I don't know about other parts of the country, but down in The South, "sick and tired" is something of a cliche. We use it to describe a level of frustration as in, "I'm sick and tired of cleaning up this mess!" Or, "I'm sick and tired of those raccoons stealing my cantaloupes!" (That has been a very real problem at the Hillbilly Homestead this summer, for the record...*sigh*).
We hear someone say they are "sick and tired" and don't think all that much about it. But being sick and tired of being sick and tired? That is something worth thinking about. What it really means is, "I have dealt with being sick, feeling terrible for so long I just can't tolerate it anymore! I don't know why I'm so exhausted all the time, but I don't think I can take it anymore!" Think about it. How many times have you heard that? How many times have you said it yourself?
But, what if there was something you could do about it? What if the way you are eating is contributing to feeling "sick and tired"? What if your food is what is making you sick in the first place? It sounds off the wall at first, doesn't it? Americans have access to more food choices than any country in the world. You don't have to think about getting your vitamins and minerals in our great country - the food companies add them to all sorts of things: enriched this, fortified that...and it's all so very easy. Plus, we have government agencies that regulate the food companies to make sure that the foods we are eating are safe. But are the foods really safe? Not in my opinion. I'm not talking about meat inspections here. I'm talking about the stuff that is in the processed foods that fill the shelves of America's supermarkets - and most of her pantry shelves.
Many of you know that I have been on a "real food" adventure for the past year or so. I had no idea what I was doing. As DH would attest, I've never been much of a cook, I was the Queen of Boxed Meals! I never thought about what was IN the boxed meal, or how the "little glove guy" managed to create a creamy sauce just by mixing a tiny envelop of powdered stuff with water. I just wanted to get dinner on the table and on to the next thing on a busy mom's to-do list.
Last summer I started learning about the effects of the industrialization of our food and the chemicals that are in all this food. The more I learned the more horrified I became. Genetically modified foods, chemically processed food, chemically treated foods, irradiated foods. All of these things that are done to food that literally strip all of the nature right out of them. Then we have all of this "dead food" that has to be further treated to put back IN the nutrients that have been processed out, so
What if all these chemicals are what is making everyone so sick and tired? In one of my earliest posts, I talked about some of the foods that concern me most. If you are new here, I encourage you to take a look at Food for Thought. At that time I had done very little research into MSG (monosodium glutamate), but I have now (expect a future post on this topic) and have since eliminated it from our diets. I am convinced that it is poison.
I am not an organic purist. We do what we can. The truth of the matter is that we can't afford to buy everything organic - I'd have to drive 65 miles away to buy organic produce every week and that's not going to happen right now. I can't drop $5 on 8 oz. of organic corn starch when I can buy a huge container at Sam's for half that cost. It is too much right now. If it is more financially realistic in the future, that would be great, but we do the best we can. I can tell a such difference in our health and energy levels just by eliminating the processed foods, even though the "real food" ingredients are not organic. No one around here is "sick and tired" and we haven't been since we changed our diet away from industrialized, genetically modified, shelf stable, additive-laden foods.
It is difficult not to share this new-found knowledge with everyone I meet. I tend to come off as the "crazy, crunchy lady" and I sometimes worry that people will think I am judging their food choices, even though I'm not. I try not to dole out unsolicited advice, but it's so HARD not to say to someone that IS sick and tired of being sick and tired, "You need to change your diet, you'll feel incredible!" Fortunately, I have this blog and I can rant on about it here to all who will listen ;)
I'd love to hear your thoughts, opinions, questions.
"Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food." - Hippocrates
I had been feeling "sick and tired" for awhile. It seemed to be getting worse no matter how well I ate. First I thought it was normal exhausting from handling two kids under two. But I just did not FEEL good. Of course I had extra weight to lose, and I didn't understand why it was SO HARD for me to lose. If anything, I was gaining, and I couldn't understand it. We don't eat junk (very rarely we'd have junk, but it's not generally in the house!), and I try to eat well. Then I came across the book, "Wheat Belly" by Dr. William Davis. I didn't read it, but heard about it and looked up gluten sensitivity. Many of the symptoms I had were on the list. So I decided to see what the book was about. Dr. Davis states that wheat is so genetically modified, it should not longer be considered wheat. Why is everyone in pictures from the early 1900s thin compared to us today, when we're so into health? He concluded that it's the wheat doing it. So I decided to give up wheat to see how I felt. It took about five days, but afterwards, I felt A MILLION TIMES BETTER. I felt "normal." And weight started to come off of me. I did not change anything but eliminate wheat. I bought the book. It's a fascinating read, really opening up my eyes more to GMOs (was aware of them before, but he goes in depth and angry is the emotion I was left with). He states that today's wheat stimulates appetite (which I agree. I can eat carbs and not want to eat afterwards. I eat wheat, and I'm craving all day), and it's opium to our brain.
ReplyDeleteI have had a couple of slips during this time, but I will not go back to wheat, no matter how good, how homemade, how wonderfully smelling it is. I feel too good to go back. Has anyone else tried going wheat free or read this book?