Dan’s Story

Being a sports enthusiast and someone who always was conscious of diet; how ironic it was that I found myself stricken with an ailment that was caused by my diet. I was a body builder, living on the same eight foods every day of my life and taking gobs of supplements. I was trying to outsmart Mother Nature, but it didn’t work. They say that body builders look great on the outside but terrible on the inside – I can attest that this statement is true.

Over time my digestive system became weakened and I no longer absorbed most of the nutrients I was consuming. Candida was the result coupled with Epstein Barr and other maladies. My life became very unbearable. It was if each day my head were in a vice, pounding from lack of sleep, though I slept often.

After 2 years of just surviving and hoping time would heal me, I sought help. I went to my family doctor who chased me to a specialist and he to another and another. After being passed around like a red headed step child yielding no answers, I decided to get back to my core beliefs. I picked up a book called Healing with Whole Foods, by Paul Pitchford. The book is based on Oriental traditions related to modern nutrition. I read it cover to cover – twice. I called the author and began corresponding with him. He was genuinely concerned and he gave me hope. For the first time in a couple years I believed I could heal myself!

So I began researching the digestive system and consuming every book I could find related to Whole Foods Nutrition and Sports Nutrition. A new world was opened to me. The power for curing my diseases was within me and all around me. I had total control and only I could heal myself. I found the power to heal and it was found in Nature’s Pharmacy; Whole- Foods.

What I learned and reinforced my core belief was that Whole-Foods was indeed nature’s pharmacy and within the fruits, veggies, grains and legumes were countless phyto-nutrients that science estimates may exceed 100,000 different kinds. These phytonutrients were what I was denying myself of whilst body building.

I became vigilant about what foods that were causing my diseases and what foods I needed to enable healing. I committed to myself and my family that I would beat this at any cost. This meant having to deny all of the “good” things in life and restrict my diet to just “healing” foods. This process took more than a year; after all, for the human body to completely regenerate new “healthy” cells, it takes 9-12 months.

Today, 13 years later, I am 100% healed. I have never had a reoccurrence of any of my so called incurable diseases and I love my life. I enjoy the ubiquitous cornucopia of whole-foods that Mother Nature has given to us. I have seen a diet of whole-food products cure Candida, Ulcerative Colitis, Cancer, Diabetes and many other diseases. I have also seen whole-food products help people achieve new levels of performance and break plateaus that here before, were unachievable.

When I started Performance Food Centers 12 years ago, it was with one goal in mind. “To bring whole-food products to people who care about their bodies while simplifying the complex world of nutrition.” This became my credo. I wanted to share my success with the world and truly help people find the answers they were searching for; answers that the conventional medical community did not embrace or believe in. Since then, PFC has helped thousands of people achieve their goals whether it be in a health club trying to lose a 100 pounds or trying to reverse Type 2 Diabetes. We believe in the power of whole-food and we believe in the power of you.

Over the past decade, I have worked directly with many product manufacturers changing their recipes and ingredients. I believed and still do, that people who care about their bodies will invest in themselves and only put real foods in their bodies. Many manufacturers were hesitant to change and remove the Hydrogenated Oils, Synthetic Sweeteners or Artificial Ingredients, but I convinced them that there was a market for these products; my customers – people who worked out would pay more for better products.

Years later, my theories have been proven right. People do care, society is getting the message. Today, the FDA is announcing the hazards of Trans Fats and Aspartame, but I was doing it 12 years ago. PFC is ahead of the curve and with about 1,000 health clubs, universities, wellness centers and high schools calling us their partners, we have the strength in numbers to imbibe change.

Most recently, we launched Dan’s Essentials, a Whole Food Pantry online store. My goal in creating this site was to provide a simple way for people to access the foods that they need to help them achieve their own personal goals; whether running a 5k or a triathlon, losing 10 lbs or 100 lbs or reversing disease like Diabetes, Candida or Cancer, just to name a few.

Whether you are a business owner looking to serve nutrient dense, 100% Natural products at your Juice Bar or Cafe, a customer of one on our 1300 plus locations, or you are simply looking for healthy pantry essentials to stock your pantry right, we make this promise to you:

To continue to create and find new products that are minimally processed and free from all the things that my generation grew up on. To truly simplify your lives, we will strive to educate you on the principals of whole-food Nutrition and instruct you how to best include the foods we offer to help you achieve whatever your goal is.

Enjoy the good things in life, enjoy the bounty of whole-food products and enjoy the pantry I have created for you.

Eat Well!