I meant for my previous post on food to set the scene for my being able to encourage and uplift other parents in their efforts to make healthy choices for their kids. Instead I think I focused more on defending my own family's choices than extending the offer of support to other parents, so let's see if I can get it right this time. What I really want is to be able to help make someone else's journey into learning about 'health food' and changing shopping patterns a little less intimidating and unpleasant than mine has been. I hope you will give me another chance to try.
As I started off in my previous post, I am an expert in nothing and you should not listen to anything I say. I encourage you to always investigate and evaluate my sources and information for yourself. Only you can decide how valuable and trustworthy my sources and information will be to you and I respect everyone's right to come to their own conclusions.
Where To Start?
I think a lot of parents probably feel like if they start learning about toxins in the environment, they will start worrying about everything and will drive themselves crazy. Well....you will. It is literally impossible to avoid exposure to every single toxin out there and it will do you no good to worry about it endlessly. But there are some toxins we can avoid and one of the easiest ways to avoid them is by eating fewer processed and chemically treated foods.
Where we do not always have control over things like the quality of the air we breathe and toxins in our water, we do have control over the things we actively put into our bodies. As parents this means we have many opportunities to protect our kids from environmental toxins through providing them with the best diet we can manage.
Setting Realistic Goals at the Grocery Store
Making healthier choices doesn't have to mean going ALL organic or avoiding ALL processed foods. Even if you only buy one organic produce item on your next trip to the grocery store, you are still doing some good.
A non-profit organization called the Environmental Working Group (EWG) puts out an annual list of the top produce items consumers should buy 'organic' called the "Dirty Dozen." This list reflects the top 12 foods with the highest levels of pesticide residues if not purchased 'organic'. Produce items the EWG suggests you buy organic include:
- Apples
- Strawberries
- Grapes
- Celery
- Peaches
- Spinach
- Sweet bell peppers
- Imported nectarines
- Cucumbers
- Cherry tomatoes
- Imported snap peas
- Potatoes
Of the 12 items on this list, I have had success in finding many of them at our local Giant. From my experience, they carry organic apples, strawberries (inconsistently), grapes, celery, spinach, cucumbers and potatoes (and possibly some others on the list that our family doesn't typically eat). Finding these items amongst the regular produce can be a bit of a challenge until you become familiar with their locations (and even then, they tend to change things around periodically) but do not be like me and be too proud to ask someone for help. It took me over a year to find the organic apples. A YEAR!
The EWG also puts out a "Clean Fifteen" list of the foods that you can probably safely buy without an organic label. These foods are known to retain the lowest amount of pesticide residues. The "Clean Fifteen" include:
- Avocados
- Sweet corn. Believe it or not, sweet corn (not to be confused with the much more pervasive field corn) is generally low or even free of pesticides
- Pineapples
- Cabbage
- Frozen sweet peas
- Onions
- Asparagus
- Mangoes
- Papayas
- Kiwis
- Eggplant
- Grapefruit
- Cantaloupe
- Cauliflower
- Sweet potatoes
Another easy way to avoid toxins through diet is to buy organic (or organic raw) milk and dairy products. Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH/rBST) is given to commercial dairy cows to increase milk production and has been linked to breast, prostate and colon cancers. I think some dairy products will even have a separate label indicating that it contains no rBGH/rBST and I don't think all products that make this claim are necessarily labeled organic. If it's not labeled organic though, you can't be sure that the cows are fed all organic foods which may or may not affect the nutrient value of the product.
Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of advice for where to find these products in regular grocery stores. I know Giant has some selection of organic milk and dairy products but the range is minimal and I do not know much about the brands they carry.
Consider Supporting a Local Family Farm, Co-Op or 'Health Food' Store
Fortunately, there are local farms and health food stores that offer organic and raw milk and dairy. Our family gets our milk (and some other dairy products) directly from an "all grass-based farm" which means all of their animals are raised on pasture. This means their cows' primary diet is grass and they are only minimally supplemented with 100% organic feed that the farm produces on site. All of their dairy products are also raw which means they have not been pasteurized. Yikes! A lot of people have reservations about consuming raw dairy products but if you're interested in learning more about the risks and benefits, look here.
Our family has been consuming raw dairy for over 3 years from the same farm without incident. While our anecdotal experience alone might not be enough to quell your fears, I recommend researching the health benefits of properly produced raw dairy products versus commercial dairy. If you find yourself interested in trying raw dairy, I might be able to give you some advice on where to find a reliable source depending on where you live.
Speaking of cows and farming practices, here is what I know: The majority of U.S. farmed cattle (two thirds) are routinely given antibiotics and the aforementioned rBGH/rBST hormones to make the processing of the animal and its products as efficient as possible. Use of the rBGH/rBST hormones almost inevitably leads to various infections of the cows udders and mastitis, which prompts the indiscriminate use of antibiotics on cows in order to fight these infections. These infections also often cause blood and pus to bleed into the cows milk, making the pasteurization process an absolute MUST if you don't want to drink 'sick' milk. The unnatural (grain) diets commercial dairy cows are fed also contribute to the development of infections and illness in the animal which further propels antibiotic use.
The best sources of dairy and beef are from healthy, organically farmed, pastured (grass-fed) cows. You can learn more about the benefits of grass-fed versus grain-fed cows here. I have seen a small selection of grass-fed beef at Giant but the prices are pretty painful. In general, you can expect to pay quite a bit more per pound for grass-fed beef (between 5-15 dollars a pound depending on which cut you want) but Giant's prices are exceptionally outrageous. Probably because of the extra expenses the brands who provide the beef go through to have their product packaged and sent to the store. I think many of the grass-fed beef products available in grocery stores are imported from other countries so it isn't surprising that they are so expensive. If you ever get out to Wegman's however, I have seen it there for $5.20 a lb when you buy a 3 lb pack of ground beef. This is the only place (other than the family farm we shop at) that I have seen a reasonable price on grass-fed beef.
Say 'NO' to GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms)
I recommend avoiding genetically modified (GM) foods as much as possible. This is probably the most difficult of all, considering that GM foods account for between 70-90% of the foods in grocery stores. Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food have been shown to cause organ damage, gastrointestinal and immune system disorders, accelerated aging, and infertility. Many GMOs are developed for the express purpose of granting the crop tolerance to the popular pesticides and herbicides used by commercial growers. This means that you can expect most GM foods to contain some level of residual toxins.
Even worse, GMO farming practices increase the use of pesticides and herbicides! This is because over time, weeds and pests adapt to current pesticide and herbicide formulations which prompts the use of greater and greater concentrations and in some cases the necessity of developing a new chemical altogether. Seriously scary stuff and it has many dangerous implications for not just human health but the health of our environment and the sustainability of organic farming methods.
Genetically modified organisms are currently not required by the FDA to be labeled so it is sometimes impossible to know whether or not a product uses GM ingredients. The best way to ensure a product is free of GM ingredients is to make sure it has the USDA Organic label. Foods with the USDA Organic label prohibit the use of chemical/synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, antibiotics, synthetic hormones, GMOs and all aspects of GMO farming.
More recently, the NON GMO Project label was developed to prohibit GMOs and performs mandatory checks for GMOs at multiple levels of production. The NON GMO Project label does not however, guarantee that chemicals, pesticides, hormones and antibiotics have not been used in the food's production.
When you look at the chart below you can see that the NON GMO Project label doesn't give you much more than the USDA Organic label already ensures. I think the point of the NON GMO Project is to offer food manufacturers a way to provide consumers with extra assurance that their products are being tested for GMOs at all levels of production. The NON GMO Project label alone is not very comforting to me personally as it still leaves room for all of the above chemicals to have been to used in the production of the food.
Giant in Carlisle has a pretty decent 'organic foods' section so you won't feel like a total dumb-dumb when looking for things like organic breads, cereals, packaged soups, etc. There's even a small freezer section where you can find some of the familiar comfort foods you like in their (sometimes less tasty) 'organic' forms. The prices can be a little steep for some of these things so you may want to focus more on fresh organic foods as changing those purchases alone can significantly reduce pesticide exposure.
Fluorescent Blue Things Are Not Food
Last but not least to avoid are artificial food dyes. This is my least favorite to deal with in person and even my least favorite to write about now. Partly because it makes me so angry that major food producers work so hard to tempt our kids with bright and exciting colored foods. Food colors that do not exist in nature and many of which are known to be carcinogenic, cause chromosomal damage and all sorts of auto-immune and neuro-behavioral problems. I just get so angry that some of these products are even allowed to be called 'food' and that they are aggressively marketed towards our most innocent and vulnerable population: Our children.
Click on the infographic below and pay close attention to Red #4 and Yellow #5. Look at how many of these dyes are banned in other countries and notice that "Kelloggs" and "Kraft", two of America's largest food manufacturers NO LONGER USE ARTIFICIAL DYES IN THEIR UK PRODUCTS!
And now go ahead and cry for a few minutes as you reflect on why companies like Kellogg's and Kraft think it's okay to poison kids in America but not in the UK. And then realize that neither one cares about who they poison, they just want your money. This one gets me pretty furious. The fact that this stuff is allowed to be given to children in America, children whose bodies and brains are not fully developed and are especially vulnerable to these chemical threats is one of the most insidiously immoral things I can think of.
So Now What?
As parents, instead of giving into a sense of futility about all of the environmental factors we can't control, I think we should all feel empowered by knowing that some little changes in diet can go a long way in ensuring better health for our kids. And it doesn't have to be the seemingly overwhelming and impossible task that it sometimes feels like. Making a positive impact on your kid's health can be as simple as buying a few more organic products at the grocery store or it can be as complicated as diving through time and space to intercept a candy bar before it enters your 3 year old's mouth. You probably won't want to be as weird about it as me, though.
I hope at least one person finds some of this information helpful ♥ Thanks for reading.
References:
http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/list.php
http://www.ewg.org/enviroblog/2014/04/corn
http://animalrights.about.com/od/animalsusedforfood/f/AntibioticsrGBH.htm
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/04/15/inhumane-treatment-on-dairy-cows.aspx
http://higherperspective.com/2014/09/grainfed-grassfed-beef.html?utm_source=MAM
http://www.responsibletechnology.org/10-Reasons-to-Avoid-GMOs
http://www.nongmoproject.org/product-verification/faqs/
http://www.bostonorganics.com/wordpress/2013/10/24/avoid-gmos-the-difference-between-organic-and-non-gmo-labels/
http://www.special-education-degree.net/food-dyes/
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