Fundamental to health are the foods we eat – a fact that has not changed in more than 2000 years since Hippocrates declared Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food.
Over the past 100 years, the foods we consume have taken a radical nosedive away from fresh, whole, locally grown seasonal produce to highly processed, nutrient deficient and pro-inflammatory food imposters.
Coinciding with this change in food preferences is the increased use of herbicides and pesticides, especially glyphosate which is extensively applied to genetically modified crops (GM) but also others as it acts as a desiccant making harvesting faster. Many of the chemicals which are liberally used in agriculture but also in industrial production of plastics and other man-made items, are known endocrine disrupters – they affect how our hormones work.
Meat, poultry, eggs, dairy and seafood used to come from animals raised in their natural habitat – free range pasture or in the oceans and rivers. Since mid-last Century, intensive farming methods, such as feedlots, have seen a steep rise in numbers. There are major differences in animals raised naturally as opposed to those in feedlots and intensive farms. You don’t have to search the internet for long before reading about GM corn, soy and cottonseed used as feed, or huge quantities of antibiotics applied to prevent disease due to herd density. The trouble here is that everything the animal consumes, we consume when we eat it. It has been said that people consume more antibiotics through their food than are prescribed by their doctor.
Most of the processed foods you’ll find in the local supermarkets have their origin in intensive agriculture. Whether it be processed meats or vegan foods, many of the ingredients may include GM grains, artificial additives and preservatives, as well as flavour enhancers which are able to create an addiction-like response.
Symptoms that I see increasingly in clinic in all age groups include: Mental health including depression and mood swings; fatigue; cravings; skin and scalp itching; insomnia; fluid retention; autoimmune diseases; nasal and sinus congestion; indigestion, bloating, constipation and/or diarrhoea; muscle aches and joint pain; headaches and/or migraines; and dark circles under the eyes.
Many of these are like the tree – displaying above the ground as symptoms yet having their causes below ground in the roots.
What is underground relates to nutritional content of foods; chemicals and toxins that are absorbed due to ingestion or via our skin; our digestive capacity and overall gut health, which includes the integrity of our gut lining as well as the health and diversity of our gut microbiome.
So what does all this have to do with having a healthy baby?
Everything! Your baby is literally the product of its parents. After all, a baby is created from the egg and sperm of mum and dad respectively and if these are not healthy, then we are already on the back foot. Then, if the mother’s diet and lifestyle are not conducive to providing a healthy, nutrient-rich environment for the baby developing inside her, this will impact on that baby. Not only in utero, but for the rest of its life.
Isn’t this wonderful? Each and every person considering having a baby has the power to determine the health outcomes of their future child. And it gets better – this power extends to their grandchildren as well. Just by being aware of all that I have mentioned above, but also everything that is explained in my book, How to Have a Healthy Baby, want-to-be parents hold the key to their own health, their fertility and the health of their future offspring.
I could go on about this, but let me summarise a few key aspects:
· choose organic, unsprayed fresh fruit and vegetables
· choose organic, pasture-raised meat, poultry and eggs
· choose wild-caught seafood
· avoid using chemicals in and around the home, which includes personal care items
· consume purified water
You can read more in my book which is available at most online bookstores and Amazon.
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