My decision to become a rawfoodist was not an easy one. I've been a meat eater the majority of my life. I often recall hearing my grandma saying, "You're a meat eater, eat some vegetables". As a child I hated veggies. I also didn't particularly care for the meat at the table either but hot dogs & bologna was where it was at for me.
During my adolescent years my grandparents and my dad were diagnosed with a myriad of diseases including but not limited to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high triglycerides, diabetes and last but not least heart disease. My mother passed away prematurely, they say from natural causes. I personally don't think it's natural at all to die at the age of 54 for no apparent real reason. Putting 2 & 2 together I came to the conclusion that the reason my grandparents and my parents were so unhealthy was because of our diets. I knew from the age of 16 that I needed to do something different if I wanted to remain healthy. I first heard about being a vegetarian from Dr. Paul Goss, creator of New Body Products in Compton CA. I began to attend his herbal, nutrition and Iridology classes on a regularly basis thus my journey on the path to being healthy began.
I remember going on my first diet with my "Big Momma" at the age of 5. Oh yes, you read it right. I started my first diet at 5yrs old. I remember eating boiled eggs, cottage cheese and grapefruits. At birth I weighed 4lbs 5oz, from what I've been told by my father when they brought me home from the hospital he instructed my mother to fatten me up, I was too small and I looked funny. That's when my battle of the bulge began. Needless to say, I've been on and off diets ever since. When I was 12 years old my doctor informed me that I was obese, weighing in at a whopping 203lbs. I didn't know what obese meant at the time and I didn't like the way it sounded.
I thought by becoming a vegetarian I would slim down and become healthy. Boy was I wrong! My eating regime consisted of pasta, breads, rice & beans, dairy, processed vegetarian transition meats, textured vegetable protein and everything sweetened with refined sugar. My weight continued to climb and all the while, I thought I was being healthy by being a "vegetarian". That lasted on and off a few years.
My disenchantment with western medicine began when I was a senior in high school. I became inflicted with some sort of skin disorder. After seeking medical attention from one doctor and then being referred to another and another and another and another still not knowing what the heck I was dealing with having been treated with all types of toxic prescriptions, ultra violet rays and eventually radiation. I still to this day don't know what I had. I saw 5 so called specialist and neither of them could agree on my condition. Needless to say, I was removed from attending school for almost 3 months. I began to understand why the term "medical practice" was used. They were "practicing" medicine on me. I quickly realized that doctors weren't so smart after all and instinctively I knew there had to be a better way.
Roughly six years ago, I began to experience strange episodes in my body. My heart would begin to race, my breathing was disturbed and I would start to sweat. It felt almost like I would pass out if I didn't sit down or like I was shorting out, similar to a light bulb when it's on the blink. I went to see my PCP and I told him my symptoms. He immediately took out his pad and wrote me a prescription for an anti-depressant. I became enraged because I knew I wasn't dealing with depression even though I was deeply saddened by the events of 911 like every other American. My symptoms were more than simply being depressed. I began to ask him how he could just write a prescription without checking me for anything. He hadn't run any labs at all. I became irate and began to have an "episode" right there in his office. This one was really bad because I actually fainted. I awakened with him shining his little flash light in my pupil. He immediately ordered labs for blood tests and he requested to have the results ASAP. Within a very short period of time the results were back and he tried to admit me into the hospital immediately, telling me my red blood cells were not close to where they should be on the charts and that I needed a blood transfusion immediately. I on the other hand didn't trust anything he said and told him that I would be willing to try increasing my iron intake over the next few weeks but having a blood transfusion today was out of the question. I grabbed my purse and marched right out with him in the background trying to convince me to stay, telling me just how serious my condition was and how I could just drop dead at any moment without the transfusion. My reply to him, with my flip attitude and a few choice words, were that if I had been an idiot I would have taken the prescription for anti-depression and still died so I will just take my chances from this moment on and I continued on out the door. When I got home I began my research on anemia and ways I could increase my iron levels. I had been taking prescription iron for many years already and couldn't understand why my levels were so low. I happened upon an article speaking about how the particular type of iron I was taking needed vitamin C in order for the body to absorb it. I increased my iron from 2 a day to 4 a day with the vitamin C and it worked! I didn't drop dead and today I am no longer anemic.
On to my choice to be raw, yet again I started having symptoms in my body and out of habit I went to the doctor and he wrote a prescription without running any tests and I decided for once and for all I would use food as my medicine and let my body heal itself. Common sense tells me that my body was wonderfully made. When things are out of wacky it fights hard to get everything in order and I knew given the right nutrients my body will heal naturally.
I began to record my journey on youtube and I began with the Master Cleanse. Then I discovered Bunny Berry doing her 100 day raw food challenge. I finished the Master Cleanse with great results and Bunny had just finished her 1st 100 day raw food challenge. She decided to do it again and this time she invited everyone to join her on Rawfu so I did. Honestly, I had never felt better in my life! Then I changed jobs and being 100 percent raw was next to impossible. The symptoms returned and yet again my career path has changed and I'm back home and back on the path. I've decided that my health is primary and I will no longer risk it for a job. I've been 90 percent raw now for almost a week and already my symptoms are reversing, I'm full of boundless energy and I'm happy.
I've learned that being raw means always being prepared and having things prepped and ready to eat on hand will prevent me from falling off the wagon. My ability to prepare beautiful and tasty meals is increasing and my desire to be a catalyst for others is insatiable!
I invite you to join me on my rawfood journey! by Starla Jackson
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