| Bastyr University » Academic Degree Programs » Faculty | May 12, 2008 |
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Cynthia Lair's Book and Classes Provide Nourishment
She is also becoming increasingly popular beyond the Bastyr community due to her book, Feeding the Whole Family, published in 1998 and currently in its 3rd printing. It has sold over 10,000 copies and is doing better than Cynthia ever imagined. "I published it myself," she says, "so I was terrified I would be sitting with a garage full of books. I didn't know it would do this well." Not only did she not know she would author such a successful book; but for much of her life, she would have never guessed she would end up studying and teaching nutrition. "I was an actress in New York for 13 years doing TV commercials and theater and loved it," explains Cynthia, adding that she still acts occasionally. Cynthia was first drawn to study nutrition when her mother had cancer. She started researching alternative medicine techniques which she thought might help her mother. "I came across all this interesting alternative health information. It turned out that my mom was not so interested, so I learned for myself. I was a constant dieter in my early 20's. When I started reading about macrobiotic eating, I was fascinated! Now I could eat rice and beans - good food - instead of dieting." She graduated in 1987 from a three-year Health and Nutrition Program started by Gary Null in New York City, where she learned from renown nutrition educators who at that time were considered "out-there," says Cynthia. "We learned about free-radicals, organics and all kinds of things that no one was talking about then." After graduation, she was a nutrition counselor in a chiropractor's office; but to feed the actress in her, she decided to start speaking to groups. Her first teaching job was at Natural Gourmet Cookery School in New York in 1987. Coming to Seattle in 1989, she assumed a busy teaching schedule that included Puget Consumer's Co-op (PCC) and Evergreen Hospital. Coincidentally, Cynthia turned to Jeff Basom, Bastyr's chef, when she began writing her book. She wanted to include some of his recipes and ended up working a shift in the kitchen for three years, exposed to Jeff's talent. The book was something that she felt needed to be created. "It's a practical mom book, about training children to eat healthful food with the rest of the family instead of allowing them to demand separate meals." It includes tips on starting solids and packing lunchboxes. She has scaled down on teaching these days, focusing mostly on her class at Bastyr, managing all the details that accompany self-publishing her book and writing freelance articles. 
"That's what I was hoping to accomplish by being a teacher," she admits, "is to get other people trained to go out and educate. I want to help build a strong core of teachers and practitioners that can teach people of all ages about the benefits of enjoying whole foods."
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Cynthia Lair, an energetic, amiable woman who has taught Whole Foods Production at Bastyr University for six years, has been popular with both students and staff for her talent at providing hands-on experience creating delicious meals as well as delivering stimulating lectures about the health benefits of a whole foods diet.