Hi, I’m Shari Stricker.
My son was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease when he was 15.
The symptoms came on pretty quick and although I had heard of Crohn’s Disease, I really had no understanding of what it was. He was very sick and it turned his world upside down. He was immediately put on a biologic medication, one of the strongest available, and the possible side effects were scary but we had no choice. As a parent there isn’t anything worse than seeing your child suffer. I felt a strong sense of helplessness. All I could do was get him to the best doctors possible.
As nothing seemed to be working, I began researching to find out all I could about this disease. I stumbled upon many others that shared their story, but their stories were very different from what I had learned from my son’s doctors.
We figured out the best foods for autoimmune disease and began to treat it naturally.
I learned others reached remission from changing lifestyle and diet. Many were able to stop taking medication. We were told by countless doctors that it didn’t matter what he ate, it was confusing. As a result, we as a family began to make some changes. We cut out gluten (as much as possible), switched to nut milks, stopped using seed oils and learned to cook with coconut, olive and avocado oil. We used grass fed butter instead of margarine spreads and many other food swaps. It was overwhelming at first but soon became much easier.
I started to notice a difference in the way I was feeling. I always had some GI issues, nothing diagnosed, but that disappeared. I was not overweight as a child, but struggled with extra pounds once I hit my thirties. I could always get the weight off, but it would slowly creep back. I was 46 when my son was diagnosed, and at this point, the extra weight wouldn’t budge. I needed to lose 30-35 pounds. Through my research I learned about the weight loss benefits of a low carb and healthy fat diet. It was the opposite of everything I thought was correct. I had been eating whole grains, drinking skim milk and eating low fat foods. I had been watching portion size and often counting calories but it wasn’t working. As we continued to focus on real food, the weight started coming off.
Fast forward 8 years later and my son is enjoying remission. It took a long time to figure out how but he is now doing great and is finally medicine free. I am down 30 pounds (can easily keep it off) and have more energy and confidence. Our whole family is feeling better!
Armed with this newfound knowledge and life experiences I would love to help others make better informed decisions regarding their health. I know there are so many struggling and dealing with similar issues. I have found a new purpose and have so much to share. I am excited to help people clean up their diets and live happier, healthier lives, and hopefully avoid some of the health problems that myself and my son have experienced!