Welcome to Ancer. We strive to have a lasting impact on the health of everyone we work with. We’d love to chat, so feel free to leave us a comment.
Hey there. My name is Spencer. Health has been a passion of mine even before I started high school. At a young age, I realized that 6 cans a day of cola was likely killing me slowly. In high school, I used food to help my mom manage her ulcerative colitis and to improve my performance in swimming and water polo. Seeing the vast affects that eating right can have on people peaked my interest. I headed off to Purdue University to study dietetics. About a year into my studies, I switched to an ancestral diet. Further research showed me that much of what my classmates and I were being taught was not scientifically sound.
After years of researching and focusing my efforts on a perfect diet, I was hit in the head with the realization that diet is not everything. Even with a squeaky clean diet, I had some lingering health issues. Enter: Functional Diagnostic Nutrition. Upon graduating in 2013, I decided against pursuing dietetics any further. This left me at a bit of a standstill. I was ready to get out and start helping people with all of the knowledge I had gained over the last several years. After exhaustive research, I chose the Functional Diagnostic Nutritionist Certification, which takes a holistic approach and directly addresses the root cause of illness through functional lab testing.
Previously, I had only opened up my practice to a few clients at a time, but I am slowly expanding to help more people take control of their health. I also speak at workshops around Chicago and assist with recipe development for Ancer.
Hola! My name is Ana, creator of the flavors, delicacies, and messes you see behind the recipes on Ancer. I bring to you recipes that have been in the making since the day I was born. Sounds odd, right? You see, I was born into a family of chefs. Both my mom and dad dedicated their lives to the food industry, raising my sister and I in a world of aromas, tastes and colors only kin to food. However, witnessing the madness that goes into running a restaurant and, more specifically, a kitchen, I promised myself to follow a career in anything but food. I enjoyed watching my parents cook, I enjoyed watching their passion sprout into beautiful dishes, but to me, that was their thing, their gift. Instead, I followed a career in the healthcare industry.
In 2009, a plot twist changed the course of how I envisioned my life. I was diagnosed with PCOS. Prone to diabetes, cancer, infertility and various other conditions, I immersed myself into any book I could find that would tell me how to fix myself because I wasn’t willing to live a life that I could hardly call living. After following a conventionally healthy diet with little to no results, Spencer introduced me to an ancestral diet/lifestyle. Since following his guidelines specific to my condition, I’ve been free of symptoms and off the medications that once debilitated me. While you may think that was my happy ending, it was actually my beautiful beginning. Having to reset my entire diet forced me to start cooking my own food. Being a new couple with new interests, Spencer and I began to tackle our fears of cooking. After many trials and errors and endless phone calls to my parents, I became increasingly comfortable in the kitchen, creating exotic and fun meals.
24 years later, I’m finally ready to pass down the torch. Lets revive the art of cooking one recipe at a time!