Why I Spend More on Organic food

Jordan and I just got back from a trip to Durango, Colorado.  It was so much fun!  We went mountain biking every single day and river rafted.  I loved it.  It was so nice to get away from living on the sun.  I wish I could just live somewhere else every single Summer, then Arizona would be the best place to live in.  

I may or may not have cried the first day mountain biking.  The bike shop we rented mountain bikes from told us to go on the Colorado mountain trail which was way above my level of mountain biking.  Jordan was making fun of me.  I seriously almost fell over on my mountain bike while clicked in to my pedals a hundred times.  


Here is what the Colorado looked like for almost the entire ride.  It was crazy.  The switch backs looked exactly like this but uphill.  So pretty much impossible.  Mountain biking is definitely a hard sport!  I suck at it.  The next day we did a trail that was much easier.  I talked to a different person and had a way better time.  It is such a pretty place to go mountain biking.  And a great place to visit!

THE LONGEST POST EVER!  Brace yourself!

I have wanted to do this post for a while, but there is so much information and it is hard to fit it all in one post.  Hopefully I can get my message across.  Hang in there, it is LONG!  

 For those of you who haven't seen the life changing documentary, "Food Inc." you need to!  This documentary exposes America's industrialized food system and its effect on our environment.  All the facts about where our food is coming from and what is being done to it before we buy it has been kept secret from us by people we are suppose to trust to protect us.  The USDA and FDA are suppose to protect us from harmful foods but are in fact doing the opposite.  These companies are putting profit before consumer health.  There are so many chemicals that are used on farmers crops to make sure more is produced at a faster rate.  The fruits and vegetables we eat travel on average about 1500 miles.


 In the film a farmer was interviewed and said he actually saved over fifteen thousand dollars in one year by not injecting his animals with hormones because it was costing him so much money in antibiotics because they kept getting sick.  Do we really want to eat these sick, sad animals?  It freaks me out. Even if you care nothing at all about animals and how they are treated you should care how you are treating your own body!  Do you really want to be eating meat that has been injected with hormones and chemicals!   I know I don't.  


"Seventy percent of all antimicrobials used in the United States are fed to livestock.  This accounts for twenty-five million pounds of antibiotics annually, more than eight times the amount used to treat disease in humans." From the book, Food Inc.


I know I know...Organic meat is expensive!  It should not cost more for healthier foods, unfortunately it does.  It's just about deciding what your priorities are.  Do you want a new car or do you want to eat healthier and live longer and have less disease.  In ten years when you are sick do you think you will really care if you have a cool car or not?  I don't think so.  I was really having a hard time about paying more for organic food until I really thought about this.  You need to invest more money in your health.  It has just become a priority for me.


It's so weird to think that all of humanity ate only organic food until the earlier part of the twentieth century.  For the past eighty years we have had so much chemicals put in the food we eat.  What do we have to show for this?  America has lost one third of its original topsoil; we have buried toxic waste everywhere; polluted and depleted water systems; worsened global warming and increase diseases from  cancer to diabetes to obesity.


Healthy Eating and Disease:
I know from all the research I have read that it is never too late to change your health.  You can always reverse the way your health is going by eating a whole foods plant based diet.  Heart disease, diabetes, obesity and much more can be prevented and reversed with a plant based whole foods diet.


In the book, The China Study Dr. Campbell says, "In my own laboratory we have shown in experimental animals that cancer growth can be turned on and off by nutrition, despite very strong genetic predisposition."  Crazy stuff!  This Dr. knows what he is talking about.  He has done thirty years of research and has conducted a study in China over the period of thirty years.


Listen up if you have young children:
In two books I'm reading, "Food Inc" and "The China Study" It says that according to the Environmental Protection Agency standard chemicals are up to ten times more toxic to children than to adults, depending on body weight.  According to the EPA's Guidelines for carcinogen risk assessment children receive fifty percent of their lifetime cancer risks in the first two years of life!  Well, I guess I'm screwed.  There may be hope for my husband since his mom was vegan when he was born haha.


-Laboratory tests of eight industry leader baby foods reveal the presence of sixteen pesticides, and three carcinogens.


-More than 300 synthetic food additives are allowed by the FDA in conventional foods.  


How Europe feels about Hormone Injected Animals:
Beef hormones have been banned in Europe since the 1980s.  The European commission appointed a committee to study the safety of hormones on humans.  In its 1999 report they found that residues in meat from injected animals could affect the hormone balance in humans.  This causes reproductive issues and breast, prostate, or colon cancer.  The European Union has prohibited the import of all beef treated with hormones, it does not accept any U.S. beef.  Obviously Europe knows how to be healthier than the United States.  All you have to do is look at the statistics of obesity.  It really makes sense why the United States has had so much disease.  Just think about what you are putting in your body and how long it traveled to get to you.  


PHEW....this is a long post.  Hang in there, Hopefully one person reads this haha.


Small steps you can take to eating a plant based whole foods diet with more organic foods.....

1. Start out making small changes so you aren't overwhelmed.  I would definitely buy all of the foods that are on the dirty dozen list organic.  They have the most amount of pesticides in them.  When I first started buying organic food I took a copy of the dirty dozens list and bought all of those foods organic.
2. Another change you should make is to buy organic chicken.  I buy mine at sprouts and it is only a couple dollars more than regular chicken.  Definitely worth it.
3. Try to not have as much dairy in your diet.  Try not to use as much milk, yogurt, and cheese.
4. Limit the amount of protein from meat you eat each week.  Research shows a strong correlation with protein from meat and cancer.
5. Buy organic eggs!  This is a must!

All research has shown that a plant based whole foods diet is the best possible way you can eat.  I call it a whole foods plant based lifestyle.  The word diet makes me feel like I'm going to have to starve.  


What Foods I Now Buy:

Organic Eggs

Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt: Sprouts, Whole Foods

WARNING: Do not eat plain greek yogurt!  You have to add it to smoothies or add fruit with it.  Or you might gag like I did the first time. 

Wallaby Organic Yogurt:  Sprouts, Whole Foods

Organic Chicken:  Sprouts, Trader Joe's, Costco

unsweetened vanilla almond milk: 40 calories per cup!

The Way I Eat:

From everything I learned I know that a plant based whole foods diet is the best possible way you can eat.  This is the way I choose to eat.  I try to limit the amount of dairy and meat I have each week.  Lots of studies have shown that dairy and protein from meat is linked to cancer and many diseases.  Eating perfectly all the time is extremely hard and of course I eat junk food occasionally.  I eat mostly fruits, veggies, whole wheat bread, and whole wheat pasta.  You do not need to eat a ton of protein to be healthy.  Dr. Campbell has done many studies that show that the more protein from meat you eat the more likely you are to get cancer.  He says we only need about 50 grams of protein per day and we can get all of our protein from plants.  Plants are a way better protein source than animals.  

Don't take my word for it!  You have to decide for yourself how you will eat and how you will feed your family.  The way I look at food is completely different than the way I looked at it a couple years ago.  I look at it as a way to keep me healthy and strong and prevent many diseases.  I realize some things are not preventable and no matter how you eat you can still get diseases.  But If I do get some disease in the future I want to know that I was taking care of my body the best possible way I could.

DECIDE FOR YOURSELF!

movie documentaries I recommend watching:

Best by Far!  If you are only going to notice one thing from this post, this should be it!  Please watch this movie on netflix or rent it on Itunes.  It will change your life

Books I recommend reading:

This book goes more in depth than the movie, I just like reading it because it shows more statistics and solutions to the problems we face.  A lot of the book shows different websites and different things we can do to make a difference.

This is a great overall nutrition book that covers pretty much every topic in nutrition you can think of.  I love this book.

Basic food rules.  Good reminder on what to eat.

I have been reading this book nonstop since I got it in the mail.  This book is great because it summarizes thirty years of research done by Dr. Campbell.  

"Let food be thy medicine"

-Hippocrates

Phew!  That was a long post!  I wonder if anyone is still reading this?