I had been very sick for three years. My symptoms were bloating, stomach pain, heartburn, nausea, and diarrhea. I could barely eat food, lost 15 pounds, and was weak and sick all the time.

I went from doctor to doctor, had a few trips to the emergency room and had tons of tests. I had a colonoscopy and an endoscopy, and the doctors still couldn’t figure out what was wrong.

My family doctor wanted to prescribe a muscle relaxant for my stomach when I complained of diarrhea. The gastro doctor wanted to prescribe me Nexium for my severe heartburn and told me I would be on the medication for the rest of my life. I listened to none of them.

Finally one of the doctors tested me for lactose intolerance and that started me on my quest to examine my diet and the effect it had on my body. I thought that I was eating a healthy diet by eating yogurt and beans every day, but instead I was creating World War III inside. I started reading everything I could about other people who had the same symptoms as me and seeing what they did about their diets. I first eliminated dairy, then meat, then processed foods, grains, vinegars and oils. There was enough information out there to prove to me that the food I was eating was filled with chemicals. The more I eliminated, the better I got. I realized that my body could not process certain foods nor chemicals and that was the reason for my symptoms. In my search to find simple recipes that did not use bottled or canned items, I stumbled upon the Raw Foods Diet. It is based on meals of fruits and vegetables, uncooked. I start every day with a smoothie and have just fruit for lunch. At night I will have a big salad and a cooked vegetable dish. I have been eating this way for the past two years.

All my symptoms are gone. Gone! I have tremendous energy. Two skin conditions – eczema and keratosis that I had had for 20 years – are gone. I have no aches or pains left. I take no medications and I’m over 55. I rarely get sick.

My family was very concerned for my health, because I did lose a lot of weight. I’m stable now at the weight that is right for me, eating luxuriantly of fruits and vegetables. Now that they aren’t worried, they are happy for me that I am better and accommodate my needs by picking restaurants that have good salad bars for family events.

When you feel this good, you want to shout to the world how amazing you feel. I want to help others get rid of ailments that can be healed simply with food. So after attending a vegan Suppers group for a while, I decided to offer a raw vegan Suppers. It is frustrating to see people struggle with health issues and not get better. In just a year of our raw group, we have seen people improve their blood results and get rid of aches and pains. My boyfriend was able to come off his cholesterol medication. After 10 years of taking statins and diabetes medication without seeing significant results – and in just one month of eating this way – his blood sugar numbers dropped to near normal numbers.

Suppers gives me a place to go with my enthusiasm and conviction that forming communities around healthy behavior change can save people from a lot of unnecessary suffering. Now my hope is to go back to school to become a registered dietician so that I can dedicate myself to teaching how important nutrition is for the body.