Monday, May 13, 2013

Taking a break... cue the sad violin

So you may have noticed my posts are becoming more and more spaced out.  Ideally, I would love to be doing a few a week, but that aint happening.  I'm studying to become a personal trainer right now, with emphasis on pre and post natal fitness.  Because of this I haven't had the kind of time I would like to thoroughly research things before I post about them.... hence hardly any posts.  So for now I am officially taking a break from my food blog.  

I know, I know... I'm so sorry!






Stop crying.... it will be ok!  I will be done with my certification in 3 months and I will be really excited to start posting again and sharing EVERYTHING that I think EVERYONE needs to know about our food industry!  

I really am so intrigued as I learn more and more about our miraculous bodies, and even more intrigued as I learn about what we need to fuel our bodies.  It is so awesome to share the information that I learn, and even more awesome when someone tells me they read my blog and made positive changes for themselves and their families!  I love it!  
So I will be letting ya'll know when I start posting again!!
Till then don't eat any GMOs or really crappy processed foods.  Seriously.   Don't do it.

This lady probably eats hella GMO's and processed foods.  Just sayin.



Wednesday, May 8, 2013

A quick follow up to yesterday's post

So I think my post yesterday might have come across a little more like this.....


rather than informative and motivational.  So I just wanted to clarify what I was trying to convey to ya'll.

Personally, I don't think we need to stress too much about EMFs and our beauty products.  While they do pose a very real  threat to our health... I think that threat is small in comparison with the threat of engineered food we are eating on a daily basis.  Our bodies are absolutely incredible and are capable of dealing with all kinds of outside factors.  There is a limit though of how much it can deal with, and it can only deal with things if it is in good health.  The biggest health problem we are facing is due to the nutritionally void, toxic food we have been eating for decades.  If we can change what we eat, and how we eat, then our bodies will have the capacity to handle outside factors such as EMFs and beauty product chemicals.  

Eventually I would love to switch my make up, shampoo and conditioner, lotion, etc to products that are more natural and beneficial.  And who knows, maybe someday I will make changes to lessen my exposure to EMFs.  But today I am still working on feeding my family a balanced diet of real foods.

My point yesterday was not to overwhelm you or cause you to be stressed about all the different things that affect our health negetively.  My point was to simply make you aware that we are bombarded with unnatural outside factors.  And the biggest change we can make towards really awesome health is by what we eat.  

So go grab an apple to snack on... and its ok if your cell phone is sitting next to you while you eat it!

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Perspective


Isn't saying "Hey!  That box of cereal is toxic!" a little extreme?  
Here is my perspective.


Just a couple things to note before reading this:


1.  What we put on our skin DOES affect our health and what goes on inside.  For example, women can stick a patch on their body and virtually become infertile for 30 days because of the chemicals on the patch.


2.  Our laptops, cell phones, microwaves, power lines, etc DO affect our health and what goes on inside.  EMF's are areas of energy that surround electronic devices.  According to WHO, electromagnetic fields affect us because our human bodies have their own electric and biochemical responses (e.g., nervous system, digestion, brain function, heart function). So exposure to EMFs can interfere with these systems.
3.  And of course (if you've ever read a post on this blog then you know) pesticides, insecticides, genetically modified organisms, and over processing of our food affects our health and what goes on inside.


Here is a little hypothetical story that I bet all of us can relate to:
You slept all night with your cell phone on the night stand charging.  The EMF's whirling around you for hours and hours.  You wake up, get a drink of water with sub lethal doses of flouride and many other toxins.  Then you take a shower in that same water.  You grab the loofah and slather your body with a sudsy mixture of around 30 or 40 chemicals.  Many of those chemicals are toxic.  Then you slather your scalp with 30 or 40 more chemicals, many of which are toxic.  You get out feeling all clean and grab a towel.  After putting on some lotion consisting of 20 or 30 chemicals, you get dressed.  You go to the kitchen for breakfast.  You want to be a little healthier today so you pour yourself a bowl of some Kellogg's Special K  cereal with skim milk.  You've now just consumed sub lethal doses of Genetcially Modified ingredients, and other processed ingredients that while are low in fat and sugar,  are foreign to your body and disrupt many different processes and cause adverse effects.  You've also just ingested milk riddled with growth hormones, insecticides, and calcium that is unusable to the body since the necessary enzymes to digest it were killed off when it was pasteurized.  The pasteurization process has also transformed fragile milk proteins that can actually worsen your health.  Ok, you're showered, dressed, and fed.  Good job.  Now you run to the bathroom to blow dry your hair.  You blast yourself with EMF's for about 5 minutes.  Then apply about 40 more chemicals to your face as you try to achieve that healthy glow with your makeup.  You quickly brush your teeth with toxic water and toxic fluoride toothpaste containing more toxic chemicals.
You grab your purse and keys, jump in your car, and take off to work.  Your cell phone is in your lap so you can glance at it while you're at red lights.  The EMF's are swirling around all of your reporductive organs.  You turn your favorite song up on the radio... the radio that is emitting more EMFs.  It is a beautiful day so your window is down and you are sucking in the pollution and chemicals and gases from the hundreds of cars in front of you.  You arrive at work.  Right before you enter you spray a little bit of perfume on, around 70 chemicals.... many of which are toxic.

Ok so just a quick recap...  It is 8:00 a.m.  You took a shower, made yourself look clean and presentable, fed yourself a "sensible" breakfast, took a nice drive in the car while enjoying the nice weather, and spritzed yourself with some flowery scented spray before walking into work.  You've only been awake for an hour and a half and already your body is literally bombarded with unnatural toxins!

It is true that you are not going to drop dead as you walk into work because you sprayed some perfume on your neck.  And no one expects you to stop using your electronics and stop wearing make up, BUT.... The world we live in today, and the lifestyle that we are all accustomed to is constantly bombarding us with these sub lethal doses of toxins.  We breathe them, we eat them, we drink them, we bathe in them, we slather them all over our bodies, we medicate ourselves with them.  We are led to believe that because the amount of toxins in EVERYTHING is so small that it is safe for us.  Well, that would be true if we were exposed to that small amount once or twice in our life.  But realistically we are exposed to these tiny amounts of toxins thousands (yes, thousands!) of times a DAY.

We are going to be exposed to toxins no matter what we do.  The world we have created is saturated with them.  But you can minimize your exposure and your family's exposure dramitcally if you change the things that are in your control.  By changing what you eat, which is the biggest exposure to toxins we as a society are facing, you can allow your body to heal itself.  And then, when you do come in contact with harmful toxins your body will be able to deal with them.

So when I say "That box of Kelloggs Special K is toxic!" I don't think it is extreme at all.  It IS toxic.  And I'm not going to let a company that stands to make money off of me purchasing their product tell me, "Oh, it's ok, it's just a teeny tiny bit toxic and it won't affect you."

I know the truth!


Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Pineapple has joined the GMO club


Del Monte, one of the biggest distributors of pineapples in the world has been developing a Genetically Modified pineapple that they call Rosé.  The USDA has just approved this GM version of pineapple for eventual sales in the U.S.  It is being grown right now in Costa Rica and is still going through "testing."  The FDA has to give its go ahead as well and then it will have a big fat green light to be imported straight to your dinner table.  


Del Monte's request for approval describes the GMO Rosé variety as having "rose-colored flesh", which the company says comes from the addition of genes from "edible plant species, pineapple and tangerine" genetically modified to change the color of the pineapple.

Just a quick reminder for anyone who missed this post.... Genetically Modified food is UNSTABLE!  There have been studies done that prove that the intended DNA sequence for these crops mutate and change.  And the mutations and changes are unpredictable.  So not too far into the future you could have 20 pineapples in front of you at the grocery store that are all genetically different.  And once you ingest that Genetically Modified crop with the UNNATURAL gene inserted into it, there is a chance that it could alter your DNA as well.  Studies are being done to see if in fact the unstable inserted gene can mutate our own human DNA.... it is not proven yet but I'm not going to be a guinea pig and take the risk.  GMOs are really really bad!  
Companies are eager to produce Genetically Modified crops though because they can patent them and then have exclusive profit rights to that product.  
No one can patent a pineapple... unless you are God.  But insert a "favorable" gene into it that is from another species and all of a sudden you have something that no one else can plant and/or sell without paying you for it.  So the creators and suppliers of the Genetically Modified Crops aren't necessarily trying to slowly kill you.... your health is irrelevant to them.  They are just focused on PROFIT!   
So you might be okay to continue buying conventionally grown pineapple for the next few months maybe.... but be careful because soon most of the pineapples that are not specifically labeled "Organic" will most likely be Genetically Modified spiky toxic fruit.  And last thing.... don't think that you will be alerted when this starts happening.  Unlike a lot of countries across the pond, U.S. companies DO NOT have to label their food as Genetically Modified.  So you will have no idea when this change is made.  Comforting isn't it?

sources:
http://www.naturallysavvy.com/natural-and-organic/del-monte-s-gmo-pineapple-approved-in-the-u-s#.UYBiri86-HE.facebook

http://www.thepacker.com/fruit-vegetable-news/Del-Monte-testing-genetically-modified-pineapple-204909111.html