I was raised on the typical Standard American Diet, including processed convenience foods, meat, dairy, and junk foods. Like most parents, my parents meant well but didn't know any better.
As a child I developed an emotional attachment to (and love affair with) food and started the unfortunate habit of using food to comfort myself. As a result I grew up overweight. As many of you know being a “chubby kid” can be very miserable. I suffered tremendously because of it. I was also sick a lot. I had frequent throat and ear infections, colds and flus.
As a young adult my eating habits became even worse, being on my own and being on a budget meant that I ate nothing but cheap convenience and junk foods. I never ate any fresh fruits or vegetables. Everything was out of a box, bag, or can.
Even after I became a vegan for ethical reasons, I had a horrible diet. A lot of junk food is vegan! I ate lots of fried foods, processed starches and sugar and was addicted to Diet Coke. The only health benefit I noticed after going vegan was that I stopped getting throat and ear infections. I assumed that I was lactose intolerant; little did I know that dairy is not a food that is meant for humans at all!
After about ten years of this constant abuse, my body starting rebelling. In my late twenties I developed chronic fatigue syndrome. It was terrifying. I literally could not get out of bed. Walking across the room took every bit of energy I had. Other than running a low-grade fever, conventional medicine could not find anything wrong with me.
I was also severely depressed and suffered from panic attacks. I turned to alternative medicine and spent lots of money on chiropractic, naturopathic, acupuncture, and other “natural” therapies. At one point I was taking upwards of twenty different kinds of vitamins, herbs, and supplements per day. None of it seemed to help very much. The only positive thing to come out of all of this was that I decided to give up wheat and gluten products to see if that would help. It did seem to help somewhat. I recovered enough to start working again. I was sort of limping through life though, not really living. I didn't have much energy and I was often depressed and anxious.
After a few years of living like this my body gave me another wake up call: I developed fibromyalgia in addition to chronic fatigue, irritable bowel syndrome, hormonal imbalances, and chronic bladder infections. It seemed like my body was falling apart all at once. Once again I got on the conventional and alternative medical merry-go-round, although it wasn’t so merry. I had constant severe headaches and incredibly tight, painful muscles. I would just lie on my couch with a heating pad and cry. No amount of ibuprofen could touch the pain. I was miserable and could not imagine living life this way. Desperate for help I tried all different kinds of natural treatments, herbs, supplements, massage...nothing helped.
Luckily I decided to take my health into my own hands and started to research everything I could about the symptoms I was having. I happened to run across a website where someone had posted something about the importance of eating raw vegetables to improve intestinal flora balance, and since I had been diagnosed with dysbiosis, an imbalance of intestinal flora, which was supposedly causing my IBS, I decided to try it. I was desperate so I decided to eat nothing but raw vegetables for a few days.Surprisingly I started feeling better. Amazed, I decided to see if anyone ate raw vegetables exclusively and I typed in raw diet” in a search engine and came across the huge variety of raw websites online. I quickly learned that I needed to be eating fruits primarily in addition to some vegetables, nuts and seeds. I started right away. The pain from the fibromyalgia was almost entirely gone in about three days!! I couldn't believe it.
I had been suffering for months, trying everything under the sun and a simple diet change relieved my pain! I kept at it and I was completely pain free with two weeks. My IBS and depression and anxiety were all gone within the first month. I was ecstatic! I was getting my life back!
My energy took a little longer to come around, it slowly improved over a year or so. The fact that my depression and anxiety went away as well as the physical ailments I suffered from was a real surprise to me. I had once been so crippled by panic attacks that I could not drive on the freeway. Now I drive anywhere I want. It is amazing!
I had intended to stay around 75% raw but as time passed I realized that I didn't feel as well after I ate a cooked meal, even if it was a healthy vegan meal. I made the decision to go and stay 100% raw for the rest of my life . It wasn't always easy. Sometimes it was very difficult. I found that I had to work on my complicated emotional issues around food. I did a lot of work on the emotional and mental connections with food and things have improved drastically for me in that area.
I now realize that for many people the emotional and mental aspects of changing their diets is often the biggest challenge facing them. Food is such an emotionally charged issue in our lives that changing our relationship to it can be very difficult. It is my desire to help other people deal with the emotional, mental and social aspects of going and staying raw. There are tools and techniques that can help us re-establish a healthy relationship with food and having a good support system in place is crucial.
In summary, I can honestly say that I feel better now, physically, mentally, and emotionally, than I ever have! All due to the raw food diet! Some of the benefits I have experienced include:
Healing from the following conditions:
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Other positive improvements that I've noticed include having much more energy, a healthier looking skin tone, my eyes are clear and bright; my total weight loss has been 60 lbs. I'm so much more relaxed, positive and hopeful about the future. I feel much more spiritually connected. I have moments of absolute joy for no apparent reason. I now look forward to each day with a sense of optimism and wonder. It is truly wonderful to be alive. I believe that all of these benefits are possible for everyone, all we have to do is nourish our body the way that it was meant to be.
