December 5, 2016
When my mother was young, she said there was no ‘organic’ section in the grocery store; that is of course because everything was organic back then.
There was no need to label. It’s unfortunate that we now live in a society that seems to favour profit over health. Creating processed and genetically modified foods is seen as a way to feed the masses in the cheapest and easiest way possible. We have created foods that can kill bugs on its own yet with no worry about the long term health effects it would have on humans.
Even small amounts of toxins throughout time can hinder our inner chemistry synergy and peace. The bad foods we eat not only affect our physical health but our mental and soulful health is also at risk. I have read a lot about GMO’s and how they are linked to cancer and mental health problems, but in this blog I will speak about my personal experience when I volunteered in Thailand and ate organic foods for a month, the results and how I felt when I returned to eating non organic foods.
I volunteered in a small village 2 hours north of Bangkok. All the food came from a nearby market and from a garden on the site. When I first arrived in Thailand, my bowels were irritated from the transition however as time progressed, I was very regular and my body was functioning smoothly. There were chickens happily running around free on the site. They were not pumped with hormones and were fed non GMO grains. They were well taken care of and when it came time to ‘go’ they were put to rest in an ethical way. I never tasted such fresh and good chicken in my life prior to this.
The flavors in the foods I ate in the village were so real and prominent. The tomatoes tasted like the tomatoes my grandmother used to grow in her back yard. The fruit sometimes did not look as big and colourful as some GMO fruits but did they ever taste fresh and delicious.
In North America, we are so used to our fruits and vegetables looking like a plastic display of perfection when in reality, organic foods are sometimes not perfect but they are perfect for us. We sometimes get swept away by image in the North American culture. It’s not only physical image we get obsessed about, we also want the perfect looking apple, strawberries, peppers, etc.
It’s hard to explain how I felt but an easy way to put it is that my insides felt so light and clean eating the food in Thailand. Of course, I did not eat any packaged foods such as chips or chocolate bars, crackers, cookies or anything of the sort. My body didn’t crave those things. I felt balanced, happy and alive. Without any major effort, I lost some weight, my skin was clear and I had so much energy. There were other factors that contributed to my health boost such as meditation, helping others and being surrounded by nature. I truly believe in a healthy balance for the mind, body and soul. Not only was I not eating GMO foods, I was away from the concrete jungle and connected to earth.
Upon my return, even though I was not eating ‘junk food’ I became bloated almost immediately. I was moody, I felt lethargic and I broke out. From then, I became so eager to learn more about what I eat and the effects it has with my body chemistry. I have always been into health and fitness but now I am learning more about the grass roots of it all. It starts with our food and our mindset about what we consume. I am waking up and opening my eyes to what is going on in the food industry. I want to help others wake up too.
