LittleAppellNest: On Living Organic

Hands down, becoming a consumer of organic products was one of the top three best choices of my life. Now before I tell you about that, I would like to warn you that I am not in any way a professional or even trust worthy source of scientific information and research on the subject. I want to share my experience and perhaps reference some facts from articles I found on Google. If you disagree with something I write or would like to add to the facts, feel free to leave a comment below. This is a great topic of discussion! And now the story begins...

About one year ago, my husband and I finally comprehended what "being organic" meant and the benefits of living as such. Yes, this is 100% because of a family we are close to and the experiences and expertise they shared with us; we just stole the lifestyle. We slowly began to purchase foods that were organic rather than conventional, instead of doing an all out flip. When we ran out of milk, we would run to Whole Foods (which is more convenient) instead of our local grocery chain. Obviously just being in Whole Foods makes you feel like you're making good life choices, and the attitude stuck. Soon, I found myself at Whole Foods everyday, even just for one item. Being surrounded by healthy options makes it close to impossible to go wrong. The more my husband and I incorporated organic options, the more I felt a difference in my life. I have no idea if there is science behind my experiences or not, but it wasn't until six months ago that I started to credit my increased mental health to being organic. As frequent readers know, I live with anxiety and I have always worked to control it. I have absolutely felt an improvement in that aspect as I have embraced the organic lifestyle. Perhaps this is because I am not worried about GBH's that are "probably carcinogenic" or crazy antibiotics no human should ingest. *Quick fact: sports drinks like Gatorade that we so proudly feed our children are banned in Europe. Why? Hmm...Good question...* If someone tells me that perhaps my health improvements are a placebo effect, I would say it can't be because I began this slowly and with zero expectations. I didn't tell myself that I would feel better, I just knew I would no longer be full of chemicals. That sounded like a wonderful reason, so that maybe I would live long enough to see my great-grandkids.

This past January, I went through my pantry and threw out anything that was left that was not organic and began anew. I refreshed my household cleaning products, laundry products, and even my skincare and haircare products (still working on makeup! If you haven't found out what is in your skincare and makeup products, and don't want to be grossed out, then DON'T!). I've only been 96% organic for two months (I say 96% because 100% would include clothing, bedding, and other things that I just haven't mustered up the courage, loss of fashion, or money for yet), and I feel amazing. The biggest change to my health is definitely my weight loss. When I got married, I was about 165. For my 5'6" frame, it was all concentrated in my back, arms, face, and stomach. I now weigh 145. I have always worked out, and I've always eaten relatively well. I've also struggled with my weight all my life. I was WAY too skinny (I ate a lot, I just had a metabolism that worked faster than I ate) until 10th grade and blew up overnight like a hot air balloon. I'm still working on it, but living organic means cutting certain foods out of your life and having to make your burgers at home (which is obviously the healthier option) than running to your favorite greasy burger place--though there is always a place in my organic heart for In-N-Out. I cannot put into words the pride I feel when I make something as simple as pasta using organic ingredients and grass-fed beef. My favorite thing to do after a grocery store trip is look at the ingredients to my foods; not only do I know all of them, I can pronounce them too! These chemicals aren't harming my body, therefore making it easier to lose and maintain my weight. By far, the absolute best and biggest improvement has been my general outlook on life. I don't know if I can attribute this mood change to my diet change, but I have found myself much happier. That alone is worth it.

As far as experiences, I think it's safe to say that I have seen many improvements. Now for the nitty-gritty. Many people still don't understand or believe in "organic". Before moving to NC, I only knew the term organic in its most basic definition. So many people are uninformed or don't want to be informed (why they would choose to give their kids Doritos, Gatorade, and pesticide-ridden fruit is beyond me). When you look at the facts, an organic products are not much more expensive than those in an average American diet, but what is it you are paying for? Companies can't just throw the USDA Organic label on and say they are healthy and natural, so why do companies go through so much money and trouble to create these products? I promise you, that reading the history on food labeling on the USDA website will answer many questions and prompt you into further research. I don't want to throw too many facts out there, as I am relatively new at this and am still doing my own research, so I am going to include links that I think are interesting and informative. I could write 20 more paragraphs on this subject, but I will save my wit and sarcasm for a later blog on this same subject. Promise, I have so much more to say on this subject, so please comment below! I will say this: so many foods sold in grocery stores are hurting you! You absolutely won't feel it now, because your body is used to it (doesn't make it good), but instead of waiting 20-40 years to see the effects, try living organic for a month, at least in the foods you eat, then resume your normal food habits. You WILL feel sick. Why is that? All the crap in your foods.