A new way to think...and eat!

So the last few weeks, we've developed a new way of thinking and eating in our house. Why? A couple of reasons 1) some health issues, 2) an immense desire to stay healthy despite family history of diabetes, high cholesterol, etc, etc and 3) a desire to have a HEALTHY family...when we get sick, we get s.i.c.k....for months.

So I've been reading, and reading, and reading. And talking with and working with a nutritionist and group of seriously well educated professionals (that happen to be my friends!). And then reading some more. The basis of our new way of eating is this...eating whole natural food...meaning:

• we eat organic where it matters (see the list and app info here),
• eating grass-fed meat raised without hormones or antibiotics (see differences in nutritional value here...it matters!!!).
• we minimize grains...I've mostly cut them out, but we're at least going mostly gluten free (you've noticed the *mostly's* I'm sure...I've NOT mastered this yet!). Today's wheat is no longer the wheat of old and can cause many health issues. See here and this is a good list of 10 Reasons to Eliminate Grains
• These are my new Dietary Guidelines and Dietary Dangers
• Fat is NOT BAD! But current recommendations have the 'good' and 'bad' fats mixed up...see here...it's a long article, but so VERY good.
• we eat dairy that is not pasteurized or homogenized...I know many people have opinions about this, but when I read the research it was scary surprising to me! See here. In particular, the Milk Cure was AMAZING. And when I leave unpasteurized milk out for 5 days to make cream cheese and whey...I open the jar and it smells SWEET and GOOD and has massive amounts of healthful enzymes and good bacteria in it. Not like grocery store milk that smells sour and gagging awful...I just had to think...which would I rather put in my body?
• we stay away from soy...including soybean oil, and any animal fed soy products. See dangers of soy here.

A fabulous new cookbook (with a VERY informative introduction on the research behind it all) is Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon.

Yes, I could make a book out of this post...maybe someday I will. Changing a family of 6 (with 4 carb and sugar addicted kids!) over to a brand new way of eating is NOT easy. And if we successfully make the full transition it will honestly be one of the most difficult things I've ever done. It's not going to happen overnight...baby steps.

My body was made for a purpose, and it is not mine^..."Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body^[a] and in your spirit, which are God’s." 1Cor 16:19-20. In order to take care of myself and my children, now that I KNOW...and the research is astounding, and really, it just makes sense...it is my duty to take care of myself and my family in the best way I know how.

Do I sound a little crazy? I'm sure I do! But really, what do we have to lose? The research is there, but our food industry has been so industrialized, regulated, and money hungry that much of what we see in the stores and restaurants is definitely not NOURISHING our bodies, in fact disease has never been so rampant in our society...cancer, heart disease, inflammatory bowel diseases, arthritis, diabetes, obesity, etc. I have to believe that what we EAT matters. To clarify, these changes are NOT happening overnight in our family, but one step at a time. If it happens too fast we'll be overwhelmed and it will never work. Slowly but surely, we'll get there. :)