My name is Chris Kresser. I'm a Licensed Acupuncturist and Integrative Medical counselor with degrees from the College at Berkeley. I'm also the author of The Healthy Skeptic blog.
In my 20's I suffered from an unknown chronic illness. After many years, more than twenty doctors and thousands of dollars, it was still undiagnosed, and I was still suffering. I decided that if anyone was going to get me feeling better, it would have to be me.
My natural thirst for knowledge, and my desperation to feel well again, drove me to the study Integrative medicine. Whereas Western medicine uses powerful drugs, chemicals or invasive surgery to reach its ends, acupuncture and Chinese medicine stimulate the body’s natural healing mechanisms.
My studies and research led to the realization that many of the things we hold to be true about modern health and nutrition are nothing more than myths. I realized that even the most highly respected medical journals look a lot like sales material for pharmaceutical companies. I discovered conflicts of interest between drug companies, doctors, and researchers everywhere I looked. In fact, did you know that errors in medical care are the 3rd leading cause of death in this country each year?
When my wife and I decided to start a family, we were having a hard time getting pregnant. So, we turned to nutrition and natural solutions to try to overcome this challenge. Most doctors would have told us to not even try given our age and circumstances, or at the very least to skip right to IVF or other assisted reproductive technologies.
But, we really wanted to get pregnant naturally - without drugs or IVF -if at all possible. I jumped back into research mode and poured through the scientific literature with passion and fervor. I read countless peer-reviewed studies. I absorbed many, many 3-inch thick textbooks on every part of reproductive health from every angle. I interviewed experts in the field. And, of course, I relied on my own background and experience as a medical researcher and writer for over 10 years.
Then, finally, in October of 2010, Elanne and I conceived! We were elated. All of the research I had done leading up to that point gave us answers, direction, and confidence not only in becoming pregnant, but all throughout Elanne’s pregnancy.
In 2008, I launched The Healthy Skeptic blog to help others cut through common myths and misdirections peddled by the medical establishment and mainstream media. Now, in 2011, I'm creating a course on natural fertility, healthy pregnancy and baby nutrition. It is my sincere hope that this information will lead to greater health and well-being for you and those you love, and the pregnancy you hope for.
Infertility treatments can be costly, invasive, and often disregard the most fundamental aspect of conception - a healthy diet, and healthy womb. It can be confusing and overwhelming. Creating clarity around natural infertility treatments is a natural fit for my practice and philosophy because it relies not only on modern science but on ancient wisdom and the wisdom of your body's own blueprint. I am able to bring my signature investigative approach to clearing up and demystifying the principles anyone can learn and apply as an alternative to mainstream infertility treatments.