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| Step by step is the only way out of old food habits |
Research shows that what we eat has a direct effect on our health and well being. Processed food is full of chemicals, dyes, preservatives, and artificial ingredients that our bodies were never designed to consume. For decades this truth had no impact on my lifestyle at all. I ate whatever I wanted to eat without giving it a single thought.
The only reason I started investigating the relationship between what I eat and how I feel is because my fibromyalgia symptoms were so severe that I was turning into a housebound invalid. I had severe pain in multiple muscles and joints, frequent bouts of spiking pain in my knees, elbows, and feet, pain that increased with changes in the weather, pain so severe it woke me up at night, difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep, never feeling rested even when I managed sporadic sleep, unremitting fatigue, difficulty completing even the simplest tasks of daily living, loss of focus, an inability to concentrate, and feelings of hopelessness.
The most hopeless feeling of all was that I would have to cope with this disease for the rest of my life. After an entire year of misery and despair, I started looking for a way to feel better. After reading everything I could find on fibromyalgia, chronic illness, and the impact of processed food and chemicals on our health, I developed a plan that involved making three primary lifestyle changes.
- I eliminated as many chemicals as possible in my home.
- I stopped eating processed food that is full of toxic ingredients.
- I started eating real food that contains antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients
When I started reading everything I could find about my illness, I was only hoping to discover a way to feel well enough to function every day. I was amazed that I not only found a way to feel better, but my symptoms completely disappeared. Is this a cure or is the disease just in remission? All I can tell you is that when I made these changes in my life I got well. I have been symptom free and feeling great for almost three years.
Researchers who are studying the relationship between exposure to chemicals in our environment and chemicals in our food have found links to a host of illnesses including fibromyalgia, arthritis, lupus, Sjogren's syndrome and other illnesses like heart disease, depression, and cancer. So why isn't every person with fibromyalgia or another chronic illness getting rid of chemicals in their environment and food and eating whole foods? I suspect it is for the same five reasons I was slowly killing myself with food and chemicals for over half a century.
Habit. When you are used to doing things a certain way, it seems simpler to keep on doing them that way than to change. So we keep using the same cleaning products and personal grooming products. We keep spraying our homes with scented products full of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) We keep eating things out of packages and boxes. We drink soda and stuff our faces with candy, cookies, and chips. It is what we are used to doing.
Lack of Information. We don't educate ourselves about the harm processed food and environmental chemicals can cause. In the past, perhaps this information was hard to find. Now it is everywhere. You can get online, type a key word or phrase in your favorite search engine, and have hundreds of scientific articles right in front of you in a matter of minutes.The truth is out there.
Disbelief. Even when we have the information and read every article and book about the harm environmental chemicals and processed food cause our bodies, we just don't want to believe this could be true. We had rather believe there is some other cause, pop a pill, and hope for the best. Even some physicians are still not paying attention. I am grateful to have met many who are wholeheartedly behind the movement to eat well to live well.
False Sense of Trust. If it is available on our grocery shelves, we think it must be safe to eat. Nothing could be further from the truth. Giant food corporations have only one motivation for producing processed food products. And it is not our well-being. It is profit. Read the book "Salt, Sugar, Fat" by Michael Moss for an eye opening look into the world of manufactured food.
Unwillingness to Change. Even when we know the truth and believe the truth, sometimes we just don't want to change our lifestyle. We don't want to give up soda or packaged cookies. We don't want to switch to safer organic chemical free cleaners. We just don't want to change our ways. It took me six months after I started finding out the truth to finally summon up the determination to take action and make the changes I needed to make.
If I had not made those changes I would still be dragging myself out of bed every morning just hoping for a low pain day, glad if I had the energy to take a shower and make it to the couch. Instead I am traveling, writing, camping, playing with my grandchildren, and living each day with joy and gratitude. Don't let chemicals and processed food rob you of your potential to live a life that is full of hope, promise, and possibilities.
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