We are happy to announce two new classes in the Science of Raw Food Nutrition series! Due to popular demand, we have recently added Science of Raw Food Nutrition III and the Advanced Educator course to our curriculum. This series previously consisted of the 2-day, 12 hour Science of Raw Food Nutrition I, 5-day, 35 hour Science of Raw Food Nutrition II, and 2-day Benefits of Raw Food Nutrition Educator Courses. With the two new additions, the entire series now spans 15 days and approximately 100 hours of valuable course content. These new courses have been offered just a few times so far since September of 2010 and have already received rave reviews.
Those of you interested in raw food nutrition may be interested in how this curriculum was developed. After attending the second annual Vibrant Living Expo in the summer of 2006, Dr. Karin Dina, D.C. (my wife) and I wondered if Living Light would be interested in having a regular raw food nutrition course to complement their culinary classes. A few months later at World Vegetarian Day in San Francisco, Living Light co-director Dan Ladermann approached us with the very same idea! We began with a test class in the fall of 2006, and the students really liked it. We met with directors Cherie and Dan, and it was decided that Dr. Karin and I would put together a two day, 12 hour course together called “Science of Raw Food Nutrition.” It covered (and still does, although it has been refined and improved many times since) the effects of heating on food, pH balance, blood sugar regulation, raw food sources of essential nutrients such as calcium, iron, protein, vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids, anti-aging and longevity, etc. In short, it was a hit!
After a few of these classes, we added a level II class and educator course to the curriculum. So from the summer of 2007 until the first level II and educator course offering in December of 2007, we spent just about every moment in between our chiropractic and nutrition consulting patients, and most evenings and weekends working on our new classes. It was a very intense time, but a labor of love. The prospect of teaching a longer series of classes, where we could build upon the topics discussed in the level I class, as well as have the time to cover many other important and related topics was very exciting to us. In fact, Sundays became our favorite days, because we could sit at the computer and work on our classes all day without interruption! The bottom line is the new classes turned out great and our students were very excited! I remember one student telling us at the end of that first level II class that she was all ready to sign up for level III!
As word got out and demand increased, we offered the new level II class series (now called Benefits of Raw Food Nutrition Educator Certification™ Series) twice in 2008, then three times in 2009, and 4 times in 2010. Beginning in September of 2010, we added Science of Raw Food Nutrition III and the Advanced Educator courses mentioned above (now called the Advanced Raw Food Nutrition Educator Certification™ Series), and offer this entire comprehensive series four times per year. Additionally, the 12-hour Science of Raw Food Nutrition I course is offered by itself 11 times per year, as a regular part of the Living Light curriculum. As we tell our students in terms of implementing raw food nutrition into their lives, the culinary classes are the “how” and the nutrition classes are the “why.” Together they are a highly synergistic combination!
We feel very “lucky” to be able to have the opportunity to see those figurative light bulbs go off over so many of our students heads when various pieces of the nutrition puzzle begin to come together and solidify for them. As far as that particular form of “luck” is concerned, Seneca, a roman philosopher who lived from 5 B.C. to 65 A.D. states it so very well. “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”
As far the preparation component is concerned, in addition to our personal experience implementing raw food vegan diets for 45 years collectively, we have both earned 4 year doctoral (D.C.) degrees. It’s just amazing how many pieces of the puzzle come together when going through a formalized 4 year program with heavy emphasis on all of the science that provides the framework that nutrition works as an integral part of. We’ve spent thousands of additional hours in clinical practice and in scouring the peer reviewed scientific literature, as well as putting together power point presentations, course notes, instructor training kits. etc. We do this in a way that makes science easy and fun to understand for those without any kind of science background, but still fully accurate and appreciated by those who do. In our curriculum, all of the above come together in a synergistic manner.
2016 Update: After numerous requests, we are finally offering the updated and expanded version of our Science of Raw Food Nutrition classes online! The name of this course is Mastering Raw Food Nutrition. We invite you to learn more about the class here.
In gratitude,
Dr. Rick Dina, D.C.
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