Letting go of toxic control to regain healthy control, as nutritionist Kayla Rose Kotecki strongly recommends, is no easy feat. But after seeing her father’s struggle with a lifestyle-related disease and jumping over her own hurdles in the health department, Stacia Davidson decided to become a raw vegan. Her success has inspired her to recruit others for her raw challenges.
In January 2019, Davison was overweight, the biggest she had ever been in her entire life. Slowing down from a pretty active, athletic life while growing up had taken its toll. Feeling unhappy about the ongoing fluctuation, she needed to put an end to the chaos and gave herself structure with raw vegan living.
Davidson said seeing her father daily treating his diabetes was a wake-up call. Seeing what he endured, she knew that she did not want to be living that life. “One day, while being at home with my dad, he fell ill. Thinking his blood sugar was high, which was usually the case, he injected insulin. And when that didn’t work, he injected some more. But he began getting worse, and he knew something was terribly wrong,” Davidson told Flair.
RUSHED TO THE HOSPITAL
Dropping everything, she rushed him to the hospital, hoping to give him the medical care he needed, but was shocked when no assistance was given because the policy at that time was, no treatment would be done unless money was paid. Her best efforts to explain that a family member was bringing the money to make payment didn’t matter to the medical team. Davidson said she was informed that her father was having a stroke, but nothing could be done about it because of the non-payment. He advised her to get something sweet for him to drink across the street because his blood sugar was extremely low.
“My dad ended up being bedridden for 10 years before he died. The stroke paralysed half of his body, his voice changed. He was frail and just not the same father I knew [who was] always working,” she painfully recalled. As the years went by, Davidson saw the deterioration of his body. It broke her heart to see him in that condition, and she felt completely helpless, but knew that he felt even worse. The life lesson she learned from that experience is that prevention is not only better, but cheaper than the cure.
A typical breakfast for the raw vegan. 
The fruitarian gets ready to take a bite out of her watermelon.
Even though she hadn’t decided back then to go plant-based, the seeds were planted and growing in that direction. The healthy approach she initially took was solely through exercise; Davidson never thought of addressing the nutritional factor until 2019.
Consuming food to facilitate healing and eating to fight disease, rather than feeding the disease with unhealthy eating and lifestyle habits, became her new way of life. Davidson was aware that living a truly healthy lifestyle means taking a holistic approach to wellness. Workout is great, but it’s not enough, “We also need to be mindful of what we put into our stomachs, getting adequate amounts of sleep, hydration — drinking enough water, coconut water, and eating fruits with high water content,” she said.
Two years later, the raw vegan who considers herself a fruitarian is 40 pounds lighter and healthier in mind, body and soul. The move cleared up her skin, and it also helped significantly with her menstrual cycle — she no longer suffered through painful cramps.
Basking in the merriment, she posted about doing a 40-day Raw Challenge for her 40th birthday. To her surprise, others expressed interest in joining. The results were remarkable. Persons felt better, lighter; and one person who had endometriosis saw major health improvements. The only concern was that it was too long. So this year, she is hosting a 21-day Raw Challenge, complete with a detailed guide, including daily exercises and meals, as well as juice ideas. “My hope is to inspire lifestyle change and transformation in health and wellness, and provide support and accountability that facilitates the healing of women and their families of underlying illnesses and diseases caused, or worsened, by unhealthy eating and lifestyle habits,” she said.
For Davidson, it is all about hearing the progress reports and stories. Even if those who joined don’t convert to a plant-based lifestyle, she wants you to be more mindful or intentional about what you eat by adding more fruits, vegetables and water to your diet and taking care of your body physically, as well as mentally.
To kick-start your 21-day Raw Challenge, visit staciaalicia.com/product/raw-food-challenge for more information.
