What’s all the fuss about Organic?
I firmly believe that love can move mountains. When you hold your first child in your arms and feel the love for that child ooze out from every ounce of your being, you begin to understand that love is a mother’s fuel and motivation. After the birth of my first child, I began to question everything and think for myself because I felt so much love for the precious child God blessed me with. I was nursing him, but I knew that I would soon have the responsibility for feeding his little body. I read everything I could get my hands on about nutrition. I wanted to provide the best food for my son’s growing body. From all my research, I quickly learned the importance of eating organic whole-grain food. It wasn’t until years later that I discovered the obvious: organic foods are also extremely important for pregnant and/or nursing mothers who are growing babies. A baby’s system is extremely sensitive to toxins even those toxins found in a mother’s breast milk. Sure organic may cost a bit more, but the benefits are well worth it.
Have you ever wondered why the bodies of young girls are maturing earlier and earlier? Have you ever thought about why cancer continues to take the lives of more and more of our loved ones? I’m not trying to scare you, but instead, I’m trying to get you to begin thinking for yourself. I am not a doctor, but I can tell you that if the growth hormones large manufacturing companies give cows, chickens, turkeys, and pigs make them grow abnormally then logically, when our children eat their meat/eggs or drink their milk, they too must be affected by those harmful chemicals.
We live in a society that is influenced heavily by marketing ads such as “Got milk?” We think that we are doing well if we as parents give our children milk to drink, but very few of us question what is in the milk we’re giving them. Organic foods are grown without the use of pesticides, antibiotics, or growth hormones. What this means to you is that when you buy organic, you and your family will be enjoying food in its most natural state – free of harmful toxins.
If pesticides are meant to kill insects, just imagine what those chemicals do to our bodies, the earth, and living plants and animals that ingest those harmful chemicals! Organic foods benefit not only our bodies but the soil and water too! Our Mother Earth smiles on organic farmers and those of us dedicated to making a difference for our families and the world we live in.
Once you’ve made the leap to eating organic whole foods, you will begin to question other things like the ingredients in your baby’s body wash. If you look on the back of the bottle, you will be staring at a long list of harmful chemicals. You may be thinking, “but I don’t eat these products, so how bad can they really be for me? Your skin and your hair absorb these harmful chemicals and known carcinogens. We know this on an intuitive level because as consumers we are always looking for products that offer special ingredients that will moisturize and protect our hair and skin. Most skin moisturizers contain phenol carbolic acid, which can cause respiratory failure. They also contain PEG-40, which contains dangerous levels of dioxin and propylene glycol, which studies show can negatively alter brain waves and cause liver and kidney disorders.
Would you use the same soap on your sweet baby that you use to wash your car or wash your clothes? You may say that you wouldn’t, but I can tell you that most Americans are doing just that. Most of these products contain sodium lauryl (laureth) sulfate (SLS) and Diethanolamine (DEA), which may have harmful side effects. I can go on and on, but I just want to encourage you to read your labels and think about the choices you are making for your family and how those choices impact not only you but the world we live in. I urge you to look for ingredients with natural, plant-based ingredients. If you can barely pronounce the long list of ingredients then that is usually a good sign that they are loaded with chemicals.
If you are just getting started, don’t get overwhelmed. You can start by simply trying to incorporate organic foods into your family’s diet and beginning to read the labels of the body care products you are buying for your family. You should always buy organic apples, bell peppers, celery, cherries, imported grapes, nectarines, peaches, peas, potatoes, red raspberries, spinach and strawberries. Pick one new food each week to buy organically. Also, start trying to buy all meat, poultry, eggs and dairy organically in order to try and avoid the results of production methods that use supplemental hormones and antibiotics. You don’t have to throw out all existing foods in your pantry and refrigerator and replace them with organic, but if after reading more about foods that have pesticides, growth hormones, and antibiotics, you want to clean house and start fresh, donate your foods to a local food bank so they don’t go to waste. The same goes for your body care products. Choose a starting place and begin slowly. Start with your baby’s body wash, and more forward. You’ll get there one small step at a time.
I truly hope after reading this you are encouraged to read more and do your own research. Conviction counts! I hope this will jump start you into thinking for yourself even if it means opposite of mainstream America. Question everything. Education truly is power.
I began Earthy Babes with you and your family in my mind. I aim to offer you products that support natural family living. When you look at the back of our diaper wipe solution, our organic aloe castile soap, our essential body oil, and our organic shea butter, you will find nothing but good wholesome ingredients to nourish your body and soul! Feel good about what you are using and rest easy with the information you’ve been given. You can visit us at: www.earthybabes.com and take a look at our line of body basics.
Written by: Julie Ustruck 12/2006
You can learn more about Julie and Earthy Babes by visiting her website: http://www.earthybabes.com
For free samples of her products, please e-mail her at: Julie@earthybabes.com
