Avoid artificial sweeteners and enriched flour, etc.

Sarah, one of my old classmates who was also born on the VERY SAME DAY as me, asked about artificial sweeteners and about organic foods. I have done tons of research on these topics and I can tell you some good resources to get you started on your own research. However, I will tell you that the best thing you can do is identify some good principals that you can stick to so you won't feel defeated or overwhelmed. (I know I am wordy so if you can't read the whole post, then grab onto my rules of thumb in BOLD below.)

Many of the resources I will give you are very hard line when it comes to sweeteners, organic foods and everything else. They believe you should only be shopping at Whole Foods, Wild Oats, Trader Joe's or any other organic food store. I think this is nice, in principal, but very hard to adopt on a daily basis...especially if you have small children.

First, I will answer Sarah's questions. I have read a lot about aspartame(aka Nutra Sweet) and Splenda. I even took a sample of my hair about three weeks ago and sent it in for testing to see what types of chemical residue is lingering in my body...results should be coming in the mail soon. What I have found out is this...if you can avoid these artificial sweeteners, then DO IT. It is hard for some of us to give up our diet soda (me included), but the truth is that there is not a lot of healthy things going on in a "low fat" or "reduced fat" world. Most likely, Splenda or Aspartame are being used to reduce the calories, yet these foods also can make your body more acidic and make you crave more acidic foods and promote inflammation and create problems.

My resource that I use on Aspartame and Splenda is hard line on all these issues, but she has a right to be. She had a brain tumor that she healed by detoxing her body from Aspartame. Bizarre, but true. She also has a PhD in Nutrition and is a chemical expert. Her name is Janet Starr Hull and I will attach her web site. I am using myself as a guinea pig with her chemical testings so that I can share it with you all. Plus, I am testing her credibility a little...I am always a skeptic.

Also, if you can cut or reduce "Enriched Flour" from your world, you will be doing yourself a favor. You might get discouraged if you start reading labels because you may find Aspartame, Splenda or Enriched Flour in the first five ingredients. However, I have found that the key to cutting these things out of my world is finding some good replacements. This is why most people recommend organic food stores because they put so much thought into each product on the shelf. Unfortunately, the truth is that there is some merit to the Food Pyramid and good old fashioned thoughtful food preparation is very important.

It is hard to keep it all together and go to the organic food store and feed your kids in a healthy fashion, but there are healthy substitutes. And, there are many organic products at a regular food store. My rules of thumb are to try to avoid artificial sweetener and enriched flour, buy organic veggies, buy cage-free or organic eggs, buy non-hormone fed meats and reduce processed foods. However, if my kids want dinosaur chicken nuggets, I give them to them. It has been very hard for me to be thoughtful and stick to this while on chemo because my energy has been low and I haven't been interested in food at all.

However, I try to apply these principals whenever I can and throw myself some grace/forgiveness when I can't. I need to get back to my kiddos, but I will attach some links to the web site later tonight and I will write more about ways to transition to a healthy diet without get grumpy people in your family...including yourself!

Blessings,
Lolo