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meet HAL DECKER "VitaVangelist" DOCTOR GREENS
PORTSMOUTH HERALD nutrition HAL DECKER founder DOCTOR GREENS
http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080308/L...
By Dan Lorenz
dlorenz@seacoastonline.com
March 08, 2008 6:00 AM
For Portsmouth resident Hal Decker, nutrition means far more than keeping a health body and maintaining a proper diet.
When Decker's son was a year old, doctors discovered every new parent's worst nightmare: his child had cancer.
Although physicians were able to successfully treat and eliminate the tumor, Decker's son continued to have a series of severe infections.
"They weren't able to keep him healthy," Decker said. "He was sick almost constantly."
Decker began intensive research on the immune system, eventually leading him to methods used by European doctors, who he found were much more friendly toward using alternative medicine than doctors in the United States.
After working with doctors and using his research findings, his son's infections dropped dramatically. Twenty years later, he is a healthy college student and the starting center of his basketball team.
Since then, Decker has dedicated his life to promoting the use of nutritional vitamins and maintaining a healthy lifestyle for a person's overall well-being.
Decker owns and operates Doctor Greens on 371 A Islington St. in Portsmouth, where he creates energizing shakes, multi-vitamins, supplements and a wide variety of other health products.
His research into finding the most beneficial ingredients for his products have taken him to places as far as Thailand and China, where he was able to meet with local growers and discuss their diets.
Decker finds that compared with the standard American diet, or "SAD," inhabitants of other countries are often far healthier.
"You find healthier eating habits in places with more countryside, where they consume more green tea and seafood," Decker said.
The nutrition expert sees processed foods, which are chock-full of saturated fats and preservatives, as one of the primary nutritional problems facing the United States today.
"Restaurants are way behind the curve for offering healthy options," Decker said. "I do congratulate Congress for cutting trans fats out."
Decker recommends avoiding fried foods, such as french fries, at all costs.
The health expert sees another alarming trend among Americans, which is worsening as time goes on.
"Sixty years ago, Americans consumed 50 pounds of sugar per person," Decker said. "Today, the average is one hundred fifty pounds. People weren't meant to handle that much sugar. It serves to lower your immune system, and it's no wonder people get sick so often."
According to Decker, one particularly alarming trend is the increased consumption of energy drinks.
"People drinking them are setting themselves up for osteoporosis," Decker said. "They are very acidic. It just takes the calcium from their bones."
Although the state of healthy eating behaviors in America is worsening, Decker does see a positive upward trend in one area.
"The organic food market is growing by 8 to 12 percent a year," Decker said.
Before moving to Portsmouth, Decker lived in Indiana, where he taught school, renovated older houses, and participated in volunteer programs such as Big Brothers.
"I am glad we made the move to Portsmouth," Decker said. "We're really enjoying the area."
Decker advises that if a person is looking to lose weight, he or she is better off eating right, rather than adhering to a fad diet.
"If you eat right, you can eat as much as you want," Decker said. "For example, I used to eat ice cream at night. Now I find if I just put berries in yogurt, it tastes just as good and is much better for you."
Decker has recently written a book on nutrition, and also plans on starting a call-in radio program with WSCA-FM in Portsmouth, where people can ask questions and voice their concerns about health.
The nutrition expert has also lectured around the country, speaking in front of diverse audiences on an array of topics, from healthier eating to maintaining long-term health using natural products.
Decker says that one of his main goals in his lectures is to pass on health information to parents.
"Kids will naturally follow what their parents do as far as eating habits," Decker said. "If parents took more responsibility for their own nutrition, they could pass on healthy habits."
Tags: vitamins, nutrition, immune, cancer, system, energy, expert
http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080308/L...
By Dan Lorenz
dlorenz@seacoastonline.com
March 08, 2008 6:00 AM
For Portsmouth resident Hal Decker, nutrition means far more than keeping a health body and maintaining a proper diet.
When Decker's son was a year old, doctors discovered every new parent's worst nightmare: his child had cancer.
Although physicians were able to successfully treat and eliminate the tumor, Decker's son continued to have a series of severe infections.
"They weren't able to keep him healthy," Decker said. "He was sick almost constantly."
Decker began intensive research on the immune system, eventually leading him to methods used by European doctors, who he found were much more friendly toward using alternative medicine than doctors in the United States.
After working with doctors and using his research findings, his son's infections dropped dramatically. Twenty years later, he is a healthy college student and the starting center of his basketball team.
Since then, Decker has dedicated his life to promoting the use of nutritional vitamins and maintaining a healthy lifestyle for a person's overall well-being.
Decker owns and operates Doctor Greens on 371 A Islington St. in Portsmouth, where he creates energizing shakes, multi-vitamins, supplements and a wide variety of other health products.
His research into finding the most beneficial ingredients for his products have taken him to places as far as Thailand and China, where he was able to meet with local growers and discuss their diets.
Decker finds that compared with the standard American diet, or "SAD," inhabitants of other countries are often far healthier.
"You find healthier eating habits in places with more countryside, where they consume more green tea and seafood," Decker said.
The nutrition expert sees processed foods, which are chock-full of saturated fats and preservatives, as one of the primary nutritional problems facing the United States today.
"Restaurants are way behind the curve for offering healthy options," Decker said. "I do congratulate Congress for cutting trans fats out."
Decker recommends avoiding fried foods, such as french fries, at all costs.
The health expert sees another alarming trend among Americans, which is worsening as time goes on.
"Sixty years ago, Americans consumed 50 pounds of sugar per person," Decker said. "Today, the average is one hundred fifty pounds. People weren't meant to handle that much sugar. It serves to lower your immune system, and it's no wonder people get sick so often."
According to Decker, one particularly alarming trend is the increased consumption of energy drinks.
"People drinking them are setting themselves up for osteoporosis," Decker said. "They are very acidic. It just takes the calcium from their bones."
Although the state of healthy eating behaviors in America is worsening, Decker does see a positive upward trend in one area.
"The organic food market is growing by 8 to 12 percent a year," Decker said.
Before moving to Portsmouth, Decker lived in Indiana, where he taught school, renovated older houses, and participated in volunteer programs such as Big Brothers.
"I am glad we made the move to Portsmouth," Decker said. "We're really enjoying the area."
Decker advises that if a person is looking to lose weight, he or she is better off eating right, rather than adhering to a fad diet.
"If you eat right, you can eat as much as you want," Decker said. "For example, I used to eat ice cream at night. Now I find if I just put berries in yogurt, it tastes just as good and is much better for you."
Decker has recently written a book on nutrition, and also plans on starting a call-in radio program with WSCA-FM in Portsmouth, where people can ask questions and voice their concerns about health.
The nutrition expert has also lectured around the country, speaking in front of diverse audiences on an array of topics, from healthier eating to maintaining long-term health using natural products.
Decker says that one of his main goals in his lectures is to pass on health information to parents.
"Kids will naturally follow what their parents do as far as eating habits," Decker said. "If parents took more responsibility for their own nutrition, they could pass on healthy habits."
Tags: vitamins, nutrition, immune, cancer, system, energy, expert
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