Rebel Gone Raw: I was Told my Life Contract would End in 6 Months

Health? Nutrition? Dangers of improper food combining? Enzymes? HAH! I was above that! Give up WHAT? I'll eat what I want when I want! After all, I eat the same way my parents do, and they are in their 80's!! Sure they take a cabinet full of pharmaceuticals, drink daily but they are still alive! This seems to be a popular mindset when confronted with the "possibility" that the current diet may not be right!

That was... until about 4 years ago, when I was diagnosed with liver disease, kidney disease, right lung damage due to cigarette and marijuana smoking and work environment, as well as lichen planis, (an autoimmune disease where white blood cells, which usually fight germs, begin to attack the normal parts of the skin, mucous membranes, hair, and nails which can lead to cancer!) I was told that if I continued on this path of destruction my "life contract" would end in 6 to 8 months!

Back then, my lifestyle consisted of moderate alcohol consumption, daily recreational drug use, prescription drug use and anabolic steroid drug use. (Is liver disease a surprise?) My diet was typical for a body-builder, high in proteins and low in carbs and high in fats (especially saturated fats). Regular physical conditioning was part of my daily schedule. I was a heavy cigarette smoker, as in 3 packs a day, and worked in a job where I was regularly exposed to caustic chemicals, asbestos, exhaust, silica dust and a host of other toxic substances.

I was sick ALL the time with recurrent bouts of pneumonia. I was on a first name basis with my doctors and would routinely call them to write me prescriptions for weight loss pills, antibiotics and inhalers! Without the addition of the anabolic steroids, I doubt I would have had the strength or stamina to live! I was also overweight, my highest weight for over a decade was 250lbs!

My first reaction to the news that I had less than a year to live was, "Live it up then!" I spent close to 3 months doing all the things I thought I would regret not doing in my lifetime... white water rafting, sky diving, sailing. If it sounded interesting, I knew I should do it! At the same time, I had a 7 year old daughter that I might not live to see get married, have children or even graduate high school!! Not to mention my older children (21, and 23) and three grandchildren that I might never see grow up!! My plan was to just live the remainder of my life without regrets...and "pretend" the problem didn't exist!

To suppress the "realness" of the news, I turned more heavily to drugs and alcohol. Then one day I decided, NO! I am not going to accept this death sentence!! And I began to change my life. I had stumbled upon the 100% raw food diet in 2005. I finally went 100% raw in November of 2006.

I was supposed to see the doctors every 6-8 weeks for blood work and testing to monitor the progress of my diseases. I decided not to go back until I had explored different avenues. After about 5 months of incorporating this new lifestyle, I had lost weight, improved my health and felt ready to return to the doctors for blood chemistry results. My blood test results were mailed back to me with a note at the bottom from my doctor stating my liver and kidney levels were back in the normal range! It was at this point I knew I was onto something! I was 8 months into my "death prediction" and I was not only still alive, but feeling MUCH better! And I had the test results to prove it! All from rebelling against being a rebel and changing to raw foods.