My puppy Ginger is blind.  A strange way to start this article, I know, but it’s relevant.  I would never trust my puppy with anyone except Russ and Karen at the Zoo Crew in Tulsa, OK.  Once a month, I take Ginger in for her bath and primping. Each visit I love chatting with Russ and Karen.  Recently Russ has been ill and Karen was telling me about an incredible website that she had found during her internet search on Russ’ illness.  Karen told me that she discovered Sherry Brescia and her website Great Taste No Pain.  She ordered her books, received direct emails for Sherry and Russ was feeling better!

Since I trust Karen with my puppy, I certainly trust her advice. I immediately ran home, found Sherry’s website and sent her an interview request.  I know you will be as taken with Sherry as we are. It is our pleasure to giveaway a Great Taste No Pain system to 1 lucky Chic Galleria reader!

BA: Sherry, how did you get involved with Holistic Nutrition?

SB: My involvement with Holistic Nutrition was born out of necessity.  I began suffering from IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) as a teenager.  By the time I reached my late 20′s it was ruining my life–I couldn’t go anywhere or do anything without fear of having an “attack.”  Daily bouts of cramps, bloating and alternating diarrhea and constipation were my way of life.  And I knew where the public bathroom was in every place I went!

It was frustrating because I ate what most people would consider a healthy diet–very lean meats, whole grains, lots of fruits and vegetables and no processed foods.  It made no difference.

In 1990 I spent a week in the hospital following a very severe attack which left me weak and unable to keep food in my system.  After a series of uncomfortable tests that ruled out other disorders like Crohn’s, cancer, diverticulitis and colitis, I was diagnosed with IBS.

My doctor’s advice was to stay away from spicy foods, raw vegetables, nuts and seeds, and to take an anti-spasmodic pill (Donnatol) before every meal.

I didn’t want a life sentence of taking medication to create “false health,” and not wanting to give up the good tasting, healthy foods I loved, I searched for a better answer.  Eventually I learned about a holistic approach to creating health and healing by reducing acidity in the body through diet–specifically, the correct combining of foods.

The science behind it was sound–avoid eating foods together that are digested with enzymes that are opposites on the pH scale (acid and alkaline) because when you do, the acid and alkaline enzymes neutralize each other.  As a result, digestion is slowed or completely stopped.  When your foods are not digested like they should be, that creates excess acid, pain, bloating, gas, constipation and/or diarrhea–all the typical symptoms that send people running for Tums, Pepto Bismol, Alka Seltzer and the “purple pill.”

So I tried it.  And I’ve been completely symptom-free (and medication-free) since my very first correctly combined meal 17 years ago.

My own experiences with ill health served as my inspiration to help others, and there are a lot of others to help.  More than 70 million Americans suffer from digestive disorders, and we spend over $50 billion on products (both OTC and prescription drugs) to relieve indigestion and stomach upset.

What resulted was the creation of the Great Taste No Pain health system.  The Great Taste No Pain system is comprised of a 176-page recipe book and a set of straight-forward, easy to read manuals that teach you the principles of correct food combining and the importance of an alkaline pH.

Eating good food combinations and keeping an alkaline pH can help eliminate the symptoms of conditions such as:

* Diverticulitis and diverticulosis
* Ulcerative colitis
* Crohn’s disease
* Acid reflux
* GERD
* Hiatal hernia
* IBS (Irritable bowel syndrome)
* Stomach ulcers

You can learn more about Great Taste No Pain and read some of their tremendous client success stories at:

http://www.greattastenopain.com

BA: Having an online business isn’t easy, you still have to get visitors to your online store just like you would a real storefront. What are some of your strategies for getting traffic to come your way?

SB: Our website does appear on search engines like Google and Yahoo, but one of the best sources of traffic has been my daily newsletter writing.

I publish a daily (Monday – Friday) health oriented electronic newsletter called “Pain-Free Living” that presently has over 250,000 subscribers worldwide.  Pain-Free Living deals with a variety of health topics, but concentrates primarily on digestive issues.  Many of my newsletters are reprinted (with permission) in various publications and other electronic newsletters.  Subscribers also pass them along to family and friends.  There is nothing like word of mouth to get people excited about and believing in your product.

In addition, I have done many radio and magazine interviews, and also have a large number of professionals (holistic doctors and chiropractors) that refer their patients with digestive issues to our site.

BA: What makes your business unique when compared to others in this category?

SB: We are unique because we have created a healthy eating system that works amazingly well, yet is not full of tasteless, boring foods.  Let’s face it–when you talk about healthy eating, most people think of existing on celery and bean sprouts.  That’s not the case with Great Taste No Pain.

When I first learned how to eat correctly combined meals 17 years ago, I quickly noticed that the recipes in the books available on the subject were bland or unimaginative.  So I blended my passion for cooking delicious, gourmet-style meals and my knowledge of the principles of food combining and created my own recipes.

We prove that you can eat for health and still enjoy absolutely fantastic food, and that’s what makes us unique.

BA: What has been your proudest moment as a business owner?

SB: I feel a tremendous sense of pride whenever I read a success story from a client that I have helped, but I felt most proud when I was contacted by the father of a 7 year-old boy who feared his son was dying.  The boy suffered from chronic diarrhea and vomiting which completely turned around once he started correctly combining his foods.  Here is his story:

Sherry,

Thank you!

Out of desperation for the health of our son (7 years old) and a willingness to try anything that appeared to be healthy, we ordered your “Great Taste No Pain” program.

About one week later, here’s what I can report so far:  He is now a normal kid with a healthy appetite.  Big deal, right?

/>This year alone (from Jan 2008) he missed 23 days of school.  His pediatrician kept claiming he had a “flu bug” that was going around that was especially bad this year.

During his worst episode, in which he went 4 days without food and with very little water, we took him to a gastro doctor.  She prescribed Miralax claiming he was constipated.

My wife and I were astonished.  Constipated?  He went through 4 days of pure agony – 27 bouts of diarrhea – 6 bouts of vomiting.  How could he be constipated?

She also later did a scope from both ends and found no disease or entangled intestines – just some acid “burns” in the stomach.  Of course she recommended Prevacid and to stay away from citrus and spicy foods.

Her numerous biopsies did show some allergies.  The allergist found lactose intolerance and cited minor findings of other food allergies.  Our first visit with him seemed promising, but the second visit only got confusing.

With his level of allergies, his severe symptoms could not be explained.  Back to the gastro doctor.  Over time and between the 2 doctors “treating” him, we got prescriptions for Singulair, Xygal, an asthma inhaler, Prevacid and Pentasa.

After these didn’t work, they wanted us to up the dosage.  The pharmacist even commented about the excessively high dosage.

My son’s symptoms, especially looking back, were terrible.  Never a good eater, never wanting to go to the bathroom, bouts of violent diarrhea and vomiting, bouts of the agony of bloating and constipation, long periods of inactivity, and asthma attacks that always seemed to coincide with his digestive issues, which we noticed, but the doctors quickly dismissed once they ruled out Crohns and Celiac.

During the worst and last of these episodes, I even had the worst thoughts imaginable – that my son can’t keep any food in him and the doctors are helpless – can he even survive like that?  I seriously talked with him about the things of God and what he specifically needs to do to prepare for eternity.

My son has been diagnosed with many different things.  Thank God he doesn’t have any of these things.  And thank God (and you) for the work you do.

After 3 days of your plan, my son was feeling good and he now eats more than me.  We stopped all the medications.  In just 8 days, he’s eating like a horse, he’s playing like I’ve never seen, he’s going to the bathroom without being forced into it.

So far, so good.  Our family loves your recipes and we’ve all taken to the plan.

Just thought you’d like to know – there’s a family in Wisconsin who greatly appreciates you…

Dave

*******************

Sherry Brescia has spent the majority of her career studying health and the role that diet plays in a person’s overall state of wellness.

Much of her 16-year career in the health insurance industry was spent analyzing medical records of prospective policyholders and claim beneficiaries.  She read thousands of case studies of people who consulted doctors for digestive problems, aches and pains or lack of energy, but were never given any treatment besides tests, surgery or medication.

She noticed the patients returned to their doctors repeatedly for the same complaints, but the treatment rarely changed other than a different pill to try.  If any dietary recommendations were given, they were a vague, general “bland diet” or avoidance of foods that seem to cause symptoms.  Almost never did she note a true recovery from symptoms and attainment of great health.

At the same time she herself was a living case study.  Despite eating in a way that most health experts would consider healthy, she suffered daily for years with bloating, cramps, gas, diarrhea and constipation.  She also developed migraine headaches and allergies.

After a 7-day hospital stay being drugged with Demerol for excruciating pain, fed by an IV and enduring one painful, embarrassing test after another, she was given the diagnosis of IBS.  She was told to take an anti-spasmodic medication before every meal for the rest of her life, along with avoiding many of her favorite foods and taking more pills for the allergies and migraines.  She was just 28 years old.

A year later, still in pain and outraged at her doctor’s lack of knowledge of what to do for her besides writing a prescription for pills to mask her symptoms (while ignoring the cause), she ditched the meds and instead learned how to eat in the way that considers and respects how the human body is designed to digest food (otherwise known as food combining).

As a result, she has been completely symptom-and medication-free for over 17 years.  Stomach problems, allergies and migraines all disappeared instantly after she just became a little more discerning about what foods she ate together.

Sherry realized then that she had a mission.  She was meant to help others attain better health in the most natural way possible–through their diet.

Sherry knew that in order to help as many people as possible, her system had to be one they would stick with–it needed to appeal to the pickiest eaters, be easy to do and allow people to still enjoy as many of their favorites foods as possible.  With her passion for making and eating great food, she blended the science of food combining (originally created by Dr. William Howard Hay in 1911) with gourmet-tasting yet easy to make meals to create the Great Taste No Pain health system.

Everyday, Sherry receives success stories from people worldwide thanking her and claiming she has “saved their lives.”

In addition to being an author and gourmet cook, Sherry holds a black belt in Okinawan Goju-ryu Karate, teaches religious education classes and is currently working toward her PhD in holistic nutrition.  She lives in Central New York with her husband, son, daughter and 3 cats.

In order to win the Great Taste No Pain health system, you need to leave a comment on this article.  Do you or a loved one suffer from pain?  Are you interested in trying Sherry’s system? We want to know!  Winner will be chosen from the comments on Tuesday, September 15 midnight EST.

Congratulations Lauri!

Tags: author, diet, food, health, pain

7 comments