The Beautiful Truth

"The blueprint for our future, cancer, is a bio-code gone wrong, and it's delighted by what we do to feed it." - The Beautiful Truth

Last night I watched an eye-opening documentary called The Beautiful Truth (thanks to Netflix), which centers around the Gerson Therapy of healing your body through natural foods. The film discusses many food-related topics such as MSG, aspartame, mercury used in dental practices, genetically-modified foods, and fluoride additions to water supplies that are all legal and all carcinogens.

MSG is marketed as a flavor enhancer and added to more processed foods than you'd like to hear. It has been studied numerously with results indicating it causes brain damage, endocrine disorders, retinal degeneration, behavior disorders, learning disabilities, reproductive disorders, obesity and more. Notice MSG isn't labeled on our foods? There is an organization combatting that problem, Truth in Labeling.

The dangers of aspartame poisoning have been a well guarded secret since the 1980s. Aspartame is a true toxin. No other food can be provided as a comparison to the toxic nature of NutraSweet. Upon closer examination, the available research revealed that the manufacturer (Monsanto) and the FDA are manipulating the public into thinking that aspartame is safe. It is not. There are over 92 different health side effects association with aspartame consumption. Watching this segment almost made me throw-up considering I am a huge Diet Coke addict- I'm switching to home-brewed iced tea, which will also lower my carbon-footprint of plastic bottles. It will not be easy, but it will be worth it.

There are over 1,000 tons of mercury in American's mouths thanks to the American Dental Association. Mercury is the most poisonous non-radioactive metal and it was used as fillings. Although it is not currently in use, it is not being removed either. It has been proven that dental hygienists suffer from very high rates of infertility. It is scary to think that the air quality at the dentist office could be toxic with mercury and not regulated.

Isn't it crazy that large pesticide/herbicide companies now control a majority of food supply? Well, to clarify, processed food supply. Monsanto and ConAgra are just two of the companies that are monopolizing seeds through patents (which should be illegal) and genetically altering non-toxic foods into becoming toxic. Corn, soy and cotton are among the most genetically-modified crops.

A doctor researched dental hygiene among native cultures and found no cases of tooth-decay until the cultures were exposed to processed foods like refined sugar and white flour. We now add fluoride to our water supplies, yet ingested fluoride has never proven to prevent cavities, only topical fluoride.  Cities like Juneau, Alaska are now repealing the practice.

It was an eerie feeling watching and learning that our food is contaminated to the point it is killing us. I have seen it before in documentaries like Food, Inc., but I have never seen it compared to disease this significantly. I understand it is a documentary making a point, but the point is evident everywhere. The cure for many of our most-threatening illnesses is to mindfully eat sustainably/organic/non-toxic foods. There is simply to much money to be made by the food and drug corporations and to too much money used to steer politicians into not taking action. It is horrifying to think about.

At times I get anxiety going to the grocery store because it seems like there is nothing to eat. It's not true, it just takes more preparation, awareness, and sadly, money, to find. It helps to shop at a farmers' markets or stores that focus on natural and organic options. Our mindsets have to change from quick and ready to slow and thoughtful food decisions. There are many useful sites to find a farmers' market near you, like Local Harvest.

The Beautiful Truth left with a message of hope. There are solutions and cures already available, we just have to use them.

I'll leave you with the trailer to the movie. It would be a wise-spent hour and a half:

Summer Doesn't Get Much Better!

We recently got back from our second wonderful trip down to Grants Pass. Our first day there we hiked the China Creek Trail. We thought it was 5.9 miles... come to find out, that was just one way. The creek was fun to play in though and I did make a friend out of this crawfish Chris found.

Okay, maybe he wasn't really my friend. He didn't seem to like being taken out of the water.

We also went to the farmer's market. I think the Grants Pass farmer's market is awesome. Take this little girl for example, seven years old and she is an amazing violin player. She was fundraising for violin camp. Seriously, how cute!

On Saturday night we attended Chris' friend Nick and his now-wife Michelle's wedding. Here is the cute couple!
Like I said before, I love wedding dancing! I love this picture of us girls. They are so fun.

I did catch the bouquet, but then I tried to pawn it off on Rachael :)

After the wedding, we hit the town (funny thing to say about Grants Pass) and went to JDs, a local pub for some game with magnetic slidy things. I have no clue what else to call it. Chris and I lost anyway.

Then Chris and his friend Chris played Safari Hunter! haha. But, I threw this picture in mainly because I didn't take a good one of him at the wedding all dressed up. Doesn't he look great?!

The next day we went out to the Illinois River to hang out and swim. Gorgeous, huh? I think Grants Pass has unbeatable summers.

This dog made me laugh.

That is Chris jumping off a rock!

We were so devastated we had to come home that we drowned our sorrows in margaritas! Isn't it huge? We polished off two of those bad boys :)

Like always, I can't wait to go back. I like the small town life, the amazing weather, the river, visiting friends and family. It doesn't get any better for me!

It started with a book, now its a lifestyle.

WARNING- This blog post is very much a public service announcement!

Two weeks ago I picked up a book a friend recommended called Master Your Metabolism by Jillian Michaels. Since then the book has really changed everything about my food intake. I kicked my terrible Diet Coke habit after learning about how harmful aspartame and any other artificial sweeteners are to the hormones in our bodies. I never thought Diet Coke and me would part ways. I was addicted to it for 8 years! And after one day of giving it up I could feel a huge difference in my body. I no longer craved sweet food late at night. I was more consistent in my weight due to less bloating. I haven't gotten one of my notoriously awful afternoon headaches. Simply put, I feel great.

Not only did I throw away a bad habit of soda drinking, but I also did away with diet food completely. It is shocking that I did this. I am the girl who had a nervous breakdown at an airport for not having non-fat yogurt at their Starbucks (the hormones were a tad bit out of balance that day). I am still eating non-fat yogurt, but it is the Nancy's organic kind rather than the kind filled with terrible chemicals like high-fructose corn syrup and other things that spite our leptin hormone levels. I feel like I am eating real food, which tastes way better, instead of all the processed food that use to make up 90% of my diet.

Switching to real food may seem expensive at first, but what I found is it was cheaper in the end because I am no longer buying as much processed junk food and I am saving a heck of a lot on all that soda I use to buy!

It is also extremely fun to go to the local farmer's market to pick up fruits, veggies, eggs, bread, etc. In fact, Chris and I just met a garlic expert that gave us a hot varietal of garlic that we are going to cook with this weekend!

Here is an insert from the book. I find this stuff so interesting and I really suggest reading the whole book yourself:

The term "organic" applies to a farming method that raises food without pesticides or other chemicals. The idea is that by allowing natural processes and biodiversity to enrich the soil, as opposed to relying upon synthetic chemicals or genetically modified seeds to protect the crops from pests, we'll get healthier food and- imagine that- a healthier environment.

Organics help you stay slim and prevent diabetes. More than 90 percent of endocrine-disrupting pesticides that hang around in our body tissues come from foods we consume- especially animal products.

Organics help you avoid scary hormones. The FDA currently permits six kinds of steroid hormones to be used in producing cattle and sheep. Eighty percent of U.S. feedlot cattle are fed or injected with steroid hormones. Each of these cows gains up to 3 pounds per day.

Organics help you avoid pesticides and other chemicals. A study at the University of Washington found that the urine of kids who ate mostly conventional diets had nine times the organophosphorus pesticide concentration of kids who ate mostly organic.

Organics help you prevent antibiotic resistance. Massive use of antibiotics in the meat and dairy industries leads to widespread antibiotic resistance, exposing us to potentially fatal bacteria such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA.

Organics make your food taste better. Organic food is an will always be fresher than nonorganic food- without pesticides and chemical preservatives, organic produce had to be eaten faster or it will rot!

Organics make your food more nutritious. Organic fruits and vegetables can't rely on pesticides- they have to fight off bugs with their own "immune systems," naturally raising antioxidant levels.

Organics help you save the earth. Produce grown in the U.S. travels an average of fifteen hundred miles before it gets sold. But organic farming uses 30 percent less fossil fuels while it conserves water, reduces soil erosion, maintains soil quality, and removes carbon dioxide from the air.

One quick example: Take tomatoes. Tomatoes have all the cancer-fighting health benefits- the best form of medicine with no harmful side effects. Now let's take our little tomato and see what happens to it in the name of capitalism. The tomato is grown conventionally, and sprayed with up to seven kinds of pesticides. Then it is picked too early because it must make the long journey across the country- or across the world- from its original location to your supermarket. Yes, you are now polluting the environment with all the gas used to transport the tomato. But, there's more. The tomato is still green because it was picked too early, so now it is sprayed with argon gas (also used to euthanize dogs) to make it turn red prematurely. Wow! We have just taken a natural medicine and turned it into poison. That is why we must make efforts to go organic.

The more each of us votes with our dollars for products not produced with toxins, the quicker we'll help right the wrongs and get this earth back where it belongs. As more people eat organic, organic food will become cheaper.

TALL GLASS OF HORMONES

Cows that produce organic milk are fed organic grains and are given access to pasture, but, most important, they cannot be treated with recombinant bovine growth hormone, also known as rBGH or rBST (recombinant bovine somatotropin). And thank god for that! Traditional dairy farmers feed this horrific synthetic hormone to their cows to boost their milk production, and so far, the USDA still approves them as safe. Unlike the regulatory agencies in Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and twenty-seven countries of the European Union, where rBGH is banned.

Studies have shown that rBGH increases the levels of insulin-like growth factor 1, or IGF-1, in the milk of these cows. Drinking just 1 glass of milk a day for 12 weeks can increase a human's blood levels of IGF-1 by 10 percent. At normal levels, IGF-1 does good things in the body; it's responsible for cell growth, division, differentiation. But, IGF-1 has been linked, in hundreds of studies, to increased breast, prostate, uterine, colon, lung, and other cancers in humans. Emerging research even links high levels of IGF-1 to autism. Rather than destroy IGF-1, pasteurization increases its levels, and because bovine and human IGF-1 are identical, this raging abundance of hormones is eagerly absorbed into the digestive tract and the bloodstream, where it can act on various parts of the body. Awesome.

Studies have shown that high levels of IGF-1 increases ovulation. In fact, one study found that rBGH is one of the reasons early puberty is on the rise.

The kicker? The USDA has consistently refused to mandate that milk producers warn consumers that their milk products include rBGH, and many state dairy boards are attempting to ban any mention of rBGH on labels at all.

Still promising- Wal-Mart, Starbucks, Safeway, Kroger, and many others are starting to use rBGH-free milk.