Meet Elisa
Hey there! I’m Elisa and I run this place. 
Think of me as your friendly dietitian: defying lupus with whole food plant-based meals, veggilicious recipes, alternative therapies and nurturing veg-friends – such as yourself – in quest to conquer disease!
My credentials are “RD, LDN” which means: Registered Dietitian (RD) and Licensed Dietitian Nutritionist (LDN). An RD is a food and nutrition expert who has met specific academic and professional requirements to qualify for the credential RD. The LDN is a state regulatory law for dietitian and nutrition practitioners to help keep us legit.
I received my degree in Nutrition & Dietetics from the University of Delaware, interned at Geisinger Medical Center and worked as a clinical dietitian at two different hospitals for four years prior to starting my own practice, EatUrVeggies.com.
Through my research and experience I’ve learned that eating a whole food plant-based diet, while significantly decreasing processed ingredients and animal products, can have a drastic impact on our health.
My lifestyle is about consuming generous amounts of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, seeds, beans and legumes in many different varieties. I believe in plant-strong eating, because I’ve experienced its healing effects while learning to enjoy the of taste pure food.
Since childhood, I’ve recognized the importance of lifestyle choices. I ‘ate right’ and was a dedicated athlete in high school and college, even being awarded an athletic scholarship.
Despite living an active life and consuming all things in moderation, I was hampered by health issues since my early 20′s, and was eventually diagnosed with the autoimmune disease Systemic Lupus Erythematosis (SLE).
This disease, although a “mild” case, turned my life upside down. Working became a daily struggle due to debilitating pain and fatigue. I often slept 14 hours a night to recover from a normal 8-hour workday. My relationships suffered because of my lack of energy, and my diagnosis was confusing because I looked ‘fine.’
When conventional medical treatments failed, I was so miserable that I resigned from work. I chose to use that time to look for less common methods of healing. I studied medical research documenting a plant-based diet’s role on disease, and I began re-vamping my own nutrition. I was determined to learn how to prepare whole foods from scratch, and to use my education to improve my life on a daily basis.
In the past two years, I’ve steadily progressed. As a result, I’ve been able to drastically eliminate inflammation in my body. My sedimentation rate, an inflammatory marker, decreased from 27 to 2. My ssDNA (an indicator of an immune abnormality) is down from 130 (elevated) to 40 (within normal limits).
Meanwhile, I’ve simultaneously reduced my risk of developing future diseases by significantly increasing phytosterols in my diet, while reducing my cholesterol values to protective levels. My total cholesterol decreased from 198 (borderline high) to 119, my LDL (bad) cholesterol is 56, and my triglycerides are down to 34.
I’m off daily medication, with significantly decreased muscle, joint and pleural pain, arthritis, headaches, congestion, fatigue, infections, mouth ulcers, hair loss, and malaise. I still have periodic setbacks with Raynaud’s phenomenon, chilblains (sores on my hands and toes), and allergies. I’m confident that in time these issues – which have developed over the past decade – will continue to improve. I’m finally able to exercise daily without flaring up symptoms, and I’ve begun to resume a fulfilling life.
I’ve gained valuable insight and experience as a health care provider who’s battled with disease and grown all too familiar with the medical challenges patients endure. Instead of relying on medicines with risky side effects, my story is about using nutrition to take control of my health. In the process, I’ve discovered that plants are the natural, sustainable fuel intended for our bodies.
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Check out my 2011 twelve day fasting experience here
{ 29 comments… read them below or add one }
Your website is real inspiration, looks great with bright colors and pictures, not forgetting great resource for nutrition related information and nutrient rich, easy recipes… excellent work here! Good luck in all you do!
Hi Kai! Thank you for this wonderful feedback. It has been a work in progress, but I am enjoying the process!! I plan to add more recipes soon! Wishing you and your family well :0)
Hi Elisa,
I was referred to your website by a member of the Dr. McDougall site’s discussion board. I am 28 years old and was diagnosed with SLE 11 years ago. I have been researching and experimenting with dietary strategies toward recovery and vitality. Your site is an inspiration and I instantly felt empathy and understanding learning your story. I wish you the best of health and thank you for the information and resources you provide here.
Rachel
Rachel,
Thank you for sharing your experience with me. I am sorry to hear about your many years of living with lupus – it sounds like you are on the right path for success. Please feel free to email me if you have questions (Elisa@EatUrVeggies.com). I plan to continue to improve this site to help people like yourself – you’re the reason that I do what I do.
Wishing you the best… Elisa
Elisa, wonderful story! I’m so glad you’re feeling better.
I’m on the road to starting eating better. My question is where can I find more nutritarian recipes?
Thank you!
Thank you Silvi
Glad to hear you are joining me on the road less traveled! You can view recipes here.
Hi Elisa,
I saw the article about you on Dr. Fuhrman’s Diseaseproof website. You are an inspiration to me and others. This message needs to get out, but people seem so complacent and happy to stay with the “Standard American Diet.”
I got the book, Eat to Live, a few years ago, after my search for ways to treat high blood pressure without medications. By (not even strictly) following the concepts I learned from Dr. Fuhrman, I was able to normalize my blood pressure without medication, and lose about 40 pounds.
Thanks for sharing your story. Wishing you all the best…..Michael
Hi Michael,
I am so glad you were able to appreciate my story. Thanks for visiting this site and for sharing your experience with us. I agree with you, it is amazing to see what improvements result in people’s health when they simply stop following the Standard American Diet (SAD). Imagine what it would do for our nation if the majority, or even half, of our country moved in this direction!
You take care and stop by again! ~Elisa
Elisa,
I found Dr. Fuhrman’s books/website almost one year ago. I have suffered a steady decline in
I hope to hear from you soon. Thanks for sharing you testimony. I am happy that you are recovering. 
my health too. I noticed my first drop at the age of 28. Yet, I vamped up my nutrition and was
able to carry on. At the age of 36, my health took a nose dive. I suffered many of your complaints
and was too, told “Lupus”. I began searching hard for help. I came across some health books that
did indeed bring some relief. Yet, my energy was managed much like one might manage a tight
financial budget. It was a depressing existence. I continued to search, and learn, and adjust, and,
take supplements, and learn, and adjust,….etc. Now at the age of 48, I found Dr. Fuhrman. Sadly,
eating nutritarian wasn’t enough. I still suffered chronic IBS. I faithfully/strictly followed the Nutritarian diet. I so wanted it to be my answer. I have since discovered that part of my problem is FODMAPS. I purchased the Book “IBS FREE AT LAST’ by Patsy Catsos, MS, RD, LD
I found relief from my IBS! However, my diet is now so restricted that it makes it very difficult to
eat veggies only. I find that I can’t eat most nuts, beans, and fruits. This makes it very hard to avoid
meats, and grains. I was wondering how much you know about FODMAPS? Also curious, if this is new to you, would you consider learning all about this elimination diet? If so, perhaps I could work
with you to come up with a truly healthy, and varied (not to mention interesting) diet?
I considered trying to work with Patsy Catsos. However, while she may know about FODMAPS, she
never talks about Nutritarian eating. Therefore, I would rather work with you.
Wow Betty – this is good stuff! Thank you for sharing your experience thus far. You have obviously been through a LOT. I will email you shortly with more specific responses to your questions. Thanks for writing!! ~Elisa
That was a great article of you on Dr. Fuhrman’s Diseaseproof website. I am glad you are feeling better. You are such an inspiration and your website is great. Thanks for sharing your story and all your information.
Gina
Gina – I am glad you found my story inspiring because that is the reason for sharing it after all. When I was really sick I found hope in other peoples’ success, so I feel a real need to describe my experience to others. Thank you for visiting EUV.com and for taking the time to provide this feedback. All the best!
~Elisa
Hi Elisa,
Would like to check if you have written any book that shares your stories on recovery?
Not yet Trish, but I’d like to at some point
Any requests on the type of content you would like to see?
One book that I found helpful in the beginning of my journey, which included personal accounts from patients with autoimmune illnesses, was Jill Harrington’s Lupus Recovery Diet.
Hi, my 42yo wife has migraines and erythromelalgia. At this point she is in severe pain so that she is unable to sleep and hardly able to sit up and eat. we have 24hr care for her. She has been on the Fuhrman vegan plan for 1 year with no results. Her symptoms are only worsening. She cannot bear weight on her feet so is bed bound. Any thoughts?
Hi Scott,
I’m really sorry to hear about your wife’s condition. Several questions come to mind, such as have you actually seen Dr. Fuhrman? Have you followed the autoimmune protocol or just the Eat to Live diet? Why don’t you email me what your wife typically eats on a daily basis, including supplements. That way, I can determine if I have anything to offer and we can go from there.
Thank you,
~Elisa
+Hello Elisa,
God directed me to your website, thanks to Him and to Dr. Fuhrman,s “Nutrition instead of drugs to treat autoimmune disease”. I am a Registered Nurse for 25yrs.+, on my early 50′s diagnosed with ‘mild SLE’ 8 mos. ago. I was put on prednisone for 6 weeks with great hesitancy bec. as a nurse I know the untoward side effects of this med. but I did not have a choice at that time and I had only limited knowledge of SLE compared to now. I used to live very active life (type A personality), not taking any medicine, until this happened to me experiencing your signs and symptoms. I came across Lupus Recovery Diet by Jill and my eyes were opened on the importance of diet to bring healing. My diet now is more modified than before, eating lots of fruits and veggies and few servings of meat. I am off prednisone after 6 weeks (of horrible side effects) and I am on Plaquenil since then which I plan to discontinue but scared to do so. I know my doctor would not like it but I hate to take more of these drugs. Would you please, please, share with me your thoughts and help me from the goodness of your heart. God bless you!
Hi Gloria,
Thanks for sharing your story. I’m sad to hear about your new diagnosis. Fortunately you’re off to a good start, but there are plenty of other things to do to continue on a path toward improved health. I suggest you eliminate animal products, processed food, wheat, oil and salt from your diet to reduce systemic inflammation. You also want to avoid alfalfa sprouts and figs for lupus. Nightshade vegetables (tomato, potato, eggplant and peppers) affect people with autoimmune diseases on an individualized basis, so be mindful of any patterns you see with these foods. I also suggest consuming well chopped cruciferous vegetables at each meal, and lots of blended salads, soups and smoothies. If you do these things very diligently, you can get off the Plaquenil, which has the ability to irreversibly damage the retina of the eye and causes skin sensitivities from sunlight. So to me, it’s about doing what is best for you – it’s not about keeping your doctor happy. You must be your own advocate! I’d be glad to guide you through this process, if you’re willing to sign up for my online nutrition services – which I might add are extremely affordable given my knowledge, time and attention to detail
Blessings to you Gloria!
Elisa,
thank you for sharing this story.
I too was diagnosed with Lupus, in the fall of 2003, suffering from arthritic pain, skin and nose sores, anemia, debilitating fatigue and brain fog.
Recognizing that I never ate much fruits or vegetables I started juicing and felt immediately better. 6 months later I discovered Dr Fuhrman’s approach and implemented it, including switching to an almost exclusively vegetarian diet and reducing wheat and dairy to 1/2 a pita a day and 1/2 a glass of skim milk 2 or 3 times a week. 9 months from the diagnosis I completely eliminated all wheat and dairy. While most symptoms abated very early on in the process, the inflammation markers did not go down until I completely removed wheat and dairy from my diet. 3 years later the markers were within or very near the normal range and I knew I was cured when not only previous illness symptoms were gone but severe childhood allergies to cats and horses had also completely disappeared and I remained symptom free throughout a 2 hour horseback riding outing when previously my face and throat would have become swollen with congested sinuses and watery eyes after a few minutes of standing near horse stalls.
7 years later I now lead an active lifestyle, skiing, hiking and mountain biking daily in the mountains of British Columbia. Last year, in my early 50′s I completed a 9 month intensive Mountain Adventure Skills Training program (I had previously worked at a desk job for 30 years) where I learned backcountry skiing, ice climbing, rock climbing, wilderness hiking, rafting, canoeing and obtained technical certification in outdoor emergency care, swiftwater rescue, ski instruction and avalanche rescue.
I sometimes stray(ed) from my ideal nutrition, particularly during long ski teaching or patrolling days at the hill or during multiday wilderness hiking or glacier skiing trips but as long as I stay away from meat and refined foods most of the time and from wheat and dairy all of the time, eat several servings of fruits and vegetables daily and eat whole grains and legumes weekly I remain symptom free and healthy even with the occasional introduction of some foods with salt or refined sugar or flour.
The key is to not eat out often, let the host know about nutritional requirements when invited to someone else’s home for a meal, make my own lunches and snacks, use smoothies, juicing and blended salads whenever needed such as when tired after a long day of physical activities, make use of a use a slow cooker and the freezer, and on long trips to make my own food, dehydrating fruits and veggies ahead of time.
I have come to accept that I will always remain sensitive to wheat and dairy as over the years, the occasional reintroduction of these foods provoked symptoms if consumed a few days in a row, but it really is not that hard to eliminate them with a little advanced planning (such as bringing my own pasta on the occasion my husband want to go to an Italian restaurant) and stocking my own kitchen with a variety of nutritious foods.
Voilà, I hope it can inspire others as the practical aspects of eating nutritarian can sometimes be challenging with a busy lifestyle.
Celine
Hi Celine,
Welcome to EUV.com and thanks for sharing your incredible success with us! You must be elated to have your life back!! Feel free to stop back and to share your experience with us anytime. It’s encouraging that you were able to relax some of your restrictions later on in the process. It’s also important to note that while you’ve done okay reintroducing certain foods 8 years out from diagnosis – some of us may or may not have that luxury down the road. Everybody’s situation is unique to their disease state, history, lifestyle, and food choices. I also find it very useful to hear how much juicing helped you in your recovery, since that is a new love of mine
Congratulations Celine!!!
Wishing you the best,
~Elisa
Hi Elisa
I am living in South Africa, I have been diagnosed with Lupus for 3 months, I am 33 years old and a mother of 3, twins that are 5 and 8 year old. I am currently on aggressive treatment 50mg methotrexate injections, Imuran, folic acid, plasmaquine and colestrol tabs. the side effects I have not really experienced I think that its early days. However putting this medication down my throat is unbearble I have always hated taking meds and now I am the one taking the most. Its very hard to comprehend that I was a fit mom running around with kids going to birthday parties and having fun. Now i have to take time out just to breath. The reason for my writing is that in SA there is not much publicity or information available. Support groups are rare. My no 1 priority is to get off the MEDS…I have bought Dr Fuhrman’s book “Eat To Live” and I am really really trying to abide by the rules its really hard….Do you have any advice on how to cope with all this.
ps. All the best to you, you are an inspiration. Chin Up!!
Hi Shereen,
Thank you for your kind words of encouragement and support! I’m sorry to hear about your new diagnosis and how drastically it has changed your life. I give you credit for not wanting to settle on such potent medications. I have a few suggestions for you:
1. Purchase Dr. Fuhrman’s Newsletter #16 on Nutritional Care of Autoimmune Diseases and implement the autoimmune protocol. You can order it here: https://www.drfuhrman.com/shop/newsletter.aspx
2. Read the book Fasting & Eating for Health by Dr. Joel Fuhrman
3. Consider working with me, so that I can guide you through the process. Check out my Services here.
4. Review this website for other resources, suggestions and try the recipes!
5. Sign up for tips, updates and recipes on this site on the right hand corner of any page. Simply provide your name and email address.
6. Continue to read and educate yourself.
I wish you the best Shereen! ~Elisa
Thank you so much Elisa I will have a look at the services and get back to you!!
God Bless.
Hi Elisa,
Since meeting you this week-end I was inspired to visit your website. Once again I feel you have done and are doing a great job both for yourself and to share this info with others.
I am going to cook and share some of the recipes and will add comments as I do.
Bless you and here’s to good health.
Coleen
Hi Coleen!!
I really enjoyed meeting you as well and feel like you actually get me! Thanks for all your encouragement and for taking the time to check out my site. I think you’re pretty incredible yourself and am thankful for your faithful friendship to my family. I’ll look forward to hearing what you think of some of the recipes. They get better all the time, so stay tuned for more
Peas and love to you! ~Elisa
Hi Elisa, It’s great to find your website. I really admire your background and all the good work you do! Also I am fascinated to read what you have to say about the ecornell China Study course as I am just now reading the book. Starting about 10 years ago I began experiencing symptoms of Ulcerative Colitis. 2 years ago I switched to eating a mostly plant based diet but I found I still had symptoms. Then through some synchronicity I happened upon a book of green smoothie recipes (blended leafy greens & fruits). After adding those to my diet greatly decreased my symptoms in frequency and severity. This year for my new years resolution (Jan 1st, 2011) I switched to a mostly raw foods vegan diet and I have not had one flare up of UC since being raw. Also, most other inflammation based symptoms that I was experiencing (i.e. abdomenal pain/swelling, rosacea, hot flashes) that I thought of as a normal part of aging are mostly gone. Let me know if this is something that interests you. Thanks for all you do.
Hi Linda,
Lovely to hear from you! Thanks for this positive feedback. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing your experience in controlling your UC symptoms. I’ve read that a whole foods, plant-based, anti-inflammatory approach can be beneficial to UC. Unfortunately, I haven’t had the opportunity to work with anyone with the condition first-hand, so it’s encouraging to hear that you’ve been flare free since January – Congratulations! It sounds like you’ve made a strong commitment to your diet/lifestyle, which always interests me indeed!
To answer your question, the eCornell plant based certification was a useful study for plant-based basics. It was a nice tutorial for health professionals, and I thoroughly enjoyed the guest speakers. Overall it had a lot of good content that was informative, especially for those with no nutritional training.
Keep us posted on your health as you continue to explore new avenues Linda.
Best wishes!
Hi…
I have been enjoying reading your site today. I have AI Thyroiditis. Do you think that the same recommendations will work for thyroid problems as it will for the other AI diseases. I am concerned about the brassica family of veggies (broccoli, kale, etc) and that it could further hinder my thyroid function.
Please advise….Thanks
Hi Sara – Thanks for exploring EatUrVeggies!
In regards to crucifers and Thyroid disease, the concern is this: that cruciferous vegetables can potentially be goitrogenic (inducing goiter formation) since they contain enzymes that interfere with the formation of thyroid hormone. At high intake of crucifers, the goitrogens inhibit the incorporation of iodine into thyroid hormone and also the transfer of iodine into milk by the mammary gland.
No human studies have show these negative effects to be true. However, iodine deficiency can cause goiter and in the presence of iodine deficiency, these potentially goitrogenic compounds may have some effect.
In your case, the anti-inflammatory properties of the crucifers will likely out-weigh any potential negative side effects.
Aim for 1 serving of crucifers with each meal. If that poses a problem for you, try to get at least one or two servings a day. Keep a food/symptom log to determine what amount works for you and your condition.
Feel free to report back here with your findings to share with us