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How a cancer diagnosis set Tom Armstrong and Susan Park on a raw foods journey
 As 25-year vegetarians, Tom Armstrong and Susan Park have a long history eating healthful foods. But it was a cancer scare that convinced them to go all the way and follow a raw foods diet.
Susan was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in the summer of 2004. She saw two specialists who wanted her to undergo surgery and radioactive iodine chemotherapy.
Not wanting to face radical surgery and treatment, Susan decided instead to travel to the Optimum Health Institute in Southern California, and went all-raw instantly. A month later, she went to Gabriel Cousens' Tree of Life center in Arizona and learned more about the benefits of a raw food diet. By June 2005, she was cancer-free -- all without undergoing the traditional medical route. An added bonus was going from a size 12 to a size 4 without even trying.
Tom started eating a lot more raw foods himself, and by Jan. 1, 2005, he resolved to go all raw, something he did immediately. Eating raw foods has brought Tom and Susan many benefits even beyond restoring her to good physical health.
"By going raw, we've found it's the next step on the spiritual path," Tom says. "Humans try to separate themselves from nature, but all the other animals out there are eating raw."
But they discovered it was a challenge to find good, raw products. In 2005, they create a raw foods buying co-op with four of their friends. A year later, there was enough interest to create a physical store, and they began selling online. Today, the store is run out of their home, and they offer thriving raw foods potlucks and classes. Visit the store during events, or call ahead to make an appointment.
Tom and Susan are true believers in the power of raw foods, and are excited to be at the vanguard of this burgeoning movement. Tom has developed extensive contacts in the industry, and is able to bring his customers some of the best raw foods products and deals.
"We want to be accessible to people to help them make the transition," Tom says, whether it's simply incorporating more raw and living foods into their diet, or going raw all the way.
Adds Susan: "Nobody's giving anything up by going raw. You're enriching your life immensely." |
