Today is day 100 for Dawn Ferguson on her new "raw" diet to heal cancer. We took this opportunity to interview her about her experience.
Q: So, Dawn, tell us what you're eating?
A: Raw fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds.
Q: Are you eating any cooked vegetables?
A: No.
Q: Not even some beans or a baked potato?
A: My goal is to eat all raw...as in not cooked.
Q: Are you tired of eating just raw stuff?
A: Yes!
Q: Have you cheated?
A: Yes! But not much.
Q: How much have you cheated?
A: I've had two naked, baked potatoes. I've eaten about a half cup of cooked black beans and a little steamed broccoli. And I've had a few pieces of Ezekiel bread. Those are my only cheats in the past 100 days!
Q: What do you like the least about this diet?
A: Eating salads all the time and not being able to go out to eat.
Q: What do you like the most about this diet?
A: There's no wondering what I need to buy at the store to "fix" to eat.
Q: What about Roger?
A: What about him?
Q: What's he eating?
A: I'm still cooking for him!
Q: Isn't that hard?
A: Sometimes.
Q: Has he been supportive of your diet?
A: Most of the time. Except there was that one time when he told me to just put salad dressing on something I didn't like and eat it! He might have even told me to quit whining.
Q: Sounds like you're holding a grudge.
A: Moi?
Q: What's in the picture up above?
A: My latest discovery. Raw onion bread.
Q: How do you make raw bread?
A: Well, you have to plan way in advance. This bread is made from ground sunflower seeds, ground flax seeds, onions, olive oil and coconut aminos. You mix all that together and then spread it on sheets in your dehydrator and "cook" it for 36 hours!
Q: And how does it taste?
A: Considering I can't have baked bread and am tired of salads, it's delicious! Actually, it's not bad at all. I even look forward to dinner now.
Q: How much longer are you going to stick with this diet?
A: I go back to the naturopath in September so I'm sticking with it at least until then. I'm hoping he lets me add a little cooked food after that.
Q: Then what?
A: From all the research I've done, it appears I'll need to be doing this for about two years to get my body back into tip top shape and keep it cancer free.
Q: You think that will be hard?
A: Yes, I do. But the longer I do it and see how much more energetic I am, the easier I hope it gets.
Q: Well, congratulations for making it 100 days! Any final words you'd like to share with our readers?
A: Yes - thank you all so much for your support and your prayers! I love you guys! And "I love you, O Lord, my strength."
I missed church yesterday.
Not because I wanted to, but because I was puny.
On Saturday - with no warning whatsoever - I woke up achy and not feeling too good. By mid-day, I had a temperature of 101. I stayed in bed all day (which is a clear indication that I'm not feeling good.)
It's been about 80 days since I did this very radical shift in my diet - going all raw. That detoxes your body as you go along, but you reach a point where it does something even greater to you. I think I reached that Saturday. I treated none of the symptoms. By mid-morning Sunday, it was gone. That means my immune system kicked in! Hallelujah!
My friend Kathy has already been through it and said it was like having a short episode of the flu. Bingo!
We live in a very toxic environment. In fact, the more I learn about it - the scarier it gets.
Just consider your skin - the largest organ of your body. Our skin absorbs 60% of what we put on it. Look at your lotions, your soaps, your sunscreens, etc. Those chemicals you can't pronounce are getting into your blood stream!
We breathe in toxic air. We eat toxic food - food sprayed with pesticides - some food which has been genetically modified - some with Round Up to be resistant to weeds! Toxins are everywhere. There is no way to avoid them all. That's why it's important to do what you can to avoid as many as possible. (End of sermon.)
Back to missing church - I love my church family. Not just Madison Church of Christ, but all God's people. I have loved all the congregations I've been a member of - Hendersonville First United Methodist Church, Aurora Christian Church, Tulip Grove Baptist Church and many I haven't been a member of.
I don't go on Sunday and at other times during the week to get my card punched or because I have to or I'm supposed to. I go because I want to! I love being in fellowship with other Christians.
When I am there, there are people all around me going through tough times - some much more difficult then what I'm dealing with right now. I get strength when I see them praising God amidst trials. That is raw, unadulterated faith.
Two weeks ago I prayed with a woman in our Benevolence Center. When I asked her what I could pray with her about, she said "my faith." The standard answer is generally finances, family, health issues, etc. I asked her what about her faith. She said she was losing it. Why? "Because I'm doing everything right and I'm having all kinds of problems."
Unfortunately, people sometimes seek God for what He can do for them. Some people call this the prosperity gospel - as long as you're good and do everything you're supposed to do - God will pour out blesses on you!
That is bad theology! And it's not the truth.
Jesus tells us that God causes the sun to shine on the good and the bad and likewise with the rain - it falls on the good and the bad. (And we need some of it to fall right now on all of us!)
And thankfully, I'm glad the prosperity gospel isn't the way God works. I much prefer His mercy and His grace because if I had to live out His rules to be blessed, I would have been dead a long time ago!
It's day 83 of my raw diet. Next Monday, I'll be celebrating day 90. Can you say $8 raw chocolate bar here I come?
"I love you, O Lord, my strength."
It's day 71 on this all raw diet, and I am starting to feel more 
energetic. I think my body has been in detox mode which has made me a little sluggish.
I've had lots of friends ask me about what I'm doing and why is it so important to eat raw. Once food is heated above 108 to 115 degrees (there's some disagreement as to exactly where the heating point is) it starts losing enzymes, then nutrients, then minerals, etc. the more and more it's cooked. That's not to say that roasted broccoli is bad for you - just that raw broccoli is better.
Cooking destroys enzymes, lessens the nutritional value (some say by as much as 80%!) and raises the acidity of the food. Cancer thrives in an acidic environment, so I am alkalinizing (if that's a word) my insides so it's not welcoming to cancer cells.
The naturopath set my goal at 100% raw, and that's what I have pretty much stuck to. I did cheat two or three times and have a slice of Ezekiel Bread again, because the naturopath also told me not to stress out over meeting all my goals! So I'm not!
Roger and I took a field trip to Whole Foods yesterday and I actually found an all raw (meaning it's not been cooked above 118 degrees) organic chocolate bar! Yes - it was about half the size of a regular candy bar and cost $8.00 - but it was worth it! (On second thought, maybe that's why I'm feeling a little peppier!)
I have enjoyed watching and listening to some of you who are inspired to make some lifestyle changes because of what I'm sharing --- especially my sweet friend who shall remain nameless who is trying to give up her morning McDonald's sausage and biscuit! Some of you have told me you've gotten your juicers back out or you're eating at least one raw meal a day. Yay! My niece is visiting juice bars across the city and ordering Alabama zingers! Even Roger is eating a salad or two with me.
I truly believe it is making a difference in me in a very positive way. For one thing, my skin pigmentation is a little oranger which means I can stay outside and get more natural Vitamin D. (If you don't believe me, just let me turn my palm up and compare it to yours.) I do have more energy. I stay full and I'm rarely hungry. My teeth are whiter (probably from not drinking any coffee.) And my silver hair appears to be getting darker. (Note: This is an anti-aging diet.) Roger is still waiting for the mental clarity which is supposed to be another side effect...bless his heart.
I watched an interview on youtube yesterday with Jack Lalane, the fitness guru who invented jumping jacks and lived to be 97. At the time of the interview, he was 95 and had just written a book on the importance of nutrition and exercise. His philosophy is "If man made it, don't eat it."
To which Roger replied, "if woman made it, it's okay! Where's the fudge cake?"
My niece's 10-year-old daughter Kaitlin created the above artwork. She asked her parents for a canvas and then planned and painted this just for me. I've chosen to hang it in our kitchen for inspiration. While I love the front (pictured above), I love what she wrote on the back the most. In case the photo doesn't show up well, it says:
To: The person named
Dawn who will overcome
CANCER!
From: Kaitlin
Go Girl!
What a great motivation. You rock Kaitlin. Thanks.
"I love you O Lord, my strength."
