It’s not often, but sometimes I get flack – whether it be in the form of a roll of the eyes, a look, a sneer, a backhanded comment or an outright, why bother, everyone else is doing it and they are okay. Sometimes someone will go so far as to sneak my children something when I am not looking, because they don’t want to say no, or because they think it’s ok (in all fairness this has only happened twice – that I know of!) .
Sometimes friends and strangers alike get overwhelmed with the information that I impart, and I get responses 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.
So why go to the ‘extreme’? 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. (More on Families affected by Toxic Chemicals)
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 (Cord Blood Findings).
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!
*Disclaimer – I am actually not what I would consider an extremest. Though I do the best that I can to raise my family on a healthy, organic diet and in a household free of the toxins that I can control, there are the once in a blue moon occasions where we do eat pizza, and we will have have some treats at a party or fair (albeit it does depend on the treat – no cotton candy, soda or hotdogs here!). We also take our children to the typical places that most families visit, like parks, zoos, museums and animal farms (and no, I don’t think there is anything wrong with these places).
Great idea to keep the kids safe by watching what they are ingesting, exposed to. I like a lot of the suggestions I am reading but I am worried about when my 3 year old goes to school and has to make decisions on her own. I also wonder how limiting what they can eat, play with in my presence will translate in the real world when they are interacting with other children from diverse cultures etc. Children often do what their friends do and eat what tastes good. Can such teaching result in negative behaviors when they are let outside the bubble.
I am trying to feed my children as healthy as I possibly can, I love and respect what you are doing for your family. Do you have any tips on how to do it on a super tight budget? I have four children, and have noticed that organic foods are over double the price than non organic foods over here where I live in West L.A. And although I realize that it is a smart choice, and far less expensive than paying for medical conditions caused
from not eating well, if you don’t have the available cash on hand to afford it, what can you do? So, any advice on this is welcomed:) Thank you
actually, one of our upcoming guest posts is all about this – I just have to get the time to proofread it and put it up – look for it within the next 2 weeks!
It’s not just there, it’s EVERYWHERE!! It’s crazy!! I would say, the most important thing to do while waiting for that article, is make sure to buy the dirty dozen from the organic section. Apples, Celery, Sweet Bell Peppers, Peaches, Strawberries, Imported Nectarines, Grapes, Spinach, Lettuce, Cucumbers, Domestic Blueberries, and Potatoes are the top offenders that whenever possible you should make sure to buy organic. http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/summary/ As far as being on a budget, buy the sunday paper or grab flyers the first day they come out from each store you shop at and comparison shop. Many stores will even price match! You’ll get even more for your money when you do a meal plan that way and use coupons, don’t think you can use them on things like this? A post from a group I am in, “there are coupons out there for things that dont come in a package. Check out beer rebates that are for free fruit and veggies. They are in the beer aisle and you dont have to buy the beer. There has been free organic carrots for weeks at [our local grocery store] with a printable coupon, and you can contact companies let them know how much you like them and they can send you coupons.” Another idea? Use a farmers stand or a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) which allows you to pay a certain amount for the growing season and you get a share of the produce that is farmed. A great idea for saving money overall, “The best thing I ever did was make a list of what we considered staples in our grocery needs. I then took that list to all of the stores that we could possibly shop at and wrote down the unit price for each, I then price compared. It gave me a really good idea of where I would get the best bang for my buck for each type of product. Ex: [Warehouse stores such as BJ’s/Sam’s/Costco are] almost always the cheapest way to go, even beating out the Walmart brand. If you’re going to go with a name brand, the least expensive option is Walmart, not BJ’s. If you’re going to coupon, [our local grocery store chain] is the place to be [that’s because they offer double and triple coupon deals on all coupons up to 99 cents] but I find that the majority of the good coupon deals are for processed food and chemicals that I do not use. I also do some of my bulk food at [a place that sells] to bakeries and restaurants, but the public is welcome and you get a discount for picking it up yourself. Not everything is cheaper there, but with my list I was able to determine what was and what was not. I never assume that just because I’m buying in a larger quantity it will make it less expensive. We grind all of our own meats. We buy big chunks of meat at [warehouse stores] and grind it ourselves. Although it isn’t always cheaper than buying it already ground, I personally know that only one animal is in my meat and I know exactly what has touched my meat grinder.”
I like that you don’t speak down to those of us who aren’t quite there yet (being natural). My husband gives me weird looks when I try to explain why I want not vaccinate and the like. So what I do is email him links and articles. He will read them, we discuss them, and sometimes he comes around. Through prayer and being respectful I think we are on the road to making good decisions for our first baby due in Jan. I don’t mind the eye rolls, what I don’t like is when I’m called stupid or looked down upon because I either haven’t made the Natural choice or have made the natural choice. That is what I like about your FB and blog. I feel that I can learn in a safe enviornment.
awesome – that’s what I was aiming for – to make a place where people can feel safe to learn about things they may not know to think twice about! 🙂
Exactly! I **hate** it when people who are “natural” give off these I’m better than you vibes because they can do more than you when it comes to stuff like this! My hubby looked at me like I had 3 heads when I proudly announced that I had purchased some cloth diapers and intended to use them for our next child, lol. I am NOT anywhere near natural **yet** but I am slowly trying to clean up my act, a little bit at a time 🙂 It took me about 9 months to a year to transfer my family from white bread to whole wheat bread but now my son who would spit it out at first and refuse to eat it, now doesn’t like the taste of white bread!! It’s all about doing what we can and also doing what’s best for our family and our situation, even if that means that I have the same exact information as someone else and I **choose** to do something differently!! Unfortunately, there are so many out there with that *high and mighty” attitude that it makes all of us trying to go natural, look bad and people question the extremes, etc.
This!! Most of my friends and family think I’m a neurotic nutcase (and sometimes I feel like it too) because of my insistence on keeping additives and chemicals out of our diet and our home. My mother asks me, “how long do you want to live anyway?” I try to tell her, it’s not about quantity, it’s about quality! I could get hit by a bus tomorrow, but if I do live to 90, I want to be active and healthy and able to enjoy it fully.
exactly! I love the not about quantity but quality comment!