Inspired by Healing Through Food Food is powerful; it has the ability to change our lives. Working as a macrobiotic chef at the Kushi Institute in Massachusetts was the beginning of my path of practicing food as medicine. I cooked for people with serious illnesses and those who wanted to make better food choices. It was one of the most profound experiences of my life. I had fallen in love with helping people improve the quality of their lives through food. I continued my studies in Korea, where I apprenticed the Venerable Sunjae, a renowned monk-chef who taught Buddhist philosophy through cooking. She helped many people heal themselves of disease through food, and I was given an intimate look into a culture where food is treated as both physical and spiritual nourishment. I then attended New York University and obtained an MA in Food Studies. However, it was my own health challenge that inspired me to embody everything I had learned about food. I was diagnosed with erythema nodosum, an inflammatory disorder, and myelodysplastic syndrome, a blood condition. None of the doctors I saw, not even a world authority at the National Institutes of Health, could offer a cause or a cure. On my path to self-healing, I researched foods that have been traditionally used to strengthen blood. I was led to burdock, a plant I was already familiar with. I cooked burdock root almost weekly as a macrobiotic chef and the monk I apprenticed taught her students how to cook it. In order to gain the most benefits, I developed a high quality burdock tea which I drink daily. I was startled by how quickly burdock tea improved my health. My energy increased, my chronic indigestion disappeared and I no longer needed to take digestive enzymes. After I shared my burdock tea with friends, my personal mission became an opportunity to help others. 21miles Burdock Tea Was Born in My Malibu Kitchen 21miles was created to make healthy eating easier. With my knowledge and background, it has become exceedingly difficult to find ready-to-drink beverages that meet my standards. I started 21miles to create the kind of products that I would want to buy: made with love and purpose, and founded on the philosophy of food as medicine. I chose the name 21miles to honor where my burdock tea was born: my hometown of Malibu—21 miles of beauty and awe.

To your health and happiness,

Stephanie Sunwoo

Creator of 21miles™ Burdock Tea

Founder of Malibu Good Foods