She likes it raw

My friend Emily is 32 and has been struggling with fibromyalgia, a chronic pain condition, for more than seven years. Think about that - chronic pain. Pain that does not give up, does not relent, that prevents you from enjoying a nice, juicy hug from a friend or from being able to pick up even a tiny baby...because it hurts too much.

Well, I am overjoyed that she has found a seeming cure for her disease and it's not drugs or some crazy therapy but...food. In September of 2007, Emily was introduced to the concept of raw foods by a fellow sufferer and as of a month ago, she had dropped from up to 30 pills and meds/day to just two! Her pain is virtually gone. Sure, her kitchen looks like the Whole Foods bulk area, with stacked containers of raw nuts and bottles of agave juice piled high. She does not eat anything that's been cooked (ie meat, cooked veggies, the kind of pasta many of us indulge in). And this is a huge, difficult change for someone who didn't really even like fruits and veggies before. But she is moving and working and loving life in a whole new way. She makes homemade cashew ice cream and chocolate sauce and can enjoy it while watching America's Next Top Model without aching from her day's work. And she looks beautiful, vibrant and alive.

I know some of you have tried the raw foods diet and wanted to share with you a post she wrote for the web community We Like It Raw. (What, you thought I just conjured up that eye-grabbing header above out of thin air?! You give me too much credit.) Many of you may recall my not-too-fun experience with my first trip to the raw foods restaurant. But one woman's nausea is, apparently, another woman's panacea. This is not an out-and-out endorsement of raw foodism, so much as it is proof of the incrdible effect one's diet can have on their life. I am so happy for Emily...I know her words will help others in pain like she was. Here are her words:

"Last summer was the absolute low point in my life. I had just separated from my husband, the only man I have ever loved, after telling him that I could not be a mother because of my fibromyalgia. For those of you who haven’t heard of fibromyalgia, it is a chronic pain disease which causes constant pain pretty much over one’s entire body. Experts estimate that it affects 3-6% of the US population, as many as 90% of who are women. My experience with fibromyalgia, or fibro, started on May 13, 2001. It was exactly one week after I graduated from Northwestern Law School when I flipped my head back to get some hair out of my face, like I had done a thousand times before. Suddenly I felt a shooting pain go down my neck. Over the next few months the pain dispersed throughout my body and voila, I had fibro."

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"The next six years were a whirlwind of doctors appointments (I saw at least 30 different ones, including a few at the Mayo Clinic), prescription drugs (I took anywhere from 20-25 pills a day for fibro, ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, allergies, depression, TMJ, etc.), and alternative treatments- none of which helped. In fact, over the years I consistently got worse. I lost jobs because I couldn’t work the long hours or deal with the stress, I lost friends because I often canceled plans due to my pain, and slowly I lost pretty much every ounce of my self-esteem and confidence. I finally had to tell my now ex-husband that if I couldn’t lift our 12-pound dog for more than a few minutes without having my entire body burning in pain, I couldn’t be the kind of mother I would want to be or the kind a child would deserve to have.

So here I was, living alone, only able to work part-time at a legal aid office, and having no idea how I was going to support myself. In a fleeting moment of initiative and in an effort to meet new people, I started a support group for people with fibro. At the second meeting, a woman told us how she had basically cured herself with raw and living foods within a week. Now I was very much a slave to the Standard American Diet (SAD- and we know it’s called that for a reason!) and always HATED fruits and vegetables, so the idea was not the most appealing to me, to say the least. However, I was desperate and decided to make one last effort to eradicate this ugliness that had taken over my body. I thought, “Hell, I can try anything for a week!” And the rest, as they say, is history. On Day 5 of eating 100% raw and two hours after my first-ever colonic, I felt better than I had since before I got sick and was hooked.

I hear raw foodists say it all the time, but it was like a veil had been lifted from my eyes and I was finally able to see the world, and myself in it, clearly. For example, I finally allowed myself to admit that I had never really wanted to have children (and yes ladies, it’s OK to say that!) or be a “successful” corporate lawyer. I followed that path thinking it was the only one because it was what I had seen growing up. Also, I realized that I developed various illnesses at transitional times in my life, like getting ulcerative colitis before my last semester at college or contracting fibro right after law school when there was nothing left to stop my ex and I from getting married and starting a family. It dawned on me that all of this was my body was trying to tell me that I was going down the wrong path, not following my instincts, not doing what I really wanted to do in life.

That’s not to say that it has been easy. I had decades of destructive eating habits to overcome and even today still have occasional cravings for foods that I know hurt me. But I am so much more aware of what I do when I do it and am therefore in a position to make better choices and accept the consequences of my not-so-great choices. I am by no means perfect but now I no longer want to be. A lifelong Type-A personality, as many fibro people are, I recognize that the pressure I put on myself is as damaging as the cooked food I put in my mouth.

In fact, a study published in the March issue of the medical journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity shows that college women who felt they were not living up to their expectations (described in the study as "high self-discrepant") reported more cold and flu symptoms than women who felt they were meeting their goals. When these high self-discrepant women were given journals in which to vent their frustrations, they reported fewer symptoms and responded better to the flu vaccine. According to one of the researchers, "When people thought they were failing, the natural killer cells ("NKC") became less effective. But when they thought they were making progress- it's not that they attained the goal, it's just making progress- the NKC's showed an [improvement]."

When I read about this study in a newspaper clipping my mom sent me (yes, Mom, I do read them no matter how many you bombard me with!), it tied so much together for me. We women, those with fibro and without, tend to put so much pressure on ourselves to be perfect- whether it's being the perfect mother, wife, daughter, employee, dieter...that we often make ourselves depressed or sick. After switching to raw and living foods, my mind cleared enough that I was able to recognize those self-defeating voices in my head and finally choose not to listen to them!

Now I make decisions in my life depending on what I want, not what someone tells me to want. I have let go of attachments and desires for the latest car or coolest handbag and am so much happier because of it. And I finally found the courage to follow my professional dream of educating as many people as possible about the amazing power of raw food through private coaching and public speaking. This is my passion because people ask me what my first reaction was when I started feeling better, expecting me to say "thrilled" or "ecstatic," but truly my reaction was shear anger. Angry that no one had told me that I could heal myself simply by eating fruits and vegetables. Angry that millions of people struggle daily with diseases like fibromyalgia, obesity, depression, cancer, etc. and are told that it's all a part of life and aging when it not!

So now I move on with my body growing stronger every day, my mind clearer than it’s ever been, and my heart ready for whatever life may bring my way. If you or someone you know is struggling with a chronic illness or is just thinking they want to feel better than they do, please contact me at eshaules@yahoo.com, (I'm currently not taking on coaching clients, but I will be in the near future). I would love to help you in your journey!"

Comments

Very inspiring story.

I'm in an organic co-op and the organizer is a raw vegan and she looks great. Skin is vibrant, perfect body, happy with life. It's strange how a good diet can affect your whole life.

I am glad that she is feeling better. I can't imagine the change it must be for her.

What a journey! That's wonderful that it worked so well for her. That raw foods stuff is very interesting.

Congrats to her! It's so wonderful that she's found a way to manage her disease and take control of her life. Even better that she's now sharing her knowledge with others.

Fascinating. I have a good friend with fibro as well, although not as debilitating as Emily's. I will pass this on to her.

In the 20/20 interview I did on Orthorexia, they asked me extensively about raw food-ism. I had to admit it was the one diet I've never tried (although as a low-carb vegan -egads - I did eat mostly raw). I'm very curious now... A lot of celebrities sure swear by it;)

I am so glad Emily found what works for her. It is not easy to make that change. I have a co-worker that suffers greatly from this disease and I will be sure to share this story with her.
I don't have Fibro, but I do have my own "stuff", it always seems to come back to how we treat our body-nutrition, activity... the diet supplement information bureau breaks it down into exactly what we need to handle each problem our bodies face.
I know my first reaction to a problem is to fix it fast, but sometimes it is better just to reprogram ourselves to make the the best diet choices and see where our bodies can take us.

thanks for the link.

I have a couple of people in my life who will *so* benefit from this.

M.

Wow, that's incredible!

Is there any theory or research as to why this would work? I wonder what it is about cooked food that aggravates the fibro? I'm SO glad it worked for her.

What a timely post because this topic has been on my mind. Lately, I've been eating at this Raw Vegan cafe and I have to tell you that the food there is so amazing that you don't even realize that you're eating raw or vegan. They makes this "salmon" that I sware tastes and has the texture of salmon salad.

I'm very lucky to live in the SF Bay Area, as there are soooo many creative food people here & large communities of raw,vegan,& veg. From a marketing perspective, I think the general public gets turned off or confused about raw/vegan/veg because they have pictures set in their mind about no taste, boring, and "weird." I ventured into it because of health reasons too. I'm an omnivore but am moving more too eating more "alive" foods. It's amazing how change in diet can greatly improve health.

I'm glad your friend has found something that works for her, however I'm inclined to think that her miraculous cure has much more to do with the mind-body connection than with her diet. Very interesting stuff.

Em is great!