Cindy with her family on her daughter's college graduation day in 2005

SMALL CHANGES, BIG RESULTS

- Cindy Zwicker, Contributing Writer

After seeing a documentary about the natural health benefits of the Rain Forest, I began to question just how healthy my family was, and the environment around us. The documentary spoke about how there were a vast assortment of plants that held health benefits for a lot of our known ailments. It also told us about how many countries utilize these medicinal plants and have been for centuries.

I located a Naturalist/Homeopath on the East coast who was able to explain better the importance of our diet. First, he had me focus on how much processed food my family and I were ingesting.  I was astonished by the amounts we were consuming. I began to read up on the health benefits of macrobiotic diets. Here I thought I was saving time, but in reality processed foods were depriving us from the nutrients we so desperately needed. Next, I began reading labels and noticed all of the chemicals that were listed on these products. Some of the ingredients I couldn't even pronounce! 

As a mother of four children, I felt it was my duty as a mother to be able to know exactly what substances my children were consuming. It did not take me long to change our diet from foods preserved in chemicals to fresh organic foods.  The taste of the organically grown foods alone was convincing enough. I started paying attention to where our food was coming from and began supporting small, local farmers who refrained from using pesticides. It did not take long for my children to accept our new lifestyle. Organic does not mean less of a taste, in fact, it usually means more. My children were able to point out the color differences between the pale colors of mainstream fruits and vegetables and the bright, vibrant colors of the organic.

The vibrant colors and flavors of organic foods really makes a difference

One of the last changes I have made is to switch over to organic cleaning and toiletry products. All of those years breathing in harmful fumes from Ammonia seemed ridiculous when vinegar worked just as well. The change from perfumed soap to natural goats milk cured my son's severe dry scalp problem. The old home remedies Grandma told us about are now making much more sense today. I feel like we rely too much on pharmaceuticals, and forget that the base of a healthy life starts with a healthy nutrition and lifestyle.

By educating my children about organic foods, I hope it will help them to make healthier choices for themselves. I feel when we eat food that is organically grown we are looking out for the future of our children as well as the environment they will need to survive in.

To read more about the benefits of Organic products, check out the Organic Consumers Association