Today is a most important day for me -- officially announcing the publication of my first blog at 11:11am on 11:11:11 - hoping it will be auspicious for this vehicle to share what I feel is very important information for everyone who eats and looks to live their best life in wellness. This is also Veterans Day and I am grateful for all those who have and do serve our country to keep us safe...
My goal with this blog is to increase awareness. I am not an expert but simply "one who cares and shares". Some people eat to live - some, live to eat. I think I fall somewhere in between. As an only child, raised in 50's-60's in Midwest suburbia, I was served the traditional "meat and potatoes" fare. Mom was a good cook and always had a garden with good food that we would call 'organic' today for it was relatively free from pesticides. They used beer to coax slugs and baking soda to fool aphids but then came along dad, spraying chemicals for the weeds (never did get that but don't think that the connection was made back then....).
I realize that some of the concerns and material contained within this blog might be termed "contrarian" for they rather fly in the face of what many (including myself) grew up with. I'm an unlikely proponent of suggesting that we will be more healthy - in fact even prevent and reverse disease - by following a plant-based diet. Even if we only move closer to that, we will be better off. Again, I grew up when none of my role models were choosing to forego meat. My dad had a connection that allowed us to have steak more often than salads and while there were always the obligatory "sides", every meal - breakfast, lunch and dinner was built around the meat - it was just the way things were - period. Also, since the age of 12 when I came up with the idea to pedal (by bike) flyers to promote my babysitting "business", I've been an entrepreneur.
My parents were both artistic and as an only child, I naturally gravitated to art as a form of self-entertainment and I have always found ways to sell my talents for a few extra bucks. In high school, I made and sold custom purses made from hand-painted/initialed/lined lunch boxes. I believe that the basis for a strong commerce base was founded on entrepreneurs who struck out on their own to make their way - through a hard work ethic, they started businesses and hired workers. This very fabric courses through me today and I am proud to say that I am an artist entrepreneur who is not ashamed to accept compensation in exchange for my fine art photography and writing projects. Having said this, I want to be clear that I will NOT be accepting any compensation from sponsors or advertisers in this blog. The links to books/DVD's and even products come from sources from my research or products that I have personally discovered to make a difference to my health.
Therefore, when I share that my concerns over the food supply - how its contamination affects our health and that of our children - has required the animals "destined for human consumption" to suffer in factory farms (a/k/a 'confined animal feeding operations - CAFOs") has come from companies out to make a profit, it comes from a place of true caring. To those who would look to these companies who control how our food reaches us - not only the quality but even the long distances it typically travels to reach the market (averaging 1500 miles), further diminishing the nutritional value and see that they are making good business decisions, I would like to ask, where do you draw the line? From a sheer business model standpoint, there's no arguing that the more profit you can make, the better. If that was the only criteria, I say, "go for it!". However, when it's been proven to adversely affect the very health of those who are consuming this food - not immediately evident at the moment of digestion but manifesting over time to potentially grave consequences, contaminating our land and waters and animals and robbing us of the nutrition that Mother Nature intended, it's time to at least raise a flag of awareness.
I find it sad that most of us are clueless what a "GMO" is yet, these "genetically modified organisms" Wikipedia's definition of GMO's are in most every food that isn't organic. One of our basic human rights is the right to have access to real food. I am finding that not only is our "real food" no longer that, but our choices are being guided by food lobby groups like those representing meat, poultry, sugar and dairy industries to keep prices low on the foods that keep the manufacturers rich.
The more foods we Americans consume like the fat/salt/sugar laden fast foods, the more our health deteriorates. The more our health deteriorates, the more we are inclined to go to doctors who have been trained to treat our symptoms and not the causes. The average medical student receives 2-4 hours of nutrition classes in their 4 years of med school. They are trained to write prescriptions and advise surgery. I'll be sharing more evidence within the pages of this blog about the statistics on the numbers of hospitalizations caused by food-based diseases and how many surgeries could be prevented if the patients had followed a diet consisting of unprocessed food. Also, I'll be sharing how our children are especially adversely affected - how they are getting diseases typically reserved for adults. How they have had to change the name of "adult onset diabetes" to Type 2 diabetes because children are now getting it. This is the first generation likely to have a longer lifespan than our children. It is sad and it must be reversed. The good news is: we have the tools to do so.
"The more Americans continue to eat the same American diet,
the more they will continue to get the same diseases."
---Dr. Joel Fuhrman, author of "Eat to Live"
Again, I am not an expert - am learning as I'm going and have a lot of notes and more information to share within these pages that I've just started to fill. I hope you will find it interesting if not helpful - eye-opening and empowering. I hope that you will feel compelled to launch your own path to discovery to enhance your good health. If you are dealing with health adversities, I hope you will be open to considering a natural path to wellness as your first course. Please know that I am most certainly not suggesting that there is not a time and place for traditional medicine and health practitioners. There have been many advancements and they offer a great service, especially in the area of emergency medicine. I am merely sharing that I am discovering that there have been many proven cases where diseases have been reversed and prevented through lifestyle and nutrition adjustments. When one isn't dealing with an emergency situation, I think it just makes good sense to consider natural remedies first.
I've come to learn that we have marvelous mechanisms to self-heal. We are made of natural parts and to me, it doesn't make sense to look to foreign substances to fix what ails us or to keep us from getting sick in the first place. I like the idea that we can live in a world where we can easily get real food - uncontaminated with foreign substances such as pesticides, hormones, antibiotics and other chemicals. At least, we should be able to know what's inside the cans, boxes, jars and even inside the food itself and even in the soil and seeds from which it originates.
If so, perhaps I will have saved some research time for you, sent you on your own journey of self-discovery. At the very least, my hope is to raise awareness in the areas of gaining better health through natural (un-fooled around with - no genetically modified ingredients, pesticides, antibiotics, hormones, etc...) foods. Topics will also venture into green-living; grateful aging; special interest for kids; animal welfare issues, etc....
This will always be growing, expanding and hopefully improving. Hopefully, you'll feel comfortable sharing related, respectful comments and questions -- check out the "Ask Luna" section and we will learn together. I welcome suggestions for improvement.
I'm grateful for the contributions of so many others who hold similar views - medical researchers like Mike Anderson, author of "Eating" - the DVD that started this pursuit of the truth in the field of natural health and wellness. He was kind enough to offer a wonderful introduction to my segment about the vegan Thanksgiving menu and recipes. I have met and will continue to meet many others who have influenced me and educated me - you will find mention of their work and links to more information within this blog.
Please plan to check back often for I am continuing to build content. I plan to share tips on how we can help glide through the upcoming holiday season into the start of a new, healthier year without falling victim to all the unhealthy sweet and savory food temptations that make it easy for us to overeat. I've found some great ideas on how to lower stress and keep our immune systems stable so we don't easily fall victim to colds and flu this season so please stay tuned!
I appreciate your time and consideration....
To our health,
Christine
