David W. Grotto, RD, LDN

Dave Grotto’s first interest in nutrition started more than 25 years ago when he worked in the natural foods industry, having owned and operated his own natural food store. He decided to become a registered dietitian and attended the University of Illinois at Chicago and graduated with honors with a degree in medical dietetics and nutrition.

After school, he worked in various clinical and food service settings and even tried his hand as a broadcaster, where he hosted his own radio show on health and nutrition for over 10 years and hosted a local health-focused television show for two years.

Enjoying working in a media setting, Grotto proudly served as a national spokesman for the American Dietetic Association for more than six years. He is also a spokesman/speaker for the California Strawberry Commission and Pharmavite.

He is now the founder and president of Nutrition Housecall, a nutrition consulting firm that provides nutrition communications, lecturing, and consulting services, and also offers personalized at-home dietary services. Grotto is a frequent guest at Kenmore Live Studio in Chicago where he provides mouth-watering (“edu-tainment”) cooking demos.

Inspired to help his patients without depriving them of their favorite foods, Grotto wrote the acclaimed book 101 Foods That Could Save Your Life, which has been published in 18 languages. 101 Optimal Life Foods, with a foreword written by Montel Williams, debuted in January of 2010 and is offered in three languages. Grotto also is a freelance writer and serves an advisor to Fitness magazine and Sear’s FitStudio, and Hooray Puree.

One of Grotto’s passions is improving the health of children through good nutrition. He is the advisory board chair for Produce for Kids. Grotto lectures extensively on the health benefits of humor and laughter and is a Certified Laughter Leader. He also attended The Second City in Chicago, receiving further training in improvisation.

Grotto lives in Elmhurst, Ill., with his wife, Sharon; three daughters, Chloe, Katie, and Madison; two female dogs, Abbey and Gracie; and two female cats, Bella and Lilly.