Anyone who has gone down this plant-based path for a while usually feels compelled to tell EVERYONE just how good they feel, especially if they are seeing improvements to their own health.
“The weight is dropping, the blood pressure is dropping, the blood SUGAR is dropping, why isn’t EVERYONE doing this?!?”
But here’s the thing…. not everyone is going to want to hear it. Especially the people you feel could benefit the most, and even more so, it seems, family.
This is my stepdaughter, whom I have affectionately known for the last 26 years.
Stepping in and being a stepparent is one of the hardest things in the world, and unfortunately, there’s no instruction book so we do the best we can. So let’s just say our relationship over the years has been…. complicated.
Nevertheless, I love her dearly.
Apparently so does that little smoochie guy next to her, and it wasn’t long after he was born that she started feeling the stomach pains. She struggled over the next 3 years or so, constantly seeing doctors, trying to figure out exactly what was going on, and eventually wound up in the hospital with severe stomach pain and a diagnosis.
Crohn’s Disease
Crohn’s is an autoimmune disease, where the body turns on itself – in this case, her intestines. It got so bad, she ended up having about a foot of her small intestines surgically removed. And since there is no known cure for Crohn’s, to keep it at bay, she was put on a biologic drug called Humira®, which suppresses the immune system.
Of course, ‘they say’ there’s no cure, but over the years I have read one anecdotal story after another, of people who HAVE cured – oh wait… “put their Crohn’s in permanent remission” … by switching to a plant-based diet.
I mean it makes sense that if this is a diet-related disease, which many experts think it is, then a diet change could possibly make it better, right?
So you better believe I have been trying to get her to at least look at the science but sadly, she felt the Humira® was working, so why take the chance?
“If it ain’t broke…don’t fix it”
Fast Forward to 2022
After 5 long years of dutifully taking this drug, my stepdaughter recently texted me, ironically enough as I was writing about my own battle with depression/anxiety, and said she was tired of being sick.
Whether it’s a worsening of her autoimmune disease or a side-effect of the drugs we’re not sure – but she NOW has Rheumatoid Arthritis AND just went through Menopause – all at the ripe old age of 35 yrs old.
She finally got sick and tired enough of being sick and tired – and was reaching out for my help.
When I told her I was going to try and eat a little differently to get off of MY meds (Wellbutrin) – she asked me a question that literally brought me to tears.
She said, “Are we going to do this thing together?”
The very next day we went to Whole Foods (her choice – not mine) and I taught her how to shop for the produce, the veggies, the fruits, read the labels, all of it. When I mentioned green smoothies she even went to Costco and bought a Vitamix on the spot.
I couldn’t believe my eyes! She was actually DOING IT!!
And The Results?
She told me the other day it has been 4 weeks now of NO cheating, and she’s lost 8 pounds AND significantly reduced the swelling (inflammation) throughout her entire body.
She said she feels better than she has in years!
She jokingly said, “You know – you should put this stuff on a tee-shirt!”. I replied, “You mean like this? I DO have merch you know!”
And I sent her to https://brandnewvegan.creator-spring.com
I think she was a little shocked that I actually had my own merch store
And another Brand New Vegan is born
She still has Crohn’s & RA, and she’s still taking her meds, but I have every confidence her lifestyle change will enable her to not only heal her body from the inside out – but one day allow her to stop the drugs altogether.
The moral of the story: Don’t give up. Just because they don’t hear you TODAY, doesn’t mean they won’t hear you SOMEDAY.
Thanks for reaching out to me that day sweetie, I love you 3000 – D2.
