Author Archive for Jane Birch – Page 18

“We love the food. We love how we feel.”

By Jane Birch · Comments (9)
Saturday, February 7th, 2015

Michelle Jones FamilyBy: Michelle Jones

Our family was introduced to the whole food plant-based (WFPB) diet on March 23, 2013 when we watched Forks over Knives. My husband walked in the door that night to the exclamations of our elementary-aged boys saying, “Guess what, Dad! We’re vegan!” Boy, was he surprised.

With a host of health problems, including a recent three-year collapse, I was desperate for answers to my health woes and willing to try anything—although I did have reservations about a diet that didn’t include meat, dairy, or eggs. That went against everything I had ever learned in school.

We had always eaten lots of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, but, at the time, we also had four dairy goats that we milked twice a day. I made yogurt and cheese several times a week, and we drank all the goat milk we wanted. Our ducks provided us with five fresh eggs every day, which I also managed to use with no problem. Meat wasn’t as big of an issue for us. With seven children (six of whom are boys), I always tried to stretch meat as far as possible—frying it and mixing it into our soups, chili, casseroles, etc. But I could immediately see that eliminating not only meat, dairy, and eggs, but also refined flour, sugar, and oils from our diet was going to be a hardship.

And it was. In spite of the four vegan cookbooks that my enthusiastic son ordered online from the library while we were watching Forks over Knives, I was at a loss. I had cooked from scratch for our family for twenty years, yet didn’t know how to cook without those “staples.” The first few weeks were a cooking nightmare. It felt like all I did was stand in the kitchen all day and chop fruits and vegetables. Physically, I felt miserable—tired and moody with lots of headaches.

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Categories : Married-2 WFPB
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“I made a promise to myself to never go back to my old junky ways”

By Jane Birch · Comments (4)
Saturday, January 31st, 2015

Amanda KotterBy: Amanda Kotter

Coming from a family with a propensity for addictive behaviors, I worked diligently most of my adult life to create a healthy living environment in order to counter the tendencies in my own life. Yet, nearly seven years ago, I came to understand that I was not treating myself with the love and respect God expected of me.

My mother had died just two years prior from the side effects of the chemo treatments she was on for lung cancer, which was caused from a 2-packs-a-day smoking habit she had cultivated since age 13. My siblings were also struggling with unhealthy habits, which was also very distressing. In addition, the events in the world were weighing heavily on my mind. Verse 4 in Section 89 of the Doctrine and Covenants echoed in my head:

“Behold, verily, thus saith the Lord unto you: In consequence of evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days, I have warned you, and forewarn you, by giving unto you this word of wisdom by revelation—”

It was made manifest to me that I needed to become highly aware of those conspiring men and their evil designs.

So, I took a good look at my lifestyle and noticed where I was lacking. Though I thought I was doing well by avoiding the usual alcohol, tobacco, coffee, and tea, it became obvious I ought to be avoiding so much more. This awareness led me to make some serious changes. I cut out all junk, pork, and refined foods. I had a pretty hefty diet soda habit at that time, so this was a significant change for me. I switched to mostly organic food and unfluoridated water. I also cleaned up my environment by getting rid of chemicals and pollutants.

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Categories : Married-1 WFPB
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“When I was 28 years old, I was told I had cancer”

By Jane Birch · Comments (10)
Saturday, January 24th, 2015

James Max ChristensenBy: James Max Christensen

After I married in 2005, I asked my wife, “Where is the meat?” I wanted meat with every meal because that is how I grew up. My loving wife graciously accommodated me. She is so kind and understanding. . . . but now she makes every meal without meat for me!

My patriarchal blessing talks about the Word of Wisdom. I have never smoked, never drank alcohol, tea, nor coffee, and never done drugs. I played on my high school basketball team and exercised quite often while trying to be healthy and eat my vegetables. But when I was 28 years old, I was told I had cancer. This started my quest to be healthy and whole, to understand the counsel in my patriarchal blessing and to better follow the Word of Wisdom. I started studying the Word of Wisdom in depth because I want to embrace the truth and obey all of God’s commands.

In 2011, through a series of many unordinary events, such as taking a day off of work to attend a seminar an hour away from home because I felt a strong spiritual prompting to do so, I met someone that did not eat meat. He told me that he chooses not to eat meat because he read a book called The China Study. At first, I was kind of afraid to know what the book might say, but I decided that I wanted to know the truth, even if that meant giving up something I loved. The title seemed intriguing, so I checked it out from the library. It changed my life forever.

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Categories : Married-1 WFPB
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“Satan no longer has a hold on me through pain in my body and addiction to food”

By Jane Birch · Comments (10)
Saturday, January 17th, 2015

Cynthia SumnerBy: Cynthia Sumner

During my first year of marriage I started experiencing the effects of eating a mostly processed “dead food” diet. I gained almost 50 pounds during my first pregnancy, but after losing the weight by eating better and exercising, I kept losing without trying. I began to feel sick. I was hungry no matter how much I ate, and I had no energy. Every morning I woke up with very painful hunger pains. I had to sit on the side of my bed with my head over my knees. I felt hot and had absolutely no energy. I had a horrible headache every morning as well, with congestion in my ears and sinuses. The congestion in my ears was so bad that one or both of my ears were completely plugged. I would eat and then feel hungry within an hour. I was unable to go for walks or work in the yard, something I loved to do. I had a hard time staying awake to read a book to my baby. I was very backed up and felt constantly bloated. I chose to be happy, but I felt irritable all of the time.

I had many experts look over me and many tests done, but no one could help, so I felt compelled to search things out on my own. I knew something wasn’t right, and I wanted to figure it out. As I was led to people, books, and resources about natural health, the most profound and powerful feeling moved through me from head to toe, and I knew that my body could heal. The Spirit whispered to my heart through the gift of the Holy Ghost that I was born capable to heal. It makes sense! We are creations of a loving Heavenly Father. Look at the magnificent mountains, breathtaking sunsets, beautiful fields of flowers and trees. We are the most precious creation of all. Surely we are born capable to heal!

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“My journey of discovery began when I was diagnosed with MS”

By Jane Birch · Comments (10)
Saturday, January 10th, 2015

Vicki YoungBy: Vicki Young

In April 2004, my doctor ordered a brain MRI, because I was having a lot of migraines. The MRI showed lesions in the white matter of the brain, indicative of a demyelinating disease such as multiple sclerosis (MS). She referred me to a neurologist who said that I didn’t have MS. Four days later, I was rear ended in a car accident. I had whiplash and pain in my left shoulder. After a few months of physical therapy, there was no improvement. I then had a MRI of the cervical spine, which showed lesions. And so my journey of discovery began when I was diagnosed with MS in January 2005.

When I was diagnosed with MS I felt relief to know that was the problem. When the first neurologist told me that I didn’t have MS, I didn’t feel that was right. Then a few days later I was in the car accident. I think that Heavenly Father wanted me to be diagnosed with MS. When I was diagnosed, I was thinking, what is going to happen next? Of course, I would have liked to have kept on going with a lot of energy for the next 20 years, like some people do, but that was not to be. I am OK with where I am now because of what I have learned in overcoming my challenges. I remember one person saying, “After 10 years, you will be in a wheelchair.” I am so glad that is not true!

Beginning in 2000, even before I was diagnosed with MS, I started to have gastrointestinal pain nearly daily. In 2003, my doctor ordered a scan that showed that my gallbladder was only functioning at 30% capacity. The surgeon said that my gallbladder needed to be removed, which he did, but I still had pain for years after that.

I also had tingling and numbness in my left foot off and on for years, and I had a tremor. After I was diagnosed, I noticed problems with my balance, making me trip a lot. By August 2006 I had fatigue so bad that I was not able to work anymore.

In August 2006, I got my first book on eating a whole food, plant-based (WFPB) diet called Original Fast Foods by James and Colleen Simmons. The authors explain all of the benefits of eating a whole food, plant-based diet, like Daniel’s diet in the Old Testament. The information in this book resonated with me. They talked about the Word of Wisdom and quoted many prophets and other Church leaders on the benefits of living the dietary guidelines in the Word of Wisdom.

After reading the book, I made some changes in my diet. I already did not eat much candy, pop, or meat, but now I started eating more fruits and vegetables and less dairy. I used to eat a lot of dairy. I had three or four canker sores nearly all of the time and yogurt and ice cream tasted good. They seemed like the only things I could eat when I had canker sores. I was surprised to see that with this small change of eating less dairy, I was getting fewer canker sores. What I thought was soothing to my sore mouth was actually the cause of the problem!

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Categories : Single Adult
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I heard the Savior say, “You are going to be okay”

By Jane Birch · Comments (7)
Saturday, January 3rd, 2015

Patty ButtsBy: Patty Butts

My journey with chronic fatigue began over twenty years ago when I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction (CFIDS) and Fibromyalgia (FMS). I was so ill my doctor wanted to give me medical disability. After four years of agony, I finally said to my doctor, “I either want to get better or I want to die.”

Since then, I have drastically changed my diet, recovered, finished a doctoral degree in Holistic Nutrition, and have more energy than I did 30 years ago. My passion now is to educate others and give them hope for recovery.

It began with a sudden onset. I had gone on the Fit for Life diet, eating fruit in the morning and vegetables in the afternoon. I didn’t realize I had candida and eating fruit was like pouring gasoline on a fire….fueling systemic candida. I felt like a walking corpse. While trying to walk or get out of bed in the morning, it seemed as if I was beating a dead horse.

With each step I took my feet felt like I was walking on pins and needles. The pain was excruciating, not only in my feet, but in every joint and muscle. My lymph nodes ached and were swollen. My kidneys, my liver, and my spleen hurt. My doctor did a round of blood tests and found the blood tests were normal. Nothing was wrong with me. I felt like I was dying, and he found nothing wrong with me.

My doctor prescribed an anti-depressant that caused tardis dyskinesia (swelling of the tongue because of an allergic reaction to medication). My tongue became thick, and I couldn’t enunciate my words properly. My mouth was constantly dry. While attempting to sleep, I felt like I was doing round after round of backward somersaults. My life was so out of control I thought I might die and knew I could if I stopped fighting to get well and just stayed in bed. When I stopped taking the antidepressant, the side effects of dyskinesia went away.

The doctor then referred me to a counselor who recommended Prozac as the panacea for everything. By the first week I was more depressed than ever and by the second week I felt suicidal. Since then I have learned about the gene mutation MTHFR that doesn’t allow the liver to detoxify. Therefore, taking a medication that the liver cannot detoxify can cause suicidal feelings. All mental health begins in the gut. The counselor recommended doubling the dosage. No way was I going to double the dose. I had done some research and found I was not the only one who responded to Prozac that way.

Some of my friends and family thought I was faking my illness because I looked okay. Others knew me to be hard working and dedicated and knew I was really ill. I looked okay, but I couldn’t stand up without leaning on a wall because I was so weak and dizzy. My short-term memory was fouled up. Concentrating and thinking was a chore and trying to read was difficult. I wondered if I had an early onset of Alzheimer’s. I was depressed, and it seemed I was being sucked into a black hole.

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Categories : Single Adult
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“I’ve started wearing belts and much snappier outfits!”

By Jane Birch · Comments (2)
Saturday, December 27th, 2014

Bob and Carolyn AllenBy: Carolyn Allen

I was 12 years old when I saw a picture of myself that would impact my entire life. As an adolescent I had put on some weight, but not any height. I’m so short-waisted and short-legged that there was no place to hide any extra weight. Even five pounds is a big deal for me. In the photo, I was chubby and had an unflattering outfit, but more than that, my face was sad and unhappy. Looking at myself, I felt distressed.

So at age 12, I started to exercise and watch what I ate. I didn’t tell anyone, but when my mom commented that I looked different, I told her I’d lost 5 pounds. My weight went up and down by as much as 30 pounds during the next 8 years. It greatly affected my self-esteem. I also had a strange genetic disorder that resulted in my starting 7th grade as toothless as a first grader. Ages 12-18 were spent trying to lose weight and waiting for teeth to grow in. Needless to say, I was not a cheerleader or prom queen. Add the typical woes of adolescent acne and social challenges, and no one could pay me enough to do those years again!

I was chubby when I went off for my freshman year at BYU where I gained more weight. As I returned home for the summer, in my frustration of gaining the 10 pounds, I gained another five. I reached what was later my top maternity weight. I could see myself ballooning into a very overweight girl, much like my paternal grandmother and aunts and uncles, so in desperation, lonely and scared, I went to the local Weight Watchers. Thankfully, I lost the ten pounds and got a moderate grip on things.

As the years went by, I returned to Weight Watchers many times, and I thank this program from the bottom of my heart. It saved me from becoming obese. My happiness level went up and down through these years, but as I look back, it could have been much, much worse. Eventually I became a Weight Watchers leader. My years of sharing the importance of “A Balanced Diet of Fruits and Veggies! Meat! Dairy! Protein! Be Healthy and You’ll Be Happy!” were a lot of fun and were the foundation of my current writing and business.

During these years, Weight Watchers actually came out with a vegetarian program where you could “eat as much as desired of these foods until you are satisfied.” As I look back on it, it was pretty much a whole-food-plant-based program that I dismissed with “Who would ever do that!” I loved my skim milk, cottage cheese, weekly allotment of cheese, beef meals, etc. And with a sweet tooth that was never really under control, I sure wasn’t going to go that route!

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Categories : Married-2 WFPB
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“The Word of Wisdom is bringing me back to health”

By Jane Birch · Comments (9)
Saturday, December 20th, 2014

Phyllis BessenaireBy: Phyllis Bessenaire

My health adventures began in February 1986 just before I turned 32. A couple of weeks before my birthday, my aunt was visiting and talking about wanting to “lose weight.” I told her that I was losing a lot of weight. She asked me what diet I was following. I told her, “None! I eat what I want, and I still lose weight. It’s wonderful!” She looked at me and said, “You need to be checked for diabetes right away.” All I knew about diabetes was that my grandma was diabetic at the end of her life. When she came to visit, Mom always bought “dietetic ice cream” packaged in individual cubes about 2 inches square. Although I disliked ice cream, I loved sharing this with her, so I looked forward to it. For me, it meant fun times—how ignorant I was.

Going to the endocrinologist right away confirmed that I was, indeed, diabetic. He told me we would have to wait and see if I was Type I or Type II. I was a little old for Type I and very young for Type II. I remember going to church that Sunday. My son was transitioning from nursery and my daughter was new there. The nursery leader and I were very close friends so I told her the news. That was when the bottom dropped out of my world. She told me about someone in our ward whose son had just died as a result of diabetic complications. I was a mother of a 3-year-old and a 1-year-old. To think I might DIE of diabetes sent me into total depression.

I called my home teacher (my husband was not a member of the Church), and he came with another brother and gave me a blessing. I will always remember his words to me that day. He said that if I lived the Word of Wisdom, it would be as if I never had diabetes. I had tremendous faith that this would be my lot. I lived the Word of Wisdom very religiously, or so I thought I did.

I was diagnosed with Type II diabetes mellitus, which used to be called “adult onset diabetes.” It usually begins when a person is in their 50s to 70s, not when they are 32 years of age (although because of our diet, it is becoming more prevalent among younger people now, including teens).

I started insulin, and after a while, I began a diabetic “honeymoon.” It is called this by endocrinologists because of the way the pancreas responds to added insulin at first. It gives the pancreas a boost, and your blood sugars drop to normal range without insulin. Well, somehow I thought that meant I wasn’t diabetic at all. Like so many others, I made a big error in judgment and after a few years of decent control, I thought I was cured and began eating more sugar, etc. Boy was that stupid!!!

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Categories : Single Adult
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“My journey started before I joined the Church”

By Jane Birch · Comments (5)
Saturday, December 13th, 2014

Warner Molema FamilyBy: Warner Molema

My journey towards a whole food, plant-based diet is a long one. It started before I joined the Church…

In my mid teens I remember reading that we become what we eat. The article was accompanied with a picture of a man with a pig’s snout. The article also mentioned that a diet of meat leads to increased anger and hostility. I did not want these traits and made up my mind to become vegetarian – no meat, but I still had dairy and eggs – ovo-lacto vegetarian. My mother supported me by preparing a separate vegetarian addition to the family meal. I was the only vegetarian in my family.

A few years before this time, while living in Cape Town South Africa, missionaries knocked on our door. I remember my parents purchasing a copy of the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants… they had to be purchased in those days. I remember a few visits by the missionaries. I think my parents indicated that they appreciated their visits, however would not be joining the Church. During those early years of being a vegetarian, I remember browsing the burgundy covered Doctrine and Covenants and reading Section 89. I stopped drinking all hot drinks thereafter. I refused alcohol and did not partake in tobacco. Both my parents both smoked at the time.

After completing high school in Welkom, I attended university in Bloemfontein. I stayed on campus in the student housing – dormitories or in Afrikaans koshuisse. At meal times I would swap my meat for extra vegetables or dessert with fellow dorm dwellers. I held to my resolution to be a vegetarian and to refrain from hot drinks, alcohol, and tobacco.

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Categories : Married-2 WFPB
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“It brings me joy to eat this way”

By Jane Birch · Comments (8)
Saturday, December 6th, 2014

Janae Wise FamilyBy: Janae Wise

Though I didn’t grow up vegetarian, I was raised on plenty of farm fresh, local produce—apples, asparagus, cherries, grapes and corn were common local crops. My mother made sure we had plenty of nutritious plant-based meals around the dinner table. Growing up in this environment helped instill in me a love for vegetables, fruits, and all other food grown from the earth.

Fast forward to my adult years. In 2006, I was 23 and pregnant with my second child. My husband was a student, and we couldn’t afford the hefty co-pay for delivering in the hospital, so we decided to have a home birth. I had hypertension at the end of my first pregnancy, and my midwife told me that she could only deliver healthy moms at home, so if I developed hypertension (or any other trouble) I would need to deliver at the hospital. I thought that hypertension was not in my control, but she gave me a different perspective: You can choose to have or not have hypertension based on what you eat. She recommended I go vegan for better health during pregnancy. I thought she was crazy.

But, per her recommendation, I read The China Study (it had just been published) and realized, “You know, there is pretty strong evidence that a plant-based diet is the way to go.” Over the next months (about seven), I slowly weaned myself off dairy and meat. It wasn’t easy (I was pregnant after all), but a few weeks before I had my son, I was completely vegan.

I felt self-conscious about my diet, and I didn’t have a lot of courage. I had told friends and family that I was only going vegan “for the pregnancy.” But once I had my son, I realized, “Hey, I like this. I feel great, and it makes sense to me. I never want to go back to eating the way I used to.” So I told my very supportive husband of my decision, and I’ve never looked back.

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