I am thrilled to have participated in your amazing course for probably the 5th or 6th time. I’m forever evolving and learning. I have a different relationship with food because of you. Instead of food being the enemy, food is my friend.
With Gratitude,
Jojo
When I first joined this group I said to myself what did I get myself into?? This is really hard !! Now I can say I thank God I did !! Through the support and the information and delicious food we got to try out, it got me to be devoted into making a change in my life … I was struggling with IBS and acid reflux for as long as I know … I prayed to God every day for healing and never gave up. I believe this group was brought to me by God. I have learned so much and I must say my life has changed a lot. My IBS and acid reflux symptoms disappeared so quickly I couldn’t believe my eyes. I used to wake up from severe stomachaches to the point I felt like I was going to faint. Doctors gave me medicines promising it will go away and it only made things worse. I have changed my attitude towards life and became a more calm happy person and put my trust in God that it’s all for my very best. Looking back I’m thankful for my suffering because it gave me the push to change my life. I must add that my face had bumps and pimples that disappeared, my under-eye puffiness has reduced, my skin feels a lot softer, my gums were very swollen before I started and now are reduced and my teeth got whiter. So for everyone out there if you haven’t tried this lifestyle you are missing out on a chance to heal yourself, look good and feel good and become a positive happy person!! I want to thank Betsy, Norman, all those in the class who did a fantastic job and Gladys and David for hosting us !!
After moving to the Boston area from Colombia in 2008, I met Betsy and began the Eat to Thrive program. I had been diagnosed with breast cancer and needed a solution. As a teacher, meal management can be difficult, but I adopted a plant-based diet and through Betsy’s guidance I was able to lose 35 pounds and am now in remission.
My name is Diane Sugrue. I am 60 years old. I met Betsy Bragg in 2014 and joined the class: “Eat to Thrive”. I was looking to improve my eating habits and to lose some weight. The class was amazing! I lost 20 lbs. during the 10 week course, and an additional 15 lbs. that year. More importantly, I looked and felt 20 years younger! Taking this class and going vegan was the best thing I have ever done for myself. It is five years later and I still feel amazing. I have taken the class a total of 5 times, I learn something new each session. I truly enjoyed meeting my fellow students. Everyone has been very special. Betsy is a good friend and an excellent teacher!
In one of the Hippocrates Health Institute’s publications, I read Betsy Bragg’s story and learned she was teaching a certified class in New England. Betsy offers love and encouragement to everyone who wants to explore eating for optimal health and also encourages people to grow holistically, including the emotional and spiritual sides of “healthy living.”
Betsy has food demonstrations with every class and invites guest speakers to share their particular experiences with embracing a living-foods lifestyle. Along with weekly videos and readings from Betsy’s comprehensive, one can get an excellent overview of the HHI approach to a holistically healthy lifestyle, enjoy great living food with the weekly potlucks, and enjoy support and camaraderie with fellow classmates.
The personal highlight of the class for me was doing an eleven-day green-juice fast. First of all, I didn’t think I could do it! But the days just flowed and it fell at a point in the course (week seven) that I totally understood what and why I was doing it. I never felt hungry (as I had feared!) and classmates who participated were totally supportive of each other. I am thankful for the experience of taking the course, Betsy’s shared wisdom, and being more grounded in living a Hippocrates-influenced lifestyle.
My 16-year-old daughter, Raquel, was always the most high energy, happiest, and self-confident among of all of her friends.
But, then, all of a sudden, things started changing. Her school nurse sent me a letter saying that my daughter needs special one on one attention. Yes, I couldn’t believe my ears that Raquel was being labeled as having ‘Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder”. The school nurse immediately put my daughter on medications. As, as you can imagine my life went upside down. It was devastating news to my husband and me, as well as to Raquel. Her classmates and kids at school started to label her as “special needs”. It was sad watching my daughter deal with all this at such a young age.
More hurtful was watching Raquel take the meds and have the most horrible side effects from them. As time went by, the medications’ side effects were showing up in her behavior as sadness, sleepiness, loneliness, and moodiness. For 7 years Raquel was medicated until one day when I met a wonderful Functional Medicine doctor who had Raquel’s blood tested. The blood tests showed that she was having a disequilibrium of her hormones that could affect her forever. So, one day a friend who is a certified Eat to Thrive Health Educator and now is a “Holistic Nutrition Coach, advised me to introduce my daughter to plant-based supplements and a gluten-free diet, as well as fresh organic foods. These not only corrected her mineral deficiencies, but also her mental acuity. I took that advice with all my heart because I did not want Raquel to suffer anymore.
After a year on an organic plant-based diet, Raquel no longer needed the medications and stopped taking them.
Shortly after that, Raquel’s teacher sent me a letter requesting that I attend a meeting with her at school. My heart was pumping with anxiety. A thousand thoughts came to my mind. What could it be this time? Was Raquel needing to take meds again? To my surprise, it was the most wonderful news that I had since her birth. The teacher wanted to know what I was doing differently with my daughter. The teacher told me that for the first time, Raquel scored 100 on her tests! And from that day she has always scored 100. She is now is a happy teenager. I am thankful to have good people in this world that opened my eyes regarding my daughter’s health. Thanks to healthy food, Raquel is now off all medications and has a beautiful future ahead!