Starting Again & Commandment 2: Get the Poison Out (of My Food)

I’m baaaaaackk!!!!!  Yes, as you can tell I took quite the hiatus after setting up the Pre-Pregnancy Momma and writing my first post. I had begun motivated and with such enthusiasm, which abruptly turned into a bit of a slump. That slump then turned into embarrassment that I had not followed through with something that I so whole-heartedly believe in. Well, life happens, and the important part is picking yourself back up, digging yourself out of the slump – don’t brush that dirt off because a little dirt can be good for you - and starting again.  That’s what I told myself and that’s what I’m doing; learning a lot about following through and self-motivation along the way!

So what a way to return to writing…I mean just look at the sky view from my backyard!

No not the backyard itself…
It needs a lot of work and no matter how much I weed they keep coming back!! 

This weekend we will hopefully get it under control and plant the garden (I miss the tower garden and I want one of my very own!!).  But anyway the day is gorgeous and I’m getting’ my tan on from the yummy sunlight!!!! 
**note by the time I’m posting this the garden is planted just in time before the rain…for the next week!! Anyway the yards looking better, just need to get the mulch spread ;)

Back to the point…the long awaited Second commandment of the Pre-Pregnancy Momma…drumroll please…I will get the Poison Out (of my food).

I put food in parenthesis because there are a lot of toxins that we absorb daily, some we can help and some we cannot.  Food is one way that toxins (or poisons as I like to refer to them) enter the body, and in large part we have a huge say in whether or not we take in those toxins. (Avoiding other toxins will come up in later commandments, don’t worry!).

After coming to the realization, thanks to the news, that I need to start taking care of my children now, way before they are a reality, the next natural step was that I need to get real serious about what I was allowing into my body. That is to say that while I had been committed about health and nutrition for years, “If I can” become “I must” about certain things. The fact is what you eat today will effect your body for years, it will affect your pregnancy, and it will affect your baby. In seven years you will have an entirely new body than the one you have now.  Every cell of you will be different from the ones you have now, and that means two things: 1) Your body can be repaired and renewed 2) What you put into your body six years ago could still be affecting you today. I want my daughters (I just have a feeling I will have two girls lol – that scared the poo out of my man!) to have the most perfect home to develop in.  The good news: what you put into your body, or don’t put into your body, can have an awesome, powerful and healing effect for tomorrow.

Kay so what are the worst toxins and how do I stay away from them?

Conventional, Non GMO & Organic

Conventional foods are grown using synthetic chemicals like fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides. This allows them to grow out of season and extend the shelf life, but ruins the soil and results in less nutrient dense produce – not to mention the effect of the toxic chemicals. Organic foods are free of these dangerous synthetic chemicals in nutrient rich soil and are non GMO.  GMO foods have been genetically modified in some way and are linked to infertility, organ damage, gastrointestinal disorders and cancer.

Check out these two images. 

The first is from my girl the Food Babe to illustrate the difference between the Non GMO and Organic labeling.  The second is the 2015 EWG list of the most chemically ridden produce and the least.  The fact is organic is most often more expensive and sometimes we have to make choices according to the budget.  I ALWAYS buy the dirty dozen organic, and then the clean 15 I know buying organic is not as important.  Look for LOCAL too. Often these small farms use far less chemicals in their farming and may even qualify organic, but can’t pay the hefty price for the label!

Processed Foods

                Basically, processed foods have modified components of food in some way.  Sometimes, this is good like grains that have to be processed so that we can consume them.  That not what I’m talking about here. Often processing eliminates fiber, water and other nutrients in food that impact digestion and how our body sees the substance.  Unlike whole food that is designed for us to eat and use, processed food can lead to food cravings and mood swings.  They are highly addictive, lead to chronic inflammation and destroy the digestive system, harming beneficial bacteria and create an alkaline body.  Loaded with GMOs, pesticides, processed foods are not actually food.

                Instead stick to foods that have short ingredient lists, all of which you know exactly what they are.  Better yet mostly eat foods that don’t need an ingredient list like fruits, vegetables, grains, fish, and others!

         The Worst Food Additives

1.       Nitrites – Synthetic preservative added to deli meats and hot dogs to maintain color.  Carcinogenic, inflicts cellular damage
2.       Potassium Bromate – endocrine-disrupting chemical, an additive in commercial bread and baked goods that makes the dough more elastic; linked to kidney and nervous system damage, thyroid problems, gastrointestinal discomfort and cancer. Banned in food use in Canada, China and the European Union.
3.       Propyl Paraben – another endocrine-disrupting chemical found in tortillas, muffins and food dyes; has weak estrogenic activity and impacts estrogen-sensitive cancer, accelerating the growth of cancer cells, impairs fertility in women and reduces sperm counts and testosterone levels
4.       Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA) – found in cereals, nut mixes, gum, butter spread, meat, dehydrated potatoes, popcorn, chips and beer; affects the neurological system, alters behavior and causes cancer; triggers allergic reactions and hyperactivity. BHA is banned in several countries included parts of Europe and Japan.
5.       Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT) – often used with BHA; linked to developmental effects and thyroid issues
6.       Propyl Gallate – is a preservative used to prevent fats and oils from spoiling; in sausage, frozen pizza and other processed foods that contain ‘edible’ fats; is associated with brain tumors
7.       Theobromine – an alkaloid found in chocolate, similar to caffeine; is highly toxic to animals (doggies!) and is questioned to have the same effect in humans
8.       Natural & Artificial Flavors – Both of these words could mean pretty much anything when you see them on a label; often even natural flavors bear little resemblance to the natural product form which they came and can contain propylene glycol, a solvent or BHA
9.       Artificial Colors – Since 2010 foods in European Countries that contain these dyes come with a warning label; linked to cancer, hyperactivity and allergy-like reactions.
10.   Diacetyl – used as a butter flavoring in microwave popcorn as well as other dairy products like yogurt and cheese; may trigger Alzheimer’s disease and linked to respiratory damage
11.   Phosphates – in 20,000 products  like fast food, baked goods and processed meats; linked to cardiovascular disease and destroy your organs and bones; The European Food Safety Authority is currently evaluating adding them to food
12.   Aluminum Additives – most dangerous neurotoxin; found in processed foods as stabilizers; accumulates in the body causing neurological effects and linked to Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative disorders

for more information on processed foods check out www.articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/11/26/12-worst-food-additives.aspx

Dirty Water

                We all know how important drinking water is right????? (If not talk to me!!) lol! Well the quality of water is important because we don’t want to be taking in chemicals with all of that water that we are drinking every day! Chlorine and Chloramine that many cities use to disinfect the water are known to cause bladder, rectal and other cancers. Fluoride, originally added for dental health, is one of the most dangerous neurotoxins (gets into the brain) and causes numerous health issues from cancer, nervous system disorders, bone disease and thyroid dysfunction.  And those are just the heavy hitters; tap water is also contaminated with a variety of Pesticides, Pharmaceuticals and Heavy Metals.

Luckily this solution is simple and soooooo worth it! Invest in a good water filter and you will not believe the difference in taste! 



Here’s the one that I use (extremely cost effective, in my opinion! I bought mine on amazon)

http://www.zenwatersystems.com

Healthy diet and what you do eat to nourish and heal your body is important too, and again do not worry It will be coming up in a future commandment. What I find most important is that you learn to eat real food that isn't riddled with poisons that tax our body’s resources and create inflammation. We are young and vibrant and our bodies should be concentration on making us that way: alive, full of energy and love, not on cleaning up our mess. It has enough to do with the stressors we can’t avoid!

A Pre-Pregnancy Momma knows that what she eats before pregnancy affects her womb during pregnancy.  To create the most perfect womb, she acts on what is in her power, in this case eliminating the toxins in her food. That’s not to say that in striving for perfection for her future children, a Pre-Pregnancy Momma is perfect. She is gentle with herself, forgives herself and simply tries to make a better choice, even when the best choice is not possible.

I’ve kept this pretty brief so if you have questions or want more information, talk to me!! I’d be more than happy to chat with you and even develop a strategy to “Get the Poison Out”
mandywilk.healthcoach@gmail.com
or tweet me @PrePregMomma

with Love, Mandy