How this became my passion

This is for you, Jennifer :)
I have a kooky grandma. She's pretty hilarious actually, like a character of the Golden Girls or something. She chatters a hundred miles a minute and is very opinionated. One special memory I have of going to her house, is stealing as many of her chewable vitamin C's as I could get me hands on. They were sour and I still love sour stuff! I would eat those things till my tongue started bleeding! When she caught me, she would tell me how expensive they were and that I was only allowed to have one.
Grandma had a lot more than Vit C. I remember her cabinet being stocked with different herbs and concoctions she got from who she called "The Herb Lady". I always found it interesting, but didn't really look into it until later.
In high school and the beginning of college I was really into what I though was health food. I watched my fat and drank diet soda. It's so funny to think about because I'm the total opposite now. I love fat and avoid "diet drinks" like the plague:) I changed my major in college from sociology to kinesiology, but I found I wasn't nearly as interested in the fitness side of health as the nutrition. About that time I got tired of waiting tables and asked the Lord to guide me to a new job. I was driving past Suzanne's Natural Foods and the Lord said, "There it is, go in." I went in and applied with not an ounce of knowledge for vitamins and herbs. Suzanne hired me on the spot.
I became a sponge over the next two years. I loved everything about the health food industry! I gave up diet coke and started adding healthy fats into my diet. About a year into working there I said, "Lord, I want to do this for a living...not work as a health food store, but help people change there lives!" He said, "Grab that magazine off the shelf and look at the back page." There it was..Clayton College of Natural Health. I started my correspondence work the next month, and I'm still working on it! I finished my BA the year I got married, and I've been slowly, but surely trying to finish my Doctor of Naturopathy degree.
It's been hard to stay plugged in since I've had kids. Working in the industry kept me up to date on all the latest and greatest products and nutritional stuff. So in that respect, I really miss working at a Health Food store. I go through my phases of reading books and researching, but then I get exhausted from a week of chasing toddlers and slack off.
There are a few websites out there that are great. My favorite by far is Dr. Mercola on mercola.com. Some people say he's a quack, but he'll put out an article backed with research on something I've believed for years, but I didn't have the research behind. For example...the sun is good for you! Vit D is one of the most important things you could give your body! I don't buy his products because I know how to get similar things for cheaper, but I think he makes great stuff. Sign up for his newsletter and you'll get blown away!
A great book to invest in is Prescription for Nutritional Healing. It's like my health bible. You can look up just about any ailment and it will tell you what to take. Although I can tell the authors are vegetarian by how it's written, I agree with pretty much all their "prescriptions". They have it on amazon for less than $12! And it's a BIG BOOK!
Overall, my recommendations for people are a hodge-podge of mercola, things I've read, and insight the Lord's given me over these last 8 years or so. There is so much more I'd like to learn about like sound and light therapies, iridology, and muscle testing, but I need to finish what I've started first :) I still love all your questions and comments. It keeps this stay-at-home momma on her toes!
Hope this gives you a better idea of where I come from. Bless you all!