Sergei Boutenko.com

My name is Sergei Boutenko. When I was only nine years old I was diagnosed with diabetes. My family doctor told my parents I had to go on insulin immediately. My mother (Victoria) opted to search for an alternative to synthetic insulin and accidentally stumbled onto the raw food diet.

I started eating a raw food diet and almost instantly felt relief from my diabetic symptoms. This inspired me to go forth with eating organic living foods until long after I was given a clean bill of health by numerous doctors. For the last 16 years I have been living completely free from diabetes!

Seeing first-hand what an important role food had on my health and well being inspired me to write several books and share my experience. My latest book “Fresh” (North Atlantic Books) is one of my top accomplishments.

In 2005, I earned a Bachelor’s Degree from Southern Oregon University in Communication. I was inspired to connect with as many people as I could which lead me to the study of film production. I currently work as a videographer filming anything I find inspiring. I would say that in this sector, short comedies are my favorite to produce.

In my spare time I live an extremely active lifestyle and love to engage in more sports than I can list! Some of my favorites include: hiking, biking, snowboarding, running, and dancing. I also travel around the globe teaching people how to be healthy and have more fun by incorporating green leafy vegetables and wild edibles into their diet.

Disclaimer:

Identification and use of wild plants requires particular care and attention. Never eat any plant unless you are absolutely sure that it is edible! It is a good idea to cross-reference your knowledge with a book written by an expert. The information in this program is for educational purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The author, publisher, and any of their counter parts, assume no responsibility whatsoever for any adverse effects encountered by the individual. Please harvest wild edibles at your own risk!

Harvesting Safety Tips!

While there are countless benefits associated with eating wild foods such as, breathing fresh air, exercise, premium nutrition, and more food diversity, there are also some inherent risks. When you harvest wild plants for food, there is a high guarantee that edible plants will be sharing their living space with non-edibles. These non-edibles may range in toxicity from mild to extreme. If you are anything like me, then you too prefer to avoid any form of poisoning whether it is mild or severe. For this reason it is a good idea to first learn how to positively identify wild plants and then exercise caution when gathering them for food.

Over the last five years that I have traveled around the globe giving presentations about edible plants, I learned two things: first, people are eagerly seeking knowledge about wild edibles and secondly, there is a lot of confusion about which plants are safe to harvest. I found that the term “poisonous” is very loosely defined and is easily swayed by ones personal bias and educational background. For example, experts coming from backgrounds of toxicology, botany, and medicine claim exponentially larger amounts of poisonous plants, whereas, experts coming from Native American teachings observe the opposite. Unfortunately, these inconsistencies of professional opinion mixed with ill-fated Hollywood movies such as, “Into The Wild,” breed unnecessary fear, preventing the mass populous from venturing into the world of free food. (more…)