When my pastor, Ken Lewis, asked me what I was learning in my cancer journey, I responded, “Our food is tainted.” It’s just one of the many lessons I’ve learned in this journey. I was eating many healthy foods, and I knew there were some chemicals used in growing them. I assumed my body could handle it. But after seeing the list of accumulated chemicals in my body, only then did I realize the importance of eating organic foods.
As many integrative and functional medical doctors explain, “When the accumulation of toxins in your body reaches the top of your bucket, your immune system becomes distracted and can’t work as God intended.” You might say my bucket was overflowing. Integrative or functional medical doctors are trained to look deeper for causes, rather than just treating symptoms. No stone would be left unturned in my quest to find out why I developed a cancer I had no apparent risk factors for.
Then my doctors began to dive deeper. Oh my! I never dreamed so many toxic metals and chemicals were in this body I LIVE IN. Following several types of testing, 15 toxic elements had taken residence in my body! Some of these toxins were endocrine disruptors which contributed to my estrogen-driven cancer. I no longer wondered why I had cancer. And how did they take up occupancy in me?
There’s no doubt many were coming through the foods I was consuming—foods conventionally grown with pesticides and herbicides. I must note that both 2-4 D and glyphosate were found in high levels in this gal’s body. Most of our food supply is grown and harvested with such chemicals. If you’ve ever grown your own food, you understand why farmers use chemicals on these large farms.
The cafeteria at CTCA Chicago was overflowing with luscious fruits and vegetables mainly on the organic side. My cancer treatment center was teaching me through their display of food. My husband and I now eat foods that are organically grown and harvested as much as possible.
True confession. I never ate organic until I was diagnosed with cancer. I assumed my body could filter out whatever chemicals I consumed. I didn’t realize an accumulation of chemicals was overloading my immune system.
According to Dr. Joshua Axe, organic foods contain more vitamins, minerals, enzymes and micronutrients than conventionally grown foods. By eating organic, you are avoiding dozens of chemical pesticides and herbicides linked to various health problems and environmental destruction, and antibiotic resistance.
There are 3,000 high-risk toxins, including pesticides, which by law are excluded from certified organic products. Eighty percent of the antibiotics sold in America are used to raise meat and poultry. Dr. Axe believes that this is fueling antibiotic-resistant germ which are difficult to kill. With Certified USDA Organic, there are zero antibiotics or growth hormones. Animals are fed organic feed, while giving them access to the outdoors and upholding animal health and welfare standards.
What about the cost? I believe the extra cost is worth the savings to your health. Pay now or pay later! My favorite places to buy organic foods reasonably are Whole Foods, Earth Fare, Costco, Ingles, Kroger, Publix, and Vitacost or Thrive Markets online.
How full is your toxic bucket? The best way to reduce your toxic levels is to stop the flow of toxins going into your body. Now you see the importance of eating organic foods. It’s not about perfection. We don’t live in a perfect world. It’s about lowering your toxic load.
In the next post, we will look at the fruits and vegetables that are best to be eaten organic and those that don’t need to be. This alone will help you to save money. How many of you are considering the importance of eating organic foods? Where are you finding the best prices?
Here’s to your health!
Photo by Neonbrane on Unsplash
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