles, people ride their bikes and carpool to work, and some give up meat for at least one day a week. These are all admirable vows to protect the environment and we applaud and encourage them.

What about changing your eating habits so that they’re more sustainable, too?

Here are 3 easy steps to get your green on every meal.

1.  Eat leafy greens. 

OK, so the first step to greening your diet isn’t exactly the eco tip you were expecting, but we can’t stop talking about leafy greens around here. Just add a plentiful supply of dark leafy greens vegetables to supersize your healthy diet. Try kale, an excellent source of vitamin K – it reduces inflammation, boosts cardiovascular function, and aids in overall body detox. Then try collard greens. Much like kale, collard greens have off-the-charts levels of vitamin K.

Addictions and prescriptions top the headlines this week as Deepak Chopra discusses digital dependency and Celebrity Chef Paula Deen makes an announcement that has everyone taking sides. The CEO of Stoneyfield Yogurt steps down to fight GMOs, and IIN teacher Dr. David Katz offers real-world nutrition guidance for a society surrounded by potato chips.

Find all that and more right here in the IINsiders Digest.  

Welcome to the IINsider's digest! We gather all the hottest nutrition topics from around the web in one place so you can easily digest. This weeks highlights include, Integrative Nutrition teachers in the news. Dr. Mark Hyman as one of Dr. Oz's Fantastic Four, Michael Jacobson shines a light on trans fats, and Dr. David Katz reviews the best diets of 2011. The Washington Post asks, "Who owns Yoga?" Canadians support a ban on junk food ads aimed at kids and Mark Bittman looks at why we're eating less meat. 

Recent graduate Shannon Lavin Vanjoske is starting her own health revolution. Co-author of a children's book on the benefits of a healthy lifestyle, blogger and health coach, Shannon is doing it all. She was recently featured on a popular blog called the Ingredient Critic based out of the Twin Cities, Minnesota. Below is a portion of her interview. You can read the entire interview here.

Tell us a bit about yourself.

My name is Shannon Lavin Vanjoske and I am a certified holistic health and nutrition coach. I own a private health coaching practice called “mother + earth wellness” that focuses on healthy nutrition and lifestyle choices for individuals and their families. The cornerstone of my business is advocating for a plant-strong, vegan diet. In addition to my health coachig practice, I recently co-authored Regan the Vegan, a children’s book promoting the health benefits of living a plant-strong lifestyle with illustrations and words even a child can understand. Also, I manage a health and wellness blog featuring plant-strong recipes, healthy living tips, and information about natural birth and eco-parenting. You can find my blog at www.motherplusearth.blogspot.com.

Let’s get real: New Year’s resolutions are so last year. Why do we make these arbitrary lists of ways to improve ourselves and then make them again the following year? What is it about them that keep us coming back for more every January? 

Perhaps it’s because we set goals that are too lofty to pursue for more than the first few weeks. Or maybe it’s because we aren’t really interested in keeping the resolutions. Or maybe it’s because we feel obliged to make resolutions.

Whatever the case may be, why not try on some New Year’s resolutions you can actually keep? Here are a few ideas to make 2012 your happiest, healthiest year yet.

This was a hot week for nutrition news. IIN faculty members Deepak Chopra and David Katz offer their insights on health and wellness. Kale is a buzz word thanks to a Vermont t-shirt maker. EWG put out a report on sugar cereal that has Kellogg's scrambling to defend their products. And Monsanto's corn is for the bugs. Plus, more hot topics we collected here in one spot for you to easily digest. 

Can positive thinking make you well?
By IIN faculty Deepak Chopra
CNN
Observers may have noticed recently that mainstream medicine is taking a harder line against positive thinking. Surveys of the leading research in the field conclude that recovery rates from cancer, for example, are not higher among patients who take a positive attitude about fighting their disease. Studies that show the reverse have been small and, according to their critics, flawed in serious ways. Read more.

Reimbursement for Obesity Counseling: So What?
By IIN faculty member David Katz, MD

2010 Integrative Nutrition graduate Jessica Idleman had an existing background and knowledge in health that supported her work as a nutritionist. What she was missing, however, was the ability to turn this expertise into a thriving business. Through new connections and a gained sense of confidence acquired in the Health Coach Training Program, Jessica found the direction she needed for her practice, Glow Nutrition, and catapulted into success. Now she’s sharing her knowledge and expertise in healthy cooking with members of her community in Springfield, MO, a place where health coaches are hard to come by and many people rely solely on counting calories to stay slim. Read more about what this grad is up to below!

What were you doing before Integrative Nutrition?

I was working as a nutritionist doing essentially the same thing I am still doing. Integrative Nutrition helped me take my practice to the next level and solidify a business model.

What led you to explore Integrative Nutrition's program?

Almost exactly two years ago, Integrative Nutrition founder Joshua Rosenthal discussed the nonprofit initiative, Meatless Monday right here on our blog. The movement encourages people to pledge to eat meat-free each Monday, the day most Americans begin their week and tend to set intentions for the days ahead.

This Meatless Monday is a special one, as it’s the first Monday of October: Vegetarian Awareness Month. Several organizations including the North American Vegetarian Society are urging people to abstain from meat this month, and are even offering prizes for those who make a pledge.

A vegetarian diet is one of the major dietary theories we examine at IIN, in keeping with the notion that no one diet is right for everyone. At times a major source of controversy, the decision to eat meat is a personal one. Some meat, when consumed in moderate proportions, provides an excellent source of protein and essential vitamins including zinc, iron and B12. There are also serious drawbacks to eating meat, such as the impact on the environment and health risks. 

Many people choose to participate in Meatless Monday because it’s an easy way to make a difference, one day at a time. If everyone attempted to cut back on meat each Monday, we might see a major change in the environment, and in our health as a nation.