You May Have Grandma’s Genes But Not Her Environment

What a month! The Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup and I traveled to Sweden as part of my Master’s program at the University of Pennsylvania.

But, before we go into more details, here are some updates.

I’m now on Facebook and Twitter. Find Ingredients for Inspired Living here and Twitter here. You’ll receive great recipes, news, and information to help you stay inspired and healthy.

I’m also offering my first Lounge and Learn teleclass on July 13 on how to transition into a gluten-free lifestyle. If you suffer from any kind of inflammation, high-cholesterol (read here how one of my clients dropped 4 dress sizes and her cholesterol 96 points from going gluten-free), stubborn weight loss or digestive problems, you should consider calling in to learn how reducing or eliminating gluten from your diet can dramatically improve your health. All the details are here, along with my latest NBC clip where I give an overview of gluten.

Due to a narrowing food supply and environmental stresses, gluten sensitivities are sharply on the rise. In Sweden, I studied their progressive (and no, it’s not socialist!) healthcare system and their environmental leadership. I observed how by protecting their environment, their health challenges are not at severe as what we face here in the United States.

During my travels, I was also reading The Secret History of the War on Cancer by Dr. Devra Davis. It’s a worthwhile read for anyone looking for common sense answers (backed by hundreds of pages of research) to the “Big C.” The issue has never been what causes cancer, but how to create confusion around this disease that allows companies to continue to pollute the environment and profit from their cancer-causing products (from cigarettes to artificial sweeteners).

All of this was occurring during the Pen’s incredible Stanley Cup win. This victory brought me back to the last time the Pen’s won the Stanley Cup in 1992 and I was receiving my first round of chemo. Part of what contributed to my cancer was pesticide poisoning and while it’s not surprising, it’s still sad, how little progress has been made in 17 years to clean up our environment from these carcinogens. Part of healing from trauma is using our experiences constructively and so I’m heightening my commitment to the environment; I hope this newsletter will give you some ideas on how you can too.

The seemingly disparate events above come together this month to debunk Myth #2: Grandma got away with eating and drinking what she wanted, smoked, and lived to be 90 and so should I. You see, when Grandma was growing up, her environment was much cleaner and safer. When Grandma was growing up:

There weren’t 5,000-plus untested chemicals floating around in her water or air.

The EPA, FDA, NCI, and NIH weren’t filled with “leaders” from chemical, food, and drug companies. This means there wasn’t chemotherapy waste or PCBs in her water and artificial sweeteners at her table (proven carcinogens made legal thanks to Donald Rumsfeld’s inside connections – check out The Secret History of the War on Cancer for all the details).

There wasn’t a sea of radiation from cell phones, wireless connections, and medical tests like CT Scans

The soil—from which she ate real, not processed food—was less polluted and thus richer, making food more nutritious

Sweets were a big treat and often available only on special occasions and in small portions.

Food intake wasn’t as narrow as ours with the base of most people’s diets coming from soy, corn or wheat.

She walked up the hill (both ways) on her way to school, thus getting in more movement. And with that walk, was there ever a mention of a 64 ounce diet soda, Slurpee or Oreos? No, because our food supply has changed more in the last 50 years than the previous 10,000!

She had a sense of community from her family and church/temple being nearby, which reduced isolation and loneliness.

All of the above culminates in a less invaded and thus much stronger immune system. And, when you’re strong, you can get away with more. Today, being strong involves standing up to special interests in order create an environment conducive to a healthy life for kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews and ourselves.

As Peter Hawken said in his inspiring commencement speech, “You are brilliant and the earth is hiring.” Here are 10 ways you can make a difference in your health and clean up the environment right now:

1.    Shop at your local farmer’s markets. (Philadelphia locations can be found here and locations in other cities are just an internet search away. Shopping at these markets cuts down on pesticide and herbicide use as well as green house gases from shipping your food across the country.
2.    Replace meat once a week with a vegetarian option like Portobello mushrooms. You’ll reduce your green house gas emissions by 700 lbs per year and save the amount of water it would take for a four-hour shower – each week!
3.    Go see Food, Inc. and take two friends who aren’t as food savvy as you.
4.    Support organic whenever possible. To learn about all the chemicals on and in your food, click here
5.    Stop buying bottled water. The plastic is destroying the environment and you’re getting scammed. Bottled water isn’t always regulated nearly as closely as tap water. I use an Aquasuana home-filter and use a Sigg bottle. Perfect solution.
6.    Investigate your skin care products here to see how toxic they are for you and the environment and then use the database to find better choices.
7.    Support organizations that are focused on disease prevention through healthy living and environmental stewardship. The Environmental Working Group or Organic Consumer Association are some great options.
8.    Figure out your carbon footprint here and then shrink that foot!
9.    Next time you read an article attacking common sense of complimentary medicine (like Newsweek’s recent article on Oprah), follow the political and money trail. And don’t just resign to being cynical, write an op-ed or support independent publications. There are amazing people doing amazing work out here. Go find them!
10.    Spend your time in nature versus destroying it. We aren’t off the hook simply because we buy a canvas grocery bag. Shop and consume less and be in nature more. You’ll be inspired and reminded of what a beautiful world we are renting. If you do this, the desire to tread more lightly will become part of your nature.

That’s all folks. I’m headed to the beach (on public transportation!) for some rejuvenation. Thanks, Mother Nature – what would we do without you? If we start making smart choices, we’ll never have to find out.

Be Well,

Ali

Delena’s Story: Evolving into a Foodie

I went into nutritional counseling to try to break my refined carbohydrate addiction and lose a few pounds. My focus was quite narrow originally, but after speaking with Ali that first time, I realized that I had some pretty poor eating habits overall.

My decision to embark on the six-month program was based on the realization that just quitting sugar wasn’t going to be enough. Ali’s step-by-step approach opened my eyes to the other aspects of my diet that needed to be adjusted. I had my doubts about whether I would be able to change my routine but Ali was extremely helpful in pushing me towards better choices that fit within my lifestyle. Her holistic approach, asking questions about other aspects of my life, enabled her to find ways to help me make small adjustments that would become habits. From my first session, which was all about sugar, to where I am today, has been a real epiphany. Although I am now local and organic foods centric, Ali helped me stay in the “real world” by educating me on how to fit better nutrition into my life without alienating my friends with my new-found dogma!

For me to be able to go from evening packaged cookie binges to buying fresh produce at farmer’s markets and drinking raw milk is quite a lifestyle change in six months. Along the way I also found that the ingredients in what I eat are important to me so I seek out and support locally produced foods and responsibly farmed meats and eggs. The difference in how I feel is amazing and I’ve never looked better.

If you are serious about changing your life through what you consume, I cannot recommend Ali’s program highly enough. She’s extremely creative and supportive in coming up with ways of helping you achieve your goals and through the process, greatly improving your life. There really is a synergy between food and mood and getting away from processed foods is incredibly empowering! Thanks so much, Ali!

~ Delena Parsons, Philadelphia