DID YOU KNOW…
Did you know…. when a patient is ready to make meaningful lifestyle changes, the resulting benefits can be life changing. Below is a testimonial from one such recent patient of mine. Note: some descriptions are graphic.
“How a Zoom Call with Marla Ablon Changed My Life: My Recovery from Fistulizing Crohn’s with a Whole-Food, Plant-Based Diet”
My name is E.N. and in late 2024, I was deep in one of the darkest chapters of my life. Since 2022, I had been battling Fistulizing Crohn’s Disease, a brutal, relentless condition that completely upended my health, my energy, and my spirit. I was taking nine pills a day and receiving regular biologic infusions—the first drug, Remicade, left me nearly crippled. The second didn’t do much better.
I had an abscess cut open near my anus to drain a fistula that remained open, raw, and draining for two years. I was told this was my “new normal”—that this was how I’d have to live for the rest of my life.
Then everything changed—from a single Zoom meeting.
I had the good fortune to speak with Marla Ablon, a dietitian specializing in autoimmune conditions like Crohn’s. She told me something that, at the time, felt almost absurd: “A whole-food, plant-based diet can help heal this.”
I was a meat-and-potatoes guy. I had never even considered going vegan. But I was out of options, fed up with drugs that were failing me, and desperate for a better life. Marla encouraged me to give it just 60 days. I took the leap on December 30th, 2024, with support from my wife—and it’s a date I’ll never forget.
Within four days, my fistula healed and closed completely.
Within a week, the joint pain I thought was just part of getting older disappeared.
Within a month, I felt like I was 20 years old again.
No more Crohn’s flares. No more diarrhea. No more biologics.
And most shockingly? When I told my GI doctor that I had gone vegan and wanted to stop the drugs, he admitted: “Yeah, vegan diets often resolve Crohn’s. But most patients would rather kill themselves than try it.”
Let that sink in.
This simple, natural shift in what I put on my plate didn’t just manage my illness—it gave me my life back. My mental health improved, my energy skyrocketed, and for the first time in years, I felt hope.
Today, it’s May 2025. I’m still plant-strong, still symptom-free, and still thankful every single day that Marla Ablon took the time to help me believe that healing was possible. That Zoom call forever changed the trajectory of my life.
To anyone living with an autoimmune condition—whether it’s Crohn’s, ulcerative colitis, RA, or anything else—please know that there is another way. Don’t settle for a lifetime of pills and pain. Open your mind. You owe it to yourself to try.
This lifestyle doesn’t just treat disease—it restores life.
Thank you, Marla. You saved mine
E.N.
Registered Dietitians/Nutritionists are the food and health experts who can translate the science of nutrition into practical solutions for healthy living. Marla Ablon uses her nutrition expertise to help individuals of all ages make unique, positive lifestyle changes.
Why Lifestyle Medicine?
As a healthcare practitioner I constantly seek new and more effective treatment modalities to help clients reach their health goals. As I studied for the American College of Lifestyle Medicine board exam I began implementing the six pillars of lifestyle medicine into my own practice and clients immediately responded positively…
What Is Plant-Based Eating?
A few years ago I attended the first annual Plant-Based Prevention of Disease (P-POD) Conference wherein physicians, dietitians, researchers, and other health care professionals gathered to discuss evidence-based data on the benefits of prescribing a whole food plant-based lifestyle. We had all heard by then that chronic diseases such as...
Featured Recipe
Tofu Potato Casserole
My mission is to meet clients where they are and guide them toward their goals via knowledge, counseling and practical application of evidence based nutrition science.