Every time I think I’m doing a pretty decent job keeping myself and all of my people alive and free from harm, we get one. You know what I’m talking about—it’s either a national news story or a viral article that warns us that pretty much everything we ate last week may or may not have some deadly chemical/bacteria in it.
I’m glad to have the information. I’m thankful that someone is watching and asking the questions. I just wish they’d do it a little bit earlier, like before I fed whatever the offending food was to my entire family—FOR YEARS.
I get frustrated because I have actually spent a little bit of time trying to educate myself on how to eat healthfully. Thanks to our friend, the internet, most of us have a pretty good handle on what a healthy diet looks like. I’m not saying that we always follow it to the letter and don’t allow the occasional plate of chicken wings or slice of chocolate cake behind the velvet rope. The difference, for most of us, is when we do eat something not -so-healthy, it’s the exception, not the rule.
I know the rules. I’ve got it. I’m whole grain, leafy green, anti-oxidant-ing my way through this thing. I’m even imposing this on my children. Because, why would I go through all of the trouble of making you if I didn’t want you to be healthy? So, everyone, hostage or not, is on board. I spend time shopping for and cooking all of the “healthy” foods. I dedicate a lot of energy to very long conversations where I entice/suggest/demand that my little people eat said foods. I’m doing all the things. We have good nutrition, our gut health is on fire and our acidity levels are aligned. We’re not perfect, but, for the most part, we’re KILLING it!
Not So Fast
Until we’re not. Until we read the article or hear the story that tells us there’s been a “warning.” Our first instinct is denial. Surely, this is a food we’ve eliminated long ago. Clearly, we won’t be affected because we have the internet and we know things. We’ve gone to great lengths to ensure we are doing this right, so, it’s probably not going to bother us. We read on to find that all of the super healthy, organic, non-GMO, gluten free FILL IN THE BLANK is exactly what they’re talking about. Then, we make the ultimate mistake. We click on “the list.” “The list” details all of the offending foods. If the Universe is smiling on, you will scroll down that puppy and happily realize you consume none of these items. However, sooner or later, you’re number is up. You’ll scroll and realize that not only are you eating the offensive food, but it’s like one of your all time faves because ALL your kids like it. So now, you’re poising them. Super. Great. This is the exact opposite of what you meant to do!
This isn’t fair! We did the homework. We have to go to three stores on the regular to get all of the things. We pay double or triple the price because we’re trying not to poison our families with all of the stuff they told us was bad. What do we do now? I guess we could grow our own vegetables or raise our own chickens, but that’s just one step too far for me. I’d really love to be awesome home garden, composting, egg-gathering lady, but I’m not. I want all of those home-grown, chemical free things, but, I want to buy them—like in a store.
What Now?
Since, I’m clearly not going to take up farming, and I like to eat, I don’t have a lot of choices. I don’t have a good answer. I guess you and I will just have to keep on keeping on. We’ll have to continue to use our pal the internet to see what we should be eating, and curse it when it tells us that we’ve been duped. We’ll keep making the best decisions with the information that we have, and hope and pray that maybe one of these smart kids we’re raising will figure out a better way. If we use the law of averages, we’re probably all doing better than OK, so that should count for something. We’re probably getting it right most of the time. I will try to take solace in that. But, if there is a wine “warning” all bets are off.