Robert Crayhon, we will miss you
9/24/2010 10:22 AM
On September 4, 2010, the field of nutrition lost of its most loved leaders, Robert Crayhon.
Robert Crayhon, MS, CN, was a certified nutritionist and was one of my best teachers and mentors. We eventually became friends, and helped each other out on a few occasions.
In 1998, my friend and author Jennifer Workman of Stop Your Cravings fame, introduced me to Robert’s body of work. She told me that I must go to his seminars, and this was one of the best pieces of advice I ever got. So I went to one of Robert ‘s seminars in Los Angeles with my colleague Milos Sarcev, who went on to place in the Mr. Olympia top 10. In attendance was someone else who went on to become a dear friend, Jonny Bowden. Bowden has a Ph.D. in nutrition and has gone on to be one of the most popular writers on nutrition in the world, and his book Living Low Carb has over 100,000 copies in print.
Robert was truly a renaissance man. He was a superb lecturer, best-selling author, and was also an accomplished pianist. One of the great things about Robert was that he was incredibly funny: on and off the lecture podium – I heard he had even done stand-up comedy. I have had the pleasure to share a few meals with Robert, and his wit was unsurpassable.
One of the Robert’s greatest legacies was Boulderfest, which was an annual symposium he started in 1997 where about 300 nutrition professionals would gather to listen to the best of the best. Out of the 300 people in attendance, usually about 70 were nutrition authors. You could see Robert Rakowski take notes during a Mark Houston lecture, and vice versa. Mary Dan Eades and Michael R. Eades, the doctors responsible for the Protein Power program, would be sitting next to Jonny Bowden.
Many of the nutrition concepts I teach in the BioSignature come from Robert, and most of you who have gone through the BioSignature course will recognize them. Here are some the gems I learned from Robert:
1. If you take something away from the patient, you must immediately give him or her something back in return. Most nutritionists are full of “Don’ts!” but will not provide “Do’s!” in exchange.
2. The importance of high dosages of carnitine in combination to Omega 3s. How the utilization of Omega 3s is often limited by the carnitine based enzymes.
3. Zinc is your best nutrient to treat eating disorders.
4. How to use the zinc tally test to make a first impression with clients.
5. How taking care of your mitochondrias can give you loads of energy in your later life?
6. The importance of brain nutrition. Thanks to Robert, I was inspired to develop brain-booster supplements such as Focused Response and Yang R-ALA.
7. Eat according to your genes – eat like a caveman.
8. The only thing that all nutritionists will ever agree on is that you just can’t eat too many vegetables.
9. Look at all sides of theory before making up your own mind. Whether you were a vegan or a staunch carnivore, he gave you a platform to express your views.
10. The need for biological dentistry.
Robert was a great facilitator. He wanted people to do well, and had a superb knack for making connections between minds. Thanks to Robert, I now have many amazing friends such as Jonny Bowden, Mark Houston, and Mark Schauss who I can trust for the best advice possible.
I would like to send out a special thank you to Esther Horn for keeping me abreast of the Robert’s struggle with colon cancer in his last few days. And I would also like to thank Linda and Jonathan Lizotte for taking Robert into your home and giving him the best of cares until his final day.
And most of all thank you, Robert. We will miss you all.
Copyright ©2010 Charles Poliquin
8 comment(s) so far...
Re: Robert Crayhon
Thanks for honoring Robert. His generosity in sharing and his willingness and desire to help people was exceptional. He told me to master Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease and a good endocrinology textbook in order to develop the best base of nutritional and functional medicine knowledge.
By Zach Snyder on
9/24/2010 12:02 PM
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Re: Robert, we will miss you
Charles,
I am going to cry! Then, I'm going to post it on my FB page. Quite simply, you did Robert justice here. (And I'm loving the guy love you have for Jonny)
xo esther
By Esther Blum on
9/24/2010 2:37 PM
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Re: Robert, we will miss you
I only became aware of Robert's work a couple years back - and I too can only express appreciation for all he gave and acknowledge the loss of a great man.
This was a good piece to write.
By Mike Demeter on
9/24/2010 2:40 PM
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Re: Robert, we will miss you
Simple words that have a very profound meaning for a very profound man. Thanks coach
By Patrick Gagnon on
9/24/2010 5:09 PM
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Re: Robert, we will miss you
The world lost a beautiful mind.
By Carlos Castro on
9/24/2010 7:37 PM
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Re: Robert, we will miss you
Rest in peace and heavens.
By Akbar on
9/27/2010 12:41 AM
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Re: Robert, we will miss you
Thank you, Charles A lovely tribute. Robert made a huge difference in so many lives. I miss him.
By Kaayla Daniel on
10/9/2010 9:54 AM
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Re: Robert, we will miss you
I had never heard of him until now, but I was familiar with his concepts through reading your work. Charles, I think you did a great job and I think he be very pleased to hear the kind words you spoke of him.
By Ryan Hattaway on
1/3/2011 7:08 PM
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