Businesswoman takes raw approach to recovery

[Guest guest]

" JoAnn Guest " <angelprincessjo

Businesswoman takes raw approach to recovery

 

Businesswoman takes raw approach to recovery

http://www.living-foods.com/news/rawapproach.html

 

Provo - Shelley Abegg turned to a raw food diet after

being

diagnosed with cancer. At right is a biophotonic

scanner that she

uses to measure the levels of a person's antioxidant

defense. She is

running the test on a reporter. (Trent Nelson/The Salt

Lake Tribune)

 

 

The day Shelley Abegg was diagnosed with breast cancer

two years

ago, she started planning her funeral.

The first priority for the single mother from Provo

was making

arrangements for her then 9-year-old son, Taylor.

" I was shell shocked, " Abegg, 47, said. " It was an

emotional roller

coaster. I had to stop planning my funeral and crying,

and come up

with a plan. "

That plan would eventually turn her life upside down.

Frightened by the harsh side effects of chemotherapy,

Abegg decided

to go against her doctor's recommendations to undergo

the drug

regimen after her lumpectomy.

" Chemotherapy obliterates your immune system, " she

said. " It's like

playing Russian roulette. "

After much prayer and research, Abegg traveled to the

Optimum Health

Institute in San Diego to detoxify her body. During

her three-week

retreat, she discovered the importance of eating only

raw foods to

cleanse and nourish the body. The institute stresses a

raw-food

diet -- which has since become popular with Hollywood

celebrities

such as Demi Moore -- nutrition education, spiritual

reawakening and

positive mental exercises.

When Abegg returned, she simplified her hectic life,

working less at

her mortgage business in favor of spending more time

on herself and

with Taylor. She focused on nutrition, prayer and a

positive

attitude.

But she faced much criticism.

" Here I was this capable, successful businesswoman and

everyone was

questioning my decision not to undergo chemo, " she

said. " Several

people asked me if I was doing the right thing. "

Despite the speculation, Abegg pushed on in her quest

to heal

herself. She sought out everything she could get her

hands on about

raw food diets. But at the time, that lifestyle wasn't

as trendy as

it is today, so Abegg had few resources -- mostly

books and Internet

sites -- at her fingertips.

A food aficionado, Abegg experimented with different

fruits,

vegetables, seeds, nuts and grains, and made wheat

grass juice a

staple of her diet.

As the raw-food diet gained more attention, Abegg met

fellow raw

fooders and they exchanged recipes and held potluck

luncheons.

" We are not hippies or whackos, " Abegg said. " We're

normal, everyday

people who believe you are what you eat. "

After a year on strictly raw foods, Abegg said she

feels more

energetic than ever and is mistaken for being much

younger than she

is.

" People look at me and think I'm in my late 20s or

30s, " said the

former Miss Utah runner-up.

After two normal mammograms, Abegg said she no longer

worries that

the cancer will return, because her body has been

cleansed and is

now getting the nutrients it needs.

She plans to get a mammogram once a year, although

some doctors

recommend breast cancer patients get mammograms every

six months for

two years following the diagnosis.

Although going raw takes immense dedication and is

challenging,

Abegg said the hassle is well worth it.

" I was addicted to cooked food, " she said. " I was

eating so much

because the food wasn't nourishing me. The food was

dead. Now I eat

and can go six to eight hours. What's really exciting

is the change

in my moods. I feel so vivacious. "

chamilton

_________________

JoAnn Guest

mrsjoguest

www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Genes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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