The other day I was having a very interesting debate over why you would want to remove all the junk and chemicals from your food. And one of the participants made the comment that there would be nothing left to eat if she ate healthy. At first I was a little flabbergasted by the statement, but then I realized that for her that statement may not be that far out there. If you drop prepackaged foods from your shopping list you are pretty much relegated to the outside aisles of the market. And then even with that you need to watch what you choose. At my grocery store the other isles consist of the produce section, the deli, the bakery, the seafood and meat departments, the dairy and the bread selection.
In the produce section you should steer clear of the dirty dozen, those fruits and vegetables that if not grown in a natural or organic way, will hold on to pesticides and herbicides. The deli is mostly overly processed foods, salads and meats. There are a few items there that are possibly OK, but really most are not. The bakery is not going to be a good bet since most items will contain stabilizers, questionable ingredients and artificial colors. The seafood and meat departments are going to be decent options although the way the animals are sourced will come into question. The dairy section again is a good option although you may be hard pressed to find non-homogenized milk or milk free of growth hormones. In addition, the other dairy items need to looked at for unnecessary additives as does the bread selection.
So she is right, it does become a lot harder to eat if you dump the junk and eat healthy, but I don’t really see an issue with it. When Matthew got sick and needed to eat healthy, clean and non-toxic foods, our eyes were really opened. We jumped in with both feet and 5 years later we haven’t looked back. As we witnessed Matthew’s health improve it simply strengthened our resolve to clean up our food even more. As we adopt new habits we look for more ways to avoid those chemicals and toxins that are making us sick. And yes, it is hard to side step everything. Obviously we live in this society and most folks haven’t opened their eyes to what real, healthy eating is. So we adjust and compensate. We don’t deny the boys sweets at birthday parties or holidays although we tend to limit the amount they are allowed and we always require they be gluten free. But just like any parent that straps their child into a carseat with the knowledge that it is what is best for their child, we want our kids to remain healthy and live strong lives. So we take what have become now easy steps towards eating clean, real food. And every day we make new choices to eat healthy.
