You Are What You Eat

With Papa being so sick in the hospital I've been thinking a lot about what we are eating as a family. I am just going to rant for a second and include myself as part of the problem. We Americans eat for pleasure! When did we forget that food is supposed to nourish are bodies? So many of us are poisoning our bodies, slowly. As I see what my wonderful young father-in-law is going through I am hit hard with this truth. It will eventually catch up with us and we will pay a price. I am also reminded I am training my children now by what I am eating and feeding them. I am responsible for whether or not they are equipped to have a healthy life or one plagued with body image issues or worse health issues. It is very overwhelming to think about changing my children's diet, but everything is telling me I must make this a priority. I need to take this part of my job as their mommy very seriously and not give up when it is too exhausting. I may win a battle, but ultimately I will lose the war of their health. This may seem dramatic, but if you look around their are many signs pointing to our food destroying our youth. According to the AACAP between 16 and 33 percent of children and adolescents are obese. Obesity is among the easiest medical conditions to recognize but most difficult to treat. Unhealthy weight gain due to poor diet and lack of exercise is responsible for over 300,000 deaths each year. The annual cost to society for obesity is estimated at nearly $100 billion. Okay, so my kids are no where near obese, but what about the ridiculous number of people suffering from IBS now a days. Do a little research and you will be amazed. This doesn't even touch those suffering and not seeking help. Today, I got an even bigger wake up call about food and how it can drastically affect a persons overall emotional and mental state. We have such a huge number of kids being labeled with autism. After a little research some evidence shows the foods we eat regularly in our society might be contributing. How many Americans are depressed, angry etc and have no idea the foods they are eating could be the cause? I often struggle with Caleb emotionally and I believe I have exhausted ever parenting technique. I can't help but wonder if the foods I give him affect his demeanour. It is pretty overwhelming to know exactly where to start, but I am going to investigate dairy and gluten, because both Cory and I have issue with the former. I also believe gluten seems to do a number on me. After reading countless testimonials on angry and extremely emotional kids that did a complete 180 when gluten was removed from their diet, it is worth exploring. Gluten free diet information