Shira's diet was draining her health away—until she took matters into her own hands.
Shira's Story
"I feel that the earth gives you everything you need."
My parents were big hippies. My dad was a vegetarian and raised us the same way. This was in the '70s and '80s. Back in the day, there weren't decent-tasting tofu products like we have today. It was all pretty bland, but we never noticed. I just grew up thinking that meat was something that some people didn't eat. Once a year we went to my aunt's house for a free-range organic turkey dinner, and that was it.
Every time we complained, Dad would come up with articles with titles such as, "What's Really in Hot Dogs?"
He believed that the more natural the food, the healthier you are going to be. He always said that the earth has a balance to it and, if you stay within that natural balance, your body and your health will be balanced. A lot of what he taught has stayed with me.
"Knowing what your food can do for your mind, body and spirit can totally change your life."
Why eat processed food when it tastes so good in its natural state? When you start eating fresh foods, foods that aren't processed, you develop a taste for them, which is amazing, and you just feel so clear mentally.
Even though I was a vegetarian growing up, I would still eat sugar, caffeine and chocolate all the time—and it constantly brought me up or down. I was either caffeinated or exhausted, always passing out in class. When I finally cut out all the simple carbohydrates in my diet, like breads, pastas and sugars, I quickly felt balanced and awake all day long. I felt like I had energy, my head cleared up. I almost felt like I had senses that I didn't have before. Maybe a lot of the food I was eating was dulling those senses.
"The doctors said there was nothing they could do for me. It wasn't until I really started watching what I was eating that I felt better."
Years ago, I had an allergic reaction to a medicine and my immune system stopped functioning normally. My digestive system wasn't working for a long time. Doctors didn't know what to do aside from putting me on medication, but the drugs would just remedy the symptoms, not fix the problem.
I didn't want to give in. I thought about fixing the problem myself but quickly gave up. After a couple of years, a good friend of mine started working with a naturopath in San Francisco. A naturopath uses natural healing methods to address health concerns, and this particular lady was amazing. She works with aromatherapy and vitamins. The naturopath prescribed a rigorous diet for me that included no wheat, no sugar, no dairy and no gluten.
She also had me eat all these grains that I had never heard of. Teff is a grain from Ethiopian cuisine. It is very easy on your digestive system and helps the body heal itself. Your body has the capability to heal itself naturally if you just give it a break, but so much of the food we put into it and the stress we have in our lives just keeps us from healing. I started eating amaranth, teff, buckwheat, rice and quinoa -- cleansing, healing grains that made me feel amazing. I ate all kinds of vegetables and had a least one big salad a day. I ate beans, tofu, tempeh and fish. I rotated what I ate so I had a diverse, colorful diet.
"I am not perfect."
Even when I cheat and go out and have French fries or ice cream, I know my body has gotten to a certain level of health and it doesn't bother me like it would have before. It takes consciousness and time to get well from food, but it also takes time to get sick from it. You just have to learn to make choices.
