Hold on campers because the Ann Wigmore story can and does fill volumes of health books! We have a story here of tragedy, triumph, miracles, innovation, inspiration and even a conspiracy theory or two. You're gonna love this one so let's get to it!

Now, as I first heard it from my friend, Jai, with a creative story telling talent, the story was summed up for me like this: Ann Wigmore lived in Boston. She was suffering from gangrene and the doctors wanted to amputate her legs. She said no to the amputation and crawled out by the railroad tracks to die. There the dandelions spoke to her and said "Eat the WEE-EEE-EEEDS!" So she ate the weeds and cured herself. This story is more or less true depending upon your spiritual beliefs, but we'll just leave it at that.

I told you that story to tell you this one: Although Ann tells her own story with much more detail and emotion, I will attempt to cover the main points here. I'll start by pointing out the distinct differences between the story I first heard and the story as Ann tells it. First of all, she sat in the backyard and didn't crawl out to the railroad tracks. Second, she had the weeds and herbal background from her grandmother. And third, she makes no mention of "talking dandelions." Good story anyway, Jai. I'll treasure it always. All right, let's get down to the facts, shall we?

In her autobiography, Why Suffer?: How I Overcame Illness & Pain Naturally, Ann tells of growing up in war-torn Lithuania . She grew up with her grandmother and watched her as she used herbs and weeds to heal wounded WWI soldiers. In her mid-teens, Ann moved to America where she quickly adopted the "new world's" habits and customs. Then a disastrous accident crushed her legs and resulted in gangrene. It was at this point that the doctors recommended amputation and Ann refused while her family sided with the doctors. At home, Ann struggled to move and feed herself. She spent endless hours in her backyard in the sun, eating weeds and herbs and applying them to her wounds as she learned from her grandmother back inEurope . Ann eventually returned to her doctors after she was up and about again, her wounds gone and her legs healed. Ann recalls that the doctors "made no comment when X-ray films showed that the bones had knitted firmly."

Later, her American diet resulted in being diagnosed with colon cancer. Slowly, Ann regained her strength and devised a plan for indoor greens to sustain her through the cold Boston winter. Ann adjusted her live food program to include sprouts, raw fermented foods, and her signature drink; Rejuvelac. Made from sprouted wheatgrass seeds fermented in water, Rejuvelac is said to replenish healthy intestinal flora; vital to proper digestion.

The Living Foods Diet was ready and Ann shared it with the world in 1958 by opening the Hippocrates Health Institute in Boston . Hippocrates Health Institute attracted people from all walks of life and from around the world: politicians, actors, celebrities, etc. All were treated as fairly and compassionately as the nameless and penniless who were as equally welcome at HHI for healing and learning. Ann invented the wheatgrass juicer by adding a sieve to a meat grinder, thus making it possible for folks to grow and juice their own Wheatgrass. Wheatgrass, she found, was easiest and cheapest to grow, as well as containing one of the highest nutritional contents of the grasses.

Her work at Hippocrates produced testimonial after testimonial of guests who had cured themselves of a multitude of various ailments including high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, gastritis, stomach ulcers, pancreas and liver troubles, asthma, glaucoma, eczema, skin problems, constipation, hemorrhoids, diverticulitis, colitis, fatigue, female problems, arthritis, athlete's foot, anemia, bad breath/body odor, etc. etc. etc.

Fighting the American Medical Industrial Complex proved too much for Ann but she continued to spread her good word by starting living food programs abroad in India , Sweden , Finland and Canada . In 1994, Ann Wigmore died of smoke inhalation during a fire that destroyed the original home of the Hippocrates Health Institute. Her work is still alive to this day in the programs of several healing centers here in the U.S. such as the Optimum Health Institutes of San Diego and Austin, the Creative Health Institute in Michigan, the Hippocrates Health Institute in West Palm Beach Florida, the Ann Wigmore Institute in Puerto Rico, and the Ann Wigmore Foundation in San Fidel, New Mexico.

If you try the Ann Wigmore program here or anywhere else you should try it ALL and decide for yourself. Classes are very relaxed and informal, but you learn about the body's different systems of digestion, assimilation, elimination etc. including food combining and the "why's and how to's." There are sprouting classes, wheatgrass classes, and indoor gardening classes. Evening classes are more geared toward things like massage, reflexology, chi gong, meditation and that sort of thing. This is a good opportunity to learn a broad introduction to personal relaxation techniques. The second-week classes are focused on live-food preparation. We learned how to make seed loafs, seed cheeses, dressings, dehydrated foods, fermented foods, and many other delicious recipes. I'd love to share a few here but I don't want to steal any of Ann's recipes to do so. There are many good raw recipe books out there. Look into it!!

The friends I make at each of these retreats are always inspirational. One woman who was there had been there for 6 weeks and looked great although I was told she showed up with cancer, gray skin and zero energy for tasks as simple as climbing the stairs. By the time I got there, she had switched to an upstairs room. Her skin was a lovely tone of copper, and her enthusiasm was through the roof! She told me she had spent literally tens of thousands of dollars at other spas and nothing worked like the simple inexpensive program here at the Foundation. But, of course, where would we be if I neglected to mention another key element to the program? The ever controversial, stop 'em in their tracks, enema debate! Well, I'm not taking you there this issue. It's a story for another day folks, and what a wacky story it is! Anyway, the enemas and wheatgrass implants will be explained to you in full at any institute following the Wigmore program. Not surprisingly, the environment here is very close and intimate and everyone gets to know each other quite well. (Don't get me wrong, enemas are done in private, you silly.)

The loving compassionate tone makes for a wonderful supportive atmosphere, and by the end of the week, we were one small happy family!! Amidst tears of joy and laughter of love, we celebrated our "graduation" with a veritable live food feast!! Food combining goes out the window for the graduation dinner. The idea is to show how to create a plethora of dishes that will be enjoyed by anyone, live fooders or otherwise. Dishes include live pasta, seed and nut loaves, nut butter balls for dessert, and believe it or not, a tasty Rejuvelac 'pink champagne' that actually gives you a slight buzz! Scouts honor!

Oh yes, before I forget, I promised a good conspiracy theory here. Some say that the fire that claimed Ann's life was deliberately set by agents of the new world order in an attempt to cover up the fact that Ann, who was 84 and positively youthing! Among other turn-arounds in her health, Ann's gray hair returned to her natural color! The theory here is that this program and information is so challenging to the existing medical power structure that Ann, the living miracle and proof of its effectiveness, was rubbed out to cover up the evidence of the power of reclaiming your own health.

However, those close to Ann assured me that was nonsense. Unfortunately, Ann was a brilliant, compassionate healer but a terrible electrician. Apparently, Ann had a bad habit of plugging far too many electric cords and power strips into a single electric outlet. The building in Boston that housed the old Hippocrates institute was an old converted mansion and badly in need of rewiring. The tragic result of these factors is the electrical fire that claimed Ann's life. It would be a discredit to Ann's memory and legacy to back away from the truth. As the old adage goes, speak no ill of the dead. Amen.