Elizabeth Nowell’s health crisis began during a 1988 trip to Venezuela, when a contaminated fish meal left her ill for weeks. Though she seemed to recover, strange symptoms soon followed—abdominal pain, bruising, fatigue, jaundice, and even seizures triggered by gluten. For years, doctors dismissed her, labeling her depressed or exaggerating. Desperate, Elizabeth experimented with diets—vegan, sugar-free, gluten-free—and found temporary relief, but never lasting healing. A devastating fall in 2011 compounded her struggles, leaving her with spinal injuries, loss of income, homelessness, and constant pain. For over 30 years she lived with severe restrictions and economic ruin, clinging to hope while being rejected repeatedly by the medical system.

In this interview, Elizabeth recounts her decades-long journey of illness and survival, culminating in 2022 when she reunited with a naturopath she had first seen in 1999. He quickly recognized her condition as a parasitic infection from that Venezuela trip decades earlier. Using natural tinctures, he cleared the parasite in just 32 days. For the first time in over three decades, Elizabeth could eat gluten and live without crippling symptoms. Her story is one of resilience, perseverance, and faith in the face of despair. Today she is regaining health and stability, and her message to Ottawa is clear: “My health is not your business. Government must not interfere with access to natural remedies that save lives.