2016 marks the 5-year anniversary of NutritionFacts.org—time flies when you’re having fun! New features continue to be added. Did you see the new Trending Topics section in the upper left corner of the home page? If you click on any of those, you’ll see a list of our top ten or so videos within each category to highlight the most popular ones. When I started the site this wasn’t necessary, but now that there are more than 1,000 videos, this new feature will hopefully help those new to the site navigate directly to some of the most compelling content. The reason…
2016 marks the 5-year anniversary of NutritionFacts.org—time flies when you’re having fun!
New features continue to be added. Did you see the new Trending Topics section in the upper left corner of the home page? If you click on any of those, you’ll see a list of our top ten or so videos within each category to highlight the most popular ones. When I started the site this wasn’t necessary, but now that there are more than 1,000 videos, this new feature will hopefully help those new to the site navigate directly to some of the most compelling content.
The reason we’ve been able to thrive is because of our dear supporters, who have donated their time and money to grow NutritionFacts.org into the global resource it is today. Do you know we have 72 active volunteers? If you would like to be one, we have two new groups of volunteer positions now available at http://nutritionfacts.org/volunteer/ If you think you’d be a good fit, please fill out an application, and if not, please check back as we add more positions.
I’ve asked some of our most amazingly dedicated volunteer all-stars to introduce themselves:
Jennifer Drost
I’ve worked for the last 12 years as a Physician Assistant at Mayo Clinic in Arizona. Several years ago, a patient stumped me with a question about which diet was the healthiest. Although I did get one hour of nutrition training during my PA training at Yale, I had no idea. Luckily, I stumbled across NutritionFacts.org and fell in love with the evidence-based site with its thousands of peer-reviewed journal papers. Inspired by finding this non-commercial, not-for-profit goldmine of nutrition goodness, I knew I wanted to help however I could. My favorite part of volunteering is helping people find videos specific to their questions. With more than 1,000 videos on the site, the answers to most of our questions are there.
Brad Longworth
I’m a 52 year old software developer by day and became a vegan 7.5 years ago after reading “The China Study.” About 6 years ago, a local vegetarian society was advertising a talk by Dr. Greger and of course I wanted to learn about the latest in nutrition research, so I went. This annual talk and Dr. Greger’s website turned out to be an invaluable resource, so I offered to help. I’m always ready when Katie or Tommasina come calling, but I also enjoy choral singing and have been in a choir since I was 8 years old.
Thea
I have been helping people in the comments sections of NutritionFacts.org from the very beginning of the site. My top goal is making the comments area a supportive place and full of high level civil discourse. If I had to describe it succinctly, I would say I am trying to build community. I also have a passion for animal training.
Robin Everson
As a food and wine journalist, my diet was not conducive to good health. I had Type 2 diabetes and a host of other health issues. After meeting Dr. Greger and adopting a whole foods, plant-based diet, I saw my health improve overnight. My blood glucose levels dropped 100 points within the first week, and I lost 15 pounds within the first three weeks. I am happy to be diabetes free. I enjoy being part of the NutritionFacts.org team and helping moderate the site’s social media. It is great interacting with so many people that want to know how to improve their health and the health of their loved ones. My biggest joy is when someone reports back that they have watched the videos and are now reaping the benefits of a healthy, plant-based diet.
Barb Leable
I’m happy to close caption videos for NutritionFacts.org for several reasons. One, selfishly, is that working on the captions helps me to focus personally on the benefits of a plant-based diet, so I tend to eat more fruits and veggies. On a broader scale, I think the lessons from Dr. Greger’s videos are critical so everyone in the world can gain the knowledge to optimize their health, which will help constrain out-of-control healthcare costs as Baby Boomers, like me, age.
Arlene Guccione
Volunteering for NutritionFacts.org keeps me on the leading edge of life! NutritionFacts.org exposes me to an immense source of nutrition studies brilliantly distilled into thought-provoking soundbites by Dr. Greger and his team. I am so thankful I can be a small utensil as a captioner as well as a coordinator of foreign translations. Assisting eager translators reminds me that I belong to an expanding global community of Earth-friendly individuals who love and respect all living beings.
Dianne Moore
Plant-based nutrition has saved my life. By 2004, I had unhealthily lost over 150 pounds, but knew if I didn’t completely change my diet, I would once again gain the weight. NutritionFacts.org has been a lifeline and a gold mine for me. Dr. Greger’s videos allowed me to eat smart, getting me off of four out of five of my prescriptions, and eliminating my high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, and migraines. Impressed by Dr. Greger and his giving spirit, I wanted to support NutritionFacts.org so it would remain a vital presence of sound research of plant-based nutrition for others. I’ve been volunteering for years, and currently help uploading the videos to the site. Additionally, I established a monthly gift to NutritionFacts.org so it might continue to educate and assist others.
Lydia Paterson
I am a media professional based in Brooklyn, NY. I got my start volunteering at Nutritionfacts.org while living in Washington, DC and working at National Geographic. I currently work at Shutterstock and am passionate about healthy eating. My volunteer role is to do YouTube editing for NutritionFacts.org, helping to upload the videos that inspired me to volunteer.
Rob Dvorak
About four years ago, a family illness had me re-examine my lifestyle and diet. After being pointed to NutritionFacts.org and watching many documentaries, I made the choice to follow a plant-based diet and never looked back! Besides helping out with NF, I enjoy playing tennis and volleyball, getting into Spartan racing, baking, trying new restaurants, and going to DC Vegfest!
Cooper Walter
I began volunteering with Dr. Greger in 2012 as a high school junior. My family and I are committed to a whole foods, plant based diet and are deeply grateful for what Dr. Greger does with NutritionFacts.org. I am now a premed student at Cornell University and someday hope to become an M.D. who helps prevent and heal disease with food and lifestyle modification. I edit some of Dr. Greger’s blogs and enjoy being part of a team of people who contribute to this important work.
Rami Najjar
I stumbled upon NutritionFacts.org in early 2011, and decided to volunteer later that year because I believed in NutritionFacts.org, as it was and is the only open source, science-based nutrition website with easy-to-understand nutrition videos using accurately interpreted studies, not opinions. This incredible volunteer experience sparked a fire within me for research. I am currently a Master’s student at Texas Woman’s University in Houston, studying nutrition and aiming for a PhD to be a nutrition researcher. My life passion outside of nutrition is rock climbing.
Lauren Hacker
A software engineer who has worked for Lockheed Martin and IBM, I love to find solutions to technical problems in ways that empower others. A native of the Big Apple, I have lived in the Big Peach with my husband, Mike, since the 1990’s. Together we started on a path of personal and environmental wellness that naturally led to a plant-based lifestyle, and to NutritionFacts.org. Helping my favorite non-profit find and implement technical solutions to improve operations has been a real joy for me!
Kari Zamora
I’m a software engineer with a passion for nutrition, animal rights, and languages. After moving to Seattle from Mexico, I started looking for volunteering opportunities and was fortunate to find one with NutritionFacts.org where I collaborate to solve technical problems and propose new ideas to improve our daily work. It’s been a very rewarding experience to volunteer for a kind, smart, and talented group of people.
Hadley Johnson
Working with NutritionFacts.org is the most rewarding way to show people how easy it can be to live life to the fullest in health. I am in graduate school completing my Masters in Wholistic Nutrition, Mindfulness, and Public Advocacy. In addition to whole plant foods, I enjoy practicing yoga, going to museums, sketching, reading, writing, spending time at the beach and most of all enjoying time with the people I care about.
Book Update
How Not to Die just slipped back onto the New York Times Bestseller list, nearly two months after publication! Here’s my favorite endorsement of the month, from the Father of lifestyle medicine himself:
“The primary determinant of our health and well-being is what we eat and how we live. In this extraordinary and empowering book, Dr. Michael Greger explains why. Highly recommended.”
-Dean Ornish, M.D. author, The Spectrum and Dr. Dean Ornish’s Program for Reversing Heart Disease
Thank you everyone for making my dream of helping so many come true.
In health,
Michael Greger, M.D.
PS: If you haven’t yet, you can subscribe to my free videos here and watch my live year-in-review presentations Uprooting the Leading Causes of Death, More Than an Apple a Day, From Table to Able, and Food as Medicine.
Source: Our Star Volunteers : Nutrition Facts
