Information Overload.

Sometimes people get overwhelmed when exploring the idea of going back to basics and living as organically and naturally as possible. They come to think things like, “I can’t worry about the chemicals in the car seats when I have to worry about so many other things,” “I’m feeding my kids fruit and veggies so it’s okay if they have what everyone else is eating too (re preserved foods packed with dyes and chemicals),” or “toxins in hoses too? Come on.” And guess what? Sometimes I feel the same way. The information is overwhelming. We live in a society so dependent on making things bigger and better that they (the people adding the unnecessary junk into our foods, toys, clothing and every day products) don’t care at what expense it comes. A testament to this is the fact that “Since the passage of the Toxic Substances Control Act in 1976, some 80,000 chemicals have been manufactured and produced in the U.S., the EPA has required testing on 200 for their effects on human health, and only a mere five have been restricted” (HealthyStiff.org).  That’s almost 40 years of chemicals being used in products like artificial air fresheners and laundry detergents that have gone unregulated simply because they aren’t listed in and act passed in 1976.

So why does being informed matter?

Because the information is available if you look for it. Because avoiding toxic chemicals on foods, furniture, cars, bedding, etc. does make a difference. Because not being aware can and does seriously injure and kill people. A woman I recently came into contact with, Danielle Barry, wishes she had known about the chemicals in car seats before her son ended up with chemical burns as a baby. A friend of mine wishes she had done her research on vaccines before her son became injured due to just 1 injection. Families of people diagnosed with non-genetic forms of cancer are wishing that they knew about the dangers of pesticides both on the foods they had eaten and on the lawn they once only cared about having look green and lush. It doesn’t help that the media is being fed partial information and that the likes of ‘celebrity’ doctors are paid to say that there is no difference between the nutritional value of organic and conventional food. I am not a scientist and this may very well be, BUT notice how nothing is being said about the dangers of the pesticides used on the conventional foods, such as the 57 different pesticides found on one batch of celery or the 98% of non-organic apples having been contaminated with these chemicals. (Environmental Working Group).

I don’t want to one day be one of those people who get sick down the road and have no idea why (yet their lifestyle and diet path clearly give some clues). I will ‘go to the extreme‘ to keep my family as safe as possible so that they can live a healthy life. I will avoid as much as I can so that the baby thriving inside of me doesn’t have 200 to 300 toxins in his/her cord blood from the likes of things like Teflon, pesticides and flame retardants (Science in the Triangle).

Life is about living,

living free from illness and inflammation that slow people down. Of course we are all going to get sick at some point, whether it be a cold, a virus, food poisoning, etc., but those are the illnesses that we are supposed to get; the ones that ultimately make our immune system stronger from having to battle them; the ones that we feed our bodies the nutrients and supplements it needs to fight them quickly and effectively, while avoiding the refined sugars, chemicals and fever reducers that will only hinder our healing process.

Life is about enjoying food, playing, laughing and loving.

I am making sure that my family does so for a long, long time, healthily!