Peg Harvey-Sweeney

In the midst of editing this cookbook, I was diagnosed with a recurrence of uterine cancer, Stage IV, with metastases to both lungs. Since my oncologists could offer no curative treatment, I had to invent my own extreme self-healing plan. I began to look at food in a whole new way.  Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, was the first to say “Let thy only medicine be food and food be thy only medicine.”

I began to think about some of the eating practices we engaged in as children. While most were farm fresh and healthy, some were not. I remember we were all asked to poison cut worms in the watermelon patch each spring. This involved sticking our bare hands into a bucket filled with a “brew” of arsenic, bran and molasses, then spreading a handful of the toxic mash on each hill up and down the rows. No one explained (or probably even knew) that poisons absorbed through the skin go directly to the bloodstream, without the benefit of being “filtered” by the liver first. So this was, literally, equivalent to eating arsenic–only worse! Could this explain–at least in part– why Mom died of cancer, and why almost half of our siblings have been challenged by cancer so far? It’s worth thinking about the accumulation of toxins we experienced over the years, especially when the “tipping point” of our toxic threshold is unknown.

Some describe cancer as “a disease of civilization.” We now pollute our drinking water with chlorine and fluoride, we create “Frankenfoods” by genetically modifying them, we use toxic pesticides and herbicides on our produce, and we apply known carcinogens to our skin in the name of “beauty.” Is it any wonder that the incidence of cancer continues to rise?

I have recently become aware of the benefits of eliminating toxins from my body, as well as the benefits of eating live, or raw, foods. I currently eat only raw foods and no animal products, including dairy. Because cancer feeds on sugar, I also eat no fruit (which converts to sugar).  Cancer thrives on acidic foods like coffee and alcohol, so those are gone, too. Eating this way has brought me more energy, a trim and toned body, and skin that literally glows. More importantly, after 19 weeks of embracing the raw food lifestyle, x-rays confirmed there was no longer any evidence of cancer in my lungs!

Research has shown that cooking foods above 116 degrees destroys as much as 80% of the nutrients in our food, as well as enzymes which are so important to maintaining a healthy digestive tract. So, throughout this cookbook, I will introduce you to some concepts of using food as medicine and some raw food recipes that are not only delicious, but will benefit your health, too. After all, I want all of us to live long enough for the Fourth (2020), the Fifth (2030) and Sixth (2040) Meierotto Family Cookbooks!