Sergei & Valya
Sergei and Valya Boutenko were introduced to the Raw Food Diet and Lifestyle by their mother, Victoria.
Sergei had been diagnosed with juvenile diabetes and his mother, Victoria, found this information devastating and unacceptable. After crying a river of tears, Victoria started looking around for some way to return her family to health. While Sergei's diabetes had been the catalyst for change, the whole family was suffering with serious ailments. Valya had asthma, Victoria had heart disease and her husband, Igor, had had nine surgeries for various ailments and now the doctors were telling him that they wanted to remove his thyroid gland. When the doctor told Igor he had no choice because his disease had progressed too far, Igor jumped down from the examination table and said "Yes, I do, I will go on a raw vegan diet." His doctor said that the newest Thyroid Sourcebook recommends exactly the opposite - cut down on fruit juices and fresh fruits - and consume more butter, cream, cheese and other dairy products. . . peanut butter, mayonnaise and animal fat.
Prior to Igor's diagnosis, Victoria had discovered the raw food diet through her own unique system. She figured that because she could not find the answers she wanted in medical books, she would search for people that looked very healthy and then approach them to ask what they did to be healthy. One day Victoria was in the bank behind a woman who seemed to be glowing with good health. Victoria overcame her embarrassment and approached this woman with her question, but she was not prepared for the answer. "What do you mean, everything raw?" This woman answered all of Victoria's questions and set her on the path towards renewed health.
Once Victoria had secured Igor's cooperation, she cleared the kitchen of all food and appliances. When Igor and the family came home they could not find any food that they were used to eating. They had to go shopping and Victoria only bought from the fresh fruit and vegetable section of the supermarket. At first the children wanted to rebel but Victoria won them over by asking them to just give it a try for a couple of weeks. They agreed. And it was during that couple of weeks that they all saw so many changes for the better in their health. Eventually they became enthusastic raw and living food proponents.
Sergei and Valya have written a delightful book, Eating Wthout Heating - Favorite Recipes from Teens Who Love Raw Food . In it they recount how they transitoned into the raw food diet and how it changed them. The book is also full of awesome raw recipes that Sergei and Valya created. Sergei and Valya have an elist especially for teens. You can email them at: Sergei@rawfamily.com and: Valya@rawfamily.com and their website is: www.sergeiandvalya.com
