Surround You & Your Family With Whole Foods

Starting from child birth, it is important to give your baby the best start at life. A recent report on NPR’s All Things Considered details three separate studies published in the Journal of Environmental Health Perspectives. The studies reveal that pesticides affect a child’s IQ while in the womb. Children of mothers, who tested positive for pesticides, were performing at a lower level by the time they reached school age. While the report suggests washing fruits and vegetables, eating organic is definitely the best way to avoid pesticides in food.

 Many women make the conscious decision to eat only organic food during their pregnancy. It turns out; this looks to be a smart decision for a healthy pregnancy and for the child’s intellectual development for years to come. I ate mostly organic and vegan during my pregnancy with Django. His IQ was over 160 and he was in gifted and talented classes during elementary school!   All of my children were extremely healthy growing up and do not have any major health concerns.  I did not however always maintain a vegetarian diet with the other children.

It is very important to take your children to local farm stands so that they are exposed to unprocessed foods.  Talk to them about conscious eating. I was exposed to eating well as a child.  Our food source was from local farms, so we saw our food growing in the fields.  We milked cows and fed chickens when we visited our uncle’s farm too. Growing up in New Jersey, the Garden State, most families grew vegetables in their gardens.  We would pick tomatoes off the vine, after a light rinsing we ate them eagerly. Given us greater exposure to eating naturally.  When you are introduced to eating well early on, it carries on to your adult life.

When my children were young, we were vegetarians and shopped at large farmers markets.  We would buy boxes of all sorts of fruits and vegetables. We introduced the children to juicing on a daily basis.  We made large raw salads using a variety of vegetables, and always prepared meals together as a family.  All of my children are aware of using foods and herbs to substain a healthy lifestyle. I get calls all the time from my children asking for different recipes and suggestions. We also healed ourselves with food and natural products.  On a daily basis we were given Cod Liver Oil, with a lemon chaser.  We now have the luxury of Cod Liver Oil with the lemon already added.  In the spring, we were given a large spoon full of Castor Oil.  We now call that a colon cleanse.

Most approaches to nutrition dwell on calories, carbs, fats, proteins. Instead of creating lists of restrictions and good and bad foods, create a happy, healthy life in a way that is flexible, fun and free of denial and discipline.