In my last article I wrote about HOW to go about changing your lifestyle in a way that promotes healing- prevents autoimmunity and prevents worsening of whatever you already are suffering from. I talked about First getting the highest quality water that you can. Paying $300 for a Berkey water filter may seem outrageously expensive, but what price tag can you put on a device that filters out the most artificial and toxic substances coming into your body each day? Once you have the cannister and the filters, the only cost involved after that is a replacement of the fluoride filter every 9 months or so and replacement of the black filters every 3-5 years! When you think of the cost of other replacement filter cartridges that take out FAR LESS of the dangerous heavy metals and toxins in your number one nutrient each day, it so worth it. Water is absolutely central to our well being. IF you’re not yet drinking ½ your body weight in ounces each day, this is STEP ONE of your healing process. And if you’re going to make the effort to drink all that water make sure what you’re drinking is pure and is helping you heal, not making you sicker. I know this sounds like a sales pitch, but I don’t sell Berkey water filters or make any money from them at all. I just want you to get well and stay well.
How Foods Affect Our Health
Previously we also talked about slowly changing over your food to whole, organic options. Think about how all of our ancestors ate for all of human history. Previous to the last 40 years or so, our food was not genetically engineered, was not sprayed, was not processed beyond recognition to the human body. Anything that was flavorful or delicious was as a result of mother nature creating the flavors and textures that our bodies were meant to thrive on. The artificial flavors and textures that our palates have become so accustomed to today have NOT led to better health, have not led to less worldwide hunger, and have not served the health of our society.
Before our food changed so dramatically to what it is now, we saw FAR LESS autoimmune and chronic illness. Chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, autism, sensory integration issues, ADD and ADHD, IBS, Ulcerative colitis, childhood psychiatric illness, Childhood cancers and diabetes, off the chart anxiety and depression like we are seeing today were much more rare. We certainly had toxins back then and people didn’t always eat super healthy, but they did not have the bombardment of artificial things coming into their bodies each and everyday like we have today. Dr Mark Hyman, of the Cleveland Clinic was speaking on this very subject when he was challenged by someone saying “ Well, we have always had these diseases, we are just now diagnosing them better.” To this he replied, “ We may be diagnosing them better but statistically you cannot argue with the fact that we simple just have Exponentially MORE of them in this day and age.” When I teach my classes I like to show the statistical graphs on diabetes, autism, thyroid disease, MS, Colitis, and many other autoimmune diseases. They have been steadily on the rise since the 1950’s but dramatically on the rise since 1995. This was about the same time that our food supply started being sprayed with Glyphosate, the main ingredient in Round Up. We were told that this powerful chemical would not harm us, but we cannot argue that since we all started consuming it in our food supply, debilitating chronic illnesses have skyrocketed. Check out Dr. Stephanie Seneff’s work on Glyphosate to learn more.
I get the argument all the time that I cannot afford organic food. IT is twice as expensive. Just consider the long term cost of poor health when you factor that into your budget. IT is simply not worth putting small amounts of toxins into your body every single day to save a few dollars if it’s going to lead to YEARS off your life or your quality of life. Its so much more expensive to lose your good health and not be able to work.
Many people I work with who are 100% disabled and who live on very strict budgets find ways to switch their food over to give their bodies what they were always intended to have, and not the damaging artificial foods we have today. It is far better to have less food that is actually nourishing, that we appreciate and enjoy, than to have an abundance of cheap and processed food that is making us fat and sick.
Once you get into an affordable rhythm with your water and food, you can start tackling body care products, make up, lotions, sunscreens, and cleaning products. Now this will take you many months. There is just no way to exchange all these things out quickly. It will cause a ton of heartburn for yourself and especially your partner, unless they are on board with your health care plan. Environmental Working Group online will be your friend here again. They have tested tens of thousands of products and let you know exactly what ingredients are in those products. Then they rate the safety or toxicity of those ingredients and let you know if those ingredients are cancer causing, immune system toxic, or hormone disrupting. Wait until you run out of your usual soap or lotion or make up product, and then while you’re watching Netflix at night pull your smart phone out and look up EWG’s recommendations on a safer soap or lotion or make up item. Order it online from your favorite retailer and then give it a try. Trust me this process can take a long time, finding safe and effective substitutes for your toxic body and hair care products takes time and patience. Young Living makes a great line of products for starters, you could check out their website! Thrive market carries many non toxic brands and is a family business worthy of your dollars.
Lastly, you will want to start one by one, slowly exchanging out your kitchen pots, pans and storage containers. Aluminum, Teflon, non stick, copper, and other toxin leeching pans will gradually need to be traded out for stainless steel nickel free pans, and safe non stick pans like Green Pan or Scan Pan. Wendy Myer will help you here to choose truly non toxic cook ware. Again, don’t feel like you have to drop hundreds of dollars buying new pans right away. Just replace one pan at a time as you are able. Feel good that every small improvement you can make to protect yourself and your children is a step in the right direction. Check out cookware recommendations here: https://myersdetox.com/wendys-nontoxic-cookware-recommendations/
Don’t forget about your storage containers, as the months go by, pick up one set of glass storage containers at a time and pitch the plastic. You can get a fairly good set for $30 so it’s something that maybe you can add in sooner rather than later. You can also pick up a good set of Beeswax wraps to replace your plastic Wraps and plastic bags. Pay attention to how much plastic you are using in your daily routines. You may be surprised.
If I could encourage here- please don’t start obsessing on toxins and freaking out. This will make you sick too! You will want to stay calm and realize that every baby step you take in the right direction will pay off for a long time. I’ve given you some steps you can start taking right away, but know that this is going to take a year or more to complete. Honestly, after 3 years of this, I am STILL replacing things slowly in my home, the more I educate myself and research. Do your research and take ownership over this. The learning process can actually be fun and as long as you stay calm and take one baby step at a time you will be on your way to a healthier lifestyle!
Check out the Weston A Price Foundation. They help us to remember how our ancestors lived 150 years ago, before we had our current epidemic of autism and childhood chronic illness. I especially encourage young parents or those considering parenthood to check out the formula and childhood nutrition education. They will help you feel so much more confident in raising robust healthy children.
Enjoy the Spring weather coming out and I’ll see you back here next week!