My Journey to Health

My Freshman year of college, my arms and legs began tingling and falling asleep. I would wake up in the middle of the night panicked because I couldn't move an arm or a leg; I couldn't feel it either! I could see it, but it didn't even feel like it was there. When eating at the cafeteria one day I went to stand up and couldn't because my leg was completely asleep. I began to have constant headaches, and I had gained about 30 pounds. I went in to see doctors and specialists who couldn't explain the symptoms. We checked for tumors and to see if there was nerve damage, but there were no more answers. We knew my liver was functioning very poorly but didn't see many other obvious issues.

These symptoms were all completely foreign to me, as I had been very healthy all my life. At age 5, I resolutely declared myself a vegetarian and stuck to that pretty strictly. When I was young, my mom was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis; she wasn't able to brush her daughters' hair or even to vacuum. Her thinking was cloudy and she couldn't remember her thoughts. She had 5 young children who were homeschooled; she needed a solution. She began an intense study of health, and found Dr. Swank's diet, which explained that with multiple sclerosis, the myelin sheath in the brain is damaged and the transmission of nerve impulses are slowed even to the point of stopping or jumping across into other demyelinated axons. He had great success when patients cut out all saturated fat, eating a whole foods plant based diet, and supplementing with superfoods such as flax (high in good fats) and blueberries, which had been shown to specifically help they myelin sheath repair itself. No saturated fat meant to meat and no dairy; but this sacrifice was completely worth it, as my mom's health returned. She is still vibrant and healthy today!

Back to my college health crisis. When my husband and I went to Russia, we both I developed apthis ulcers in our throats and began to sleep incredible amounts and still feel horrible all day though we were only 20 and 22! My stomach felt horrible for a year, worse than first trimester pregnancy.

Thanks to natural doctors, we found out that I had developed a lot of allergies in Russia when we were immersed in horrible air from rampant wildfires. My body overreacted and was overloaded, so I developed the allergies and stomach problems. We also found out our apartment had radon and black mold. With these major health crises averted, I decided to get pregnant.

I had seemingly never-ending yeast infections and urinary tract Infections that I couldn't cure that entire pregnancy. It wasn't until my that summer that mom gave me a book that she thought might help. That book was Dr. Fuhrman's "Eat To Live." It introduced me to a whole new way of thinking, seeing the science behind a whole-foods plant based diet. I began juicing every morning for breakfast and my husband and I went completely plant based (vegan) for 3 months. Our health improved dramatically and my yeast infections finally vanished.

Dan took this picture of how many greens I had bought at the store ---->

We have continued this whole food plant based diet for the most part of the last 4 years and my health had been much better.

I still had some problems with my back and neck -- I was in agony at night and couldn't fall asleep for hours. I would try sleeping without a pillow, going to our chiropractor, and just simply complaining a lot to Dan.

I knew our bodies were supposed to be able to heal themselves, but I also saw that mine didn't have the support it needed to do that. That's when I met a friend who helped teach me that there was more to the equation than simply nutrition. I had to get my body in balance and support it enough so that could heal itself. She sent me home with a sleep system based on the energy of the earth. After just a couple of nights my neck and back didn't hurt, and I started waking up much earlier! Before the sleep system, I had been sleeping 9 or 10 hours a night and often taking naps. My husband saw that this wasn't normal, but I just thought I was a tired young mom of toddlers. Little did I know how much it could improve! I now sleep only 7 hours a night but feel so refreshed and energized!

I had read The PH Miracle, and understood the power of drinking alkaline water, but the systems that I found through Dr. Young were $1-2,000! I couldn't possibly make that kind of investment. I purchased an inexpensive water bottle that filters and alkalizes water, adding in the minerals your body needs. This simple change has been incredible for my health! I was chronically dehydrated and because I love the taste of the filtered water, I drink at least five times what I used to.

As of about 8 months ago, my liver was functioning at a 6 when it should have been a 24 -- my doctor had given me the warning that if it didn't get better, we would have to start treatments and testing. I have since noticed that my skin has become significantly less yellow and pigmented, and I can't wait to be tested again to see the progress!

Inspiring my little girls to eat healthy has not been without work, but we have been immensely blessed because of a whole foods plant based diet. My little girls have never had any doctor-worthy health problems, except for Milah taking antibiotics once for an ear infection. I consider that a huge blessing! Not only that, but they enjoy helping me grow and shop for healthy food, they love helping me cook healthy meals, and they eat many foods that kids their age wouldn't eat.

Some things that I've learned over the years: Start them as young as possible (preferably in utero). I drank a lot of green smoothies while pregnant with Brielle; babies when born already have an affinity for what their parents ate while they were in utero (e.g. Indian babies love curry). Milah's first "food" (at 4 months old) was

a juice of kale, romaine, lemon, and apples. She loved it! Don't make what they eat a battle, and when they DO love something, by all means buy it for them! My girls love berries and avocados (both expensive), and I've just decided I would rather put the money in to prevent disease than to cure it later.

I now keep my kitchen stocked with lots of fruits and vegetables, as well as LOTS of grains and spices. (see picture on the right).

I'm glad my girls are learning how to use all these good grains and beans and spices. I think it's pretty funny to hear them pretend "Okay Eva. Here are your chia seeds and here's your avocado. Would you like anything else for dinner?" I believe that this gift of health is one of the kindest things I can do for my little girls.

I enjoy coming up with new recipes, learning what spices pair especially well with which vegetables, and sharing my creations on the blog. ​I love that we have so many resources about a whole foods plant based diet; I love the resource FMTV, that combines all the studies and research and experts into one place where we can be educated about healthy eating.

I feel like my health journey has given me a "Mommy Masters" in health as I have read literally hundreds of books on health in the last 4 years since discovering a Whole Foods Plant Based Diet. It wasn't until I combined a plant based diet with good sleep, the earth's energy, and pure alkalizing water that my body has been fully able to heal itself. Now I don't need naps in the afternoons, I have the energy to play with my little girls, and I am feeling genuinely, truly, good! I am so grateful for all these tools and the research and knowledge that have helped me live life to the fullest!