Why High Raw/Vegan?

From this...(yuk!)

You are what you eat.

I grew up eating everything. I was a candy junky when I was little, drank soda, consumed a lot of dairy and carbs and processed foods were part of my daily consumption. Don't get me wrong, my mom is a gourmet cook so we always ate well in our home. Savory meals always consisted of cream, butter or other rich components that always disagreed with me.  I still ate them though because they were too tasty not to eat.

As I reached my early 20's I discovered healthy eating. I acquired a taste for vegetarian cuisine and dabbled in eating better but never entirely. My thinking back then was if I consumed a green juice in the morning, it was ok to have fast food for lunch and a carb filled dinner. I knew I was eating all wrong but I loved food so much, I could never imagine fully committing myself. I couldn't live without my pizza, pasta and sugar filled cupcakes I craved each and everyday.  I was fully aware how bad sugar, dairy and gluten were for my health but for some reason I still kept reaching for all these foods.

Over the last 7 years, I grew a great interest in researching Crohn's and alternative therapies. I seem to have developed a deep fascination with reading up on health, food & spirituality. I've become a bit obsessed with looking at recipes online, love taking pictures of food, and I completely appreciate the colors, and small detailed patterns in fresh produce. With all the knowledge I learned over the years, I reached a point in my life where it was time to finally spring into action. Why so long? Well it takes a hell of a lot of willpower, dedication and desire to get to a point where you realize your health is number one. How eating a pizza is not worth a stomach ache, or feeling like crap for days after. It took me all my life to finally realize this....

and it started upon this day....

As I was suffering in bed with a painful flare, too weak to even get out of bed, I was reading a blog that my best friend Jen had sent me months before. I didn't pay much attention to it when it was first given to me because it was a girl who had Crohn's who ate high raw foods. The word raw scared the heck out of me. All my life my doctors warned me to stay away from raw foods, vegetables, fruits, nuts and fiber of any kind as if it were the plague. I invested so much trust into my doctors, so I followed their word. Little did I know, I was depriving my body from the most nutrient dense foods on earth. I only fed my body allergen filled "dead" foods, dangerous prescription medications, pain pills and did no physical activity for my body or heart.

That day in bed, I had something come over me. I had a huge row of fresh stitches in my leg from the Melanoma that was just removed, I was suffering severely from a blockage in my intestine, I was very down at the fact that I was supposed to be on the beaches of Cabo (a trip I had to cancel last minute) but instead I was home bed-ridden with a major flare and so disappointed in myself.  I knew at this point things had to change.

...to this. (yum!)

That is when I laid in bed and read almost every post on Lauren's Ginger is the New Pink blog. It gave me hope and gave me proof that there was more people like myself out there who gained control of their symptoms by changing what they ate and eliminating all things that could potentially make them sick. This was a wake up call for me. After that my decision and actions were very radical. I completely cleared my kitchen out and re-stocked it with strict raw and vegan items. Within a week I was eating 80% raw, mostly during the day and a cooked vegan meal at night.  I noticed results almost immediately. Each day I feel a little better and overall I have never felt this good. I cannot believe I had never attempted to eat entirely healthy like this any sooner. It was way too easy of a decision for me...but this was only easy to determine after I felt the results. In order to get results you have to fully commit.  It's worth a try and I highly recommend this diet to anyone who wants to regain and take control of their health!

If a doctor tells you that diet has nothing to do with your disease do not believe them. Diet can in fact improve & maintain our health. We are what we eat and you can allow food to be thy medicine! Food has such a powerful effect on our body's natural healing response. Eating the right foods can reduce inflammation in the body, along with the symptoms. Listen to your body and feed it what it needs in order to heal. Don't follow the strict protocol of Big Pharma and rely strictly on medication. Take matters into your own hands and feed your body only good things. Rather then allowing Crohn's to take control of you, attack it with healthy foods, a positive mind, exercise and show it who's boss.  Never give up. You DO have the ability to feel better!! Never let anyone tell you otherwise.