#63: Why I'm No Longer Vegan with Heather Pace

Short Summary & Bio:
Heather is on the show today to share her story about being vegan since the age of 14, including 3 years raw vegan; and after many debilitating health problems she agreed to add meat and animal products back into her diet to help save her life. She is still a meat-eater 9 years later, and wants to get the word out about listening to your body instead of dogma in the dieting industry.

Heather Pace is a classically trained chef specializing in plant-based cuisine. She’s the author of Sweetly Raw Desserts cookbook, has written 9 recipe e-books, and is the blogger behind Sweetly Raw.

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Disclaimer: Consult with your doctor or functional medicine practitioner before trying any of the remedies or dietary interventions mentioned in this episode. This information and recording is for informational and educational purposes only.

Points of Discussion:
- Heather became a vegan at 14 years old
- Became Orthorexic or obsessed with a perfect diet
- Quickly experienced negative symptoms, underweight, always cold, weak, brain fog
- At 16 she discovered Raw Vegan
- heather emphasizes how counterintuitive it is to eat raw food in a cold climate
- She found herself binging on raw foods because her body was signaling her that it needed more
- Heather attended traditional culinary school as a vegan
- Started as a vegan blogger in her early 20’s
- Went 3 years raw vegan and her symptoms increased
- serious depression, terrible sleep, poor digestion and stomach pains, daily headaches, skin breakouts, weak, suicidal
- Family friend, a homeopathic doctor, approached Heather out of concern for her health
- blood tests showed low thyroid hormones, B12 and Iron deficiency
- Heather started the healing protocol which included eating red meat twice a day, in a cast-iron pan for the iron
- Heather explains the internal conflict she faced realizing she needed to eat meat now, but was also a vegan blogger and vegan chef
- She explains how she became vegan seeking optimal health, not for ethical reasons
- In the raw food community, if you’re having an health problems they say you’re “not clean enough”; this is hugely problematic
- Heather explains her history using laxatives, enemas, and colonics to treat constipation
- As soon as she started eating meat and seafood, she felt immediately better, and even her depression eventually lifted
- Her doctor had her on a low-stimulant diet, removing foods that were too stimulating for the immune system
- Myth: your body will forget how to digest meat after you avoid it for so long
- Heather believes we are meant to eat meat and animal products and less raw food in relation to cooked food
- It’s been 9 years since she started eating animal foods again and this is her life now
- Heather warns about falling back to vegan tendencies
- She explains what it was like to confess to the vegan community
- Raw & Vegan desserts are typically loved by all whole food dieting communities, even Paleo
- Heather emphasizes the importance of soaked and sprouted nuts, seeds, and grains
- minimizes toxins
- enhances digestibility
- Starting at such a young and impressionable age like 14, diet obsession is almost expected but unfortunate.
- Heather now realizes she can’t do too many nuts or raw foods because they can cause stomach pain, bloating, gas
- Supplementing with iron pills commonly causes constipation
- Heather says grass-fed grass-finished meat and eggs are smart food choices even for plant-based dieters
- Marisa and Heather emphasize the importance of enjoing your diet and learning to be flexible while listening to your body

Resources:
- “Seven Sons Farms” for Midwestern States Sustainable Meat: Save $10 with our affiliate link: https://goo.gl/RKg6uN, website: https://sevensons.net
- Heather’s YouTube confession “Why I’m No Longer Vegan”: https://youtu.be/oYIGjvk2huQ
- Heather's Blog & Story (E-cookbook too): http://sweetlyraw.com/coming-out-my-world-upside-down-to-right-side-up/
- Dry Farm Wines (Low Sugar Natural Wines) Penny Bottle: www.dryfarmwines.com/fowpodcast
- Habits to Thrive Summit Oct 28 - Nov 3, 2019 - https://habitstothrivesummit.com

Marisa's site: https://www.marisamoon.com
Learn about *Intermittent Fasting Freedom* at marisamoon.com/iffreedom
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Intro/Exit Music  - "Ukulele Whistle" by Scott Holmes