'Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food'

Back in the 1950’s, Ann Wigmore healed herself from stage 4 colon cancer through the illuminating, healing power of living foods. This miraculous transformation was due to a steadfast commitment to wheatgrass juice, living sprouts and raw foods.

In 1956, inspired by the holistic Living Foods lifestyle of Ann Wigmore and another compelling thinker: Viktoras Kulvinskas, the Hippocrates Health Institute in Florida (now called’ Hippocrates Wellness’) was founded by Brian and Anna Maria Clement.

For nearly seventy years, Hippocrates Health Institute have attracted many guests, and students, who wish to heal themselves and learn more of cleansing and nourishing the body.

It is here where founder of Living Foods for Health, Jill Swyers was able to ‘heal herself’ from multiple health issues, such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Raynaud’s syndrome. Jill is transparent about her previous ‘food addiction’ which led to her being overweight and lacking in energy and uses it as spring board for her training programmes.

After conducting her own research, Jill started taking Aloe Vera and wheatgrass juice for energising characteristics, alongside food combining for sustained weight loss and optimised digestion. For the first time in her life, Jill was able to maintain weight loss and had optimal energy. This inspired her to train as a Hippocrates Health Educator at the Institute, where she still teaches from time to time and started her own company: Living Foods for Health in 1998: To Become a Healthier You.

“My workshops attract people from all walks of life, including those with a cancer diagnosis. I have a flexible approach to my workshop facilitating and host workshops at my premises but will also travel to business locations or residential homes. The two-day workshops are ideal for a small group to receive a practical demonstration, with plenty of time for questions.”

“Each group will have a vegan meal and juices, all inspired by the philosophy from the Hippocrates Health Institute. This includes sprouting, vegetable juice preparation and tried and tested techniques for dehydrated foods. With the courses run from my premises, I use a dehydrator and make delicious homemade hummus using Brussel sprouts, which is often a favourite on the course!” explained Jill.

Jill herself has been vegan for many years but noted that when she gave up meat in the first instance, she was ‘less angry and more patient.’ It was with this self-insight that Jill slowly moved towards a vegan diet, finding it lighter in the process.

“Not all vegan lifestyles are inherently healthy though, for some it is a fad and diligence isn’t paid to nutritional foods. For example, protein and carbohydrates shouldn’t be mixed, and it is always best to use organic, seasonal vegetables. When you give up meat, fish or dairy, you need to consider if you are replacing that with optimised foods, such as raw and uncooked foods,” added Jill.

Advocating Farmers’ Markets, especially organic producers, Jill makes sure that she either buys local to support local businesses or her own home-grown micro-greens such as sunflower greens, pea greens, wheatgrass, mung beans and lentils (mini-sprouts). For Jill, organic food is best as the pesticides used otherwise causes substantial damage to immune systems over the long-term.

“Food can heal, I have seen huge transformations in my lifetime, where people with debilitating illnesses can heal themselves and go onto live lives, rich with energy and stamina.”

“We all have interesting relationships with food, I can trace my food addiction back to childhood, where food became a ‘crutch,’ a form of comfort. We live in a world that seems to encourage addiction, from food, alcohol to cigarettes. Once we disentangle ourselves from this addiction, we can understand more fully our relationship with food and treat our body more like a temple.”

Living Foods for Health runs courses linked to the Balance of Naturopathic Nutrition for professional chefs, interested private small groups and individuals, through to master classes for those wanting advanced knowledge and practices.

To start your journey today towards optimised health through the preparation of living foods, contact Jill Swyers below: T +44 (0)7768 081376 info@jillswyers.comhttps://www.jillswyers.com