Why All-Natural/Organic - Part 2

There is lots of scary research and data about the link between pesticides and chemicals in food and children.

While all of that is really valid and necessary to help educate people, I also trust in God that he has got it under control and will protect me and my family. It's a balance between using wisdom and having faith too.

But we also do the best we can to stay away from foods that are KNOWN to be riddled with bad stuff.

So why are kids more susceptible to these kinds of toxins (pesticides, artificial dyes, sweeteners, preservatives, and genetically modified foods)?

Very simple. Our children are still developing and their systems cannot properly digest and remove many of these things from their systems. Our bodies REALLY don't like this stuff and the more we can eliminate, the better.

I am taking Biology right now and I have to say I have learned SOOO much about why certain foods are bad, and it's just because of little molecules.

All of these tiny little things with their different bonds, make some foods easier to digest than others. It's actually quite interesting!

Ok so another question. Why are some children more adversely affected by these toxins and chemicals than others?

We are all made up of genetic material and have genetic markers for all kinds of things and some people might have a genetic predisposition for something that might sit dormant until it is activated by some kind of environmental trigger. Sometimes these things just can't be helped. The things we can help are exposure to things that might trigger these reactions.

Again, I point back to Jesus. I believe he gives us as parents wisdom to know what is right for our children, the instincts to seek out information. I took the information, gave it to the Lord and asked Him what He thought. I really felt like He just wanted us to do the best we could, with the resources we had and to leave the rest up to Him.

Here are some informative articles

Organic Diet and ADD -this article has some good info as well as some information on the Feingold Diet which can help you pinpoint some ingredients to watch out for. I keep the list in my purse because it's got some big words...

Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 

Tomorrow will be my last post on going organic and it will be FUN! Gonna discuss some fun recipes and ways to make organic a bit easier :)

Why All Natural / Organic? Part 1

So before I get started on this, I'd like to preface this by saying that I don't like to push my opinion on these kinds of things on people and I don't think really highly of people that say "oh ___ is the only right way" or "your child will won't be as smart or whatever if you don't do ___"

I do not fit the bill for the typical all natural, crunchy mommy. I had an epidural, I didn't breastfeed, I didn't babywear, I didn't make all of their baby food and I didn't make sure that all of their clothing was made of bamboo.

This is just me simply sharing what's going on in my life right now, it's not a judgment on what others do.

Ok, enough of that. A couple months ago we noticed some overly hyperactive, uncontrollable behavior with my son (3 years). We were having lots of discipline issues and it seemed he was just out of control. Of course I looked to some new parenting methods, but I also felt the Lord pressing on me to look at what we ate.

Now we don't eat tons of junk foods, candy, etc...But I did notice probably a few too many trips to Chik Fil a and after doing a little research on the link between hyperactivity and exposure to pesticides, artificial flavors, dyes, sweeteners, and processed foods, I decided to try my hand at going as natural/organic as we could afford.

It took a couple weeks before we finally realized there was a change, but I noticed that I wasn't as frazzled by the end of the day and we were able to get a handle on some of his behavior issues. Still an energetic 3 year old, but without the craziness (if that makes any sense to anyone).

So a week or so ago on a particularly crazy evening, I told my hubby to just order a pizza. The next day at preschool, my son hit another child. Now I have NO IDEA if there is really a connection between going weeks with no processed foods and then one pizza later, crazy boy returns. But something in me said, "Hey, you are doing the right thing."

We still have a bouncy boy, who has bad days, but I KNOW there is a difference. And to me, that's worth the slight increase in my grocery budget.

So that's OUR reason for choosing all natural/organic. Every family's reason is a little different, maybe a little similar. 

Tomorrow I will be sharing a bit on some of the medical reasons to go organic, it might not interest some of you so feel free to skip it!

I will say if you choose to comment, please keep it positive and not "preachy".

Thanks!