I am passionate about health and wellness and how nutrition can positively affect one’s physical and emotional well-being. I know it has benefited me. I was abused for several years of my childhood and when I was 20 I was raped.
I am on a journey of healing, and a large part of this journey has involved living a vegan lifestyle. Part of the reason I went vegan is because I can’t stomach the thought of causing any creature pain or suffering that is even remotely similar to what I have been through in life. The factory farming industry in the United States is absolutely horrific – for meat production and dairy alike. Going vegan has allowed me to live a more cohesive, empowered life, full of compassion, empathy, and justice.
I read a study by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network that stated, “59% of young people suffering from PTSD become substance abusers.” This makes me wonder how many choose to abuse food instead? I abused food. I would binge on various highly processed snacks, and go out of my way to obtain certain sweets and hide it. Choosing a vegan lifestyle allowed me to regain a healthy relationship with food and to live an overall healthier, happier life. I hope that my story can inspire and help others to do the same.
I have slowly been incorporating my story into Raepublic, my website where I share plant-based vegan recipes, in hopes that it can benefit others who have also experienced trauma and are now living with depression, anxiety and/or PTSD. The response I have received is wonderful. Raepublic is gradually evolving, and my goal is to make it a true health and wellness brand.
I am currently in grad school working towards a Masters of Science in Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine. One of my goals is to create online health, wellness, and nutrition programs whose aim is to assist people who have experienced trauma to live a more holistic, well-balanced life.
My vegan journey as a whole was a process, allowing me to reflect, and become more grounded in who I am and what I want and need. It has all been a journey. In the beginning, I started out for over a year flirting with being vegan. Meaning sometimes I was vegan other times I was sort of vegan. I would have full days, weeks or even months of eating an all vegan diet. Through this process, I had different levels of intensity depending on where I was at.
For the first couple of months I went full on vegan with no exceptions and when I did this I also, cut out almost ALL processed foods with a couple of exceptions. This is when I saw the biggest change physically. Then, after those initial months, I became an „at home vegan“. However, anytime I went to a family member’s home, a friend’s place or to a restaurant I didn’t worry about following a fully plant-based diet.
The more research I did about how a vegan diet can positively affect your health and the horrific factory farming industry the more convinced I became that the vegan lifestyle was right for me. On top of all of that it was clear that I felt much better both physically, mentally, and spiritually following a vegan diet as a whole.
Since I began flirting with veganism I have lost roughly 25 pounds and several inches here and there. My skin is clearer than it’s ever been and in general, I feel great! This was a result of eating very little or no animal products, cutting out almost ALL processed foods and eating TONS of plant-based foods.
The ONLY processed foods that I would eat on a regular basis are vegan organic tortilla chips, vegan organic minimal ingredient bread, and single ingredient vegan organic peanut butter. This might change a bit since I’ve recently been playing around with making my own homemade bread but I don’t think I will ever be ninja enough to make my own tortilla chips! This also means I wasn’t eating vegan processed foods on a regular basis such as vegan cheese that you can buy at the store or vegan butter or plant-based…you get the idea.
After about a year my mindset changed completely and I went 100% vegan with a focus on eating a lot of raw fruits and veggies! To me, a healthy vegan diet is one full of whole plant-based foods including whole grains, legumes, seeds, nuts, fruits, and vegetables. It’s amazing what you can create with your own hands from whole ingredients including your own homemade vegan „cheese“ if you like!
I have been 100% vegan now for 3 years and am so thankful that I was able to see the wisdom in doing so.
