Renee Tassone -
43 Years old from North Adams, Ma
Two years ago I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. This diagnosis came after years of odd illnesses that none of my doctors could figure out. I finally ended up in the Emergency Room one weekend. A few days later they performed a colonoscopy & endoscope. The doctor took some biopsies and in a few days told me the result was Celiac Disease. Neither one of us believed it, we thought maybe there was an infection of some kind going on and it was just masking itself as Celiac. He said I did not look like a classic Celiac patient, probably because of all the unexplained weight I was gaining. He put me on some antibiotics and said we would wait 3 months and then re-perform the procedures. Everyday I became sicker and sicker, after 2 months he decided we had better go ahead and do the procedures and not wait any longer. All tests came back positive for Celiac Disease. He said he was 100% sure I had the disease which by the way I had never even heard of before. He explained the seriousness of the disease and encouraged me to go gluten free right away.
A few days later I sat down with a nutritionist at our local Hospital and she guided me in the right direction. Honestly, it was all a bit overwhelming at first. I still did not believe that food was my problem but I told my doctor I would try it for one week but if it did not make a difference then we would need to do more tests. Well, by day 4 of being gluten free I was transformed in to a totally different person. I had incredible energy, my body rash started to subside, the tingling in my legs went away, I wasn’t as bloated and my cracked lips started to heal. From that point on I knew I would never eat gluten again. Since that time I have also found out that I am allergic to soy and nuts.
A few months into my new diet/lifestyle I decided to start a Celiac support group to help others. I also became a resource of the Celiac Sprue Association so I could help people that were newly diagnosed. I started reading everything I could about the disease. I was really enjoying helping people through their own diet transition. Then last summer I decided to do a diet cleanse. Again, I went and read everything I could about different cleanses until I found the one that was right for me. It was a 21 day healthy cleanse which I started on October 4, 2011. This cleanse changed my life. I felt even more incredible with tons of energy. The cleanse is basically a plant based, whole food cleanse so of course I started reading about plant based diets and was shocked at the information I found. Since October 4th, I have not eaten meat, poultry, dairy etc. and have adopted a whole foods, plant based diet. I do not eat any animal protein or any processed foods.
Soon after I started telling friends about the cleanse, ones I knew were not feeling well or had problems such as migraines, high blood pressure and thyroid issues. I shared the information and encouraged them to try it and they had amazing results. To date I have helped over 170 people in 6 different states through a cleanse and adopt a plant based, whole foods diet. The results have been amazing. I have helped people with diabetes, crohns, joint pain, parkinson’s and more. I have also done a lot of research on raw foodism, veganism and the macrobiotic diet. I am in the process of starting my own health consulting business and my goal is to turn as many people away from eating animal products as possible. For me, I never really paid much attention to the connection of animals and food so I was shocked to read the facts and now I feel compelled to share them with people who are interested in learning more.
I have lost a total of 40 pounds since my journey began and am at my perfect weight. I never have to count calories or worry about what I eat. I have incredible energy and my skin radiates and all I want to do is scream at the top of my lungs and share this information!! I am enjoying this path I am heading down and look forward to the day when I do this all day long. I am currently a General Manager of four weekly newspapers and also enjoy this job but sense things are going to be changing for me in the near future.
Please visit http://weightototalhealth.wordpress.com/ to connect with Renee Tassone
PS. If every one of us inspired ONE person to go meatless imagine the difference we could make in ten years time. I am going to collect inspirational vegetarian/vegan stories to share with everyone. If you think your story will inspire others, please share with me by sending it to info@veglov.com. I will post your stories on this www.veglov.com blog. I believe everyone has his/her own story, I think it must be great when we can share our stories and inspire others. Let’s make the world a better place. ~ Xiao Kang.
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