‘I love my new lifestyle' Raw & free!

The cookbook queen reveals how the power of plants helped her heal

Sophie Steevens used diet to reverse a serious autoimmune disease and went on to publish two successful cookbooks, Raw Free and Simple Wholefoods. She has 124,000 followers on her Instagram account rawandfree. She takes a moment to sit down with the Weekly to share her tips for a healthy life.

You reversed a serious autoimmune disease by eating a plant-based diet. How did you realise that changing your diet could help?

When I was first diagnosed with Graves’ disease, I did a lot of research and ultimately, I discovered that a wholefood, plant-based diet has the powerful potential to heal, mainly because it provides not only pure nourishment but it creates a really alkalising environment within the body. I started really slowly and about six months later, I had fully reversed this disease and had completely normal antibodies and thyroid function. It was when I took my eating to the next level of a high raw diet that I really noticed the impact it was having on my body and my health.

Tell us about your condition and how it affected your life?