It Takes Two
Deciding to make a positive change starts with you. Learning how to improve your mind, body and spirit takes two. When you team up with Chris you will not only gain knowledge, but become a part of a nutrition team!
Chris Clough, CFNC, MBA, MSPA, BA-B
I am a certified functional nutrition counselor, and a health coach, who works one-on-one with clients to improve their health. A life that is functional and active well into your later years, and not a life where you merely exist, unable to walk or enjoy your hobbies. As a functional nutritional counselor I ask why is this happening, and why are you experiencing these symptoms. I address the root cause of your symptoms, the upstream factors that are causing disease, not merely the symptoms of your disease, the downstream symptoms, as your health care provider does. Together you and I, as a team, find practical and effective solutions to reach your goal whether it be weight loss, preventing/reversing/curing disease and improving your overall health. I create bio-individualized meal plans that meet your specific body needs, lifestyle and culture. I address the mind-body-spirit triad as you cannot address one without addressing the other two. All three are intimately connected.
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I practiced medicine for 14 years in family practice, urology, pediatrics, and chronic pain. I have seen and treated over 100,000 patients. During my tenure I cured no one. The medical model of treating disease addresses your symptoms only. For example, heart burn, GERD, is not an issue of too much stomach acid but too little acid. The treatments for GERD, such as proton pump inhibitors like Protonix, may improve the symptoms but actually worsens the issue by raising the stomach ph. The stomach ph needs to be 2-3, which is critical for the digestive process. When the gastric ph approaches 4, the mucous lining that protects the stomach begins to erode. Treating only the symptoms instead of the root cause does not work. This is analogous to putting a lid on a boiling pot. The water eventually boils over.
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My mother was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, and six weeks later she died. To honor her memory, I created a foundation to educate the public about lung cancer. While creating my foundation I came across an article from Europe of someone claiming to be able to cure cancer through diet. At the time I thought the article was crazy, and I ignored the information. I have come to realize that this article was not crazy. Many of the disease, such as colon cancer and heart disease, that Americans experience do not exist elsewhere in the world. But when people move to America, adopt the American diet, they develop these diseases. An American's microbiota is half as diverse as those in eastern cultures, and this is because of diet. Nutrition can not only improve health but prevent and reverse disease. I have seen it in myself, with my clients, and with my own daughter.
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While I have dedicated my life to helping people, I do have other interests. When I am not focused on helping clients nutritionally, I am a father to two beautiful girls. I am also a former hockey player. I enjoy cooking, and experimenting in the kitchen to create new recipes that utilize ingredients like herbs and spices to augment your health. Eating healthy does not have to mean bland tasting food that lacks creativity. I am also an aspiring fiction novelist and screenwriter.
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EDUCATION
Functional Alliance, Certified Functional Nutrition Counselor
Southern NH University, MBA
University of New England, MSPA
Middlebury College, BA Biology
Phillips Exeter Academy
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CERTIFICATIONS
Functional Nutrition Counselor
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MY APPROACH
Conventional medicine diagnoses and treats disease with medications and surgeries, but it rarely cures anything. Conventional medicine is excellent at treating symptoms, but fails to treat the root cause. For example, coronary artery disease is not caused by cholesterol initially. The root cause is systemic inflammation that damages the blood vessel whereby cholesterol can then adhere to the vessel wall. This is why statin drugs, like Lipitor, do not solve the issue, and have adverse side effects especially for woman.
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Conventional medicine does have its place. I am not a big proponent of medications, which have side effects that you may not be aware of. For example, non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, NSAID's, can prevent the liver from detoxifying substances while preventing the absorption of iron. I am also not a big advocate of supplements. For example, vitamin A supplementation in someone already at high risk for lung cancer increases their risk of developing lung cancer even more. You cannot effectively isolate one entity from a food and give it to someone to replace a deficiency. It is the whole food that creates benefit. Now this does not mean that supplements or medications do not have a place for a particular client for a particular period of time.
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As a functional nutritional counselor I work individually with clients to discover the root cause of their symptoms. I address the whole person, holistically, and not merely their symptoms or disease. I discover why you are experiencing the symptoms that you have. I create bio-individualized meal plans to address the root cause of your health issue. This is the ONLY way to restore health. I restore nutritional deficiency to nutritional sufficiency so that you can live your best and longest life functionally.
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