Is Our Food Safe to Eat?

Presentation by This Green WorldVisit us at http://thisgreenworld.com

Is Our Food Safe to Eat?Is the food you feed your children safe to eat? How important is the answer to this question? Would the answer change your shopping or eating habits?

The Products of Industrial FarmingPeople don’t like buying and eating industrialized food that has been sprayed with pesticides and prepared with hidden chemicals, but they put up with it.

The Food Is Cheap, Isn’t It?Processed food and junk food is cheap. It keeps you alive. If the cheap food leads to diabetes, heart disease, cancer, or dementia sometime down the road, well, isn’t that a risk worth taking?

When Are Food Risks Okay? We all eat some unhealthy, risky foods. Food risks are only okay if we know we’re taking the risk and as long as we have a choice and an alternative.

Food SecretsIncreasingly consumers don’t know what’s in their food, how it was produced or under what conditions.

Change in CropsCrops grown today are not the same as those our grandparents ate. We have to deal with genetically modified organisms (GMOs), pesticides, added chemicals and industrial processing.

Environmental Toxins + Poor Diets = Breakdown in HealthToxins in our soil and water compromise our immune systems. Poor diets further break down health and lead to chronic diseases.

+ =

Chronic Diseases only Get WorseChronic diseases are debilitating, often mysterious in their causes, and difficult to treat. These diseases appear slowly and progressively get worse.

Risks of Chronic DiseaseCommon forms of chronic disease are obesity, diabetes, heart disease, autoimmune disease, cancer and dementia. They are all to some extent preventable.

5 Causes of Chronic DiseaseChronic disease is the result of a perfect storm of related causes. Five of the most important of these causes are: 1.Vitamin D deficiency, too little Omega 3 oil, magnesium, and other vitamins2.Industrial pollution, acid rain, mercury off-gas from burning coal3.Poor nutrition, unbalanced diet4.Stress, lack of exercise, sedentary lifestyles5.Pesticides used on or in food, GMOs, hidden chemicals in processed food

Food AddictionsModern fast foods are highly addictive. Advertisers condition us to view junk food as a treat, as a personal freedom, an indispensible part of a dynamic, active lifestyle—all of which is untrue.

Poison In, Poison OutThe truth is: poison in, poison out. As our health deteriorates, so does our quality of life.

Optimal HealthOptimal health, achieved by sensible eating and regular exercise, allows us to feel great and to thrive on the positive emotions that come from feeling great.

For Some, Health Is Not a PriorityGiant food corporations, food boards and the medical system—none encourage

optimal health: we have to take it upon ourselves.

Ask questions, seek infoHow was your food made, what chemicals are in it, what pesticides were used? What is its nutritional value?

What You Can Do

What You Can Do

Eliminate or reduce the “white poisons”Sugar, pasta, bread, rice and other high carbohydrate foods elevate the body’s blood sugar. Over time, high blood sugar leads to diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

What You Can Do

Confront food addictions with nutritionAddictions to sugar and wheat provoke cravings that cannot be overcome by mind alone. Addictive chemicals like gliadin in wheat induce cravings for sweet and make us feel always hungry.

What You Can Do

Replace sugars and carbohydrates with nuts and oils Try replacing wheat products with almond and flax recipes. High carbohydrate foods are replaced with nuts, fish, cheese, coconut oil and olive oil.

What You Can Do

Establish a support networkAny change in diet requires personal resolve and support from friends. Advice from nutrition councilors may also be necessary. Share recipes and food information, join cooking and gardening workshops.

What You Can Do

Boost your immune systemVitamins, like D3 and K2, as well as Omega 3 oil and magnesium, boast the body’s immune system to help counteract toxins in the environment. Be sure to take enough.

What You Can Do

Get outdoors, get some sunVitamin D is produced in the body through exposure to sunlight (without sunscreen). Dr. Michael Holick recommends that people protect their faces, but expose other areas of the body for 20 minutes a day from 10-2 pm. In Canada, there is not enough sunlight in winter months, so Vitamin D must be taken as drops or tablets.

What You Can Do

Plant a gardenGrow some of your own food. Take pride in preparing delicious, healthy meals. Through your garden, learn about plants and soils, and develop skills you can share with others

How we change the system

Buy and grow healthy food, support the producers of healthy food Every time we step into a grocery store, café or farmers’ market, we vote with our wallets on the standard of food that’s acceptable to us. Buying industrial food sends out the wrong signals. Instead put your dollars toward a viable alternative solution.

How we change the system

Organic health, organic changeWe change the world by changing ourselves. Food products and habits are lifestyle choices that have profound effects on personal health and community well-being.

How we change the system

Healthy Food = Positive EmotionsAs we eat better, we feel energized and are able to share positive emotions that lead to trusting relationships.

How we change the system

Vote for food and soil protectionA carbon tax, pesticide bans and proper food labeling are important political issues. Without clean water and land, we can’t grow healthy food.

Info on Healthy Food Research into healthy foods is a wise investment. Here’s a few places to start:

The World’s Healthiest Foods by George Mateljan. His website posts useful resources such as a list of 100 highly nutritious foods. http://www.whfoods.com/foodstoc.php

Dr. Mark Hyman. Ultra-Prevention: The Six Week Plan that Will Make You Healthy for Life, 2003. His weekly column for EcoWatch covers many food topics. http://ecowatch.com/author/dr-mark-hyman/

Dr. Robert Lustig. Sugar: The Bitter Truth, 2009 http://youtu.be/dBnniua6-oM (over 5 million views on Youtube)

Dr. Michael F. Holick. The D-lightful Vitamin D for Good Health, 2014 http://youtu.be/Lvogqa3BWVE

Dr. William Davis. Wheat Belly Total Health, 201410 minute interview with Dr. Davis http://youtu.be/DfY0qnH-m8I

Green Medicine blog, http://www.greenmedinfo.com