Sergei

My name is Sergei Boutenko. I am currently 20 years old. I was nine years old when I was diagnosed with Diabetes. Doctors told my parents and me that I had to go on insulin immediately. My parents refused and instead began searching for alternative treatments. After trying numerous diets that did not work, in 1994 I tried raw food as well as vigorous exercising. I noticed a difference almost immediately. Within a few months of changing my diet and sticking to my exercise, my blood sugar was consistently lower and my symptoms were slowly but surely growing more faint. A few months after that, I sold my glucose monitor machine to my math teacher for $5.00 because I was tired of pricking my finger and having a normal reading each time. I feel extremely lucky to have been given another chance at being healthy. I know that the active lifestyle that I live today would not have been possible to live had I had diabetes. I am very grateful to my parents for not being afraid to try something out of the ordinary and for not being afraid of what others will think of them. It is because of them that I have my health today.

These days, I am a full time student at Southern Oregon University. I live a very active lifestyle and implement hiking, biking, snowboarding, running, rock climbing, etc. I also travel around and teach delicious raw food preparation classes all over the United States.

Please visit my web site Harmony Hikes

Portrait Photography by André Wagner - Portrait and Art Photograper in Berlin / Germany