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Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Psalm 127:1

Friday, March 5, 2010

Does Food Matter? Rant #2 For The Week.......

If you know me or have read my blog for any amount of time you know by now that I am nutty about food. It took getting very, very sick for me to realize that there were other ways to treat the body other than medication. Even for severe immune diseases like cancer and rheumatoid. Our family has been dairy free for years and I'm also wheat free. Dan and the girls still eat some whole grains but I try to buy gluten free cereals and things. We also only eat meat about three times a week and the rest of the time we sub tofu for meat and eat vegetarian. I also buy only organic, hormone free, pesticide free products. No high fructose corn syrup or dyes in anything. I know maybe at first it sounds all nobel and great but it is hard and we do have to constantly adjust things. Eating out is the worst so we have a few places like Chipotle that we frequent when we are out because I know the meat is hormone free and I can get veggie bowels.

A few weeks ago I was feeling defeated. I just felt yuck, the weather was yuck, I hurt all over and all I could think of was how much easier it would be to pop a pill and eat whatever I want. Then Dan ordered Food Matters from NetFlix and it boosted me back into the right state of mind. If you get a chance go to their web site and see what it is about and maybe rent it.
www.foodmatters.tv/com (you may have to click on home when you get there) It's a great documentary all about food and how it is entirely possible to heal your body from everything from immune disease to sleep disorders to skin problems etc. It just reinforced allot of things I knew and encouraged me to continue to do what I know is best for my family. People always want to say that it's so expensive to eat organic and healthy but honestly its really not. We live on a strict food budget every month and we stick to it faithfully. It doesn't always have to be fresh, I often buy frozen organic fruits for smoothies and frozen organic veggies that aren't in season. It's super cheap at Trader Joe's to shop this way. Once I quit buying any junk and processed packaged foods it freed up our money to buy healthier whole foods. Trust me it's hard but it's something I am passionate about. I don't want my girls getting hormones and antibiotics in their foods. I don't want to be in a wheelchair in 5 or 10 years cause I have ruined my body with junk and allowed the Dr.'s to ruin my organs with chemo. It's a scary fact that the diabetes rate in kids is turning into an epidemic because of the amount of sugars in our foods. So scary. Anyways, if your nutty enough to watch the documentary and you think you will die without more there is another one called Food Inc. that is very informative about our farming practices in the states. I know, I know I need therapy. Sorry can't afford it after buying all organic. ;)

7 comments:

Crystal Keilers, that's me. said...

I love Food Inc. And I will for sure watch Food Matters. I thought it was funny in the first paragraph that your typo was "bowels" instead of "bowls" because let's face it, veges make the "bowels" move eh?

april said...

Hey there...I'm JoAnna's sister April and your post title caught my eye. I'm passionate about this kind of stuff, too...at least try to be! I read a book by Barbara Kingsolver last summer called Animal Vegetable Miracle and highly recommend it. It's not only about health, but about farming practices, local farms, etc....so it has a financial side, too. She's not a Christian, which doesn't bother me because I still think what she has to say is true and important, but it might bother others. Anyway, thanks for the post!

Christy said...

That is funny about my typo Crystal, I'd love to say I meant to do that but I'm not that clever in the mornings. :)

Brigitte said...

I am definitely going to Netflix that one. Thanks for the info. A good friend just gave me a book to dive into called the "China Study" she says it is incredible the type of illnesses we create for ourselves. You hear of it all the time and yet we are so lazy and slip back into our same patterns of fast food all to often. I need to start making sure that my family has healthier options too!

Angela Mills said...

Awesome, Christy! I am going to check that out. We started shopping at Trader Joe's last year and I am in the process of redoing all our menu plans. I told our pediatrician, "You might be seeing less of us because we're eating mostly organic now and whole foods, no chemicals, etc. and I don't think the kids will be getting sick."

He said, "Well, some of that is just hype." I love this Dr., but I disagree! Can't wait to watch the movie.

I have one question, why no dairy?

Christy said...

Hi Angela, Dairy causes inflammation. Not just in joints and things but also in sinus, lungs, ears etc. It does in everyone thats why people get the colds so easy. When you are run down and drink milk or eat cheese it will speed up the process of cathing a cold etc. Our youngest used to catch colds so easy and Morgan always felt blaaahhh in her stomach and when we cut dairy out years ago it all stopped. No more colds, no more stomach problems, no nothing. There is lots of research out there you can look into that confirms the fact that dairy is bad and really you are NOT getting the calcium you think you are from the dairy. Very interesting stuff. :)

littlecbsmom said...

I love hearing your food rants and have learned so much from you and what you have been through! I appreciate you sharing the information...I have been slacking so I love the reminder!

Just another reason to miss Trader Joe's....how could we not have one in Salem! We are all filling out the surveys, but the closest one is in Portland!