CHI DETOX – Family Style

Jimmy Ehrhart, 15

Jessica Ehrhart, 12

Standing in front of a small group of Creative Health Institute guests with a Sharpie in hand and a smile on his face, Jimmy Ehrhart, 15, recorded numbers on a large pad of paper propped upon an easel.

“I feel great right now,” Jimmy told the other guests who were going through a 10-day detox with him. It was the beginning of Day 8 and relief had come for Jimmy and others who had experienced the typical uncomfortable symptoms people have when they withdraw from sugar, caffeine, high-protein and high-fat foods.  “I feel better than I have ever felt—honestly.”

The Camden, Michigan, teen was front-and-center for the morning and happy about the progress everybody was making  with the detox. Jimmy came to CHI with his younger sister, older brother, mother and grandfather. All of them wanted to make significant changes to their diets and health. They decided to go raw after reading books such as Victoria Boutenko’s Raw Family and watching videos including Thirty Days Raw.  Now that their detox at CHI is nearly complete, the family agrees visiting our nutritional education center in Hodunk, Michigan,  has been one of the the best things they’ve ever done together.

Jessica Ehrhart, 12, said she plans to spread the word about the great time she’s had with her family and new friends at  Creative Health Institute.

“I would like to see lots of families come here. I wish everyone in the world could do it because then everyone would just be healthy,” Jessica said. “Fast foods are gross!”

After seeing the videos and reading the books his mother exposed the family to in preparation of their detox, Jimmy still was a bit skeptical about how much a raw food diet could affect him. He was willing to give raw living foods a try because he had some health concerns and wanted to see what a difference the Ann Wigmore way of life could make. Jimmy said for several years he has suffered from asthma, allergies, trouble sleeping, snoring and being overweight.  It’s been tough for him to join the fun and games kids his age typically enjoy.

“I couldn’t play sports.  My friends, they all try to run around town and I have a hard time keeping up to them with the asthma, ” Jimmy said. “It is embarrassing to stay over a friend’s house because I snore so loud.”

Now Jimmy feels a new hope and expects he’ll be able to participate more fully in teenage activities he sees others enjoy.  His snoring stopped right away. He’s been sleeping well every night and his asthma hasn’t been bothering him at all.  He’s been exercising every day and says he feels hopeful that he’ll be able to keep up with his friends in basketball, football and baseball. He has always tried to participate in sports but due to his health issues he has spent most of his time on the bench.

Jimmy also had a problem with food allergies.  He said he especially seemed to be allergic to nuts, particularly cashews. At CHI he has found he can eat all different kinds of nuts without any allergic reaction. He said he believes it’s because he had been eating nuts that were not organic and all of the food at the center is organic.  He said he was really happy to learn that eating a raw food diet doesn’t mean a life-sentence of “boring salads.” He was especially impressed with a raw cashew-cheese-based blueberry cheesecake an intern made one night for a CHI guest who was celebrating her birthday during the detox.

Jessica said all along she was excited to come to the Creative Health Institute with her family. She said she knew she needed to make some changes in her life and she was ready to move forward.

“I would like to improve my asthma and coming here definitely helped it,” she said. “I was always on the couch. I couldn’t breathe so I always had to have an inhaler wherever I went. It is really horrible.”

Jessica hasn’t had to use her inhaler once during the 10-day detox.  On day eight she reported feeling better than she has felt in a very long time. She said she has “tons” of energy and now she can breath without wheezing — something she hasn’t been able to do since she was a small child.

One of Jessica’s favorite things about the 10-day detox at CHI has been the cooking lessons. Jessica helped make marinara sauce to serve at dinner one night and she said she was surprised by how simple and tasty it was. She also has enjoyed rebounding (jumping on a miniature trampoline) in the morning and sitting in the banya (our Russian-style sauna). She said she really wants to come back for the raw chef classes to learn how to make gourmet raw living foods.

Jimmy and Jessica’s mother, Kimberly Ehrhart, said she’s very happy her family came to CHI together to detox with raw living food. She’s eager for her next visit and suggesting to staff that she’d like to see a CHI reunion for guests in the summer.

“I would highly suggest the 10-day detox,” Kimberly said.  “It’s more than cleansing for your body and mind, and it’s more than just new relationships — it’s family.”

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