Prevention

The American philosopher Benjamin Franklin said 'an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.' It is a lot easier for us in almost every way if we can prevent something rather than working to fix something when it comes to our health and quality of life. Eating natural whole foods begins to produce benefits when we are in the womb. If you want a healthy and happy child, then mother needs to be careful what toxins are placed into her body. These toxins can come from foods, housecleaning chemicals and the hybrid mass produced unnatural items all around us.

The Toxic Consumer by Ashton and Green (2006) is a good resource to educate you on the environmental dangers around us and how to reduce our risks. Toxic chemicals build up in our bodies and are passed on to our children through the embryo and breast milk (p. 15). Ashton and Green show us how to avoid BFRs, PFCs, phthalates, bisthenol A, and formaldehyde just to name a few. These are all highly toxic man-made chemicals that are all around us including food packaging. Before you put that container in the microwave, you need to understand the dangers you are posing to both yourself and those around you.

Prevention of toxic chemicals in food can be greatly simplified if you eat whole foods. While the real picture is a bit more complicated, eating wholefoods can have a dramtic impact on your health and quality of life. You will pay a bit more for whole foods, but it is a nutritional bargain. And many whole foods are very simple to prepare.